The Ledger bursts open as the soul of Karl pours out of it to protect the contract's owner. Bound by his oath he defends the owner with no regard for his will being even when it hurts him. The pain he feels and inflicts is reflected on his owner however as he takes his payment in blood and sanity.
Take a Severity-1 Injury and spend an Action or Reaction. Roll Charisma + Occult at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you create a Barrier extending out 15 feet from yourself, which absorbs 2 times the next Outcome + 4 Damage. Only applies to attacks which originated outside the 15 foot radius, and protects anyone who is within that radius. You may choose to create a bubble barrier. If you do, no physical objects or entities can pass into your bubble until the barrier is broken, but you and the barrier cannot move. Half any Damage absorbed by the barrier is reflected back to the attacker. They may attempt to Dodge or Defend using a Desperate Defense, and their Armor applies in full. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. This Artifact may only have 1 active barrier at a time.
You must maintain Concentration while using this Effect. The barrier will fall if you are interrupted, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.
The spirit of Karl pours out from the book, his full frame standing tall he slams the hilt of his axe into the ground and echoes the words of his master with a booming voice. Compelling beasts who hear it into submitting.
Exert your Mind and spend a Free Action. Select a non-Sapient, Animate target within 20 feet.
For the next day, you may issue specific commands to your target which they will be compelled to follow.
Your commands must be relatively simple and within the target’s intellectual grasp. You cannot make them obviously endanger themselves or violate their instinct for self-preservation. The effects of the command will fade after a day has passed.
If targeting a Sapient target that counts as a Creature due to an Effect, you must succeed a contested Mind roll. You roll at Difficulty 6, and the target rolls at Difficulty 8
The artifact holds at least one demon bound to obey the commands and will of the wielder and advance their interests. When used a demon crawl's its way out of the object, and leap out, looking for enemies.
The demon in this iteration looks like a small creature of shadow, about the proportions of a human 10-year-old, but stretched upwards to be thin and lanky with dark scales, blank white eyes, clawed fingers and thin leathery wings. When firing at range, they shoot dark blades that dissipate after impact.
The demon can speak, reporting on anything it sees, and apply a level of intelligence to understanding the world around it.
This artifact is made by summoning a demon, making a deal with it, and binding it to the object in a long ritual.
Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action.
Summon a single Sapient Bound shadow Imp at your location. They last until they are destroyed They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. This Artifact may have at most one active at a time.
Charred and triumphant, BETH☠️METAL's exploded tour bus returns to the land of the living once more. Still, neither of them seem to have returned unaltered.
Noli respicere post tergum in infernum.
This Artifact can be used as a spectral RV. It is roughly the same size as a spectral RV and just as difficult to conceal.
This spectral RV has soundproofing. Any roll to pilot this vehicle receives +2 dice.
You also gain the following effects:
Immersed in a place of death, the Black Coach takes a brief detour through the land of spirits. The earth opens, and you drive down into the sloping pit, emerging from the other side in a similar fashion shortly thereafter.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. Select a Location within your line of sight.
You are transported directly to the chosen Location. Anyone who is touching you as you Travel will be brought along with you. You must wait an hour before activating this effect again.
If you traverse any burial site for one minute, you may activate this Effect and travel to the edge of any other burial site that you’re aware of, regardless of range.
The XO was a proud and power hungry man. His will to keep going was so much in fact that dying and going down with his ship didn't stop him from lingering as a violent spirit. At the owner of his ledger's behest he manifests near his target and swings with his blade, the spectral weapon cuts only what is living tissue of the target, an extension of his envy.
Spend an Action. Select a target within 300 feet. Roll Charisma + Occult Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling to Dodge or Defend as a Reaction, Difficulty 6.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 2.
You may use this Effect to Defend against any melee, projectile, or firearm Attacks within range or Clash against any Attack targeted at you. Using it to Defend deals no Damage but does not cost Exertion.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
This armor is projected outward from a smaller object (such as a ring or bracer). It appears as a slight shimmer in the air, with a purple color whenever it reflects damage.
