Everything

Given time and a lack of distractions, you can focus your mind to an uncanny extent. For every hour spent focusing without distractions on a mundane task (not on a magick-casting roll), you may add one die to your dice pool for each roll made during an extended action (as described in Mage 20, p. 389). This bonus has a limit of three dice, total. So if, for example, Nix has Hyperfocus and spends two hours on a task, zir player adds two extra dice to Nix’s dice pool; three hours’ focus provide three dice, but four hours of focus keeps those three dice. All two or three dice, however, get used every time Nix’s player makes a roll to complete that extended action.

As noted above, this Merit does not assist magickal cast­ ing rolls. Due to the time required to focus – and the lack of distractions involved – Hyperfocus doesn’t help in combat situations either, although a strategy-minded character could hyperfocus on planning for a battle, but not on fighting it once the combat began. On a similar note, a mage could use Hyperfocus to aid in the mundane elements of a ritual – see

Rituals and Mundane Abilities, Mage 20, p. 541.

Extreme hyperfocus is often (though not exclusively) as­ sociated with people on the autistic spectrum, although some authorities claim that perseveration (see the Flaw: Mental Lock) is more a more accurate way of looking at that intense form of focus. With or without autism, this Merit comes in handy for Hermetics, technomancers, shamans, and other mages whose practices depend upon extreme dedication to certain tasks.