Faust's Conjecture Infernal insurance, and all it costs is the Devil's kiss.

1
The power to craft binding oaths.
Used by Edward "Eddie Odin" Bouvier, Created by baeowulf.
(Anyone who witnesses you activate this Effect is very likely to be disturbed to see you momentarily take on the aspect of the devil. You must actively and obviously be using a cigarette.)

Once the oath's final participant has kissed the cigarette, all present shall see you assume the aspect of the devil. All shall bear witness to the pact as it has been struck, shall scent the sulfur of its striking, and witness the chains binding the participants together. All shall hear the striking of a clock, and witness the vistas of Hell on whose rocks the oath has been written. The vision shall last for but a fraction of a moment, but it shall certainly be remembered far longer.


You must actively and obviously use a cigarette to activate this Effect.

You may make an oath with a physically-present, Sapient target. Communicate the oath's terms to the target, including the requirements and penalties for each participant. If all agree to the terms, you must Exert your Mind and all participants must kiss a cigarette to seal the deal.

Record the oath as a Condition. If a party breaks the oath, the Condition ends and they suffer the oath's penalty.

When crafting your oath, you may incorporate any of the following penalties:

  • A Battle Scar up to Severe (deaf, missing limb)
  • The oath-breaker is physically marked as an oath-breaker, and any investigative effect will reveal the terms of the oath they broke.
  • A particular Trauma and a single Mind Damage
  • The oath-breaker goes unconscious for up to 24 hours
  • An Injury up to Severity-6 (cannot be reduced by any means)

The target cannot be compelled to agree via a direct threat of violence, another Effect, or another oath. If you would like to use clever wording to mislead the target, you must succeed a contested Intellect + (Culture or Influence) roll.

You may revert a penalty for breaking one of your oaths on any participant other than yourself.

When crafting your oath, you may opt to enforce compliance. If you do, any participant that wishes to break the deal must take 3 Mind damage and succeed a Self-Control roll. They may attempt once per day.

Whenever a participant breaks the oath, you are immediately made aware and may even witness the act as if standing nearby.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see you momentarily take on the aspect of the devil.

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Compulsion to offer an oath whenever met with a significant need an oath could satisfy.

  • Reverting a penalty covers only the direct penalty for breaking the oath, eliminating the relevant Injury, Battle Scar, etc.
  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • All Oaths must have at least two participants.
  • The target must be physically present to enter the oath.
  • The terms and penalties of the oath do not need to be equitable and do not need to affect all parties equally.
  • A single action cannot break multiple oaths. You cannot 'stack' oath penalties by having a target sign multiple identical oaths, or similar.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

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Community Power Gifts

Spend 1 Action. 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 Intellect + Crafts at Difficulty 6.

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. If your target only requires fuel or power and is otherwise in working order, this Effect costs no Exertion, and the target is fueled/powered for the next 24 hours.

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

  • 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 to activate. Select a Sapient target within arm's reach. You must continuously interact with the individual in question in order to gather any information. At the end of your investigation, roll Charisma + Investigation at Difficulty 6.

You learn all the following information about your target:

  • You learn a hidden desire of the target. Roll Outcome determines the relevancy / secret-ness of the desire.
  • You determine any major weaknesses that the target might have.

The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

  • Weakness Must be things that are systemed around. For example, silver for a werewolf. Not general like "she's bad at fighting".
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate.

Summon a single Giant Tentacle at your location. They will last for an hour, or until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 1 minion active at a time.

Minions have 4 Body and can make ranged attacks at targets up to 30 feet away with 5 dice to attack and +1 Damage. Your minions cannot move. They cannot dodge or Defend. They have dog-level intelligence, and cannot communicate back to you. Any Perception checks they make are rolled with 3 dice.

Cursed and blessed in equal measure, Huey’s senses are a constant reminder of the wild beast within. Every scent, every sound tells a story that others can’t perceive—footsteps echo with intent, and fear has a distinct metallic tang on the air. His heightened awareness is a double-edged sword: the clearer the world becomes, the harder it is to ignore the primal urges buried deep in his subconscious. Each time he leans into this power, Huey walks a fine line between man and monster.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Smell: Your nose is highly sensitive and can differentiate between scents the way a dog can, as well as recognize things you have smelled before.
  • Hearing: You automatically know the origin location of any sound you hear, and you can tell which Action caused the sound.

Any senses which have been heightened cannot be overloaded. Battle Scars you receive cannot affect these senses.

Any heightened senses require you to maintain Concentration to use, and do not apply to any passive Perception checks.

  • Examples of overloading a sense include: an explosion causing temporary deafness, a bright light causing blindness, a sedative causing numbness, etc.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select two Sapient targets within arm's reach. If a target does not consent to the transfer, you must roll Perception+Influence at Difficulty 6 to use the effect on them. They can resist by rolling either Body or Mind at Difficulty 6, depending on what you are attempting to transfer to them.

You may choose a single instance of one of the following to transfer between your two targets:

  • Up to two points of Mind damage
  • A single Injury and any Battle Scars it caused
This Effect cannot be used again on the same target for the next day.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see All bodies merge together in an unholy mass before splitting back apart.

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.

  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • 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

Spend an Action. Select a target within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use at least a gallon of water to activate this Effect. Roll Dexterity + Athletics 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.

You may use this Effect to Defend against any melee, projectile, or firearm Attacks within range or Clash against any Attack targeted at you. Using it to Defend deals no Damage but does not cost Exertion.

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

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of Effect. There must be no substantial obstructions between you and your target.

Spend a Quick Action.

You may withdraw an item from your stash, or add an item that is within arm’s reach to your stash. You may only stash targets which are in your possession, grappled, or otherwise controlled by you.

You may store units of water in your stash, each no larger than something which could fit inside a briefcase (15 liters), and you may store up to 3 things at a time.

You may choose to equip any equipment you withdraw at no additional cost.

  • "Equip" refers to drawing a gun, putting on a piece of armor, etc. You may store or withdraw a maximum of 6 items in a given Round. Reminder: you may perform up to two Quick Actions for -2 dice each or 3 if you use up your Action, unless a different Effect grants you additional Quick Actions.
  • Containers which hold multiple things may count as a single item so long as the things within are generally packaged together. For instance, you may stash a clip full of bullets, a medical kit full of medical supplies, or a box of crackers, but you cannot stash a backpack full of miscellaneous equipment.
  • You may only attempt to store Objects which are free-standing and disconnected from other things. The use of this Effect will not allow you to sever any connections holding an Object in place.
  • The Maximum Object Size parameter is intended to roughly capture the weight / size restriction of items and isn’t intended to restrict shape. GM discretion is advised. A human being is level 4 in the Maximum Object Size parameter.

This Effect activates whenever a target you have injured with your teeth or claws escapes the range of your unarmed attacks. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a target within arm's reach. Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is alive and bleeds.

Your target is marked with a throbbing wound that smells strongly of blood. The mark can only be discovered with a deep medical inspection or Effect. Removal inflicts a Severity 1 Injury on the target.

You are aware of the marked target's 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.

You receive +2 dice to any rolls made against a marked target.

  • When triggered, the Effect activation resolves immediately after the triggering Action. It is not Reaction speed.
  • Marked individuals satisfy the line of sight requirement for targeted Effects.
  • 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 playing cards.

+2 dice to all rolls utilizing playing cards.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Point Control: Called Shots that you attempt only require a Contested Outcome of 2 for small targets and 4 for tiny targets.
  • Ricochet: You can make a thrown attack against a target behind cover so long as there is at least one exposed pathway to them.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your Stress from Injuries is reduced to 0. Does not reduce Stress from Mind Damage.