Instinct Twisting Parasite Infliction

Instinct Twisting Parasite Infliction
Cost: 10m, 1wp, 1lhl
Mins:Manipulation 5, Essence 3
Type: Supplemental
Keywords:  Combo-OK,  Compulsion, Social, Sickness, Touch.
Duration: Indefinite.
Prerequisite Charms:

Instincts are powerful tools of survival. But the way they are built into the body, the nature of beings leaves them open to manipulation through the body itself.

The Lunar activates this charm during contact with the target — this contact can be an attack with hand or claw in combat, shaking hands, in the midsts of sex, or many other ways. A small part of the lunar's body stays upon the target, sinking into their flesh and taking on some kind of parasitic form; worms, weevils, whatever.

The target gets a Perception+Awareness roll, difficulty (The Lunar's Essence) to notice the the feeling of something sinking into their flesh, but the ST should apply appropriate distraction penalities, especially if the Lunar has gone to efforts to create distractions.

Once within the body of the target, the parasite attempts to engender a change in the targets reactions to certain stimuli. When he activates the charm, the Lunar must specify what kind of action the created instinct will push towards, and may specify what sort of stimulus will cause the instinct to manifest.

Both the action and the stimulus must be relatively simple. "Run away", "attack", "go outside" "get as high up as possible" are all suitable actions "write a letter to your mother" is not. Similarly "When in combat", "when inside", "when someone argues with you" are suitable stimuli, "When talking to a member of house Nellens" is not.

If the Lunar does not pick a stimulus, the instinct to do the action manifests once a day, either when the target wakes up, or if the target does not require sleep or is avoiding doing so, at a random moment chosen by the ST.

If the Lunar picks a stimulus, then the instinct will manifest when the stimulus presents itself, however the parasite has limited power, so the instinct will only tug at him once a scene, and twice a day in total.

When the instinct manifests, it acts as a Unnatural compulsion effect to do the instinctual action that costs 2 willpower to resist.

The parasite will persist as long as the Lunar keeps the essence for this charm committed, unless it is removed from the host. It is visible to All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight and similar effects. Beyond that, the victim has only the inexplicable urges he's labouring under and possibly the memory of feeling something slithering into his body to tell him what's happening to him.

To remove the parasite requires realising it's something within the body, diagnosing that it's specifically a parasite, and then locating and removing the parasite. Unseen Sorcerers Sight allows for the realisation, diagnosis and location, otherwise this requires something to prompt medical examination, a diagnosis roll at a difficulty of (Lunar's Essence) is required, followed by a treatment attempt at a difficulty of (Lunar's Essence). Charms may enhance this roll as normal.