Editing LeviathanTempest:ChapterFour (section)

=== Vestiges of Vitality ===

The Progenitors were not invincible, if they were Marduk would never have been able to defeat them. However if any creature came close to the ideal of invincibility it was the Progenitors. The many defenses and armor gifted to the natural world by evolution; the shell of a turtle, the poison of the toad, these are all available when the Tribe peruses the vestigial traits of Vitality. 

The icons of Vitality of portray the Vestige as interlinked with perseverance and duty but also status and privilege: It is a king whose strong back carries the weight of his crown, a citadel standing against adversity, yet the best known icon is the oldest. A deception of Bahamut itself carrying a city. Unchained Bahamut was said to be the largest and most invincible of it's brethren and the Bahamutans are the tribe's unchallenged masters of Vitality. The Nu, Tanninim and the Thalassans also show aptitude for Vitality. 

[PICTURE: The Icon of Vitality: A ziggurat; a sinuous wave that represents the surface of the sea almost reaches to the top of the first step. Below the wave all is black save for the slightest hint of an eye in dark grey suggesting that the ziggurat is built atop some mighty creature. This image serves as a watermark]

==== Birthright of Vitality  ====
The Birthright of the Vestige of Vitality is the '''Boon of Tides'''. While this power is in effect, the Leviathan may breathe water as easily as air and is comfortable in any environment that is predominately water, regardless of temperature, pollution or pressure. The Leviathan also gains Armor 1 when at least half-submerged. Its effect lasts for a scene.
* '''Cost''': 1 Ichor

==== Lifeblood of Titans (Ancestral Channel) ====
''The immense ancient creatures were beyond death as it is currently understood.  A Leviathan who pursues the remnants of this power in its blood finds that same spark of terrible life, which refuses to be constrained to the scale of modern life.''
* “Depth 0”: Birthright of Vitality
* “Depth 1”: +1 Size. Size from Lifeblood of Titans stacks with the regular increases from Transformation.
* “Depth 2”: As above, and +1 Health Level
* “Depth 3”: As above, but now +2 Health Levels. 
* “Depth 4”: As above, but now +2 Size.
* “Depth 5”: As above, but now +4 Size.
* “Depth 6”: As above, but now +8 Size and +3 Health Levels.
'''Drawback:''' Get used to destroying your clothes when you Transform. 
'''Adaptations'''
* ''A Mountain Walked'' (OOO to OOOOO OOO, Requires Sheol 3+): In Apotheosis Form the Character may spend four Ichor and a Willpower point to grow enormously. They gain one size point a turn up until a final size determined by the number of dots in this Adaptation: Respectively: 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 & 43. Leviathans may purchase a number of dots in this Adaptation equal to their (Sheol). Size granted by this Merit, unlike Size granted from other sources, explicitly cannot be converted to Stamina via the Depth 5 iteration of No Mysteries of the Flesh. Once a Leviathan has activated this Adaptation the additional size remains until they Transform to a lower Depth. This Transformation takes longer than normal: one turn per point of Size from this Adaptation. 
**A Size 15 character is roughly 2 stories tall and weighs roughly 8,000 pounds, or about as much as a large SUV. 
**A Size 20 character is roughly 3.5 stories tall and weighs roughly 30 tons, or about as much as an IFV. 
**A Size 25 character is roughly 7.5 stories tall and weighs roughly 200 tons, or about as much as a blue whale. 
**A Size 30 character is roughly 14 stories tall and weighs roughly 2,000 tons, or about as much as a naval frigate. 
**A Size 40 character is roughly 30 stories tall and weighs roughly 20,000 tons, or about as much as an aircraft carrier. 
**A Size 43 character is roughly 45 stories tall and weighs roughly 60,000 tons, or about as much as Godzilla.
**A Size 66 character is roughly 960 stories tall, the size of Mount Everest.

===== Sidebar: Size and Health =====

The rules for temporary health dots (WoD Core. P 173) state that when a character looses a temporary health dot such as one granted by A Mountain Walked they retain any damage within that health dot. While this rule works nicely for small health bonuses it can start to act a little odd when a character has a huge bonus. A minor wound could become fatal when a Character shrinks down after using A Mountain Walked. There are two options for this: The first is to embrace it, even a moderately wounded giant is trapped in its huge form until it can find a safe spot (not easy at titanic sizes) and heal. The second is to use an alternative system for temporary health: Work out the proportion of Aggravated, Lethal and Bashing damage in relation to the total health dots and ensure the proportion remains the same after the character shrinks. 

A second change you may consider is to make wound penalties apply earlier. For every 20 health dots a character has move the start of each wound penalty two dot to the left. For example a character with 20 health dots suffers -1 at 14 dots, -2 at 16 dots and -3 at 18 dots. Making wounds penalties start earlier provides a more natural progression than limiting them to the last fraction of a characters health but also allows an impressive gap between when a Leviathan starts to weaken and when it finally goes down.

