Shakin' Hands With Mister D

Plasm of any sort, because of its intensely death-oriented energy, corrodes normal astral or spirit energies over any sort of prolonged contact. This corrosive effect is handled in a manner similar to the mechanics for drug use and abuse. For some purposes, it's also useful to track the current addiction modifiers for frequently indulging Necromancers, and this Rating is referred to as Cacophony. Note that Cacophony is not a NEW number... it's always kept track of for drug-addicted characters. This is just a useful label, because the same number can also be used for other things, because of what it measures. Aura Cohesion Damage and certain other effects can alter the Cacophony Rating from its Base Rating, as noted below. NOTE: Because of the limitations on when Plasm exposure can actually cause long-term and addictive effects, these rules will generally only apply in cases of Necromancers who routinely indulge in ghost-eating to bolster their EEP, and more rarely, characters who engage in a LOT of ghost-hunting, rather than characters who merely encounter Necromancy or ghosts in passing or on an occasional basis. Any given plasm exposure test will have modifiers based on the form of plasm, it's structure, the means of exposure, and aspects of the target's own aura as follows (Explanations for each modifier follow the chart :-):

Whenever any living being is exposed to plasmic energies of any sort, there is a chance that their Aura may be come dangerously tainted. (cf "Plasm Vector" below, as some exposures will NOT require a test.) In situations with multiple vectors and plasm-sources (For example, a fight with a Necromancer in a Haunt), only make ONE test, vs. the Highest Force plasm source, when the exposure ENDS. The Exposure Test is a Resisted (Spirit Strength + Atropiamancy) vs. (Addiction) roll and has the following effects based on the results of the Test:

The basic variant of Plasm can have a significant impact on how severely an exposure affects the target. Details on the nature of each type are found elsewhere (cf "The Nature Of The Beast"), here we'll only note the specific effects each type has on Plasm-Exposure mechanics:

• Ectoplasm: This basic form of Plasm is the standard, so exposure to it has no additional effects to it, of course. IF the Target of the exposure is already tainted by Protoplasm or Ichor, however, Ectoplasm exposure requires the normal Taint test.

• Protoplasm: The Material Nature of this form of Plasm renders it less potent, in terms of its ability to corrode the normal energies of a Living Aura. This is reflected by the reduced Tgt#'s for both Addiction and Tolerance. Note that Material Protoplasm untainted by Ichor, since it is not Dual Natured, cannot affect strictly astral targets. As explained in the section on plasm-conversion, any mixing of Protoplasm and Ectoplasm in the target's aura requires a Taint Test.

• Ichor: Ichor's Dual-Nature makes it particularly potent at eroding normal living aura's -- not only is it more additive, it toxifies the target's aura more readily, requiring greater and greater "doses" for beneficial effects and amplifying the negative effects of exposure (cf "Erosion" for details). As explained in the section on plasm-conversion, any mixing of Ichor and Ectoplasm in the target's aura requires a Taint Test.

Plasm occurs in four distinct forms, and each can have significant effects on how damaging a plasm exposure is.

• Raw Plasm is essentially that: plasmic energies without any form of patterning or control to them. It includes Haunts, Plasmic Masses, and the directed streams of plasmic energy that damage-causing necromantic spells employ. It adds its Force/2 to both total plasmic exposure "Doses" and the addiction Tgt# for the specific exposure.

• Focused Plasm is plasm that is organized and directed in some manner, and includes "Processed" non-animated plasm, Plasmic Radicals, EEP dice created within the target's aura, etc. Because Plasmic Radicals are the most commonly encountered Focused Plasm, its effects are measured in "Units", but for other forms of Focused Plasm, the Plasm's Force can be directly used instead. It adds Units/2 to both total plasmic Exposure "Doses" and the Tolerance Tgt#, but directly adds (Units) to the chance of addition because of its "pure" nature.

• Animate Plasm is the term used for Plasm with structure and animation imposed on it by an active will. This generally means "Bound" or lesser ghosts called by conjuration without use of a True Name. "Free-Spirit" Ghosts do NOT count as Animate Plasm because they possess Spirit Energy, which amounts to Focused Plasm mixed into an Animate Plasm matrix. Ghosts who have been rendered into their component Plasm by spell or Soulfires skill are FOCUSED Plasm, as the plasm in question is no longer animate. Because Animate Plasm is far more controlled than Raw or Focused Plasm, exposure to it is actually LESS damaging, counting as only Force/4 Doses towards Total Plasm Exposure, and giving a -2 to the Addiction chance. On the down side, the Animate nature of the Plasm is more likely to trigger the target's own aura's resistance, thus it gives a +1 to the Tolerance rating for the exposure.

