All Umbra needs is a moment of weakness to pounce. To enjoy even a morsel of freedom from her cage within Luci's Gallery. A violent torrent of blackness swells up from Luci's shadow in the form of loose and flaky blobs. Luci's signature red hair will darken to a deep black, the faded crosshair tattoo becomes as pronounced as if she'd just received it, her skin will pale as if she were dead, all of her nails become black, and her shadow becomes thick and murky- even seeming to emit small specks of ash-like matter that dissolves within moments.
This Effect activates whenever Luci takes a Severity 5 Injury or Greater or Is incapacitated in any way i.e. through a sleep ability. It does not require an Action or Exertion. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means.
You transform into Umbra for 30 minutes. You have access to all of your Powers while you are Umbra, and you can use your equipment. The Injuries and Battle Scars of your Alternate Form and your true form are tracked separately.
While transformed, your Attributes are the same. Your Stress is reduced by 2.
If you are restricted, restrained, dazed, sleepy, or stunned, you may activate this Effect to break free or end the negative effect. You cannot free yourself by transforming more than once a minute.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation or for its duration will almost certainly be disturbed to see Umbra's manifestation. It happens in an explosion of ethereal shadow that tornados around Luci in a violent cascade. The being possessing Luci with an inconceviable capacity for destruction and death. A mere glance is all any observer needs to understand, just from the aura alone, that Umbra is not of this world and that they are not here to make friends. She is as unhinged as she is unsettling to behold...
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.
Whenever you enter Combat, roll Self-Control. If you fail, you cannot choose which targets to attack and cannot stop fighting until there are no targets remaining.
Tony knows he can call his brother, Dino, for some hired muscle, who arrives about a minute later. These enforcers are dumb as bricks, but tough nonetheless, perfect for sending a message when you need to keep your hands clean.
Exert your Mind and spend one minute. You must actively and obviously use a burner phone to activate this Effect.
Summon a single Enforcer at your location. They will last until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 1 minion active at a time.
Ellis has spent so much time working with explosives that he can distinctly remember how they smell, to the point where he can pinpoint the location of any explosives or volatile chemicals that are nearby simply by sniffing the air.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate.
You automatically detect all explosives / volatile chemicals within 50 feet of you for the next ten minutes. You have a clear sense of both the distance and direction towards any detected items. You get details of what each detected item is, as if you've glanced at each object.
Even while this Effect is not active, if any explosives / volatile chemicals come within 50 feet of you, you may roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 7 to detect them.
Ame has such a strong force of personality, it’s easy to talk to her, which holds true even if you don’t normally speak the languages she does.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You may understand and communicate to humans and Sapient beings as if you are fluent in a relevant language for the next hour.
My skin tears as my bones grow my muscle mass tightens and becomes liquid like, my canine grow as I become a 9 feet tall demonic blood creature with horns curving backwards like ones from a goat, nails grow to be sharp and black. My body the covers itself in boiling blood and my eyes turn black and my iris become bright red glowing with thirst like a savage beast but unlike regular ones, the cunning glare still can be seen in the eyes. Blood pours out from every orifices boiling as it evaporates as the drops touch the ground.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour.
You transform into Blood Demon for 30 minutes. You have access to all of your Powers while you are Blood Demon, and you can use your equipment. Your Battle Scars, Injuries, and physical Liabilities are carried over between forms. Reverting from your Alternate Form cannot cause your existing Injuries to kill you. Instead, you remain Incapacitated.
While transformed, your Brawn is increased by 1, your Dexterity is increased by 1, and your Perception is increased by 1. You do not suffer any Stress while transformed.
Your alternate form is its own deadly weapon. Unarmed attacks made in your alternate form deal +3 Weapon Damage (instead of the typical -1).
You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation or for its duration will almost certainly be disturbed to see the gallons of blood and flesh deforming.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: I giant red boiling blood circle on my chest.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Vampires.
You may only use this Effect once per day.
