Façade Enlightenment

[Coinage]

I was reading "Mask of Humanity" by Christopher R. Rice in Pyramid 3/97, and the use of the Façade, and the Shroud, when I started thinking.

I was wondering, in an Urban Fantasy setting, various ways for the supernatural folk (for lack of a better term) to recruit mundane mortals, or for various mundane mortals to break through the Façade.

Using the Ritual Path Magic system, I designed a spell that would allow someone would get Illuminated to the Façade, as well as See Invisible:Façade.

Façade Illumination
"Using Greater Strengthen Mind, one single person is bestowed the supernatural mental advantage Illuminated, thus becoming immune to the Façade, which lasts for one year."

Energy Cost =
(Strengthen Mind (RPM 12) [3] (RPM 16)
+
Altered Trait: add Illuminated [15] (B60; Pyramid 3/97 17; RPM 16)
+
Duration: 1 Year [22] (RPM 18))
x
1 Greater Effect [x3] (RPM 19).
= 120 energy.


Façade Visibility
"Using Greater Strengthen Body, one single person is bestowed the supernatural mental advantage See Invisible (Façade), thus becoming immune to the Façade, which lasts for one year."

Energy Cost =
(Strengthen Body [3] (RPM 7)
+
Altered Trait: Add See Invisible (Façade) (B83; Pyramid 3/97 18; RPM 16) [15]
+
Duration: 1 Year [22] (RPM 18))
x
1 Greater Effect [x3] (RPM 19)
= 120 energy

Two questions: First, do the above spells work in RAW?

Second, does anyone else knew any other ways of a character breaking through the Façade RAW. Specifically, on Pyramid 3/97 page 15, when "a mundane witnesses supernatural forces or beings" gets a critical success on the second roll, the "Will" roll, Long-Term Consequence Table says that:

"The subject’s brush with the supernatural has enlightened him! If he has Mundane Background or any Delusion (False Memories) gained from the Façade, he loses them. At the GM’s option, he may also immediately spend available character points to purchase any supernatural or exotic trait the campaign allows. For better or worse, he knows the truth now. If the GM is using the rules from It’s an Ordinary World, p. 19, the subject also gains whatever trait represents enlightenment for the campaign." (RPM 15).

I was wondering if there was any spell or technique that would allow an automatic Critical Success on the Will Roll that determines the Long Term Consequences of exposure to the supernatural.

Basically, I am trying to make an initiation or spell that would allow a mundane person to be "welcomed into the masquerade", similar to how Neo was introduced to the Matrix in "The Matrix", or whatnot.

[Coinage]

I came up with another one:

SPELL NAME: The Red Pill
SPELL EFFECTS: Greater Strengthen Mind
INHERENT MODIFIERS: Bestows a Bonus, +8 to Will for Façade, both Initial Response and Long-Term Consequences (Pyramid #3/97, pg. 14-15)
GREATER EFFECTS: 1 (x 3)

The subject’s mind and will becomes fortified, ready to pierce that lie that surrounds the everyday world, and face the truth. This spell is meant to be a sort of initiation rite that allows an ordinary mundane people to become enlightened to the supernatural. This is if you want it done and over with quickly in one go. Ritualists are well advised to perform this ritual in areas where the Façade is weakest.

ENERGY COST =
([3] Strengthen Mind
As Lesser Strengthen mind can “provide up to … a bonus for mental actions (RPM 12)
+
[43] Bestows a Bonus, +8 to Will for Façade, both Initial Response and Long-Term Consequences, see below on my "Single Pair of Rolls" table for how I got the cost.)
x
[3] 1 Greater Effect, as the bonus exceeds the +5 limit of Lesser Strengthen Mind (RPM 12)
= Energy Cost 138



The goal behind this spell is basically to allow an in-game option for NPC’s or PC’s to achieve “whatever trait represents enlightenment for the campaign.” (Pyramid 3/97 15). The idea is that one is exposed to the supernatural in a safe and controlled environment in an area where the Façade is weakest, the supernatural is friendly.

