Legendary Artifact

The Scribe's Favor

Created and held by Mike Carson.
A silver-flecked feather Quill imbued with magic by the Sleeping Scribe. Its nib is marked with runes carved by Mike (ᛐᛒ)

Over the course of 30 minutes, the user draws a rune related to the desired effect on a corresponding part of the target's body. At the end it absorbs into their skin and disappears, imbuing them with an appropriate power. The rune appears in their mind and strains it somewhat, as with a traumatic experience.


Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living target within arm's reach. The target can easily Resist.

You may add one augmentation to your target. Each augmentation counts as a Trauma and can have exactly one of the following Effects:

  • Specialized: You receive +2 dice to a particular non-combat, non-Effect Action.
  • Environmental Adaptation: You do not suffer harm from heat, cold, pressure, or lack of oxygen in a particular environment, provided that challenge normally exists in that environment.
  • Implanted Tool: You have access to the functionality of some common Device at all times. The selected Device can be no larger than a motorcycle helmet.
  • Armor: You have 2 Armor at all times. As always, Armor from multiple sources does not stack.
  • Pouch: Part of your body functions as a hidden pocket. It can hold no more than a briefcase (15 liters).
  • Zippy: Your Free Movement is increased by 10 feet.
  • Maws and Claws: Your unarmed attacks do +2 Weapon Damage instead of -1.

The augmentations you provide are not outwardly visible nor obvious.

You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.

  • Remember: A Contractor’s Body rating is reduced by 1 for each Battle Scar after their fourth.
  • You may not augment targets with pouches or implanted devices that are larger than they are.
  • Targets without Body ratings may have a maximum of 4 augmentations.
  • Example environments for adaptation: space, all saltwater, all fresh water, all water under 50 feet deep, all water deeper than 50 feet, the jungle, radioactive areas, a specific alien world, etc.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

The Scribe's Favor, when dipped in a bottle of metallic silver ink, will draw in the full bottle, turning its feather silver colored. Mike can then scribe a rune onto a device that becomes an integral part of its fit and finish, clearly visible but looking as though it belongs, and remaining for 24 hours before fading. While so marked, items are immensely stronger, as well as simply being better at their intended uses. Cars drive smoother and never run out of gas, pots or utensils are easier to cook with and seem to make better food. Tools work smoother and make repairs easier. Even Mike's "Attitude-Adjusting Wrench" seems to hit harder, especially on beasties with some special weakness.


Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend a minute. Select a non-Alien Device within arm's reach. You must use up a 15g bottle of conductive silver ink in order to activate this Effect. Cannot be used to improve Armor.

Lasts the next day. Your target receives 2 extra dice to all actions taken for its intended use. Attacking with an upgraded weapon grants +2 Weapon Damage instead of additional dice. While it is upgraded, the item cannot be destroyed.

Upgraded weapons count as any material your opponent might be particularly vulnerable to. Upgraded Armor cannot be circumvented by called shots. Upgraded Devices do not run out of fuel or energy.

  • "Destroyed" in this context means "prevented from functioning for its primary purpose", so for instance, an upgraded land mine would still explode as normal if triggered, even though it cannot be "destroyed" and a car's windows may still be broken.
  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used. The same is true for extra dice.
  • Extra dice from this Effect do not apply to Gift activation rolls.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Community Artifacts

FierTe Finely Embroidered Leisure Suit

Created by François Arnaud de Baudin, given to Harold Ford.
This Elite FierTe Tuxedo comes with full Executif functionality, 2 armor, and a specially designed IR/night vision flooding device (LEDs inside the collar) that prevents identification.

Though impressively durable, the fact is his outfits are still as stylish and functional.

Even torn to shreds, it's value and craftsmanship is apparent.

