Pyschopomp

The World is vast and the myriad paths that connect its Realms can be difficult to navigate, even for the Gods. Some Gods, however, excel at it, and for this reason are given the roles of heralds, messengers, and guides. Psychopomps are Legendary for their ability to facilitate communication between Gods and mortals, and to guide others through the Realms. Like Liminal figures, they can often be found traveling outside the usual territory of their pantheon, but unlike them, they are not necessarily outsiders: instead, they are recognized emissaries who carry out the duties of their station. Some Psychopomps specialize in particular routes, such as leading the dead to and from an Underworld or announcing prophecies to devotees of the Gods, but others carry messages of all kinds.

Kancks

• Companion of the Grave: Ghosts and shades will not target you with attacks so long as you do not attack them. In addition, you have 2 Enhancement on any rolls to placate or calm such spirits.



• Cracking The Egg: When the Psychopomp performs an impressive feat which either creates a state change for someone else, or positively encourages him to undertake that state change, regain one point of spend Legend. In the performing of that feat, if the Psychopomp has used a gift of prophecy or communication on the subject in the past, gain +1 Enhancement.



• Crossroads Wisdom: You are always aware of the direction and distance to the nearest Axis Mundi, gate, Touchstone, or sacred place associated with your pantheon.



• Eye for Portents: You recognize subtle divine warnings when you are in danger. Upon entering combat, roll your Knack skill to create a pool of Enhancements: as a reflexive action, you can then allocate any or all Enhancements from that pool to any defensive action you or your allies take. You may spend 1 Momentum to use this Knack a second time in a combat, but no more than that.



• Keeper of the Keys: You can bypass mundane locks on doors, gates, and similar barriers automatically. You may make a Clash of Wills to pass supernatural locks, unless they have been put in place by a being two or more Tiers above you. This Knack does not apply to computer passwords unless they open some form of physical door.



• The Longest Road: A Psychopomp may, by making a mark on a door or a wall made of multiple parts (brick walls work, concrete walls don’t), step through to the nearest road to the closest Underworld. This doesn’t guarantee that the Psychopomp will reach a route leading to a familiar Underworld. The mark remains on the wall after the Psychopomp passes through until someone removes said mark or it naturally wears away. This may provide a means for others to track the movement of the Psychopomp.



• Marked Out by God: Prophets and psychopomps enjoy special protection from fate, and many cultures consider it deeply unlucky to knowingly and deliberately harm someone with the gift of prophecy. As long as the Psychopomp takes no aggressive actions in a fight, enemies will not target her with their attacks. In addition, gain +1 Enhancement to rolls to escape, disengage, or withdraw from fights.



• On The Sound of Water: By meditating upon the sound of water in motion, trains, highway sounds, jet engines, or any other travel noises, the Psychopomp receives visions of important events upcoming, either for herself or a subject she knows by name. While she might be able to describe a subject she doesn’t know by name, this does not allow enough precision for this prophetic work—she must know at least a name by which the subject is commonly addressed. An online handle, pseudonym, nom de guerre, or nom de plume, however, may work, with one exception: any name the subject has discarded and no longer uses will not work. If she only knows her subject’s deadname or maiden name? No dice. Upon a successful Knack roll, the player may ask the Storyguide a number of yes or no questions equal to successes. The Storyguide may answer ‘maybe’ or ‘it’s impossible to answer that’ for questions which don’t have a clear-cut answer, or which rely upon player actions.



• Quickest Route: When engaged in a Chase that requires multiple milestones to complete, you may spend 1 Momentum to apply threshold successes from one milestone to your roll to complete the next one.



• The Road Less Traveled: The Psychopomp does not need a map or navigation device in order to know which direction is the right way to go, no matter what Realm he finds himself traveling through, regardless of whether or not he’s ever been there before. When attempting to discern the specific rules or regulations of a Realm or country he’s never been in before, in order to continue his travels, he gains a +1 Enhancement.



