The Atariya
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| The strands of fate that wind around the Atariya stretch back into primeval times, and there is no mechanism, no foretelling, no rule of thumb for being able to tell when or where or how one will develop, but develop they have, and in spades. Sometimes their abilities manifest in subtle ways: that girl who works at the shop who never gets sick, a laborer who never gets hurt or never complains of back pain, or that woman from the news who managed to be that one, sole survivor of a horrific tragedy that claimed all other lives.
Most Atariya go their whole lives without ever realizing just how lucky they are. Of those small number that do, they are an active but decentralized lot in Philadelphia. These fortune-fixers and luck-changers tend to look out for themselves, and have been more of a loose association of fellow scallywags than an organized alliance, but a few influential figures have stood out over the years, and managed to gravitate pockets of influence around them. They've operated akin to bookie gangs of a sort, staking out casinos, horse races, house games, and if rumors are to be believed, some of them even have their hooks in the Pennsylvania Lottery.
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Staff
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Rules and System
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| All Atariya merits found in Hurt Locker are approved for play, as well as the custom style. The prerequisites are being Atariya, two dots of Manipulation, and three dots of Occult.
Bend Destiny - You have the ability to influence the outcome of fortune merely by thinking about it, and willing it so.
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Corner of Your Eye - Instant
Achieve exceptional success on three successes instead of five on Perception rolls.
How 'Bout That - Instant, Contested
Change fortune for the better or worse in a relatively modest way. This might be the equivalent of a small turn of good luck, like finding $100 in the laundry, or a spot of bad luck, like being distracted long enough to get into a fender-bender. If negative, targets contest your Manip + Occult roll with Composure + Supernatural Tolerance. This can be used once per scene.
Spatial Resonance - Instant
Use Manipulation + Occult to bless or curse an area equal to a maximum of 100 square yards, adding 9-again or subtracting 10-again from a designated Skill. Lasts a number of hours equal to successes.
Familiar Face - Instant
People just get a certain feeling about you, like they've seen you before. A successful Manipulation + Occult roll will afford you the benefits equivalent to two dots in Contacts, Allies, or Status relevant to the current scene. With an exceptional success on a Perception roll, someone else may notice that you don't belong, but they'll be unable to convince anyone else without resorting to Social Maneuvering. This can be used once per chapter, lasts one scene, and cannot be applied to Status Actions.
Tangle Destiny - Instant, Contested
Designate a Skill held by your target, and spend a point of Willpower to make a Manipulation + Occult roll, contested by Composure + Supernatural Tolerance. If your successes are greater, your target must subtract the difference from the number of successes on their next designated Skill roll (even if that happens after the scene ends). You can also imbue the Skill with a blessing, and add the 8-again quality for the number of rolls equal to the number of your successes. This can be used once per chapter.
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Joining the Atariya
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| When making an Atariya, consider the context of your fortune-changing abilities. How do they factor into your background; are you even aware that you may be subject to the blessing of golden luck? The Atariya can fit in anywhere, and many of them lead perfectly normal lives, so how does fortune twist fate in your favor? And what of the source? Were you born with it, or did something happen in your life that imbued you with this supernatural capacity to alter destiny?
Fate isn't always a loving mistress, and some of the Atariya, though blessed, are also tragically damned, stealing good fortune from anyone they touch. Or maybe you are part of one of the small groups that have cornered the gamblers' dens? While many and more of those who are aware of their true nature gravitate towards using their gifts to tempt the fate they believe they've mastered, or to fix fortune and change luck for their own gain, there are plenty who move through life doing as little as possible to ripple the surface of predestination, except in small, occasional ways, perhaps to spare themselves, perhaps to help others.
Atariya must have at least one dot in the Damn Lucky merit. This merit is not free. It is a prerequisite for every Atariya merit, so make sure it's on your sheet at character creation.
When you're ready to prepare your application, consult our complete application guidelines.
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Theme and Society
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| Do you coast through life like the happenstance, lucky motherfucker that you are? Do you use your abilities to improve your lot, to amass fortune and favor, or do you use it selflessly to aid your fellow, less fortunate citizens in Philadelphia? Are you plagued by the cost of your good fortune when you steal it from others, or do you charge with glee into the next fray, safe in the knowledge (perhaps undeservedly so) that destiny has conspired to protect you from your self-destructive, scofflaw ways?
Atariya are human, but some are less committed to their human lives than others, fully entrenching themselves in learning to play the instruments of fate that weave together the symphony, the cacophony of destiny. Who are you, and how does luck bend around you? And, more importantly, to what end will you bend it further?
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Current Plots
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| TBD
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