God of war, Ares has a profound ability to incite murderous rage in almost anyone around him. His screams are enough to terrify the most hardened of soldiers. Dark and hirsute, Ares does not conform to anyone’s idea of a perfect warrior— until he raises his weapon. What that weapon is from day to day hardly matters. All that counts is that he has one.
Devotion Attributes: Strength, Charisma, Stamina
Devotion Abilities: Archery, Athletics, Brawl, Melee, Intimidation
Devotion Basic Blessings: Battle Cry, Scent of Rage, Vigilance of Ares
Battle Cry
During a battle, be it a pitched field engagement or an alley fight, the Champion can loose a horrible battle cry that unnerves his foes.
Cost: 1 Gnosis
Test Pool: None
System:
Spend 1 Gnosis and a Simple Action to scream or howl. Every fighter on the Chosen’s enemies’ side who hears the unearthly shriek suffers a -2 penalty on all attacks for a number of turns equal to the Chosen's Intimidation rating. He can let out this battle cry only once per combat scene.
Scent of Rage
The Champion of Ares sniffs their target, and senses the intoxicating scent of their deep anger and frustration. They feed it until it lashes out indiscriminately.
Cost: 1 Gnosis
Test Pool: Wits + Intimidation vs. Resolve + Willpower
System:
Expend 1 point of Gnosis and use a standard action. The champion learns the target’s greatest wrath, and any feelings connected to it. The target may be in denial about his anger, but the Champion can still smell it. Anytime you use this knowledge to cause a Frenzy test for the target, for the remainder of the scene, they take a -2 penalty to resist frenzy.
The Champion may replace the subject of the wrath with one of her choice. The target’s anger toward the original subject, along with any feelings connected to it, turns toward the new subject for the scene.
Exceptional Success:
The Champion gleans the details of their target’s anger, such as its origins and what’s holding them back from destroying the source of it. They may coax them into physically attacking the source without a test, as long as the target doesn’t believe such an attack is suicidal.
Vigilance of Ares
Ares is the god of anger and warfare, and its chosen are always prepared.
Cost: None
Test Pool: None
System:
This Blessing, once learned, is always active. The champion has sworn herself to Ares and his endless battles. They expect violence at every turn, automatically detecting ambushes, hidden traps, and surprise attacks. They gain a bonus to Initiative equal to her Athletics rating.
In addition, the Chosen of Ares are so attuned and prepared for a fight that they almost always swing first. When combat is started by a surprise attack, or some other sudden action, the Chosen is able to act in the surprise round as well, taking their Standard action then and their Simple action on their regular initiative order.
Devotion Intermediate Blessings: Blessing of Bravery, Burnt Heart, Warrior's Zeal
Blessing of Bravery
Intoning a benediction over a person or group prepared to engage in battle, the Champion bolsters their courage and determination.
Cost: 1 Gnosis
Test Pool: None
System:
Spend 1 Gnosis and 3 Simple Actions giving a benediction to your allies. Every character on the Chosen's side of the conflict who hears the benediction gains two points of Willpower. They also choose one martial ability (Archery, Athletics, Brawl, Melee). They either gain that ability at 4 OR gain a +2 bonus on tests with that ability. This Blessing can only be used once per scene.
Burnt Heart
The chosen sets their target’s heart aflame inside their chest with taunts and scorn, scorching it raw. Every angry impulse and frustrated urge they've ever felt rises to overtake them.
Cost: 1 Gnosis
Test Pool: Special, See below
System:
Spend 1 Gnosis and a Standard Action gazing at the target. On a success, the target must test for Rage Frenzy immediately. Subjects not capable of Frenzy must succeed on an opposed test of their Willpower versus the chosen's Charisma + Intimidation. On a failure, they must attack the source of their anger immediately. Even if they successfully resist, the subject takes a -1 penalty to all non-defensive actions other than attacking the nearest target. In addition, even if the target succeeds at their Rage Frenzy test, they must continue to test to resist Frenzy at the beginning of the next three turns as well.
