Torment

Torment
The fallen are all haunted by the past. The two greatest things they loved, God and humanity, both turned their backs on them and consigned them to millennia of torture and pain, but nothing Hell could offer was worse than the first terrible wounds inflicted by the betrayal of their Creator and their beloved charges. All demons carry a measure of that pain with them, and many are driven mad by it. A demon's Torment is a measure of the anguish and suffering it carries, and how it deals with those painful memories. Like Faith, Torment is rated on a scale of 1 -10, and it has a temporary and a permanent aspect. A demon with a permanent Torment of 1 is close to forgiving and letting go of the sins of the past, and deals with them extraordinarily well, for the most part. A demon with a permanent Torment of 10 is consumed by his own pain and torment, incapable of doing anything except inflicting the same on others. The greater a demon's Torment is, the less compassion and caring he is capable of feeling. A character's permanent Torment varies depending on his Celestial House. All characters begin the game with a temporary Torment of 0.

Heartless acts of selfishness and cruelty only strengthen a demon's inner torment, hardening the soul and stoking the fires of resentment and hatred. The fallen who give in to the temptation to lash out at the world for their pain begin to wallow and drown in it. When a demon commits a sin against one of his Virtues, his temporary Torment may increase. The Storyteller should always warn players when their characters are about to perform actions that may cause them Torment, allowing them the opportunity to reconsider as the demon's Virtue tugs at the corners of his mind. In situations where a demon acts in a way that satisfies his immediate needs at the expense of his ethics, make a Conscience roll. In situations where a demon acts in a way that violates his personal beliefs, make a Conviction roll. When the demon chooses a course of action out of fear for his safety and at the expense of others, make a Courage roll.
When your character sins, make a roll using the appropriate Virtue, with a difficulty of 8. You cannot spend Willpower to get a success on the roll, nor can the roll botch.

• If the Virtue roll succeeds, the character feels remorse and a sense of horror at how far she has fallen. She refuses to give in to her demonic nature, and her temporary Torment does not increase.
  
• If the Virtue roll fails, your character exults in the rush of power, stoking the fires of her personal Hell. This must be what God felt like when He chose to exile your character to endless torment, the power to take lives into your hands and do with them as you please. Your character gains a point of temporary Torment. When you have acquired 10 points of temporary Torment, these points are converted to a single point of permanent Torment. Once your permanent Torment increases to 10, your character is entirely consumed by it. Incapable of compassion or hope, the character passes into the hands of the Storyteller, no longer suitable for play.
  

Acts of Kindness
Where cruel and selfish actions increase Torment, kindness and selflessness are a balm to the Torment of the fallen, those not too proud or lazy to seek it out, that is. Acts of kindness remind demons of the divine beings they once were, and they can help reduce one's Torment. Such acts must be truly kind and compassionate, done for no reason other than the act itself, without expectation of reward.
Supposed acts of kindness aimed at creating a pact or winning over a mortal (or for any other selfish reason) need not apply. The Storyteller determines whether a particular act is sufficient to count toward a reduction in Torment. In some cases, a series of small good deeds (such as volunteer work) may count as a single act of kindness. When your character performs a sufficiently selfless and kind act, make a resisted roll between Torment and the appropriate Virtue. Use your character's Conscience for situations in which he makes a sacrifice or puts the needs of another ahead of himself because he knows it's the right thing to do. Use Conviction in situations where the character performs an act at great personal cost to himself to remain true to his beliefs. Finally, use Courage for situations where the character displays gallantry and valor for the sake of someone else. You cannot spend Willpower on Virtue rolls.

• If Torment wins, your cynicism and emotional pain overwhelm the good deed. Why are you even bothering? It's not going to do any real good in the end. Look where all your good intentions got you before. They're not kidding when they say the road to Hell is paved with them. Your temporary Torment remains unchanged.
  
• If Virtue wins, your act of kindness affirms your divine nature and lifts you above your own suffering, if only for a moment. In that moment, you can see a shadow of what youonce were. You lose a point of temporary Torment.
  
• On a tie, things remain unchanged, and you have to wonder if it really is all worth it.
  

The Benefits of Experience
The fallen can also use XP to decrease their permanent Torment, representing lessons learned from existence in the material world, clothed in mortal flesh. Fallen characters can spend 10 experience points to decrease their permanent Torment by one point. Whether through acts of kindness or experience, permanent Torment cannot decrease below 1. How can the fallen regain the innocence they have lost? How can they find it within themselves to entirely put aside the pain they have suffered?


Effects of Torment
A demon's Torment has a number of effects on the character's appearance and the way his powers work, depending on its rating and its relationship to the demon's other traits. In general, it reflects how much of die demon's inner anguish consumes its thoughts and feelings, as well as the demon's capacity for cmelty and compassion.

• If your Torment creates difficulty in using your lore, your pain taints what you do. When you attempt to perform an evocation, compare the successes on your Faith roll against your Torment. If the successful dice all show numbers greater than your Torment, you can use the positive aspects of the power normally. If one or more of the successful dice show numbers equal to or less than your Torment score, it perverts your efforts, and you use the high-Torment aspect of the power instead. Conversely, you might decide that a situation calls for a more destructive use of your power. You can choose to use the high-Torment effect of your lore, but you automatically gain a point of temporary Torment as a result.
  
• The appearance of your apocalyptic form in a Revelation varies based on your Torment rating. If it is less than or equal to half your Willpower, your apocalyptic form is glorious and awe-inspiring. If your Torment is greater than half your Willpower, mortals may see you as awesome or terrifying, depending on their own point of view. If your Torment is greater than your Willpower rating, your apocalyptic fonn is nightmarish and horrifying.
  

Hierarchy Of Sins

Torment	Sins
10	There's no sin. You're already damned. Why not do whatever you want?
9	Casual violation of others: Murder for no reason, thoughtless cruelty and torture, near-mindless savagery.
8	Premeditated violation of others: Plotted murder or assassination, systematic destruction of another, long-sought revenge.
7	Sins of passion: Murder in a fit of rage, giving in to feelings of hate, anger, jealousy, or irrational prejudice, encouraging the same in others. Destroying particularly inspirational or meaningful objects. Doing personal harm through addiction or other self-destructive patterns of behavior.
6	Destruction of the works or inflicting intentional emotional harm through cruelty or neglect.
5	Accidental violations: doing harm to others through carelessness, negligence, or thoughtlessness. Neglecting duties or responsibilities. Betraying another's trust.
4	Theft from or deception of others without just cause. Breaking your sworn word.
3	Doing harm (physical, emotional, or spiritual) to a mortal for any reason other than self-defense or the greater good.
2	Doing harm to any mortal creature for any reason other than self-defense or the greater good (a disrespect for the order of Creation). Permitting any lesser sin in your presence without at least trying to prevent it.
1	Any act of cruelty, selfishness, or thoughtlessness. Allowing any such act in your presence without trying to prevent it. An unwillingness to sacrifice for the greater good.