Prerequisite: Resolve •• and one Skill Specialty

Effect: Your character is uncommonly specialized in one area. Choose a Specialty to assign to this Merit. Forgo the +1 bonus afforded by a Specialty, in exchange for a +2.

Effect: Your character has an exceptionally sound and rational mind. With a moment’s thought, she can weigh potential courses of action and outcomes. Once per chapter as an instant action, you may ask the Storyteller one of the following questions about a task at hand or course of action. Roll Wits + Composure. If you succeed, the Storyteller must answer to the best of her ability. If you fail, you get no answer. With an exceptional success, you can ask an additional question.

• What is the worst choice?
• What do I stand to lose here?
• What’s the safest choice?
• Am I chasing a worthless lead?

Effect: You gain a +2 modifier on reflexive Wits + Composure rolls for your character to detect an impending ambush. Your character’s reflexes are honed to the point where nothing’s shocking.

Effect: Your character has an innate sense of direction, and is always aware of her location in space. She always knows which direction she faces, and never suffers penalties to navigate or find her way.

Effect: Your character recalls events and details with pinpoint accuracy. You do not have to make rolls for your character to remember past experiences. When making Intelligence + Composure (or relevant Skill) rolls to recall minute facts from swaths of information, take a +2 bonus.

Effect: Choose a Skill. Due to an immersion in academia, pop culture, or a hobby obsession, your character has collected limitless factoids about the topic, even if she has no dots in the Skill.

You can make an Intelligence + Wits roll at any time your character is dealing with her area of interest. On a successful roll, the Storyteller must give a relevant fact or detail about the issue at hand. Your character knows this fact, but you must explain within the scope of your character’s background why she knows it. For example, for Encyclopedic Knowledge: Medicine: “Do you remember that time on that show, when the doctor said it doesn’t manifest before puberty?”

Prerequisite: Resolve ••, Occult •

Effect: While your character does not necessarily possess a breadth of knowledge about the supernatural, she knows the otherworldly when she sees it. By perusing evidence, she can determine whether something comes from natural or supernatural origins. Roll Intelligence + Composure. With a success, the Storyteller must tell you if the scene has a supernatural cause, and provide one piece of found information that confirms the answer. With an exceptional success, she must give you a bit of supernatural folklore that suggests what type of creature caused the problem. If the problem was mundane, an exceptional success gives an ongoing +2 to all rolls to investigate the event, due to her redoubled certainty in its natural causation.

Prerequisite: Wits ••• or Dexterity •••

Effect: +1 Initiative per dot. Your character’s reflexes impress and astound; she’s always fast to react.

Prerequisite: Academics •• or Science ••

Effect: Your character has vast experience managing complex tasks, keeping schedules, and meeting deadlines. When taking an extended action, halve the time required between rolls.

Homebrew: Gain 1.5 Activities per week.

Effect: Your character is skilled at non-traditional healing methods. While scientific minds might scoff, he can provide basic medical care with natural means. He knows what herbs can stem an infection, and what minerals will stave off a minor sickness. Unless your patient suffers wound penalties from lethal or aggravated wounds, you do not need traditional medical equipment to stabilize and treat injuries. With access to woodlands, a greenhouse, or other source of diverse flora, a Wits + Survival roll allows your character to gather all necessary supplies.

Prerequisite: Resolve •••

Your character possesses an iron will. The powers of the supernatural have little bearing on her behavior. She can stand up to a vampire’s mind control, a witch’s charms, or a ghost’s gifts of fright. Any time a supernatural creature uses a power to influence your character’s thoughts or emotions, add two dice to the dice pool to contest it. If the roll is resisted, instead subtract two dice from the monster’s dice pool. Note that this only affects mental influence and manipulation from a supernatural origin. A vampire with a remarkable Manipulation + Persuasion score is just as likely to convince your character to do something using mundane tricks.

Prerequisite: Skill at ••• or higher with a Specialty

Effect: Choose a Specialty that your character possesses when you purchase this Merit. You can apply the +1 from that Specialty on any Skill with at least one dot, provided it’s justifiable within the scope of the fiction. For example, a doctor with a Medicine Specialty in Anatomy may be able to use it when targeting a specific body part with Weaponry, but could not with a general strike.

