So the minor epiphany aristeia, as far as I can read from the RAW, can be used for some interesting tricks, or exploits if you will, because of the bonuses gained from having a gray (or white) stat are greater than just making it easier to succeed on tests. I wanted to check if I am correct in my assesment of the rules, and if I am, which of these tricks I haven’t thought of. If so, tell me what’s missing from the list!
If you want to hit hard with as little effort as possible, you can use sorcery and temporarily shift will to grey, causing all damaging spells to hit as grey damage. This one is fairly obvious, and lets you hit far above your weight class for a scene.
Shifting either power or forte will increase your mortal wound by 1 while the shift applies. That is, assuming that the other one remains black. If the other stat is ALSO grey, you can temporarily become neigh impervious to mundane weapon damage, if divine aura isn’t what you happen to need.
The most general trick, however, has to do with opening new skills. If you temporarily shift a stat to gray, and during that shift open a skill rooted in that stat, it’ll open gray. Not only that, but a gray stat lowers the aptitude for that stat by 1, meaning that if you were one test away from opening the skill, you immediately meet the prerequisites and open the skill on the spot (though I could see the case for requiring a final beginner’s luck test to open it as well), earning you the skill and placing it in the better shade to boot. When the temporary shift ends, your stat goes back but the skill stays the same.
Not sure whether to post this here or in the first reading section, tbh. I want to know if I’ve read this correctly, and if I do, what aspects of it I’ve missed.