As Zephyren taps on the fire glyph, a flame sparks to life and hovers in the palm of his hand. The fire doesn't touch close enough to his skin to burn, and it grows until Zephyren snaps his fingers.
On fireplace size:
Zephyren imagines a fireplace would be 48" x 36", but he wouldn't know because he's never needed one until coming to Canada.
On fires:
Since when did he like fires so much? He isn't sure; the flickering orange glow just beckons and mesmerizes the longer he looks, and his old friends once pointed out that the reflection turns his irises a bright amber orange from the usual dark brown. If he didn't know better he'd think he was born for this. It'll be his making and his ruin. He knows it. If only he could be immune, but he also wonders if that would cause him to lose any sense of warmth completely. As much as he doesn't mind right now, he gets an inkling he'd regret it soon enough.
On spellcasting:
He only needs to snap his fingers to set someone on fire, but he could also go out of his way to do a little choreography. Recently Zephyren watched ATLA, and he was incredibly inspired by the firebenders, colonialism and genocide aside. The moveset was similar to certain martial arts he had briefly learned, and he's sure that if he started practicing again he could master it someday. For once this is something where Zephyren would consider "looking cool".
On the glyph:
Zephyren has carved it into the amber pendant that Caliose gave him, and he's starting to ink the design onto some of his other belongings too. For now he has a stack of post-it notes in his pocket with the glyph design. He's not the most artistic person he knows, but practically everyone around him has been telling him to draw more, and this is how Zephyren will honour that. In fact, Koriol was the one who helped make the glyph because his older sister had some strange runic books lying around.
Spend an Action. Select a target within 20 feet which has both fuel and oxygen available (if you are starting a new fire). You must actively and obviously use any object with a fire glyph designed by Zephyren to activate this Effect.
You may start or extinguish a fire as large as a firepit's fire at your target. Extinguishing a fire does not cost Exertion. You may create or extinguish fires the size of a lighter or candle flame without Exerting your Mind. Your fires require fuel and oxygen in order to continue burning.
Lighting a target on fire deals 4 Damage each Round on your turn, starting in the Round after the one in which they caught fire. This Damage is reduced by Armor, but the target’s Armor rating will be shredded by any Damage dealt, destroying material Armor once it reaches 0.
You may extinguish flames as a Reaction. This does not extend to explosives.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
You are a jack of all trades, if you really try you can be skilled in almost any field of expertise however you cannot surpass someone who was specialised in that area
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Your Intellect rating is increased by 0. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Intellect (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).
You also gain the following effects:
The symbiotic organism has fully bonded with the host. They no longer risk rejection or sudden germination, & have full access to the cognitive enhancement of the symbiote. Sometimes, while thinking hard, onlookers might note unsightly bulges in the cranium where the tendrils pulse rhythmically.
You gain the following benefits as long as you have your Algernon's Flower.
Your Intellect rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Intellect (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).
If you are witnessed actively using this Effect, whoever sees it can make a Perception + Alertness roll at Difficulty 6. A complete success reveals the source of your power.
You also gain the following effects:
Witnessing Hemokinesis in action is a deeply unsettling experience. Participants and observers are likely to be disturbed by the eerie and morbid nature of the ability. As the blood seeps from the target, the air seems to thicken with an unspoken malevolence. The victim may appear pale and weakened as their life force is momentarily siphoned, leaving them disoriented and drained.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living target within 45 feet. You must use up Blood in order to activate this Effect. Roll Intellect + Occult Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling Body, Difficulty 6.
If the contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 4. The target's material Armor is completely ignored.
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.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see Blood leak from the target.
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 Shake hands 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.
Whenever a participant breaks the oath, you are immediately made aware and may even witness the act as if standing nearby.
It is obvious to your target that the oath you are proposing will be supernaturally enforced.
Looking through a mirrored surface, the reflection shimmers and changes, showing Barry another place, from a perspective very similar to his own.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target Location within 75 feet. You must actively and obviously use A Mirrored Surface to activate this Effect.
You may perceive things as if you were standing at that Location for the next 30 minutes. You may move your senses back and forth between your projected location and your real location without prematurely ending the effect. You may only have one projected location active at a time.
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 witch knows bad things happen to bad people. By bringing attention to a karmic imbalance, she can hurry it along, causing her target's bad luck to catch up with them. The target finds themselves suffering injuries due to freakishly bad luck until they cleanse themselves or perish.
Exert your Mind and spend one minute. Select a Living target within 25 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target deserves it. Roll Charisma + Occult at Difficulty 6. Your target may resist by rolling Body at Difficulty 7.
If you succeed, the target is afflicted with a Condition that causes one of the following symptoms:
The affliction is not treatable by modern medicine. It may be diagnosed by rolling Intellect + Occult at Difficulty 6, and can be cured by bathing fully in clear running water.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is you staring at the target, speaking calmly. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
The aquamancer dissolves into a flowing pool of semi-solid water. Anything they were carrying is left behind in a damp pile. While transformed, they may squeeze through tiny gaps, and are extremely resilient against most standard attacks.
Resolidifying is exhausting.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You transform into a flowing pool of water for the next minute. You may end the effect early and return to your normal form at will. Your structure must remain relatively contiguous. Observers will view you as an unusual entity moving with a singular purpose.
While in this form, you can squeeze through any gap that is not water-tight.
Injuries from standard attacks are reduced to Severity 1, but Damage from AOE effects is increased by 1.
You cannot communicate or use equipment while transformed. Your equipment does not transform with you beyond basic body coverings. You cannot carry any items while transformed.
You have access to your Powers while transformed.
After this Effect ends, you cannot move quicker than a walk (15 feet per Round) for one minute and suffer a -1 dice penalty for an hour.
The magician dons their wizard hat, raises their arms, wiggles their fingers, and a rain of sparks fly woosh around an object. It shudders to life and follows the magicians commands, including to do things it was not designed to do.
Exert your Mind and an Action. Select a Inanimate target within arm's reach which could fit inside a briefcase (15 liters). You must actively and obviously use a pointed hat with stars and moons to activate this Effect.
Your target will become Animated indefinitely. You may choose to end the effect at will, as a Free Action. You can maintain a max of 4 targets animated at once.
Animated Objects have the following restrictions and capabilities:
The aquamancer channels a nearby source of water into a flexible whip, which can be used to attack or to defend.
Spend an Action. Select a target within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use at least a gallon of water to activate this Effect. Roll Dexterity + Athletics 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 4.
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.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.