Coyotekin
Catalytic Diplomat
OK everyone, this is a style that a friend of mine designed and I helped to create as well. It is focused around Thaumaturgy. I'd love to hear any comments, suggestions, or such to make this a great style. There are eventually plans to make a Celestial level on focused around Sorcery.
Name: Essence Sheathed Strike
Cost: 1m
Type: Supplemental
Duration: Instant
Req.: Thaumaturgy Initiate Degree, Occult 2, Martial Arts 2
Flavor: There once was a man who looked to reach beyond the limits others around him accepted. In time, he found himself graced by the gold of the sun and guarded by the light of a darkened moon.
Effect: The Martial Artist uses their essence, sheathing their limbs in essence colored to the magical material of the Exalt who granted them their enlightened essence or the color of the element they are most closely aligned with if they achieved it through other means. This changes an unarmed strike into a lethal damage strike instead of bashing and adds two dice to the damage roll. In addition, for each Art the Martial Artist has a degree in, they may add one bonus die to their attack roll as if using an excellency, but add no more dice than the highest degree rating they posses. An Awakened Essence martial artist can only add three dice to their attack roll if they hold a Master degree in any Thaumaturgical Art.
　
Name: Shared Sight
Cost: 5m +1 per individual up to your permanent essence.
Type: Simple
Duration: One Scene
Req.: Essence Sheathed Strike
Flavor: Through his life, the trials he survived, the man sought to see and through his knowledge others would find themselves granted his wisdom.
Effect: Essence is a part of all beings of creation flowing throughout every creature and everything as part of Creation’s great plan. Such an intimate understanding allows the thaumaturge to share some of this enlightenment with others for a limited time, bringing awareness the many others worlds that co-exist with Creation. Initially, this grants the Thaumaturgist the 'sight' effect without the requirement of a ritual. In addition, for one mote the Thaumaturge is able to share any enhanced senses (death sight, essence sight, etc) currently active with someone else as a diceless action requiring physical contact. This charm empowers the thaumaturge and any receiving this gift with +2 dice to hit creatures belonging to the sight category they receive.
Name: Preparing The Space
Cost: 6m +1m per additional individual.
Type: Simple
Duration: One scene
Req.: Sharing the Sight, Occult 3
Flavor: Gathering his knowledge, he initiated others, offering them what he knew, drawing them into the flows of Creation.
Effect: The Martial Artist focuses inwards and cleanses themselves along with their ritual area and any assistants (who must be at least initiates in thaumaturgy) with their essence, leaving the place with the feeling of being holy. While enacting this charm, the area becomes wrapped with an aura colored under the same terms as Essence Sheathed Strike until the area is purified. The initial cost for charm allows one botched roll to be rerolled during the procedure that follows the use of this charm, but this assumes the Thaumaturge has one assistant. Without a primary assistant, the thaumaturge gains no ability to reroll a botch. In addition, for every additional assistant purified, the thaumaturge adds one automatic success (up to their permanent essence score) towards the roll required for the ritual. This charm counts as preparing a ritual space and purifying it for one procedure.
For example, Darkened Sky, an enlightened mortal with a permenant essence score of 2, is preparing for a ritual and has three assistants. He pays six motes to prepare and purify the ritual space and one additional mote to purify one of his assistants. This only grants him the ability to reroll a single botched roll during the ritual. Had he spent two more motes, totaling 8 motes spent, he could have gained two automatic successes for the ritual's roll. He could not have had a fourth assistant to gain one more success unless he had an essence score of 3.
Name: Guarding Creation Focus
Cost: 2m
Type: Supplemental
Duration: Instant
Req.: Preparing The Space, Thaumaturgy Warding Adept Degree, Martial Arts 3
Flavor: By intent or effect, he sheltered others from the world that would break them, standing protective over those in his care.
