Supernatural Merits

Supernatural merits refer to special benefits that characters possess as a result of the interference of the supernatural. These may range from very simple merits, such as those that indicate a character happens to be very lucky or easily makes friends with other supernatural beings, to very complex and rare ones, often possessed by only a few beings in the world at any given time. Merits always represent either an innate quality of a character, a situation they have encountered that has permanently affected them, or a skill they have worked hard to acquire.

Supernatural merits are broken down into merits belonging in the realm of Death (merits involving the dead or the world beyond the Shroud), Divine (merits involving higher powers or guardian spirits), and Magical (merits involving spells or skills humans cannot normally access).

Death Merits

Ancestor Ally: This character is watched over and protected by the spirit of one of their ancestors.

Creepy Feelings: This character feels uncomfortable and frightened whenever there is a ghost in the vicinity (though they may not know why).

Dead Connection: This character has been chosen as a medium by a ghost and receives some messages from them, as well as minor protection.

Easy Consort: This character is much easier and more painless for ghosts to possess, allowing them to channel the dead with a simple thought.

Ghost Kin: This character comes across as particularly kind and comforting to ghosts they interact with.

Medium: This character can act as a medium for friendly ghosts who wish to send messages through them (although they may not themself remember much while they are doing so).

Small Gift: This character can see across the Shroud and perceive ghosts and the Underworld occasionally, although it is very difficult and they can only sustain it for a few moments.

Speaker with the Dead: This character can easily perceive and communicate with ghosts, as well as being able to see a short distance past the Shroud at will (although they cannot turn this ability off, so they may occasionally see more than they want to).

Vampiric Recognition: This character can always recognize a vampire for what they are.

Divine Merits

Blessed: This character has been blessed by a higher power and has uncanny luck as well as some immunity from evil supernatural powers.

Clairaudience: This character can sense and speak to spirits, both the supernatural and the dead kind, although they cannot see or control them.

Destiny: This character has a grand destiny that they will fulfill through the course of their life, although they may not know anything about it.

Devotion: This character is devoted to their religion and receives occasional guidance and aid from its representatives.

Ecstatic: This character receives religious visions and speaks in tongues or communicates from the divine (though they may not know much about what exactly they're communicating).

Ecumenist: This characer is open to any and all religions and is able to respectfully participate and even receive power from religious supernatural powers even when they do not actively follow them.

Evangelist: This character loves their religion and is uplifted and more powerful when among other worshipers of it.

Fae Blood: This character is not truly a Changeling or kinain, but there is still a drop of fairy blood somewhere in them that allows them to occasionally glimpse the Dreaming and perform very minor unconscious glamours.

Faerie Affinity: This character is inexplicably attractive to fairies of all kinds and may occasionally be allowed to interact with them.

Faerie Companion: This character has a friend or benevolent associate who is a fairy of some kind, who helps them when they are in trouble or may teach them additional skills or powers.

Grace: This character has an innate sense of compassion and humanity that is almost impossible to extinguish.

Guardian Angel: This character is being watched over by some sort of benevolent force, although they do not know who or how, and is occasionally saved from grave danger in the nick of time.

Higher Purpose: This character is dedicated to a cause or ideal they believe in above all things and cannot be forced to act against it.

Laham: This character is a descendent of a union between a human and a mysterious celestial being, giving them a number of strange supernatural phenomena and events in their life.

Lunar Influence: This character becomes physically stronger as the moon waxes, weakening again when it later wanes.

Mage Companion: This character has a friend or benevolent associate who is a [mummy]] of some kind, who helps them when they are in trouble or may teach them additional skills or powers.

Mark of Favor: This character has been supernaturally marked as belonging to a very powerful being or deity.

Mummy Companion: This character has a friend or benevolent associate who is a shapeshifter of some kind, who helps them when they are in trouble or may teach them additional skills or powers.

Oracular Ability: This character receives prophecies from some higher power that portend significant events from the future, although they are not necessarily able to interpret them correctly and cannot summon them at will.

Sanctity: This character has an aura of purity, innocence, and innate goodness, no matter what they say or do.

