Sometimes, you feel the warm embrace of a loved one. You wish it were true that they've been watching over you, almost obsessively pulling you away from any sign of danger.
Yet, the world requires you to keep a level head. That rational part of you is compelled to pay attention to your surroundings and measure the trajectory of each attack, just keeping your actions calculated enough to dodge them all.
Occasionally you can't, and you watch as your muse jumps in front of an attack for you. Your eyes ever so briefly reflect the warm hues of their hair and their flames.
The only drawback is that you get distracted from time to time.
On missed opportunities:
Sometimes, Koriol swears he can hear a whisper from the west winds: "I'll provide for you what I could never hope to have." He doesn't really understand. What is this providing, besides more time that he'd just spend in tedium? Does he even deserve this more than ________?
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Roll Intellect + Investigation 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.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is Koriol's eyes turn orange. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Haphephobia: If someone touches you without your consent, roll Self-Control to avoid taking disproportional revenge on them, such as harming them physically or psychologically. Exert your mind to let someone touch you.
On this artifact, there is a sizable aperture that leads inexplicably to a mass of hot metal fibres.
To activate this effect, the user reaches in and tears off chunks of fibre, which writhe and wrap painfully around the user's outstretched limb. They briefly cool and solidify, taking on the limb's appearance, before dislodging and becoming independently animate.
After three minions have been summoned, the aperture will close and remain closed until any minion is destroyed or the effect ends.
Thin metal membranes stretch outward from the centre, allowing for flight, and a frayed mouth opens across the front, mimicking the aperture on the artifact.
The minions can perceive and communicate using their antenna-like fibres and mouth respectively. They can rest in an amorphous state on your person, but take on the form of whatever appendage they first came into contact with otherwise. Their foremost edges can sharpen at will, and can deliver hot, piercing strikes as needed.
Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend an Action.
Summon up to 3 Sapient amorphous limbs at your location. They last until they are destroyed They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. This Artifact may have at most 3 minions active at a time.
If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.
As the user’s skin falls to the ground in a gooey steamy mess, it is replaced by the disguise, as though the user’s original skin was simply an elaborate costume.
While the from the outside, it appears the user is being flayed alive, they are in no danger as the skin sloughing off is comparable to the dead, first layer of skin most people have.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute.
You become disguised in a manner of your choosing. The disguise lasts until you either activate a new disguise, or choose to end the effect.
The new appearance may have a different sex, age, and race to your own, and you may alter height by up to a foot and your weight by 50%. Your disguise cannot directly mimic an existing person. You cannot alter your clothes. A disguise cannot affect your Attributes or other stats.
You may roll Charisma + Crafts to attempt to make your disguise Beautiful. If your Outcome is 6 or higher, non-Effect Charisma rolls where your good looks could help are rolled at -2 Difficulty. If you fail or botch, you are ugly instead, and non-Effect Charisma rolls are made at +2 Difficulty.
You may Exert your Mind and spend a minute to apply a disguise to a target. The target can Resist your attempt. The disguise lasts until you choose to end the Effect and counts as a Battle Scar. All the same restrictions on the disguise’s appearance apply.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see The user’s skin seemingly slough off to reveal the tissue and bone beneath.
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.
Veronica takes a little vaping break and comes back feeling incredibly refreshed.
Uses Moe-Magic instead of culture.
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend 2 Actions. You must actively and obviously use a Vape to activate this Effect. Choose a specific Injury on yourself that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Charisma + Culture at Difficulty 8.
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.
With a flick of a card, the user's form shifts into a new one, their skin washed over with black carapace and replaced anew.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. You must actively and obviously use Wristwatch to activate this Effect.
You become disguised in a manner of your choosing. The disguise lasts for two hours, or you may end it early at will.
The new appearance may have a different sex, age, and race to your own, and you may alter height by up to a foot and your weight by 50%. Your disguise may directly mimic the appearance of a specific individual. You cannot alter your clothes. A disguise cannot affect your Attributes or other stats.
You may roll Charisma + Crafts to attempt to make your disguise Beautiful. If your Outcome is 6 or higher, non-Effect Charisma rolls where your good looks could help are rolled at -2 Difficulty. If you fail or botch, you are ugly instead, and non-Effect Charisma rolls are made at +2 Difficulty.
This Effect ends if you take an Injury or are stunned or incapacitated.
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Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action.
Your Stress from Injuries is reduced to 0. Lasts three hours. Does not reduce Stress from Mind Damage.
The Thief has a stash in which they can store a few objects. It can be accessed through any burlap sack.
Spend a Quick Action. You must actively and obviously use a burlap sack to activate this Effect.
You may withdraw an item from your stash, or add an item that is within arm’s reach to your stash. You may only stash targets which are in your possession, grappled, or otherwise controlled by you.
You may store Objects in your stash, each no larger than something which could fit inside a briefcase (15 liters), and you may store up to 3 things at a time.
You may choose to equip any equipment you withdraw at no additional cost.
The time-twister presses a button on one of their wristwatches, and, in a flash of orange light, disappears. They have skipped 12 seconds forward in time. To them, the travel is instantaneous, but everyone else must wait until they reappear.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use a clock or watch to activate this Effect.
You phase out of reality for 4 Rounds. During this time, you cannot perceive or affect the outside world or take any Actions. You cannot move. Nothing can interact with you in any way.
When you phase out, you may bring up to 1 additional target in arm's reach with you.
By focusing, the Thief may shroud their hands in shadowy tendrils that seek nearby objects like static-charged hairs. They cast themselves across any surface the Thief touches, acting as anchors that allow the Thief to scale even the sheerest walls.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You may move easily and without a roll in any of the following situations. Lasts 2 hours.
The Vampire may channel their inner beast and take the form of an animal. It is said they may transform into either a wolf or a bat. If used too often, the Vampire risks losing themselves to their beast forever.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. If you fail or Botch, you receive one Mind Damage and a new Trauma.
You transform into a vampire bat or a wolf until you transform into something else or choose to return to your original form. See the Extended System text for stats.
While transformed, you cannot use any equipment (including Artifacts and Consumables), and you do not have access to any of your 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.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: A disfigured face with bat-like ears.
The Necromancer stands over a corpse and makes a series of grandiose lifting gestures. The corpse rises from the ground as though suspended by invisible strings, barks a pained groan, and lands on its feet, now a full-fledged member of the living dead.
Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend an Action. You must use up corpse in order to activate this Effect.
Summon up to 3 Non-Sapient, Animate zombie at your location. They last for two hours or until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 3 minions active at a time.
You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.
If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.