Effect: The Martial Artist is able to automatically expel a possessing entity of lesser essence than their permanent Essence score. If the creature is of equal or higher essence, the martial artist gains bonus dice equal to their martial arts to expel the possessing entity. However, if the entity’s essence score is more than two dots higher, they are unaffected by this charm.
(Note: The roll required to expel an entity is Manipulation + Occult + Degree as per rules for Expulsion.)
Name: Waking Essence Form
Cost: 8 motes, 1 willpower / 2 willpower
Type: Simple
Duration: one scene / one day
Req.: Guarding Creation Focus, Essence 2, Occ. 4
Flavor: For his knowledge, his heart, his dedication, the man was rewarded. Enlightenment flooded his form, granting him the means to pursue knowledge further.
Effect: Being so aware of the flow of essence in all things as an advanced student of Thaumaturgy and the way of Awakened Essence, the martial artist becomes aware of the location of enemies and allies alike. This awareness provides a bonus in the form of a +2 to their DVs. This form also removes no more than 2 levels of internal or external penalties that may apply toward their dice rolls for rituals.
Alternatively, the Thaumaturge can forgo the +2 to DVs in order to decrease the training times for their students in matters regarding lore, occult, or linguistics, to include learning higher degrees of Thaumaturgy and additional rituals. This also enhances the training time of Awakened Essence style, but no other martial arts related training. When using the charm in this way, each day of training counts as two and it must be invoked each day. This use of the charm requires two willpower instead of the normal one.
　
Name: Warding the Scale
Cost: 3m/6m/9m (based on the required degree of the ward used)
Type: Simple
Duration: One Scene
Req.: Waking Essence Form
Flavor: Knowledge grants power, essence enhances power. Those of Awakened Essence know that some times the ritual simply needs to be done now.
Effect: The Martial Artist’s knowledge of the occult and warding grants them the ability to turn themselves into a temporary ward of the highest type they know. With a simple inscription upon an available surface (which could concievably be part of a living body and thus mobile), whether using chalk, ink, or the blood of an enemy, the Thaumaturge turned martial artist is able to place a temporary ward, of up to the highest strength ward he knows of whatever Art he knows. The ward lasts for one scene and the martial artist is still subject to the same limitations of wards enacted normally through ritual. i.e., if the inscription is broken for whatever means the ward is destroyed. The radius of this ward is permanent essence times five yards.
(Note: Nonetheless this also allows the martial artist to prepare a ward ahead of time and empower it through the Charm in place of enacting the full ritual. This allows the martial artist to set up a larger area than what the Charm normally creates on its own. This does not harm or change the prepared area and may still be empowered normally through ritual at a later time.)
Name: The Master's Tools
Cost: 5m
Type: Simple
Duration: Varies
Req.: Warding the Scale
Flavor: A Master's knowledge, like his tools, should stand ready. Never are they caught without a proper tool.
Effect: The Thaumaturge's tools know their owner. Using this, the thaumaturge enhances a possession of his, preferrably a tool of thaumaturgy, for his defense. If the item is already able to be considered a weapon, it may only be modified through Enchantment (as detailed below). A small, improvised weapon, consisting of an item of up to short sword size has the base statistics of Spd 4, Acc +1, 2 B/L [as appropriate to the attacking surface], Def 0, Rate 2. A large, improvised weapon of up to 2m in length and 5 kg. The large item so empowered has the following base stats: Spd 5, Acc -1, Dmg +5 B/L [as appropriate to the attacking surface], Def -1, Rate 1. This charm lasts until the essence commited to the object are released. This also makes the enhanced object count as a form weapon for purposes of this style. In addition, should the Thaumaturge understand the Art of Enchanting, and knows the proper rituals, they may temporarily enchant a weapon with Fine, Exceptional, or Perfect traits as appropriate. This costs 1, 2, and 4 motes respectively and will only last a scene. This duration may be extended to the martial artist’s (Essence) days for the cost of 1 temporary WP spent during the enactment of this Charm and by committing the additional motes of Essence.