Amarjeet's Custom Suit has the following features:

Integral Armor: 2 pts to all locations, including shoes.
Full Sensor Suite w/ Haptic Controls & Voice Commands: Biometrics, O2 Quality Sensor, Radiation Detector, Laser Detector, Bug Detector, GPS, Panic Button
Anti-Surveillance Infrared LED Suite: Will obscure the wearer from all low light devices.
Thermal Sink & Climate Control: Will absorb & block heat emissions to power electronics. Can use battery to heat interior for a limited time.
Chuni Headscarf: Transparent, NBC Resistant Material. Magnetic strips in the trim allow it to be sealed to the collar for an airtight seal when deployed
Belt: Unbreakable thread, hidden pocket - 2k in local currency
Hidden Pockets: Sleeves, Coat, Knee Gun Port
Sensible Shoes: Polycarbonate toe & puncture resistance, hermetically sealed backup battery in each heel.


This Artifact cannot be broken.

  • "Cannot be broken" means that damage cannot render the Artifact's Effects unusable, nor can it cease to be used for its primary mundane purpose, if it has one.

This is no artifact of clothing.
Nay, it is Haute Couture, the embodiment of an aesthetic encompassing elitism, financial success, and competitive
superiority.


Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. Roll Intellect + Culture at Difficulty 6.

Create a repulsion field which extends out 15 feet from you in every direction, and lasts for the next 3 Rounds. Any Animate targets within the field cannot move any closer towards you.

You must maintain Concentration during this Effect.

Possession of this Artifact causes the following Trauma to manifest over the course of a day: Compulsion to always look their best. If you lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next month.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.

The Shadow Briefcase

Created by Harold Polk, given to Bankston Battle.
“Poof”

Description:
The Shadow Briefcase is an unassuming, sleek briefcase on the outside, but inside, it houses an array of advanced technological tools designed for the secure handling and, if necessary, the selective and legal disposal of sensitive evidence.

Technological Features:

• Quantum Encryption Module: Documents or digital evidence stored within the briefcase are encrypted using quantum cryptography, making them virtually unhackable. Only the lawyer and authorized personnel can decrypt and access the information, ensuring unmatched confidentiality.
• Biometric and Retinal Lock System: The briefcase is secured with a dual-lock system that requires both a biometric scan (fingerprint or DNA) and a retinal scan, ensuring that only the designated legal operative can access its contents.
• Selective Evidence Disintegrator: A built-in mechanism for the destruction of physical documents and digital media, which operates under strict legal protocols. It can disintegrate materials into atomic dust using pointed directional lasers.


Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Evidence of crimes within arm's reach no larger than a duffel bag (35 liters). You cannot target objects which are currently in someone else’s possession. Roll Intellect + Culture Difficulty 6.

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.

  • The shape of the destroyed material must be simple, such as a box or sphere. Bringing down large buildings requires an Intellect + Crafts roll to analyze the structure and may also require multiple activations. Buildings that are destroyed usually fall slowly or in pieces, creating an environmental hazard for a few Rounds prior to collapsing.
  • The penalty from an object being damaged will stack with itself if a target is hit multiple times, but the object is destroyed when it reaches a total penalty of -4.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Imperfect Prototype

Created and held by Dr. Rhea W. Alister.
A dozen-jointed limb with golden painted highlights and joints on a background of white carbon fiber.

These limbs consist of thirteen titanium segments that swivel around on omnidirectional ball joints, each one smaller than the other and tapering off to a point at the end. It straps onto the body using a specialty harness designed to sit under arms or over the stumps of missing limbs, and is prehensile enough to grab onto objects, and the arm can position the lower joints to move along its surface, working like fingers or toes on this limb.


You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.

You gain an additional limb that functions as a standard human arm and hand.

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 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.

You cannot be mistaken for a normal human. You cannot always use standard human clothes, equipment, vehicles, and facilities, and when you can, you suffer an increased Difficulty.

Lightsaber

Created and held by Esteben Drake.

.


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 2 Weapon Damage +1 Bonus Damage. The target's fully effective

You also gain the following effects:

  • Blade Breaker: If you successfully Defend against a melee attack or if an opponent is unsuccessful at Defending against your melee attack, you may break your opponent's weapon.
  • Lasersaber: Given time, you may demolish any object or wall. To destroy 1 cubic foot of material: spend 2 Actions for material demolishable with a crowbar or sledgehammer, and 5 Actions for other materials (like steel).
  • Shredder: If you successfully hit your target, the value of any armor they are wearing is reduced by 2. This penalty lasts until the armor is repaired.

