System Extension - Empyrean

The Empyrean game is actually an extension on EMCore. The main reason for this is that EMCore can be used as a baseline to play human characters in any setting.

Each new gaming experience and major concept introduces a new major extension. While it's fully possible to just play Empyreans using EMCore, and extending it via its built-in mechanics, the Empyrean extension is better suited in order to play Empyrean characters, and fully enjoy the experience.

Following the modular design of the rest of the system, Empyrean has a baseline system and several extensions. We are going to elaborate on the baseline Empyrean system here, and handle the extensions in separate entries.

Empyrean Characters

The first thing that happens with Empyrean is that a new type of character, the Empyrean is now introduced. Empyreans are mortal embodiments of the ancient and immortal Aethons, with a growing recollection of their past immortal life, and a growing ascension into the pursuit of their values or ideals.

To become Empyrean, formerly mortal characters pass through a very intense, near-death (or actual death) experience, which causes them to cross the line and awaken the Inner Fire within.

Because Empyreans are intensely spiritual beings, Spirit is a very important aspect to them. Almost all Empyrean powers rely on Spirit. It is therefore a very good idea to choose a high Spirit Aspect Level for an Empyrean character. To provide some context, most Empyreans need a Spirit Aspect Level 3 or higher, and 4 or 5 is preferred.

Empyrean Traits

While still subject to many things that affect ordinary humans, including many physiological limitations, the Inner Fire mutates the human gene beneficially, granting physical and mental regeneration, telepathic powers, and powers of extrasensory perception. 

In addition the awoken Inner Fire bears the memories of an immortal lifetime, granting access to very powerful Empyrean Powers.

The Inner Fire is something that every living being can sense to a certain extent. It often unsettles other living beings, in an inconspicuous way.

Sadly, few are wise to discern its benign nature. Often the Inner Fire creates other manifestations as well: A glow in the eyes, a strange change of eye or skin color, or a change in the character's hair. To anyone but the most cursory observer, the Empyrean's otherworldly mark is almost always visible, in some way, which has often been a cause of much discomfort, as Empyreans have been accused of demonic possession or mutation.

• Inner Fire:
• The Inner Fire has the power to heal the character's wounds, healing one wound per hour. It does the same with toxins and most diseases. 
• The character can accelerate the healing process by using just one action and making a successful Spirit roll. The character can even spend one Destiny to gain back one wound instantly, by means of the Inner Fire. 
• The Inner Fire can even heal grievous injuries, but at a much slower rate, healing 1 grievous injury per day of rest. 
•  Due to the Inner Fire, the character also regains Destiny at the rate of 1 destiny per hour. The character can purge corruption via Inner Fire. 
• Spending 1 Destiny and 1 hour of rest / meditation to purge 1 Corruption. Finally, the Inner Fire creates a protective aura that shields the character from Fire, Cold, Electricity and Radiation, blocking the first 5 points of damage from any such source. 
• This makes it possible for Empyrean characters to survive extreme climates that normal humans wouldn't be able to survive, including the Arandorean Wastelands, or Frozen Highlands.

• Second Sight:
• Soon after becoming awoken, Empyreans begin to see in the realm of Spirit, which is in itself a very powerful experience. Nonetheless, the gift of Second Sight doesn't merely stop with the ability to perceive the world of Spirit, including its denizens, or the color of some being's aura. It extends into Divination - a powerful extension of the character's Insight, granting them access to knowledge that they did not previously know, and ability to foresee future events, or gain visions of remote locations without ever having visited them.
• Soul Speech
• Empyreans are natural telepaths, able to communicate without words with each other, over a distance that grows proportionately to their Spirit (Level 1- 1 meter, Level 2 - 10 meters, Level 3 - 100 meters, Level 4, 1000 meters, Level 5 - 10000 meters). This ability also allows them to communicate with and understand spirits and other entities of the worlds beyond. To a certain level it also allows them to read the thoughts in the minds of other beings, or sense the presence of sentient beings around them, although they have to focus for a standard action and roll Spirit to attempt this.

Destiny

More importantly, the Empyrean's sense of self and individual awareness changes. The Empyrean gradually becomes aware of a force that they had forever been champions of, in their past lifetime: The power of Destiny. As embodiments of ideals, the Aethons were creatures of Destiny.