Name: Shenji’s Guidance
Cost: 10m
Type: Simple
Duration: Dramatic Action
Req.: The Master's Tools
Flavor: Even the most learned need guidance from time to time, but they know when they truly need aid.
Effect: The practitioner of the Awakened Essence Style enters a meditative trance, opening themselves to the essence flows of Creation and focuses their mind on their current need that requires a procedure they do not possess. The thaumaturge may roll intelligence + occult at difficulty 5. They may only apply the dice of the appropriate thaumaturgy degree to this roll, as is standard when conducting a normal Thaumaturgy roll for each Art. This state is effectively a direct prayer and petition to Shenji, the God of Thaumaturgy. Should the thaumaturge succeed and possess the necessary degree to learn the procedure they are immediately enlightened on it. It should be noted that use of this charm without having done one’s own research about said ritual, its requirements, etc. before hand is a direct insult to Shenji and the practitioner can be assured they will fail a ritual miserably at some point unknown for such disrespect. If there is no information on the ritual to be researched, the research must be done to show a dedicated attempt to find a necessary ritual for the Thaumaturge's needs.
This charm may only be invoked once per month regardless of failure or success.
(Note: Bonus' as follows: High Realm Calligraphy +1 die, Old Realm Calligraphy +3 dice (does not stack with High Realm's bonus), Due dilligence in research (the character actually bothered doing all reasonable research) +1 die, Exhaustive research (the character exhausted all means available to him) +1-+3 dice (As determined by the ST), Lack of due dilligence -5 external penalty)
Name: Scholar's Focus
Cost: 10m
Type: Simple
Duration: One training time
Req.: Shenji’s Guidance, Martial Arts 4
Flavor: The Awakened Essence Thaumaturge understands that learning is an element of life. They embrace the pursuit of knowledge.
Effect: This charm is where the Thaumaturge focuses their essence and concentrates on their mind. This allows them to halve their training time regarding lore, occult, or linguistics, to include learning higher degrees of Thaumaturgy and additional rituals. Given a need to expedite the learning the subject at hand a Thaumaturge may spend an additional 1 xp (in addition to any XP costs for what they are learning) and learn the skill immediately in a flash of divine insight from Shenji (assuming they have not earned Shenji's wrath). The additional 1 xp represents the Thaumaturge giving a bit of their souls to Shenji in pursuit of higher knowledge. This charm does reduce the training time involved in teaching Awakened Essence, despite the Martial Arts aspect. During this time the essence remains commited to the effect.
Name: Essence Drawing Meditation
Cost: Varies (2m+, 1 willpower)(10m+, 1 wp+)
Type: Simple
Duration: Four Hours
Req.: Scholar's Focus, Thaumaturgy Master Degree, Occult 5, Martial Arts 5, Essence 3
Flavor: It is whispered amongst those who learn this art that those who have lived their lives in reverence to Shenji and given their lives to the teaching, as well as the pursuit, of Thaumaturgy can utter a prayer to the God of Thaumaturgy during their deepest meditation. Only those who seek to spend immortality in the pursuit of teaching, expanding, and excellence in Thaumaturgy should dare to utter such a prayer for those who have failed become wretched, like someone exiled from something that defined their life.
Effect: The Thaumaturge enters into a meditative state which offers one of two benefits. The first is entering a dream-like state of meditation where the Thaumaturge is fully lucid and able to control their dreams, fashioning them however they want. The benefit of this invocation is for every two motes spent at the invocation of this charm, they may convert one die of their roll to regain willpower to an automatic success upon waking. This state lasts for four hours and counts as a full night's sleep.
