Category: Fate

Catharsis

I’ve been working behind the scenes on a lot of material for a game program for my library.  I’ll be throwing up more of the material in the upcoming weeks as I’ve gotten the bulk of the rules ironed out.  The rest of the zones for the Fate game will consume most of the development time and, who knows, I might have enough to release it as a product using the SRD material for Venture City as the springboard.  In that vein, here’s the first full write-up for one of the setting’s villains.

Catharsis

Dr. Christopher Hernandez, like most villains, didn’t set out to become what he is.  He’s a brilliant psychologist who approached his studies the way he did life: he fought for them.  Dr. Hernandez wasn’t born well-off, but his perseverance and tenacity paid off.  Growing up in Angelwood meant having to deal with the normal problems of adolescence combined with the flak he caught for being a bit scrawny and so studious.

Dr. Hernandez devoted a significant part of his time to helping out people in his old neighborhood because he understood the problems the community faced.  There were a handful of particularly tough cases that he tried to crack so his patients could move on with their lives, but underlying issues proved too difficult.  He threw himself into the problem and desperately wanted to help his patients find relief.  Up until that point, Dr. Hernandez hadn’t experienced failure, only setbacks.  The more he worked, though, the more the answers eluded him until he suffered a mental breakdown.

Christopher Hernandez still runs his practice, but isn’t like other psychologists.  He isn’t interested in helping you recover.  Once, maybe, but not now.  The doctor’s mind didn’t heal the way he hoped.  Something in the research or the intensity of his search awoke a sleeping portion of his brain.  When he came to, he found that he had reached a height other psychologists only dreamt of: the ability to know exactly what others were thinking.

Dr. Hernandez can’t escape the thoughts and got more than he wanted since what he found is that most people’s thoughts are horrible and those who’ve suffered psychological trauma are worse.  The constant amongst all the minds he’s encountered: pain.  In his broken condition, this has led him to adopt the persona Catharsis.

As Catharsis, Dr. Hernandez has turned to helping end his patients’ suffering through reinforcing not just their pain, but preparing them to embrace a final exit.

 

Aspects: Psychologist by Trade, Manipulator by Choice; Well-versed in Psychoses; Nondescript Appearance; Driven to Prove Himself; Observes What Others Don’t

 

Skills

Superb (+5): Rapport
Great (+4): Investigate, Empathy
Good (+3): Will, Contacts, Lore
Fair (+2): Resources, Deceive, Notice, Provoke
Average (+1): Drive, Burglary, Athletics, Crafts, Stealth

 

Stunts

 

Face in the Crowd (Fate Core, page 126)

Best Foot Forward (Fate Core, page 121)

Psychologist (Fate Core, page 109)

 

Powers

Suppression of Will: Catharsis is a master manipulator because of how intimately he knows what people are thinking through Telepathy using Investigate rolls.  He uses this to read opponents and dominate them by attacking their minds with a +4 to Rapport to get them to do what he wants and he gets a +2 to Deceive to ensure they are none the wiser that it’s his choice and not theirs.

 

Power Breakdown

  • Influence

o Master Influence

o Convincing

  • Telepathy (Investigate)
  • Intensive Training

Special Effects: Mental Recovery, Inflict Condition

Drawback: Deeply Haunted by Living Nightmares

Collateral Damage Effect: Catharsis can create havoc not through affecting a mass of people, but by selecting one victim and truly preying on her fears.  He does this by getting the character to relive their worst psychic traumas all over again.  Anyone witnessing this display makes a Will roll against a Fair (+2) obstacle to avoid one mental stress.  The victim makes a Will roll against a Good (+3) obstacle to prevent inflicting a fatal wound.  Success means the victim takes a moderate physical consequence and a mild mental consequence.  Catharsis takes a mild mental consequence for using this ability.

 

Mental Shield: Catharsis has learned to ward his own mind from the manipulations of others.  He can use his Investigate skill to defend against mental attacks.  Catharsis has no defense against physical attacks as a result.

 

Power Breakdown

  • Telepathy (Investigate)
  • Shielding

Special Effects: Extra Movement, Extra Action

Drawback: Psychologically Distant

Collateral Damage Effect: Catharsis has the ability to create a sense of pure disquiet in a zone up to one zone away where everyone feels completely isolated from the rest of the universe.  The effect is so unnerving that most fly into a panic attempting to escape the sense of unmitigated solitude.  Nameless NPCs are taken out, while named NPCs and PCs make a Will roll against a Fair (+2) obstacle to avoid a moderate mental consequence from feeling so isolated.

 

Physical Stress: □□                  Mental Stress: □□□□

 

Arcane Power, A Venture City Power

Okay, so other than last week’s release of my book Archetypal Roles, I’ve been working on some materials for a game I’ll be running at my library.  Here’s a sneak peek:

Arcane Power

You understand how the fabric of reality is woven and can change the weave to suit your needs.

Basic Arcane Power:  You recognize the use of magic whenever it is used.  Just by observing an effect, you can tell what sort of magic was used.  In addition, you gain a +2 to Notice to determine who cast the spell.

Enhancements

Master Arcanist: You gain an additional +2 to Notice when examining magical effects.

Arcane Might: The world need not terrify you.  You can conjure using Lore as an overcome action to create a spell in the moment.  If you succeed with style, instead of gaining a boost you create a situational aspect with one free invoke.  The spell fades at the end of the scene, even if you didn’t use its aspect.

Nothing up My Sleeve: With the flick of the wrist and a few words, you can pull any number of useful items from somewhere else.  You can spend a fate point to create virtually anything that could be hidden on your person.

Common Power Synergies

Mystic: Your power comes from the hidden forces of the world and you can conjure up virtually anything from the energies underpinning reality revealed by your inner sight.

Intensive Study: Your powers are a result of mastery of obscure and occult texts few have ever laid eyes upon.

Drawbacks

The magical world is invisible to those who do not know what arcane power looks like.  Thus, Everyone Thinks You React to Imaginative Figments.

Magic, like fire, behaves its own laws.  You’re Not Always in Control of the power you wield.

The source of your arcane power has a steep cost.  To maintain your power, you occasionally Must Make Unpleasant Sacrifices.

Collateral Damage

Tearing of the Weave: You reach with and grab hold of all the threads in your zone and shred them without concern.  Anyone within the zone suffers agonizing pain that prevents them from taking any action.  Nameless NPCs are knocked out while Named NPCs and PCs must make a Will check against a Good (+3) obstacle to prevent succumbing to the pain and taking a 2-point stress hit.

Primal Scream:  If you do not care who gets injured, you can unleash the full fury of the unseen power of magic.  The energy rips through you, dealing you a 2-point stress hit and wrecks the zone you’re in.  Anyone or thing in the zone must make a Physique roll against a Great (+4) obstacle or take a moderate consequence, nameless NPCs are killed instead.