Naming something defines it, limits it, and controls it. The pinnacle of the Rosetta Society’s discoveries are the hidden syllables, the primeval foundations upon which even the simplest symbol is built — signs so powerful that they impart meaning upon the things they name, rather than deriving meaning from them. These fragments of definition have been teased from innumerable disciplines and sources — from the High Speech of the Supernal and the low tongue of the Shadow, from the way particular quantum states vibrate and the echoes of the birth of the universe.
By wielding these symbols in a carefully arranged harmony, the Rosetta Society can rewrite the nature of a thing, binding it in accordance with a concept that does not truly exist. A new name chains the victim by blotting out their old. Of course, the world is heavy and static, and it does not take well to such tampering. The new words the Society carve into its fabric soon fade away. Only the Contagion itself is vulnerable to permanent transformation at the hands of this ancient sorcery, because its manifestations are themselves undefined by the rules of the world into which they intrude.
A trio of changelings sing a story that names a writhing horror, compelling it to obey their tale. A Tammuz and her werewolf allies carve a binding word into a tablet of clay. The krewe of Sin-Eaters give a ghost a name taken from another dead human, shaping the shade’s nature as they do so.
System: Three oracles working in unison can define a new name for a target character or object. For the duration of the vector, the target’s old names no longer hold any metaphysical weight; they cannot be used to compel, control, bind, manipulate, or influence the target, and they do not count as the target’s name for the purposes of any supernatural powers that require such a thing. Instead, the new name takes the place of the old for such purposes. This can be used defensively; a Society member can replace their own name, or that of an ally, to protect themselves from hostile magics for the duration of the effect.
The Society members can also use the new name to bind or limit by applying a Ban to the victim, much like those that restrict many ephemeral beings. The Ban is defined when the power is used, and must be made clear to the victim, usually via spoken or written word. The Ban can state a restriction on the victim but must also include an exception that is possible to meet — even if it is extremely unlikely for them to be able to do so. For example, the target might be bound not to leave the room they are in, unless the binders give them verbal permission to do so; they may be prevented from shedding blood unless attacked first; or they may be bound not to cast any spells until three humans have forgiven them for their crimes. The limitation must be contained to one particular type of action; the Ban cannot prevent the victim from leaving the room and from attacking anyone who enters it, for example. A Ban cannot be suicidal or clearly leading to self-destruction, so it is not possible to Ban the target from breathing or the like. The victim must adhere to the Ban as best they can, and are incapable of voluntarily breaking it; if forced to break it by outside influence, they lose 1 Willpower point per scene until they can return to its limitations.
Contagious targets are initially affected as normal. However, once the vector fades, they retain a form of the Ban, and they keep their new name alongside their old. The new form of the Ban is up to the Storyteller’s discretion, but should represent a lesser or more focused form of the Ban placed by the Define vector. Contagious targets have been more anchored in this version of reality by being so named, and thus are permanently shaped by the vector. Future uses of Define will overwrite any such new name and Ban with those of the vector’s latest application.
A target can only be under the effect of a single such Define-created Ban at a time, unless otherwise specified. However, entities that naturally possess Bans continue to be afflicted by their existing constraints as well as the new Ban placed by the vector.
Cost: 2 Willpower
Requirement: Three Rosetta Society members working in concert, who clearly indicate to the target the new name and Ban they are defining it with.
Dice Pool: Presence + Persuasion vs. Resolve + Composure
Action: Instant Duration: 24 hours
Edges
Demons: Names and identities are the bread and butter of a demon’s trade. Sometimes it pays to paint someone else as the target. Rather than defining a new name and Ban for the victim, the demon can instead define a character as one of the demon’s own Covers. For the duration of the vector, the target is treated as if they were wearing that Cover identity, treated by the world as that person.
Mages, Werewolves: Choosing the right name that resonates with the primeval symbols of the Supernal and the Shadow reinforces its power over reality. For a character with this edge, the duration of Define can be extended to up to 48 hours. Mages cannot use this power on Abyssal phenomena, including Scelesti.
Hunters, Deviants: There are too many nightmares in the world that prey on the innocent, too many oppressors
who exploit the vulnerable. Name them for what they are, and hold them at bay. A character with this edge can add a further limitation to the Ban that prevents the target from attacking any character via any means unless they first spend a Willpower point, after which they are free to attack for the remainder of the scene.
Beasts, Changelings, Mummies: The harsh walls of a Defining name are sometimes needed, but a gentler, guiding hand has its role to play. Call it Wyrd or Fate; it can be used to pull the victim along in their charade, rather than imprisoning them as a captive. Instead of placing a Ban, a character with this edge can replace the target’s Vice and Virtue (or equivalent traits) with a new set chosen by the Rosetta Society member. Not only do these new choices replace their existing traits for the purposes of regaining Willpower, but every scene where the victim wishes to resist acting strongly in accordance with the new Vice and Virtue costs them a point of Willpower.
Prometheans: Prometheans know the pain of having no defined place in reality all too well, of burning with a flame that the world finds no familiarity in. By defining the nature of another, they can inflict that same rejection upon their victim. A character with this edge can also cause the named victim to cause Disquiet as if they were a Promethean of the Rosetta member’s own Lineage, using the Sworn’s Azoth rating for calculating the Disquiet dice pool.
Sin-Eaters, Vampires: Instead of defining someone under a name created purely for the occasion, why not burden them with the symbolic weight of a name that has already been used — and doomed? A character with this edge can overwrite the target’s name with that of a dead human, exerting the Underworld’s pull upon them as it attempts to snatch back what has been stolen. The victim does not suffer a Ban; instead, their Stamina is no longer added to the total number of health boxes they possess.
Specializations
Bone Shadows: The werewolves of the Bone Shadow tribe dedicate themselves to hunting through the byzantine tangle of bans and taboos that make up the world of spirits. It’s no trouble at all for one of Death Wolf’s children to weave together a name that binds its victims tighter than any chain. A Bone Shadow can use Define on a target that is already under the vector’s effects, retaining the current name imposed by the vector but adding a second Ban. The costs and activation of the vector must still be adhered to, and even a Bone Shadow cannot afflict more than two Bans at a time upon the same victim.
Pilgrims: Define might change a person, an object, or even a concept, if the Exegete in question wills it. Pilgrims among the faction have a different focus. They know how pain and trauma can trap a soul, and may use this vector to redefine memories. They can eliminate memories entirely, or remake them to fit a different narrative. This vector cannot be used against mummies.