This was Valery's first sign that she was special. She had always had an aptitude for knowing way too much about death, but in the hospice she could just... ease them gently into the next world. Those who are effected by this ability can see a form overlapping hers, varying on where their soul will go after they die. For those who told her what she looked like in the hospice, it was usually some sort of angel, but it can also appear as a dark hooded figure, a flaming demon, a loved one who passed before, a being to whom they sold their soul, etc.
Spend an Action to activate. Select a target within 45 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless The target must be close enough to death that using this power would kill or destroy them. If you do not deal enough damage to kill them, your action is wasted. Roll Intellect + Occult Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling Mind, Difficulty 6.
If the contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much damage plus 3. Armor is fully effective against this damage.
This Gift's level is capped at 2 Gifts and cannot be increased further.
Mikula Selyaninovich, the legendary bogatyr, was known for his unparalleled strength, not just of body but of presence. His very being carried the weight of the earth itself, and those who stood before him felt as if they were being crushed under an invisible force. Harry Johnson, striving to embody this immense power, taps into the legacy of Mikula when he unleashes his “Crushing Gaze.”
When Harry activates this power, it’s as though he draws upon the ancient strength of Mikula, whose connection to the earth and its unyielding force was unmatched. The air around Harry becomes dense, heavy with a primal energy that can be felt even by those unaware of its source. It’s not something seen but something sensed—a deep, instinctual recognition that the man before them carries within him the spirit of an unstoppable force.
For those who meet Harry’s gaze, the experience is overwhelming. They are suddenly gripped by the same crushing pressure that Mikula’s enemies must have felt, as if the very ground beneath them is pulling them down, dragging them into the depths of the earth. Their mind buckles under this invisible weight, assaulted by the sheer power of Harry’s presence, which echoes the ancient bogatyr’s legendary might.
This is not just fear—it’s a confrontation with the raw, unrelenting power that Mikula embodied. The target feels their own insignificance in the face of such strength, a mental and spiritual blow that leaves them shaken to their core. Even after the moment passes, the lingering sense of dread remains, as if they have glimpsed the true depth of Harry’s potential to embody the legendary bogatyr.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Sapient or Creature target within 20 feet. Roll Brawn + Influence Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7. If they are incapacitated or unconscious, they fail automatically.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target loses that much Source. Once their Source is depleted, excess Outcome is applied as Mind Damage. If you deal at least 3 Mind damage, the target gains a Trauma of the GM's choice.
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.
...
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target within arm's reach which has both fuel and oxygen available (if you are starting a new fire). Roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour.
You may start or extinguish a fire as large as a torch's flame at your target. 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 2 Damage per Round, 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 depleted by any Damage dealt, destroying the Armor once it reaches 0.
You may extinguish flames as a Reaction. This does not extend to explosives.
You may Exert your Mind to light everything within 20 feet on fire OR to extinguish and/or prevent any fires you wish within range for the next two hours. This includes explosives.
As Ware proffers the tech to the potential borrower, a long EULA document displays in a hologram to the target. It has an accept button and a scroll bar, and accepts a vocal response as well. It also notes near the top that accepting the tech will also count as accepting the EULA. The (cliff notes of the) usual EULA is in the Extended Text, but may be modified for specific scenarios by Ware. It is written in Legalese, and thus will require a contested Intellect + (Culture or Influence) roll to decipher fully.
Things marked with an "*" are unclear to anyone failing the contested roll.
Terms that must be followed by the person accepting the technology, hereafter referred to as the "Borrower":
- The Borrower must not, directly or indirectly, knowingly act in a way that inconveniences or harms Ware without her permission.
- The Borrower must return the technology at the time (or condition) specified by Ware upon receipt of the technology. If they miss that deadline, the Borrower has 1 hour to rectify this before they are considered to not have adhered to this condition.
- The Borrower must not, without express permission from Ware, reverse engineer or otherwise attempt to replicate her proprietary technology. *
Upon breaking the aforementioned Terms, the Borrower will have the following penalties applied to them if they have not removed or otherwise left behind the borrowed technology. If the Borrower breaks these terms while not using the technology, any attempt to use the technology moving forward will activate these penalties.
- The Borrower, hereafter referred to as the "Oath-breaker", will be branded as an Oath-Breaker via a sigil on their forehead.
- The Oath-breaker will have their dominant arm removed, and the wound cauterized.
- The Oath-Breaker will be rendered unconscious for 12 hours.*
- The Oath-breaker will be given a mental compulsion that renders it difficult to attempt to betray anyone else.*
This Effect cannot be used unless the target is accepting WareTech.
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 accept the offered technology 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.
When crafting your oath, you may opt to enforce compliance. If you do, any participant that wishes to break the deal must take 3 Mind damage and succeed a Self-Control roll. They may attempt once per day.
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.
Wall breaks off a piece of his brick exterior which grows to create a new wall or other similar type of structure.
Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend an Action. Select a Location within arm's reach.
Select one of the following alterations to create out of Brick 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.
If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.
Spend 2 Actions. Select a Device within arm's reach. Does not work 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.
When targeting non-computer devices, you may operate switches, buttons, dials, levers, and latches.
Every hack you make leaves behind a lightning bolt in the system as a personal "calling card" that informs anyone who uses the system that the hack occurred.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
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.
Doc puts his hands on you and begins to mutter to himself in french. The effect is instant and horrible. You begin to remember all of the sins of your past, all the ways that you've wronged those who loved you. All of the terrible, evil things you've done on these contracts in order to survive. Doc seems to be in the grips of similar memories, tears running down his chin and dripping onto his hands that are pressed tightly against you. At the point where your mind feels like it's about to break, it's over. Just as quickly as it began. You feel your wounds begin to close.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. Select a Living target within arm's reach. 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. Your target must make a Trauma roll to reap the benefits of this Effect. They may choose to Resist the Effect and not make the roll. Choose a specific Injury on your target that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Charisma + Medicine at Difficulty 6.
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.
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 doctor heals severe injuries in minutes using only standard medical supplies. Lacerations seal under the needle and thread, and reset bones can be used shortly after.
However, for the treatment to last, the patient must adhere to any aftercare regimen the doctor requires. Those who violate the doctor's orders suffer their injuries anew.
Exert your Mind and spend 15 minutes. Select a Living target within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use basic medical supplies to activate this Effect. Choose a specific Injury on your target that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Intellect + Medicine 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. 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.
The spy is able to transform an ordinary ballpoint pen into a monitoring device that is inconspicuous enough to blend in to most settings, but advanced enough to allow 360 degree surveillance as well as audio capture, which is sent to their smartphone.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within 10 feet. You must actively and obviously use a ballpoint pen to activate this Effect.
You place a ward, which is fixed to its initial location. You can hear and see through the ward as though you were standing at its location. Your wards last 3 hours. You may have at most 3 wards active at once.
The ward requires Concentration to monitor, though it will remain active until you deactivate it. It can be detected with a roll and destroyed through mundane means.