Limbo and questions
 

In limbo, do I have to wait until im out of trauma, before recovering essence....


if someone trys sending me essence while im still in trauma, is it wasted?


Finally, ideas on how to cut down on dice rolls for chars in limbo?

Re: Limbo and questions
 

You do not gain Essence normally while in Trauma, but the Song of Celestial Tongues still works. (You can even use some of it on your Trauma rolls.)

To reduce the number of dice rolls, if you're okay with skirting the rules, and the players and GM are all okay with this option, do the following. Design the desired Vessel, and determine immediately how many weeks (points of Essence) it will take them to create it. See how many Will rolls they would normally have to make between waking up from Trauma and getting out this way. (In GURPS, you would divide by Will/4; GURPS Wills are high compared to standard IN, so that's probably a different formula.) Make a single Will roll, upon waking up from Trauma, penalized by the number just calculated.

Example: I want 15 Essence; I have Will 14 (in GURPS); Will/4=3.5; 15/3.5=4.28..., so I would normally make 4 Will rolls to stay in patiently. Under the speeded-up rule, I make one Will-4 roll to see if I can.

If you pass, you stay that long (plus Trauma time) and come out with the desired Vessel. If you fail, you can decide whether to come out weeks early with the desired Vessel but also (margin of failure) new levels of Corporeal Discord, or stay a multiple of the original Vessel-building time equal to the margin of failure and come out clean. Unfavorable Intervention means you stay at least 18 times that long and still don't come out until the GM's whim, or get bad news and have to come out fast and heavily Discorded. Favorable Intervention means you get a boatload of Essence from somewhere and can come out with a good Vessel immediately upon waking up from Trauma, or even faster if the source might have sent you enough to blow a few on the Trauma rolls.

Re: Limbo and questions
 

Yes, you have to recover from Trauma before you can start gaining essence. Presumably, that includes essence sent from outside! However, essence sent from outside increases your Will, so makes recovery easier even though you don't get to keep it.

You only need 15 essence to form a (admittedly puny) Vessel; since you're gaining one essence a week and making a roll one per (CelForces) weeks, for an average angel that's 5 rolls. (If you want something better, you're better off leaving Limbo and making a deal with an Impudite to get a decent essence supply, and then returning).
So the 5 rolls are really no big deal. And if you muff one, leave early and take some Corporeal Discord.