I arrived at the +8 modifier by the fact that the most common number to roll on 3 d6’s is 11. 11-8 = 3, which in GURPS is a critical success. The idea is to make achieving a critical success as easy as possible. In the Façade RAW, this means that the character achieves whatever advantage represents “enlightenment”.

Obviously, players should try to stack the odds in their favor as much as possible. They can modify the spell to make the result even easier if necessary.

The bonus is only for a single roll, As such, I arrived at the cost of the Bestows a Bonus modifier by taking the Bestows a Bonus modifier for a Narrow range, and calculating 1/3 of the cost. Below is the table I came up with.

(RPM 17)
Bestows a (Bonus or Penalty)

Modifier -- Broad --- Moderate -- Narrow -- Single Pair of Rolls*
±1 -------- 5 ---------- 2 --------- 1 ---------- 1
±2 -------- 10 --------- 4 --------- 2 ---------- 1
±3 -------- 20 --------- 8 --------- 4 ---------- 2
±4 -------- 40 -------- 16 --------- 8 ---------- 3
±5 -------- 80 -------- 32 -------- 16 --------- 6
±6 -------- 160 ------- 64 -------- 32 -------- 11
±7 -------- 320 ------- 128 ------- 64 -------- 22
±8 -------- 640 ------- 256 ------ 128 ------- 43

* The "Single Pair of Rolls" column is the one I developed.



Bestows a (Bonus or Penalty) for a single pair of rolls
Mod ----- Single Pair of Rolls
±1 ------- 1
±2 ------- 1
±3 ------- 2
±4 ------- 3
±5 ------- 6
±6 ------- 11
±7 ------- 22
±8 ------- 43
±9 ------- 86


What do you think?

[Coinage]

Here's another one.

SPELL NAME: The Truth Is Here
SPELL EFFECTS: Lesser Strengthen Mind
INHERENT MODIFIERS: Bestows a Bonus, +5 to Will
GREATER EFFECTS: 0 (x 1)

This spell is a more general form of Red Pill. It adds a +5 to all Will checks for about 10 minutes.

When it comes to enlightening a mundane, the bonus is not as strong as Red Pill, but the fact that occurs over 10 minutes means that one can expose an initiate to the supernatural multiple times. So, if it doesn’t work the first time, try it again.

ENERGY COST =
([3] Strengthen Mind, As Lesser Strengthen mind can “provide up to +5 a bonus for mental actions (RPM 12)
+
[16] Bestows a Bonus, +5 to Will rolls affecting 1 person (RPM 16)
+
[1] Duration: 10 minutes.)
= Energy Cost 20

[Coinage]

Enlightenment Gatekeeper



Spell Title: Enlightenment Gatekeeper
Spell Effects:
[5 energy cost] = Lesser Control Chance (RPM 8, 15) [5]

Inherent Modifiers:
[20 energy cost] = Super Luck (RPM 16-17) [100]; (Aspected, Façade Long-Term Consequences Will Rolls [-20%]) (P110, PU8_11)

Greater Effects: 0 (x1).

Description:
When cast, the caster is allowed to choose for the subject the result of a one Will roll for the Long-Term Consequences (Pyramid #3/97, pg. 14-15). On the one hand, this can be used to grant the target a critical success, allowing the subject to gain “whatever trait represents enlightenment for the campaign” (Pyramid #3/97, pg. 15). On the other hand, this can also be used give the subject a critical failure, ensuring that the subject “immediately gains Mundane Background” (Pyramid #3/97, pg. 15).

Because of the incredibly narrow Aspect of the Super Luck, this is counted as a Lesser Control Chance.

Typical Casting:
Lesser Control Chance (5 energy)
+
Super Luck (RPM 16-17) [100]; (Aspected, Façade Long-Term Consequences Will Rolls [-20%]) (P110, PU8_11) (20 energy)
=
25 energy (25x1)