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Deep Aspect

Expression: Deep Aspect

AX.GHW.08.07.03

The pact goes further than the shift shows. Most practitioners never go that far.

Deep Aspect is the expression that reaches past the shift's normal ceiling, borrowing from the pact's full potential in ways that go beyond what the lineage's standard transformation produces. Where Partial Shift deploys features the pact makes normally available, Deep Aspect reaches for what the pact holds in reserve: capabilities the animal at the heart of the pact could theoretically provide, which the shift's standard expression doesn't include.

This is physically demanding and pact-taxing. Deep Aspect applications push the practitioner's body past its designed parameters using the pact's reserves rather than its standard allocation. The effects are significant. The cost of backlash is significant.

Non-practitioners sometimes confuse Deep Aspect with a different, more extreme form of shift. It isn't. The practitioner remains in whatever form they were in when they initiated the application; Deep Aspect adds to the current state rather than replacing it.

Deep Aspect- Applications

Speed Surge (Free Action, Threshold 3)

The practitioner draws on the pact's maximum expression of the animal's physical speed, a brief, extreme acceleration that goes beyond normal pact-enhanced capability. For one Turn:

  • The practitioner's movement in the Turn doubles.
  • They may make one additional attack action or movement this Turn as a Free Action.
  • Speed-Save rolls made this Turn gain +2D.

After the Turn ends, the practitioner takes 1D3 physical stress damage (non-lethal; represents the physical cost of the surge) and must make a Body Save vs Threshold 2 or become Hindered until the end of their next Turn.

Apex Physical (Primary Action, Threshold 3)

The practitioner temporarily pushes all physical attributes toward the pact's potential ceiling. For the remainder of the scene:

  • Body attribute for the purpose of physical strength and Health-related rolls is treated as if it were one die higher (a 3D practitioner rolls with 4D for these specific rolls).
  • Physical damage dealt by the practitioner's natural weapons (Claws perk or equivalent) increases by 1.
  • Physical endurance rolls gain +1D.

The surge ends at the scene's end or when the practitioner uses any other Deep Aspect application. At the end of the scene in which Apex Physical was used, the practitioner is Fatigued until their next Long Rest, the body borrowed and must pay it back.

Apex Sense (Primary Action, Threshold 3)

The practitioner pushes the pact's sensory expression to its maximum, a depth of animal perception that goes beyond what the shift normally provides. For the remainder of the scene:

  • The practitioner can track any target by scent at up to Distant range regardless of physical barriers (scent carries; walls don't stop it).
  • The practitioner's hearing becomes precise enough to identify individuals by heartbeat and hear sounds through standard barriers (walls, doors, vehicles) without penalty.
  • All Notice rolls gain +2D.
  • The practitioner cannot be surprised; they always have a round of awareness before unexpected threats arrive.

The sensory surge is overwhelming at scale: if the practitioner is in an environment with heavy sensory input (combat, crowded areas, strong olfactory sources), they must make a Wit Save vs Threshold 2 each Turn or become Shaken as the input exceeds what they can process.

Backlash:

  • Minor: The aspect expresses without invitation for the rest of the scene, the practitioner is at the apex-sense or apex-physical state permanently until the scene ends, with no ability to moderate it. This isn't harmful but it's conspicuous and in social contexts actively problematic.
  • Moderate: The pact reclaims the surplus. All of the Deep Aspect's benefits end immediately. The practitioner takes 1D6 physical stress damage and their primary pact feature (whichever the GM determines is most characteristic, Claws, Regeneration/Minor, or similar) does not function for the rest of the scene. The pact provided too much too fast and the balance is off.
  • Severe: The practitioner's form becomes unstable. They undergo a partial, uncontrolled, incomplete transformation that doesn't settle into a functional form; they are in obvious supernatural distress, visually distinct from both human and animal form, and have −2D to all physical rolls until they receive a Long Rest. The Veil is catastrophically broken for any scene this is visible in. This is the kind of event that creates problems in the hidden world.