Oz brings the cigarette to his lips and taps the ash off its end with a casual flick, as if entirely unaware of the grotesque transformation about to unfold. A single flake of ash drifts downward—slow, serene, unaffected by gravity's urgency or the surrounding chaos. It hovers and twists lazily in the air, utterly unbothered by the screams, blood, or tension nearby.
Then, where that speck of ash touches the earth, flesh begins to grow—slow and deliberate at first, like muscle stretching beneath skin. Faces—flattened, stretched, and locked in silent torment begin to rise, pressed like frescoes against the ever-thickening mass. The wall expands outward in a straight line, up to 40 feet long and 10 feet high, forming a solid slab of compacted skin, muscle, bone, and cursed soul-matter. It’s flat enough to walk across... for the most part -- though the sensation underfoot is sickening.
Observers feel the air grow heavier, the world slightly wrong—like Hell has blinked into their reality for just a moment. And all the while, that first ashflake drifts to rest... as though it had nothing to do with any of this.
Oz didn’t learn this from a wizard’s tome or a back-alley occultist. He learned it from a creature that most would’ve overlooked—a frail, withered thing, ancient beyond comprehension but hollowed out by time. It wasn’t terrifying when Oz found it. It was hiding. Hunted by a third-rate monster hunter with more bravado than brains.
The thing could barely stand. Its claws were chipped, its eyes sunken and dull. But when Oz saw the hunter raise their weapon, something in him rebelled. Maybe it was pity. Maybe curiosity. Maybe a whisper of something older.
In gratitude, the creature offered him a secret—a technique older than most names, passed down not to preserve power, but to be rid of it. A method born in the Fifth Circle of Hell, back when Wrath still had shape and weight.
The technique hinges on equivalence: a tiny, forgotten thing—a piece of ash—can be traded, momentarily, for something vast and wrathful and real. The ash is a symbol. Burned, spent, weightless. Exactly the opposite of what it summons. That’s the balance. That’s the key.
The wall doesn't scream, but it wants to.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within 50 feet. You must actively and obviously use Cigarrettes to activate this Effect.
Select one of the following alterations to create out of Human flesh, skin and faces, dense as a wall of concrete. originating at the target:
The alteration begins to form when you activate this Effect and finishes forming on your initiative in the next Round. Until it finishes forming, it is not guaranteed to function.
This alteration lasts three hours but may be prematurely destroyed or altered. Your alterations may be broken through with appropriate tools. Anyone attempting to break through must roll Brawn + a relevant Ability. A cumulative Outcome of 6 across all attempts breaks a hole large enough to move through. See the extended system text for GM guidance on various tools.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see a literal wall of corpses and suffering souls..
When Grace activates Jeremy's eye, it causes spirits to possess the device - this results in spirits visibly entering the device & running amok.
Exert your Mind and spend 2 Actions. Select a Device within 20 feet. Can be used on Alien technology. Roll Intellect + Technology, 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.
You may issue a "self-destruct" command that leaves the hacked system's hardware inoperable, even if that machine had no such functionality previously. Only works on Computers.
Your command does not have to take effect immediately. Instead, upon a successful Hack, you may specify a condition under which the specified command is issued or simply suspend the Command until you desire to activate it.
If your command does not require bypassing the security of the target (for example, typing on a computer that is unlocked), you do not need to Exert your Mind to activate this Effect, and activation only takes a single Action.
Your Hack cannot be reversed through mundane means for a number of hours equal to your Outcome.
When targeting non-computer devices, you may operate switches, buttons, dials, levers, and latches.
Every hack you make leaves behind the machine is obviously Haunted in some way in the system as a personal "calling card" that informs anyone who uses the system that the hack occurred.
This ward is a plain King of Clubs, its made of paper and can be destroyed and rendered useless by simply ripping it apart. While this card is placed somewhere the user can see and hear as if they were the king depicted on the card. Those who can see through stealthy will notice the king depicted on the card actively looks around with suspicion at what's within his line of sight.
