it might materialize as a humanoid figure with a blend of organic and mechanical features. Imagine a sleek, silver body with elements of armor plating interwoven with synthetic skin. Its eyes could glow with a warm, friendly light, and it might have intricate circuitry patterns visible beneath translucent sections of its body. The Pal's appearance could vary depending on its purpose and the preferences of its summoner. For example, it might have retractable wings for aerial mobility or specialized appendages for various tasks. Overall, it would exude an aura of reliability and companionship, embodying the essence of a loyal ally bound to serve and protect its summoner
Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action. This Effect cannot be used unless I must awake.
Summon a single Pals at your location. They will last until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. This Artifact may have at most 2 minions active at a time.
Holding her palm up, a gap in the environment expands to the size of a subway tunnel, warping the space around it, and train tracks lay themselves down in front of the tunnel. Shortly after, the Dead Line comes barreling through.
(The train pamphlet always remains when the Dead Line is expanded, merely acting as the focus for it's summoning.)
The gaps that the tunnel to the Dead Line can be things such as the mortar between bricks, the ridges between bark, or vacant alleyways. The Dead Line runs through all things.
This Artifact can be used as a subway train. It is roughly the same size as a subway train but can be collapsed into a train pamphlet and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.
This subway train has tracks which lay themselves down in front of itself (never taking more than a 12 degree curve) and dissapear shortly after, standard subway cars, reinforced doors, an engine room with a pilot's seat, a car with a large table and a locker wall, a cowcatcher on the front, the classic fixings of a subway car including an intercom system, standard electrical outlets, and a nice hat hook for a conductor's cap. Any roll to pilot this vehicle receives +2 dice.
You also gain the following effects:
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: Codependence. If the pamphlet is removed from your posession or destroyed beyond repair, you must roll self-control to take any action whatsoever as you become sluggish and unresponsive. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.
Charlie feeds a ticket into a slot in the front compartment of the Dead-Line, and the spectral train pulses with a resonant pressure felt by the souls of those around it. The environment begins to warp and split around it, twisting and extending in unnatural ways before settling into it's new form.
The railways are Charlie's playground, and she will frolic in them however she pleases.
Exert your Mind (unless you are Sculpting) and spend an Action. Select a Location within 50 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the Dead-Line's front car is currently summoned. You must use up a subway ticket in order to activate this Effect.
Select one of the following alterations to create out of subway tracks and concrete originating at the target:
The alteration begins to form when you activate this Effect and finishes forming on your initiative in the next Round. Until it finishes forming, it is not guaranteed to function.
This alteration lasts indefinitely but may be prematurely destroyed or altered. Your alterations may be broken through with appropriate tools. Anyone attempting to break through must roll Brawn + a relevant Ability. A cumulative Outcome of 6 across all attempts breaks a hole large enough to move through. See the extended system text for GM guidance on various tools.
You may sculpt your walls, domes, or tunnels as you create them, without any additional activation time or cost.
[Rolls using Intellect + Trains]
Charlie sits beside her target and leans against them while closing her eyes. As Charlie naps, she begins to glow with an ethereal energy which spreads to the target and closes their wounds. If the Dead Line is summoned, the energy can be seen seeping from the walls of the vehicle. If it is not summoned, the energy can be seen emanating from the train pamphlet that Charlie clutches in her hand.
The Dead Line is a ferry for the dead to the afterlife. Or at least, it was supposed to be. Charlie's existence is a wrench in that plan, and so she can transfer a person's departed vitality back to them.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. Select a Living or Animate target within arm's reach. Choose a specific Injury on your target that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Intellect + Drive at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, the Injury is reduced in Severity by your Outcome. 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.
When Tethered, the Dead Line shifts temporarily into a more spectral form that allows it to float next to Charlie's physical body, surrounded by a ghostly aura.
The Dead Line saps away the vitality of those who attempt to touch it with malice in their hearts, threatening to tear the very souls from their bodies.
Charlie is merely a puppet for the Dead Line, one which hasn't yet achieved it's true form. Her experience as a puppet has given her a passion that she would never have felt otherwise.
The motto of The Dead Line, engraved by Charlie herself onto a small plaque in the conductor's compartment, is as follows:
"For as many paths as our passengers walk down, many rails we must lay down in turn."
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.
Those who disrespect public transport cannot hold or use this Artifact. They take a Severity 1 Injury each Round they touch or possess of the Artifact. It cannot be prevented or healed by any means until one day after they relinquish possession.
This Artifact's true owner is always aware of the direction and distance to this Artifact.
Whenever this Artifact is unattended and within 300 feet of its true owner, it will fly back to them. When not held or stowed, it floats beside its true owner, moving with them. While within 10 feet, the true owner does not need to touch it to use it.
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.
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: Nightmares: Falling into the void - Your sleep is plagued with horrible nightmares. At the start of each Contract and each time you fall asleep, make a Self-Control roll. If you fail, you take one Mind Damage. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.
From the outside, the Dead Line appears to have two cars. A front car with a passenger compartment and the conductor's seat, and a back car with some storage. The Dead Line's back door leads into another car which shouldn't exist, and then another, and then another.
Up to ten total cars exist in the Dead Line proper and, should Charlie deem so, a given car can loop around forever on itself to prevent anyone inside from escaping.
Looking out the window in one of the faux storage containers shows an infinite dark expanse with glimmering lights passing by in the far distance, and occasionally moving past the window at high speeds as the Dead Line rumbles forth infinitely.
This Artifact holds 5 times what it normally could inside of it. Objects stored inside weigh their normal amount.
Living things can be stored in this Artifact. They will have access to anything else inside but cannot break free.
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.
If anyone other than you opens the container, it appears empty. Others can still destroy it to get at the contents.
From beneath the sweat-soaked brim, this hat's bearer removes a tiny, red boomerang. An ignorant observer would have only time to conclude that 'it must be a novelty item for tourists', before it arcs around and whacks the back of their head, the thrower not far behind.
This Artifact produces ephemeral projectiles that can be used as a shuriken. It is roughly the same size as a shuriken and just as difficult to conceal.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +3 Weapon Damage. The target's Armor is fully effective against this Damage. Attacks
You also gain the following effects:
A dark grey silver revolver with a 5 inch muzzle that weirdly drips blood sometimes, the handle is made out of werewolf hide
This Artifact can be used as a handgun. It is roughly the same size as a handgun and just as difficult to conceal. Unless sacrifice a drop of blood for each bullet, this Artifact behaves as its mundane counterpart.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Firearms, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +4 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
The user feels slightly more capable of performing feats of combat they could previously not imagine. The observers note that the user has their eyes completely set on them and will kill them
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact and you are engaged in unarmed combat.
+2 dice to rolls for Attacking, Defending, and Clashing without a weapon. Unarmed attacks do +2 Weapon Damage (instead of -1).
You may Defend against melee, projectile, or firearm Attacks from any range and Clash with those in range of your Attacks. Attacking materials like steel or spikes will not Damage you unless it has an Effect that does so.
You also gain the following effects:
A rusted metallic right leg, with green accents along the shin and calf resembling that of veins. An opening along the calf muscle allows for insertion of an alcoholic beverage. When inserted, the green accents along the leg glow a vibrant neon colour, returning to their dim counterpart when the alcoholic fuel is fully depleted.
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend a Free Action. You must use up alcohol in order to activate this Effect.
You can run at four times your normal movement speed for the next hour.
If you move faster than your normal move speed, the world around you turns to a blur, and Perception rolls are made at -3 dice.
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 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 "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.