With miscroscopic vision or successful examination with science or occult, it becomes obvious that this is
not a naturally occurring stone but some kind of petrified resin unlike anything currently in use. You notice that the surface of the face is lined with minute geometric patterns (similar to modern computer circuit boards) With at least 4 successes on Occult, they recognize this as alien technology, perhaps carved after creation by someone else.
Upon touching any sapient entity's exposed flesh, it triggers a mind roll at 8. Failure or Botch means you are possessed by the artifact, and immediately are inflicted with a absolute hatred of humans, and overwhelming desire to flee to the nearest wilderness area and defend it from human incursion by force. On a failure, they may reroll to break free in 2 hours, on Botch it is 24 hours. Two botches in the same lunar cycle possesses them until the new moon. A possessed target will relentlessly hunt down the artifact if it is taken, though if it is not in their possession on the new moon they begin to recover over the next week or so. The artifact can possess multiple people, though only the person in posession of the artifact can use its powers. In the case of multiple possessed targets, they will work together to drive off the humans, before likely fighting over the artifact.
A single success will prevent this possession, as long as they maintain the artifact in their possession.
While asleep, you may tap into the creatures under your command and receive visions of sights and sounds the commanded creatures experience. You may also communicate with the commanded creature.
If the commanded creatures travel over 5 miles from the artifact, the effect ends for those individuals.
Commands are limited to
Sit (go to a described area the creature is familiar with and remain. If you set a specific condition that the creature is capable of noticing, you will be notified when it occurs. A single creature isn't particularly perceptive, though a horde certainly is)
Pester (They will follow a target they can see, and hop, jump, or fly as close to it as possible without touching it.)
Attack (Small numbers of the creature will attempt to attack the target(s) identified. Due to size, the damage is capped at 2, this is dodgable, and a small number might not be able to efficiently do damage at all.
Swarm (There must be a large number of individuals, such as 60+crows or thousands of bugs- and they will all attack at once, moving at the creatures normal speed. These masses are usually fairly large (20+ ft wide for the minimum size), and anyone caught in the swarm will take damage, capped at 4. larger numbers simply make the horde larger, and harder to get out of. Vision and sound is obscured when inside a swarm and disorientation is likely. You must be able to move entirely out of the swarm with a free action to be able to effectively dodge, but the most effective approach is shelter or fleeing.)
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. 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.
You may declare a condition to watch for on an active Ward. If it occurs, you may roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 6, to notice it, even if you are not actively monitoring that ward.
You may communicate through your ward, though doing so will reveal its presence.
Possession of this Artifact causes the following Trauma to manifest over the course of a day: Territorial: If humans infringe on what you consider a private space, you must make a self control roll to not drive them out by force.. If you lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next month.
When performing a detailed medical examination, Liam is occasionally assisted by the ghosts of the departed, who whisper detailed information to him. If someone is very sharp, they might also hear these whispers.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a Sapient target within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use a stethoscope to activate this Effect. At the end of your investigation, roll Intellect + Medicine at Difficulty 6.
You learn all the following information 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.
After a prayer to the goddess of Nature, his hands begin to burn. The burning and glowing stops and the target area begins to burn.
Spend an Action. Select a target within 20 feet which has both fuel and oxygen available (if you are starting a new fire). You must actively and obviously use wood to activate this Effect.
You may start or extinguish a fire as large as a fire in a residential fireplace at your target. Extinguishing a fire does not cost Exertion. 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 3 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 shredded by any Damage dealt, destroying material Armor once it reaches 0.
You may extinguish flames as a Reaction. This does not extend to explosives.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
Wren smiles and talks to the target, getting close and looking innocently in their eyes while her hand lightly touches their arm, or their shoulder.
Wren pokes around in the target's head with precision and intent - learning about their mental state and feeding off of it.
Exert your Mind and spend 2 Actions. Select a Sapient target within arm's reach. This Effect cannot be used unless both Wren and the target are out of direct sunlight. At the end of your investigation, roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6.
You learn all the following information 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.
With the turn of the page and some quick hand signs, a wicked bolt of necrotic force arcs towards the target like lightning.