  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used.

Bionic Arm

Created by Sean O'Donoghue, looted by Marcus King.
A metallic appendage looking like a muscular arm and hand

Depending on what is used, the Barrel in the center of the hand rotates (not clearly visible unless directly looking at it) to either fire a shotgun round or be used as a cutting torch. A Flap on the top is easily accessible to store ammunition in the arm.


You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.

You gain an additional limb that functions as a standard human arm and hand.

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 extra appendage can be used to attack in exactly the same manner as a Shotgun.

Your body provides you with the functionality of Magazine and Cutting Torch. If used to attack, these "tools" use the same stats as a small knife.

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 Bionic arm opens, revealing a small barrel from which it fires a 25mm HE grenade


Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action. Select a Location no further than 25 feet from you and in your line of sight. You must use up Grenades in order to activate this Effect. The area within 10 feet of the chosen Location immediately and obviously becomes imminently dangerous. Roll Brawn + Firearms at Difficulty 6. Targets inside the radius may attempt an appropriate Reaction at GM’s discretion. Finding a physical barrier to use as cover will cut total Damage taken in half (applies after Reaction roll but before Armor).

If the Outcome is positive, your blast hits everything within 10 feet of the chosen Location with Damage equal to your Outcome + 8.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Stock Legendary Artifacts

255TE "Lancer" Rife

A metallic disk that, with the press of a button, expands into a futuristic-looking rifle.

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 +4 Weapon Damage. The target's Armor is fully effective against this Damage.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Silencer: Shots you fire can be made silent at will.

  • If there is not enough free space to expand the object, it cannot be expanded. You cannot expand this Object as an attack.
  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used.
  • Rifles are +1 Difficulty to use in melee range. Sniper Rifles are +3 Difficulty to use without a tripod or in melee range. Setting up a tripod takes an Action.

The Axe of Legend

This electric guitar has one edge sharpened into a deadly blade. It can be used as either sort of axe.

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 +5 Weapon Damage. The target's fully effective

You also gain the following effects:

  • Mjolnir: You may call your weapon back to your hand as a Quick Action if it is within 50 feet of you. Can only be used on melee weapon that you have wielded in the past hour.
  • Shredder: If you successfully hit your target, the value of any Armor they are wearing is reduced by 2. This penalty lasts until the armor is repaired.

  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within within arm's reach. All Sapient targets within 20 feet are affected. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is looking directly into the device with uncovered eyes. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.

If the contested Outcome is positive, the most recent 1 hour from your target’s memory is either replaced with new memories or forgotten entirely. This is recorded as a Condition. The level of detail and completeness of the alteration depends on your Outcome. If you fail, the target realizes that you are attempting to alter their memories.

The period is chosen either by time (i.e. “last Friday night”) or by reference to a specific event (i.e. “when the murder occurred”).

  • You do not gain mind-reading through this effect, so your ability to alter their memory is limited by your knowledge of what they might know.
  • The target's roll to realize their memories have been altered can be made a maximum of one time per day.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

The Bug-out Bag

No hiker would bat an eye if they saw someone wearing this 80 liter backpacking pack in the backcountry. Those who look closer find it's made of a curious mix of modern materials and what appears to be rawhide stitching.

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

  • There is no cost to use your container.

This Artifact cannot be broken.

This Artifact's creator is always aware of the direction and distance to this Artifact.

  • "Cannot be broken" means that damage cannot render the Artifact's Effects unusable, nor can it cease to be used for its primary mundane purpose, if it has one.

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.

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.

Any time your Armor prevents damage, your total Armor rating is temporarily decreased by 1. Whenever you go two Rounds without preventing any damage, it is restored back to its full value.

  • Armor recharging happens automatically and does not require an Action.