black threads of the fine silken object shoot off of the gloves, attaching themselves to the target, before the strings find their place as it releases any locking mechanism in its way
Spend an Action. Select a Non-Alien door, container, knot, or lock within 20 feet.
You may lock, unlock, and/or open your target.
Patch touches the target, and the memories of every fear imagined by humanity rushes through the target's mind as a dark shadow overpowering mental barriers, manifested in their eyes rolling back and them going ice-cold. Once returned, those who couldn't pull themselves back are forever changed.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. Roll Perception + Alertness at Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 8. If they are incapacitated or unconscious, they fail automatically and their Outcome is 0.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes Mind damage equal to the Contested Outcome. If you deal at least 3 Mind damage, the target will gain a phobia as a Trauma. 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.
Sometimes things don't work out. Sometimes they malfunction or go haywire.
For you? They seem to go well every time.
Thanks to movie magic (and some fudging of the coefficient of friction, though you don't realize it), any weapons that are swung at you seem to melt and become malformed as they collide with both you and the surrounding air, so long as you wear this kickass pair of eyewear that're emitting this li'l field of movie magic.
If you don’t pull em down and wink, then these babies won’t work. Little equations float around the glasses whenever they’re used in this way, too.
You still gotta act like you're taking the blow though. The trick works best when you get the fight choreography... just right.
How else will the audience appreciate the work put into this.
This Effect activates whenever you are attacked by a melee weapon. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a melee weapons within arm's reach no larger than a duffel bag (35 liters). Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. Roll Dexterity + Athletics 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.
I manipulate them
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Non-Alien Creature within 20 feet.
For the next day, you may issue specific commands to your target which they will be compelled to follow.
Your commands must be relatively simple and within the target’s intellectual grasp. 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.
John uses the tip of his pen to hypnotize the target, and compels them to follow his orders. The target will become a "puppet" of John's, and they will not appear to be themselves.
Exert your Mind and spend at least one Action. Select a number of targets equal to your Charisma within 100 feet. You must actively and obviously use pen to activate this Effect. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. Your target may be actively engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your targets. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If the contested Outcome is positive, your targets 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 minutes. You cannot issue another suggestion to the target until 10 minutes after they have completed the first command or 10 minutes after a failure.
They will be unaware that they are under any sort of compulsion until the effect wears off, but they will appear obviously mind-controlled the entire time to anyone observing them. 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. 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.
You must have some means of communicating this command to your targets, but no one other than you and them will understand or perceive it.
You may activate this Effect as a Reaction to contest any Action a valid target is taking, reducing their Outcome by your own. Your command has no impact beyond disrupting their Action.
This Effect ends if you are stunned, fall asleep, go unconscious, are incapacitated, die, or if your total Stress ever exceeds 5.
Henry extends his arm straight, and, holding a small source of zinc in the same hand, points with his index finger directly at the target. His arm drags back and forth slightly, looking for sensitive electronics inside.
"The automated lensing systems seem absolutely shot. At least they're pointing forward-ish. It's a lot less handy, but I can effectively 'aim' them at the target. It's not entirely unlike aiming a gun, actually. The matter forge isn't working quite right either, but that's fine. Lith can just strip the electrons needed locally. I'd just rather they not be from me."
The cyberwarfare suite is controlled by an onboard AI, which Henry was very happy to finally get working. Even if they bicker some. For example, Lith will never admit failing a hack herself. It's just Henry moving his hand the wrong way while she was working. When he does hold his arm steady enough, though, Lith is able to read and write electron states directly in the device's memory. This permits her to influence the digital state of a device directly. By reflex, she ensures she won't be detected for the operation of the mission.
Spend 2 Actions. Select a Computer within 20 feet. Can be used on Alien technology. You must use up a small amount of zinc in order to activate this Effect. Roll Dexterity + Firearms, with the Difficulty set by the GM depending on the security of the system you are hacking. Sapient targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you may issue a single command to the targeted system. This command must have a specific outcome or be a request for specific login credentials. The command you issue must be within the machine's current capabilities. For example, you cannot order a standard security camera to grow legs and walk around.
Your hack cannot be discovered by system administrators or firewall software for a number of hours equal to your Outcome on the initial roll.
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 body and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Battle Scar: Extensive Augmentation - Head - Your head has had extensive augmentation performed to it, and some tradeoffs had to be made. Take +2 damage from called shots to the head. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Battle Scar heals over the course of the next day.
The Toon performs some sort of cartoonish act of violence. This may be handing someone a bomb, hitting someone with a cartoon mallet, burping a burp that is so noxious it melts flesh, or anything else as long as it is cartoonish.
The attack is more of a throwaway gag than a plot element, so any props or properties of the attack are incidental and disappear immediately. Animated mallets evaporate in a puff of smoke, fire does not spread, and electricity cannot power devices.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target within 45 feet. Roll Charisma + Performance 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. Armor is fully effective against this damage.
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.
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.
The Thief examines an object closely for a minute to appraise its value. As their eyes dance across the subject, their pupils split vertically, and their irises fade to gold. If it is a particularly valuable item, the Thief may greedily lick their lips, revealing a forked tongue.
Within a minute, they have determined how materially valuable the object is and why.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a target Object within arm's reach. At the end of your investigation, roll Charisma + Culture at Difficulty 6.
You learn all the following information about your target:
You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.
The doctor is a master at surgical transplantation. As long as they have a donor part, they can replace any permanent, lingering battle scars on their patient. Of course, the transplanted part doesn't always match, and the patient must be careful to follow the doctor's aftercare orders, or the replacement will be rejected.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a Living target within arm's reach. You must use up a donor body part matching the injured area in order to activate this Effect. Select a Battle Scar on your target to treat.
The treated Battle Scar heals as you finish activating this Effect. If used on a Battle Scar caused by an Unstabilized Injury, that Injury is Stabilized.
You may specify a specific condition that the patient must adhere to. If they break this condition, the treatment is immediately reversed. Record this regimen as a Condition. Lasts until the end of their next Contract or 1 month for non-Contractors.
Healing a Battle Scar in this way leaves behind a mismatched replacement on the target which cannot be healed.