Merits

Mental Merits

Area of Expertise

• Pre-req: Resolve 2 and one Skill Specialty. Effect: Gain +2 for the named specialty instead of +1

Common Sense

- ••• dots - Pre-req: None. Effect: Once per week (per HR:Durations) roll Wits+Composure and ask the ST a question. Exceptional success allows two questions to be asked. Pg 44 CoD

Danger Sense

- •• - Pre-req: None. Effect: +2 on Wits+Composure to spot an ambush. Pg 44 CoD

Direction Sense

- • - Pr-req: None. Effect: Never suffer penalties to navigate or find their way. Pg 44 CoD

Eidetic Memory

- •• - Pre-req: None. Effect: +2 when making Intelligence+Composure rolls to remember something. Pg 44 CoD

Encyclopedic Knowledge

- •• - Pre-req: None. Effect: Pick a skill to know a lot about, even if there are not dots in the skill. Roll Intelligence+Wits to gain a bit of information relevant to the skill from an ST. Pg 44 CoD

Eyes for the Strange

- •• - Pre-req: Resolve 2, Occult 1. Effect: Roll Intelligence+Composure to determine if there was a supernatural hand in a scene. Am exceptional gives a clue, via folklore, to the type of supernatural being it may have been. If there is not supernatural influence, gain +2 to all rolls to investigate the event. Pg 44 CoD

Fast Reflexes

- 1 to ••• - Pre-req: Wits 3 or Dexterity 3. Effect: +1 Initiative per dot. Pg 44 CoD

Good Time Management

- •- Pre-req: Academics 2 or Science 2. Effect: Halve time between rolls on extended actions. Pg 44 CoD

Holistic Awareness

- •- Pre-req: None. Effect: Roll Wits+Survival to collect holistic medical supplies. Pg 44 CoD

Indomitable

- •• - Pre-req: Resolve 3. Effect: +2 dice to resist supernatural influence, or -2 dice to their pool for a contested roll. Does not work on mundane methods of persuasion or manipulation. Pg 45 CoD

Interdisciplinary Specialty

- •- Pre-req: Skill at 3 or higher with a specialty. Effect: Pick a specialty and gain the ability to apply it to any roll that it makes sense to do so. Pg 45 CoD

Investigative Aide

- •- Pre-req: Chosen skill at 3+. Effect: Exceptional success on 3 instead of 5 for the purpose of uncovering Clues. Gain +1 element to Clues when using the chosen skill. Pg 45 CoD

Investigative Prodigy

- 1 to •••••- Pre-req: Wits 3 and Investigation 3. Effect: Uncover Clues equal to successes or dots, whichever is lower, as an instant action. Only the first Clue benefits from the extra elements. Other Clues only receive a single element. Pg 45 CoD.

Language

- •- Pre-req:None. Effect: Speak, read, and write another language. Pg 45 CoD

Library

- 1 to ••• - Pre-req: None. Effect: Pick a Mental Skill. Add dots of Library to extended rolls involving that skill. Pg 46 CoD

Meditative Mind

- 1, 2, or 4 dots. - Pre-req: None. Effect: 1-dot: No environmental or wound penalties to meditate. 2-dot: Gain +3 dice for any Resolve+Composure checks for that day. Needs 4 successes. 4-dot: Single success instead of four to benefit from the +3. Pg 46 CoD

Multilingual

- •- Pre-req: None. Effect: Pick 2 languages to speak conversationally in. Intelligence+Academics to try and read the language. May be taken multiple times. Pg 46 CoD

Patient

- •- Pre-req: None. Effect: Two additional rolls when doing an extended test. Pg 46 CoD

Professional Training

- 1 to •••••- Pre-req: None. See '+help Professional' for HR. Effect: Choose two starting asset skills. 1-dot: Gain two free contacts. 2-dot: 9-again for asset skills. 3-dot: Gain 3rd asset skill, and two specialties in asset skills. 4-dot: Gain a dot in an asset skill. 5-dot: Spend a willpower to gain rote. Removes defense for the turn. Pg 46 CoD

