Mike marks the glasses with runes representing knowledge and revelation. He then looks through the lenses at the surrounding area, letting the runes absorb trace energies from nearby sources of power, as well as the traces left behind by beings who have passed through. At the end of a minute, the rune markings "drain" backward from the lenses into Mike's eyes, imparting the knowledge of what they have absorbed and leaving behind an unmarked surface
After facing the storms, Mike was forced to confront his weakness in information gathering, and delved into studying ways to reveal hidden information. the quality of what he gleans is tied to how well the runes are drawn, as a crisp, superlative rune provides detailed information, so does a crude, deformed rune give a murkier view.
Added focused drawback for rework. reduction of cost to 1
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 500 feet You must actively and obviously use some type of eyeglasses to activate this Effect. You cannot investigate the same target more than once per hour. At the end of your investigation, roll Dexterity + Crafts at Difficulty 6.
You learn a single specific piece of information, chosen from the following list, about the area:
You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.
Caroline stares into the eyes of someone directly in front of her and cuts a gash into her hand and gains knowledge of their location for the next 24 hours and their killing (if any). During the moment in which the information is being learned, her pupils go red like in a photo with flash.
Take a Severity-1 Injury and spend 2 Actions. Select a Sapient target within arm's reach. At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Melee at Difficulty 6.
You learn all the following information about your target:
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.
You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.
Maddox croaks the terms of the deal. Her silence, for your obedience. The victim must swear upon the bible to uphold their terms, or face a horrible fate.
You must actively and obviously use a bible to activate this Effect.
You may make an oath with a physically-present, Sapient target. Communicate the oath's terms to the target, including the requirements and penalties for each participant. If all agree to the terms, you must Exert your Mind and all participants must swear on the bible to seal the deal.
Record the oath as a Condition. If a party breaks the oath, the Condition ends and they suffer the oath's penalty.
When crafting your oath, you may incorporate any of the following penalties:
The target cannot be compelled to agree via a direct threat of violence, another Effect, or another oath. If you would like to use clever wording to mislead the target, you must succeed a contested Intellect + (Culture or Influence) roll.
The Watch clicks open, revealing a small gem of crimson, glimmering with accents of void and cosmic energy.
When the user consumes the gem, their body pulses in the same glimmering energy from within as their body reacts to the rush of energy.
Their veins are accented by the energy in a short pulse after consumptions.
Spend an Action. Select a target within arm's reach.
For the next week, your target does not require any food, water, sleep, or air. Any attempts to age your target fail.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see Swallowing copious amounts of blood.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
The user rubs their hands, which become ethereal. They then reach into the patient and massage and mold the scar away, back into a healthy state, leaving behind a ghostly residue.
(In case of a missing limb, the limb is reconstructed from condensed ether. It will look completely ethereal and composed of compressed fog, but will function normal as only the outermost layer phases through material.)
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Select a Battle Scar on your target to treat.
The treated Battle Scar heals as you finish activating this Effect.
Healing a Battle Scar in this way leaves behind ethereal residue at the site of the removed battle scar on the target which cannot be healed.
A devastating and disturbing physical attack, also belonging to the tradition of Blackstar Sisterhood - Archmistress Oitira of Byzantium is a martyred figure whose wounds at the hands of religious fanatics are now honored in the incantion, which also bears her name. The swirling smoke and arcane sigils are changed by the application of a different incense mixture, now coloring the ominous flame in shades of red, vermillion, and dark orange which take the shape of malevolent eyes that scan the environment, treating all as both prey to consume and threats to destroy. These eyes emit a multitude of piercing beams of energy that sear into the target, cause intense pain: the beams tear through armor, flesh and bone, leaving deep, scarring and agonizing wounds behind.
Spend an Action. Select a target within 300 feet. You must use up incense powder in order to activate this Effect. Roll Perception + Occult Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling to Dodge or Defend as a Reaction, Difficulty 6.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 2. Armor is fully effective against this Damage.
You may use this Effect to Defend against any melee, projectile, or firearm Attacks within range or Clash against any Attack targeted at you. Using it to Defend deals no Damage but does not cost Exertion.
The target suffers a -3 dice penalty for the next hour or until the Injury is healed. This dice penalty does not stack multiple times on the same target.
If you successfully hit your target, the value of any Armor they are wearing is reduced by 2. For material armor, this penalty lasts until it is repaired. For intrinsic armor, it lasts until the end of Combat and any relevant wound is healed.
If the target suffers an Injury from this Effect, they will receive at least a Minor Battle Scar regardless of its Severity. When this Effect causes a Battle Scar, you may select which one of the appropriate level.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see as monstrous eyes appear in the smoke, locking in the targets with malevolent glee.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 1.
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: Paranoia. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.
No terrestrial animal dares defy the will of the beastmaster. The beastmaster exerts their dominance over an animal by locking eyes and giving a primal cry. The creature immediately becomes docile and eager to please.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Creature within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is a terrestrial animal.
For the next day, you may issue specific commands to your target which they will be compelled to follow.
Your commands can be complex and multi-layered, though they must still be specific. You cannot make them obviously endanger themselves or violate their instinct for self-preservation. The effects of the command will fade after a day has passed.
Sapient targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.
The hacker is capable of crafting bottles of nanites. When poured on a broken object, the nanites go to work restoring it to a functioning state. The goop shimmers and crawls, sparking with blue electricity as it reforms broken parts.
Spend 10 Rounds and use up this a bottle of metallic fluid. Select a Object within arm's reach that is no larger than an SUV. Cannot be used on Alien technology. More than half the target object must be present in order to begin repairs. Roll 7 dice Difficulty 6, dice penalties do not apply.
If you succeed, your target is repaired back to a functional state. If you fail, you spend the full time working before realizing you cannot repair the target.
The mystic channels and communes directly with another person's spirit, allowing the two of them to freely exchange both physical and mental wounds between each other.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a Sapient target within arm's reach. Your target may Resist to cancel the transfer.
You may choose a single instance of one of the following to transfer from your target to yourself, or from yourself to them:
Whenever you transfer an Injury, it's Severity increases by 1. Whenever you transfer Mind damage or Traumas, the recipient takes an additional Mind damage.
After you finish activating this Effect, you cannot move quicker than a walk (max 15 feet per Round) for one minute and suffer a -1 dice penalty for an hour. Exhaustion’s penalty and duration stacks with multiple activations.
The aristocrat knows a ritual that allows them to rent the best version of any item. They set $10,000 worth of cash on fire and place the item to be upgraded in the fire as well. While in the flame, the item morphs into a high-end version of itself. After a while, it reverts.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a non-Alien Device within arm's reach. You must use up $10,000 cash (or equivalent) in order to activate this Effect. Cannot be used to improve Armor.
Lasts the next two hours. Your target receives 3 extra dice to all actions taken for its intended use. Attacking with an upgraded weapon grants +3 Weapon Damage instead of additional dice.
The mad scientist produces thorium cores that can be used to upgrade tools and other devices. The core supercharges the item, increasing its quality and rendering it indestructible for a period. However, once the core runs dry, the object is rendered less useful than it was before. The core crackles with blue electricity while active.
Spend 1 Action and use up this glowing blue disk. Select a non-Alien Device within arm's reach. Cannot be used to improve Armor.
Lasts the next two hours. 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.
After the Effect ends, any upgraded targets suffer a -2 dice penalty until they are either repaired or upgraded again.