Possession

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OooOoOOOOoooOOoo spooky!

Possession

History

As old as the very first spirits, Possession has been used since the dawn of time to influence and manipulate the living in myriad directions both pernicious and positive.

Acquisition

The ability to acquire Possession is generally tied to one’s state of being– namely, it is most often wielded by Spirits. There is, however, another circumstance that confers the ability for other individuals to learn Possession, and that is to wield Apparation.

An Apparator who wishes to learn to possess others need only thin their frequency to incorporeal and then attempt to Shadow another living creature. Should they succeed, they will then be able to start imparting Suggestions and nurture their newfound skills from there.

Mageburn Symptoms

Possession expends Miasmata; those who push this discipline experience the same Mageburn Symptoms as Nekros, and being damaged or shattered whilst possessing others will cause tremendous damage to one's Psychoplasm - and thus their own Miasmata reserves. The act of Possession puts one at the same risks involved with Apparating at a high frequency and thus those who practice this craft risk becoming a Trace without much of a soul left to experience the afterlife with if vanquished mid act.

Spells

Like all Poetics, Possession uses the Metaphor of Miasmata to cast.

Suggestion

A Possessor’s Suggestion is the ability to impart intrusive thoughts into their targets, facilitated by any of their other spells– Shadowing, Symbiosis, Takeover, or Puppeteering. It doesn’t work on its own. Due note that thoughts that are very contrary to a host’s nature might tip them off to the presence of a spirit, should that host have the requisite knowledge to draw such a conclusion.

This spell is very flexible, and as such, it can be used for a variety of things depending on the Possessor’s intent. For example, they may Shadow a public speaker and then introduce an intrusive thought to distract them, thereby causing them to lose face in front of their audience; they may Suggest it's a good idea to jump off a cliff as a way to dodge an incoming attack; they might introduce strange suggestions to make somebody paranoid, and much more.
Some more patient Possessors may play a longer game, imparting Suggestions over a period of time to guide or shape another entity’s life or circumstances, for good or ill. They might try and lead somebody away from destructive habits just as easily as they might try and lead somebody into them.

Shadowing

Shadowing is a precursor to proper possession. A Possessor may inlay themselves within another creature, attaching themselves in the process. Through this, they can start imparting Suggestions.

Most of the time, a target of Shadowing will not notice. However, things like extremely acute awareness (Meditation), extrasensory abilities, artifacts, spirit blood and so on would all serve to allow a target awareness and even force the Possessor away.

Symbiosis

Symbiosis is how a Possessor may establish complete control and verisimilitude over and with a willing target. Depending on that target’s strength of will and personality, they may still be able to communicate by thought with the Possessor, or even share control.

Takeover

Takeover is how a Possessor may establish complete control and verisimilitude over and with an unwilling target. Depending on that target’s strength of will and personality, they may still be able to communicate by thought with the Possessor, or even wrest back control if their Meditation meets or exceeds the intruding entity’s.

Puppeteering

Puppeteering is how a Possessor may control multiple entities at once, though lacking the finer points of control found with Takeover or Symbiosis. This is done by extending outward tendrils of Miasmata and establishing a connection between themselves and their intended targets.

Tiers of Mastery

Novice

description

  • Suggestion:
    • As a novice, the Possessor’s suggestions are like whispers at the back of the mind. While easy to ignore, the right words, thoughts, or feelings, good enough timing, or a gullible enough victim would still find such suggestions believable.
    • Suggestions too contrary to the host’s nature will be ignored without fail and may tip off the host to the Possessor’s presence.
  • Shadowing:
    • Apprentice or higher Meditation (or equivalent mechanism) would resist novice Shadowing.
  • Symbiosis:
    • Unavailable at this tier.
  • Takeover:
    • Unavailable at this tier.
  • Puppeteering:
    • Unavailable at this tier.

Apprentice

description

  • Suggestion:
    • At apprentice, the Possessor’s suggestions are more than a whisper but still not very compelling on their own– they work best on more easily swayed targets, such as those under the influence of any myriad substances or magic.
    • Suggestions too contrary to the host’s nature will be ignored without fail and may tip off the host to the Possessor’s presence.
  • Shadowing:
    • Journeyman or higher Meditation (or equivalent mechanism) would resist apprentice Shadowing.
  • Symbiosis:
    • Unavailable at this tier.
  • Takeover:
    • Unavailable at this tier.
  • Puppeteering:
    • Unavailable at this tier.

Journeyman

description

  • Suggestion:
    • At journeyman, the Possessor’s suggestions more easily integrate into the thought patterns of their host, granting them far greater influence.
    • Suggestions that are too contrary to a host’s nature will still be jarring and easy to pass off as intrusive, but ignorable, thoughts and may still tip off the host to the Possessor’s presence.
  • Shadowing:
    • Expert or higher Meditation (or equivalent mechanism) would resist journeyman Shadowing.
  • Symbiosis:
    • Achieving Symbiosis is a slow, taxing process on both the Possessor and the host at this stage– it takes approximately 15 minutes and leaves both in a vulnerable, meditative state until completion.
    • Symbiosis is imperfect at this tier; if the host and Possessor attempt to move the shared body at the same time, these conflicting inputs may produce a myriad of unpleasant results ranging from strange, erratic movements, to seizures, to the Possessor being booted out from the host. Thus, it is recommended that only the Possessor attempts to control the body at this stage.
  • Takeover:
    • Unavailable at this tier.
  • Puppeteering:
    • Unavailable at this tier.

Expert

description

  • Suggestion:
    • At expert, the Possessor’s suggestions are almost seamless with the thought patterns of their host– though steeled minds may still notice the oddities thereof; scholars, monks, or those skilled with meditation, for example.
    • Expert is where it becomes properly viable to weave suggestions which starkly contradict a target’s nature and still manage to pass them off as the host’s own thoughts; at this stage, they are unlikely to tip off the host to the Possessor’s presence.
  • Shadowing:
    • Master or higher Meditation (or equivalent mechanism) would resist expert Shadowing.
  • Symbiosis:
    • At expert, achieving Symbiosis is much faster, taking only 5 minutes for the Possessor and host to synchronize.
    • Symbiosis is still volatile at this point, and the same precautions as at journeyman apply.
  • Takeover:
    • A successful Takeover grants the Possessor full control over the host’s physical faculties.
    • The host’s memories are not accessible.
    • If applicable, both the host and Possessor’s other magics are suppressed for the duration of the Takeover.
  • Puppeteering:
    • Unavailable at this tier.

Master

description

  • Suggestion:
    • At master, the Possessor’s suggestions are seamless with the thought patterns of their host, regardless of how contrary the suggestion is to the host’s nature.
  • Shadowing:
    • Ascended or higher Meditation (or equivalent mechanism) would resist master Shadowing.
  • Symbiosis:
    • Achieving Symbiosis is instantaneous.
    • The host and Possessor may both seamlessly control the shared body, though if conflicting inputs are given, the Possessor is prioritized.
  • Takeover:
    • A successful Takeover grants the Possessor full control over the host’s physical faculties.
    • At master, the Possessor now has access to their host’s memories.
    • If desired, the Possessor may access their own magics at this stage.
    • The Possessor may wield their host’s personal magics, but only up to expert tier.
  • Puppeteering:
    • A master may puppeteer up to 5 people at once.
    • The same rules for Takeover apply to Puppeteering.

Ascendant

description

  • Suggestion:
    • As a _, the Possessor’s suggestions are seamless with the thought patterns of their host, regardless of how contrary the suggestion is to the host’s nature.
  • Shadowing:
    • Ascended Meditation (or equivalent mechanism) would resist a _’s Shadowing.
  • Symbiosis:
    • Achieving Symbiosis is instantaneous.
    • The host and Possessor may both seamlessly control the shared body, though if conflicting inputs are given, the Possessor is prioritized.
  • Takeover:
    • A successful Takeover grants the Possessor full control over the host’s physical faculties.
    • The Possessor has access to their host’s memories.
    • The Possessor may wield their own personal magics.
    • The Possessor may intuitively wield any of their host’s personal magics regardless of skill.
  • Puppeteering:
    • A _ may puppeteer up to 12 people at once.
    • The same rules for Takeover apply to Puppeteering.

Creations

Ensorcelled charms and Mysticism's Spirit Blood may protect one from being possessed.

”blurb” - speaker 

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