Shapechanger Kin: This character is closely related to a shapeshifter, although they may or may not qualify as actual Kinfolk, and are grudgingly accepted by shapeshifters they encounter.

Spirit Guide: This character receives helpful advice and messages from a spirit that has taken a liking to them.

Supernatural Companion: This character has a supernatural friend or guide who makes sure to give them help and protect them when they can; this could be any kind of supernatural creature that does not match the character themself.

Supernatural Spouse: This character is married to a supernatural being (of a different kind than themself, if they are also supernatural) who can bring their own special talents to bear in helping or protecting them.

Totem: This character has been granted a connection to a totem spirit that normally would not grant them powers, giving them access to that spirit's gifts.

True Faith: This character has an unbreakable holy conviction in their beliefs and may resist the powers of supernatural beings or be able to cause them considerably more harm than others.

Shapeshifter Companion: This character has a friend or benevolent associate who is a shapeshifter of some kind, who helps them when they are in trouble or may teach them additional skills or powers.

Wraith Affinity: This character can occasionally glimpse or communicate with ghosts, although they may not be aware that they are unless the wraiths in question take action.

Magical Merits

Arcane Heritage: This character has mages among their ancestors and is at an advantage when it comes to magic and mage society.

Burning Aura: This character's aura is brilliant and bright, drawing any being with even basic psychic ability to want to interact with them.

Charmed Existence: This character inexplicably never has minor problems; they can still have major things go wrong, but everyday annoyances simply miss them.

Clear Sighted: This character automatically sees through illusions, including those created by supernatural powers such as gifts, disciplines, or spheres.

Dual Nature: This character has two Natures instead of the usual one.

Healing Touch: This character can heal very minor wounds, scrapes, and cuts with a touch.

Holy Aura: This character's aura appears incredibly brilliant and draws others near, even if they cannot see it.

Immaculate Aura: This character's aura always looks perfect and does not show signs of problems such as derangements or the effects of magic use.

Innate Magical Ability: This character has a single unique power that only they possess (for example, being able to levitate, or being able to hear radio waves).

Instrument of God: This character is immune to all holy supernatural powers, being a representative of the holy themself.

Inviolate: This character is immune to being possessed by supernatural beings unless they are of truly awe-inspiring power.

Iron Will: This character cannot be mind-controlled with supernatural powers such as disciplines or gifts.

Kashaph: This character speaks the ancient magical language of kashaph, which cannot be faked or decoded by anyone who does not know it.

Lucky: This character is just ridiculously naturally lucky; things go well for them and disasters tend to miss them with regularity.

Magic Resistance: This character is naturally resistant to magic of all kinds and is difficult to successfully affect by any but powerful spellcasters.

Magic Sensitivity: This character can sense when supernatural powers have been used recently (or are still being used) in their area.

Mistguide: This character can travel through the mists with a general sense of direction that keeps them from getting too lost.

Nine Lives: This character is uncannily good at escaping death no matter how horrible the odds or unlikely the rescue.

Precognition: This character sees signs and portents that give them secret knowledge of events to come (although whether they interpret them correctly is up to them).

Psychic Awareness: This character intuitively recognizes when psychic phenomena are being used or have been used recently nearby.

Shimmering Aura: This character's aura glows with light and life, drawing others to them even if they can't actually see it.

Special Rapport: This character is supernaturally bonded to another and always knows when they are emotional, in pain, or in danger, as well as having a general idea of where they are.

Sympathetic Bond: This character is a living feedback loop, and any supernatural power that forces them to come under another being's control (for example, a blood bond) also affects the creature that used it, tying them to this character just as tightly.

True Love: This character is truly and deeply in love with another person and can break through supernatural powers when their love is on the line.

Unbondable: This character is immune to being bloodbound by vampires, making it impossible to turn them into a thrall or force them to be loyal to a domitor.

Vibrant Neighborhood: This character lives in an area with a lot of activity, both supernatural and otherwise, and therefore can get away with more public blunders without them being remarked on.

Voice of the Songbird: This character's voice is so beautiful that it inspires animals in the area to come near or even join in.