#Also apparently conceptually slightly easier access to blue actions will also make an NPC a bit strange in a Pastoral or Gothic game

[bobertflaming]

I've been having some thoughts on level 0 Immortal powers for Glitch-like variants of CMWGE traits. More precisely, I've been thinking about Immortal, Frantic and Sickly powers, and correspondingly level 0 powers in general for corresponding attributes.

TL;DR what if generally Immortal trait level 0 power were powers of Foreshadowing?

So, like, in CMWGE Sickly and Frantic are, precisely, special actions authorizations like "encounter trouble" or "suffer corruption/trauma".

And to me thus it makes sense for level 0 powers for Frantic or Sickly attributes to dabble in that, in these kinds of effects. For level 0 powers of Sickly attribute to be powers to declare unto your character some form of trauma or corruption thematically tied to the arc; and for level 0 powers of Frantic attribute, to be powers to declare some form of trouble your character's into. Or, at least, these are good candidate for level 0 powers in tentative 0-12 power ladders.

For Wounded for instance this could be about their Blasphemy, level zero could be the power to invoke some trauma resulting from the blasphemy, and level 4, triggered by the HG, could be the blasphemy/trauma reaching a tipping point as bad as the one which leads Strategists to leave creation for instance in Wyrd’s Wailing Rites. And for the Sealed, whose experience of the world distort, it could be "(Suffer) Corruption" instead of "(Suffer) Trauma", like "I invoke this power to enforce that I suffer corruption from having warped view of the world".  Wanderer could be "I suffer corruption from the influence unto me of my shadow" ... And it'd be like possible or so for traits like Deepness and Theft to act in similar ways as well for level 0 powers.

And, to me, similarly, it makes sense for level 0 powers of Frantic arcs to be tied to characters' ability to invoke trouble unto themselves or generally defend their ability to be in trouble - and I think that the Agony rites does that very well for instance: in a sense it's a way for Strategists to say, even when in a situation where à priori their infection would not bring trouble to them, to say "no, no actually, I am in trouble even here". And Estate-driven divination and Connection have a similar feel to me, in that they are powers that invoke themselves when something the character is tied to is in trouble, they are basically incentives to get the character in trouble and prompts for ways to do it. They are ways to make it easier that ‘a threat approches’ happens narratively and thus, in spirit, make it easier to “(Be in) Trouble”. And if [Punching Out the Moon: or, the Glitch Trait “Aspect” (I)]'s inital version of level 0 power for Aspect of Level 0 Rite: “Flawed” seem not to be where the attribute will end up, it still feels indicative to me of the idea that good candidates for level 0 powers of frantic attributes are the powers to retain the ability to get in trouble, declare trouble unto yourself, or prompts or warnings that you are in trouble in some way. But Immortality ? Immortality is not the same, because it is not a "special action authorization" but rather a "Super-duper healing factor". It's, basically, Immortality, you know? However the quality of Immortality of an Angel or a Lightlord or even a True God feels, to me, more of an aspect of the splats themselves: Angels are conceptually invincible and True Gods have too many layers to kill effectively. Indicatively Strategists have somewhat a kind of immortality, but their immortal attribute, Lore, is not what grants it to them. Also, a splat with four Immortal attributes like the Angels would have little diversity in its power set if all its level 0 powers were about reducing damages done to them. This means to me there is less of a clear cut guideline to follow in regards to Immortal attribute's level 0 power candidates in general, except maybe that one would want them to not feel too Sickly or Frantic ? So i’ve, maybe not very reasonably, tried to think about what would its XP action be if Immortal was about an XP action like Sickly and Frantic, in order to have a sort of guideline for level 0 powers, although admittedly this is probably a little bit too far fetched... Sickly characters are typically unhealthy (Suffer Trauma) and deviate from the normal functionning of the world (Suffer Corruption). Frantic characters are just trying to find a place in the world. They ... they cling to their mortality despite their power. They get themselves into troubles by clinging to their mortality and by trying to fit into the world rather than be already fit or rather than impose upon the world ? So they are not at peace with the world, but not traumatize by it or estranged from it either ? And Immortal characters ... they are slow in their intrigues, their acts are not forcefull, or immediate... they are in accord with the world, in tune with it... What kind of XP-action would it look like ? Jenna noted in the Prophet write-up that “Conceptually slightly easier access to red actions will also make an NPC a little safer and more grounded in an Adventure Fantasy or Fairy Tale or on the Road of Trials; a little more insightful in an  Epic Fantasy; and unusually empathetic in a Pastoral or Gothic game. “ And I believe that this kinds of fit well with the idea of an Immortal character? Being safer, more grounded while facing trauma and adversity. Being more insightful - dare I say, more in tune with the world?- in Epic Fantasies. The ability to be more empathetic sure is all right as well. I believe access to Setting Actions could provide a similar feel but with probably less of the ‘woohoo’ expected from true Immortality (Also, ‘Foreshadowing’ feels more “slow in their actions” than ‘Discovery’). So let's say for a moment that good candidates for level 0 miracles of Immortal traits could be declarations of Foreshadowing or Sympathy. Monstrous, Holy, and Lore's level 0 abilities could be seen as kinds of Foreshadowing actions based on a Curse/Experience/Sphere. Allegorical's level 0 ability could be not so dissimilar to a kind of Foreshadowing and/or Sympathetic action based on one’s legend, one’s history. Then, to limit how much Foreshadowing powers Angels have, Adept and Gardener could have variations that’d be more on the Sympathetic Side.