Infernal Investment The First Taste Is Free

2
The power to augment others' bodies.
Used by John Carmine, Created by gentleman_johnny.
(While you are augmenting your target, it is obvious you are treating them. The augmentations you provide are not outwardly visible nor obvious. )

The psychic fiend chats with their patient about how they are to be upgraded and the conditions that they must adhere to. At the end of the conversation, the fiend takes the patient's hands and says a few words of The Dark Tongue. A jolt of dramatic but harmless hellfire travels from the fiend to the patient, imbuing them with a portion of his power.

Are you an up-and-coming blues player who needs a little something extra to hit it big? Do you need a little outside help to land the perfect date? Do you punches need a little extra. . .punch? You've come to the right place. For the low low price of a favor to be defined later, we can make you better, stronger, faster at whatever you want.
Of course, in a month, you'll need a fresh dose and the favor will be larger but hey, you can't put a price on success, right?


Exert your Mind and spend 30 minutes. 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 Trauma and can have exactly one of the following Effects:

  • Specialized: You receive +2 dice to a particular non-combat Action.
  • Environmental Adaptation: You do not suffer harm from heat, cold, pressure, or lack of oxygen in a particular environment, provided that challenge normally exists in that environment.
  • Implanted Tool: You have access to the functionality of some common Device at all times. The selected Device can be no larger than a motorcycle helmet.
  • Armor: You have 2 Armor at all times. As always, Armor from multiple sources does not stack.
  • Pouch: Part of your body functions as a hidden pocket. It can hold no more than a briefcase (15 liters).
  • Zippy: Your Free Movement is increased by 10 feet.
  • Maws and Claws: Your unarmed attacks do +2 Weapon Damage instead of -1.
You may specify a specific condition that the patient must adhere to. If they break this condition, the treatment is immediately reversed. Record this regimen as a Condition.

The augmentations you provide are not outwardly visible nor obvious.

Your alteration "heals" over the course of the next month, after which it is fully cured.

  • Remember: A Contractor’s Body rating is reduced by 1 for each Battle Scar after their fourth.
  • You may not augment targets with pouches or implanted devices that are larger than they are.
  • Targets without Body ratings may have a maximum of 4 augmentations.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Community Targeted Gifts

The bell charm acts as a channel for Kayleigh to give an immaterial spirit the slightest amount of form, upon when she reaches out and deftly grabs it before the spirit dissipates back into whatever realm it lives in. If she misses her grab on the spirit it decides to stay away from her for the future, making her unable to try to speak to it twice. Kayleigh's manual dexterity has become so incredibly refined that she can grab hold of even the immaterial.

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 wooden bell charm to activate this Effect. At the end of your investigation, roll Dexterity + Athletics at Difficulty 6.

You learn the following information about the area:

  • You learn the physical layout of the area in three dimensions.
  • You learn how heavily trafficked the area is, what sorts of Animate beings have moved through the area and when.
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

This Effect is obviously Alien and eye-catching across its range to those witnessing it, and you are obviously the source.

You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Exert your Mind and Spend an Action. 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. Roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour. Roll Brawn + Medicine at Difficulty 6. The target may roll Body, Difficulty 7, as a Free Action to resist.

If you succeed, the target receives a new Battle Scar of your choosing, limited by the contested Outcome:

  1. A Minor Battle Scar E.g. an aesthetic-only body modification (a disfigured face, a pig's tail), impacted hand or foot, or vocal changes that complicate communication
  2. A Major Battle Scar E.g. a disabled/removed hand or foot, an inability to speak, an impacted major sense, removal of a minor sense, impacted movement.
  3. A Severe Battle Scar E.g. a disabled/removed arm or leg, deafness, aesthetic changes that are nearly impossible to conceal.
  4. An Extreme Battle Scar E.g. removal/disabling both hands or both legs, blindness, a full-body deformation that leaves the target humanoid but makes it difficult to use clothes, vehicles, and equipment designed for humans.
  5. A Deadly Battle Scar E.g. swapping lungs for gills, placing organs on the outside of the body. (This cannot result in immediate or inevitable death. See Extended System text for potential systems)
Refer to the stock Battle Scars on the Character Sheet for specific systems.

You may affect up to 3 targets within range.

If two or more of your targets are touching and more than one fails to resist, you may conjoin them where they touch. This counts as a shared Battle Scar.

If the Contested Outcome of your activation roll is 4 or higher, the activation cost of this Effect is refunded.

  • Deadly Battle Scar Systems: "The target must breathe water instead of air," "All Injuries the target takes are increased in Severity by 2," "The target cannot wear clothes or use equipment without suffering a Severity-1 Injury each Round."
  • While merged, the targets share a Movement and move at the speed of the slowest of the group. All physical Actions they take are +Contested Outcome Difficulty (lowest of the group). If one dies while merged or if forcefully separated, the others take an Injury equal to the lowest Contested Outcome + 2.
  • If this Effect fails due to the Unreliable check, you must still pay any associated activation costs.
  • Remember: A Contractor’s Body rating is reduced by 1 for each Battle Scar after their fourth.
  • You may opt to inflict a Battle Scar that is less severe than what your Outcome allows.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Andrew is such an insignificant component of the universe that sometimes, errors occur, shifting his position in space to somewhere nearby as if he was always there.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. Select a Location which is at most 50 feet away horizontally or 10 feet away vertically. Roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour.

You jump to the chosen location. If the landing is precarious, the GM may call for a roll to land safely. You will never take fall damage from successfully landing a jump made with this Effect.

Instead of physically passing through the air, you are teleported directly to your destination. Does not allow you to go through walls.

  • If this Effect fails due to the Unreliable check, you must still pay any associated activation costs.
  • If you are Encumbered, the maximum range is cut in half. If Encumbrance has reduced your total movement to 0, you cannot activate this Effect.
  • Rolls to land safely will generally be Athletics, but GMs may call for a different roll at their discretion if it makes sense for the specific circumstances.
  • You must be on a surface of some kind in order to activate this effect; it cannot be activated while in mid-air.
  • You may only use this Effect once per round of combat, regardless of any enhancements you have taken.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.

When this power is activated, you must roll self control to prevent Captain Hood from steering the ship.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within 20 feet. Make a Trauma roll when you activate this Effect.

A suppression field with a 35 foot radius appears at the target location for the next minute. While inside the field, all Living targets have their sense of hearing suppressed. Any roll requiring hearing automatically fails, and other relevant rolls suffer up to a -3 dice penalty at the GM's discretion.

You may only use this Effect once per day.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action or Reaction. Choose an Animate target within 45 feet from you.

Create a repulsion field which extends out 45 feet from you in every direction, and lasts for the next 5 Rounds. If your target is within the field and failed to resist, they cannot move any closer towards you. If they were within 45 feet from you when you activated the effect, they are immediately pushed back to the edge of the repulsion field.

You must maintain Concentration during this Effect.

While this Effect is active, you may take Actions and make Reactions at a -2 dice penalty without interrupting your Concentration.

Instead of creating a repulsion field, you may create an attraction field, centered on any Location within with a diameter up to. All affected beings within the radius are pulled to the target Location and take 2 Damage.

You must remain standing in the same location while this Effect is active. Moving to a new location will interrupt your Concentration and end the Effect.

  • If you use this Effect as a Reaction to dodge, you still need to make a roll to dodge. The Effect will occur regardless of the Outcome of this roll, but if you fail you will be hit by the relevant attack prior to the Effect occurring.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Stock Targeted Gifts

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.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 100 feet You must actively and obviously use a magnifying glass to activate this Effect. At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Investigation at Difficulty 6.

You learn the following information about the area:

  • You can tell the age of any structure or natural formation in the area. This includes trees and plants growing in the area.
  • You learn how heavily trafficked the area is, what sorts of Animate beings have moved through the area and when.
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

This Effect activates whenever someone talks about you. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a target Location within 75 feet.

You may perceive things through hearing as if you were standing at that Location for the next 30 minutes. You must maintain Concentration to keep up the effect. You cannot perceive anything at your physical location while the effect is active.

  • When triggered, the Effect activation resolves immediately after the triggering Action. It is not Reaction speed.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Exert your Mind and spend 2 Actions. Select a Location within your line of sight , and which is directly adjacent to water. You must be within arm's reach of water to activate this Effect.

You are transported directly to the chosen Location. You must wait an hour before activating this effect again.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 100 feet Can only be activated while you are in the wilderness. At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Survival at Difficulty 6.

You learn the following information about the area:

  • You can tell which entities lay claim to each part of the area and how these borders have shifted over time.
  • You learn where exactly creatures and people live within the area, and what sorts of creatures they are.
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.