• Complex Plasm is the plasm formed by "Free Spirit" Ghosts because they possess Spirit Energy, which amounts to Focused Plasm mixed into an Animate Plasm matrix. Because of it's layered, multifaceted nature, Complex Plasm is more addictive (+2 Tgt#) and less likely to trigger tolerance (-1). It counts as (Force/2) "doses" of total Plasm exposure.

• Exposure: The simplest and least intrusive means of plasm exposure, it's what happens when a target is AROUND plasm of any sort. This could mean being within an area containing an Ectoplasmic Background Count, or Interacting with a ghost in a way that doesn't involve actual "physical" contact. NOTE!: Simple Exposure has no effect unless the Force/Rating of the Plasm is GREATER than the Target's Spirit Strength (If Willpower is being used, the Plasm Rating must be greater than Willpower - 4). Simple Exposure to plasm counts as (Force/4) "Doses" toward total exposure, is fairly non-addictive (only adding (Force/2)-2 to Addiction Tgt#), and almost NEVER causes direct Erosion (thus reducing the Tolerance Tgt# to 2, REGARDLESS of any other modifiers).

• Channelling: Actual Channeling of or possession by a ghost, "eating" a ghost using Soulfires skill, suffering Aura-Integrity damage from a plasmic effect, or using Necromantic Sorcery causes a "Channelling" type of Plasm Exposure. NOTE!: Channelling exposure only has an effect if Force is Greater Than (Necrosis + Initiate Grade). Assuming it has any effect, a Channelling Plasm Exposure adds (Force/2) "Doses" of Total Plasm Exposure, +(Force/2) to the Addiction Tgt#, and a simple +2 (Regardless of Force) to the Tolerance Tgt#.

• Ingestion: Eating or breathing actual plasm in any form is an "Ingestion" type Plasm Exposure. This is most commonly found in cases of deliberate use of plasm as a drug, thus it has few modifiers to the basic "drug-use" characteristics of Plasm, counting as (Force) doses, for purposes of total plasm exposure. Note that in addition to the normal Addiction (etc.) rolls, a target that ingests Plasm will also take the Usage, Crash, and Permanent effects listed below.

• Injection: Plasm "Injection" exposure not only includes the drug-use ACTUAL injecting plasm into your system, but also suffering Aura-Cohesion damage from a plasmic effect. This is the most dangerous form of plasm-exposure: It counts as (Force) "Doses" toward total plasm exposure, and not only causes Usage, Crash, and Permanent effects described below, but adds (Force/2) to the Addiction Tgt#, and (Force/4) to the Tolerance Tgt#.

For obvious reasons, the condition of the Target's Aura is also a factor in how, and how severely, they are affected by an exposure to plasmic energies. UNlike the other factors affecting exposure results, any given target can, and probably WILL, have several of these situations in effect when they are exposed to plasmic energy.

• The ShadowBinding spell (cf) can be used in conjunction with Soulfires skill to bind ghosts to his aura. This can DRASTICALLY affect the impact of plasm exposure. The Target ADDS the total NUMBER of ShadowBound Ghosts to the "Doses" of total exposure (But not to any effects based on number of "Doses"), AND ADDS 3 OR the total force of all his ShadowBound Ghosts (whichever is greater) to his Addiction Tgt#.

• If the Target has ANY Aura Integrity Damage, they add (Necrosis/2) to the Addiction Tgt#. If they have ANY Aura Cohesion Damage, they add (Necrosis/2) to the Tolerance Tgt#.

• Cacophony, of course, is directly added to both Addiction and Tolerance Tgt#'s, since that's the DEFINITION of Cacophony :-)

• Necrosis, because it represents the Target's level of aura-corruption, makes it vastly more likely that the target will become addicted, but LESS likely that his aura will reject the incoming plasmic energy. ADD the Target's Necrosis to the Addiction Tgt#, and SUBTRACT the Target's Necrosis from the Tolerance Tgt#, to a minimum Tgt# of 2, of course.

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