Recharging ch’awe through other methods

During one of my many forays into house rules, I came up with the idea of giving each Ka-element its own pool of Ch’awe and having characters charge it based on other criteria instead of the standard 1/hour recovery rate. This was inspired by the French 3e, in which Ar-Kaïms worked this way.

Ar-Kaïms had multiple ways of charging the pools: spontaneous charge, analogical charge, and magical charge. I’ll recap these below and adapt them in terms of BRP rules. You can use them for Ar-Kaïms only or all characters if desired!

Spontaneous (Astrological) Charge: At the start of every astrological day (i.e. sunrise) the character recharges a number of points equal to half (rounded up) the daily astrological bonus (if any) to their Dominant Ka. In the month of the character’s Zodiac Sign, then the character recharges points equal to the daily astrological bonus to his Dominant Ka instead. These points are distributed as the player sees fit.

Analogical (Sympathetic) Charge: Once per Ka-element per astrological day, the character may perform an act that resonates with that Ka-element. After completing the act, and succeeding on a Ka roll under Ka×5, the character regains a number of points in that Ka-element equal to the intensity of the act (see below on the table “The Analogical Charge”). Alternately, the character may pursue one of their Metamorphosis’ personality traits to gain points in the associated Ka-element (see “Emotional Natures” sidebar, Major Arcana p40).

Magical Charge: The character may recharge by absorbing Ka from an existing magical source, such as the aura of a spell being cast, a stasis object, an enchanted object, a plexus or a nexus.

• Spell: If a spell is cast within range of the character’s Ka-vision, by someone other than himself, then he may absorb Ka from the spell’s aura equal to the total amount of Ch’awe spent to cast the spell. Naturally, ritual spells with multiple participants recharge the most Ka.
• Stasis object: The character may draw points of Ka from a stasis object and add it to their own pool on a 1:1 basis, similar to the Stasis Ritual. This works exactly the same for a Magician's Wand too.
• Artefacts: The character may draw Ka from that invested in artefacts and enchanted objects on a 1:1 basis. If the character absorbs all the invested Ka, then the item permanently loses its magical properties. At the GM’s discretion then, so long as the item is still intact, its magic may be restored by donating Ka back to it or recharging it at a Plexus or Nexus.
• Plexus and nexus: The character may recharge themselves at a Plexus or Nexus similarly to charging a Stasis object. He recharges points per hour equal to Ka÷10 (rounded up). A Plexus only recharges the corresponding Ka-element, whereas recharging at a Nexus is distributed at the GM's discretion. 

It is possible for a character to exceed their normal pool maximum by overcharging using one of the above methods. In the event of overcharge, then they become subject to the dangers of Instability! [Instability will be explored in a future post...]

TABLE: THE ANALOGICAL CHARGE
The table below provides examples of analogical charges per Ka. Remember that different charges, even for the same Ka, are not cumulative. When multiple favorable factors combine, only the most advantageous is taken into account. Thus, if an Ar-Kaïm flirts with a poor innocent woman while boasting shamelessly, while peering at the moon with a falsely mysterious air, then he only gets 3 points of Lunar-Ka.
—	1	2	3	4	5
FIRE	Strike twenty matches	Reply with a scathing and aggressive retort	Fight	Actively and sincerely woo someone	Start a spectacular fire
AIR	Ten-minute intense intellectual exercise	Being in a strong current of air	Getting to a height of one hundred meters or more	Composing a poem	Parachute jumping
EARTH	Handle soil (gardening, pottery)	Gobble up with conviction during a meal	Make love	Treat someone	Replant a dozen trees yourself
MOON	Moon gazing	Bragging	Flirting with anyone of the opposite sex	Impersonating someone else for an hour	Performing on stage
WATER	Drinking a liter and a half of water in ten minutes	Dancing for an hour	Moving at more than one hundred and fifty kilometers per hour	Doing Tai Shi for two hours	Spending a day in the water
BLACK MOON	Defraud on public transport	Scare children	Desecrate a church	Take drugs	Pervert someone
ORICHALC	Break an object	Damage an object and conceal the breakdown	Draw, paint or sculpt something horrible	Demolish someone psychologically	Seriously pollute
SOLAR-KA	Shirtless under a cloudless sun for five minutes	Recall dreams from the night before	Draw, paint or sculpt something comforting	Influence an astral realm while dreaming	Influence the collective unconscious

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Hope you enjoyed!