The weapon builds a highly-focused charge of electromagnetic radiation, causing the bulb to flash brightly an instant before release. The crackling ray of energy is effective against both living and machine targets, frying synapses and circuits alike.
One blast from a cathode gun is enough to reduce even the most brilliant mind to a state of catatonic vegetation in seconds. This brain-killing weapon is an example of the City Mind's cruel and efficient designs, meant to leave behind gibbering, drooling survivors to be collected by the enemy. These survivors would continue to consume resources, lower morale, and force other personnel to care for them - the City Mind knew its enemy was a compassionate one. The cathode gun is especially effective against creatures with advanced minds, such as spell-casters. Ironically, it is just as effective against machine brains.
Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action. Select a Sapient or Creature target within 20 feet. Roll Intellect + Technology Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7. If they are incapacitated or unconscious, they fail automatically.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target loses that much Source. Once their Source is depleted, excess Outcome is applied as Mind Damage. If you deal at least 3 Mind damage, the target gains a Trauma of the GM's choice.
This Trauma may be removed by Effects or mundane therapy, as normal. Affected targets are aware that they are being attacked and can generally tell who did it.
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.
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, containers, knots, or locks 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.
An array of metal wires shoot out from the gauntlet, lodging themselves in a surface to allow extraordinary movements.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You may move easily and without a roll in any of the following situations.
The Mk 6 is a rectangular object approximately 5 x 5 x 10 cm. It is a model developed by Meng Hao over multiple months of research and development. When activated and slapped on an object with the back to the object, the object will have its temporal characteristics changed. The object rapidly ages before it essentially turns to dust.
Due to its nature as a prototype, it is recommended to not be used with any object bigger than the size of a duffel bag. It is also sometimes unreliable due to its nature as well.
The Mark 6 is a innovation based off of the original XACTS Mark 1. While usage differs significantly from the original. Isolation of its effects has been put to use in multiple instances. While not working on living biological matter (believed to be due to the fact that living biological matters may be affected by quantum entanglement and to affect these matters means to be able to affect multiple versions and forms of them at the same time.) The Mark 6 works great when it comes to needing to eliminate waste or other inorganic matter such as plastic. The effects resemble natural decay/erosion. While through normal means plastic would just be grinded down to minuscule plastic bits, the mark 6 completely turns it into dust! its rather extraordinary.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. Select a Non-Sapient Object within arm's reach no larger than a duffel bag (35 liters). Roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour. Roll Intellect + Technology 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.
Takes out the Mk VI and waving around the Mk VI after entering in the hume reading of the area, It starts showing the object on the screen and on the side of the screen is a arrow that points towards it.
Exert your Mind and spend at least two Actions performing the following ritual: Takes out a Mk 6 and must enter the area base hume reading. to activate. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.
You automatically detect the closest of any An Object Bending Reality within 300 feet of you for the next ten minutes. You have a clear sense of both the distance and direction towards the detected item. You get details of what each detected item is, as if you've glanced at each object.
Even if there are no An Object Bending Reality within 300 feet of you, you become aware of the direction the closest one is in, as well as a rough sense of its distance from you.
While this Effect is active, you are at -2 dice to all Actions and cannot Concentrate.
...
You gain the following benefits as long as must be unable to use sight. and you are wearing this Artifact.
Your senses are enhanced in the following way.
Any senses which have been heightened cannot be overloaded. Battle Scars you receive cannot affect these senses. If one of these senses does become suppressed, you may Exert your Mind to end the effect.
...
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You automatically detect all Someone wanting to harm you within 1 mile 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.
Even while this Effect is not active, if any Someone wanting to harm you come within 1 mile of you, you may roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 7 to detect them.
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:
Companions gawk at the sheer size and quantity of the equipment the survivalist stores in the Bug-out Bag, but when they open it, they find only a standard set of survival gear. Only when the survivalist opens it is its true capacity revealed.
This Artifact holds 5 times what it normally could inside of it. Objects stored inside are weightless.
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.
If anyone other than you opens the container, it appears empty. Others can still destroy it to get at the contents.
The survivalist has depended on the Bug-out Bag for so long, they've formed a powerful bond with the pack. This bond renders the pack unbreakable, and grants the survivalist an understanding of what direction it's in at all times.
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.
This Artifact's true owner is always aware of the direction and distance to this Artifact.
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). Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. 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.
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 +3 Weapon Damage. Attacks do not require a successful called shot to do damage.
You also gain the following effects:
If the Selkie's seal skin is worn close to the body, any contact with salt water will cause them to transform into a seal. While transformed, they have full access to their normal suite of Powers.
This Effect activates whenever you are submerged in salt water. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event.
You transform into small for two hours or until you choose to end the Effect. See the Extended System text for stats.
While transformed, you cannot use any equipment (including Artifacts and Consumables), and you cannot use your Active, Targeted, or Trap Powers. However, you can use your Passive Powers. Any equipment you are wearing transforms with you.
Injuries and Wound Level are carried over between forms. However, transforming can never kill you; you merely remain Incapacitated until your Injuries are sufficiently healed.