Ascensions

Humans can ascend, though how often this mysterious process happens appears to be based on how they live their life: the relationships they form, the risks they take, the changes to themselves they pursue or enable. There are a few things that are known, though.

Some people never ascend. Some people ascend so quickly they hoard ascensions.

Demons have told us that the basic ascension paths are linked to actions, not fate. Because of that, a prominent demonologist who was a tarot reader ironically named the different known or speculated paths after tarot cards, names which stuck.

Each tier of ascension gives a human host another 25 or so years onto their natural lifespan. Note that a violent death will still kill them, just not the natural process of aging. This doesn't get tacked on to the end, or allow someone to regain lost youth: rather, it becomes as if, from that point their maturation was at, they started aging as if they had 25 more years elongated over the rest of their human life. If you were 25 at your first ascension, you'll look under 40 when you're 50. If you're 60 at your first ascension, you'll still look under 70 when you're far older than that.

Ascending at higher tiers allows a human to change shape into their ascension form. All aspects of an ascension form don't have to be kept (you could, for example, keep the animal ears but not the matching tail). When you go beyond that ascension's basic path, reaching say tier 4 after tier 3, you lose tier 3 of that path's ascended form and ascension. You may refuse to follow the roads placed before you. If you do, you must do something worthy of ascending again in that path to achieve another chance to ascend. Choose wisely.

You can follow more than one ascension path, but you cannot gain 25 years to your lifespan unless you reach a higher level than you’ve reached in another ascension path. 10 ascensions won’t get you 250 years to live, and certainly not if they’re all at tier 1, as demonologists mark it. But when you ascend past the first tier in any of those ascensions, you will now have another 50 years to live.

Ascensions are also known to affect demons, amplifying their power over some of their dominions and sometimes changing their form, particularly primal demons.

Ascending is viewed by some as the key to immortality, to a human living an eternal life. No one knows how high the levels of ascension grow.

Ascensions and gaining new dominions only happen organically. You can’t farm for ascensions, though believe me, people have tried. If you genuinely improve or debase yourself, you are likely to ascend or gain the plant dominion. If you interact with flowers in ten instances, that won’t give you the plant dominion. Seek to better yourself — or worsen yourself!

Ascension Paths
There are many possible pathways that can be unlocked. A human can follow one, or several; there is no limit to ascension pathways that can become available.

The Fool
The Fool is about starting a journey without knowing where it will end or being really in any way prepared for it. Idealism, foolishness, lightheartedness, and innocence are big themes of this card. On the darker side, it can be dangerous naivety.

Gaining This Ascension
Getting ridiculously lucky

Not being killed when by all rights you should have been

Heading into something completely unprepared with no thought to consequences

Starting on a quest or journey alone or with others

Potential Physical Traits
Animal characteristics, especially animals known as tricksters (coyotes, monkeys, spiders, rabbits?)

“Goofy” or “Clownish” traits

Ascension Powers
''You can also manipulate luck. Be careful — luck might manipulate back. You will now receive either -1, 0, or +1 marker on all rolls in admin events, decided by a three-sided dice roll.''

Flight is augmented

Phasing is augmented

Dreams is augmented

Hallucinations is augmented

The Magician
What the Fool lacks, the Magician has in abundance. This card signifies subtlety, skill, diplomacy, and self-confidence based on ability (as opposed to foolish optimism). People on this path are prepared for the life they choose and attack it with a plan. The card also can be a portent of illness, be it physical or of the mind.

Gaining This Ascension
Preparing for a journey or event

Gaining a new skill

Mastering a skill

Making elaborate plans

Giving speeches

Settling disagreements through diplomacy to your own advantage

Worsening health

Potential Physical Traits
A dramatic voice

A light glow around you

Ink-stained fingers

Worsening health

A persistent cough

Fatigue

Physical weakness

Ascension Powers
You can now cause minor illness in yourself and others.

Technopathy is augmented

Magnetism is augmented

Alchemy is augmented

Psychic is augmented

Biomancy is augmented

The High Priestess
The High Priestess is about science, wisdom, knowledge, and education. The reversed/dark side is passion, moral or physical ardour, conceit, surface knowledge. The High Priestess is somewhat secretive about her knowledge.

Gaining This Ascension
Finally understanding something you have struggled with

Deciding to further your education.