==== Flesh of the Progenitors (Ancestral Channel) ====
''The hides of the ancient ones could turn the blades of humanity's finest champions. With this Channel, a Leviathan can access that legacy of invulnerability.''
* “Depth 0”: Birthright of Vitality
* “Depth 1”: The Leviathan develops 1/0 Armor (General/ballistic).
* “Depth 2”: As above, but now 1/1 Armor
* “Depth 3”: As above, but now 2/1 Armor, and the armor becomes bulletproof. 
* “Depth 4”: As above, but now 2/2 Armor
* “Depth 5”: As above, but now 3/2 Armor
* “Depth 6”: As above, but now 4/3 Armor, and the armor degrades all damage inflicted by mundane weapons by one level, bashing is unaffected.  

'''Adaptations'''
* Adaption to Harm (OO) - In Depth 3 and lower, the Leviathan may expend 1 Ichor to "adapt" to an attack that inflicts damage. The Leviathan's Armor is treated as being 1 rank higher against attacks of that general type (bullets, punching, blunt instruments, etc.) for the rest of the scene. The Leviathan may only be "adapted" to one such type of damage at a time. 
* Flexible Protection (OO) - In Depth 3 and lower, the Leviathan may roll Stamina + Sheol as an instant action. He may move ranks of protection equal to his successes from general to ballistic or vice-versa, increasing one by decreasing the other. He may not reduce a type of armor (general or ballistic) below 0. 
* Lead Ward (OO) - The ballistic values of the Armor granted by this Channel are all 1 rank higher. 
* Improved Carapace (OOO - OOOOO) - In Depth 6 the Leviathan increases the value of all armor granted by this Channel by 1. At four dots increase by two and increase provide a bonus of one in Depth 5. With five dots the bonus becomes +3,+2,+1 at Depths 6, 5 and 4 respectively. 
* Gift of the Turtle (OOOO) - In Depth 5 and lower, when performing a Dodge action the Leviathan may sacrifice her Defense to increase Armour by Defense. If she does so do not double Defense or apply merits such as Brawling Dodge. 
* Inviolable (OOOOO, requires Sheol 5) - In Depth 6, while being attacked by wake-vulnerable creatures, the Leviathan may opt to use the armor granted by this Channel as Durability instead.

==== The Toad's Curse (Ancestral Channel) ====
''Approaching the ancient creatures of the depths was a hazardous experience; not only did they have great power to bring to bear against interlopers but their very presence could overwhelm with toxic secretions.''
* “Depth 0”: Birthright of Vitality
* “Depth 1”: Unprotected beings in physical contact with the Leviathan suffer a -1 penalty on all actions. After the contact is broken, the penalty lasts for a number of turns equal to the amount of time spent in contact.
* “Depth 2”: As above, but for every two rounds of full contact, the penalty increases by 1. If it ever rises above the subject's Stamina + Resolve, they pass out due to pain. When contact is broken, the penalty drops down to -1, and lasts as above. 
* “Depth 3”: As above, but now the penalty applies to any creature within close distance (close enough to touch, even if not touching) of the Leviathan. If the region is left, the penalty now gradually decreases (by 1 each turn), to a minimum of -1, which is suffered for the rest of the scene 
* “Depth 4”: As above, but now the penalty increases for each turn of contact.
* “Depth 5”: As above, and creatures that have passed out due to exposure will suffer 1 bashing damage for each turn of continued exposure beyond that point. 
* “Depth 6”: As above, but the cloud now covers a region with a radius in feet equal to the Leviathan's Size.
'''Adaptations'''
* Master of the Curse (OO to OOOO): The Leviathan can shut off this Channel reflexively and activate it as an instant action. With the four-dot version of this Adaptation, he may apply this Channel's effects selectively, omitting any allies in the radius.

==== World-Serpent's Endurance  (Ancestral Channel) ====
''The Leviathan’s body channels more force than a creature it size should be capable of.  It is a being of terrible power, capable of crushing the earth itself should it stretch the length of it, and should it decide to throw its force against the sea, great waves will rise up to drown the land.''

World Serpent's Endurance is a Resistance Attribute boosting Channel. It boosts Stamina and has the following unique powers:
* “Depth 0”: Birthright of Vitality
* “Depth 5”: +1 Health
* “Depth 6”: As above, and the Leviathan reduces all bashing and lethal damage he suffers by 1, to a minimum of 0.

'''Adaptations'''
Tireless Vigor (OOO): In Depth 3 and lower, the Leviathan ignores up to his (Sheol) score worth of penalties applied due to wounds or fatigue.

