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in: Chronicles of Darkness glossary, Mummy: The Curse glossary, Geist: The Sin-Eaters glossary,
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Numen (CofD)

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For the type of spirit from Werewolf: The Apocalypse, see Numen (WTA). For the supernatural mortal advantages in the Classic World of Darkness, see Numina (WOD).

A Numen (plural Numina) is a supernatural power possessed by ghosts, spirits, qashmallim, angels and some other types of supernatural creature.

Ghost Numina[]

Ghosts manifest numina based on their age: older ghosts will have a number of numina while the recently dead will have fewer.

World of Darkness Rulebook[]

  • Animal Control: The ghost is able to dominate and control an animal for a scene.
  • Clairvoyance: Temporarily taking over a mortal's voice, the ghost can speak through them.
  • Compulsion: The ghost is able to force mortals to bend to their will.
  • Ghost Sign: The ghost is able to create messages in malleable media.
  • Ghost Speech: The ghost is able to speak directly to mortals when it manifests.
  • Magnetic Disruption: The ghost's presence causes electronic equipment to malfunction and distort.
  • Phantasm: With Essence, the ghost can create illusory images.
  • Possession: The ghost is able to take control of a living human being temporarily.
  • Telekinesis: The ghost is able to manipulate physical objects as though they had a physical set of hands. (Updated in GMC).
  • Terrify: When the ghost manifests, it strikes terror in the hearts of onlookers.

Shadows of Mexico[]

  • Manifestation Site: A ghost can manifest within a specific location that it haunts.

Mummy: The Curse[]

  • Dead Eyes: An intruder/revenant can see ghosts in Twilight.
  • Dead Skin: An embodied ghost can use this Numen to step into Twilight.
  • Flight of Shadows: The ghost can fly instead of walking like mortals.
  • Hallowed Passion: The ghost has a Passion that is a holy task given by an Arisen.
  • Impassioned Soul: Rather than being tied to Anchors, the ghost is ruled entirely by its Passions.
  • Inspiration: The ghost can cause others to feel the pull of its Passions.
  • Intruder: The ghost can steal a dead body to inhabit.
  • Lucid Dead: The ghost recalls much of its human self and remembers its life.
  • Maddening: Stronger than the Terrify Numen, the ghost causes derangements when it manifests.
  • Old Soul: The ghost is ancient, centuries old with increased abilities to match.
  • Phantom Arsenal: The ghost grows claws and other weapons.
  • Pyrokinesis: The ghost can create and control fires.
  • Regeneration: The ghost can heal its Corpus or inhabited body.
  • Revenant: The ghost inhabits its own body and becomes one of the Lifeless.
  • Siphon: The ghost can drain other ghosts' energy by touching them.
  • Spectral Toughness: The ghost doesn't suffer wound penalties or fall unconscious.
  • Spirit Prowess: The ghost can use Essence to boost attributes or Corpus.
  • Stalker: The ghost can form a new anchor with a new mortal they have encountered.
  • Stolen Pillars: The ghost can drain energy from mortals and steal Pillar dots from mummies to gain soul affinities.
  • Twilight Abduction: The ghost can drag targets into Twilight with it.
  • Untethered: The ghost can travel far beyond its anchors.
  • Will From Power: The ghost can trade Essence for Willpower.

Geist: The Sin-Eaters[]

  • Banshee Wail: The ghost unleashes an earsplitting scream that deafens those around it.
  • Chain of Death: When inhabiting a body with Corpse Ride, the ghost can jump to new corpses of those it kills.
  • Corpse Ride: The ghost inhabits a dead body, animating and controlling it.
  • Dement: The ghost can torment a target with visions, possibly giving them a derangement. (Updated in GMC).
  • Dissembling Guise: The ghost can assume the form of someone that has passed who is important to the target.
  • Harrow: The ghost can push its own emotions onto the target.
  • Left-Handed Spanner: The ghost temporarily disables a technological device. (Updated in GMC).
  • Looking Glass: The ghost can project its image into glass, mirrors, or other reflective surfaces.
  • Mechanical Possession: The ghost inhabits and controls a machine or vehicle near one of its anchors.
  • One Step Behind: The ghost can temporarily adopt a living target as an anchor.
  • Plasticity: The ghost creates hands, faces, and other body parts from solid objects.
  • Speed: The ghost adopts incredible swiftness for a scene. (Updated in GMC).

The God-Machine Chronicle[]

  • Aggressive Meme: The ghost speaks to a mortal and a certain idea takes root strongly.
  • Awe: The ghost paralyzes onlookers with holy (or unholy) terror.
  • Blast: The ghost can strike opponents at a distance.
  • Drain: The ghost can drain energy from targets.
  • Emotional Aura: Like Harrow, the ghost can broadcast a certain emotion to those around it.
  • Essence Thief: The angel can take Essence from another ephemeral creature.
  • Firestarter: The ghost can create a number of small fires over an area.
  • Hallucinations: The ghost can create an illusion.
  • Host Jump: The ghost can leap from one host to another.
  • Implant Mission: The ghost plants an urge to complete a certain task.
  • Innocuous: The ghost is very easily overlooked.
  • Mortal Mask: The ghost is able to manifest and disguise itself as a mortal.
  • Omen Trance: The spirit can enter a meditative trance to gain a premonition or warning.
  • Pathfinder: The ghost pulls forth knowledge of the quickest path to where it wants to go.
  • Rapture: The ghost can create ecstatic visions and overwhelming pleasure to manipulate mortals.
  • Regenerate: The ghost can heal its Corpus.
  • Seek: The ghost senses the closest Anchor.
  • Sign: The ghost creates messages or images for mortals to see.
  • Stalwart: The ghost is tougher than most, held together by a strong will.

Spirit Numina[]

Spirits gain numina based on their rank, with newly self-aware spirits having only a few Numina and extremely powerful spirits having many.

Werewolf: The Forsaken[]

In Werewolf games, spirits can also use Gifts as Numina.

  • Abduct: With this Numen, a spirit can literally drag a human being across the Gauntlet and into the Shadow.
  • Aggressive Meme: The spirit speaks to a mortal and a certain idea takes root strongly.
  • Blast: The spirit can strike opponents at a distance. (Updated in GMC).
  • Chorus: The spirit can talk to any spirits from its own choir in the area.
  • Claim: A more powerful form of possession, the spirit can permanently inhabit a body.
  • Clasp: Allows a spirit to lock a target in an embrace of extreme force.
  • Dement: The spirit can give the target a derangement.
  • Desiccation: Allows a spirit (water- and blood-spirits) to withdraw some or all of the fluid most closely associated with it from its opponent's body.
  • Discorporation: The spirit can voluntarily discorporate and reform elsewhere.
  • Drain: The spirit can steal Essence or Willpower from a material being. (Updated in GMC).
  • Emotional Aura: A spirit can broadcast a general pulse of emotion over a wide area rather than focusing on one target.
  • Entropic Decay: The spirit accelerates the natural processes of decay in a target.
  • Fearstruck: Causes an opponent to become paralyzed by fear.
  • Fetter: The spirit can inhabit an object without the need to materialize.
  • Fictive Form: A spirit can materialize as wherever religious, mythical or iconic being in which human witnesses most strongly believe.
  • Final Strike: This Numen allows a spirit on the verge of discorporation to make one last attack against its opponent.
  • Firestarter: The spirit can create a number of small fires over an area.
  • Gauntlet Breach: The spirit can push through the Gauntlet like the Uratha.
  • Ghost Eater: The spirit is able to steal Essence from or consume ghosts as if they were spirits.
  • Hallucinations: The spirit can create an illusion.
  • Harrow: The spirit can cripple opponents with a particular emotion.
  • Host Jump: The spirit can leap from one host to another.
  • Howl: The spirit lets out a blood-curdling howl that causes an opponent to panic and run.
  • Implant Mission: The spirit plants an urge to complete a certain task.
  • Innocuous: The spirit is very easily overlooked.
  • Left-Handed Spanner: The spirit temporarily disables a technological device.
  • Living Fetter: The spirit can fetter itself into a living being instead of an inanimate object.
  • Materialize: The spirit can abruptly shift from Twilight to the material world.
  • Material Vision: The spirit can briefly look through the Gauntlet from the Shadow Realm.
  • Mechanical Possession: The manifested spirit can take control of a machine or vehicle that it has made into a fetter.
  • Mortal Mask: The spirit is able to materialize across the Gauntlet, ceasing to be ephemeral and becoming a tangible being. Except in this case, unlike the Materialize Numen, the spirit appears human.
  • Omen Trance: The spirit can enter a meditative trance to gain a premonition or warning.
  • Pathfinder: The spirit pulls forth knowledge of the quickest path to where it wants to go.
  • Possession: The spirit can temporarily take control of a living being.
  • Rapture: The spirit can create ecstatic visions and overwhelming pleasure to manipulate mortals.
  • Reaching: The spirit can use Numina through the Gauntlet into the material realm.
  • Regenerate: The spirit can heal its Corpus.
  • Replay: Ghosts can force a mortal or a supernatural creature to revisit a moment from the dead person's life. (Optional)
  • Revelation: A spirit can use information as a weapon, forcibly projecting it into the mind of its target.
  • Seek: A spirit can sense an event or thing directly related to its sphere(s) of influence. (Updated in GMC).
  • Sense Character: A spirit can get a sense of a target's character.
  • Sense Influence: A spirit can sense the presence of whatever the spirit's Influences are attuned to, without requiring use of Material Vision or any other Numina.
  • Speed: Confers uncanny swiftness upon a spirit, allowing it to move at a much more rapid pace than usual. (Updated in GMC).
  • Sign: The spirit creates messages or images for mortals to see.
  • Spirit Venom: Allows a spirit to inject its opponent with a form of spiritual venom after a successful blow or bite.
  • Stalwart: The spirit is tougher than most, held together by a strong will.
  • Telekinesis: Allows a spirits to manipulate objects without materializing. (Updated in GMC).
  • Thieve: Similar to the Abduct Numen, but in this case the spirit may take physical, non-living objects across the Gauntlet.
  • Whisper Chorus: Allows a spirit to whisper a message in the ears of nearby humans.
  • Wilds Sense: The spirit can sense other spirits and locations in its immediate area.

Mage: The Awakening[]

In Mage games, spirits can also use spells as Numina. This book also contains Blast, Claim, Discorporation, Fetter, Gauntlet Breach, Harrow, Living Fetter, Materialize, Material Vision, Reaching, and Wilds Sense as well as the following.

  • Innocuous: The spirit is very easily overlooked. (Updated in GMC).
  • Soul Snatch: This Numen is somewhat the opposite of Claim; the spirit takes possession of the mortal's soul instead of their body.

Book of Spirits[]

This book lists all of the Numina from Werewolf: The Forsaken and Mage: The Awakening as well as the following.