This armor is infused with the idea of protection and the Hippocratic oath. The armor must have an image which resembles a shield, likely wings that look like a shield.
It is made with a ritual that uses
- Strong metals, titanium
- A write up of the Hippocratic oath
- Shield Iconography
- A shield pattern worked into the armor
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You have 6 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack.
You may spend an Action or Reaction and Exert your Mind to double your Armor rating for one Round.
Your Armor cannot be destroyed, and it always provides a minimum of 2 Armor regardless of any Armor penetration. It cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.
Your Armor’s rating is increased by 2. If you Attack, Clash, or initiate a Contested roll, your Armor’s rating is decreased by 3 for one minute. This penalty does not stack with itself.
The data gathered from Laz's age changes have now allowed a greater understanding of cellular reconstruction. Laz's device now secretes nanites constantly into the user's bloodstream through dermal absorption. Activation reads brainwave patterns to determine the envisioned form and adjusts smoothly, preventing the tearing, gore, and nudity of the previous system. Yes, bones still shift under the skin, and clothing is reconstructed but in a much less disturbing display. Further, the reconstruction need no longer be actively maintained. Once complete, it remains until changed. Releasing a form, however, does still cost the wearer an exhaustive amount of energy that must be recovered.
After the events of a previous Contract, Laz wanted to be anyone else. Eliza helped him work out how he can be. Now he finds himself doing business with another face
Exert your Mind and spend a minute.
You become disguised in a manner of your choosing. The disguise lasts until you either activate a new disguise, or choose to end the effect.
The new appearance may have a different sex, age, and race to your own, and you may alter height by up to a foot and your weight by 50%. Your disguise cannot directly mimic an existing person. You may change the appearance of your outfit. A disguise cannot affect your Attributes or other stats.
You may roll Charisma + Crafts to attempt to make your disguise Beautiful. If your Outcome is 6 or higher, non-Effect Charisma rolls where your good looks could help are rolled at -2 Difficulty. If you fail or botch, you are ugly instead, and non-Effect Charisma rolls are made at +2 Difficulty.
After this Effect ends, you cannot move quicker than a walk (15 feet per Round) for one minute and suffer a -1 dice penalty for an hour.
An object brandishing these neuron-like engravings infuses the wearer with a magical energy that let's them stay mentally active for 24 hours a day. The user can also decide to put themselves into a sleep-like full body stasis, making them independent from any need for resources, while keeping their mind awake.
If you want to study faster, 30% more waking hours are a very efficient way to do it.
These magical markings let the body synthesize an unknown chemical which keeps the glymphatic system active during waking hours, so body and mind are able to keep functioning without restriction.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You no longer require any sleep in order to survive. You no longer age naturally, and supernatural attempts to age you fail.
You may spend one minute entering a state of hibernation, during which you are inanimate and unaffected by any requirements for life. You may still perceive the outside world and may spend 3 Rounds ‘waking up’ to end it.
The Divine Deliverer is a truly exceptional Catholic blessed revolver. Crafted with exquisite precision and adorned with sacred insignia, this weapon embodies the essence of one mans holy purpose. The revolver's barrel and frame are forged from gleaming silver, symbolizing purity and sanctity. Intricate engravings of religious motifs, including crosses and angels, adorn the metalwork, telling a tale of divine protection. The entire revolver is bathed in a radiant, warm glow, reflecting the divine light that guides the path of the wielder. the model of the revolver is a Smith & Wesson Model 460XVR Compensated Hunter.
This Artifact can be used as a handgun. It is roughly at least twice as large as a handgun and cannot be concealed on your person or disassembled for storage.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Firearms, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +3 Weapon Damage. The target's Armor is fully effective against this damage.
Possession of this Artifact causes the following Trauma to manifest over the course of a day: "One True Scotsman": When religion is invoked, make a trauma roll to avoid disparaging them and their faith.. If you lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next month.
