Hyalophora Diaboli not your average cryptid

2
The power to temporarily transform into a monstrous moth creature.
Used by Mathias Galligan, Created by MesmerMara.
(While you are a monstrous moth creature, you are obviously transformed and unusual. )

Mathias shifts and morphs, his muscles coming undone and rebinding, growing and reshaping into a creature of malice. His hair weaves and flows around his neck, forming a massive mane, antennae sprout from his forehead like devil horns, and gruesome claws curve from his fingertips. He grows in size, turning into a 10 foot tall moth-like creature, red as the blood that will soon drip from its grizzly talons.


Exert your Mind and spend an Action.

You transform into a monstrous moth creature for 3 minutes. You have access to all of your Powers while you are a monstrous moth creature, 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 1. You do not suffer any Stress while transformed.

Your alternate form is its own deadly weapon. Unarmed attacks made in your alternate form deal +3 Weapon Damage (instead of the typical -1).

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.

  • Reminder: Weapon Damage from multiple sources does not stack. Instead, the highest value is used.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

Community Power Gifts

Exert your Mind and spend a minute.

You become disguised in a manner of your choosing. The disguise lasts for two hours, or you may end it early at will. Your disguise will not hold up to close scrutiny.

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 cannot alter your clothes. You may add inhuman features to your disguise. 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.

While disguised, you cannot use any Activated or Targeted Powers.

  • While you can add inhuman features, they are aesthetic only. Think star trek alien, monstergirl, demon, etc. Does not grant things such as a prehensile tail, an extra damaging brawl attack, improved senses, etc.
  • ‘Appearance’ includes voice, bone structure, skin quality, hair length and color, eye color, muscle tone, flesh texture, and generally anything perceivable about your body.

On the name:
A term that Zephyren has learned in his Engineering classes, which is just a really roundabout way of saying something has blown up when it wasn't supposed to. A lot of things aren't supposed to explode, but does it stop Zeph from trying anyway? Not really.

On destruction:
He's the burnt aftermath of a blaze. He's the ashen trail left behind - always to be abandoned, always to be harmed and tossed away. He has to change that. He can't just let people get away with this. He'll take their place just so they can't do it to him willy-nilly anymore.

On anger:
Zephyren is a ball of anger. From the beginning he's got an intense anger for the world that he's just been keeping at the back of his mind, shelved for later use. It's melting down in the archives, it's overheating in the engines. He was never meant to hold it back. Now it's just a source for more anguish from the things he destroys out of spite. He tells himself that he feels horrible about it, but in the long run, he thinks he's better off taking out his anger on lifeless items. Unfortunately, it seems that channeling his anger in any way still has consequences...

On expletives:
Something is stopping Zephyren from saying something truly unforgivable. This power does it for him. It screams and wallows over all the stupid decisions people have made, all the ways they could've solved all their problems if they weren't [insert slurs here]. He's heard other people say these things all the time back home, so why couldn't he? He knows why. He only hopes that social convention isn't the only thing that's holding him back.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Non-Sapient Object or piece of an Object or structure within 20 feet no larger than a purse (5 liters). Roll Perception + Occult 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.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see a firebird forcefully expanding from within and mutilating itself so it could escape the object.

  • The shape of the destroyed material must be simple, such as a box or sphere. Bringing down large buildings requires an Intellect + Crafts roll to analyze the structure and may also require multiple activations. Buildings that are destroyed usually fall slowly or in pieces, creating an environmental hazard for a few Rounds prior to collapsing.
  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • 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.

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

+2 dice to rolls for Attacking, Defending, and Clashing without a weapon. Unarmed attacks do +7 Weapon Damage (instead of -1).

You may Defend against melee, projectile, or firearm Attacks from any range and Clash with those in range of your Attacks. Attacking materials like steel or spikes will not Damage you unless it has an Effect that does so.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Bodyguard: You may use your Reaction or a Desperate Defense to Defend against any Attack where the attacker, target, or line of fire is within 15 feet. If you do so, you may opt to take the Damage from the Attack instead of the target.
  • Ghost Wrangler: You may grapple incorporeal, liquid, or gaseous entities.

  • Unlike the Ability Brawl, this Effect does not affect small weapons such as knives.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living target within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless James becomes especially worried. Roll Perception + Alertness at Difficulty 6. Your target may resist by rolling Body at Difficulty 8.

