Their Finest Hour- The Secrets of Vril

Mechanically, Vril dice work the same way as the Quintessence dice of Victoriana. Casting spells, using magnetic abilities, activating runes, etc. spends pips of Vril just like Quintessence. During character generation, player characters still start with Vril dice equal to their Resolve. Unlike Quintessence dice, Vril dice only have 4 pips each, to represent the world’s diminishing magical fields. While an hour’s rest still restores 1 pip, a good night’s sleep now only restores Vril dice equal to twice the caster’s Resolve Attribute.

However, Vril now has a few other uses:

Thaumaturgists

By precharging their Hermetic operations with an existing vril field, thaumaturgists momentarily soften the walls of reality making their spellcasting easier. When a thaumaturgist casts a spell, they may reduce the black dice in their pool by 1 for every 2 pips of vril they spend beyond the spell’s cost. Vril may be spent in the same manner to reduce the black dice of Concentration tests. In this way, thaumaturgists can reduce the black dice in a test down to zero.

Sigil Scribes

While a sigil’s activation lasts hours, sometimes that’s not long enough. A scribe's will creates a sigil. A scribe’s will sustains it. Sigil Scribes may spend 2 Vril pips to extend the duration of a sigil’s activation by an hour. They may keep the sigil active in this way until they run out of Vril. A sigil scribe can keep multiple sigils active at a time, but it still costs 2 Vril for each sigil every hour. While the sigil is active, the scribe can choose to extend its duration at any point.

Magnetists

A magnetist’s connection with the deeper world around them grants them amazing abilities. Sometimes their mind snatches insight from bursts of cosmic inspiration. Before a magnetist rolls any test using the Wits attribute, they may spend Vril to add dice to their pool. Every 4 Vril pips spent adds an extra dice to their pool. Dice added in this fashion cannot exceed the magnetist’s Presence attribute. A player character must have one of the Magnetists Talents to spend Vril in this way. Even though all Eldren start play with a magnetist ability, they cannot spend Vril in this way without a Magnetist Talent.

Conjurors

Conjurors call on nature’s power to create their enchantments. Wherever there is nature there are nature spirits. Conjurors make deals with nature spirits (such as Sprites, Nymphs, Leshy, Genius Loci, Kami, Vilas, and Dryads), leasing their vril for the spirit’s labor. Ordinarily, enchanting takes hours. With a little help, it takes minutes. For every 4 pips over the enchantment’s ritual cost, its ritual duration is halved (rounded down). For example, if a ritual duration is 3 hours long and the conjuror spends 8 extra vril, the ritual duration is now 45 minutes.

Vrility (New Talent)

Even as magic leaves the world, you spark with vestiges of its old power. Through strength of will, training, innate ability, or luck, your stores of vril surpass those of most magicians. All of your Vril Dice posses 5 pips instead of 4.