Locus Resonance "The Veil can teach us many secrets; we need but ask."

1
The power to learn new information about the area you are in.
Used by Cássio Rosário, Created by Caelum.
(During Effect activation, you are obviously investigating the area. You must actively and obviously be using a tarot card (II - The High Priestess).)

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. Opening one's mind to this much otherworldly information at once can be dangerous, and Cássio needs to steel himself lest he be overwhelmed by the pain of the deceased.


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 can tell how many living things have died in this area, what they were, and roughly when the deaths occurred.
  • You can locate the source of any Alien energy or the presence of any Alien effects on the area. Specific information about the function of these effects beyond their general type is not forthcoming.
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

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.

Community Power Gifts

On testing:
Delphyrion has always wanted to know everything. However, no matter how strong one's background is in chemistry, you'd usually need equipment and time to study an object's composition. Not to mention the amount of harm it could do to the item.

On alien origins:
Whatever it is that they encounter on their contracts, Delphyrion would very much like to know when something is out of this world so they don't have to waste time trying to apply human logic to it. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but sometimes a cigar is very much not a cigar.

On chemistry:
This gift could be groundbreaking, but only if you know what you're looking at. Initially Delphyrion wanted to use it for finding the chemical makeup of an item, though they realize they should already know as long as it's recognizable. Chemistry is all about using what you have, and what's the use of a weapon that you know nothing about?

On questionable acts:
Look, living creatures are born with five senses for a reason. Delphyrion will use all five senses if it means new knowledge can be found. Sure, they've gotten sick from licking stuff for no reason, and they've licked a frozen pole (you can imagine how that went down), but at least now there is a reason to do so. This will do wonders for their immune system.

Spend a minute. Select a target Object within arm's reach. At the end of your investigation, roll Intellect + Science at Difficulty 6.

You learn a single specific piece of information, chosen from the following list, about your target:

  • Determine if this target is Alien in origin or whether it has any Alien energy or outside influences. You receive information about the type of energy, including the name of the relevant Source pool or equivalent.
  • You learn the object's intended function and how to use it for its intended purpose, though not necessarily the ability to do so.
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.

You cannot investigate the same target 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.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with blades.

Your attacks with blades deal +3 Bonus Damage. Armor is fully effective against this damage.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Bullet Parry: You may React to and Defend against firearms and other projectiles with blades.

  • Reminder: Bonus Damage stacks with Weapon Damage, but does not stack with any other Bonus Damage. Instead, the highest Bonus Damage is used.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. Select a Living target within 45 feet. You must use up a piece of cheese in order to activate this Effect. Roll Charisma + Medicine Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling Body, Difficulty 6.

If the contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much damage plus 3. The target's material Armor is completely ignored.

Injuries caused by this Effect do not heal naturally. They can be Stabilized, but will not reduce in Severity unless they are healed through an Effect or some sort of supernatural ability.

If the target takes damage from this Effect, they will receive at least a Minor Battle Scar regardless of the Severity of their Injury. The specifics of the scar are up to GM's discretion.

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: One eye without function, the optic nerves having turned to cheese.

Instead of dealing Damage all at once, the Injury caused by this Power starts at Severity 1 and worsens at the rate of one level per Round until it reaches the Severity it would have otherwise been.

  • "Material Armor" includes armor from equipment but not Armor from Mythic Brawn, barrier, or mystical armor.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

You get +2 dice to any Body resistance rolls you make. You also gain the following effects:

  • Survivor: You are immune to all non-Alien diseases.

  • These bonuses apply only to Body rolls made to resist Effects and other supernatural phenomena. They do not apply to other contexts such as attacks made while under the Creature Transformation Effect.

Exert your Mind and spend at least one Action. Select a number of targets equal to your Charisma within 100 feet. You must actively and obviously use pen to activate this Effect. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. Your target may be actively engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your targets. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.

If the contested Outcome is positive, your targets will be compelled to follow your command to their best understanding of the letter and spirit of the command until they have completed it or for your Outcome in minutes. You cannot issue another suggestion to the target until 10 minutes after they have completed the first command or 10 minutes after a failure.

They will be unaware that they are under any sort of compulsion until the effect wears off, but they will appear obviously mind-controlled the entire time to anyone observing them. If you fail, they realize that you were attempting to influence them supernaturally with your command.

Your command can be an order to take an immediate Action. You cannot order a target to "do nothing," and they are free to take other Actions as they fulfill your request. Your command cannot be obviously self-destructive. The Effect ends if following your command would cause a target to cross one of their Limits in a way that would necessitate a Trauma roll.