Tolerance for Biology

- •- Pre-req: Resolve 3. Effect: Don't roll to avoid vomiting when things are extra gross. Pg 46 Cod

Trained Observer

- 1 or ••• - Pre-req: Wits 3 or Composure 3. Effect: 1-dot: Gain 9-again on perception checks. 3-dot: Gain 8-again. Pg 46 CoD

Vice-Ridden

- •• - Pre-req: None. Effect: Two vices. Only gain willpower once per scene. Pg 46 CoD

Virtuous

- ••- Pre-req: None. Effect: Two virtues. Only gain willpower once per scene. Pg 46 CoD

Physical Merits

Ambidextrous

- 3 dot - Pre-req: Character generation only. Effect: No negative modifier for using the off-hand. Pg 47 CoD

Automotive Genius

- •- Pre-req: Crafts 3, Drive 1, Science 1. Effect: Triple crafts, instead of doubling, when determining how many mods a vehicle can handle. Specs add an additional +1 mod per spec that applies. Pg 47 CoD

Crack Driver

- 2 or ••• - Pre-req: Drive 3. Effect: 2-dots: Add composure to drive rolls when doing nothing but driving. Any rolls to disable the vehicle take a -driver's composure to the roll. 3-dot: Once per turn take a driving action reflexively. Pg 47 CoD

Demolisher

- 1 to ••• - Pre-req: Strength 3 or Intelligence 3. Effect: Ignor one point of an object's durability per dot of this merit. Pg 47 CoD

Double Jointed

- •• - Pre-req: Dexterity 3. Effect: Automatically escape bonds and subtract Dexterity from attempts to overpower the character when in a grapple. Pg 47 CoD

Fleet of Foot

- 1 to ••• - Pre-req: Athletics 2. Effect: +1 Speed per dot. Pursuers suffer -1 per dot when chasing. Pg 47 CoD

Giant

- ••• - Pre-req: Character generation only. Effect: Size 6 and gains +1 health box. Very tall. Pg 47 CoD

Hardy

- 1 to ••• - Pre-req: Stamina 3. Effect: Add dots of merit to rolls for resisting disease, poison, loss of consciousness, suffocation, and deprivation. Pg 47 CoD

Greyhound

- •- Pre-req: Athletics 3, Wits 3, Stamina 3. Effect: When in a chase, get an exceptional success on three successes instead of five. Pg 48 CoD

Iron Stamina

- 1 to ••• - Pre-req: Stamina 3 or Resolve 3. Effect: Counteracts negative modifiers from fatigue and damage. Pg 48 CoD

Parkour

(Style) - 1 to •••••- Pre-req: Dexterity 3 and Athletics 2. 1-dot: Ignore environmental penalties up to dots in Parkour. Subtract Parkour from successes needed to evade in a foot chase. 2-dots: 1 Autosuccess when using Dex+Ath to mitigate falling damage. Add Parkour rating to the number of damage that can be removed this way. Cannot be used on a terminal velocity fall. 3-dots: Without rolling, can run and jump to gain 10 feet+5 feet per dot of athletics as an instant action. 4-dot: Spend a willpower to gain rote on one athletics roll to jump, run, or climb. Lose defense for the turn. 5-dot: Meditate (per page 75 CoD), Athletics actions become reflexive. Spend a willpower and gain 3 autosuccesses instead of 3 dice. Pg 48 CoD

Quick Draw

- •- Pre-req: Wits 3, Specialty in Weaponry or Firearms. Effect: Drawing or holstering a weapon becomes a reflexive action anytime defense applies. Pg 49 CoD

Relentless

- •- Pre-req: Athletics 2, Stamina 3. Effect: Opponent's need two additional successes to catch or evade your character. Pg 49 CoD.

