Editing Demon: The Descent (section)

==Demonic Forms and You==
While in normal circumstances a demon appears human thanks to their Cover, their original angelic/demonic form is quantum-entangled with the cover in a way that allows a demon to assume it for brief periods of time. However, it can only access its full power by destroying the Cover it is linked to; demons call this "going loud", and consider it to be a tool of last resort. 

Building a Demon form is pretty rad. Rather than having set forms with set abilities (like, say, a Werewolf and their kin) the rules give a number of abilities you can pick and choose from called Form Abilities. Form Abilities are grouped into four types; Modifications, Technologies, Propulsions, and Processes.

* Modifications are small subroutines that affect the demon’s ability to perform a task (such as a bonus to a roll with an Attribute or a Skill bonus), some minor but useful effects, and a handful of basic defensive abilities. Mods include things like the ability to sense if an angel has used its Numina in an area recently, detachable limbs, armored plating, or advanced hearing. 
* Technologies are specialized implants that give the demon the ability to create a specific effect that usually targets only one individual as well as more advanced defensive abilities. Techs include resistances to specific types of damage (electrical resistance, immunity to environmental tilts, etc.) as well as more unusual abilities like secreting adhesive, mind reading, or discharging electricity at will.
* Propulsions are a mutation that allows the demon specialized movement, such as the ability to fly. Or teleport. Or dig. Or walk through walls.
* Processes are large programs or adaptations that gives the demon a specific action and effect that is usually significant in scope and size, and can affect multiple targets at once. Processes include the ability to transform into data and upload/download yourself into computers, changing your arm into a grenade launcher, and even reallocating your Physical Attribute dots. 

At character creation you get three Modifications, two Technologies, one Propulsion, and one Process, which gives you an idea to which ones are the most powerful. You do get a couple more as you hit higher levels of Primum, but importantly every time you increase your Primum by even a single dot you get to swap out one of your existing abilities for another one of the same type. A handful of Merits also grant extra abilities. Once you have picked all your abilities you then decide how these actually make you look and build a description of your form around them.  

If you are looking to put the RP into RPG it is highly recommended to pick abilities that suit your character's backstory (remember: the God-Machine creates angels for specific purposes, It tends to not create generalists) and then as the story progresses swap abilities out to match the ones you personally want as the demon grows to make its formerly angelic body its own.

There is one more important thing to note with form abilities: It is actually possible to access them while in Human form. It a pretty sweet deal as well, as accessing abilities does cause you to cover roll, but you gain a bonus equal to the amount of abilities you ''are not'' accessing. So a starting character with the standard three Modifications, two Technologies, one Propulsion, and one Process (7 total) accesses his Propulsion form ability, let's say the ability to teleport in this case. He rolls cover and adds six (!) dice to his pool, virtually guaranteeing the one success he needs. Do note that form abilities accessed this are still very, very obviously not normal. Each ability has a distinct visual effect on your human form; for example, a demon that has the Electrical Sight modification has eyes that are filled with static like a broken TV. Depending on the combination of Form abilities you access, you could end up looking like something not even remotely human. This is perfectly normal, and it is perfectly reasonable for your storyteller to force you to take another cover roll at a penalty if you are spotted with them active. 

The last thing that's worth pointing out is this: going purely by the RAW, Demons in demonic form do not gain any inherent extra resistance against damage. Yes, you heal up when you transform. Yes, if you go loud your Primum is boosted to 10 on top of gaining access to every Exploit and all the Embeds your Incarnation has an affinity for. Yes, you can deal a huge amount of damage with your abilities. But unlike say, Mages who can keep up their magic shields or vamps with their inbuilt resistance to most lethal damage, Demons get next to nothing in regards to built-in defenses save for whatever Embeds and Exploits they can use to protect themselves (and defensive abilities, if their demonic form has them). This arguably makes Demons the squishiest of all the game lines, but deliberately so. The game theme is subtlety and subterfuge, and turning into a biomechanical horror is kinda the antithesis to this. If you actually get to the point where you need to perform a full transformation rather than just manifesting specific abilities, let alone go loud, chances are things have gone horribly wrong.