• Secondary Messenger: The Psychopomp may make a Knack skill roll to pass a message along via unconventional means: a bird tears bits of a newspaper to make its nest and drops them in the path of the intended recipient, a newscaster reads out an announcement that they don’t understand when the intended recipient happens to be actively watching. However, the message gets to the recipient, the Psychopomp’s encoding makes it understood. The recipient simply knows that the message is meant for them, who it comes from, and what it means. Sometimes you can’t just send a text message and you have to encode it in the patterns of leaves blowing down the street.



• Swift-footed: When you make an uncontested Disengage action, you may choose to move two range bands instead of one. If it is contested, you have 2 Enhancement on your attempt but only move one range band.



• Tending The Egg: Making an opposed Knack roll (not everyone wants to hear about their future, just ask Cassandra), the Psychopomp makes a prediction about the subject’s next state change. Example state changes include gaining or losing a job; entering into a new alliance, significant friendship, or romantic relationship; coming out of the closet; making an important discovery about her family, or other significant life change, good or bad, subject to the Storyguide’s final ruling. When the state change occurs, the subject gains +1 Enhancement for the rest of the scene, as the Psychopomp’s actions buoy her forward on the winds of Fate. This Enhancement occurs whether positive or negative state change takes place—even if he doesn’t want to know who fathered him, Luke still might get lucky and catch his knees on a radio antenna and dangle there until help arrives, rather than plummeting to his death.



• This Isn’t Everything You Are: Given the Psychopomp’s connection to quests and Orphic Journeys, she may solemnize someone else’s quest or journey. When the Psychopomp seeks to help the subject break free from a rut or achieve something different with his life, this Knack has maximum effect. For every action the subject takes which represents a direct attempt to complete his quest, he receives a +1 Enhancement, +2 if his actions represent a dramatic departure from his previous life. The Storyguide makes the final decision on what represents a ‘dramatic departure.’ The Psychopomp may invoke this Knack upon herself.



• The Ties of Prophecy: When you make a teamwork action with someone on whom you have used a gift of prophecy or communication in the past (all Psychopomp Knacks count), add your Psychopomp dots in Enhancement to spend on Stunts. This includes any you may have gained from Knacks. Your ability to predict what your subject will do, due to past prophetic dalliances, makes it easier for you to work with someone.



• Traveler’s Guide: When you enter an Otherworld, you become aware of its nature and possible dangers. Ask one question from the following list for free. You may make a Knack skill roll and ask one additional question per success. The Storyguide must your answer questions truthfully:
  • What kind of hazards (such as terrain) are present?
  • Who is the ruling authority, if anyone?
  • What or who is the most dangerous threat to me?
  • What is the most important custom to know?
  • How far away is my destination?
  • What do I have to do in order to leave, if anything?



• When In Rome: When traveling in a land which is not his own, the Psychopomp must act as though he belongs there in order to pass leaving few ripples in his wake. Add +1 Enhancement to any attempts to blend into a culture not your own (if the Storyteller feels the need to even call for a roll). This bonus applies before you roll. This applies to circumstances as far-flung as attempting to slip unnoticed through the Markets on the Moon or as mundane as trying to fit in on the streets of South Philly instead of sounding like you grew up in the Bronx. Locals can sniff out the outsider, though Psychopomps make that much more difficult: his continued contact with the world of the dead and the collective unconscious means that he reflexively knows how to never flub social rituals. If she’s never attended a Seder before, she still knows the order and not to drink from Elijah’s cup, and whether or not they’ve ever gone to a modern prom, they know how to dress.