The King of Clubs is a paranoid sort, his rule under a constant threat of being overthrown by his younger brother, the King of Spades, and his vast army of spearmen. He's always observing quietly from the sidelines, to him anyone could be a threat to his rule, even those of his own court.
Spend an Action and use up this King of Clubs (unless you succeed on 1d10, Difficulty 7). Select a target within 10 feet.
You place a ward, which is fixed to a target Object that can be moved and repositioned. You can hear and see through the ward as though you were standing at its location. You may have at most 1 wards running at once.
The ward requires Concentration to monitor, though it will remain active until you deactivate it. The ward can be discovered if someone knows what they are looking for, but is otherwise inconspicuous and cannot be identified as a ward.
Sudden implosion! Or explosion. One of them. It’s blue and purple, and yellow, and that specific shade of chemical reacting white.
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. The area within 25 feet of you immediately and obviously becomes imminently dangerous. Roll Dexterity + Occult at Difficulty 6. Targets inside the radius may attempt an appropriate Reaction at GM’s discretion. Finding a physical barrier to use as cover will cut total Damage taken in half (applies after Reaction roll but before Armor).
If the Outcome is positive, your blast hits everything within 25 feet of you with Damage equal to your Outcome + 4. If you botched the activation roll, you will also take full Damage from the blast, otherwise it will not hurt you.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see Glowing spacematter and incredibly sharp stars explode!.
Selia spends time creating a domain of communion. Within the zone no signs of life are visible as the color becomes muted and sound becomes dim. Reciting an old Italian ritual and presenting the Fetter Selia then hones in to the emotions of the spirit and uses it to create a verbal link between realms, letting the deceased talk to her.
Exert your Mind and spend one minute to activate. Select a Dead target of which you have A Fetter belonging to the target. (An object or person that the spirit is emotionally charged towards).
The target can communicate in your language for the next hour.
Letting out a soft and melodious tune, a translucent golden film coated with black symbols appears over her target. The barrier sheds shimmering golden-black sparks as it deflects damage.
Madame Ianthe, in her quest for freedom, has made a host of friends with metaphysical beings. It is from them her strength comes as she speaks her dreams into reality.
Spend an Action. Select a Animate target within arm's reach. Roll Charisma + Occult at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you create a barrier around your target, which absorbs the next Outcome +4 Damage. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. This Artifact 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 Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 1.
The beastmaster puts their nose to the ground and sniffs about the area. Their feral nostrils tell them what sorts of creatures live in the area, and who lays claim to each region.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 100 feet Can only be activated while you are in the wilderness. At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Survival at Difficulty 6.
You learn the following information about the area:
You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.
The psychic can reach into another's' mind and pilfer their deepest memories. Doing so causes the psychic's nose to bleed and is exceptionally draining.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living, Animate target within 25 feet. You must maintain Concentration while the effect is active. Roll Intellect + Investigation at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you are able to view your target's memories. If you fail, the target knows you're attempting to read their memories.
You may ask a number of specific questions about their memory equal to your Contested Outcome. For example, “what is their computer password,” “What were they doing at 4:00PM yesterday,” etc. You cannot get answers to broad, analytical questions like “are they a good person?” or “what are their plans for the future?”
Each memory takes as long to read as it takes to answer the question. When replaying a full memory, it is replayed in double time.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is your nose bleeding. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
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 Necromancer may exert their will on any undead creature, forcing it to act as they desire. The Necromancer's eyes turn completely black, and they speak a command to the creature in the language of the dead.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Non-Alien, Non-Sapient, Animate target within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is undead.
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.
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 Skeleton Key slips easily into any keyhole and turns without a fuss.
Spend an Action.
You may lock, unlock, and/or open any number of doors, containers, knots, or locks within arm's reach of you. Cannot be used on Alien technology.
If you successfully operate a lock, you may choose to destroy it, rendering it inoperable.