Approaching something scientifically

Becoming passionate about a cause

Showing a new level of conceit

Doing something with only surface knowledge and believing yourself a master

Discovering and keeping important knowledge of the world as secrets

Potential Physical Traits
Sphinx-like

Owls

Gods of Intellect (Athena, for example)

Feminine traits

Ascension Powers
You can now experience improved concentration, memory and academic skill.

Paper is augmented

Animation is augmented

Shadow is augmented

Sound is augmented

The Empress
The Empress card is about the female aspects of ruling, creating, care-taking, and mothering. It has a definite dark side-- those on the path of the Empress can become overly invested in the lives of their charges, smothering, and controlling.

Gaining This Ascension
The first steps on the path of the Empress almost always involves having a child or taking in someone younger, weaker, and/or in more need than yourself.

Sometimes a project or a cause can be substituted, if it is treated as tenderly as a child.

Progression on this path happens as you become more and more invested in the life of the person you’re caring for, be it for better or worse.

Potential Physical Traits
“Womanly traits”

Weight gain and curves are somewhat common

You may acquire a more calming touch, a gentler voice, warmer hands, and/or the inexplicable smell of baking bread

Earthy, tree-like growths have also been reported.

Ascension Powers
''You can now calm and cajole others, gaining the automatic trust of children and lost youth. You now gain additional strength when fighting to protect others (+2 on all rolls of that kind).''

Superior Endurance is augmented

Earth is augmented

Plants is augmented

Water is augmented

The Emperor
The Emperor path is about the male side of ruling and conquering. The ascendant on the path of the Emperor is becoming more powerful, gaining stability and control in their life, and accepting leadership over others. In the negative sense, the Emperor can become a tyrant.

Gaining This Ascension
Being or becoming the head of a household, organization, task force, or other group of people

Exercising power over others, whether for their benefit or not

Gaining material wealth or recognition

Adhering to a strict moral code or set of rules that does not allow for exceptions or grey areas

Having control over a number of resources

Potential Physical Traits
“Manly” traits-- beards, muscles

Weight gain

Increases in height

A deeper, more authoritative voice

Becoming more intimidating to those around you

Ascension Powers
You seem to attract wealth and power.

Earth is augmented

Superior Strength is augmented

Superior Speed is augmented

Gold Touch is augmented

The Hierophant
The Hierophant is about the teacher/student or mentor/mentee relationship. This card is a symbol of knowledge, especially knowledge rooted in tradition and shared somewhat freely. Where the High Priestess and the Hermit keep their secrets, the Hierophant teaches others. If the card is reversed, the relationship is unhealthy-- the teacher asks too much of the student, the mentee becomes an indentured servant.

Gaining This Ascension
Becoming a teacher or mentor

Gaining a teacher or mentor

Learning a trade

Learning in general

Reading constantly

Following a strict tradition or path of study

Being manipulated over a long period of time

Being enslaved

Owing something to another

Potential Physical Traits
Stronger eyesight

Metal cuffs around wrists and/or ankles

Nimble hands and fingers

Ascension Powers
You can now read and learn more quickly and understand more of what is read.

Paper is augmented

Technopathy is augmented

Telepathy is augmented

Empathy is augmented

The Lovers
The Lovers card represents attraction, love, beauty, and trials overcome. The Lovers card can also represent perfection, harmony, and mutual attractiveness. On the reversed side, however, it represents failure, avoiding responsibility for your actions, rushed decisions, and the challenging of your personal belief system. A Lovers’ bond to another is prone to be toxic, if one allows it to be.

Gaining This Ascension
Making reckless decisions

Valuing beauty/clothing

Being a social butterfly

Trying to enact a change on a public affair

Overcoming a challenge (ex. Finishing a project long overdue or getting a promotion)

Trying to find love in all types of places

Failing to put blame on one’s self when a problem arises

Forming a strong bond with another person

Having an unrequited love

Taking control of a risky situation

Always trying to be perfect for one’s self or for another

Obsessive choices

Getting married

Potential Physical Traits
A glowing light around the body

A gentle, softer voice

A slightly androgynous body figure

Ascension Powers
You can now easily persuade other people. The empathy dominion has a greater effect on you than on most. Any dominion you and the person you most care about share is also augmented.