Destiny does not imply a predetermination, but a power that shapes the future with its force of purpose. Much like an Aethon is, in fact, ultimately a superset of a human being, Destiny is a superset of the faculty of willpower, it enables Empyreans to manifest their powers.

The change from Willpower to Destiny isn't just a name change. It underlines a series of other changes, introducing the new concept of Supremacy and affecting the shift from the Character Drive to the Empyrean Ideal.

Instead of gaining a dice bonus equal to their Character Drive, a character who uses a point of Destiny for Inspiration cause a surge of Inner Fire to burst forth and engulf them with godlike passion. For a moment, the character's power becomes godlike. This mechanic is called Supremacy and is available exclusively to Empyrean characters. The Inspirational surge of Inner Fire counts as the use of an Empyrean Power, and remains active for the rest of the scene.

The whole combination of Destiny, Empyrean Ideal and Supremacy is the foundation of the additional gameplay introduced in Empyrean, and forms its own particular baseline, core system.

Eminence and Supremacy

As discussed before, Destiny introduces a new mechanic, Supremacy, and the nature of Empyreans introduces another mechanic, Eminence.

The world, and the challenges it throws against the players scales up when it comes to Empyrean characters. In the setting of Arandor, one would play humans in an intense, survival thriller, suitable to the post-apocalyptic setting. You would be dodging mutants and beasts, living intensely with your wits, and trying to band together with your team-mates because survival may be impossible otherwise. As a human in Arandor you expect to survive, but not to prevail.

Empyrean is a more heroic take, within the same setting. But larger-than-life heroes like the Empyreans have equally larger-than-life bad guys to face, in the face of the multitude of perils that Arandor can throw against the players. To distinguish these mighty, sometimes god-like beings, the mechanic of Eminence was devised.

Eminence is an additional characteristic exclusively attributed to rare and powerful NPCs. What it does is extremely simple. Each level of eminence grants 1 automatic success to any roll contest that this NPC makes.

Eminence describes a permanent bonus that is baseline to the character in question. It is meant to indicate that this NPC is extremely remarkable and exceptionally powerful. Few NPCs or especially powerful monsters have Eminence. It is meant to be part of characters that are past the reach of even the most exceptional humans.

The higher a character or creature's Eminence the more powerful and rare they are meant to be. Level 1 Eminence is available to very powerful humans (champions and priests of the Hexad, powerful sorcerers and infernal acolytes), and high-ranking supernatural foes, such as vampires, werewolves, powerful mutants, or enchanted creatures like the Forlorn. Level 2 Eminence is available to unique leading figures among the same groups (the arch-priest of a citadel, a vampire lord, a mutant paragon, or a Forlorn Lord). Level 3 Eminence is the domain of legendary types of enemies. A chosen of the Hexad, an Infernal, a mutant abomination, or a dragon. Level 4 Eminence is available to exemplars of these kinds. The Leader of a god's Chosen, an Infernal lord, or an ancient dragon. Level 5 Eminence or higher is only given to truly exceptional and practically unconquerable foes. A god of the Hexad would have, among other things, such a powerful level of eminence.

Supremacy is a slightly different mechanic. It doesn't measure raw power as such, but the character's ability to call upon the force of Destiny to alter the world. Supremacy is almost exclusively available to Empyrean characters and it is their means to counterbalance Eminence and the superior power of their enemies.

Using the d12 dice baseline, Supremacy is very simple: The player gains an additional dice for each dot on their Empyrean Ideal. However the bonus dice they gain is d20 and not d12! This results in an increased chance to score a success, and an even greater chance to score a critical success. If a dice other than d12 is used baseline, then either a dice with about double range is suggested, or a modification of success and critical numbers using the same kind of dice.

Empyrean Powers typically grant Supremacy to specific action types for the entire scene or encounter during which they're used.

Empyrean Ideal

The Empyrean Ideal measures the character's link and connection to their celestial aspect.
To the Empyrean, their chosen Ideal is life, so evolving it is important beyond any doubt.

Each level of the Ideal grants one extra dice in Supremacy. In other times the Empyrean Ideal can also be used to measure the character's contact with their celestial heritage. For the purpose of roleplaying, characters who want to tap on their celestial knowledge can make a roll rolling a number of dice equal to their Empyrean Ideal with S: 6, C: 12. Each success provides additional information.