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.
Her true form, if she had never obtained a human body, is one which resembles the Conductor. A ghastly apparition with a pair of long-barreled revolvers instead of hands, wrapped in chains. (Think the Reaper from Persona)
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: Turning into the Conductor - 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.
The Buntech carrot has an orange barrel laser-engraved to look like a carrot. Its grips and hammer are green like foliage. This pistol can be concealed as an innocent rabbit's foot charm keychain and restored just as quickly. It never runs out of ammo and can be morphed into any other sort of gun, as desired.
This Artifact can be used as a handgun. It is roughly the same size as a handgun but can be collapsed into a rabbit's foot 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.
You also gain the following effects:
In the clandestine world of espionage, where shadows whisper secrets and the line between ally and adversary blurs, there exists a lawyer turned spy, a master of subterfuge with a power as unique as their dual life. This individual, known only to a select few, possesses an extraordinary ability to infuse mundane spy equipment with unparalleled capabilities, transforming them into artifacts of immense tactical value.
On a night draped in secrecy, our spy enters a nondescript room, the air thick with anticipation. Around them, an array of common espionage tools lay scattered across a workbench—each item a silent witness to missions past and yet to unfold. With a practiced eye, the spy selects a compact surveillance device, its appearance unremarkable, its potential untapped.
As their hands envelop the device, a faint glow emanates from their fingertips, casting an ethereal light in the dimly lit room. The air hums with unseen energy as the spy focuses their will, channeling their unique power into the heart of the gadget. Under their touch, the device begins to transform, its form becoming sleeker, its essence imbued with a power that defies conventional understanding.
This Artifact has been upgraded.
This Artifact 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.
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: I plead The Fifth -Roll a mind to speak to the police. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.
The user goes into a kit that has many cybernetic tools and parts to be used and installed onto a user.
Expend a point of Battery and spend 30 minutes. 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 Battle Scar and can have exactly one of the following Effects:
Trev wears his titanium plated pocket watch in his front chest pocket of his overalls. The watches' chain is secured to his overalls near the button of his left strap.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
Any Injury you receive heals quickly, reducing its Severity by one level every 6 hours. Any Injuries you receive while this Effect is active do not deteriorate over time. However, any Battle Scars caused by such an Injury will remain unless it is Properly Stabilized as normal.
You may Exert your Mind and spend an Action to reduce the Severity of one of your Injuries by 2. Does not affect Injuries suffered as an activation cost for Effects.
All Injuries you receive are considered Properly Stabilized. You may also choose to heal any Battle Scar on yourself that may not have been caused by an Injury. Doing so takes one day, and the Battle Scar affects you fully until that time.
As if a heat haze follows his words it swirls around the target usually invisible.
Exert your Mind 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 + Alertness 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.
This Effect ends if you are stunned, fall asleep, go unconscious, are incapacitated, die, or if your total Stress ever exceeds 5.
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.
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.
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' 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.
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:
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.
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.
Standard issue in the Future Soldier's home time, the Personal Shield Generator (PSG) projects a protective energy barrier around the body. It absorbs damage far better than traditional armor, but its battery is quickly drained. When depleted, the PSG must spend a few seconds recharging.
When struck, the normally-invisible field of the PSG flashes, revealing a bright yellow honey-comb pattern encasing the body.
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.
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.
Dazzle Glasses are advanced "black-tech" espionage gear. They can be styled as any sort sunglasses. When the wearer is recorded, they will quickly flash a non-visible laser into the recording device, destroying it after only a moment of footage is taken.
This Effect activates whenever you are recorded. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a Non-Sapient Object within 20 feet no larger than a duffel bag (35 liters). Roll Perception + 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.
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 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