Tutorial #13: Advanced Spiritual Effects
In Tutorial #9 we discussed the basics of Spiritual Effects. In this Tutorial we will cover some of the advanced concepts related to the usage of Spiritual Effects.
Each Spiritual Effect has a Resolve Cost. This Resolve Cost does not affect or diminish a character’s Natural or Current Resolve in any way. Instead, a character’s Current Resolve affects how much can be spent toward total Resolve Costs. Think of Current Resolve as a pool that can be apportioned and committed to the use of Spiritual Effects.
The total Resolve Cost of all Spiritual Effects being used by the Ministering Spirit during an Activation cannot exceed the Ministering Spirit’s Current Resolve. If the Ministering Spirit takes WearR before their next Activation, they must drop Spiritual Effects or drop some Targets from a Spiritual Effect just before their Activation until their total Cost no longer exceeds their Current Resolve.
As example, consider a Ministering Spirit with 55 Resolve. They use Gavel of Judgment which has a Resolve Cost of 21. Then they use Easy Yoke on a nearby ally with a Resolve Cost of 12 for the first Target and then they spread it to another Target for a cost of 21 for each additional Target. The Minstrel is now committing 54 Resolve toward maintaining the Spiritual Effects they are using. The Ministering Spirit would not be able to spread Easy Yoke to a third Target for another 21 Resolve Cost, because they only have 1 Resolve not currently committed.
Some Spiritual Effects have a variable Resolve Cost meaning you can decide how much Resolve you want to dedicate to using that Spiritual Effect. The amount dedicated will affect the potency of the Spiritual Effect. variable Resolve Costs are written as a number plus X (#+X). The number is the minimum Resolve investment. The Ministering Spirit can decide for X to be anything from zero up to the maximum Resolve investment the Spiritual Effect’s Tier when added to the minimum number. For a 1st Heaven or Tier:1 Spiritual Effect this maximum is 80. So, 21+X would mean that the Ministering Spirit would have to invest at least 21 Resolve to use the Spiritual Effect but could invest up to 80 Resolve into using it.
Earlier, we mentioned dropping a Spiritual Effect or dropping Targets from a Spiritual Effect. Just before a Ministering Spirit’s Activation, they can cease using any Spiritual Effects entirely and cease using some or all of them on specific Targets. This will reduce the total Resolve Cost being counted for that Activation until just before their next Activation.
Similarly, Ministering Spirits can adjust the amount they are spending into a variable Resolve Cost at any time. They can increase the amount if they have uncommitted Resolve. They can decrease the amount to make more Resolve available to commit once their next Activation begins.
This concludes Tutorial #13: Advanced Spiritual Effects. In the next Tutorial we will cover Advanced Songs.