Warrior's Zeal
A foe willing to face the champion on the battlefield should be willing to die on their blade — at least, that’s Ares’ opinion. They back it up with a challenge shouted to the sky, for all to hear.
Cost: 1 Gnosis
Test Pool: Charisma + Intimidation vs Willpower
System:
Whenever a foe tries to flee a violent conflict once it’s already begun, the champion may invoke this Blessing reflexively to force that foe to spend two Willpower first; otherwise, the target must continue to oppose them until it becomes impossible. They can still back off to make ranged attacks or similar, but can’t take any actions that don’t support trying to win.
Exceptional Success:
The target can’t back off even to make ranged attacks, and must stay within five steps of the Champion.
Devotion Advanced Blessings: Mien of Phobos, Mantle of Deimos, Wrath Incarnate
Mien of Phobos
The champion appears as his target’s greatest fear. They approach their target from behind, around the corner, from darkness, or another place they can’t see. The winds carry the sound of their approach.
Cost: 1 Gnosis
Test Pool: Charisma + Intimidation vs Willpower
System:
Spend 1 Gnosis and a Standard Action. When the champion comes into the target’s line of sight, make an opposed test with the target. If the champion succeeds, their target sees them as their greatest fear. The target can’t approach the source of his fear or act against it without spending 1 point of Willpower each round. Supernatural creatures prone to frenzy must test to avoid Fear Frenzy immediately. The effects of this Blessing lasts until the end of the scene, unless ended early by spending a Simple Action. The champion may let observers also see them as the target’s greatest fear, and they react accordingly.
Exceptional Success:
The target is unable to spend actions to move until the end of the next turn, completely frozen in place by fear.
Mantle of Deimos
The Chosen can shake an enemy’s leadership and seed an outbreak of cowardice among their soldiers.
Cost: Variable, see below
Test Pool: Manipulation + Intimidation + Rank vs. Willpower + Composure + Rank
System:
When the character makes themselves visible to an opposing force’s leader, spend a Standard Action and make an opposed test against the enemy leader’s character. If there is no apparent leader, test against the opponent with the highest Rank, enemies' choice on a tie.
If the Chosen wins, they may spend one Gnosis point for every phalanx of the enemy’s troops they wish to affect. Troops affected thus through their leader will not, under any circumstances, attack any force led by the Chosen. PCs and NPCs of important note do not have the will to fight completely sapped from them, and may continue to fight on, but they suffer a -3 penalty on all tests to attack the Chosen's forces.
Exceptional Success:
So panicked and broken are the enemy forces that they trample over each other in their disarray. Those enemy forces affected take three levels of lethal damage. PCs and NPCs of important note are more easily able to get out of the way and take one level of lethal damage instead of three.
Wrath Incarnate
Through invoking Ares and drawing that energy into yourself, the user of this power transforms into a literal incarnation of wrath.
Cost: 1 Gnosis
Test Pool: None
System:
Spend 1 point of Gnosis and use your simple action to transform dramatically into a physical avatar of wrath. This transformation must feed, fueling itself on the life-force in its surrounding area. If it cannot draw power from other sources, it eats at the user from within, slowly draining them.
At the beginning of each turn in which Wrath Incarnate is active, any living individual within two steps of the user takes 2 points of lethal damage as their blood begins to boil in fury. This damage cannot be reduced or negated by any means.
Vampires in this radius lose 1 point of Blood, as the blood literally boils in their veins. Vampires with no blood in their bodies suffer no ill effects.
If Wrath Incarnate has no nearby sources upon which to feed, either by damaging a living character or by boiling a vampire’s blood, it turns inward, draining 2 points of the user’s Gnosis. This power ends immediately if the user runs out of Gnosis, falls unconscious, or spends a simple action to deactivate it.
While a character is under the effect of this power, your fists or weapons are surrounded by a visible nimbus of rage. All of your Brawl and Melee attacks inflict aggravated damage and inflict an additional point of damage, no matter the form you are in.
Wrath Incarnate is a transformative power and cannot be combined with other transformative powers. You can use weapons while in this form.