When you activate this Effect, roll a single D10. if the result is 5 or lower, you receive a Severity-1 Injury and a Minor Battle Scar.
Cassiopeia has formed an oath with Artemis, and in return, receives protection. She may call on the goddess, and a lesser personification of Artemis materializes to thwart incoming attacks.
On gift conception:
It was a night with a full moon, as she walked along the shores of Miami trying to think of a gift. On a regular night the stars would be nigh invisible from light pollution, but she noticed they were twinkling as brightly as if she were out camping in the wilderness. Suddenly there was a woman standing beside her; any normal person wouldn't bat an eye, but Cassiopeia saw a strange blue aura around her. The woman looked up at the moon and asked if she believed in Artemis. She asked if Cassiopeia would want to join the Hunt. Cassiopeia knew where this was going. She knew what she was in for, and there was one aspect that concerned her the most. Thus, she told the woman, "I would, but only if I can continue to age." There was a long silence, as if Artemis waited for Cassiopeia to change her mind, but after a few hours' long standoff, the goddess was intrigued enough to accept Cassiopeia's terms.
On Artemis' oath:
"I, Cassiopeia, pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood without immortality, and join the hunt."
On semantics:
Cassiopeia has always been wary of wording in agreements, and this one was no different. Did "men" refer to people in general, or just... men?
On romance:
So long as Cassiopeia swears off of romantic love, she will be protected by Artemis. Is it cruel? Cassiopeia can't tell. But she doesn't see it as much of an obstacle because she's lived so long without the need for it (or any kind of affection at all). It makes for a good experiment to see if love is really powerful enough to make her turn against the gods.
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend an Action. Roll Charisma + Occult at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you create a barrier around yourself, which absorbs the next Outcome +4 Damage. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. You 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 Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is Cassiopeia whispers prayers to Artemis. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
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 Thief casts a container's worth of fine powder into the air. The particulates are drawn to any sort of object that is designed to detect people, including tripwires, security cameras, detection lasers, heat sensors, etc. The powder will not trigger these devices or interfere with their operation, but it does reveal their presence to the Thief.
The cloud drifts and swirls, subtly following the Thief for a minute.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must use up a container of fine powder in order to activate this Effect.
You automatically detect all object that are designed to detect people, including tripwires, security cameras, detection lasers, heat sensors, etc within 50 feet of you for the next hour. You have a clear sense of both the distance and direction towards any detected items. When you detect objects, instead of learning nothing about them, you may observe each object with all of your senses.
The magician reaches into their hat and focuses. Inside, light wells and flows like a viscous liquid. Then, they withdraws the item of their choosing.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. You must actively and obviously use a top hat to activate this Effect.
Choose an Object which could fit inside a regular backpack (up to 27 liters). It must be Non-Alien and generic. You cannot create explosives. You may create firearms.
Roll Perception + Occult to fabricate your chosen Object. The Difficulty is assigned by the GM and depends on the specificity of your chosen Object. The created item lasts 2 hours.
The Thief has a stash in which they can store a few objects. It can be accessed through any burlap sack.
Spend a Quick Action. You must actively and obviously use a burlap sack to activate this Effect.
You may withdraw an item from your stash, or add an item that is within arm’s reach to your stash. You may only stash targets which are in your possession, grappled, or otherwise controlled by you.
You may store Objects in your stash, each no larger than something which could fit inside a briefcase (15 liters), and you may store up to 3 things at a time.
You may choose to equip any equipment you withdraw at no additional cost.
The Necromancer temporarily assumes the form of their own corpse, complete with maggots, spilled entrails, and exposed bone. They cannot move while transformed, but their empty eye sockets see as well as ever.
Exert your Mind and Spend an Action.
You transform into your own corpse for one minute. While transformed, you may control the functioning of the object you have transformed into. You can perceive your surroundings as normal. You can be targeted as a Non-Living, Sapient Object.
If you are damaged while transformed, the damage is realized when you return to normal. If you are damaged before you transform, your inanimate form will appear partially damaged.
You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.