Lore of Portals

Associated Apocalyptic Form: Nedu, The Visage Of Portals
Associated House: Fiend (Neberu)

Humanity views the universe as an impossibly vast panorama of galaxies, stars, and planets, each object adrift on a sea of emptiness, spreading like ripples in a pond. The Angels of the Heavens know differently -- all elements of Creation, no matter how vast or insignificant, are dependent on one another in a delicate balance of power, motion, and direction. It's a grand mechanism that only God could conceive, and one that the angels were ordered to monitor and maintain in perpetuity. Central to this task was the Lore of Patterns, allowing the angels of the Fourth House to study the motions of the Grand Design and predict possible problems before they occurred. Even then, the design was so large that even the Elohim could view only a small portion at any one time, leading to the creation of the Lore of Portals -- secrets that allowed the angels to travel the length and breadth of reality in the blink of an eye. Finally, like the Annunaki, whose duties would normally have kept them far from mortal eyes, the Neberu struggled to use their powers directly in the struggle against the Host of Heaven. The Lore of Light emerged during the war as the Fiends learned to use their knowledge of light -- and perception -- to weave potent illusions.

* Open/Close Portals [ Demon: The Fallen -- Page 194 ]
This evocation gives a Fiend complete control of the portals she encounters. Doors and windows unlock open or close at her command.

System: Roll Manipulation + Intuition. The number of successes required is determined by the complexity of the portal and its attendant locking mechanisms. A simple residence requires one success, while a prison cell door might require as many as three. If successful, the portal unlocks and opens or closes and locks at the character's touch.

Torment: Monstrous demons don't open or close portals so much as they smash them open or jam them shut. When a high-Torment demon affects a portal with this evocation, the number of successes rolled is also applied as strength points to the portal in question, doing damage to its materials as if performing a feat of strength.

** Create Ward [ Demon: The Fallen -- Page 194 ]
This evocation allows the Fiend to seal off the portals in an area, making it invoiolable to outside forces.

System: The character must be inside the area she wishes to seal with this evocation. Roll Charisma + Intuition. If successful, all the entrances to a given area become impassable. Even open doorways become clouded with wisps of air fog, and what feels like a solid barrier of air prevents anything from passing through. Once sealed, the area can't be entered, even through the use of another lore (such as Paths or Realms). To penetrate the ward, an intruder must exceed the number of successes you achieved, rolling against a difficulty equal to your character's Willpower. The area remains sealed for the remainder of the scene.

Torment: Monstrous demons are capable of creating wards, but their energies don't restrict invaders so much as they inflict pain on those who attempt to enter a protected space. When an intruder crosses a warded portal, he suffers a number of bashing levels of damage equal to the successes you achieved on your roll. This damage may be soaked, but the difficulty of the Stamina roll is equal to your character's Torment.

*** Teleport [ Demon: The Fallen -- Page 194 ]
This evocation allows a Fiend to use an existing portal to transport herself instantly to a similar portal at another location, potentially hundreds of miles away.

System: Roll Intelligence + Intuition. The number of successes required depends on your character's familiarity with her destination. If it's somewhere with which she's intimately familiar, such as a doorway in her own home, only one success is required. If its somewhere she has visited frequently, two successes are necessary. If the destination is somewhere that the Fiend has only recently visited for the first time, three successes are required. The demon must have visited her destination at least once before to be able to travel there with this evocation, and there must be a portal there identical to the type she enters. If she steps through a doorway, there must be a doorway at her destination. The Fiend can travel up to 100 miles for each point of Faith she has. Therefore, a Fiend with 10 Faith could travel up to a thousand miles away.

Torment: Monstrous demons performing this evocation are severely hampered by their lack of focus. If the evocation is successful, a Willpower roll must be made with a difficulty equal to the Fiend's Torment. If the roll fails, the Fiend is transported to a random (but familiar) location as determined by the Storyteller.

**** Co-Locate [ Demon: The Fallen -- Page 195 ]
Akin to Teleport, this evocation allows a Fiend to use a doorway to tie the two locations together for a short time, allowing others to pass through from one place to another.

System: Spend one Faith Point and roll Stamina + Intuition. The difficulty is determined by your character's familiarity with the location she wishes to reach. If she's intimately familiar with the location, the difficulty is 6. If it's a location she has visited numerous times, the difficulty is 7. If she's been there only once, it's 8. If she's never been there before and goes merely by the guidance of another, the difficulty is 9. The doorway remains open for one turn per success achieved. Like Teleport, the demon must use an existing portal (doorway, window, manhole) to cross between the two locations. As many others can cross through (or back again) as may walk through the portal in the time that's available. The Fiend can travel up to 100 miles for each point of Faith she has.

Torment: Monstrous demons can create co-locations, but those passing through are momentarily exposed to the demon's Torment, and risk severe psychological trauma or madness as a result. A Willpower roll must be made for individuals passing through the portal, the difficulty of which equals the Fiend's Torment. If a roll fails, a victim gains a temporary derangement.

***** Doorway Into Darkness [ Demon: The Fallen -- Page 195 ]

This powerful evocation allows a demon to create a doorway into the shadowy space between the physical and spirit realms -- a dark, lifeless reflection of the world. Demons can cross over into this bleak realm for a short time or hide items from prying eyes and then retrieve them later.

System: Spend one Faith Point and roll Stamina + Awareness. The evocation requires a portal -- door or window -- to form the threshold between realms, and the opening remains for only one turn. Individuals who pass bodily through find themselves in a bleak, desolate mirror image of the physical world, one wracked by howling winds that wear away at living minds. Mortals who cross over into this realm lose one Willpower Point for each turn that they're here. Once their Willpower is gone, they gain a temporary derangement and suffer one level of bashing damage per turn that may not be soaked. Demons can remain in this shadow realm for a number of turns equal to their Faith score without ill effects. After that point, they begin to suffer bashing damage as well. This evocation must be performed again to open a doorway that allows a Fiend or another to return to the physical realm. Such a "return" opening can be created on either side.

Torment: When a monstrous demon opens a portal to the Shadowlands, she risks losing focus and allowing some of the energies from beyond to slip into the physical realm. If the evocation succeeds, make a Willpower roll with the difficulty equal to the Fiend's torment. If the roll fails, the winds of the cosmic storm seep through, causing all mortals in the immediate area to make a Willpower roll (difficulty . If their rolls fail, they flee in terror. If a botch results, the victims suffer a temporary derangement.