The second invocation may only be done once and it is a direct petition to Shenji for immortality. This petition may be directed to another individual by a celestial exalt, but regardless the subject of the petition is subjected to an int+occ roll, with no benefit of thaumaturgy degree dice of a difficulty of 25. For every Master degree in Thaumaturgy, reduce the difficulty by 1 (up to a maximum reduction of 5), for every student taught to at least an adept degree reduce the difficulty by 1 (up to a maximum reduction of 10), and for every ten procedures added or rediscovered reduce the difficulty by 1 (up to a maximum reduction of 10). These three methods of reducing the difficulty stack together but cannot make the roll have a difficulty of less than 1. A petition prepared on a prayer strip in Old Realm will add one success to the thaumaturge's roll for every two successes gained on the roll to create it.
An exalt paying the 10 mote and 1 willpower cost is effectively petitioning on behalf of one individual. In addition, this payment can be repeated as long as the exalt has motes and willpower to pay in respect to Shenji in order to add one autosuccess to the subject's roll. This can be done as many times as they have motes and willpower to spend. An exalt using their charm can never gain more of a response than the granting of the base boon by shenji, but the subject of their petition may be granted the highest boon.
If the Thaumaturge is found gravely lacking, Shenji will completely ignore the petition and it will never again reach his ears. In addition, the Thaumaturge will find themselves unable to learn any new degrees or procedures in Thaumaturgy and they lose their essence in dice when attempting any thaumaturgy procedure. If the Thaumaturge is in Shenji's favor but has not met Shenji's requirements for immortality to be granted, the Thaumaturge becomes protected from any attack on their dreams that comes from a being of equal or lesser essence, this also prevents the fair folk from being able to feed on the Thaumaturge. Mechanically, this is the level of attention gained by succeeding on the intelligence + occult roll, the next highest level of attention is gained by the next boon. If the Thaumaturge is found to be in Shenji's greatest graces, they will find themselves entering the Celestial Bureaucracy in his service. This highest boon can only be granted at the ST's discretion, no dice roll will garuntee this boon.
(Note: It is also whispered that only those that truly attain such Mastery of their trade, having given so much of themselves in the pursuit and teaching of the Thaumaturgical Arts may petition Shenji once in their lives for divinity. Only those who truly seek to spend immortality in the pursuit of Thaumaturgy, excellence in it, and the education to others of it, should dare such a prayer. [Can figure out further flavor text and appropriate rolls and diff later])
Name: Essence Sheathed Strike
Cost: 1m
Type: Supplemental
Duration: Instant
Req.: Thaumaturgy Initiate Degree, Occult 2, Martial Arts 2
Flavor: There once was a man who looked to reach beyond the limits others around him accepted. In time, he found himself graced by the gold of the sun and guarded by the light of a darkened moon.
Effect: The Martial Artist uses their essence, sheathing their limbs in essence colored to the magical material of the Exalt who granted them their enlightened essence or the color of the element they are most closely aligned with if they achieved it through other means. This changes an unarmed strike into a lethal damage strike instead of bashing and adds two dice to the damage roll. In addition, for each Art the Martial Artist has a degree in, they may add one bonus die to their attack roll as if using an excellency, but add no more dice than the highest degree rating they posses. An Awakened Essence martial artist can only add three dice to their attack roll if they hold a Master degree in any Thaumaturgical Art.
　
Name: Shared Sight
Cost: 5m +1 per individual up to your permanent essence.
Type: Simple
Duration: One Scene
Req.: Essence Sheathed Strike
Flavor: Through his life, the trials he survived, the man sought to see and through his knowledge others would find themselves granted his wisdom.
Effect: Essence is a part of all beings of creation flowing throughout every creature and everything as part of Creation’s great plan. Such an intimate understanding allows the thaumaturge to share some of this enlightenment with others for a limited time, bringing awareness the many others worlds that co-exist with Creation. Initially, this grants the Thaumaturgist the 'sight' effect without the requirement of a ritual. In addition, for one mote the Thaumaturge is able to share any enhanced senses (death sight, essence sight, etc) currently active with someone else as a diceless action requiring physical contact. This charm empowers the thaumaturge and any receiving this gift with +2 dice to hit creatures belonging to the sight category they receive.