Pathfinding is augmented

Empathy is augmented

Telepathy is augmented

Pheromones augmented

The Chariot
The Chariot card represents succor, providence, and also war, triumph, presumption, vengeance, trouble in general. The reversed side of the Chariot represents riot, quarrel, dispute, litigation, defeat. The Chariot is a violent card by nature.

Gaining This Ascension
Picking a fight

Violent acts—particularly new lows

Putting a loved one in danger

Getting vengeance

Swearing vengeance

Going looking for trouble

Being involved in or starting a riot

Quarreling with a loved one

Feeling despair/defeatedness

Trying at something and failing/being overcome

Potential Physical Traits
More defined musculature

War paint appearing as if by tattoos

Ascension Powers
You can now manifest weapon(s) at will, whether or not you’re in ascension form.

Fire is augmented

Blood is augmented

Combustion is augmented

Poison is augmented

Strength
Strength isn’t just about power. It’s also about control of power. This path really splits into opposite paths: the path of controlled power, passion used to achieve goals and preserve personal ideals, and the path of mindless, directionless use of power. These are represented by whether the card is upright or reversed: Is the lady taming the lion, or is the lion eating the lady?

The Lady
Using controlled anger and/or passion to enact change

Calming passion when ineffective

Using reason over emotion

Playing by rules of society to get what you want

Diffusing a potentially explosive situation

The Lion
Being unable to contain your temper

Throwing a temper tantrum

Disregarding or destroying social norms

Starting fights

Escalating situations

The Lady and The Lion
Fighting for a cause

The Lady
Cleaner appearance

Smoother hands

Soft, soothing voice

The Lion
More unkempt/wild appearance

Longer hair

Lion traits

Ascension Powers
You can now experience increased mental capacity, but you may become more animalistic.

Shapeshifter is augmented

Superior senses are augmented

Superior endurance is augmented

Superior strength is augmented

Superior speed is augmented

The Hermit
The Hermit is about prudence, circumspection; also (and especially) treason, dissimulation, roguery, corruption. The reversed side is concealment, disguise, policy, fear, unreasoned caution. This path practices and embodies deception.

Gaining This Ascension
Lying about something you don’t want to lie about

Treachery

Backstabbing a friend

Having the ability to help someone/get involved with something, and pausing, or deciding not to do it

Concealing the truth from a loved one

Becoming afraid of something

Becoming paranoid about something

Doing something conniving

Participating in corruption

Being involved in a scandal

Potential Physical Traits
Becoming more handsome/beautiful, the more you sin

Faint impression of thorns appear on your skin

Ascension Powers
You can now tell better lies, and do better card tricks.

Mimicry is augmented

Duplicity is augmented

Pheromones is augmented

Pathfinding is augmented

Invisibility is augmented

Wheel of Fortune
The Wheel of Fortune encompasses destiny, fortune, success, elevation, luck, felicity. Its reversed path deals with increase, abundance, superfluity. This is primarily a very positive card, but it has its dark elements: destiny is not always kind.

Gaining This Ascension
Winning a prize

Pursuing your dreams

Achieving success in your job

Finding something you should have known was there all along

Obsessing over superfluous knowledge

Gaining something after a long struggle

Happening upon someone you wanted to see or were thinking about

Potential Physical Traits
Golden glow

Wings

Ascension Powers
You now have increased luck—all your rolls during an admin event will gain a -1, 0, +1, or +2 marker, decided by a four sided dice roll.

Air is augmented

Flight is augmented

Scrying is augmented

Light is augmented

Justice
The Justice card represents justice, honesty, fairness, truth and the law. Justice reflects the search for truth. Reversed, it shows the dishonesty to yourself and to others. It shows the unwillingness to understand things on a deeper meaning, you can be very judgmental and see the world as black-and-white. Justice represents a conscious awareness that your decisions and actions have long-term consequences and your present and future circumstances are most likely a result of these decisions and actions.

Gaining This Ascension
You listen to both sides of the story before passing judgement

You stand up to injustice quickly

You choose to be honest and unbiased

You choose to work for the Legion or other criminal justice branches

You suffer from anxiety due to bad judgement

You become paranoid due to your actions to act against protocol

You protect the innocent and punish the bad: legally or illegally.

Using unethical ways to see justice done to those who deserve it

You choose to become a vigilante

You see the world as this or that, nothing in between

Potential Physical Traits
A warm, golden aura

Others see you as bright and trusting

An attention-grabbing voice

A tattoo of a balanced scale on the back of your left hand; a double-edged sword on your right.