Prerequisites: Chosen Skill at •••+ Effect: Your character has one particular knack that can contribute amazingly to an investigation. Choose a Skill when purchasing this Merit; when making rolls to Uncover Clues (see p. 79), she achieves exceptional success on three successes instead of five. As well, Clues that come from her use of that Skill start with one additional element. You may purchase this Merit multiple times, to enhance different Skills.

Prerequisites: Wits •••, Investigation •••

Effect: Your character investigates instinctively, and can intuit details and connections in a scene without much time. He’s a veritable Sherlock Holmes. Instead of simply uncovering Clues or not uncovering Clues when investigating (see p. 79), your character discovers multiple Clues in a single action. Your character can uncover Clues equal to his successes or his Merit dots as an instant action, whichever is lower. Only the first Clue benefits from additional elements; other Clues established with this Merit receive only a single element each.

Effect: Your character is skilled with an additional language, beyond her native tongue. Choose a language each time you buy this Merit. Your character can speak, read, and write in that language.

Effect: Your character has access to a plethora of information about a given topic. When purchasing this Merit, choose a Mental Skill. The Library covers that purview. On any extended roll involving the Skill in question, add the dots in this Merit. This Merit can be purchased multiple times, to reflect different Skills. Additionally, its benefits can be shared by various characters, with permission.

Effect: Your character’s meditation is far more fulfilling than for other characters. With the one-dot version of this Merit, the character does not suffer environmental penalties to meditation (see p. 75), even from wound penalties. With the two-dot version, when the character has successfully meditated, she gains a +3 bonus on any Resolve + Composure rolls during the same day, as she’s steeled herself against the things in the world that would shake her foundation. At the four-dot level, she only needs a single success to gain the benefits of meditation for the day, instead of the normal four.

Effect: Your character has a strong affinity for language acquisition. Each time you purchase this Merit, choose two languages. Your character can speak conversationally in those languages. With an Intelligence + Academics roll, he may also read enough of the language to understand context. If you purchase the Language Merit for either of these languages, replace the Multilingual language. For example, if you have Multilingual (French, Italian), and purchase Language: Italian, you may choose to take Multilingual (French, Portuguese).

Effect: Your character knows how to pace herself and take the time to do the job right the first time. When taking an extended action, you may make two additional rolls, above what your Attribute + Skill allows.

Effect: Your character has extensive training in a particular profession, which offers distinct advantages in a handful of fields. When choosing this Merit, choose or create a Profession for your character (see the sidebar). Mark the two Asset Skills on your character sheet. The advantages of Professional Training relate directly to those Asset Skills. • Networking: At the first level of Professional Training, your character builds connections within her chosen field. Take two dots of Contacts relating to that field. Continuing Education: With the repeated efforts in her field of choice, your character tends toward greater successes. When making a roll with her Asset Skills, she benefits from the 9-again quality. ••• Breadth of Knowledge: Due to her advancement in her field, she’s picked up a number of particular bits of information and skill unique to her work. Choose a third Asset Skill, and take two Specialties in your character’s Asset Skills. •••• On the Job Training: With the resources at her disposal, your character has access to extensive educational tools and mentorship. Take a Skill dot in an Asset Skill. Whenever you purchase a new Asset Skill dot, take a Beat. ••••• The Routine: With such extensive experience in her field, her Asset Skills have been honed to a fine edge, and she’s almost guaranteed at least a marginal success. Before rolling, spend a Willpower point to apply the rote action quality to an Asset Skill. This allows you to reroll all the failed dice on the first roll.

Prerequisite: Resolve •••

Effect: Most people turn away at the sight of blood, other bodily fluids, or exotic biology. Your character has seen enough that nothing turns her stomach. When other characters must resist shock or physical repulsion from the disgusting and morbid, your character stands her ground. You do not need to make Composure, Stamina, or Resolve rolls to withstand the biologically strange. This doesn’t mean she’s immune to fear; she’s just used to nature in all its nasty forms.

Prerequisite: Wits ••• or Composure •••

Effect: Your character has spent years in the field, catching tiny details and digging for secrets. She might not have a better chance of finding things, but she has a better chance of finding important things. Any time you make a Perception roll (usually Wits + Composure), you benefit from the 9-again quality. With the three-dot version, you get 8-again.

Effect: Your character is one of the worst examples of humanity in the Chronicles of Darkness. He has two Vices, although he may still only regain one Willpower per scene he indulges himself.

Effect: Your character is a light of good in the Chronicles of Darkness. She has two Virtues. The limitations of how many times she may refresh Willpower using a Virtue remain the same, but it’s up to you which Virtue she uses each time.