  • Abduct: The spirit can drag targets across the Gauntlet and into Shadow.
  • Ban of Power: The spirit can take an additional ban to gain more power.
  • Camouflage: The spirit can blend into its surroundings to hide.
  • Chain of Death: A spirit using Corpse Ride can jump from its current host to the body of a victim.
  • Clasp: The spirit can lock a target into a crushing embrace.
  • Commune: The spirit can gain an awareness of its general surroundings.
  • Concealment: The spirit can use some means of hiding itself under a cover.
  • Corpse Ride: The spirit can inhabit and control a dead body.
  • Damnation's Path: The targets of this Numen are unable to regain Willpower except through their Vice.
  • Dement: The spirit can give the target a derangement. (Updated in GMC).
  • Dessication: The spirit can pull fluid from the target's body.
  • Drain: The spirit can drain energy from targets. (Updated in GMC).
  • Elemental Immunity: The element-spirit is immune to the element that makes it up.
  • Emotional Aura: Like Harrow, the spirit can broadcast a certain emotion to those around it. (Updated in GMC).
  • Ensnare: The spirit can entangle its target in something like web, wire mesh, etc.
  • Fearstruck: The spirit can paralyze an opponent with fear.
  • Final Strike: When about to discorporate, the spirit can make one last attack.
  • Firestarter: The spirit can create a number of small fires over an area. (Updated in GMC).
  • Freeze: The spirit can siphon heat from an area, causing the temperature to plummet.
  • Ghost-Eater: The spirit is able to steal Essence from and consume ghosts as if they were spirits.
  • Greater Influence: The spirit can increase the power of one of its influences.
  • Hallucinations: The spirit can create an illusion. (Updated in GMC).
  • Heal: The spirit can heal others' wounds.
  • Hibernate: The spirit can enter a state of slumber in the Shadow to preserve Essence.
  • Howl: The spirit can let loose a blood-curdling scream that strikes fear in bystanders.
  • Left-Handed Spanner: The spirit temporarily disables a technological device. (Updated in GMC).
  • Manipulate Element: The spirit can move and control elements under its purview.
  • Mechanical Possession: The spirit can take possession of a machine or vehicle that it has as a fetter.
  • Morphic Form: The spirit is able to change its shape for movement or hiding.
  • Mortal Mask: The spirit is able to transport itself across the Gauntlet and take the form of a mortal. (Updated in GMC).
  • Omen Trance: The spirit can enter a meditative trance to gain a premonition or warning. (Updated in GMC).
  • Pathfinder: The spirit pulls forth knowledge of the quickest path to where it wants to go. (Updated in GMC).
  • Plague of the Dead: When using Chain of Death or Corpse Ride, the spirit can create animate dead from those it kills.
  • Rapture: The spirit can create ecstatic visions and overwhelming pleasure to manipulate mortals. (Updated in GMC).
  • Rebirth: The spirit can consume and reincarnate mortal souls.
  • Regenerate: The spirit can heal its Corpus. (Updated in GMC).
  • Savant: The spirit is particularly skilled at using a certain Numen.
  • Seek: The spirit can sense an event or thing in its purview and find its way to it. (Updated in GMC).
  • Sleep Eater: The spirit drains hours of sleep from its victim.
  • Soul Harvest: A more powerful version of Soul Snatch, the spirit can also steal souls of supernatural creatures.
  • Speed: The spirit has incredible speed and can move at a much faster pace that mortals. (Updated in GMC).
  • Spirit Minions: The spirit has made compacts with minor spirits that serve it.
  • Spirit Venom: The spirit injects a spiritual venom into its victims.
  • Spiritual Vision: While manifested into the material realm, the spirit can peer into the spirit world.
  • Stalwart: The spirit is tougher than most, held together by a strong will. (Updated in GMC).
  • Swarm Form: The spirit can break up into thousands of tiny parts be they sand grains, insects, etc.
  • Telekinesis: The spirit can manipulate objects without Materializing. (Updated in GMC).
  • Telepathy: The spirit can directly link with other minds to communicate with them.
  • Thieve: The spirit can take physical, non-living objects across the Gauntlet and into Shadow.
  • Threshold: The spirit can create a temporary gateway through the Gauntlet.
  • Transmogrify Victim: The spirit can reshape a host that it is inhabiting to make a terrible monstrosity.
  • Unfetter: The spirit can leave its fetters behind for a while.

The God-Machine Chronicle[]

  • Aggressive Meme: The spirit speaks to a mortal and a certain idea takes root strongly.
  • Awe: The spirit paralyzes onlookers with holy (or unholy) terror.
  • Essence Thief: The angel can take Essence from another ephemeral creature.
  • Host Jump: The spirit can leap from one host to another.
  • Implant Mission: The spirit plants an urge to complete a certain task.
  • Resurrection: The spirit of healing can raise the dead (available to Rank 4+ only).
  • Sign: The spirit creates messages or images for mortals to see.