• Within The Caul: Pulling the interstitial state of being, second nature to psychopomps, around herself like a cloak, she disguises herself from view and memory. All the better to keep herself from prying eyes as she goes about her business guiding people to strange places and hidden realms, and souls to their final rest. Those attempting to see or remember the psychopomp make an Occult + Composure roll with a difficulty 2, with a 1-point Complication. Those failing to meet this Complication cannot recall the psychopomp’s identity. The opponent remembers details of the interaction, just who they interacted with. A Clash of Wills is required if the opponent magically contests this Knack. The psychopomp may also spend Momentum in order to double successes on any rolls to avoid notice or move stealthily.

Immortal Knacks

• Adaptable Traveler: When you enter a Realm, you may use that Realm’s Motif for your Marvels and Boons instead of your own. Once per session, you can use a Marvel associated with that Realm for free.



• Be Not Afraid: Once per scene, when you reveal your Omen by spending Legend or Momentum, you may reflexively make a Knack skill roll and apply one or more of the following Stunts:
  • Heed Me (variable successes): Add your successes to your next roll to intimidate or command beings of a lower Tier, with 2 Enhancement.
  • I Come in Peace (1s): If you or your allies have not already attacked in this scene, enemies will not attack you directly.
  • Mantle of Authority (2s): You display the Omen of your divine parent as well as your own. Gain 1 Defense for the duration of the scene.



• Cracking The World’s Shell: When the Psychopomp creates or inspires state change on an impressive Scale — speaking a prophecy which affects a nation rather than an individual, predicting an Odyssey rather than a quick trip home by boat — imbue a point of Legend, instead of spending, to invoke your Legendary Title as a Feat of Scale.



• In The Service of Fate: When on official business, little stops a Psychopomp from traveling quickly to his destination. If he carries a specific message or is under a geas or quest (as per This Is/Isn’t Everything You Are), he may travel without food or rest and always knows the quickest route to his destination. He may collapse from exhaustion after he has delivered his message, but until he gets there, his feet may bleed and his stomach may growl, but he doesn’t need to stop.



• Herald of the Gods: When you declare that you are acting on divine orders (whether true or not), trivial targets will not impede you from passing them. Against other beings, you may make a Knack skill roll: on a success, they have 2 Difficulty on any attempts to halt your progress for the rest of the scene.



• Humble Offering: You know how to persuade the Gods that even token sacrifices are worthy of response when given with genuine respect. You may benefit from minor sacrifices one extra time per arc at Legend 1-4, twice more at Legend 5-8, and three times more at Legend 9-12



• Invisible Messenger: When delivering a message on someone else’s behalf, you (along with your mount or vehicle) are completely hidden from mundane detection from your starting point to your destination. If you stop along the way, you become visible until you continue your journey. Supernatural observers require a Clash of Wills to pass unnoticed.



• Katabasis: Once per session, you may touch a corpse that has died within the past day and use it as a gate to enter the Underworld where that corpse’s spirit has gone. If you spend 1 Momentum, your allies may travel with you, up to a maximum number equal to your Legend.



• Manannán’s Generosity (Tuatha Dé Danannspecific): Once per session, you may use an Equipment Marvel to summon a vehicle large enough to transport you and your allies with no Legend cost.



• May the Road Rise Up: So long as you are following a marked route, you and your allies ignore difficult terrain and any Complications that arise from environmental conditions (heavy rain, fog, blizzards).



• Opening The Way: With a successful Knack roll and the expenditure of a point of Legend, the Psychopomp may create or close a permanent entrance into a Realm from anywhere else. This may permit her to make a door from Hel to Olympus or close a doorway which another Psychopomp opened between her apartment and the Markets of the Moon. If someone immediately closes the doorway she created, she does not regain her point of Legend.



• Otherworldly Echoes: The Psychopomp imbues her presence with an unnerving, ethereal quality which makes her subtly terrifying. When she invokes this eerie aura, anyone attempting to attack, coerce, intimidate, or browbeat the Psychopomp must first succeed in a Clash of Wills. If her opponent fails, he may justify it to himself that he dares not cross someone so obviously marked by the Underworld, she may be a little creeped out, or some other emotional response — this power does not dictate how the opponent feels about realizing that he dares not attack someone so clearly set apart by the Gods.