Seizing the Edge

- •• - Pre-req: Wits 3, Composure 3. Effect: Always have the Edge in the first turn of a chase (pg 84, CoD). Additionally, the other person must make a Wits+Composure test as if being ambushed, or your pc does not have to count Speed or Initiative when determining the needed successes for the first turn. Pg 49 CoD

Sleight of Hand

- •• - Pre-req: Larceny 3. Effect: Take one instant,larceny based action per turn. Unless someone is specifically looking for it, the action goes unnoticed. Pg 49 CoD

Small-Framed

- •• - Pre-req: Character generation only. Effect: Very short. Size 4. -1 Health. +2 to rolls for hiding or going unnoticed. Also applies when being small is an advantage. Drawback: Also may not be taken seriously by people. Pg 49 CoD

Stunt Driver

(Style) - 1 to 4 dots - Pre-req: Dexterity 3, Drive 3, Wits 3. Effect: 1-dot: Subtract pc's drive skill from opponent's pool when trying to hit or ram the pc's car. 2-dot: Double speed gains from 5 mph to 10 mph per success when accelerating. 3-dot: Never make maneuvering checks when turning at high-speed. 4-dot: Ignore damage equal to pc's Wits before applying Durability when intentionally hitting something with a vehicle. Pg 49 CoD

Social Merits

Allies

- 1 to •••••- Pre-req: None. Effect: Complex system in which you can ask an Ally for a favor, the intensity of the favor determined by how many dots the character has of the Ally. Pg 49 CoD

Alternate Identity

- 1, 2, or ••• - Pre-req: None. Effect: 1-dot: Basic fake ID, get into bars. Won't withstand inspection. 2-dot: Some paperwork has been filed to back up the identity, it will stand up to minor examination. 3-dot: A full identity that will pass a deeper inspection. At 1 and ••, gain +1 subterfuge to defend it. At •••, gain +2 subterfuge to defend that ID. Pg 50 CoD

Anonymity

- 1 to •••••- Pre-req: Cannot have Fame. Effect: A ghost in the system, the pc uses cash or prepaid or falsified cards to make purchases. Attempts to find them by paper trail are done at -1 per dot of this merit. Drawback: Cannot take the Fame merit. Also may limit some spends of Status if they cannot provide the kind of ID needed. Pg 50 CoD

Barfly

- •- Pre-req: Socialize 2. Effect: Rolls to identify the pc as an outsider at a venue are reduced by the character's socialize skill. Pg 50 CoD

Closed Book

- 1 to 5 - Pre-req: Manipulation 3, Resolve 3. Effect: Add dots as extra Doors in social maneuvers and to contested rolls to detect true feeling, motives, and position. This can apply to some supernatural powers at the ST's discretion. Pg 50 CoD

Contacts

- 1 to •••••- Pre-req: None. Effect: Complex system that interacts with Allies. Contacts provide information, but do not do favors. Pg 50 CoD

Fame

- 1 to ••• - Pre-req: Cannot have Anonymity merit. Effect: Add +1 die per dot when interacting with someone that is impressed by the pc's celebrity status. Drawbacks: Any rolls to find or identify the character are at +1 die per dot of the merit. Alternate identity may be used to mitigate this. Pg 50 CoD

Fast-Talking (Style)

- 1 to •••••- Pre-req: Manipulation 3, Subterfuge 2. Effect: 1-dot: -1 to an opponent's Resolve or Composure roll when resisting a social interaction. 2-dot: Use fancy words to confuse the opponent. Apply one relevant specialty to any social roll made, even if it isn't tied to the skill being used. 3-dot: Keep an opponent from advancing a discussion. Reroll one failed Subterfuge roll per scene. 4-dot: When your pc opens a Door using conversation (Persuasion, Empathy, Subterfuge, etc), they can spend a point of Willpower to immediately open another Door. 5-dot: If a mark gains willpower from their Vice while your pc is present, you can roll Manipulation+Subterfuge to open a Door, regardless of the interval or Impression level. Pg 50 CoD

Fixer

- •• - Pre-req: Contacts 2, Wits 2. Effect: When hiring a service reduce the Availability rating of the service by 1 dot. Pg 51 CoD

Hobbyist Clique - •• - Pre-req: Membership in a clique, all members must have the chosen skill at 2+. Effect: When the group's support is available, gain 9-again on rolls involving the chosen skill of the group, as well as +2 dice on extended rolls. Drawback: Mandatory monthly meetings or lose the benefits. Logs or it didn't happen. Pg 51 CoD

