Autumn's face is perfectly relaxed, serine even as she twirls her weapon of choice - a bone needle in her thin, spidery yet elegant fingers, exuding perfect control over the object she's manipulating, all the while her eyes stay pointedly affixed on her target across the room.
Suddenly and without warning, In one snappy motion she sends the needle flying with deadly precision, the projectile is light yet the result is devastating - the five-inch thick metal plate on the opposite side of the room cracks clean in half and the two newly formed individual pieces shoot to the sides, loudly clattering to the floor.
"Guns are clunky, unpredictable, loud, cumbersome.
Knives are messy, dangerous, cruel and frankly... a tad too personal for my taste...
Now you see - what separates a true professional from an amateur is lethal, cold and calculated precision - any dimwit is capable of take a life, mutilate another living being until what's left is little more than an unrecognizable pile of meat.
Any hooligan can riddle their mark with lead until it starts taking on the likeness of Swiss cheese.
But you see patience is a virtue in our line of work - and It takes an exceptionally virtuous individual to wait for the opportune moment, pick out the nicks in their target's defense before striking at just the right angle and putting the mark down in one clean and mercifully lethal blow - someone like yours truly."
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with thrown weapons.
Your attacks with thrown weapons no longer have their damage capped, and do +1 Bonus Damage. Armor is fully effective against this damage.
This Power only affects a specific type of object that is designed to be thrown such as shurikens or throwing knives.
You also gain the following effects:
Rather than aiming for brute force, each strike is executed with a controlled finesse that speaks to a deep understanding of the human anatomy. The blade seems to caress the air as it arcs through a mesmerizing series of loops, spins, and thrusts. With each movement, Machida's eyes remain fixed on his opponent's form, as if reading the very essence of their being.
"Itamae style: Usugiri" draws inspiration from the precision and finesse displayed in the traditional Usugiri cutting technique employed by Itamae. Just as the Itamae utilize their delicate knife skills to create thin, precise cuts in delicate ingredients, Machida applies a similar philosophy to his swordplay, but in a combat context.
The connection becomes evident in the way both techniques emphasize control, accuracy, and respect for the subject. In Usugiri, the goal is to cut ingredients so finely that their natural flavors are preserved, demonstrating the chef's skill in enhancing the essence of the food. Similarly, Machida's approach is not to inflict severe harm but to precisely incapacitate his opponent while minimizing undue suffering.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with melee weapons.
+2 dice to all rolls with melee weapons. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using melee weapons.
You also gain the following effects:
Emily has undergone truly massive genetic retrofitting by Gen-Wyld. The latest set of augments were mostly upgrades to her fur and subdermal armor. Several fascinating advances in keratin research have enabled the researchers to add a second underlayer of a down like fur that, when provoked by her autonomous nervous system, will rise like hackles and unfurl slightly. This undercoat has similar thermal resistance to aerogel, and enables survival in even extreme temperature environments.
Of course, her primary coat received an upgrade pass as well, increasing its softness and lustre both.
Some degree of genetics from an actual werewolf were integrated to serve as a bonding agent in some of the fur upgrades, and interestingly, an introduction of pure silver appears to cause an unraveling. We're going to need to switch out what we're using as a bonding agent for the next upgrade.
Update: Finally got up to switching out that bonding agent.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You are permanently and visibly transformed: werewolfess. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living being when targeted. Your Charisma is increased by 1.
You are immune to damage from cold. If cold is a substantial component of other damage you would take (e.g. falling from a great distance into a vat of liquid nitrogen), that damage is reduced by 2 (in addition to Armor)
You are immune to damage from heat and flames. If heat is a substantial component of other damage you would take (e.g. slashed with a flaming sword), that damage is reduced by 2 (in addition to Armor)
You cannot be mistaken for a normal human. You cannot always use standard human clothes, equipment, vehicles, and facilities, and when you can, you suffer an increased Difficulty.
The area around Wolf begins to glow slightly as the terrain around them seems to shift and morph to their will before seeming to consume them in their entirety.
