Last time, I talked about the origin of the concept for Essence Points. This time around, let's look at the the basic information about the overall system which I call Essence Power.
Some heroes are capable of far greater feats than others in the world. These heroes have, whether intentionally or not, tapped into the raw essence of existence and have learned to manipulate this essence to further their own goals. The power of essence allows character to use greater abilities, take greater risks, and ultimately be more successful in their adventures. This power manifests in the form of Essence Points and other benefits.
Essence Power is a system that replaces the Hero Point system featured in the core rules. The system is meant to give characters a greater edge against their opponents and take greater control of the narrative. In short, it grant characters more power to allow them to take more risks and be more successful overall.
When choosing to include Essence Power in a campaign, you can select from three different tiers of abilities, known as Essence Tiers, to grant characters even greater powers and control. The first tier, Essence Points, provides characters with a more powerful alternative to Hero Points. The second tier, Essence Connections, connects characters to one of the four essences, the four physical and metaphysical building blocks of existence. This connection grants characters unique abilities that allow them to manipulate the world around them in ways that no other character can. The final tier, Essence Boons, grants characters inherent benefits that scale based on the strength of their connection to one of the four essences.
GMs wishing to include Essence Power in their campaigns are suggested to include the Essence Tiers cumulatively in the order noted above as desired for a given campaign. That is, GMs should first include Essence Points and then add Essence Connections and finally Essence Boons to further empower a campaign. Each of the tiers are designed to work using the mechanics of the previous tier and thus use rules that are interconnected.
Overall, Essence Power will lead to more powerful characters capable of facing and overcoming far greater challenges than that of typical characters. A single Essence Tier results in characters that can face slightly more powerful challenges, close to 1 level higher than standard characters, who can survive more dangerous attacks. Including two Essence Tiers leads to far more capable characters who can consistently face challenges 1 level higher than normal and will generally be able to survive most standard challenges. Characters with access to all three Essence Tiers can face challenges 2 levels higher than a typical character and will rarely be in danger when facing challenges suitable for characters of their level. Challenges beyond an extreme threat for the character’s level are still dangerous and potentially lethal, but three Essence Tiers allow characters to punch above their weight class.