Ascension Powers
You can now have increased persuasion.

Superior senses are augmented

Fire is augmented

Telepathy is augmented

Weather is augmented

The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man is all about sacrifice, trials, wisdom, circumspection, discernment, divination, and prophecy. Its reversed meanings are selfishness, the crowd, body politic. The hanged man particularly has the notion of an effigy to be burned.

Gaining This Ascension
Sacrificing yourself physically for another

Sacrificing your health or happiness for another

Putting someone’s needs before your own

Becoming a scapegoat

Showing wisdom uncommon for your age

Considering multiple paths or options carefully, and coming to a wise choice

Showing unusually discerning tastes

Being popularly disliked

Potential Physical Traits
X’s on your hands

Imprint of a noose tattoo around your neck

Ascension Powers
You can now protect others: you gain +1 on all dice rolls when fighting to or trying to protect someone. You can take some of another person’s pain, emotional, psychological, or physical, and pull it into yourself, thus relieving them of part of it. You can also take wounds from someone else and put them onto your body.

Scrying is augmented

Psychic is augmented

Empathy is augmented

Electricity is augmented

Death
Death spells out an end, mortality, destruction, corruption also, for a man, the loss of a benefactor, and for a woman, many contrarieties; for a maid, failure of marriage projects. The reversed meanings are inertia, sleep, lethargy, petrifaction, somnambulism; hope destroyed.

Gaining This Ascension
Losing someone close to you.

Experiencing debilitating mental illness

Grief in general, even if only on the loss of comfort or an ideal

Losing the protection of someone or something

Ending or losing a relationship, particularly a long-term one

Becoming ill

Facing your own mortality

Losing hope

Near death experiences

Blaming yourself for someone’s death

Potential Physical Traits
Pallor

Sunken eyes

A scythe tattoo

Ascension Powers
People now find you uneasy to be around.

Necromancy is augmented

Necrosis is augmented

Biomancy is augmented

Blood is augmented

Temperance
Temperance represents economy, moderation, frugality, management, accommodation. Its reversed meaning is things connected with churches, religions, sects, the priesthood, sometimes even the priest who will marry the Querent; also disunion, unfortunate combinations, competing interests.

Gaining This Ascension
Joining a religion

Becoming a priest

Gaining faith in something (a cause, for example)

Being frugal with money

Being a skinflint

Managing others well

Managing yourself well

Giving up a habit, good or bad

Starting a business

Potential Physical Traits
Magpie characteristics

Crow characteristics

Golden sheen to their hands

Ascension Powers
You are now able to innately see patterns in everything you encounter.

Alchemy is augmented

Gold touch is augmented

Magnetism is augmented

Metal is augmented

The Devil
The devil is about tempting and manipulating others. In some cases it can be benign-- helping someone let go of a rigid structure and relax, tempting someone to leave a bad situation-- but it is mostly seen as negative.

Gaining This Ascension
Manipulating others

Gaining power through underhanded means

Declaring or claiming ownership over humans or demons

Committing crimes

Tempting others to break laws or moral codes

Causing damage to others

Holding grudges

Getting revenge

Potential Physical Traits
If the character is Christian: cloven feet, tail, horns, redness

If the character is Shinto/Zen Buddhist: Oni or Tengu characteristics

If the character is Muslim: Djinn characteristics

If the character is another religion or atheist: Generic evil sorts of things

Ascension Powers
You can now more easily influence or manipulate others.

Shadow is augmented

Duplicity is augmented

Fire is augmented

Combustion is augmented

The Tower
The tower is about a complete (or near-complete) disruption of something the human previously took for granted. If it is truly the Tower card, the change should be sudden (based on one or a few key events rather than long contemplation), few (if any) remnants of the security once present should be left, and the change should be long-lasting/irreversible.

Gaining This Ascension
Disowning or being disowned by a close family member

Discovering you have family when your identity was built on having none

Going from firmly believing there is a God to firmly believing there isn’t, or vice versa

Suddenly losing faith in the organization you dedicated yourself to

Being forced to seriously reevaluate your moral code and discovering you were wrong

Acting against a strongly held belief

Potential Physical Traits
Appearance becomes more chaotic

May cause onlookers to feel fear or discomfort

Ascension Powers
People now naturally find you more intimidating.