By utilizing the skull of a beast that has been given the proper due respect one can cause a natural illusion to form around themselves hiding them for the senses of those outside of the illusion.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use animal skull to activate this Effect. Choose an illusion to generate, which can be no larger than a person.
The chosen illusion is generated at your target, and it will remain in place as long as you maintain Concentration or you choose to end it. It can be perceived by people through their touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. The illusion cannot be used as an attack. You cannot make an exact replica of an existing Animate being or Object.
Anyone who struggles against the illusion hard enough to break a window or who would be damaged by the illusion (or who would be able to perceive it significantly through a sense it cannot fool) realizes it is an illusion and can choose to perceive it or not at will.
The illusion will remain fixed to its initial Location. It may have moving parts and engage in simple, predetermined movements but cannot perform anything complex or interactive unless you maintain Concentration and “puppeteer” it.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Your Perception rating is increased by 0. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Perception (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).
You also gain the following effects:
My eyes turn a fiery red and glow with a flame-like appearance.
Using this power doesn't cause me to exert myself. I was born with the ability to cause fire to appear somewhere within 20 ft of me in my line of sight.
Spend an Action. Select a target within 20 feet which has both fuel and oxygen available (if you are starting a new fire).
You may start a new fire as large as a torch's flame at your target. You may create 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 each Round on your turn, 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.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Major Facial Burns - You have major, painful, facial-burns. (You suffer +2 difficulty in social situations concerning appearance, you have 1 penalty at all times from the pain caused by your burns..
The mobster presents a reasoned, logical case to the target: there's a lot of dangerous folks out there, and only they can offer safety... for a price.
If they agree, they will pay the mobster a monthly fee for protection. If they stop making their payments... well, let's just say, the mobster can't be held responsible for any unsavory types that might pay them a visit.
This Effect cannot be used unless you are making a deal to exchange money for protection.
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 shake hands 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.
As long as the ninja is carrying a weapon, their self-defense is almost subconscious. Subtle twitches and lighting-fast feints and parries using sword and scabbard can buy the ninja precious seconds to enact an escape plan or make the kill.
You gain the following benefits at all times. You must actively and obviously be using a sword to gain the benefits of this Effect.
You have 4 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.
Whenever your Armor reduces incoming Damage, you are immediately made aware of the source of the Damage. You may pinpoint their location for 30 seconds.
Any time your Armor prevents Damage, your Armor rating is temporarily decreased by 2. Whenever it goes five Rounds without preventing any Damage, it is restored back to its full value.
The time-traveler spins the second hand on one of their watches and speeds up until they are a blur.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use a watch to activate this Effect.
Lasts 1 minute. Whenever you use your Movement, after all other calculations, the distance you may travel is doubled.
Outside of Combat, any non-Gift, non-movement Actions you attempt take drastically less time to complete, as long as your personal speed is a factor in the Action. Total time reduction is determined by the GM and capped at 90% (executing the Action takes no less than 1/10th the normal time).
Who wouldn't want one of the mad scientist's famous implants? All it takes is a little time and a few terrifying experiments, and you too could be a better you!
Warning: not fully tested on humans. Risk of dry mouth, upset stomach, or lost limbs. Do not consult your doctor before signing the liability release.
Exert your Mind and spend eight hours. Select a Living or Animate target within arm's reach. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you cause a major Battle Scar instead of an augmentation. 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. The target can easily Resist.
You may add one augmentation to your target. Each augmentation counts as a Battle Scar and can have exactly one of the following Effects:
The augmentations you provide are not outwardly visible nor obvious.
The detective can learn a lot by watching someone for a minute. Each subtle detail, every unexplained stain, reveals something about where the target has been. Ocassionally, they'll drop a business card, or explain how to contact them. The detective is listening.
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend a minute. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target does not know you're watching them. At the end of your investigation, roll Charisma + Investigation at Difficulty 6.
You learn a single specific piece of information, chosen from the following list, about your target:
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.
You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.