Name: Preparing The Space
Cost: 6m +1m per additional individual.
Type: Simple
Duration: One scene
Req.: Sharing the Sight, Occult 3
Flavor: Gathering his knowledge, he initiated others, offering them what he knew, drawing them into the flows of Creation.
Effect: The Martial Artist focuses inwards and cleanses themselves along with their ritual area and any assistants (who must be at least initiates in thaumaturgy) with their essence, leaving the place with the feeling of being holy. While enacting this charm, the area becomes wrapped with an aura colored under the same terms as Essence Sheathed Strike until the area is purified. The initial cost for charm allows one botched roll to be rerolled during the procedure that follows the use of this charm, but this assumes the Thaumaturge has one assistant. Without a primary assistant, the thaumaturge gains no ability to reroll a botch. In addition, for every additional assistant purified, the thaumaturge adds one automatic success (up to their permanent essence score) towards the roll required for the ritual. This charm counts as preparing a ritual space and purifying it for one procedure.
For example, Darkened Sky, an enlightened mortal with a permenant essence score of 2, is preparing for a ritual and has three assistants. He pays six motes to prepare and purify the ritual space and one additional mote to purify one of his assistants. This only grants him the ability to reroll a single botched roll during the ritual. Had he spent two more motes, totaling 8 motes spent, he could have gained two automatic successes for the ritual's roll. He could not have had a fourth assistant to gain one more success unless he had an essence score of 3.
Name: Guarding Creation Focus
Cost: 2m
Type: Supplemental
Duration: Instant
Req.: Preparing The Space, Thaumaturgy Warding Adept Degree, Martial Arts 3
Flavor: By intent or effect, he sheltered others from the world that would break them, standing protective over those in his care.
Effect: The Martial Artist is able to automatically expel a possessing entity of lesser essence than their permanent Essence score. If the creature is of equal or higher essence, the martial artist gains bonus dice equal to their martial arts to expel the possessing entity. However, if the entity’s essence score is more than two dots higher, they are unaffected by this charm.
(Note: The roll required to expel an entity is Manipulation + Occult + Degree as per rules for Expulsion.)
Name: Waking Essence Form
Cost: 8 motes, 1 willpower / 2 willpower
Type: Simple
Duration: one scene / one day
Req.: Guarding Creation Focus, Essence 2, Occ. 4
Flavor: For his knowledge, his heart, his dedication, the man was rewarded. Enlightenment flooded his form, granting him the means to pursue knowledge further.
Effect: Being so aware of the flow of essence in all things as an advanced student of Thaumaturgy and the way of Awakened Essence, the martial artist becomes aware of the location of enemies and allies alike. This awareness provides a bonus in the form of a +2 to their DVs. This form also removes no more than 2 levels of internal or external penalties that may apply toward their dice rolls for rituals.
Alternatively, the Thaumaturge can forgo the +2 to DVs in order to decrease the training times for their students in matters regarding lore, occult, or linguistics, to include learning higher degrees of Thaumaturgy and additional rituals. This also enhances the training time of Awakened Essence style, but no other martial arts related training. When using the charm in this way, each day of training counts as two and it must be invoked each day. This use of the charm requires two willpower instead of the normal one.
　
Name: Warding the Scale
Cost: 3m/6m/9m (based on the required degree of the ward used)
Type: Simple
Duration: One Scene
Req.: Waking Essence Form
Flavor: Knowledge grants power, essence enhances power. Those of Awakened Essence know that some times the ritual simply needs to be done now.
Effect: The Martial Artist’s knowledge of the occult and warding grants them the ability to turn themselves into a temporary ward of the highest type they know. With a simple inscription upon an available surface (which could concievably be part of a living body and thus mobile), whether using chalk, ink, or the blood of an enemy, the Thaumaturge turned martial artist is able to place a temporary ward, of up to the highest strength ward he knows of whatever Art he knows. The ward lasts for one scene and the martial artist is still subject to the same limitations of wards enacted normally through ritual. i.e., if the inscription is broken for whatever means the ward is destroyed. The radius of this ward is permanent essence times five yards.