Combustion is augmented

Blood is augmented

Biomancy is augmented

Dust is augmented

The Star
The Star represents loss, theft, privation, abandonment; another reading says: hope and bright prospects. Its reverse meanings are arrogance, haughtiness, impotence.

Gaining This Ascension
Losing something important to yourself

Losing your faith in something

Losing your innocence

Losing your ideals

Stealing from someone

Being stolen from, in a lot of different senses

Being abandoned

Abandoning another

Abandoning a cause

Being haughty or arrogant

Feeling impotent to act

Erectile dysfunction

Difficulty conceiving a child/miscarriages

Potential Physical Traits
Different types of stars appearing on someone’s skin, as if tattooed

These stars for some people can be religious symbols, if they follow that religion (for example, a devoutly Jewish person might have the Star of David on them).

Ascension Powers
You now possess the ability to steal much more easily without getting caught.

Light is augmented

Animation is augmented

Pathfinding is augmented

Steam is augmented

The Moon
The moon is a dark card. It encompasses hidden enemies, danger, calumny, darkness, terror, deception, occult forces, error. Its reversed side represents instability, inconstancy, silence, lesser degrees of deception and error.

Gaining This Ascension
Betraying someone from the shadows.

Being unaware of hidden enemies until too late.

Facing dangerous situations

Spreading calumny

Having it spread

Feeling oppressed by darkness within your own personality

Feeling terror

Inspiring terror in others

Embracing your darkest impulses

Deceiving others

Being deceived

Being villainous

Making a grave error

Being or becoming unstable

Being inconstant

Wrapping your lies in silence

Potential Physical Traits
A dagger under your eye

The changes of the moon appearing around your neck

The features of nocturnal creatures (bats and owls, for example)

Ascension Powers
You are now able to deceive others more easily.

Shadow is augmented

Scrying is augmented

Reflections is augmented

Poison is augmented

The Sun
The Sun is a beautiful and positive card, for the more carefree and blissful of experiences. The Sun encompasses material happiness, fortunate marriage, contentment. Its reversed meaning is the same, in a lesser sense. Eternal optimists often follow this path.

Gaining This Ascension
Taking a positive spin on a negative situation

Being optimistic

Having a winning personality

Being carefree

Wandering through life

Being extremely happy and content with one’s life

Having a loving partner who you’re happy with

Being comfortable, inside and out

Being wealthy

Being content with your lot and/or who you are

Potential Physical Traits
Sunnier disposition

The rays of the sun appear on the backs of your hand, as if tattooed.

Ascension Powers
You can now brighten up a room just with your presence.

Light is augmented

Fire is augmented

Empathy is augmented

Pheromones are augmented

Judgment
Judgment is all about a change of position that the human previously held; it can also mean that there will be some kind of renewal and outcome that may come of their actions/choices. Judgment can be seen as both positive and negative, as the reverse side of Judgment can sometimes make people rather pusillanimous - aka. cowardly - and this can result in a lack of resolution, as well as a weakness, for the user.

Gaining This Ascension
Being anxious and cowardly.

Changing jobs/positions.

Helping others find a solution to their problems.

Finding solutions for your own problems.

Choosing the simplest route over the hardest route.

Making decisions for yourself and others.

Potential Physical Traits
Wings.

Oddly-colored hair.

Cowardly traits.

Small clouds roam around the body.

Clean, healthy skin.

Ascension Powers
You can now influence people more easily into making right or wrong decisions.

Air is augmented

Flight is augmented

Pheromones are augmented

Gravity is augmented

The World
The world is a card of assured success, recompense, voyage, route, emigration, flight, change of place. Its reversed meanings are inertia, fixity, stagnation, permanence.

Gaining This Ascension
Being successful

Getting recompense or asking for fair recompense for a wrongdoing

Going on a long voyage

Finding the route you should be on

Emigrating to a new country or place

Fleeing something

Experiencing extreme inertia

Stagnating in your employment

A fixed worldview

Seeing things around you as permanent

Potential Physical Traits
Maps appearing on your skin, sometimes useless, sometimes for pointed reasons

Wings appearing

Taking on the form of an animal

Ascension Powers
You are now able to find your way and never seem to get lost.

Flight is augmented

Water is augmented

Earth is augmented

Dust is augmented