• The Song of Orpheus: When you take an established route into a Realm, Underworld or Overworld, crossing boundaries on an epic Scale, imbue a point of Legend instead of spending it, to invoke your Legendary Title as a Feat of Scale. The Song of Orpheus does not include using using The Longest Road or any other supernatural means to immediately cross the boundary between the lands of the living and the dead.



• Spirit Parade: Spend Momentum to surround yourself with fleeting images of shades and ghosts that add 2 Complication to attempts to hit you. You gain 2 Defense against all attacks that target you specifically until an attacker overcomes the Complication



• This Is Everything You Are: A Psychopomp at her most powerful may not only gift someone with the means to break free from the shackles of his mundane life, but lay a geas upon him to do so. Unlike This Isn’t Everything You Are, the quests assigned under This Is Everything You Are come with the occasional nudge from Fate to stay on track. As with the Heroic Knack, these quests have greatest effectiveness when the Psychopomp seeks to help the subject break free from a rut or achieve something different with his life. For every action that the subject takes which represents a direct attempt to complete his quest, he receives a +1 Enhancement, +2 if this represents a dramatic departure from his previous life. Actions which directly resist the quest taken by the subject suffer a +1 Complication. The Storyguide makes the final decision on what represents a ‘dramatic departure,’ or which actions go directly against the spirit of the quest or geas. A Clash of Wills is required to lay these quests upon unwilling subjects. The Psychopomp may invoke this Knack upon herself.



• Touchstone Key: As a complex action requiring two milestones to complete, you can create a temporary Touchstone to take you to another Touchstone that you know. Both milestones require a Knack skill roll: the first to create a symbol representing your destination and the second to activate it. You can only have one Touchstone symbol ready at a time, and must touch it and spend 1 Momentum to activate it.



• Trail of Stones: You guide a known ally in the same Realm to your location through a series of portents, such as an animal associated with your pantheon or a constant breeze pointing in your direction. Make a Knack skill roll: on a success, the recipient can follow your guidance to your exact location; on a failure, they can reach the general area. This Knack does not increase the speed of travel, nor does it protect against any obstacles along the way. It does not compel the target of the message to follow, but you will know if they ignore it.



• The Truth the Dead Know: No illusion or lie deceives someone who has walked among the dead. The Psychopomp has stood naked before her own soul, who can lie to her now? Attempts to deceive the Psychopomp gain +2 Difficulty. She may also see through supernatural illusions or powers of deception with a Clash of Wills.



• Wayfinder: When crossing long distances to reach a known destination (as opposed to wandering or exploring), you may imbue Legend instead of spending it to invoke a Feat of Scale based on your Legendary Titles.



• Xolotl’s Tunnel (Teōtl-specific): Once per session, you may create a Twist of Fate to discover an escape from your current location without having to invoke a Path. Make a Knack skill roll to determine how convenient it is: one success is enough for something to crawl through, while five successes reveal a secret passage that takes you to your destination.

Skills: Culture, Occult, Survival

Example Keywords: Herald, guide, messenger, diplomat, opener, Underworld (specify), Overworld (specify), paths, voyages, swift, hidden, otherworldly

Example Gods: Cheeby-aub-ozoo, Éshú Elégbará, Ganesha, Hermes, Kuychi, Legba, Manannán mac Lir, Nehalennia and Nodens, Rashnu, Shamash, Tsagan Ebugen, Tsukiyomi, Upuaut, Xolotl

Fatebinding Roles: Balm, Jinx, Worshipper/Unrequited Paramour

Failure Deeds: Deliver a divine message incorrectly or not at all, lead an ally into a dangerous place and abandon them there, falsely claim that a message is divine.

Adoption Deeds: Act as emissary to a pantheon other than your own, guide travelers to an Otherworld, convey the words of a God to a Saint, Prophet, or Scion in need.