Cássio draws the focus card from the deck and focuses, closing his eyes. The card then bursts into shadow flame and "slots" itself into the ground, letting out a wave of arcane energy that resonates with the Veil in the target radius. Cássio then opens his eyes, which have turned pitch black, and is able to sense the impressions upon the veil where spirits have departed this realm, as well as disturbances caused by sources of otherworldly energy.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 500 feet You must actively and obviously use a tarot card (II - The High Priestess) to activate this Effect. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. At the end of your investigation, roll Charisma + Occult at Difficulty 6.
You learn the following information about the area:
You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.
As Selma activates the Gift, a shimmering, translucent sphere about 25 feet wide materializes around her. It looks like woven strands of memories and emotions — flashes of hospital beds, funeral tears, whispered confessions — all stitched together into a pulsating orb. The air grows cold, heavy, and vibrating with overwhelming sadness and dread. Victims caught within feel their chests tighten and their skin crawl, sensing — too late — the explosion of emotional devastation about to erupt.
This is Selma’s art at its purest: weaponized despair. Over the course of her grim work, she has become a repository for countless final moments, confessions of the dying, and the silent horrors no therapy could erase. Now, she pulls from that endless well of agony, solidifying it into a brutal force of obliteration.
This blast is not simply destructive — it is deeply personal. Every bit of pain she once tried to soothe now detonates outward, a fitting requiem for all who thought their sins, their hurts, could remain buried.
(Selma’s hands tremble — not with fear, but anticipation. A low hum grows in the air, the static feeling of countless deaths, regrets, and unspoken agony twisting into something tangible. Around her, the very weight of trauma compresses reality until it buckles, releasing a shattering blast that leaves flesh and bone crumbling in its wake.)
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. 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. The area within 25 feet of you immediately and obviously becomes imminently dangerous. Anyone in the area has 1 Round to attempt to escape. During the next Round, on your Initiative, roll Intellect + Medicine at Difficulty 6. Targets remaining 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. If you botched the activation roll, you will also take full Damage from the blast, otherwise it will not hurt you.
Damage spreads to targets beyond the edge of the initial radius, decreasing by 2 Damage for every 5 feet traveled.
If you successfully hit your target, the value of any Armor they are wearing is reduced by 2. For material armor, this penalty lasts until it is repaired. For intrinsic armor, it lasts until the end of Combat and any relevant wound is healed.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see A sphere, woven from the traumatic events of my patients, takes physical form around me.
River winks at you, and suddenly you hear their voice inside your mind, clear as day. You can respond to them telepathically, too, with a bit of concentration.
Only one of the two needs to hold Concentration. River doesn’t need to know the true name, just something that they would like to be called.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target within 300 feet of 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 must know their name.
You open up a line of communication to your target, and may converse with them as long as one of you maintains Concentration
The conversation 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 a wink. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
Everything's dark. Breathe. In, out. Slow. Open your eyes. Focus.
Ten meters and the shroud of darkness is all that stands between you and your prey. The string goes tense as you begin to draw, the rain providing no bane to your accuracy.
Loose. Sixteen arrows embed themselves in sixteen targets, a lethal blow being rendered to all.
You gain the following benefits as long as engaged in combat with bows.
You receive +2 dice to all rolls using bows. Reloading is considered a Free Action.
You also gain the following effects:
Riku's brush with an alien parasite left him with an extraordinary gift: the ability to completely reshape his physical form. With about a minute of intense concentration, he can alter everything from his height and facial features to his apparent sex and even clothing. This makes him an unparalleled infiltrator, able to blend seamlessly into any environment. However, the power isn't without its drawbacks. Riku is vulnerable while transforming, requiring a safe space and a minute to change: the disguise, while convincing, isn't indestructible – damage can cause it to fail. Despite these limitations, Chameleon's Masquerade offers Riku unprecedented versatility in his missions, allowing him to impersonate specific individuals, blend into crowds, or access restricted areas. In Riku's hands, this power becomes more than just a tool – it's an art form, a perfect expression of his adaptability in a dangerous, ever-changing world.
Exert your Mind and spend 2 Actions.
You become disguised in a manner of your choosing. The disguise lasts for two hours, or you may end it early at will.
The new appearance may have a different sex, age, and race to your own, and you may alter height by up to a foot and your weight by 50%. Your disguise cannot directly mimic an existing person. You may change the appearance of your outfit. A disguise cannot affect your Attributes or other stats.
You may roll Charisma + Crafts to attempt to make your disguise Beautiful. If your Outcome is 6 or higher, non-Effect Charisma rolls where your good looks could help are rolled at -2 Difficulty. If you fail or botch, you are ugly instead, and non-Effect Charisma rolls are made at +2 Difficulty.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see Flesh is mechanicaly moved: bones snap, skin streches and tears, muscle and sinew crawl over the open frames to adjust to the new form (triggers Anguish).
You caper in place, limbs jerking and flailing wildly. The mind becomes unmoored. Why is any of this happening? What even *are* you?
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Human target within 20 feet. Roll Charisma + Performance at Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 8 with a -3 dice penalty. If they are incapacitated or unconscious, they fail automatically and their Outcome is 0.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes Mind damage equal to the Contested Outcome. If you deal at least 3 Mind damage, the target will gain a new Trauma selected by you (the GM can overrule you at their discretion). 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.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Frontal Lobe Full Of Worms: You make all Self-Control rolls at +2 difficulty.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Laugh In The Face Of Danger: Whenever a fellow contractor gains a Trauma or Battle Scar, roll Self-Control to suppress your uncontrollable case of the giggles.
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.
Through the use of clever rhetoric, the spy is able to inspire a surge of emotion in a target with whom they are speaking.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living target within 45 feet as well as a specific emotion. This Effect cannot be used unless you are engaged in conversation with the target. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. Affected targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6 -3 dice.
If you succeed, for the next minute, your target will do things they otherwise wouldn’t have done, inspired by the chosen emotion. They will not necessarily display their emotions in an obvious way.
Actions they take will be in keeping with their character and the way they tend to deal with strong emotions. They will be unlikely to change their mind about any actions taken or decisions made until after the Effect ends.
The time-twister spins a dial on one of her watches, slowing time for everyone but her and one other person.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use a watch or clock to activate this Effect.
Lasts 1 minute. Whenever you use your Movement, after all other calculations, the distance you may travel is doubled.
Outside of Combat, any non-Gift, non-movement Actions you attempt take drastically less time to complete, as long as your personal speed is a factor in the Action. Total time reduction is determined by the GM and capped at 90% (executing the Action takes no less than 1/10th the normal time).
While using this Effect, you may carry one other being without affecting your Encumbrance, so long as you maintain contact with them for the duration and they consent or are grappled.
The influencer is welcome at any event or social gathering, but they're easy to recognize, even when they'd rather not be.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Your Charisma rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Charisma (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).
You also gain the following effects:
The ninja is a master of a wide variety of martial weapons. They kill quickly and quietly.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with melee ninja weapons.
+2 dice to all rolls with melee ninja weapons. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using melee ninja weapons.
You also gain the following effects: