As Julio pulls out a piece of paper, text from Cortázar's "Cefalea" appears written, the paper turns to dust, and the victim hears the Mancuspias cry inside their head.
Julio Ramos was named after Julio Cortázar, after all, and Ramos considers him one of the greatest. This power represents the countless nights Ramos, as a boy, spent reading tale after tale.
Spend an Action. Select a Living target within 25 feet. You must use up a piece of paper in hand in order to activate this Effect. Roll Brawn + 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 one of the following symptoms:
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.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
This Effect ends if you are stunned, fall asleep, go unconscious, are incapacitated, die, or if your total Stress ever exceeds 5.
Maybe the experience of a skilled professional, maybe a supernatural power or maybe just luck. But I always find what I want. Always.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 100 feet At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Thievery at Difficulty 6.
You learn the following information about the area:
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is I touch with a naked hand one of the walls, floor or furniture that's been there for more than six months. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.
Paulette creates an area full of flammable poisonous web.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within 60 feet of you. Choose a 3-D shape that will define the borders of your Effect.
You create a zone of sticky web in the chosen shape, originating at the chosen Location, with a radius of 60 feet. and lasting for as long as you maintain Concentration. The area inside your zone is affected in the following ways:
Any time someone leaves your zone, they remain affected by your Zone Effects for an additional 3 Rounds as if they were still within the zone.
When activated, Xander's eyes roll whites & a vibration can be felt in the teeth of anyone nearby. Transmitting injuries or insanity through the principle of Contagion, where like calls to like. This biofeedback process can transmit traumas & even wounds through psychosomatic transmission - this process is a gross example of the more horrific aspect of volatile psychic powers, as the life force is visibly drained.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Sapient target within arm's reach. If a target does not consent to the transfer, you must roll Cha + 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 one each of as many things as you like from the following to transfer from your target to yourself, or from yourself to them:
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see bio-electric lightning explodes from Xander's remaining eye & mouth, accompanied by swirling auras around both himself & the target, visibly withering the recipient.
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.
Exert your Mind (unless a target has been attacked by you in the last 3 Rounds) and spend an Action. Select a target within arm's reach.
Your target is marked with a pattern of burst blood vessels like a lightning strike. Your mark can be discovered if the target is inspected visually. Removal inflicts a Severity 1 Injury on the target.
You are aware of the marked target's vital status, injuries, 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.
Catherine uses fortune telling to briefly show the target their infinite possible futures before revealing the grand infinity of the future, hammering home how insignificant their existence is.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Sapient or Creature target within 20 feet. You must actively and obviously use Fortune telling items to activate this Effect. Roll Perception+Occult 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 Fear of Infinity as a Trauma. 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.
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.
Once the werewolf tastes the blood of their prey, there's no escape. Those injured by the beast's claws and teeth are marked with its saliva. Their wounds smell strongly of blood, and it's only a matter of time before the werewolf returns with a vengeance to finish the kill.
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.
The mobster presents a reasoned, logical case to the target: there's a lot of dangerous folks out there, and only they can offer safety... for a price.
If they agree, they will pay the mobster a monthly fee for protection. If they stop making their payments... well, let's just say, the mobster can't be held responsible for any unsavory types that might pay them a visit.
This Effect cannot be used unless you are making a deal to exchange money for protection.
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 shake hands 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:
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.
The psychic can reach into another's' mind and pilfer their deepest memories. Doing so causes the psychic's nose to bleed and is exceptionally draining.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living, Animate target within 25 feet. You must maintain Concentration while the effect is active. Roll Intellect + Investigation at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you are able to view your target's memories. If you fail, the target knows you're attempting to read their memories.
You may ask a number of specific questions about their memory equal to your Contested Outcome. For example, “what is their computer password,” “What were they doing at 4:00PM yesterday,” etc. You cannot get answers to broad, analytical questions like “are they a good person?” or “what are their plans for the future?”
Each memory takes as long to read as it takes to answer the question. When replaying a full memory, it is replayed in double time.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is your nose bleeding. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
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 creature's claws rip through the poor, defenseless doctor's coat, opening deep gashes in their gut. It bares its fangs to lunge for the killing blow, but the doctor looks up at the attacker. Their eyes filed not with utter terror at their imminent demise, only a look of disappointment and pity. Touched, the monster hesitates. . .
This Effect activates whenever you receive a Severity 2 or higher Injury from an attack. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a Living target within 45 feet. Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. Affected targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, for the next minute, your target will do things they otherwise wouldn’t have done, inspired by remorse for hurting such a pure soul. 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.