Effect: Your character does not suffer the -2 penalty for using his off hand in combat or to perform other actions.

Available only at character creation.

Prerequisites: Crafts •••, Drive •, Science •

Effect: Your character knows how to fine-tune a vehicle to utter extremes. When determining how many modifications she can add to a vehicle (see p. 98), triple her Crafts dots instead of doubling them. So, a character with Crafts •••• could support 12 combined modifications on a vehicle instead of eight. Additionally, any relevant Crafts Specialties add one more potential modification to the total.

Prerequisite: Drive •••

Effect: Your character’s an ace at the wheel, and nothing shakes his concentration. So long as he’s not taking any actions other than driving (and keeping the car safe), add his Composure to any rolls to Drive. Any rolls to disable his vehicle suffer a penalty equal to his Composure as well. With the three-dot version, once per turn he may take a Drive action reflexively.

Prerequisite: Strength ••• or Intelligence •••

Effect: Your character has an innate feel for the weak points in objects. When damaging an object, she ignores one point of the object’s Durability per dot with this Merit.

Prerequisite: Dexterity •••

Effect: Your character might have been a contortionist, or spent time practicing yoga. She can dislodge joints when need be. She automatically escapes from any mundane bonds without a roll. When grappled, subtract her Dexterity from any rolls to overpower her, as long as she’s not taking any aggressive actions.

Prerequisite: Athletics ••

Effect: Your character is remarkably quick, and runs far faster than his frame suggests. He gains +1 Speed per dot, and anyone pursuing him suffers a -1 per dot to any foot chase rolls.

Effect: Your character is massive. She’s well over six feet tall, and crowds part when she approaches. She’s Size 6, and gains +1 Health. Available only at character creation.

Drawback: Buying clothing is a nightmare. Fitting in small spaces is difficult at best.

Prerequisite: Stamina •••

Effect: Your character’s body goes further than it rightfully should. Add the dots in this Merit to any rolls to resist disease, poison, deprivation, unconsciousness, or suffocation.

Prerequisites: Athletics •••, Wits •••, Stamina •••

Effect: Your character works best when chasing or being chased; the hunt is in his blood. When in a chase (see p. 84), you receive the effects of an exceptional success on three successes instead of five.

Prerequisites: Stamina ••• or Resolve •••

Effect: Each dot eliminates a negative modifier (on a one-for-one basis) when resisting the effects of fatigue or injury. For example: A character with Iron Stamina •• is able to ignore up to a -2 modifier brought on by fatigue. The Merit also counteracts the effects of wound penalties. So, if all of your character’s Health boxes are filled (which normally imposes a -3 penalty to his actions) and he has Iron Stamina •, those penalties are reduced to -2. This Merit cannot be used to gain positive modifiers for actions, only to cancel out negative ones.

Prerequisites: Dexterity •••, Athletics ••

Your character is a trained and proficient free runner. Free running is the art of moving fluidly through urban environments with complex leaps, bounds, running tricks, and vaults. This is the type of sport popularized in modern action films, where characters are unhindered by fences, walls, construction equipment, cars, or anything else the city puts in their way.

Flow (•): Your character reacts instinctively to any obstacles with leaps, jumps, and scaling techniques. When in a foot chase, subtract your Parkour from the successes needed to pursue or evade. Also, ignore environmental penalties to Athletics rolls equal to your Parkour rating. Cat Leap (••): Your character falls with outstanding grace. When using a Dexterity + Athletics roll to mitigate damage from falling, your character gains one automatic success. Additionally, add your Parkour rating to the threshold of damage that can be removed through this roll. Parkour will not mitigate damage from a terminal velocity fall. Wall Run (•••): When climbing, your character can run upward for some distance before having to traditionally climb. Without rolling, your character scales 10 feet + five feet per dot of Athletics as an instant action, rather than the normal 10 feet.

Expert Traceur (••••): Parkour has become second nature for your character. By spending a Willpower point, you may designate one Athletics roll to run, jump, or climb as a rote action (reroll all failed dice once). On any turn during which you use this ability, you may not apply your character’s Defense to oncoming attacks.

Freeflow (•••••): Your character’s Parkour is now muscle memory. She can move without thinking, in a Zenlike state. The character must successfully meditate (see p. 75) in order to establish Freeflow. Once established, your character is capable of taking Athletics actions reflexively once per turn. By spending a point of Willpower on an Athletics roll in a foot chase, gain three successes instead of three dice.