==== No Mysteries of the Flesh (Descendant Channel) ====
* Dice Pool: Intelligence or Stamina + Medicine + Sheol
** Action Type: Extended (Each roll represents either one minute of work (first aid and diagnosis) or one hour of intense concentration (for long-term treatment and major physical reconfiguration)
The Leviathan can exert near-total understanding and control of the physical functions of his body, stopping or redirecting blood flow, diagnosing maladies, and repurposing muscles and organs to increase his capabilities. The lesser examples of this power are acts of will (Intelligence), while the more drastic changes are painful and strenuous (Stamina.) 
* “Depth 0”: Birthright of Vitality
* “Depth 1”: By expending a point of Ichor, the Leviathan may diagnose illnesses in himself using this Channel; he suffers no penalties for lacking tools (and in fact gains bonuses due to his Sheol.) He may also perform minor field first aid, such as stopping a wound from bleeding and "setting" a broken limb. 
* “Depth 2”: As above, and the Leviathan may now apply any medical treatment that would be possible with advanced equipment, up to and including performing what is effectively surgery on himself. 
* “Depth 3”: As above, and the Leviathan may now use drastic changes to remove the need for sleep, air, water, and food. Each category requires 1 success for twelve hours of suppression. Healing time can be increased as well - successes are divided between duration (12 hours per success) and degree of increase (2 successes for a 100% improvement.) Increased healing burns increased energy. A Leviathan healing at an increased rate requires a proportional degree more of food, water, and sleep than usual. Suppressing the need for these only suppreses one "normal amount" of need, requiring increased successes to compensate for the increased needs. 
* The Leviathan may expend an additional Ichor to perform a check in less time - one turn or ten minutes depending on the procedure.
* “Depth 4”: As above, and the Leviathan may now expend three successes on a drastic change to "shuffle" a dot from one Physical Attribute to another. The change lasts for one hour, and increased successes can increase the duration by thirty minutes per additional success. The Leviathan may only have dots equal to his Sheol "shuffled" at any one time. 
* “Depth 5”: As above, and the Leviathan may now control his density. He may "swap" his Size and Stamina with a drastic change. This requires one success for each dot of change (So a Size 5, Stamina 3 Leviathan would require two successes.) The change lasts for one hour, and increased successes can increase the duration by thirty minutes per additional success. 
* “Depth 6”: As above, and the Leviathan may now use a drastic change to increase one Physical Attribute by a single dot. This requires successes equal to twice the current rating. The change lasts for one hour, and increased successes can increase the duration by thirty minutes per additional success. The Leviathan may expend 3 additional ichor to perform a check reflexively or in a single minute, depending on the procedure. 
'''Adaptations'''
* Autosculpting (O) - The Leviathan may select a single physical Merit with a dot rating equal to or less than his Sheol. In Depth 3 and lower, he may use a drastic change to gain access to that Merit. This requires successes equal to its dot rating, and provides the Merit for an hour. Additional successes can increase the duration by thirty minutes per additional success. The Leviathan must otherwise qualify for the Merit when gaining it (but may use the increased traits of his Depth 3 form to determine if he does or not.) This Adaptation may be purchased mulitple times, each time allowing access to a different Merit. Only Merits that can be explained as raw physical traits can be gained in this fashion (so no Stunt Driver or Fighting Styles.)

==== Vigor of Protean Kings (Descendant Channel) ====
''Description''
** Dice Pool: Sheol, when relevant. 
** Action Type: Reflexive
The Leviathan may use Ichor to improve his Attributes, circulating his divine blood throughout his body. 

* "Depth 0": Birthright of Vitality
* "Depth 1": The Leviathan may boost a single Physical Attribute by 2 for a single turn. He may not invoke this Channel multiple times for the same Attribute, but may have multiple instances active for different Attributes.
* "Depth 2": The Leviathan may lengthen his limbs by one meter for each point of Ichor bound into this Channel.
* "Depth 3": The Leviathan may spend an additional point of Ichor to apply the depth one iteration of this Channel twice to a single Attribute. 
* "Depth 4": The Leviathan may reflexively make shapechanging attempts. 
* "Depth 5": The Leviathan adds Damage to the "Attributes" he may boost with this Channel, essentially growing claws or teeth. This will be Bashing damage but if the Leviathan has natural weapons from another Channel they may enhance those instead. 
* "Depth 6": The Leviathan may expend 3 additional Ichor to extend this channel's effects on one Attribute to scene-length. 
'''Adaptations'''
* Potent Ichor (OOO to OOOOO) - At Sheol 3 and the third level of this Merit, boosted attributes are raised by 3. At Sheol 6 and the fourth level of this Merit, boosted attributes are raised by 4. At Sheol 9 and the fifth level of this Merit, boosted Attributes are raised by 5. 
* Tide of Flesh (OOOOO, Requires the Hydra's Rebirth, No Mysteries of the Flesh, and Sheol 4) - When transforming into Depth 6, or with a Transformation action in Depth 6, the Leviathan may choose to become a creature of formless protoplasm. Leviathans who do this frequently may even find that their earlier forms lead towards protoplasm. As a formless tide the Leviathan gains the following benefits:
** It can flow through obstacles, moving its full Speed across all types of terrain. Only a watertight seal can repel it. It attacks with the higher of its Dexterity or Strength. 
** Effects that target a specific part of its body, such as aimed attacks, fail automatically. It is immune to toxins and disease.
** It may reflexively perform one of the following actions per turn: 
*** If it successfully performed an Overpower maneuver in a grapple last turn, it may repeat the exact maneuver this turn.  
*** Rearrange its Physical Attributes, excluding effects from this Channel, in any manner. 
*** Enhance a Dodge, adding (Stamina) to its Defence this turn.