Sage

Mortal Sage Knacks boost your command of academic knowledge, including your ability to learn and teach. Sage Knacks are driven by the concepts of information and observation.

The pen — or the thought — is mightier than the sword. To teach, or to learn, is divine. Sages are Legendary for their use of thought; teachers and students, custodians of knowledge and wise fools, riddle-solvers and namers. Being Legendary for knowing many secrets does not necessarily imply that a Scion must pass those secrets on, only that the Scion’s Deeds include using that knowledge effectively.

Knacks

• Blockade of Reason: You readily deflate the arguments of hucksters and con men with a sharp application of reason, or blunt denial (usually calling out the person for what they are trying to do). Targets of lower Tier cannot trick, coerce, swindle, or con you, and any supernatural attempts to do so trigger a Clash of Wills. You add 2 Enhancement to the Clash of Wills roll.



• Master of The World: While inside a Field, you may define up to three points of Enhancements or Complications (or a combination of each) that are readily apparent to your perceptions (which may be enhanced by other abilities) but not obvious to other observers. They must conform to the Features of the Field, however — it makes sense for a shotgun to be behind the bar, but not a rocket launcher. The hardwood floors of a burning building could be expected to be weak, but the flames can’t be cold. Only three total Enhancements or Complications can be applied to a Field at a time, regardless of how many Scions possess this ability.



• Palace of Memory: When you recall past events that you have experienced or studied, you are able to recall the details flawlessly, never missing out on any clues or dropping the ball on any details you might remember. This allows the player to bypass the need to roll to remember salient details or facts, and also to declare a narrative advantage she may have remembered without needing to invoke her Path. If you missed a Procedural Clue in a prior scene, you may attempt to rediscover it.



• Presence of Magic: You always know when you are near an object or place of true magical or sacred power. How this manifests is up to you. Ask the Storyguide if an object is magical or sacred, and she must tell you honestly “yes” or “no.” This bypasses the need to make any kind of Occult roll to identify a place or object of magical or sacred power.



• Office Hours: When someone approaches you with a problem that you can solve, they gain +1 Enhancement to resolve it themselves if you work them through a solution. If you can’t solve it, you gain the same bonus to all rolls to solve it on your own. These bonuses apply before rolls are made. Spend Momentum to impel a Storyguide Character to come to you with a problem in need of solving.



• Omniglot Translation: When you converse in or read a foreign language, your communication is flawless, without a trace of an accent. You can turn out translations in your native language in a matter of minutes without needing to roll. If you are translating mystical runes or the handwriting of Gods, you still do so swiftly, but must make a Knack Skill roll.



• Speed Reading: When you read materials for your research, you do so at lightning speed, devouring thick tomes in a matter of minutes and flipping through electronic documents in the blink of an eye. Halve the time you need to do any kind of academic research. Once a scene you may establish that you’ve read up on a subject and gain 1 Enhancement to the next applicable roll. This bonus applies before the roll.

Immortal Knacks

• Cipher: You are never stumped by any codes or encryptions set in place by a character of a lower Tier. When you converse in or read a foreign language, your communication is flawless, without a trace of an accent. You can turn out translations in your native language in a matter of minutes without needing to roll. If you are translating mystical runes or the handwriting of gods, you still do so swiftly, but must make a Knack Skill roll. When you create your own encryption, it also cannot be resolved by anyone of a lower Tier. You add your half your Legend, round up, in Enhancement to rolls to prevent decryption by your peers and those of higher Tiers. This bonus applies before you roll.



• Eternal Genius: When you unravel a mystery or tackle a complex, scholarly problem on a massive Scale (untangling the secrets of quantum physics, solving a trickster God’s cipher), imbue a point of Legend, rather than spending, to invoke your Legendary Title as a Feat of Scale.



• Immortal Mastermind: When you make a plan of action and direct others to follow, it grants them 1 Enhancement to all actions. Anyone who doesn’t follow your plan gains +1 Difficulty to all actions. Bandmates are not under any obligation to follow your every word, but do gain the benefit if they opt to participate. When dealing with an enemy, you are free to create a plan in order to bait your opposition into suffering the Difficulty — just as planned.



• Overworld Knowledge: Once per scene, make a Knack Skill roll. For each success, ask a question of the Storyguide relevant to the events transpiring — something you would know or have studied — and receive a truthful and applicable answer. For example, “What stratagem is the enemy general using?” or “What are Kane Taoka’s true motives?” If you have remaining unasked questions, spend Momentum to roll over the remaining questions into the following scene.

Skills: Academics, Occult, Subterfuge

Example Keywords: Pupil, teacher, mentor, wise, riddle, puzzle, conundrum, clever, expert, academic, learned

Example Gods: Khnum, Ptah, Djehuty, Agni, Ganesha, Karttikeya, Sarasvati, Shiva, Surya, Òrìshà- Oko, Òrúnmìlà, Òsanyìn, Òshun, Fuxi, Guanshiyin Pusa, Huangdi, Confucius, Laozi, Yandi Shennongshi, Amaterasu, Hachiman, Bishamon, Benzaiten, Fukurokuju, Hotei, Brigid, The Dagda, Goibniu, The Morrígan, Nuada, Ogma, Apollo, Athena, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hermes, Kitchi-Manitou, Geezhigo-Quae, Muzzu-Kumik-Quae, Pukawiss, Odin, Frigg

Fatebinding Roles: Apprentice, Jinx, Traitor

Failure Deeds: Get someone killed because you think you’re cleverer than you are, fail to solve a riddle, keep a secret at the expense of another.

Adoption Deeds: Save the day with your intelligence, encounter something completely new, pass on knowledge vital to another’s Legend.