Demon: The Descent[]

  • Beast Eyes: The animal-spirit looks through the eyes of an animal of its type.
  • Transmute: The spirit transforms an inanimate object into another material.

Qashmallim Numina[]

While qashmallim often have unique powers, they share some common Numina as well. Transmutations can be used as Numina and qashmallim often have Numina resembling any of those common to ghosts and spirits. They also have the following Numina unique to their kind.

Promethean: The Created[]

  • Command Pandoran: The Lilithim controls awakened Pandorans.
  • Grant Vision: The Elpidos enters the dreams of mortals or Prometheans to grant vivid revelations.
  • Materialize: The qashmal can become solid whenever it wishes.
  • Pyros Drain: The qashmal steals Pyros from any being that has it.

Pandora's Book[]

  • Aggressive Meme: The qashmal speaks to a mortal and a certain idea takes root strongly.
  • Awe: The qashmal paralyzes onlookers with holy (or unholy) terror.
  • Blight: The Lilithim can destroy a year's crop of food within a radius of one mile.
  • Burning Coal: The Elpidos grants mortals the courage to follow its directions.
  • Chariot of Fire: The Elpidos transports the target with a circle of fire.
  • Clasp: The Materialized Lilithim wraps the target in a crushing embrace.
  • Emotional Aura: The qashmal extends its Pyros over a wide area, forcing strong emotions onto those in it.
  • End Disease: The Elpidos removes all disease from a living being.
  • Ersatz Morality: The Greater Elpidos causes a supernatural creature with a human element, such as a vampire or Promethean, to become fully human. 
  • Final Strike: The Lilithim can fight even to the point of destruction.
  • Ghastly Crew: The qashmal inhabits a corpse, animating and controlling it.
  • Heal the Land: The Elpidos lessens the Wasteland effect around a Promethean.
  • Imitation: The Materialized qashmal takes on the appearance of a human that it has met.
  • Immolate: The qashmal's hands are wreathed in cold Pyros of fire.
  • Impart: The qashmal infuses a mortal with Pyros and the use of its Numina.
  • Implant Delusion: The qashmal makes someone believe something untrue.
  • Invoke Disquiet: The Lilithim worsens Disquiet in an individual.
  • Invoke Firestorm: The Greater Lilithim brings Firestorms into being.
  • Mutagenic Blast: The Lilithim unleashes a blast of Pyros that causes Pandorans to form.
  • Manipulate Time: The Greater Elpidos rewinds time a few seconds to undo an event.
  • Parthenogenesis: The qashmal conceives a child with a woman without any sexual contract.
  • Pillar of Salt: The Greater Lilithim ends a mortal's life by transforming them into salt and dust.
  • Plague Crow: The Lilithim inflicts a mortal with diseases by touching them.
  • Pray for Rain: The Elpidos summons cool, refreshing rain over an area.
  • Pyretic Chorale: The Elpidos appears to divide into several figures, all of whom sing in unison.
  • Rain of Frogs: The Lilithim causes frogs, fish, or blood to fall from the sky, making Flux more likely to propagate.
  • Raise Flux: The Lilithim infects the surrounding area with Flux.
  • Recharge Pyros: The Materialized qashmal can recharge its Pyros from electricity.
  • Resurrection: The Greater Elpidos can raise the dead.
  • The Rising of the Light: The Greater Elpidos creates a pool of sunlight the area of a city block.
  • Seek: The qashmal finds its quarry instinctively.
  • Soothe Disquiet: The Elpidos lessens the level of Disquiet in an individual.
  • Teiresian Metamorphosis: The qashmal changes the gender of a living being.
  • Telekinesis: The qashmal lifts objects without needing to touch them or Manifest.

Angel Numina[]

Angels of the God-Machine possess numina that they power with Essence just like ghosts and spirits. In many ways they are more powerful than these entities, but without free will and constrained by the designs of the God-Machine they are in some ways less of a threat.

