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It is possible to roll compromise and lose cover while in Demon form. In fact, just being in Demon form requires a cover roll every scene (at increasing penalties), and that is before exploits and other compromises are taken into account.

Which cover takes the cover loss in these cases? Is it the most recent cover you were in, or is the loss applied to the next cover you enter? What if you went loud (or were otherwise burnt)?

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Given that partial transformations risk the Demon's current cover, and Going Loud shreds the Demon's previous cover, I am inclined to believe that a full transformation would risk the Demon's previous cover as well.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ In which case, when you go loud, do you stop making compromise rolls? You can be as loud as you want, and take as long as you want to find a new cover, since you won't trigger additional conditions/consequences? I guess at that point it doesn't matter since by page 115, you always have Blown and Hunted conditions with the special clause that those conditions do not resolve until you get a new cover. So while you don't trigger worse and worse compromises (and stack on glitchs etc) ever scene. You are already being hounded as hard as you can get. \$\endgroup\$ – Lyndon White Mar 14 '17 at 1:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ Also this means a demon who spends too long in demon form, might findout, that he has no cover left to go back to. Which is actually really cool. (But also something I feel the rules would surely have called out directly.) \$\endgroup\$ – Lyndon White Mar 14 '17 at 1:56
  • \$\begingroup\$ Yes and yes. You could potentially lose your cover while in Demon form and you do not roll compromise while Going Loud. \$\endgroup\$ – Jonathan Van Buren Mar 14 '17 at 3:12
  • \$\begingroup\$ I find this answer confusing because of references to "current" and "previous" Covers. \$\endgroup\$ – Kieran Mullen Sep 4 '18 at 2:32
  • \$\begingroup\$ When you are in demon form you are not 'in' your cover so to speak. Hence, 'previous cover' refers to the cover you were in before going into demon form. When you partial transform, you are still 'in' your cover, so current cover refers to whatever cover you are acting in. \$\endgroup\$ – Jonathan Van Buren Sep 5 '18 at 3:10
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You damage your current or (most recent) Cover

Compromises and Going Loud damage your current cover. An example is given in the discussion of Agencies:

Many Agencies refer to such down-on-their- luck Pactbound as “burn Covers,” because they serve the same purpose for their Agents as a prepaid cellphone does for a criminal who doesn’t want the police to easily trace him. The Agent uses up these Pactbound to create an identity she intends to wear just long enough to put on one flashy demonstration of demonic power or to commit a single crime she doesn’t want associated with her primary identity. Once the burn Cover serves its purpose, the demon jettisons it to erase all evidence. (DtD, p.57)

The implication is that the Cover loss goes to the Cover you were using at the time or most recently if the loss occurs while in demon form. Otherwise you couldn't have a burn-Cover.

I think of Covers as costumes in your metaphysical closet. If you stress them too much, they tear and fall apart. You're now naked. But it doesn't affect the other clothes in the closet. A burn-Cover can take all the damage, potentially going all the way to zero. You can now pull another costume out of the closet.

But didn't you just get away cheaply?

One might think of this as getting off free. Have a burn-Cover and then do whatever the Hell you want! Your "good" cover is safe, and your burn-Cover takes all the Compromise.

Well, you are now in Demon form, at zero cover. (If you have multiple Covers, your Cover rating is the value of whatever Cover you are currently using. The Cover you are currently using is now zero, until you put on another "costume.") This is not a good thing.

  • Your Supernatural Resistance is now your Primum (usually lower than your Cover).
  • You are a very loud blip on the God-Machine's radar.
  • You will have to be very careful when switching to another Cover. You are a biomechanical monstrosity. You'll have to hide, put on your "other" costume, and hope that you don't damage it in the process. If the GM knows a demon went in a building and three people come out, those three will have the Flagged condition as pretty suspicious. And you better hope that neither of the two humans saw you change, since that would cause a Compromise roll for your new form.
  • Glitches: Failure in a Cover roll can result in a glitch. Dramatic failure can result in a permanent glitch. And glitches infect all of your Covers.

So even burn-Covers carry a risk, even if you have another, strong Cover.

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