Usury is one of the thirteen primary Arcanoi from Wraith: The Oblivion. Those who master Usury can trade the very forces that wraiths thrive on.
Usury is, without a doubt, a very useful ability. With Usury, a wraith can exchange Pathos with another, heal their Corpus, or turn Corpus into Pathos and back again. The only real restrictions on this ability are that it only grows more powerful with experience, and that a Usurer must be touching their target for it to work.
Usurers have something of a dodgy reputation in the Shadowlands. While their powers hold much potential for noble and respectable acts, more than one Usurer has fallen prey to the suggestions of their Shadows and indulged in outright theft of wraithly forces. It is because of these schemers that Usury has become an art viewed with suspicion and scorn. The Hierarchy in particular has dealt with too many troublesome Usurers, leading to its keeping an eye on those who know the arts of Usury.
When Usury goes wrong, it usually results in a reverse flow from what the Usurer intended. For example, a Usurer trying to feed Pathos into another wraith may find themselves accidentally draining it instead. Needless to say, victims of these accidents are rarely happy with the Usurer when they happen.
Basic Abilities[]
- Assessment: A Usurer can estimate with some degree of accuracy the energy levels in an individual.
Standard Powers[]
First / Second Edition[]
Transfer: A Usurer may transfer Pathos between themselves and another.- Charitable Trust: A Usurer may apply their Corpus to another to heal wounds.
- Early Withdrawal: A Usurer can steal another’s life with a touch.
- Exchange Rate: A Usurer can convert Pathos into Corpus and vice versa.
- Investment: A Usurer can store Pathos or Corpus in a relic for later use.
20th Anniversary Edition[]
Basic abilities were dropped in the 20th anniversary edition.
- Appraisal: A Usurer has their Lifesight and Deathsight permanently strengthened.
- Pathos Conduit: This is essentially the same as Transfer.
- Corpus Conduit: A Usurer may transfer Corpus between themselves and another.
- Facilitate: A Usurer can make themselves an intermediary for Pathos Conduit, Corpus Conduit and Arcanos Conduit, transferring Pathos, Corpus and Arcanoi between two targets.
- Invest: This is essentially the same as Investment.
Alternate Powers[]
Wraith: The Great War[]
Usury abilities during the Great War are the same as the basic abilities and standard powers with the following exceptions, which replace the skills of the same level or where noted.
- Charity: This ability is identical to Charitable Trust.
- Withdrawal: This ability is identical to Early Withdrawal.
- Danegeld: This allows a Usurer to "pay off" a Spectre with Pathos, preventing them from being attacked by that Shade.
- Lien: With this ability, a Usurer forces a target to match any Pathos investments made in them or suffer damage.
20th Anniversary Edition[]
The 20th anniversary edition introduces the initiate arts, a set of Usury abilities available to members of the Usurers' Guild with sufficient standing.
- Gray Ledger: A Usurer can see a subject's prior history of Usury, whether as user or target.
- Plasm Exchange: A Usurer can convert Corpus into Pathos.
- Suspend: A Usurer may delay the use of another Usury power.
- Oblivion's Seal: A Usurer can enforce a binding agreement on all parties involved, with those who break it suffering painful retribution.
- Arcanos Conduit: A Usurer may transfer use of an Arcanos between themselves and another.
Other Books[]
- Composure Wellspring (WTO: Doomslayers: Into the Labyrinth ): A Usurer can invest Composure into a Spectre in an attempt to redeem them.
- Sustenance (The Hierarchy): A Usurer may syphon the energies of marked wraiths from a distance.
References[]
- WTO: Wraith: The Oblivion Second Edition, p. 160-161
- WTO/cMET: Oblivion, p. 133-134
- WTO: Wraith: The Great War Rulebook, p. 130-131
- WTO: Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition, p. 216-219
- WTO: Doomslayers: Into the Labyrinth, p. 73
- WTO: The Hierarchy, p. 106-107
| Wraith: The Oblivion Arcanoi | |
| The Great 13 | Argos · Castigate · Embody · Fatalism · Inhabit · Keening · Lifeweb · Moliate · Outrage · Pandemonium · Phantasm · Puppetry · Usury |
|---|---|
| Forbidden | Flux · Intimation · Mnemosynis |
| Dark Arcanoi | Blighted Insight · Contaminate · Corruption · False Life · Hive-Mind · Larceny · Maleficence · Shroud-Rending · Tempest-Weaving · Tempestos |
| Risen | Fascinate · Serendipity |
| Jade | Chains of the Emperor · Way of the Artisan · Way of the Farmer · Way of the Merchant · Way of the Scholar · Way of the Soul |
| Miscellaneous | Alloyed · Behest · Connaissance · Displace · Kinesis · Leechcraft · Tempered |