An enormous wrapped cross sails over the New York skyline, crossing over 2 whole city blocks.
In that moment, stunned bystanders witness a green-haired cowboy in clown makeup sailing high overhead, clinging on for dear life to one of its many straps - before the hulking object decimates a brick wall in its path and both the cross and its passenger disappear from sight.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with thrown weapons.
+2 dice to all rolls utilizing thrown weapons.
You also gain the following effects:
- July 15, 2024, 2:26 p.m. - Improvement Cost: 4. Added Enhancements: Straight To The Face, Ricochet
The artifact, a ring of metal, shimmers slightly, spreading a mist that hides the user slowly disappear into nothing as its user rubs the inscription along the artifact. A bit of Elvish from J.R.R. Token, but saying something different.
"Keep me secret, keep me safe"
Vel made this artifact with a ritual pulling on the long history of legends of artifacts of invisibility.
The ring of Gyges is the first, and the one Vel picked the name for
The second is the helm of hades, the source of the mist that powers the effect.
The last, and the most well known, the one ring, and tempered by the other two stories
Vel starts by casting the metal for the base of the artifact, typically a ring. As Vel does so they tell extracts of the story of the ring of Gyges
Vel then lets the ring cool, surrounding it in steam as they talk about the stories of the helm of hades.
Vel finally carves in elvish the words into the ring. The patterns are common enough that the ring looks recognizable as something akin to the one ring, drawing power from people's conception of that. The specifics of the wording serve as another specific bit of meaning, anchoring the power of the ring in the point of time when the ring was harmless, and connecting it to the other 2 stories of less malevolent effects.
Notes:
[So my thought process for this is that the most well known ring of invisibility and symbol of invisibility is the ring from Lord of the Rings.
When trying to impart an effect, Vel doesn’t want to make a ring that destroys lives and minds. So, the other stories, and the words in elvish are a way of anchoring the power Vel gets from the big story, pulling the other stories of similar tools, and using them to divert the effects the one ring is supposed to have.
I could probably switch to just the Greek stories to make it a little cleaner, but I think if you are making a ring of invisibility using the cultural understanding of rings of invisibility, you need to address the one ring, or it will slip in.]
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You and everything you are carrying is obscured in one of the following manners. You may Spend an Action to change the way in which you're concealed.
While this Effect is active, any Effect that would obscure you or your equipment specifically from other, additional senses fails automatically.
If someone discovers you, this Effect will not help you hide from them for the next minute. Activating a targeted or obvious Effect, attacking, or being Injured ends the Effect. When the Effect ends, it is disabled for one minute.
You may turn this Effect on and off at will during its duration.
You are taller than most humans, long and thin, with pointed ears and teeth, and an unnatural pallid complexion. Even if you still pass for human at a glance, your presence carries an undeniable undercurrent of something enchanting and primal, some buried ancestral memory of caution and unease that makes the hair on the backs of others' necks prickle.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You are permanently and visibly transformed: aspect of the Banshee. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living being when targeted. Your Perception is increased by 1 and your Charisma is increased by 1.
The Severity of any Injury caused by magnetic iron is increased by 2.
Robin looks like a young man, but their complexion is sickly and their teeth are sharp. When threatened, their nails extend outward an inch - a very sharp inch.
A few years ago, when he was caught, the vampire that would become Robin had a silver cross shoved into his face. The scar stays.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You are permanently and visibly transformed: a vampire. You are considered to be a Sapient, Non-Living being when targeted. Your Dexterity is increased by 1.
Your body is adapted to stalking. You receive +3 dice on non-attack rolls related to stalking.
You are immune to damage from cold. If cold is a substantial component of other damage you would take (e.g. falling from a great distance into a vat of liquid nitrogen), that damage is reduced by 2 (in addition to Armor)
Your Injuries no longer degrade with time. You do not age naturally, and supernatural attempts to age you fail.
You may make a +2 Weapon Damage Teeth and Claws attack without additional equipment.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Disfiguring: Cross burnt onto cheek.
Whenever you enter Combat, roll Self-Control. If you fail, you cannot choose which targets to attack and cannot stop fighting until there are no targets remaining.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Addiction: Blood.
The Severity of any Injury caused by silver is increased by 2.
Bast is part of a higher order of life than humans, octopi, and their ilk. This has many advantages, and a few drawbacks.
Some of the advantages: Male and Female ports and plugs of various kinds throughout their body, 4 and 5g internal antennae, bluetooth capability, on-board gps (intended to track location if they got stolen, but being spoofed thanks to recent modifications).
Some of the disadvantages: Still need water, for coolant. Non-grounded electric shocks are incredibly deadly. Difficulty interacting with humans in non-lab settings.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You are permanently and visibly transformed: Human-passing Android. You are considered to be a Sapient, Non-Living Computer when targeted. Your Brawn is increased by 1.
Your body is adapted to Interfacing with technology. You receive +3 dice on non-attack rolls related to Interfacing with technology.
No single organ in your body is critical for life. Called Shots do no additional Damage to you. You may perceive the world through separated body parts, take Actions with them, and reattach them by spending an Action and Exerting your Mind.
Your Injuries no longer degrade with time. You do not age naturally, and supernatural attempts to age you fail.
Your body provides you with the functionality of surgery suite. If used to attack, these "tools" use the same stats as a small knife.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Flat Affect.
You cannot ignore or decrease the effects of Stress for any social rolls you make.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Superior Race.
The Severity of any Injury caused by Electricity (not including through normal charging/interfacing functions) is increased by 2.
As Phil fights, he kicks, he bites, and he beats you with his wings, not with the strength of a man, but the precision of a knife.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in unarmed combat.
+2 dice to rolls for Attacking, Defending, Grappling, and Clashing without a weapon. Unarmed attacks do +0 Weapon Damage (instead of -1).
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Delusions of Invincibility.
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:
The Ninja is so attuned to the sounds of their surroundings, they may focus their mind to "see" using the subtle acoustic vibrations.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Your senses are enhanced in the following way.
The Vampire was cursed to forever be a vile creature of the night! Their skin has faded to a deathly pale, only regaining something close to human complexion in the immediate aftermath of feeding on human blood. They are weakened when exposed to direct sunlight or when they have been unable to feed in the past day, but otherwise has gained inhuman strength, speed, and irresistibility from their devil's bargain.
You gain the following benefits as long as you have fed on fresh human blood in the past 24 hours and you are not in direct sunlight.
You are permanently and visibly transformed: a seductive and powerful humanoid, with pale skin and wicked fangs. You are considered to be a Sapient, Non-Living being when targeted. Your Brawn is increased by 1, your Dexterity is increased by 1, and your Charisma is increased by 1.
Your Injuries no longer degrade with time. You do not age naturally, and supernatural attempts to age you fail.
The Severity of any Injury caused by fire and heat is increased by 2.
Unimportant characters just can't seem to hit our hero with their attacks. Injuries that are sustained from underlings are conveniently non-severe.
You gain the following benefits as long as the attacker isn't important enough to have a name.
You have 4 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.
The ninja is a master of a wide variety of martial weapons. They kill quickly and quietly.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with melee ninja weapons.
+2 dice to all rolls with melee ninja weapons. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using melee ninja weapons.
You also gain the following effects:
While submerged, the aquamancer can fully sustain themselves from the waters around them, entirely forgoing food, drink, and even air. They may also enter a state of hibernation, remaining underwater and incapacitated for up to two months.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are submerged in water.
You no longer require any food, water, or air in order to survive. You no longer age naturally, and supernatural attempts to age you fail. Any roll to resist an Effect dependent on any affected requirement automatically succeeds.
You may spend one minute entering a state of hibernation, during which you are inanimate and unaffected by any requirements for life. You may still perceive the outside world and may spend 3 Rounds "waking up" to end it.