A wide smile spreads across my face as the Amethyst sparkles, dazzling the target into submission. This fixture on my teeth is imbued with a forceful magic that makes me appear that much more enticing, how could a charming man such as myself ever wish harm upon them?
In the hands – or rather, on the tooth – of its possessor, the Smile of the Ascended Ace becomes a conduit for mesmerizing influence. A wide grin adorned with the sparkling amethyst, coupled with a few choice words, can sway hearts, bend wills, and alter the course of destinies. Yet, as with all things of such potency, there comes a price.
For those who dare to wield the Smile of the Ascended Ace, a peculiar battle scar manifests over time. A burn mark, shaped in the likeness of an ace of hearts, emerges upon the skin, glowing with an ethereal light and causing a stinging sensation whenever its wearer indulges in deceit at the gambling tables. This scar serves as a reminder of the consequences that accompany the misuse of such formidable power.
Despite the allure of its abilities, the Smile of the Ascended Ace remains both a blessing and a burden to its bearer. Its influence can shape fortunes and sway the course of events, yet it demands caution and restraint lest its wielder succumb to the temptations of absolute control. In the cosmic dance of power and consequence, this legendary artifact stands as a testament to the delicate balance between influence and responsibility.
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend at least one Action. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. Your target may be actively engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your target. Roll Charisma + Influence (10 dice) at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If the contested Outcome is positive, your target will be compelled to follow your command to their best understanding of the letter and spirit of the command until they have completed it or for your Outcome in hours. You cannot issue another suggestion to the target until 10 minutes after they have completed the first command or 10 minutes after a failure.
The target is unaware that they are under supernatural influence and feel they are acting of their own free will. If you fail, they realize that you were attempting to influence them supernaturally with your command.
Your command can be an order to take an immediate Action and a conditional request. You cannot order a target to "do nothing," and they are free to take other Actions as they fulfill your request. Your command cannot be obviously self-destructive. The Effect ends if following your command would cause a target to cross one of their Limits in a way that would necessitate a Trauma roll.
You may activate this Effect as a Reaction to contest any Action a valid target is taking, reducing their Outcome by your own. Your command has no impact beyond disrupting their Action.
This Effect ends if you are stunned, fall asleep, go unconscious, are incapacitated, die, or if your total Stress ever exceeds 5.
Possession of this Artifact causes the following Battle Scar to manifest over the course of a day: A Burn Mark in the Shape of an Ace of Hearts that Glows and Stings Whenever He is Cheating at a Table Game. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Battle Scar heals over the course of the next day.
A majestic weapon used by General San Martín on his quest to liberate South America. Its wielding is capable of both blind enemies and/or bend their will from its sheer might itself.
This Artifact can be used as a sword / axe. It is roughly the same size as a sword / axe and just as difficult to conceal.
Attack by rolling Brawn + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +4 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
When encountered by the might of this sword, any being capable of feeling emotion will feel riled up by a sense of comradery towards a common goal: liberation.
Spend an Action. Select a number of Living targets equal to your Charisma within 45 feet. Roll Charisma + Culture (6 dice) at Difficulty 6. Affected targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, for the next hour, affected targets will do things they otherwise wouldn’t have done, inspired by comradery. They will not necessarily display their emotions in an obvious way.
Actions they take will be in keeping with their character and the way they tend to deal with strong emotions. They will be unlikely to change their mind about any actions taken or decisions made until after the Effect ends.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
These delicate alloyed hoop earrings are adorned with shards of obsidian and dark garnet, glinting mysteriously before fading back into shadow. They grant Maggie a unique form of sense denial, subtly manipulating sight and sound to blur her presence, as if she drifts just beyond the edge of perception. In time, as Maggie’s bond with them deepens, they will allow her to vanish into the safety of oblivion. Maggie acquired these earrings in a forgotten mountain market, after trading a handful of charms and talismans with a wandering merchant. Rumor had it they were crafted by an old Romani sorceress who sought to escape the mortal gaze, leaving only a “murmuring invitation” for those brave enough to follow her into shadow. Now, they hold a treasured place in Maggie’s collection, from maybe an ancestor of times past.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You and everything you are carrying is obscured in one of the following manners. Lasts 30 minutes.
While this Effect is active, any Effect that would obscure you or your equipment specifically from other, additional senses fails automatically.
If someone discovers you, this Effect will not help you hide from them for the next minute. This Effect does not end early when you activate an obvious Effect, attack, or receive an Injury.
You may turn this Effect on and off at will during its duration.
The Pleading Jackal of Opening is a curious trinket from Maggie’s collection, a pendant strung on a simple leather braid necklace, fitted with copper wire. The jackal itself is carved from black stone, frozen in a pleading posture, like a desert dog begging for food. It’s not just for show, though—when knocked against a locked door or container, and with a shameless plea for it to please open, the jackal’s charm works its magic. Its reliable magic it can unlock nearly anything, for the price of good manners. A fitting companion for a grave robber who knows the art of coaxing secrets from stubborn doors.
Spend an Action. Select a Non-Alien door, container, knot, or lock within 20 feet.
You may lock, unlock, and/or open your target.
Indiscreet Maid's Talisman is an amulet that allows Maggie to understand all spoken and written languages, provided she takes a moment to concentrate on the pendant. The pendant, crafted from rose quartz and sculpted into the shape of a tongue, bears the image of a tower on between the tongue and upper lip. When activated, the amulet grants her the ability to decipher even the most obscure and forgotten tongues, unlocking secrets and hidden meanings. However, the power requires focus—without taking a moment to concentrate, the knowledge remains elusive, as if the languages are still shrouded in mystery.
Exert your Mind and spend one minute.
You may understand and communicate to Creatures, humans, and Sapient beings as if you are fluent in a relevant language for the next hour.
This also includes understanding any recorded communications from the relevant targets, including writings, scent trails, etc.
While active and speaking to a single individual, you may choose to use glib tongue. When you do, anything you say to them (even gibberish) will be exactly what they want to hear. You gain no understanding of what that might be.
The cornerstone incantation of the Blackstar Sisterhood and the reason they are feared as powerful heralds of curses: a warlock adds her own mixture of incense powder to the Light of The Abyss, making it briefly emmit a sickly green light and an acrid odor, akin to rotting grass, upon which the curse takes effect.
Spend an Action. Select a Living target within 45 feet. You must use up incense powder in order to activate this Effect. Roll Perception + Occult (4 dice) at Difficulty 6. The target may roll Body, -2 dice at Difficulty 7, as a Free Action to resist.
If you succeed, either modify an existing Battle Scar on the target or inflict a new one. You determine the new Battle Scar, limited by the contested Outcome:
You may affect up to 3 targets within range.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 1.
Your alteration "heals" over the course of the next month, after which it is fully cured.
A devastating and disturbing physical attack, also belonging to the tradition of Blackstar Sisterhood - Archmistress Oitira of Byzantium is a martyred figure whose wounds at the hands of religious fanatics are now honored in the incantion, which also bears her name. The swirling smoke and arcane sigils are changed by the application of a different incense mixture, now coloring the ominous flame in shades of red, vermillion, and dark orange which take the shape of malevolent eyes that scan the environment, treating all as both prey to consume and threats to destroy. These eyes emit a multitude of piercing beams of energy that sear into the target, cause intense pain: the beams tear through armor, flesh and bone, leaving deep, scarring and agonizing wounds behind.
Spend an Action. Select a Living target within 300 feet. You must use up incense powder in order to activate this Effect. Roll Perception + Occult (4 dice) 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 0. The target's Armor is completely ignored.
You may opt to have this Effect spread to all targets within 5 feet of the initial target, then to all unaffected targets within 5 feet of them, and so on, jumping a maximum of 5 times. No target may be hit more than once. You cannot hit yourself.
The target suffers a -3 dice penalty for the next hour or until the Injury is healed. This dice penalty does not stack multiple times on the same target.
If the target suffers an Injury from this Effect, they will receive at least a Minor Battle Scar regardless of its Severity. When this Effect causes a Battle Scar, you may select which one of the appropriate level.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see as monstrous eyes appear in the smoke, locking in the targets with malevolent glee.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 1.
Anyone who touches this Artifact will notice it warping their mind and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Trauma: Paranoia. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.
After attaching the frame to their torso, the user must activate and sync the arm's internal operative systems with the neurological activity responsible for their own limbs-- requiring extensive input from the mind, voice, and body. The golden circuitry running across the chassis ripple with energy during this process. While in use, its origami folds are able to stretch, bend, and morph to fit the user's desired movements.
The calibration sequence to connect the arm requires the user to move around their joints (shoulders, elbows, and wrists) and read aloud a pangram (ex: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog").
The systems powering and controlling the arm are an intricate mix of various power sources all synchronizing together. Specifically, they are the culmination of its creator taking influence from his peers, a spatial mage and technomancer, to achieve the final result of a fully functional additional limb.
These include arm's handcrafted, moving folds (of which three are responsible for the core joint movement of a shoulder/elbow/wrist), the golden circuits that connect to the user's mind (branching into a sprawling, fractal pattern across the arm and acting as a signal booster/receiver for all the energy), and the internal technological programming (which are carefully integrated to run with the rest of the arm's systems).
The use of a pangram enables the internal systems to more easily find specific parts of the brain to connect to and the movement of the joints calibrate the arm's motions as well.
The arm's three primary folds, alongside the three sources of power (magic, technology, and clockwork-level crafting), serve as a double entendre inspiring the gift's final name.
Expend a point of Battery and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: activating and calibrating the arms with the user. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.
You gain an additional limb that functions as a standard human arm and hand. Lasts two hours.
Each additional limb you posses can take one Quick Action per Round without incurring a -2 dice penalty to your main Action. Any Battle Scars that affect or remove your additional limb will heal in a single week.
