Unveil the Shroud* "It takes one to know one, and unfortunately for most of you, just as the shadows bend their will to me, you will find little sanctuary in the twilight of society."

5
Requires Seasoned
The power to detect all nearby hidden beings (i.e. actively in hiding or actively conealing their presence) and disguised beings (i.e. actively wearing/using a disguise/facade).
Used by Luci Alessi, Created by Riley.
(You must actively and obviously be using up 6 units of Varnish.)

It would be rather conceited and grandiose of Luci to label herself as a Master of Shadows, but this evolution in her connection to the Well makes it a close call.

Just like the conspiracy theorists say, the shadows can indeed talk. In fact, they can have quite a lot to say about those that like to hide within them. Luci would know- she's seen them both in and out of The Well. Whether they're all that happy about it is one of many philosophical questions, but the fact of the matter is that they do indeed talk.

Such beings only require a bit of nudging and a sip of her Source in order to spill what they know and act as beacons for Luci. Not only do they point her in the proper direction, but they will also aware her as to what her targets are hiding from or disguising themselves for.

And even without any direct calls to action, Luci's intuition awares her of any restless or uneasy shadows that might have information about nearby scoundrels for her.

The shadows that exist outside of the Well are either only personified by Luci herself or a product of her power. When a shadow points her in a direction, it manifests more as a feeling than an actual shadow getting up pointing in any particular directing.

Think of it more like Luci projecting herself into the surrounding darkness- a process that while not riskless, is certainly fruitful.


Exert your Mind and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: Luci mutters for the shadows to show their hand as she pours her Varnish at her feet. You must use up 6 units of Varnish in order to activate this Effect. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means.

You automatically detect all hidden beings (i.e. actively in hiding or actively conealing their presence) and disguised beings (i.e. actively wearing/using a disguise/facade) 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.

If no hidden beings (i.e. actively in hiding or actively conealing their presence) or disguised beings (i.e. actively wearing/using a disguise/facade) targets are within 1 mile of you, and then one enters range, you automatically detect it, even if this Effect is not active.

Any hidden beings (i.e. actively in hiding or actively conealing their presence) and disguised beings (i.e. actively wearing/using a disguise/facade) detected while this 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 1 mile of you.

You learn basic information about why each detected being is being detected. For example, if you detect Criminals, you may learn how many crimes they have committed and what type.

You receive a detailed silhouette of their body and clothes for each being you detect.


Community Power Gifts

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with melee weapons.

Your attacks with melee weapons deal +1 Bonus Damage. Armor is fully effective against this damage.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Two Swords are better than One: If you are wielding two melee weapons, your attack's Weapon Damage is equal to the sum of your two weapons'. If you split your Outcome to attack two targets, any target you successfully hit takes the full Weapon Damage and full Bonus Damage.

  • Reminder: Bonus Damage stacks with Weapon Damage, but does not stack with any other Bonus Damage. Instead, the highest Bonus Damage is used.

You gain the following benefits at all times. You must actively and obviously be using holy object of worship to gain the benefits of this Effect.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Hearing: You are capable of perceiving physical shapes via sound. You must produce a Sentire to “ping” with your echolocation each Round you wish to use it.
  • Touch: You can pick up on subtle differences between textures with ease, and can immediately find what you are looking for when rummaging (digging through trash, finding a needle in a haystack, etc), assuming it is actually present.

Exert your Mind and spend 15 minutes. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Choose a specific Injury on your target that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Intellect + Science 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.

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: “I can fix this!!”.

  • Unstabilized wounds do not degenerate during treatment.
  • 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.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Roll Brawn + Athletics at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you create a barrier around yourself, which absorbs the next Outcome +4 Damage. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. You may only have 1 active barrier at a time.

The barrier will fall after two hours, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.

  • Effects which circumvent Armor completely also circumvent your barrier.

This Effect activates whenever the threat of immediate physical violence. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a Living target within 45 feet. “Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. Roll Charisma + Occult at Difficulty 6. Affected targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6 -3 dice.

If you succeed, for the next minute, your target will do things they otherwise wouldn’t have done, inspired by Fear. 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 Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is An icy unblinking glare. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.

If any affected target takes or deals Damage, this Effect ends.

  • When triggered, the Effect activation resolves immediately after the triggering Action. It is not Reaction speed.
  • Common emotions and the actions they inspire
    • Anger (shouting, cruelty, denying requests, attacking)
    • Pity (stopping an attack, executing an injured target)
    • Happiness (generosity, dancing, joking, socializing)
    • Sadness (finding solitude, openly crying, demotivation)
    • Fear (running, attacking)
  • If you succeed, the target MUST take at least one Action they otherwise would not have. Hey, GM who is reading this, I'm talking to you. You have to enforce this. Remember: Gifts must feel powerful.
  • 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 Power Gifts

Exert your Mind and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: open up the app on your cell phone, make your selection, and prepare to film. Select a target within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use cell phone camera to activate this Effect. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted. Choose an illusion to generate, which can be no larger than a person.

The chosen illusion is generated at your target, and it will remain in place as long as you maintain Concentration or you choose to end it. It can be perceived by people through their smell, hearing, and sight. The illusion cannot be used as an attack. You may create a replica of a specific being or Object, though it is still limited by what you do or do not know about the subject.

Anyone who touches the illusion (or who would be able to perceive it significantly through a sense it cannot fool) realizes it is an illusion and can choose to perceive it or not at will.

The illusion will remain fixed to its initial target, and can only change locations if the initial target is mobile in some way. It may have moving parts and engage in simple, predetermined movements but cannot perform anything complex or interactive unless you maintain Concentration and “puppeteer” it.

  • You must retain Concentration to keep up the effect; if your Concentration is interrupted, the effect will end.
  • while you can use an illusion to obscure something smaller, you cannot make anything directly invisible (you can’t make a tank look like a regular baseball, but you can hide it in an illusion of a giant baseball).
  • You may only puppeteer a single illusion at once.
  • 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.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with playing cards.

+2 dice to all rolls utilizing playing cards.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Point Control: Called Shots that you attempt only require a Contested Outcome of 2 for small targets and 4 for tiny targets.
  • Ricochet: You can make a thrown attack against a target behind cover so long as there is at least one exposed pathway to them.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your Dexterity rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Dexterity (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).

  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Hearing: You are capable of perceiving physical shapes via sound. You must produce a cricket chirp to “ping” with your echolocation each Round you wish to use it.

Spend an Action. Select a Animate target within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use bread or a fish to activate this Effect.

For the next 24 hours, your target does not require any food, water, or sleep. Any attempts to age your target fail. Any roll to resist an Effect dependent on any affected requirement is made at -1 Difficulty.

This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.

  • 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.