Anchorage is the ability to manipulate Anchors, without which a Wraith cannot exist for long. It goes without saying, then, that Anchorage is one of the most powerful Numina in the Deadlands; Its understanding is jealously guarded, and its use is very expensive to hire.

One fully schooled in the Arts of this Numen can protect her Anchors from harm, make new Anchors and repair preexisting ones. It's also possible to whittle away the connection between a Wraith and her Anchors, which is what makes this Numen both enticing and frightening to many Wraiths.

The Believers are the undisputed masters of this Numen. They use their expertise in it in order to seek Transcendence, primarily, but often use it to negotiate terms with The Order and the Freewraiths. It can also be used to keep others - most notably the Haunters - at bay.

Unless specified otherwise, Anchorage Arts can be done for either the Wraith's own Anchors, or for another's.

Paths

Anchorage has three recognized Paths:

Path of Protection: {Also called Shielding} Arts that allow a Wraith to strengthen and look after her Anchors, or those of another. Its users are known as Shieldwraiths and Guardians, amongst other names.

Path of Creation: {Also called Generation} Arts that allow a Wraith to make Anchors - temporary or permanent - for herself, or another. It is practiced by Generators and Splicers.

Path of Separation: {Also called Resolution, or Smiting} Arts that allow a Wraith to disconnect her Anchors, or those of another. This can be a gentle, cathartic disconnection, or a rude tearing away, but the harsh removal tends to accrue Tainted Essence. The Scissormen who employ it are both feared and revered.

Those Who Know

All three of the known Paths are generally understood by the Believers, and called by various names amongst their Concord. They are willing to teach the Path of Creation to outsiders, for a price - or certain territorial considerations - but prefer to keep both Protection and Separation to themselves.

Meanwhile, the Messengers are well-versed in the Path of Protection, though how they wrested its secrets from the Believers is a mystery. Some members of The Order have learned the Path of Creation, bought in return for various "understandings" they give to the Believers.

Basic Art

* Distant Presence

The stepping stone of all Anchorage Paths, this Art trains the Wraith to maximize her connection to her Anchors. After she makes contact with an Anchor, she can use Numina on, in or around it, even from a distance. This Art also allows a Wraith to turn an Anchor's Echoes off from afar.

System: The Wraith must first establish contact via the Anchorsense Affinity. Once this is achieved, she must spend one Essence to bridge the physical distance between the Anchor and herself, and roll Intelligence + Presence + Anchorage. Each success on that roll allows for a maximum number of successes on subsequent Numina rolls on, in or around the Anchor.

Example: If Julia scores three successes on her Distant Presence roll, and scores four successes on a subsequent roll to activate a Fear Art on a snooping human, only three successes on that Fear roll are counted.

Only one success is necessary to turn the Anchor's Echoes off, but a point of Willpower and Essence must be spent to do this, as normal.