I notice Supply is off the Action list now, and now Skirmish is separate from Mayhem (and Murder) while Invoke is separate from Attune. While I’m intrigued to know how Invoke vs Attune will play out, I’m glad there’s a bit more variety in supernatural fields for my group’s Cult.
The addition of the consulates also makes me eager for a political crew type, either politicians, activists, or maybe lawyers. 🙂
Yeah, Supply was just kind of boring to me. Now that aspect is handled by the crew’s Tier, which helps give it a bit more weight.
Something that keeps coming up in Blades games is the distinction between the electroplasmic “ghost science” of the modern age vs. the weird demonic magic stuff of the pre-cataclysm. So I split the supernatural stuff into two actions.
As I look at it, it seems to me that the distinction is between using natural ability to manipulate machines and energy and ghosts, OR channeling a separate supernatural power through yourself. Innate sensitivity, or innate conduit.
If that is the distinction, then you could have electroplasm and ghosts use both; a medium would use Invoke to allow people to communicate with ghosts, but use Attune to repel a ghost with a spirit mask.Â
Likewise, a sacrificial dagger of an ancient god may need the priest to Attune to it, but use Invoke to channel the God of Starvation’s bone-crumbling attrition into a target.
John Harper clarifies in a different direction, however, where one is science and the other is occult.Â
Whichever way it goes, I think clarification could help. It is interesting to raise the question. The main impact is on how non-Whispers would use either; if Attune is like “Use Magic Device” then it allows relatively normal people greater access to magic stuff. Invoke could allow for letting more power seep into prayers to not-entirely-deaf supernatural creatures.
If Attune is more sensitivity and allows for detecting the supernatural and also using supernatural devices, that’s a nuanced difference. Invoke could potentially be the ability to focus the energy of other supernatural creatures, or repel/compel them.