The God-Machine Chronicle[]

  • Aggressive Meme: The angel speaks to a mortal and a certain idea takes root strongly.
  • Awe: The angel paralyzes onlookers with holy (or unholy) terror.
  • Blast: The angel can strike opponents at a distance.
  • Dement: The angel can torment a target with visions, possibly giving them a derangement.
  • Drain: The angel can drain energy from targets.
  • Emotional Aura: Like the ghost/spirit numen Harrow, the angel can broadcast a certain emotion to those around it.
  • Essence Thief: The angel can take Essence from another ephemeral creature.
  • Firestarter: The angel can create a number of small fires over an area.
  • Hallucinations: The angel can create an illusion.
  • Host Jump: The angel can leap from one host to another.
  • Implant Mission: The angel plants an urge to complete a certain task.
  • Innocuous: The angel is very easily overlooked.
  • Left-Handed Spanner: The angel temporarily disables a technological device.
  • Mortal Mask: The angel is able to manifest and disguise itself as a mortal.
  • Omen Trance: The spirit can enter a meditative trance to gain a premonition or warning.
  • Pathfinder: The angel pulls forth knowledge of the quickest path to where it wants to go.
  • Rapture: The angel can create ecstatic visions and overwhelming pleasure to manipulate mortals.
  • Regenerate: The angel can heal its Corpus.
  • Resurrection: The angel can raise the dead (available to Rank 4+ only).
  • Seek: The angel senses the nearest piece of Infrastructure.
  • Speed: The angel adopts incredible swiftness for a scene.
  • Sign: The angel creates messages or images for mortals to see.
  • Stalwart: The angel is tougher than most, held together by a strong will.
  • Telekinesis: The angel can manipulate objects without Manifesting.

Demon: The Descent[]

  • Beast Eyes: The angel looks through the eyes of an animal.
  • Strike Blind: The angel blinds people in an area around it.
  • Transmute: The angel transforms an inanimate object into another material.

Demon Storytellers Guide[]

  • Angelic reflexes: The angel moves faster than the human eye.
  • Blink of an Eye: The angel moves impossibly fast so long as no one witnesses its passage.
  • Divine Grace: The angel reveals a fragment of its true being, inspiring awe to those around it.
  • Ex Nihilo: The angel imbues life to an object.
  • Hallowed Ground: The angel extends part of its spiritual being into a structure.
  • Gravity's Hold: The angel directs gravity's pull.
  • Inexorable Pursuit: The angel slows the victim's speed.
  • No Exit: The angel changes how passageways within a structure relate to one another.
  • Open Investigation: The angel brings a target to the attention of law enforcement and points all evidence of a crime to them.
  • Power Out: The angel causes all electronics, combustion and radio communication within range to fail.
  • Secret Handshake: The angel creates a new social custom within a community.
  • Translocation: The angel may rapidly switch places with any human within a large range.
  • Witness Protection: The angel is able to use supernatural abilities without nearby humans remembering.
  • Words of Prophecy: The angel makes a command and humans will be inspired to follow it.

Dark Numina[]

Demons and Maeltinet have powers called Dark Numina.

  • Babel: The Maeltinet/Demon makes it impossible for the victim to communicate coherently.
  • Blast: The Demon can strike opponents at a distance.
  • Corrupted Vessel: The Maeltinet can attempt to posses a victim that suffers an Integrity loss within it's view.
  • Create Pact
  • Dark Power: The Maeltinet can offer additional power to any victim within sight.
  • Glimpse of Hell: The Maeltinet channels nightmares from the collective human psyche to craft a grotesque and horrifying form that imposes a reaction much like Lunacy.
  • Legion
  • Hellform
  • Materialize: The Demon can abruptly shift into to the material world.
  • Perfect Lie: The Maeltinet/Demon can convince its victim of any untruth no matter how fanciful, as long as it isn't directly contradicted by evidence immediately before the victim, or the victim's own true knowledge.
  • Reaching: The Demon can use Numina through the Gauntlet into the material realm.
  • Supreme Possession
  • Utter Damnation
  • Vestment

References[]

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