Hallow, Domus, and Dying

Okay. Here are some nearly definitive answers (which begin with: all of this is being worked on for the final edition):

1) You cannot maintain a Domus unless you live in it. You cannot visit your Domus X times a week to 'strengthen' it; but it is intended that your Domus is the place you live. If you have a Domus but live elsewhere, the bond gradually deteriorates.

2) Doves don't go to a Fallen first; they go to the Domus, and so if you don't have a Domus, it takes *even longer* for a Dove to find you (this is cool, and is something I didn't know at all).

3) For the same reason you can have a Chosen Weapon and an additional weapon that is also made an Affection, it is possible to have a Domus as well as another place that is an Affection (which cannot be strengthened and which will not give the benefits of a Domus). This Affection could be used *only* as an Affection under the Codex. I don't like the idea, and neither does Trent, but strictly speaking, there's nothing that says it isn't possible.

So. Here is the ruling we will use in Providence:
1) If you have a Domus, you must live there. You cannot maintain a Domus you do not live in. Remember, it is possible for more than one person to make a single location a Domus.

2) For now, I will continue to consider the multiple place-Affections conundrum. By the November game, I will have an answer for you about this issue. Until then, as stated previously, we will assume you cannot have a Domus and another location Affection.

Also, on the question of how long it takes for the bond with a Domus to fade, that will totally depend on why you're away from it and your intent. Which is why there's no real "concrete scale". I *could* use the deterioration rules, but it makes more sense (in terms of the rest of the game) to treat each individual case as just that; an individual case. Which can make it more difficult for you the roleplayer.

Thanks Jill. That was clear, concise, and awesome. Here, have an extra e-fork.

::Blush::

Thank you, Dave.
It means a lot to hear that.

"1) If you have a Domus, you must live there. You cannot maintain a
Domus you do not live in. Remember, it is possible for more than one
person to make a single location a Domus."

"Also, on the question of how long it takes for the bond with a Domus to
fade, that will totally depend on why you're away from it and your
intent."

I will be e-mailing you about this, then, as it effects my character pretty strongly.

(Am I the *only* person in this city who has a domus they're not living in?)

No, you're not.

And since it wasn't made absolutely clear in the book that you have available to you, it is something that will come into effect now, which I think makes for interesting storylines.

Which is to say, with the exception of one or two cases that will most likely not effect characters currently in the game, if you're not living in your Domus, your Domus will begin to degenerate. We will not have to, in other words, "retro-game" what's been going on for the past year and a half.

Also, as per my e-mail conversation with Jill right now, not all of us knows that this is something that can happen. I think that probably most of us don't. But I also suspect that this isn't like "Omigod the rules of the universe are changing on us"... I think that with a little research, we could probably find previous examples of it happening. Right?

Erm.

Actually, what I said in that email was that *your character* might not know that a Fallen can lose her connexion with her Domus, not that it was not common knowledge. In fact, inasmuch as you could say that *anything* in life is common knowledge, I don't see why this wouldn't be. That doesn't mean that everyone knows it. F'rinstance, it's common knowledge that in Canada, we don't have to pay to see a doctor. But if you move here from another country, you might not know that. If you've been a Fallen for two weeks and Something Happens that causes your bond with your Domus to break, you might know more about what goes on with Domi than someone who'd been a Fallen for 50 years and who'd never even left their Domus.

My point is that it's all relative.

The stuff I was talking about previously regarding this was conjecture; it was brainstorming. It wasn't to be taken as canon, but rather merely was a discussion where I was throwing around ideas.

What I want you to take out of this is that every situation is going to be different, and if you want to have Malicia not know that this happens with her Domus when she doesn't live there, then that's fine, but others may know about it. Similarly, just because you've been told something by someone doesn't mean it's true - so maybe another character was told that if they don't live in their Domus, the bond gradually fades, but they don't believe it. It's not going to be the same for everyone, and there really is no 'common situation'. What we talked about in that email was specific to *Malicia*, not to everyone in the city.

Oh. Thing is, Malicia was talking to other people about it. Thought I mentioned that, but maybe not. It would be hard to explain that she's been Fallen for 15 or so years and was specifically asking about how domuses work and still doesn't know something that is common knowledge.

Hm.

Malicia wrote:Oh. Thing is, Malicia was talking to other people about it. Thought I mentioned that, but maybe not. It would be hard to explain that she's been Fallen for 15 or so years and was specifically asking about how domuses work and still doesn't know something that is common knowledge.

Hm.

Not really, just give her Jillish memory quality about Domi and continue to have her ask every 10 minutes... well, maybe every few months. ::grin::

*grin* Can I get points back for Vice: Can't Remember Anything Important About Her Domus?