You also gain the following effects:
The Skeleton Key slips easily into any keyhole and turns without a fuss.
Spend an Action.
You may lock, unlock, and/or open any number of doors, locks, or locked targets within arm's reach of you. Cannot be used on Alien technology.
If you successfully operate a lock, you may choose to destroy it, rendering it inoperable.
The Scepter of Ang-Kapal is a gruesome device fashioned to look like a skeletal arm clutching a glass eye. When used, blood from the person holding is drawn into the eye where it swirls with dark energy. The eye turns to a nearby corpse and shudders, reviving the creature. The creature does not retain any of its memories or personality, but it is absolutely loyal to whoever is holding the scepter.
The Scepter of Ang Kepal has the unfortunate side effect of driving its owner mad.
Take a Severity-1 Injury and spend one minute. Select a Dead target within arm's reach with at least half its skeletal structure remaining. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means.
Your target rises as an Animate being. The raised creature is totally mindless, with no memory of its past life or hint of its old personality. They cannot communicate. They will follow any command you speak.
The creature lasts for eight hours or until it dies again. It is revived at full health. Any Injuries it had in life are not accounted for when determining its penalties or progression towards re-death, though they may affect its ability to perform certain actions at GM's discretion.
Raised creatures have their Abilities set to the same that they were in life. Their Charisma and Intellect are set to 1, but their Dexterity, Brawn and Perception are the same as they had in life. A raised creature cannot use any Effects.
Destroying one of your zombies requires a called shot to the head or heart. All other Injuries zombies suffer result in Battle Scars only, limiting their mobility and effectiveness in other ways.
Your revived targets deal 2 Weapon Damage with their unarmed attacks.
"The Coffin" can only be used to store things commonly found in coffins, such as bodies, clothes, jewelry, photos, weapons, coins, and similar.
This Artifact can be used as a container. It is roughly the same size as a alligator-skin briefcase and just as difficult to conceal. Unless you are storing something commonly found in coffins, this Artifact behaves as its mundane counterpart.
Your alligator-skin briefcase holds 5 times what it normally could. Objects stored inside are weightless.
Living things can be stored in your alligator-skin briefcase. They will have access to anything else inside and may attempt to break free, damaging or destroying the alligator-skin briefcase in the process.
If your alligator-skin briefcase is destroyed, things inside may get out, and it will cease to function until it is repaired.
You may change the type of your container between Contracts.
Only you may open and close the container. Others can still destroy it to get at the contents
When Winter Fang's glittering string is drawn, an ice arrow crystalizes nocked and ready to fire. These ice arrows melt quickly after piercing their foes, leaving deadly wounds instead of evidence.
This Artifact can be used as a bow. It is roughly at least twice as large as a bow and cannot be concealed on your person or disassembled for storage.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +4 Weapon Damage. The target's Armor is fully effective against this Damage. Attacks do not require a successful called shot to do damage.
You also gain the following effects:
Companions gawk at the sheer size and quantity of the equipment the survivalist stores in the Bug-out Bag, but when they open it, they find only a standard set of survival gear. Only when the survivalist opens it is its true capacity revealed.
This Artifact can be used as a container. It is roughly the same size as a 80 liter backpacking pack and just as difficult to conceal.
Your 80 liter backpacking pack holds 5 times what it normally could. Objects stored inside are weightless.
Living things can be stored in your 80 liter backpacking pack. They will have access to anything else inside and may attempt to break free, damaging or destroying the 80 liter backpacking pack in the process.
If your 80 liter backpacking pack is destroyed, things inside may get out, and it will cease to function until it is repaired.
Only you may open and close the container. Others can still destroy it to get at the contents
The survivalist has depended on the Bug-out Bag for so long, they've formed a powerful bond with the pack. This bond renders the pack unbreakable, and grants the survivalist an understanding of what direction it's in at all times.
This Artifact cannot be broken.
This Artifact's creator is always aware of the direction and distance to this Artifact.