You pull a fountain pen across a blank page, inking and shading a detailed, top-down representation of the surrounding area.
The map is shaded and annotated in thin black ink, but the coulour shifts to a bright red when drawing an area near the source of alien energy. Slightly opaque shoeprints fade in and out on the paths drawn, illustrating the area's traffic over time, with each set uniquely labelled on a legend in the upper-left corner.
Exert your Mind and spend 2 Actions. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 100 feet You must actively and obviously use a fountain pen and paper to activate this Effect. At the end of your investigation, roll Dexterity + Alertness at Difficulty 6.
You learn the following information about the area:
Having been accepted as a Horseman, Mary is no longer held down by the restrictions of normal human existence.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You no longer require any food, water, sleep, or air in order to survive.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Delusions of Grandeur.
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:
Edith grabs one of the arrows affixed to her belt and points it at her target, it flies out towards the attacker leaving a blazing trail of green. When it finds its target, the arrow embeds itself within them as a glowing green tattoo of an arrow bended into a circle.
Spend an Action. Select a target within 20 feet. You must use up an Arrow in order to activate this Effect.
Your target is marked with a glowing green arrow tattoo. Your mark can be discovered if the target is inspected visually. Removal inflicts a Severity 1 Injury on the target.
You are aware of the marked target's vital status, injuries, 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.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
Previously obscured in the depths of forbidden knowledge, Hezalea's recent experiences have unlocked a primal fear and anger. Nightmares of skin cracking to the lightest pressure come to light and manifest in a horrifying creature that pulses and takes.
She is now the monster that people have feared her to be.
It was all your fault.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You transform into a black alien creature with pulsing tendrils for 3 minutes. You have access to all of your Powers while you are a black alien creature with pulsing tendrils, 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 2. Your Stress is reduced by 2.
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 Hezalea's nose, eyes, and mouth begin to bleed until her blood takes a mind of its own. It thickens and forms tendrils that forcefully dislocate her limbs and stretch them until she becomes something like a Mimic from the film Edge of Tomorrow.
Your alternate form renders you unable to speak any human language and incapable of fine object manipulation. You can only hold or grasp objects in a crude, clumsy way.
Grace, Obedience, Horatio, Sally, Hope, the Breaker, and the Sleeper all reside (or are contained) in Grace's head, each with a stake in her continued half-life. They see through her eyes, hear with her ears, and have built a warning system as quick as any singular thought.
This is not a special ability like some of their others, just the natural progression of an anchor like Grace.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Your Perception rating is increased by 1. 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:
The Necromancer stands over a corpse and makes a series of grandiose lifting gestures. The corpse rises from the ground as though suspended by invisible strings, barks a pained groan, and lands on its feet, now a full-fledged member of the living dead.
Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend an Action. You must use up corpse in order to activate this Effect.
Summon up to 3 Non-Sapient, Animate zombie at your location. They last for two hours or until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 3 minions active at a time.
You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.
If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.
All it takes is a flick of your hair and a bat of your eyelashes, and you’ve got their attention.
Exert your Mind and 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 + Performance 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 Contested Outcome in Rounds. 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.
The spy can twist the urban environment to their whims, erecting fences, walls, and barriers as needed. They whistle and gesture to where the wall should be, and the surrounding materials fly into place.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within 50 feet. You must be in an area abundant with man-made structures and materials.
Select one of the following alterations to create out of standard building materials originating at the target:
The alteration begins to form when you activate this Effect and finishes forming on your initiative in the next Round. Until it finishes forming, it is not guaranteed to function.
This alteration lasts one minute but may be prematurely destroyed or altered. Your alterations may be broken through with appropriate tools. Anyone attempting to break through must roll Brawn + a relevant Ability. A cumulative Outcome of 6 across all attempts breaks a hole large enough to move through. See the extended system text for GM guidance on various tools.
The mystic enters a meditation while focusing on a remote location. A glowing sigil of an eye appears on their forehead, and a ghostly image of themselves meditating appears at the location they are envisioning. For a brief period, they may see the area they are projecting to as though they were standing there.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target Location within 75 feet.
You may perceive things as if you were standing at that Location. The effect lasts indefinitely but you must maintain Concentration to keep it up. You cannot perceive anything at your physical location while the effect is active.
You create a visible manifestation at the Location where your senses are projected which looks like a ghostly image of yourself meditating.
The Solider is accustomed to going long periods without food or water and can operate on very little sleep.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You may go five times longer than a normal human without food, water, sleep, and air. Any roll to resist an Effect dependent on any affected requirement is made at -1 Difficulty.