159 - Mask-Lich

Unnatural Entity: Mask-Lich

One of the most common goals of any self-respecting sorcerer is “live forever”. Either completely out of reach or part of a faustian bargain too rich for the blood of most, its rarity is usually a function of extreme difficulty or high attendant cost. That and no one who has it also wants to risk someone snatching it away by exposing themselves.

Personamancers, adepts focused on the magick of identity and its subversion with a heavy focus on masks, has one route that’s been practiced by those lucky enough to gain a major charge. Investing their consciousness in a mask will technically only last as long as the materials do, but that’s still a step up from human frailty. Being disembodied without access to a host body, they’re one of the few types of immortal encountered with any frequency.

Unless someone puts on the mask-lich the extent of their ability to interact with the world is the occasional blat of unnatural phenomenon. Worn by a person it can possess them just like a demon. One useful side effect of this, in addition to the ability to bargain with an entity with the ability to create supernatural effects, is that nothing else can glob on to you and any effects attached to you as a person are suppressed (but still running) for the duration of the possession. Astral parasites and time leeches fall off and disappear into the ether and that proxy ritual temporarily goes AWOL.

In order to overcome the limitations of their new form most successful mask-liches plan ahead and form cults in which playing host is a venerated position. Owing to the power of any adept strong and dedicated enough to try for the long haul they usually have access to special occult knowledge, artifacts and rituals warped around whatever rationale forms their theology. These are useful crutches for the lich to try to maintain position in a humanocentric universe, but also weak points as it would be severely hampered without them.

Mask-Lich, Face Forever
Wound Threshold: 15-30. Mask-liches are tiny, slightly smaller than a human head but made out of sturdy materials. Attacks against one are at a -30% shift, like a normal called shot against someone’s head (see page 66 of Book 1: Play). This also applies to magickal blasts and other sorcerous attacks. If an attack against a worn mask is missed but would have hit without the penalty it does damage to the host instead.
Wield Host 50-80%: Amounts to demonic possession for a host who puts on the mask (use the rules on pages 103-104 of Book 2: Run). Varies significantly based on local social conditions: negative shifts in circumstances where wearing a mask is frowned upon and positive shifts during events where wearing a mask is the norm or celebrated.
Faux Sorcery 60%: Mask-Liches have given up their humanity and with it their access to magick. Instead they can generate 1 significant and 3 minor unnatural phenomenon a day, directed by this identity.
Play Human 45%: Substitutes for all abilities (except one, chosen at creation, which falls under Wield Host).