Your appendage is capable of bending and squishing in normally-impossible ways. It may fit through any gap that is not water-tight and retain its functionality.
Your extra appendage can stretch to reach an additional 30 feet.
Your extra appendage is not connected to your nervous or circulatory systems, and you will not take damage if it is hit by an attack or destroyed.
Your Extra Appendage counts as an object and can be hacked or targeted by any Powers that affect objects or machines. Injuries to your Extra Appendage cannot be healed by Powers that affect living things but may be repaired during Downtime.
The necklace consists of a thin metal chain and a teardrop pendant filled with the ash of a vampire. Upon closer inspection, it can be seen that both the chain and the droplet are slightly transparent, and there is no hole through which the necklace pierces the pendant.
Through a ritual, the incorporeal form of a vengeful specter was bound to the ash of a vampire. The undead remains combined with the incorporeal body create an artifact that lends undead resilience to the user.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You have 3 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 or shredded, and it always provides a minimum of 2 Armor regardless of any Armor penetration. Your Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.
When the object is placed on over an injury, and overlay of their internal damage is highlighted and begins the process of repairing. The object must be held over the wound, but it is a rather painful process to heal, causing mental stress on the user.
Expend a point of Battery and spend 15 minutes. Make a Trauma roll when you activate this Effect. Choose a specific Injury on yourself that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Intellect + Medicine (4 dice) at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, the Injury is reduced in Severity by your Outcome, unless it had Severity 4 or higher, in which case its Severity remains the same. If you reduce its Severity to 0, the Injury is fully healed. Otherwise, it is partially healed and will heal the rest of the way at its natural rate.
This counts as a successful Makeshift Stabilization if the Injury was not already Stabilized; any Battle Scars caused by the Injury will remain.
The 255TE "Lancer" Rife fires an extremely deadly spike of plasma at its targets. It comes standard with a volume control, allowing the soldier to mute its normally fearsome lightning crack report for stealth missions. When not in use, it can collapse into a small metal disk that can fit into any utility belt.
This Artifact can be used as a rifle. It is roughly the same size as a rifle but can be collapsed into a metallic disk and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Firearms, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +5 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
The Predatory Raiment has a cloak feature that allows its owner to hide themselves and their equipment with active camouflage. When viewed, they look like a slightly shifted and shimmering version of the surrounding environment.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are not at all wet and you are wearing this Artifact.
You and everything you are carrying is obscured in one of the following manners. You may Spend an Action to change the way in which you're concealed.
While this Effect is active, any Effect that would obscure you or your equipment specifically from other, additional senses fails automatically.
If someone discovers you, this Effect will not help you hide from them for the next minute. This Effect does not end early when you activate an obvious Effect, attack, or receive an Injury.
"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 holds 5 times what it normally could inside of it. Objects stored inside are weightless. Unless you are storing something commonly found in coffins, this Artifact behaves as its mundane counterpart. This Effect cannot be used unless you are storing something commonly found in coffins.
Living things can be stored in this Artifact. They will have access to anything else inside and may attempt to break free, damaging or destroying the Artifact in the process.
If this Artifact is destroyed, things inside may get out, and it will cease to function until it is repaired.
When scanned or investigated without opening, the contents of this container appear normal and unremarkable.
On a Downtime, you may change this Artifact from one type of container to another. Maximum once per Downtime.
If anyone other than you opens the container, it appears empty. Others can still destroy it to get at the contents.
The "Reaper" Assault Helmet is the signature piece of the Future Soldier's arsenal. It has a sleek, design and is made of a mysterious matte-metallic alloy. The wearer's face is exposed normally, but when activated, a blue holographic visor flickers to life in front of the eyes. This HUD contains information about the soldier's ammunition and shield status, but more significantly can detect enemy combatants. Anyone nearby who is holding a weapon is painted with a red dot that follows them in real time. This allows the Future Soldier to fire at painted targets in the dark, detect ambushes lurking around corners, and grants an overall tactical advantage.
Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action.
You automatically detect all people wielding weapons within 300 feet of you for the next hour. This includes any who come within range during the duration. You have a sense of how many valid targets are nearby, as well as their distance and direction.
The spy can do up their passport to appear as any valid form of identification.
This Artifact can change its appearance. When not transformed, it is roughly the same size as a passport but can be collapsed into a wallet and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.
Spend a Quick Action to activate. This Artifact changes its appearance into a chosen Object. This lasts until you decide to end the Effect, which may be done as a Free Action.
The new object's appearance can mimic specific items (such as a particular painting, a certain person’s ID, etc), but must be of a similar size and weight to this Artifact.
The new appearance is illusory; it will hold up to scrutiny, but its composition is not altered and it gains no new functionality. Any attempt to use it for a function which it cannot perform (for instance, making bread look like a knife and then trying to stab someone) will cause the illusion to fail or allow a Perception check to see through the illusion, at the GM's discretion.
When used as identification and scanned, the scanner will act appropriately and bring up appropriate generic information. Further searches for the identity in the computer will turn up no results. This will not open security doors on its own.