Prerequisites: Wits •••, a Specialty in the weapon or fighting style chosen

Effect: Choose a Specialty in Weaponry or Firearms when you purchase this Merit. Your character has trained in that weapon or style enough that pulling the weapon is his first reflex. Drawing or holstering that weapon is considered a reflexive action, and can be done any time his Defense applies.

Prerequisites: Athletics ••, Stamina •••

Effect: Your character will not stop running, whether away from a pursuer or toward prey. In any chase (see p. 84) your opponents must achieve two additional successes against yours to catch her or elude her.

Prerequisites: Wits •••, Composure •••

Effect: Your character is always ready for a chase. Whether to escape a threat or hunt down a rival, she’s always geared and ready to go. She always has the Edge in the first turn of a chase scene (see p. 84). Additionally, the opponent must make a successful Wits + Composure roll, as if being ambushed, or your character does not have to account for her Speed or Initiative when calculating needed successes in the first turn.

Prerequisite: Larceny ••• Effect: Your character can pick locks and pockets without even thinking about it. She can take one Larceny-based instant action reflexively in a given turn. As well, her Larceny actions go unnoticed unless someone is trying specifically to catch her.

Effect: Your character is diminutive. He’s not five feet, and it’s easy to walk into him without noticing. He’s Size 4, and thus has one fewer Health box. He gains +2 to any rolls to hide or go unnoticed, and this bonus might apply any time being smaller would be an advantage, such as crawling through smaller spaces. Available only at character creation.

Drawback: In addition to the lower Health, your character might be overlooked or not taken seriously by some people.

Prerequisites: Dexterity •••, Drive •••, Wits •••

Effect: Your character is an expert behind the wheel, and can push a vehicle beyond normal limits. Each dot of this Merit grants access to another driving technique.

Defensive Driving (•): Your character knows how to protect herself and her vehicle while driving. Subtract her Drive dots from any attempt to hit her vehicle while it’s mobile.

Speed Demon (••): Your character is an expert at pushing vehicles to their potential in no time flat. Each success on rolls to accelerate a vehicle (see p.98) raises the vehicle’s Speed by 10 instead of 5. Drift (•••): Your character knows how to use her vehicle’s momentum to efficiently turn at high speeds. She never needs to make a maneuvering roll to turn at high speeds. Clipping (••••): Your character has experience hitting things with her vehicle in such a way as to not hurt herself much. When voluntarily hitting another character or vehicle with hers, ignore damage to her own vehicle equal to her Wits. This is applied before Durability.

Effect: Allies help your character. They might be friends, employees, associates, or people your character has blackmailed. Each instance of this Merit represents one type of ally. This could be an organization, a society, a clique, or an individual. Examples include the police, a secret society, criminal organizations, unions, local politicians, or the academic community. Each purchase has its own rating. Your character might have Allies (Masons) ••, Allies (Carter Crime Family) •••, and Allies (Catholic Church) •. Each dot represents a layer of influence in the group. One dot would constitute small favors and passing influence. Three could offer considerable influence, such as the police overlooking a misdemeanor charge. Five dots stretches the limits of the organization’s influence, as its leaders put their own influence on the line for the character. This could include things such as massive insider trading or fouling up a felony investigation. No matter the request, it has to be something that organization could accomplish. The Storyteller assigns a rating between one and five to any favor asked. A character can ask for favors that add up to her Allies rating without penalty in one chapter. If she extends her influence beyond that, her player must roll Manipulation + Persuasion + Allies, with a penalty equal to the favor’s rating. If the roll is successful, the group does as requested. Failed or successful, the character loses a dot of Allies. This dot may return at the end of the chapter (see Sanctity of Merits, on p. 43.) On a dramatic failure, the organization resents her and seeks retribution. On an exceptional success, she doesn’t lose the dot. One additional favor a character can ask of her Allies is to block another character’s Allies, Contacts, Mentor, Retainer, or Status (if she knows the character possesses the relevant Merit). The rating is equal to the Merit dots blocked. As before, no roll is necessary unless the target’s Merit exceeds the character’s Allies. If the block succeeds, the character cannot use the Merit during the same chapter.