Jillish memory is *not* a Vice. It is a Preeminence. It is a GIFT FROM GOD.

cenobyte wrote:Jillish memory is *not* a Vice. It is a Preeminence. It is a GIFT FROM GOD.

I thought it was a Transgression!

Implausible Deniability: You will forget things and be able to deny them with complete confidence to peoples faces -- up until the point where you are confronted with written documentation in your own penmanship, at which time it will all come crashing in on you and the memories will be (partially) restored.

::grin::

Also, for those of you following along, here is a recap of what Jill said about Domus and Hollow Death.

If you have an Uninvested Domus (spend 1 Devotion, and use Hallow) on your Domus, you will reappear from the Hollow Death about a month's journey away from your Domus.

If you have a Meekly Attuned Domus (spend 1 Zeal, and use Hallow), you will reappear from the Hollow Death somewhere in or near the city your Domus is in (within a day's walk).

If you have a Moderately Attuned Domus (spend 2 Zeal, and use Hallow), you will reappear from the Hollow Death somewhere in or near the neighbourhood close to your Domus (within a few blocks).

If you have a Fully Attuned Domus (spend 3 Zeal, and use Hallow), you will reappear from the Hollow Death somewhere in or near the Domus itself (within 5 feet).

*grin* Can I get points back for Vice: Can't Remember Anything Important About Her Domus

As frustrated as I get from trying to figure out ways of justifying not knowing stuff my character should know, I have found KC has the big advantage that characters are supposed to forget important stuff. Remember very recently (and two hundred years ago is recent for a fallen) each character not only had six thousand years of past life memories come flooding back they also had memories of an infinite time and space that existed before the dawn of existance crammed into a brain that is not designed to hold that much information. Blurry memory, distorted view of time, and incorrect facts about the nature of existence are all perfectly natural.

Very Good Point, Dave.

Friedrich wrote:Also, for those of you following along, here is a recap of what Jill said about Domus and Hollow Death.

If you have an Uninvested Domus (spend 1 Devotion, and use Hallow) on your Domus, you will reappear from the Hollow Death about a month's journey away from your Domus.

If you have a Meekly Attuned Domus (spend 1 Zeal, and use Hallow), you will reappear from the Hollow Death somewhere in or near the city your Domus is in (within a day's walk).

If you have a Moderately Attuned Domus (spend 2 Zeal, and use Hallow), you will reappear from the Hollow Death somewhere in or near the neighbourhood close to your Domus (within a few blocks).

If you have a Fully Attuned Domus (spend 3 Zeal, and use Hallow), you will reappear from the Hollow Death somewhere in or near the Domus itself (within 5 feet).

In case some of you haven't realised it yet, if you have Fearful Journey as a Potent Vice, I would recommend spending the two zeal to avoid potentially losing your character. Even if you have a Meekly Attuned Domus, within a day's walk could be a nice little farmstead in the country somewhere or, heaven forbid, Lumsden! Do you really want to be a manure-shovelling farmer or live out the rest of your days in Lumsden? ::shudder::

::grin::

If you have an uninvested domus and appear a month away, do you lose your downtime for spending all that time getting back?

It depends, I think, on the situation and on what your downtime actions would be.

F'rinstance, I don't think I'd be all that cheery about someone trying to do a Hunt or Cry Havoc while they're still Very Far Away from Home.

I might let them do an Acquire action, or Rehab.

Then again, if they show up after Hollow Death in Siberia, they might have to spend all that time pulling a Bear Gryllis to survive.

Action #1: Survive Siberian Hinterland
Effort: all of it
Secular Power: Will that work, when the only other living creature is bacteria?
Resources: Whatever will work with the bacteria. And bears.
Professions: Thank God I took three Ranks in "Crazy-ass Survivor Dude".
Techniques: All of them, and some I probably don't have. I wish I had Brimstone, just to keep warm.
Write-up: "When I get home I'm'a make that dumpster I'm living in my Domus.

Just to clarify - can you spend more zeal than you have ranks in Hallow to attune yourself to a Domus?

Hrm. That is a good question.
I don't think so.

The rules say that you can't. The benefits, for Domus, of Meek, Moderate, and Pure Hallow are the number of zeal that may be invested. Meek = 1, Moderate =2, and Pure = 3.

Good...that's what I thought...but I just wanted to clarify as it hadn't been stated yet.

On the flip side, in order to create a Domus at all, you need at least one Hallow, so that means you can spend at least one Zeal. Under Jill's houserules, that puts you at most a day away, so you'll generally be fine.

Unless Jill does something HORRIBLE like put you at most a day away in the middle of a tragic gasoline fight accident.