Derived Traits

Willpower
The Willpower trait is used in all games of this Storyteller System. Willpower is rated from 1 to 10, and has both a permanent rating (or score) and a pool of temporary points.

Permanent Willpower
Permanent Willpower indicates a character's overall determination and strength of personality. Baseline humans generally have ratings between 3 and 5; very few have a Willpower higher than 7.

Most Classic White Wolf games illustrate the scale of Willpower using the following descriptors:

Willpower dots may be spent in some games, representing a permanent sacrifice of a character's mental power. This is typically used to achieve a permanent supernatural effect, but is none-the-less a very rare case. You can also lose Willpower dots unwillingly; this is usually due to supernatural misadventure (like a curse or botched use of Thaumaturgy), but may also result from torture, psychological abuse, or possibly extreme psychiatric treatment (e.g. lobotomy).

Temporary Willpower
Whereas permanent Willpower encompasses a character's drive in general, temporary Willpower indicates her current state of mind. A character whose temporary Willpower points equals their permanent Willpower rating is energetic (or at least upbeat) in relation to his normal mood, while a character with only a single Willpower point left is downright lethargic. Having no willpower points often indicates complete mental and emotional exhaustion. Under normal circumstances, a character may not have more temporary Willpower points than her permanent Willpower rating; some games and specific rules systems do allow for higher numbers of points, but this rarely, if ever, exceeds a maximum of 10 points.

Temporary Willpower is mainly spent a bonus for a roll, representing a notable dedication to a specific task. In most cases it grants bonus dice to the roll. Many baselines and some Novas use willpower as a means of activating certain abilities, resisting natural or unnatural urges or compulsions, or even to prevent supernatural mind control.

When rolling [Willpower], the permanent trait is used.

Willpower points are generally regained through proper rest, or by accomplishing tasks which reaffirm one's Vice, Virtue, or Nature.