Janus reflects on his time in the cult and his slow but progressive indoctrination. How his food was subtly diminished, sleeping times were shifted, independence and decision making were shelved. How all of his behaviors were subtly curtailed to fitting what the cult wanted. He then tries to recreate a minor example of that on another in order to better understand them and their traumas.
BEHAVIOR CONTROL
* Regulate individual’s physical reality
* Dictate where, how, and with whom the member lives and associates or isolates
* When, how and with whom the member has sex
* Control types of clothing and hairstyles
* Regulate diet – food and drink, hunger and/or fasting
* Manipulation and deprivation of sleep
* Financial exploitation, manipulation or dependence
* Restrict leisure, entertainment, vacation time
* Major time spent with group indoctrination and rituals and/or self indoctrination including the Internet
* Permission required for major decisions
* Rewards and punishments used to modify behaviors, both positive and negative
* Discourage individualism, encourage group-think
* Impose rigid rules and regulations
* Punish disobedience by beating, torture, burning, cutting, rape, or tattooing/branding
* Threaten harm to family and friends
* Force individual to rape or be raped
* Encourage and engage in corporal punishment
* Instill dependency and obedience
* Kidnapping
* Beating
* Torture
* Rape
* Separation of Families
* Imprisonment
* Murder
Exert your Mind and spend one minute. Select a human, Creature, or Dead target within arm's reach. Dead targets must have died within the past week, and you must have their remains in your possession. This Effect cannot be used unless The target preforms an action from the B section of the BITE model.
The target can communicate in your language for the next hour.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is Janus eyes change color from brown to blue.. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
You may only use this Effect once per target per day.
In times where Laurence is being attacked by what he doesn't believe, Laurence's subconscious starts to attempt to defend him without clueing him in to what he is doing as not to cause strain on reality. this causes a sharp pain in Laurence's head in the moment (and then a sharper pain in the other's head if it works).
This Effect activates whenever attacked by something supernatural or completely alien to laurence. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a Sapient or Creature target within 20 feet. Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. 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. Roll Brawn + Alertness 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 new Trauma of your choice. The Trauma should be general and not specifically mention you. You should not have to be involved to trigger the Trauma.
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.
River gives one of their friends a short session in breathwork, calming them, and helping them find their center.
Over a longer period of time, River may help their patients overcome greater anxieties, but the coping mechanisms he suggests often have their own issues.
Exert your Mind to activate. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Over the course of one Downtime, your patient must communicate with you and reveal at least one of their Traumas to you, including the details of those Traumas and the circumstances of how they were acquired. After the full treatment time has elapsed, roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6.
Your target may Resist. If your treatment is successful, you may remove one of the patient's revealed Traumas without incurring any Experience cost. This Effect can only be used to treat anxiety, phobias.
Once per day per target, you may choose to use this Effect to stabilize the Mind of a target within arm's reach. Treatment takes 30 seconds but will not remove any Traumas. If you are successful, restore 2 Mind damage.
You may choose to use this Effect to temporarily relieve any number of the patient's Traumas (including mental Conditions). In this case, Treatment takes an Action and the effect lasts two hours. If the Patient is currently experiencing an episode, Difficulty is increased by 2.
The user uses their staff to blast a magical white energy to injure their enemy
Spend an Action. Select a target within 50 feet. You must actively and obviously use Digizoid Staff to activate this Effect. Roll Intellect + 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.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
Over the course of a day, the weakness is purged and machine's reign begins. Metal is bent and rent into shape before allowing it to burrow itself into the volunteer.
Exert your Mind and spend eight hours. Select a Living target within arm's reach. 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:
Harold Polk’s mastery of language turns everyday phrases into tools of subtle influence, each carefully crafted to direct attention and control focus, whether in the courtroom or in casual conversation. His words are designed to blend seamlessly into any setting, creating a form of linguistic programming that shapes perception without raising suspicion. In the courtroom, phrases like “Objection,” “Eyes Only,” “Under Review,” “Leading the Witness,” and “Relevance” grant him control over proceedings, guiding attention where he needs it. In more covert settings, phrases such as “Just Between Us,” “By the Way,” “In the Meantime,” “That Reminds Me,” and “One More Thing” allow him to divert focus, prompt hesitation, or subtly steer actions, all within the flow of casual conversation. Each phrase becomes a tool of influence, enabling Harold to shape interactions with language alone, whether he’s in court or blending into the background.
Spend an Action. A number of Sapient, Living targets within 50 feet who can perceive you through no greater than your Charisma rating are affected. Audiences or mobs with a singular focus count as one target. Roll Charisma + Culture at Difficulty 6. All affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If you succeed, the targets will keep their full attention focused on you for as long as you maintain Concentration. They will automatically fail any rolls related to noticing anything other than you.
If you pass from their perception and they are unable to pursue you, the Effect ends. If they can follow you, they must do so for 2 Rounds or the Effect will end. The Effect ends early if the target is Injured or violence occurs nearby.
This does not affect the target’s opinion of you or their mood, and they may take any Actions while affected (including attacking), as long as that action centers on you. Fascinated targets cannot Concentrate.
You may activate this Effect as a Reaction to contest any Action a valid target is taking. The target does not roll to resist, and beating their Outcome does not fascinate them. This interrupts Concentration.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
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.
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 mystic channels and communes directly with another person's spirit, allowing the two of them to freely exchange both physical and mental wounds between each other.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Sapient target within arm's reach. Your target may Resist to cancel the transfer.
You may choose a single instance of one of the following to transfer from your target to yourself, or from yourself to them:
Whenever you transfer an Injury, it's Severity increases by 1. Whenever you transfer Mind damage or Traumas, the recipient takes an additional Mind damage.
After you finish activating this Effect, you cannot move quicker than a walk (max 15 feet per Round) for one minute and suffer a -1 dice penalty for an hour. Exhaustion’s penalty and duration stacks with multiple activations.
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.
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.