Path of Divination
Numina · Vampire
Many civilizations of the world believed that certain men and women communed with the divine and brought forth wisdom and warnings of the future. Divination as a word was inspired by the Latin word divinare, meaning “to be inspired by a god.” Countless examples span the length and breadth of human history, from the prophets of the God of Abrahamic faiths to the crones and wise women of pagan ways to the shamans and medicine men of the New World and beyond.
Hedge Magicians who practice this Numina Path have a unique method of communing with whatever metaphysical force they revere to glean insights into the future. Such methods are not always easy or quick, but they can be effective if the Hedge Magician interprets the signs correctly.
The Hedge Magician concentrates upon a single vexing decision or subject, and then she uses an external focus (see below) to read the patterns of chance and happenstance in the world around her. By looking at the web of destiny, she can peer upon its strands to see what may happen — or even what will probably happen, if the Magician is adept enough with her divination. The player makes an activation roll of Perception + Occult (difficulty 7) to determine what the character discerns.
Each success gained on the activation roll increases the level of clarity of the answer provided. A single success will result in a vague impression or muddle of possibilities, while five successes indicate with some clarity which option will yield the best result. A botch, however, will result in faulty information that may lead to danger or worse.
A Hedge Magician employing Divination may attempt to read another individual’s future, but she must do so in the presence of that individual. Difficulties on rolls to perform this sort of Divination increase by 1.
Tools of Divination
The tools used to focus Divination are many, but they all work equally well and according to the same principles, opening a conduit of sorts for the Magician to peer through and see the essence of destiny itself. A Magician might use cards, carved fetishes, coins, tea leaves at the bottom of a cup, or the entrails of a recently slain animal. She might peer into a crystal ball, a mirror, or a pool of water. She might pray with a saint, walk in the woods, or simply watch for omens. Whichever option the player chooses for the character says something about the cultural origin of her Divination ability, as well.
System
Roll: Perception + Occult (difficulty 7)
Modifiers: +1 difficulty to perform for Divination for others
Cost: Varies
Duration: A single revelation
Path of Divination Levels
| Rating | Description |
|---|---|
| • | The Hedge Magician interprets signs or warnings about the state of her immediate circumstances, lowering the difficulty of her initiative rolls by 1. (For more information on initiative order and modifications, see pp. 271-272 of V20.) Each success achieved on the activation roll extends this ability by an hour. |
| •• | The Hedge Magician eliminates possible negative outcomes by comparing them beforehand. A Hedge Magician may ask the Storyteller, who represents the guiding metaphysical entity, for information to help determine the best choice for a simple decision. The player asks a question such as “Should I join this stranger for a trip downtown?” The Storyteller then provides some amount of information in response that will help the player decide. The Storyteller should consider a number of factors when answering such a question. What is the intent of the Hedge Magician asking the question? Is she asking which decision is safest? Is she looking for the quickest route to her goal? Which decision will have the greatest impact upon the current state of the chronicle? See “Forecasting the Future” above for more information on handling such matters. Fate is not always kind to those who attempt to divine it. It might be that it is the character’s destiny to follow a stranger downtown where she will be attacked by a gang of ghouls, but that may be the path to determining the location of the vampire who commands them. |
| ••• | The Hedge Magician may sense patterns of chance allowing her to glean short-term information that follows specific decisions. A successful divination reveals information about the question as with the previous level, but it also provides insight into the next set of decisions required for other available options. This degree of divination yields hints about the future, but it also reveals one or more of the choices and consequences the character would face. To return to the example question, “Should I join this stranger for a trip downtown?” the player learns vital information via this power. The player would know that, if the Hedge Magician travels with the stranger, she faces physical danger (remember, she will be attacked). If she overcomes the danger, a new path awaits her. And if she refuses to the join the stranger, that same danger will visit itself upon another. In this situation, the player has many options and some amount of information on each, but the information is imperfect. The player relies more on impressions than hard-and-fast truths — which is the nature of divination. |
| •••• | The Hedge Magician is able to divine specific events in the future. These events are still not definite, but they are much more likely than the nebulous possibilities above. If the target of the divination changes her current behavior, these events become less likely. The details are still vague: “You will meet a man with whom you will share your heart,” rather than “You will meet a forceful man wearing green who shall become your lover.” |
| ••••• | The Hedge Magician gains the ability to sense clear and concrete details about the future and the ability to predict specific events with dependable certainty. She can now describe the man wearing green from the previous example in exact detail. In addition, she may know his name and intimate details about his life and future. This level of the Path of Divination requires the expenditure of a Willpower point and then requires a successful activation roll of Perception + Occult (difficulty 8). The Storyteller may lower the difficulty by 1 to 3 if the caster has intimate knowledge of the subject, a prized possession of the target, or something personal of the target’s, such as a lock of hair or some blood. The Hedge Magician may also communicate a subtle sense of the overall feel of her divination to that person by spending an additional point of Willpower. This might take the form of a sense of foreboding, if things are dangerous, or a sense of peacefulness, if things are going well. The recipient of this sensation will not recognize it as any sort of communication, but rather experience it as something internal like a “gut feeling,” as it were. |