VOD: Pantheon

Sister to Apollo and Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis eschews the company of men, preferring the companionship of women. Dark-haired and white-skinned, Artemis always has a predatory gleam in her eye. Like her brother, her hands can heal, while a shot from her silver bow brings comatose sleep for as long as she wishes. Vain and proud, she rarely lets anyone gaze upon her without changing their lives forever.

The Chosen of Artemis are no less changeable. Assuming one role in their youth, only to shake off that in favor of a new form in adulthood, and still other roles in maturity and declining years. Artemis herself likes her Chosen to pass through various stages and life patterns, and she finds ways to encourage change among her more settled champions.

Devotion Attributes: Dexterity, Stamina, Wits

Devotion Abilities: Animal Ken, Archery, Athletics, Ride, Survival

Devotion Basic Blessings: Bestial Allure, Purity's Touch, Smoking Mirror

Bestial Allure
Your hunting companions exude power and allure, drawing fascination by the sense of danger presented by such beasts.

Cost: None

Test Pool: None

System:
Once purchased, this Blessing is always active. If you do not possess the merit: Animal Affinity, you gain the effects of that merit including choosing a species of animal for it to affect. If you already possess that merit, than this blessing extends that merit's effect to affect all animal species.

Whenever you are within three steps of a creature you have summoned through uses of other gifts/blessings, or within three steps of an animal you have affinity to, you may spend a simple action to gain the gaze and focus of those around you (although they can spend a Willpower to ignore this for the scene).

As long as you are within three steps of one of your these creatures, you may gain a bonus equal to your half your Animal Ken (rounded up) on any one Social test per turn.

Purity's Touch
A touch and a bit of verse draws out dark magic and casts it away.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: Wits + Survival vs Resolve + Willpower of the one who created the curse.

System:
Spend 1 Gnosis and a Simple Action to touch an ally within one step. Name an effect that is having a negative effect on that ally, you don't need to know exactly what it is called, but must be able to roughly describe what it is. Make an opposed willpower test against the willpower of the character that bestowed that negative effect on the target. If you are successful, the negative effects are lifted for that individual, their magic being transferred into a feather or some other similar talisman you have upon you. The talisman gains the Sturdy equipment quality, making it harder to destroy.

If the talisman is ever destroyed, the effect returns in full force. Its duration still continues while it is bound within the talisman.

Exceptional Success:
You are able to remove a second negative effect from the target if it also came from the same opponent.

Smoking Mirror
As the moon reflects the sun's light, so too can it reflect the gaze of it's Champions.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: None

System:
By spending a simple action looking up at the moon and spending 1 Gnosis, the character sees reflected in it a bird’s-eye view of the surrounding terrain. This perspective allows a clear view of a radius in miles equal to the Champion's Devotion. The Champion may focus on any point in the reflection and see it clearly, but he can’t see through physical objects or change the angle from the top-down perspective. This Blessing doesn’t function on new moon nights, but it can see down through thick clouds on any other night. If the moon is visible during the day, the Champion can use this Blessing then as well.

You may use other sensory gifts/blessings through the use of this Blessing (e.g. you may use your Wolf Senses through this Blessing in an attempt to pierce magical concealment like Blur of the Milky Eye).

Devotion Intermediate Blessings: Beast's Vigor, Purging Sting, Tidal Interference

Beast's Vigor
As a master hunter, those animals you train to hunt alongside you have their life-force directly entwined with yours. Your loyal companions desire both your safety and approval; a connection which preserves both your existences.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: None

System:
Spend 1 Gnosis and use a simple action to activate Beast's Vigor. For the next hour, you may expend a simple action to transfer up to 3 points of damage of any kind to/from a single animal that you have affinity with (as per the Merit: Animal Affinity) that is located within 15 steps of your current location. This blessing does not work on animals who are hostile to you.

You may use Beast’s Vigor to transfer damage in this manner up to a number of times per activation equal to your Animal Ken rating.

Purging Sting
The champion is able to pull down from the heavens a shaft of silver flame which is then shot at the target.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: Wits + Athletics vs. Resolve + Willpower

System:
The champion spends a standard action and 1 Gnosis to craft a javelin or arrow of silver flame which is then thrown or shot at the target. Make an opposed test of your Wits + Athletics against your target's Willpower. If you succeed, you hit the target and the moonlight burns into their body. They take an amount of Aggravated Damage equal to their levels of Taint, rounded up.

The Chosen may use this on their allies, seeking to burn the corruption out of a willing target rather than ignite it to burn within them. They may spend 1 Gnosis to remove all levels of Taint from a target. Removing Taint from a target with more than three points of it requires the sacrifice of a permanent point of Gnosis as well.

Exceptional Success:
The shot burns horribly, and the pain that comes from it is more guilt than actual physical sensation. Any gifts that suppress or ignore wound penalties do not apply to damage caused by this Blessing.

Tidal Interference
As the moon pulls the waters to form the tides, so too does Artemis' Chosen exert a pull on all enemies with whom they are in combat.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: Wits + Survival vs Resolve + Willpower

System:
The Chosen spends a Standard Action and 1 Gnosis to activate this Blessing. For the remainder of the scene, whenever an opponent moves within 10 steps of the Chosen (and those who are within 5 steps when this Blessing is activated), you make an opposed challenge of your Wits + Survival against their Resolve + Willpower. If you succeed in this challenge, for the next 10 minutes they become trapped in the effects of your Tidal Influence, suffering a -3 to their physical defense pools. This effect lasts even if they leave the area around you and then reenters it later that scene. After 10 minutes have passed, the effects fade.

Exceptional Success:
The -3 penalty also applies to their Social and Mental defense pools.

Devotion Advanced Blessings: Halo of the Moon, Subsume the Spirit, Weight of Virtue

Halo of the Moon
The Chosen causes a glowing corona of moonlight to appear in the air behind their head. This halo perfectly resembles the halo of brilliant light that is visible around the edges of the moon.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: None

System:
The Chosen spends a simple action and 1 Gnosis to activate this Blessing, which lasts for a number of turns equal to their Survival rating. This halo remains perpendicular to all witnesses’ lines of sight simultaneously. While the halo remains, anyone who looks directly at the Chosen —even through glass or other filters— is temporarily blinded, taking 2 bashing damage as their eyes are seared by bright light. Being blinded thus inflicts a -4 penalty to a victim’s test pool. The Chosen can use this Blessing only once per scene, but the halo remains faintly visible for the remainder of the scene.

Subsume the Spirit
Not only can you cause lesser creatures to be cowed, you can actually send your consciousness into an animal’s body, subsuming it completely. The animal’s body becomes wholly compliant to your will, and you can utilize it as though it were your natural form. While your spirit rides within the body of the animal, your own physical form falls into a comatose state. Although you can utilize the full scope of your intelligence, cunning, and memories, you are limited by the physical capabilities of the animal.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: Wits + Animal Ken vs. target's Resolve + Willpower

System:
To use Subsume the Spirit, you must spend 1 Gnosis and use your standard action to stare into the eyes of an animal; this power will not function on blind subjects or subjects who cannot see your eyes. Make an opposed challenge against the animal you intend to control. If successful, your consciousness is transferred into the target’s body, and its mind is rendered into a fugue-like state. Because your character’s mind is focused entirely on controlling the body she has inhabited, your character has no sense of anything occurring to her native physical form. The character’s original body falls into a slumbering state and can neither defend itself nor act on its own. Your body does retain your gifts/blessings that are always active while your consciousness is absent. While Subsuming the Spirit, you always know the direction and distance of your real body, although you cannot perceive its surroundings.

Normal and some mystical animals can be targeted with Subsume the Spirit. Supernatural creatures (such as vampires transformed into an animal or werewolves) cannot be targeted by Subsume the Spirit. Be sure to ask your Storyteller if you have a question about whether a creature is an appropriate target for this power.

Normal animals have no gifts and cannot spend Gnosis. However, if your character is controlling a mystical animal, it holds up to 5 points of Gnosis. The controlling champion may spend this Gnosis at a rate of 1 Gnosis per turn. You cannot spend this Gnosis to affect your character’s native form in any manner.

You can use the first and second level Social and Mental Gifts/Blessings for which you have affinity while employing Subsume the Spirit. If you are controlling a mystical animal, you can spend up to 5 Gnosis to fuel these Gifts/Blessings, at the rate of 1 Gnosis a turn.

While using Subsume the Spirit, a character uses her own Mental attributes, Social attributes, Affinities, Skills, and Backgrounds in challenges. However, you utilize the Physical attributes of the animal for any Physical challenges. If the animal you are controlling has the power to fly or is adapted to aquatic life (like a fish), you gain its ability to fly or swim at normal speeds.

Subsume the Spirit lasts until the next moonrise, or until you spend a simple action for your character to leave the animal and awaken. Subsume the Spirit ends immediately if the character travels more than 10 miles away from her native body, if the character’s native body takes damage, or if the animal she’s controlling takes enough damage to incapacitate them.

Exceptional Success:
Your connection is able to be maintained anywhere within 20 miles, instead of the normal 10. In addition, the Chosen can also activate Subsume the Spirit while in Subsume the Spirit, thus transferring directly from one animal body to another. This new use of Subsume the Spirit requires a standard action, eye-to-eye contact, and an opposed challenge (as per the standard use of this power).

Weight of Virtue
The Chosen of Artemis is a walking embodiment of purity. With a word, they can forbid her target from engaging in one activity, causing her victim’s psyche to liken such an action to suicide.

Cost: 1 Gnosis

Test Pool: Wits + Survival vs. Resolve + Willpower

System:
The Chosen spends three standard actions and one Gnosis, targeting someone who is currently within a one-mile radius them. Further, they must have a piece of their victim or be touching them. Using the their Wits + Survival test pool make an opposed challenge against your target. If you succeed, then you can name one limited, non-combat activity, such as “painting,” “speaking to the sept alpha,” or “attending a tribal moot.” Until the next moonrise, the target associates that activity with death. She is convinced that if she participates in that activity, she will die — and she is not entirely incorrect. If the individual willingly undertakes that activity, she takes 3 points of aggravated damage, which cannot be reduced or negated.

No power can remove – or cause the target to forget – the ingrained fear of Weight of Virtue, and asking an individual affected by this power to perform the activity (through Mastery or other such powers) is considered to be directly self-destructive. You can only use Weight of Virtue on a particular target once within a lunar cycle, and no target can be affected by more than one Weight of Virtue at a time. If a second application targets a character before the first fades, the new application removes the old.

Exceptional Success:
The target takes 4 points of aggravated damage instead of 3 every time they undertake the activity.