Effect: Your character has established an alternate identity. The level of this Merit determines the amount of scrutiny it holds up to. At one dot, the identity is superficial and unofficial. For example, your character uses an alias with a simple costume and adopts an accent. She hasn’t established the necessary paperwork to even approach a bureaucratic background check, let alone pass one. At two dots, she’s supported her identity with paperwork and identification. It’s not liable to stand up to extensive research, but it’ll turn away private investigators and internet hobbyists. At three dots, the identity can pass a thorough inspection. The identity has been deeply entrenched in relevant databases, with subtle flourishes and details to make it seem real, even to trained professionals. Additionally, the Merit reflects time the character has spent honing her persona. At one or two dots, she gains +1 to all Subterfuge rolls to defend the identity. At three dots, she gains +2. This Merit can be purchased multiple times, each time representing an additional identity.

Prerequisites: Cannot have Fame

Effect: Your character lives off the grid. This means purchases must be made with cash or falsified credit cards. She eschews identification. She avoids any official authoritative influence in her affairs. Any attempts to find her by paper trail suffer a -1 penalty per dot purchased in this Merit.

Drawback: Your character cannot purchase the Fame Merit. This also may limit Status purchases, if the character cannot provide sufficient identification for the roles she wishes to take.

Prerequisite: Socialize ••

Effect: Your character is a natural in the bar environment, and can procure an open invitation wherever he wishes. Whereas most characters would require rolls to blend into social functions they don’t belong in, he doesn’t; he belongs. Rolls to identify him as an outsider suffer his Socialize as a penalty.

Prerequisites: Manipulation •••, Resolve •••

Effect: Your character is particularly tough to crack. When a character uses Social Maneuvering (see p. 81) against her, add her dots in this Merit as additional Doors. In other Social actions to uncover her true feelings, motives, and position, add her Merit dots to any contested rolls for her. At the Storyteller’s discretion, this can apply to supernatural effects used against her. For example, it might allow her to resist a power that forces her to speak the truth, since she can manipulate the wording. However, it wouldn’t affect someone looking at her aura, since she cannot manipulate her spiritual resonance.

Effect: Contacts provide your character with information. Each dot in this Merit represents a sphere or organization with which the character can garner information. For example, a character with Contacts ••• might have Bloggers, Drug Dealers, and Financial Speculators for connections. Contacts do not provide services, only information. This may be face-to-face, via email, by telephone, or even by séance in some strange instances. Garnering information via Contacts requires a Manipulation + Social Skill roll, depending on the method the character uses, and the relationship between the characters. The Storyteller should give a bonus or penalty, dependent on how relevant the information is to that particular Contact, whether accessing the information is dangerous, and if the character has maintained good relations or done favors for the Contact. These modifiers should range from -3 to +3 in most cases. If successful, the Contact provides the information. One use of a Contact is to dig dirt on another character. A Contact can find another character’s Social Merits, and any relevant Conditions (Embarrassing Secret is a prime example.) A character can have more than five Contacts, but the Merit’s rating is limited to five, for the purposes of Allies blocking.

Effect: Your character is recognized within a certain sphere, for a certain skill, or because of some past action or stroke of luck. This can mean favors and attention, it can also mean negative attention and scrutiny. When choosing the Merit, define what your character is known for. As a rule of thumb, one dot means local recognition, or reputation within a confined subculture. Two dots means regional recognition by a wide swath of people. Three dots means worldwide recognition to anyone that might have been exposed to the source of the fame. Each dot adds a die to any Social rolls among those who are impressed by your character’s celebrity. Drawback: Any rolls to find or identify the character enjoy a +1 bonus per dot of the Merit. If the character has Alternate Identity, she can mitigate this drawback. A character with Fame cannot have the Anonymity Merit.

Prerequisites: Manipulation •••, Subterfuge ••

Your character talks circles around listeners. He speaks a mile a minute, and often leaves his targets reeling, but nodding in agreement.

Always Be Closing (•): With the right leading phrases, your character can direct a mark to say what he wants, when he wants. This trips the mark into vulnerable positions. When a mark contests or resists your character’s Social interactions, apply a -1 to their Resolve or Composure.

Jargon (••): Your character confuses his mark using complex terminology. You may apply one relevant Specialty to any Social roll you make, even if the Specialty isn’t tied to the Skill in use.

Devil’s Advocacy (•••): Your character often poses arguments he doesn’t agree with, in order to challenge a mark’s position and keep him from advancing the discussion. You can reroll one failed Subterfuge roll per scene.