Spend an Action. Select a Living target within 45 feet. Roll Charisma + Occult Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling Body, Difficulty 6.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 4. The target's material Armor is completely ignored.
The target suffers a -3 dice penalty for the next hour or until the Injury is healed. This dice penalty does not stack multiple times on the same target.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see The afflicted person begins to rot and decay from the inside out.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
Zephyren gathers mystical energy into his palms and cups them so that the wings on the gloves align. Blowing on them causes a firebird to materialize and fly at the target.
On the firebird:
It's said that the firebird brings bad luck to its captor, though Zephyren's luck is horrible enough that he wouldn't notice a little more of it. Besides, he's chucking it at someone else, so if anything the bad luck with transfer to them first.
On energy:
In his childhood, people would always talk about 'qi' and how it flows together to create a unified being. Apparently, deities also have 'qi', as if it is one of the foundations of the universe. He's had some practice trying to manipulate it through tai chi, though he was never really good at it. Zephyren's enhanced senses, combined with this gift's affinity with the firebird, have allowed him to pinpoint and gather the scattered energy of perished firebirds. Bringing them together, he can nearly mimic their rebirth for just long enough to enact their wrath on those who threaten him.
On voices:
Zephyren hates to admit it, but he doesn't bode well with people raising his voice at him. The noise grates at his ears, and he starts to get flighty. It's because being yelled at usually entails worse consequences in an Asian household. Words are never enough and Zephyren can only start to expect the worst. Now it's even worse because he's found that the emotion behind someone raising their voice spikes the surrounding qi.
Spend an Action. Select a target within 50 feet. You must actively and obviously use gloves with one wing drawn on each palm to activate this Effect. Roll Perception + Occult 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.
The target suffers a -3 dice penalty for the next hour or until the Injury is healed. This dice penalty does not stack multiple times on the same target.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Qi spike: When someone raises their voice at you, roll Self-Control to avoid entering fight-or-flight mode.
The mutant has gained some control over their genetic instability, allowing them to trigger a mutation at will. When the need arises, their flesh warps and twists, and a new mutation manifests that is suited to whatever obstacle the mutant happens to be facing at the time.
Spend 30 minutes. You may only target yourself. 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:
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
Your alteration "heals" over the course of the next month, after which it is fully cured.
While addressing a crowd, the influencer may use coded language to send secret messages to a particular person in the crowd. These messages can't be noticed or understood by anyone but the intended target.
Spend an Action. Select a target any distance away from you. You must have a specific target in mind, but you require only an intuitive understanding of them, such as their name, face, or Location. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is listening and you are speaking to multiple people.
You may send a single message to your target. It can be no more complicated than a multi-page letter or a long email.
The message will only be perceived by the intended recipient. You must share a common language for your target to understand the message.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is your left hand making a fist. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
The influencer knows just how to-- well-- influence people. By following a suggestion with a wink, smile, or a look of astonishment, their target is sure to be swayed. Is it any wonder they have a following of such incredible fans? Hit like, smash subscribe, and for the love of all that is holy, don't forget to retweet.
Exert your Mind and spend at least one Action. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. Your target cannot be engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your target. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If the contested Outcome is positive, your target will be compelled to follow your command to their best understanding of the letter and 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. The Effect ends if following your command would cause a target to cross one of their Limits in a way that would necessitate a Trauma roll.
The musician assumes a powerful stance and strums a mighty power chord on their guitar. A blast of sound waves radiate outwards, destroying all who dare face the power chord directly.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use your instrument to activate this Effect. The area within 25 feet of you immediately and obviously becomes imminently dangerous. Roll Charisma + Performance 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. Armor is fully effective against this Damage. If you botched the activation roll, you will also take full Damage from the blast, otherwise it will not hurt you.
You may only use this Effect once per day.
Come one, come all! Stand in amazement and behold as the Fire Eater consumes a flame as if it were cotton candy! Gasp with fright as they breathe a plume of fire a great distance! And yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is quite dangerous.
Exert your Mind and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: perform a fire-breathing trick. Select a target within 20 feet which has both fuel and oxygen available (if you are starting a new fire). Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you take a Severity-4 Injury as the fire burns your throat. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.
You may start or extinguish a fire as large as a fire in a residential fireplace 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 3 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.