Inspiring

- ••• - Pre-req: Presence 3. Effect: Presence+Expression test. -1 for small group, -2 for small crowd, -3 for large crowd. Listeners gain the Inspired Condition. User may not gain the benefit. Pg 51 CoD

Iron Will

- •• - Pre-req: Resolve 4. Effect: When using willpower for extra dice when resisting or contesting a social interaction, you may use your Resolve for the number of dice, instead of what you normally get. If the roll is contested, gain 8-again on the roll. Pg 51 CoD

Mentor

- 1 to •••••- Pre-req: None. Effect: Mentors need goals and extract a payment based on the level of the merit. Choose 3 skills, or Resources. Once per day ('session' as per +help Durations), you may ask your Mentor for a favor (often asking a favor of like size/value in return). If a roll is required, they gain automatic successes equal to their dot-rating. Pg 51 CoD

Mystery Cult Initiation

- 1 to 5 - Pre-req: None. Effect: Complicated system with which a Mystery Cult can be built and give bonuses for being part of, at the cost of obligations and favors. Pg 51 CoD

Pusher

- •- Pre-req: Persuasion 2. Effect: Any time someone accepts Soft Leverage, improve your Impression as if you satisfied their Vice as well as moving their impression up on the chart. Pg 53 CoD

Resources

- 1 to •••••- Pre-req: None. Effect: Adds points to your +resource pool the first of every month. Pg 53 CoD

Retainer

- 1 to •••••- Pre-req: None. Effect: A named mook your pc controls. Gets dots-in-dice for generic rolls and two times dots in dice for tasks that fall within their profession. 1-•• gets •of a discipline, 3-4 gets •• of discipline, •••••gets ••• of disciplines for ghouled retainers. Pg 54 CoD

Safe Place

- 1 to •••••- Pre-req: Complex system that allows players to pool dots to make an epic Safe Place. Pg 54 CoD

Small Unit Tactics

- •• - Pre-req: Presence 3. Effect: Once per scene spend a willpower and use an Instant action. A number of pc's equal to your Presence gains the +3 from your willpower expenditure. Pg 54 CoD

Spin Doctor

- •- Pre-req: Manipulation 3, Subterfuge 2. Effect: When dealing with Tainted Clues you don't ignore successes. Instead, apply a minus 1 per relevant Tainted Clue. Using a Tainted Clue only gives a max minus 2 penalty, which includes the minus 1 of ignoring successes. Pg 54 CoD

Staff

- 1 to •••••- Pre-req: None. Effect: For every dot, pick a type of assistant and one skill for them. For mundane actions, the staff member gains one auto success for that skill. Does not work for contested rolls. Pg 54 CoD

Status

- 1 to •••••- Pre-req: None. Effect: Each instance of this merit reflects standing with different groups. Apply status dots to social rolls involving someone of the same group. Gain access to group-held facilities and resources, depending on the structure of the group. If you know a character's Mentor, Resources, Retainer, Contacts, or Allies you can block their use. One per chapter (+help Durations) you can stop a single merit from being used if it is of lower dot rating than your Status AND it makes sense for the organization to do so. Drawback: Status takes social maintenance. Pg 54 CoD

Striking Looks

- 1 or •• - Pre-req: None. Effect: +1 or +2 to social rolls where the chosen descriptor for your pc might influence someone else. Pg 54 CoD

Sympathetic

- •• - Pre-req: None. Effect: At the beginning of Social Maneuvering, accept a condition such as Leveraged or Swooned to remove two of the target's Doors. Pg 55 CoD

Table Turner

- •- Pre-req: Composure 3, Manipulation 3, Wits 3. Effect: Spend a willpower to preempt a character's attempt to Social Maneuver against you with one of your own, or another Social action. Pg 55 CoD

Takes One to Know One

- •- Pre-req: None. Effect: Removes minus 2 penalty for dealing with a crime that aligns to your pc's vice. Instead, gain +2 and 9 again to any investigation rolls when the crime aligns to your vice. A successful investigation is considered fulfilling his Vice. Pg 55 CoD

Taste

- •- Pre-req: Crafts 2 and a specialty in crafts or expression. Effect: