Using the Gem

Cost: 20 motes (committed) Target: Template:The creature from which the gem was crafted

To use the gem, the sorcerer invests it with 20 motes, as if it were an artifact. Doing so provokes a resisted and extended (Willpower + Essence) roll between the players of both sorcerer and target. The first side to acquire three net successes wins the contest.

If the target wins, roll her (Wits + Occult), difficulty equal to the sorcerer's Essence, to realize that something just tried to control her. The sorcerer may not attempt to control the target again for another 24 hours.

If the sorcerer wins, he takes complete control of the target's body for 24 hours. In this state, he not only has access to the body but may also plumb the target's memories. The sorcerer can use the target's Abilities or his own, whichever are greater. The possessed victim retains her Strength, Dexterity, Stamina, Perception and Appearance, but she uses the sorcerer's own Intelligence, Wits, Charisma and Manipulation. The sorcerer can also use any special, natural senses possessed by the target (including an animal's senses, such as a hound's sense of smell or a hawk's sight). The sorcerer does not have access to any of the target's magical abilities, spells or Charms, but he retains access to his own and can spend his own Essence to power them.

The caster and victim both cease normal recovery of Essence for as long as the sorcerer possesses the target. If the target takes any damage, the sorcerer suffers an equal number of unsoakable bashing health levels. If the creature dies while possessed, the jewel shatters, the spell breaks, and the sorcerer wakes up, losing three points of Willpower.

While controlling the target, the sorcerer must remain in one place, concentrating the entire time. He may break his concentration and withdraw his consciousness at any point during that day, then re-occupy the target later during that 24-hour period. The target has no control or conscious knowledge of its possession during this period. If the sorcerer withdraws his consciousness, the target remains in one place, staring off in the distance, until he resumes control.

While the target is being controlled, the presence of the spell can be noticed by anyone viewing her with some form of Essence sight or magic detection whose player makes a (Perception + Occult) roll, difficulty of the sorcerer's Essence. Those who succeed at this roll notice a strange overlay of ghostly Essence in an odd pattern over the target's spirit, and characters who know this spell automatically recognize its use. Countermagic against either the gem or the possessed victim can break the spell and destroy the gem. Otherwise, the sorcerer retains the gem indefinitely.