(Note: Nonetheless this also allows the martial artist to prepare a ward ahead of time and empower it through the Charm in place of enacting the full ritual. This allows the martial artist to set up a larger area than what the Charm normally creates on its own. This does not harm or change the prepared area and may still be empowered normally through ritual at a later time.)
Name: The Master's Tools
Cost: 5m
Type: Simple
Duration: Varies
Req.: Warding the Scale
Flavor: A Master's knowledge, like his tools, should stand ready. Never are they caught without a proper tool.
Effect: The Thaumaturge's tools know their owner. Using this, the thaumaturge enhances a possession of his, preferrably a tool of thaumaturgy, for his defense. If the item is already able to be considered a weapon, it may only be modified through Enchantment (as detailed below). A small, improvised weapon, consisting of an item of up to short sword size has the base statistics of Spd 4, Acc +1, 2 B/L [as appropriate to the attacking surface], Def 0, Rate 2. A large, improvised weapon of up to 2m in length and 5 kg. The large item so empowered has the following base stats: Spd 5, Acc -1, Dmg +5 B/L [as appropriate to the attacking surface], Def -1, Rate 1. This charm lasts until the essence commited to the object are released. This also makes the enhanced object count as a form weapon for purposes of this style. In addition, should the Thaumaturge understand the Art of Enchanting, and knows the proper rituals, they may temporarily enchant a weapon with Fine, Exceptional, or Perfect traits as appropriate. This costs 1, 2, and 4 motes respectively and will only last a scene. This duration may be extended to the martial artist’s (Essence) days for the cost of 1 temporary WP spent during the enactment of this Charm and by committing the additional motes of Essence.
Name: Shenji’s Guidance
Cost: 10m
Type: Simple
Duration: Dramatic Action
Req.: The Master's Tools
Flavor: Even the most learned need guidance from time to time, but they know when they truly need aid.
Effect: The practitioner of the Awakened Essence Style enters a meditative trance, opening themselves to the essence flows of Creation and focuses their mind on their current need that requires a procedure they do not possess. The thaumaturge may roll intelligence + occult at difficulty 5. They may only apply the dice of the appropriate thaumaturgy degree to this roll, as is standard when conducting a normal Thaumaturgy roll for each Art. This state is effectively a direct prayer and petition to Shenji, the God of Thaumaturgy. Should the thaumaturge succeed and possess the necessary degree to learn the procedure they are immediately enlightened on it. It should be noted that use of this charm without having done one’s own research about said ritual, its requirements, etc. before hand is a direct insult to Shenji and the practitioner can be assured they will fail a ritual miserably at some point unknown for such disrespect. If there is no information on the ritual to be researched, the research must be done to show a dedicated attempt to find a necessary ritual for the Thaumaturge's needs.
This charm may only be invoked once per month regardless of failure or success.
(Note: Bonus' as follows: High Realm Calligraphy +1 die, Old Realm Calligraphy +3 dice (does not stack with High Realm's bonus), Due dilligence in research (the character actually bothered doing all reasonable research) +1 die, Exhaustive research (the character exhausted all means available to him) +1-+3 dice (As determined by the ST), Lack of due dilligence -5 external penalty)
Name: Scholar's Focus
Cost: 10m
Type: Simple
Duration: One training time
Req.: Shenji’s Guidance, Martial Arts 4
Flavor: The Awakened Essence Thaumaturge understands that learning is an element of life. They embrace the pursuit of knowledge.
Effect: This charm is where the Thaumaturge focuses their essence and concentrates on their mind. This allows them to halve their training time regarding lore, occult, or linguistics, to include learning higher degrees of Thaumaturgy and additional rituals. Given a need to expedite the learning the subject at hand a Thaumaturge may spend an additional 1 xp (in addition to any XP costs for what they are learning) and learn the skill immediately in a flash of divine insight from Shenji (assuming they have not earned Shenji's wrath). The additional 1 xp represents the Thaumaturge giving a bit of their souls to Shenji in pursuit of higher knowledge. This charm does reduce the training time involved in teaching Awakened Essence, despite the Martial Arts aspect. During this time the essence remains commited to the effect.
Name: Essence Drawing Meditation
Cost: Varies (2m+, 1 willpower)(10m+, 1 wp+)
Type: Simple
Duration: Four Hours
Req.: Scholar's Focus, Thaumaturgy Master Degree, Occult 5, Martial Arts 5, Essence 3
Flavor: It is whispered amongst those who learn this art that those who have lived their lives in reverence to Shenji and given their lives to the teaching, as well as the pursuit, of Thaumaturgy can utter a prayer to the God of Thaumaturgy during their deepest meditation. Only those who seek to spend immortality in the pursuit of teaching, expanding, and excellence in Thaumaturgy should dare to utter such a prayer for those who have failed become wretched, like someone exiled from something that defined their life.
Effect: The Thaumaturge enters into a meditative state which offers one of two benefits. The first is entering a dream-like state of meditation where the Thaumaturge is fully lucid and able to control their dreams, fashioning them however they want. The benefit of this invocation is for every two motes spent at the invocation of this charm, they may convert one die of their roll to regain willpower to an automatic success upon waking. This state lasts for four hours and counts as a full night's sleep.
The second invocation may only be done once and it is a direct petition to Shenji for immortality. This petition may be directed to another individual by a celestial exalt, but regardless the subject of the petition is subjected to an int+occ roll, with no benefit of thaumaturgy degree dice of a difficulty of 25. For every Master degree in Thaumaturgy, reduce the difficulty by 1 (up to a maximum reduction of 5), for every student taught to at least an adept degree reduce the difficulty by 1 (up to a maximum reduction of 10), and for every ten procedures added or rediscovered reduce the difficulty by 1 (up to a maximum reduction of 10). These three methods of reducing the difficulty stack together but cannot make the roll have a difficulty of less than 1. A petition prepared on a prayer strip in Old Realm will add one success to the thaumaturge's roll for every two successes gained on the roll to create it.
An exalt paying the 10 mote and 1 willpower cost is effectively petitioning on behalf of one individual. In addition, this payment can be repeated as long as the exalt has motes and willpower to pay in respect to Shenji in order to add one autosuccess to the subject's roll. This can be done as many times as they have motes and willpower to spend. An exalt using their charm can never gain more of a response than the granting of the base boon by shenji, but the subject of their petition may be granted the highest boon.
If the Thaumaturge is found gravely lacking, Shenji will completely ignore the petition and it will never again reach his ears. In addition, the Thaumaturge will find themselves unable to learn any new degrees or procedures in Thaumaturgy and they lose their essence in dice when attempting any thaumaturgy procedure. If the Thaumaturge is in Shenji's favor but has not met Shenji's requirements for immortality to be granted, the Thaumaturge becomes protected from any attack on their dreams that comes from a being of equal or lesser essence, this also prevents the fair folk from being able to feed on the Thaumaturge. Mechanically, this is the level of attention gained by succeeding on the intelligence + occult roll, the next highest level of attention is gained by the next boon. If the Thaumaturge is found to be in Shenji's greatest graces, they will find themselves entering the Celestial Bureaucracy in his service. This highest boon can only be granted at the ST's discretion, no dice roll will garuntee this boon.
(Note: It is also whispered that only those that truly attain such Mastery of their trade, having given so much of themselves in the pursuit and teaching of the Thaumaturgical Arts may petition Shenji once in their lives for divinity. Only those who truly seek to spend immortality in the pursuit of Thaumaturgy, excellence in it, and the education to others of it, should dare such a prayer. [Can figure out further flavor text and appropriate rolls and diff later])