All the participants stand within the circle, grasping an engraved metal rod, while the terms of the covenant are read aloud and the participants repeat the terms, and once they are all said the circle glows with arcane light and the covenant is sealed.
You may make an oath with any number of physically-present, Sapient targets. Communicate the oath's terms to the targets, including the requirements and penalties for each participant. If all agree to the terms, you must Exert your Mind and all participants must Grasping the rod during the ritual to seal the deal.
Record the oath as a Condition. If a party breaks the oath, the Condition ends and they suffer the oath's penalty.
When crafting your oath, you may incorporate any of the following penalties:
The targets cannot be compelled to agree via a direct threat of violence, another Effect, or another oath. If you would like to use clever wording to mislead the targets, you must succeed a contested Intellect + (Culture or Influence) roll.
You may revert a penalty for breaking one of your oaths on any participant other than yourself.
Whenever a participant breaks the oath, you are immediately made aware and may even witness the act as if standing nearby.
It is obvious to your targets that the oath you are proposing will be supernaturally enforced.
The object glows softly with spiritual energy.
This Artifact cannot be broken. If this Artifact is lost and in no one else’s possession, it finds its way back to its true owner during the next Downtime.
By default, the creator of this Artifact is its true owner. The true owner may formally bequeath this Artifact onto another person within arm’s reach, after which they are its true owner. If the true owner dies or is destroyed, their ownership ends. If this Artifact has no true owner, anyone may spend one day attuning to it to become its true owner.
If this Artifact is in no one else’s possession, its true owner may Exert their Mind and spend two Actions to bring it to themselves.
This Artifact's true owner must have it with them to have restful sleep. They cannot regain Mind or Source while separated from this Artifact.
A technologically advanced mana launching armament that allows the user to shoot out bolts of power energy at a target, even allowing them to hit targets in strange positionings so long as there is a method of the bolt to travel to them
This Artifact produces ephemeral projectiles that can be used as a javelin.
Attack by rolling Brawn + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +3 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
This modified Smith & Wesson SW1911 pistol feels very hot to the touch as if on fire from Hell itself.
This Artifact can be used as a handgun. It is roughly the same size as a handgun and just as difficult to conceal.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Firearms, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +4 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
Pulling liquid from a lighter and then launched from the gun will blast a blast of unholy green flames at the target.
Exert your Mind (only for extinguishing a fire, no cost for starting one) and spend an Action. Select a target within 20 feet which has both fuel and oxygen available (if you are starting a new fire). You must use up Lighter Fluid in order to activate this Effect.
You may start or extinguish a fire as large as a firepit's fire at your target. Your fires require fuel and oxygen in order to continue burning.
Lighting a target on fire deals 4 Damage each Round on your turn, starting in the Round after the one in which they caught fire. This Damage is reduced by Armor, but the target’s Armor rating will be shredded by any Damage dealt, destroying material Armor once it reaches 0.
You may extinguish flames as a Reaction. This does not extend to explosives.
You may spend a Free Action on your initiative move a fire as large as a firepit's fire that is within 20 feet to another location within 20 feet. You may Exert your Mind to draw a line which a fire up to twice as large as a firepit's fire cannot cross.
Ellis' time spent with the sword Esperachius has deepened his faith and helped him to rise above concerns of the flesh or the mind. He is no longer held back by injury or distraction of any kind, choosing instead to persevere and act in accordance with the Lord.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
Your Body and Mind Penalties are reduced to 0.
If you are Stunned, you may Exert your Mind to instead still take actions, but at a -2 penalty, for the duration of the Stun. If you are knocked out, drugged, or otherwise made unconscious, you may Exert your Mind to wake up.
Any dice penalty from being stunned, diseased, cold, hot, dizzy, sick, distracted, or similar circumstances is reduced to zero. Does not affect penalties from Effects you activated.
Ellis' sword Esperachius is a blessed sword, and there is a deep connection between the two, making it hard for others to use it. Should it ever be stolen, lost, or misplaced, Ellis will feel a painful tugging in it's general direction, and will struggle to maintain his sanity until he is reunited with the sword.
This Artifact cannot be broken.
Anyone but this Artifact's creator must Exert their Mind to wear this artifact or activate any of its Effects.
This Artifact's creator is always aware of the direction and distance to this Artifact.
This Artifact's creator must have it with them to have restful sleep. They cannot regain Mind or Source while separated from this Artifact.
The Sword of the Lord protects Ellis from the corrupting rot of sin. While he retains Esperachius, he is immune to disease, both mundane and supernatural, and may beseech the Lord to rid him of poisons, both mundane and supernatural. As a sign of this protection, he is consumed with a soft golden glow, which blazes bright whenever he prays for healing.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You are immune to all non-Alien diseases, poisons, toxins, or drugs, even if modern medicine has no known treatment for them.
Ellis's miracles have expanded into the treatment and curing of poisons and diseases. To do so, however, he requires a ceremonial dedication (or often re-dedication) to the service of God. This takes fifteen minutes, during which Ellis and the patient pray together and Ellis performs some ritualistic bloodletting with Esperachius. The bloodletting wounds burn with holy, golden fire, attacking the sinful disease or poison and expelling it from the body.
Exert your Mind and spend 15 minutes to activate. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Your target takes a Severity 1 Injury.
You may cure any any number of diseases or poisons afflicting your target even if you have not diagnosed or fully understood them. You may cure diseases or poisons even if they are not treatable through modern medicine. During treatment, the malady you are treating does not progress or cause additional damage or other effects.
Ellis wields a mighty sword, Esperachius, forged from the very nail used to hang Jesus upon the cross. This is a blessed sword, and the Lord's will channels through it. It will never fully strike a creature not damned or tainted by a demonic presence; the wielder will find it simply too heavy to swing, and non-demonic entities will find the blade relatively dull to the touch. However, against those enemies the Lord has condemned to die, Ellis may sally forth with divine speed and smite them down with a ferocious blow.
This Artifact can be used as a Sword/Axe. It is roughly at least twice as large as a Sword/Axe and cannot be concealed on your person or disassembled for storage Unless it is being used against a demon or other damned or tainted creature, this Artifact behaves as its mundane counterpart.
Attack by rolling Brawn + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal 1 Weapon Damage +5 Bonus Damage. The target's Armor is reduced to 1/4, rounded up against this damage.
You also gain the following effects:
The Lord protects you from evil. You are bathed in a glowing golden aura of Faith, marking you as one of the Lord's servants to any with knowledge of such things. Any attacks from Demons or creatures which are demonically tainted are slowed by your aura of Faith, often failing to reach you at all. Should one of their attacks make it through, the act of coming so close to a holy man hurts them just as much.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You have 5 Armor, which only reduces damage taken from attacks made by demons or demonic entities. Any armor piercing effects from attacks made by demons or demonic entities are ignored. Armor from multiple sources does not stack.
When you take damage from a source which is within 5 feet of you, your Armor deals 2 back to them.
The Lord has granted Ellis peace of mind, warding off attacks against his mental fortitude, and warning him of those who would tempt him down an evil path.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You get +2 dice to any Mind resistance rolls you make. You also gain the following effects:
Ellis chants the psalms and thrusts Esperachius straight up into the air. The area around him becomes consecrated by the Lord and is bathed in a warm, golden light, expelling all abominations against the Lord and preventing them from attacking anyone remaining.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action or Reaction to activate. Roll Charisma + Melee at Difficulty 6.
Create a repulsion field which extends out 45 feet from you in every direction, and lasts for the next minute. Any demonic or undead entities within the field cannot move any closer towards you. If they were within 45 feet from you when you activated the effect, they are immediately pushed back to the edge of the repulsion field.
You must maintain Concentration during this Effect.
You may spend an Action or Reaction and Roll Charisma + Melee at Difficulty 6. to use your repulsion field to Defend against all attacks made towards you during that round of Combat. This does not break your Concentration.
You must remain standing in the same location while this Effect is active. Moving to a new location will interrupt your Concentration and end the Effect.
Ellis whispers a quiet prayer to the Lord, holding Esperachius in his hand. For a while afterwards, both he and all nearby demonic beings become revealed to each other, each seeing the other as being surrounded in an aura of golden light.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate.
You automatically detect all demonic entities within 300 feet of you for the next minute. This includes any who come within range during the duration. You have a sense of how many valid targets are nearby and their direction, and you have a clear sense of both the distance and direction towards any detected beings. This information is accurate enough to use for aiming at them, at +1 Difficulty.
Even while this Effect is not active, if any demonic entities come within 300 feet of you, you may roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 7 to detect them.
Any demonic entities detected while the effect is active are “marked”. You will continue to detect them until the effect ends, no matter how far away they move. You will also continue to detect them after the effect ends, so long as they remain within 300 feet of you.
All demonic entities who you can sense are equally able to sense you.
...
This Artifact can be used as a knife. It is roughly the same size as a knife and just as difficult to conceal.
Attack by rolling (Dexterity or Brawn) + (Melee or Brawl), Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +7 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
Breaking stuff
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Object or Construct Object within arm's reach no larger than an SUV (4,000 liters). You cannot target objects which are currently in someone else’s possession. Roll Brawn + Brawl Difficulty 6. Sapient targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 8.
If your Outcome is 4 or higher, the target will be completely destroyed and can no longer function, though it may still be repaired. If your Outcome is less than 4, the target will be partially damaged, and any attempts to use it will suffer a dice penalty equal to your Outcome.
When activating this Effect, you may spend an extra minute and maintain Concentration. If you do, it has no Exertion cost, and you may destroy an object which has up to 3x larger dimensions, or up to 27x larger volume than the normal maximum size.
When a target is destroyed, it sends shards flying. Anyone within 5 feet of the object rolls 4d10 at Difficulty 6 and takes damage equal to the Outcome. Can be reacted to.
Gereg crawls out from Lau's mouth, delivering a swift, poisoned bite.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you the snake bites you, paralysing you for one minute and dealing a Severity-2 Injury. Roll Intellect + Occult at Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, your target becomes drowsy for the next 3 Rounds, during which time they suffer an additional -2 dice Penalty to all Actions. At the end of their drowsiness, they fall into a state of sleep paralysis for Contested Outcome x 3 hours. During this time, they remain fully conscious and aware of their surroundings but are incapable of taking any actions.
Sleeping targets will not prematurely wake up on their own, and can only be awoken by taking Damage or nearing death from hunger, thirst, or suffocation. Drowsy targets always fall asleep, regardless of what happens while they are drowsy.
If an affected target was already sleeping when you used this Effect, they are put into a deep coma that lasts indefinitely, but they will be awoken from it if a very bright light shines on them.
When activating this Effect you may attempt a knockout. If you do and your Contested Outcome exceeds 4, the target falls asleep immediately. Otherwise, they suffer the drowsy penalty for 2 Rounds.
Gereg takes a bite, siphoning the energy from a target to strengthen his master.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select two Sapient targets within arm's reach. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you an Injury you have increases in Severity by 1d4 points. If a target does not consent to the transfer, you must roll Intellect + Occult at Difficulty 6 to use the effect on them. They can resist by rolling either Body or Mind at Difficulty 6, depending on what you are attempting to transfer to them.
You may choose a single instance of one of the following to transfer between your two targets:
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see the snake lash out and siphon the effects from the target, and imbue them into Lau, or the reverse.
The airship of solitude is the mad scientist's lair and preferred mode of travel. Not only does it include a full science laboratory, it can be collapsed into an incredibly small canvas cube and easily transported. The mad scientist may pilot the ship alone or rely on its autopilot features for ultimate convenience.
This Artifact can be used as a blimp. It is roughly the same size as a blimp but can be collapsed into a phone-sized canvas cube and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.
This blimp has full science laboratory, bullet-proof envelope, and ample parachutes. Any roll to pilot this vehicle receives +2 dice.
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.
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:
The lightning bracers can be activated to summon a thunderbolt into the wearer's hand. Throwing these thunderbolts makes an incredibly loud boom. Once a thunderbolt is in hand, the wearer can throw as many as they wish. The electricity from these bolts will jump between nearby targets.
This Artifact produces ephemeral projectiles that can be used as a javelin. It is roughly the same size as a javelin but can be collapsed into a pair of bronze bracers and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.
Attack by rolling Brawn + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +4 Weapon Damage. The target's Armor is fully effective against this Damage. Attacks
You also gain the following effects:
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.