Possession Addiction?, Got any extra spirits? Jonesing here! Options

[WearzManySkins]

Ok in various threads here, have been some fairly extreme uses of possession and some not as extreme.

Ok is continued and substantial use of being possessed a form of addiction?

Psychologically a maybe yes. Physiologically more than likely not.

Having your entire set of physical stats ramped up way past what your bodies maximum stats, is I would say at least having a strong potential for being psychologically addictive.

Yes I know there are no current rules for such, but just like if a character stays on Cram there are rules for addiction for that.

So lets see if the current addiction rules can be used to include possession addiction.

If possession is a mental addiction it would be a Will Power + Logic Test, if a physical addiction it will be a Body + Willpower test.

Also such tests are done using the characters unpossessed attributes ratings.

Now normal addiction thresholds are fairly straight forward but since we are talking about possession of Awakened character or in some cases a non Awakened character by a spirit it is not as straight forward.

As per the Addiction Rules the testing interval is up to each GM

Force of possessing spirit is
less than Awakened Characters Magic Attribute--------Threshold is 2
Equal to Awakened Characters Magic Attribute---------Threshold is 3
Greater than Awakened Characters Magic Attribute----Threshold is 4

If the character is non awakened, but using or being used by possession spirits then use that characters essence attribute in place of Magic Attribute.

At first failed Addiction Test the Characters is Mildly Addicted
Second failed Addiction Test the Character is Moderately Addicted
Third failed Addiction Test the character is Severely Addicted
Fourth failed Addiction Test the character in in Burnout Addiction level

Thoughts? Input? Ideas?

Edited thresholds

WMS

[Dashifen]

Those thresholds are mighty high! The ones in the book are 1, 2, and 3 depending on the substance so you're looking at some pretty seriously addicted characters very quickly, I'd think.

[Eryk the Red]

I'm with Dashifen on this one. The idea is sound, but I would reduce those thresholds to 1, 2 and 3, myself.

[Cain]

I'd also consider applying different mental flaws than just addiction. Or perhaps Spirit Bane, even.

[Kyoto Kid]

...speaking from past GM experience, I agree with Cain. Spirit Bane would definitely be a good side effect for compulsive use of Possession. Possibly even Multiple Personality Disorder (with a few tweaks) or Delusions ("I am inwincable!").

[WearzManySkins]

Again the testing interval is not stated in the current RAW, it is up to each GM to decide on when to conduct such.

If the character is only using possession for part of the run, and for limited amounts of time, the testing interval would not ever come up.

But if the character spends the entire run, possessed then testing interval is about due. And what I mean by the entire run is days at a time. But after the run is not possessed.

If a character spends every waking hour possessed then a testing interval is way past due.

As for the thresholds, look in comparison to the effects of some of the listed drugs versus what possession can give you, like immunity to normal weapons, how may drugs give you that?

Yes there are drugs that make the user feel invincible but the end results are not.

How many drugs can give you 3+ to all physical stats for 12 hours?

To me it is more a mental addiction due to the state of mind the one being possessed experiences.

The effects of a possession far out weigh any benefit of the listed drugs, so the threshold should be greater.

WMS

[WearzManySkins]

Edited Thresholds.

Spirit Bane is good for the end of the spirits but this thread for the one being possessed.

What effect if any does spirit bane have on conjuring/summoning that type of spirit? RAW does not give much detail.

Additional mental flaws are again possibilities in addition to addiction.

WMS

[Cain]

Well, for one thing, it makes the spirit more likely to spend Edge on the conjuring opposed test.

[DTFarstar]

I would agree that rules for this would be useful, but I would lean more towards other mental illnesses rather than addiction. I know people who would just wander around possessed 24/7 and if they hit burnout level and started losing essence that would just geas their magic back up. Probably the conditional geas of having to be possessed.

Something along the lines of a god complex, or a phobia of being un-possessed so they never want to be without a spirit even for the tiny amount of time it takes to pass through a ward. Something like that.

[Buster]

I like the idea of possession addiction. You could also buy the Mania negative quality.

[hobgoblin]

sounds like it could be somewhat similar to focus addiction (i dont have street magic so i dont know the exact rules for that).