Salting (••••): Your character can position himself so a mark pursues a non-issue or something unimportant to him. When your character opens a Door using conversation (Persuasion, Subterfuge, Empathy, etc.) you may spend a Willpower point to immediately open another Door.

The Nigerian Scam (•••••): Your character can take advantage of his mark’s greed and zeal. When the mark does nparticularly well, it’s because your character was there to set him up, and to subsequently tear him down. If a target regains Willpower from his Vice while your character is present, you may immediately roll Manipulation + Subterfuge to open a Door, regardless of the interval or impression level.

Prerequisite: Contacts ••, Wits •••

Effect: Your character is people that knows people. She can not only get in touch with the right people to do a job, but she can get them at the best possible prices. When hiring a service (see p. 100), reduce the Availability score of the service by one dot.

Prerequisite: Membership in a clique. All members must possess this Merit, and the chosen Skill at ••+

Effect: Your character is part of a group of hobbyists that specialize in one area, represented by a Skill. It may be a book club, a coven, a political party, or any group brought together by a common interest. When the group’s support is available, you benefit from the 9-again quality on rolls involving the group’s chosen Skill. As well, the clique offers two additional dice on any extended actions involving that Skill.

Drawback: This Merit requires upkeep. You must attend at least monthly, informal meetings to maintain the benefits of Hobbyist Clique.

Prerequisite: Presence •••

Effect: Your character’s passion inspires those around her to greatness. With a few words, she can redouble a group’s confidence or move them to action. Make a Presence + Expression roll. A small group of listeners levies a -1 penalty, a small crowd a -2, and a large crowd a -3. Listeners gain the Inspired Condition. The character may not use this Merit on herself.

Prerequisite: Resolve •••• Effect: Your character’s resolve is unwavering. When spending Willpower to contest or resist in a Social interaction, you may substitute your character’s Resolve for the usual Willpower bonus. If the roll is contested, roll with 8-again.

Effect: This Merit gives your character a teacher that provides advice and guidance. He acts on your character’s behalf, often in the background, and sometimes without your character’s knowledge. While Mentors can be highly competent, they almost always want something in return for their services. The dot rating determines the Mentor’s capabilities, and to what extent he’ll aid your character. When establishing a Mentor, determine what the

Mentor wants from your character. This should be personally important to him, and it should reflect on the dot rating chosen. A one-dot Mentor might be incapable of dealing with modern society, and want to live vicariously through your character. This might mean coming to him and telling stories of her exploits. A five-dot Mentor would want something astronomical, such as an oath to procure an ancient, cursed artifact that may or may not exist, in order to prevent a prophesized death.

Choose three Skills the Mentor possesses. You can substitute Resources for one of these Skills. Once per session, the character may ask her Mentor for a favor. The favor must involve one of those Skills, or be within the scope of his Resources. The Mentor commits to the favor (often asking for a commensurate favor in return), and if a roll is required, the Mentor is automatically considered to have successes equal to his dot rating. Alternately, you may ask the Storyteller to have the Mentor act on your character’s behalf, without her character knowing or initiating the request.

Cults are far more common than people would like to admit. “Mystery cult” is the catch-all term for a phenomenon ranging from secret societies couched in fraternity houses, to scholarly cabals studying the magic of classical symbolism, to mystical suicide cults to the God-Machine. Mystery Cult Initiation reflects membership in one of these esoteric groups. The dot rating dictates standing. One dot is an initiate, two a respected member, three a priest or organizer, four a decision-making leader, and five is a high priest or founder. If you wish your character to begin play in a cult, work with your Storyteller to develop the details. Designing a Mystery Cult requires three things, at bare minimum. First is a Purpose. This is the defining reason the cult exists. Usually it’s tied in with the cult’s history and recent background. Second is a Relic. This is an item that

grounds members’ faith. For example, a piece of the God- Machine, an ancient text bound in human flesh, or the

mummified flesh of a saint. The last is a Doctrine. Every cult is defined by its rules and traditions. In addition to standing, a Mystery Cult Initiation Merit of- fers benefits at each level of influence. Develop these as well.

The following are guidelines; use them to craft your cults: • A Skill Specialty or one-dot Merit, pertaining to the lessons taught to initiates. •• A one-dot Merit.

••• A Skill dot, or a two-dot Merit (often a supernatu- ral Merit).

•••• A three-dot Merit, often supernatural in origin.

••••• A three-dot Merit, or a major advantage not re- flected in game traits.