You must have some means of communicating this command to your targets, but no one other than you and them will understand or perceive it.

You may activate this Effect as a Reaction to contest any Action a valid target is taking, reducing their Outcome by your own. Your command has no impact beyond disrupting their Action.

This Effect ends if you are stunned, fall asleep, go unconscious, are incapacitated, die, or if your total Stress ever exceeds 5.

  • You cannot order your target to endanger themselves, but you may order them to flee, attack a certain target, take a defensive or offensive stance, or similar.
  • When targeting multiple individuals simultaneously, they must all be issued the same command.
  • The target must be able to understand you and must receive your communication for the suggestion to work.
  • Allowed Commands
    • Direct Order: The target must take an immediate action (e.g. “Sit down,” "run away," or "tell me your password.")
  • 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 Power Gifts

Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. Select a Computer within arm's reach. Does not work on Alien technology. Roll Intellect + Technology, with the Difficulty set by the GM depending on the security of the system you are hacking. Sapient targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you may issue a single command to the targeted system. This command must have a specific outcome or be a request for specific login credentials. The command you issue must be within the machine's current capabilities. For example, you cannot order a standard security camera to grow legs and walk around.

If your command does not require bypassing the security of the target (for example, typing on a computer that is unlocked), you do not need to Exert your Mind to activate this Effect, and activation only takes a single Action.

Your Hack cannot be reversed through mundane means for a number of hours equal to your Outcome.

Every hack you make leaves behind a flickering image of a ghost in the system as a personal "calling card" that informs anyone who uses the system that the hack occurred.

  • You cannot hack things outside of your range over remote connections such as the internet. The system you are affecting must be physically within range.
  • 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.

You transform into a flowing pool of water for the next minute. You may end the effect early and return to your normal form at will. Your structure must remain relatively contiguous. Observers will view you as an unusual entity moving with a singular purpose.

While in this form, you can squeeze through any gap that is not water-tight.

Injuries from standard attacks are reduced to Severity 1, but Damage from AOE effects is increased by 1.

You cannot communicate or use equipment while transformed. Your equipment does not transform with you beyond basic body coverings. You cannot carry any items while transformed.

You have access to your Powers while transformed.

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.

  • The Severity-limiting effect from Squish does not stack with the Enhancement Tough from Mythic Brawn.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a object that uses electricity within 20 feet no larger than a duffel bag (35 liters). You must actively and obviously use a smart watch to activate this Effect. Roll Intellect + Technology Difficulty 6.

If your Outcome is 4 or higher, the target will be completely destroyed and can no longer function, though it may still be repaired. If your Outcome is less than 4, the target will be partially damaged, and any attempts to use it will suffer a dice penalty equal to your Outcome.

When a target is destroyed, it sends shards flying. Anyone within 5 feet of the object rolls 4d10 at Difficulty 6 and takes damage equal to the Outcome. Can be reacted to.

  • The penalty from an object being damaged will stack with itself if a target is hit multiple times, but the object is destroyed when it reaches a total penalty of -4.
  • 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 at least one Action. All Sapient targets within 20 feet of you are affected. You must actively and obviously use a police badge to activate this Effect. Your target cannot be engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your targets. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. Any affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.

If the contested Outcome is positive, your targets will be compelled to follow your command to the letter-- but not necessarily the spirit-- of the command until they have completed it or for your Contested Outcome in minutes. You cannot issue another suggestion to the target until 10 minutes after they have completed the first command or 10 minutes after a failure.

The target is unaware that they are under supernatural influence and feel they are acting of their own free will. If you fail, they realize that you were attempting to influence them supernaturally with your command.

Your command can be an order to take an immediate Action. You cannot order a target to "do nothing," and they are free to take other Actions as they fulfill your request. Your command cannot be obviously self-destructive. Commands may force a target to violate one of their Limits, and they will need to make a Trauma roll once the suggestion wears off.

  • The target must be able to understand you and must receive your communication for the suggestion to work.
  • Allowed Commands
    • Direct Order: The target must take an immediate action (e.g. “Sit down,” "run away," or "tell me your password.")
  • In the case of a failed activation, GMs should consider how bystanders would realistically react to a potentially-outlandish accusation of mind-reading.
  • 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.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way. Lasts for three hours.

  • Thermal: You are able to "see" heat signatures within your line of sight.
  • Hearing: You automatically know the origin location of any sound you hear, and you can tell which Action caused the sound.

  • Your thermal vision allows you to judge temperatures of surfaces fairly accurately as long as they are within livable temperatures.