Jake tensed his body just as he was once instructed... before an overwhelming pain coursed through his body, feeling like he was burning alive from the inside out. He couldn't help but scream as he felt his back start to swell like a balloon, his skin darkening substantially as he held his head. He coughed up blood and bile as his arms began to unfold and expand, his skin growing soft and malleable - then the true horror began.
His body would swell and shrink, swell and shrink, like a mix between a bubble and a lung... And it kept growing. Eventually, it grew until it was twice his original size before unfolding into an array of flesh, bone, and blood, dancing and layering on itself as it took on a new, terrible form: his head was longer, like the Xenomorph if half of the back of its head was missing. His jaw opened and fell slack, easily going past a foot in length. His back was heavily arched into a slouching position as it looked incredibly swollen, spines protruding at random points from it as it's spine extended out before slowly retracting back in. Then there were his limbs... His arms were thin yet layered with muscle while his legs were spindly and long, his feet and hands now reduced to bone talons and claws respectively. Instead of a cry of pain, it let out a series of wet clicks before it's throat opened to reveal a flesh sack, which inflated as the thing let out a deafening roar, declaring dominance and a demand for bloodshed.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate.
You transform into Abberant Humanoid for 30 minutes. You have access to all of your Powers while you are Abberant Humanoid, and you can use your equipment. Your Battle Scars, Injuries, and physical Liabilities are carried over between forms. While transformed, your Brawn is increased by 1 and your Dexterity is increased by 1.
Your alternate form is its own deadly weapon. Unarmed attacks made in your alternate form deal +3 Bonus Damage (instead of the typical -2).
You do not suffer wound penalties while in your Alternate Form.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation or for its duration will almost certainly be disturbed to see His body twisting, stretching, and folding out like someone knitting his corpse into a new form..
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: The area of his chest where his heart is located is swollen, the veins around it inflamed and a deep red and blue, making it hard or impossible to hide..
While transformed, you automatically fail any Mind roll to resist an impulse and suffer -3 dice on all other Mind rolls.
You cannot speak any coherent verbal language and must resort to other means of communication.
When in the throes of a Mutation episode, Edgar will occasionally burst, erupting as nightmare made flesh: injuries inflicted by this event tend to be burns from flaming ichor, lashing from barbed tendrils, or the bites of the maddened dead that he has previously consumed. This event can go on for the duration of the Mutation episode, though is generally short-lived, with the various pseudopods expending their energy quickly before crawling off to die.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. This Effect cannot be used unless Final Form is active and Alternate Form is active. The area within 10 feet of you immediately and obviously becomes imminently dangerous. Roll Brawn + Melee 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 10 feet of you with Damage equal to your Outcome + 2. If you botched the activation roll, you will also take full Damage from the blast, otherwise it will not hurt you.
For the next 3 Rounds following the initial blast, this Effect will deal a new blast of damage to any targets remaining within range of you. The damage decays by 2 each Round.
Any flammable Objects within the radius during the blast will catch fire, and any being who takes at least 4 Damage will catch fire. Starting the Round after they caught fire, flaming targets take 2 Damage per Round until the fire is extinguished.
If you successfully hit your target, the value of any Armor they are wearing is reduced by 2. For material armor, this penalty lasts until it is repaired. For intrinsic armor, it lasts until the end of Combat and any relevant wound is healed.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see Edgar's skin split like a rotten fruit, erupting with lashing tendrils, flaming ichor, & the screaming faces of the dead.
Got my Canines done when I was younger -- yeah, that's right. 24 Karat.
She rips her right canine out with her thumb and pointer. It makes an awful sound.
She holds it up to the lock - and you watch as it wiggles in and clicks it open.
Does it hurt? Does what hurt? I'm joking. Not too badly, hijito - ever dig a bullet out of your leg?
Spend an Action to activate. Select a door, lock, or locked target within arm's reach. Cannot be used on Alien technology.
You may lock, unlock, and/or open your target.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Check the Lock.
You can speak to and understand any animal. Others who witness cannot make out what you are saying, just incomprehensible nonsense to anyone who cannot also commune with animals. Not words or babbling, more grunts and random mouth and throat noises. The animals only seem to make occasional, natural noises, not even constant. Closer observation will notice your irises have turned golden colored.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You may understand and communicate to Creatures as if you are fluent in a relevant language.
Visually, your body is no different, and that's the goal. Your fears, your pain, your emotions - they all need to be repressed. Now only accessible in the dreamscape, you suffer from terrifying and painful night terrors. In your sleep, your injuries and insecurities come back to eat you alive. It's all a farce, really. Until your body can truly be rid of all pain, you will suffer like everyone else.
Injuries inflicted upon the body feel warm, often due to the blood produced by the injury. Your nerves cannot receive intense signals that warn of unimaginable pain, in part due to a never-ending supply of adrenaline to the body. They are at most a light burning that tickles the nerves. While noticeable, it has no bearing on your ability to act. In addition, your mind is a fortress. You suppress your fears and traumas and are able to save face when you need to most. Pain is a distant memory that only creeps up when you make a feeble attempt at sleep. Even when drugged or knocked out cold, your nightmares are too powerful. You will spend much of your life awake, terrorized by visions that plague your mind, and by the hurt you can only feel by letting your mind sleep.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Your Stress from Injuries and Mind Damage is reduced to 0.
If you are Stunned, asleep, drugged, or otherwise made unconscious for any reason other than being Incapacitated, you may Exert your Mind to wake up. Any penalty which was caused by this condition is removed.
Mansquito possesses the chitinous shell of a mosquito, and as such can shrug off most lesser attacks, but is vulnerable to insecticides.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You have 3 Armor, which reduces incoming damage from all sources of physical attack except Gas. Armor from multiple sources does not stack.
Once the werewolf tastes the blood of their prey, there's no escape. Those injured by the beast's claws and teeth are marked with its saliva. Their wounds smell strongly of blood, and it's only a matter of time before the werewolf returns with a vengeance to finish the kill.
This Effect activates whenever a target you have injured with your teeth or claws escapes the range of your unarmed attacks. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a target within arm's reach. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is alive and bleeds.
Your target is marked with a throbbing wound that smells strongly of blood. The mark can only be discovered with a deep medical inspection or Effect. Removal inflicts a Severity 1 Injury on the target.
You are aware of the marked target's direction and distance from you. This lasts for the next month, or until either the mark is removed, or you choose to end the Effect. You can have up to 1 mark active.
You receive +2 dice to any rolls made against a marked target.
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 1 minute. Select a Living, Animate target within 20 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 7.
You are able to view your target's memories. The target is aware that their thoughts are being probed but not of the source of the probe. The Effect ends if the target moves out of range or your Concentration is interrupted.
You may ask specific questions about their memory - “what is their computer password,” “What were they doing at 4:00PM yesterday,” etc - but you cannot get answers to broad, analytical questions like “are they a good person?” or “what are their plans for the future?”
Each question takes as long as it takes to answer to read. 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 beastmaster shouts, and their human voice cracks into a deep, bestial roar. Their body swells with muscle, clothes melting into a thick pelt of fur. Seconds later the beastmaster is gone. Standing in their place is a massive grizzly bear.
However, even in human form the beast within remains close to the surface, and the beastmaster finds highly civilized social situations unbearable.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You transform into a brown bear for two hours or until you choose to end the Effect. See the Extended System text for stats.
While transformed, you cannot use any equipment (including Artifacts and Consumables), and you cannot use your Active, Direct, or Trap Powers. However, you can use your Passive 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 Trauma at all times: Intolerance for society. When you are in a situation with strict social protocols (like a trial or a formal dinner) roll Self-Control not to enter a flight or fight response.
The detective can flash their badge and bark out orders to a person or a crowd, and the target will have trouble ignoring their command.
Exert your Mind and spend at least one Action. All Sapient targets within 20 feet of you are affected. You must actively and obviously use a police badge to activate this Effect. Your target cannot be engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your targets. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. Any affected 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 the letter-- but not necessarily the 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.
The target is unaware that they are under supernatural influence and feel they are acting of their own free will. 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. Commands may force a target to violate one of their Limits, and they will need to make a Trauma roll once the suggestion wears off.
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: