The Sons of Salem

Exert your Mind (unless you have been recently attacked by your target) and spend an Action. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is undead, demonic, or another evil creature. You must actively and obviously use a gilded cross to activate this Effect. Roll Charisma + 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 a phobia of holy things 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.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

You have 6, which reduces incoming damage from all sources of physical attack except acid. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with Non-edged weapons.

+2 dice to all rolls with Non-edged weapons. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using Non-edged weapons.

You also gain the following effects:

• Finesse: You may limit the Severity of any Injury you inflict or determine a maximum Wound Level to inflict on the target, including Incapacitated. You may also choose to make this Injury properly or improperly stabilized, or to keep it unstabilized. If you would successfully incapacitate a target, you may opt to knock them out for one hour instead of having them suffer an Injury.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a number of Living targets equal to your Charisma within arm's reach. Roll Charisma + Thievery ( dice) at Difficulty 6. Affected targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6 -3 dice.

If you succeed, for the next hour, affected targets will do things they otherwise wouldn’t have done, inspired by hubris. 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.

If you choose to use Chain of Screaming, your target interacts with any valid target, they must roll Self-Control or be swept up in the same emotion. New targets pass it on as well, and so on, with the remaining duration decreasing by half until the chain stops.

This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is fidgeting with a lucky charm. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action.

Summon the one and only Sapient Caga, Spirit of Forest at your location. They last until they are destroyed They are controlled by you. You may have at most one minion active at a time.

• Initiative: Minions act directly after you in Combat starting the Round after they are summoned.
• Combat: Minions roll 4 dice to make Club (branch) Attacks. Their unarmed Attacks are melee range and deal +1 Damage.
• Body/Mind: Minions have 7 Body. They are roughly the size of a horse. Your minions roll 7 Mind resistance dice.
• Armor: Minions have 1 Armor.
• Movement: Minions cannot move, and they weigh at least 250 pounds.
• Intelligence: Minions have human-level intelligence and can speak your language. They lack manual dexterity and cannot use equipment, Artifacts, or Consumables designed for humans.
• Actions: Any Perception checks they make are rolled with 4 dice. Any other roll is made with 4 dice.
• Powers: Your companion can Exert their Mind using your Mind and spend your Source. Your companion has access to Beast Form. Only one of you can benefit from a given Passive Power at a time, and you can switch who has access as a Free Action. You and your companion cannot activate the same Effect on the same Round.
• Unusual: Minions are obviously Alien to any observer.

If killed, you cannot re-summon your minion until after your next Contract.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within 10 feet. You must actively and obviously use a ballpoint pen to activate this Effect.

You place a ward, which is fixed to its initial location. You can hear and see through the ward as though you were standing at its location. Your wards last 3 hours. You may have at most 3 wards active at once.

The ward requires Concentration to monitor, though it will remain active until you deactivate it. It can be detected with a roll and destroyed through mundane means.

You gain the following benefits as long as engaged in combat with firearms made in your home country.

+2 dice to all firearms made in your home country rolls.

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.
• Quick Fingers: Drawing your weapon is a Free Action as long as it is on your person. You may reload or swap ammo as a Free Action.

Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a target Object within arm's reach. At the end of your investigation, roll Charisma + Culture ( dice) at Difficulty 6.

You learn all the following information about your target:

• You learn the object's highest material value and why it is worth so much.

You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.

Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. Select a Living target within arm's reach. 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. Your target must make a Trauma roll to reap the benefits of this Effect. They may choose to Resist the Effect and not make the roll. Choose a specific Injury on your target that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Charisma + Medicine ( dice) 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.

Exert your Mind and spend one minute. Select a Living target within 25 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target deserves it. Roll Charisma + Occult ( dice) at Difficulty 6. Your target may resist by rolling Body at Difficulty 7.

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

• 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.

The affliction is not treatable by modern medicine. It may be diagnosed by rolling Intellect + Occult ( dice) at Difficulty 6, and can be cured by bathing fully in clear running water.

This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is you staring at the target, speaking calmly. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.