If you succeed, the target is afflicted with a Condition that causes any number of the following symptoms:

  • Disabled: The target suffers from an affliction that leaves them unable to act at full strength, such as physical pain, severe fever, intense fatigue, etc. They take a -2 penalty to all physical actions, which grows by -1 every hour until it reaches your Outcome.
  • Gross: The target exhibits significant and obvious signs of illness, making them into a social pariah. They will be shunned in public places, and take a -2 penalty to all social actions, which grows by -1 every hour until it reaches your Outcome.
  • Poisoned: The target gains a Severity-1 Injury which ignores Armor and doesn’t heal naturally. For every hour that passes, they receive a new identical Injury. If this new Injury would kill them, they roll 1d10 at Difficulty 6. Success cures the condition; otherwise, they will die.
Symptoms begin to appear immediately, and will remain and continue to worsen until the affliction is cured. The affliction is contagious and will spread to new targets. Anyone who comes within 20 feet of afflicted individual of the same species must roll Body, Difficulty 8. If they fail, they become afflicted. Otherwise, they are immune to the spread.

The affliction can be diagnosed with a Medicine roll, and may be cured by modern medicine through treatment at a fully equipped facility. Treatment outside of a facility may stop the affliction from worsening for a day, but will not cure the underlying Condition.

Any Scars, Traumas, or Injuries caused by your symptoms cannot be healed until the underlying Condition is cured.

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

  • Successfully diagnosing an affliction also includes information about the treatment method.
  • Curing an affliction removes the Condition, but does not automatically heal any Injuries, Battle Scars, or Traumas which may have been caused by that condition.
  • 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 reflects the influence of Mrak, allowing Larz to phase into the shadows and evade danger while paying a price in his physical capabilities afterward. The shadowy silhouette left behind emphasizes his connection to the spirit of darkness.

Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend an Action.

You phase out of reality for up to 4 Rounds. During this time, you cannot affect the outside world or take any Actions. You cannot move. Nothing can interact with you in any way.

When you activate this Effect, you may limit its duration to a period of your choosing. If you are able, you may also end it as a Free Action on your initiative.

You leave You leave a faint, shadowy silhouette in your place, marking where you were at your location.

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.

  • You may use your Free Movement on the Round you phase back in, but you cannot take an Action.

Stock Power Gifts

Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. You must use up at least a gallon of water in order to activate this Effect. Choose a specific Injury on yourself that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Brawn + Survival at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, the Injury is reduced in Severity by your Outcome. If you reduce its Severity to 0, the Injury is fully healed. Otherwise, it is partially healed and will heal the rest of the way at its natural rate.

This counts as a successful Makeshift Stabilization if the Injury was not already Stabilized; any Battle Scars caused by the Injury will remain.

  • Unstabilized wounds do not degenerate during treatment.

Spend an Action. Select a Living or Animate target within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use a melee weapon to activate this Effect. Roll Brawn + Melee at Difficulty 6. The target may roll Body, -2 dice at 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.
Refer to the stock Battle Scars on the Character Sheet for specific systems.

All alterations you make must damage the target's knees.

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

  • 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.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are in werewolf form.

You have 4, which reduces incoming damage from all sources of physical attack except silver. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.

Any Injury received from Damage that was reduced by this Armor is considered Makeshift Stabilized and will not degrade further, and any Battle Scar caused by them is reduced by 1 level. You may attempt a single Proper Stabilization on such Injuries.

  • This Effect’s Armor rating cannot be increased by any other Effects.
  • When shredded, it returns to full potency in one hour.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must use up a container of fine powder in order to activate this Effect.

You automatically detect all object that are designed to detect people, including tripwires, security cameras, detection lasers, heat sensors, etc within 50 feet of you for the next hour. You have a clear sense of both the distance and direction towards any detected items. When you detect objects, instead of learning nothing about them, you may observe each object with all of your senses.

  • This includes any objects that come into range during activation.
  • This Effect does not satisfy the line of sight targeting requirement for other Effects.

Spend an Action. Select a target any distance away from 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.

You may send a single message to your target. It can be as complex or as large as you like. It takes at least 30 minutes before it is received.

The message may be intercepted while in transit, and may be overheard, read, or otherwise understood by anyone near either you or the recipient. You must share a common language for your target to understand the message.

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

  • Depending on the length of your message, it may take a target some time and/or effort to understand it in its entirety.
  • Receiving a message does not force a target to pay attention to you, and they can feel free to ignore your message if they choose. Depending on the flavor of your Gift, they may or may not be able to return to it and read it later on.
  • Generally you cannot communicate with Contractors who are not in a Contract with you.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.