Chapter One Page 14
michaelallanleonard on Aug. 7, 2013
The Arcanum have very limited ability to interact with the tangible, physical world – sort of like ghosts, the most they can usually manage is moving small objects short distances, opening and closing doors: the sort of phenomena you might associate with a minor ‘haunting’.
Only when they are threatened with their own destruction by having the secret that they are ‘feeding’ from about to be revealed do they get a type of astral adrenaline rush and a last-ditch boost to their power levels … and that condition is often brought on as the direct result of Janus’ interference and attempts to help the parasite’s host.
There’s little he can do to directly compensate for that. The finishing blow has to come from the host him or herself, which in this case – shared between two people but only delivered by one of them – wasn’t quite sudden and sharp enough.
michaelallanleonard at 7:54AM, Aug. 14, 2013
Thanks! We thought it would be interesting to have a protagonist who has a considerable amount of power, but it really boils down to his ability to talk his way to a solution.
KimLuster at 7:24AM, Aug. 7, 2013
So, frustrating for doorman (but cool for the reader) is that he can't just bash Arcanum-heads but must more often act as a sort ethereal therapist - success depends on the victim 'seeing the light' as it does Doorman's skills. I like it.