The Sons of Salem

Spend two Actions performing the following ritual: Trace glowing glyphs across the surface of the shield. Select a shield within arm's reach which could fit inside a briefcase (15 liters). You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.

Your target will become Animated for three hours. You may choose to end the effect at will, as a Free Action. You can maintain a max of 4 targets animated at once.

Animated Objects have the following restrictions and capabilities:

• Awareness: Animated targets are capable of perceiving the world around them within reasonable limits. They cannot communicate in a clear or coherent way.
• Movement: Animated targets can use an existing method of locomotion (wheels, etc); otherwise they can move across the ground or hover up to a height of 7 feet in the air at 40 feet per Round.
• Combat: Animated objects cannot take offensive actions in combat.
• Artifacts: Animating an Artifact does not grant the animated object access to any Effects built in to that Artifact.
• Ability Use: If an action requires a roll, Animated objects have a dice pool of 7 when performing a task for which they were designed, and a dice pool of 4 for taking any other actions.
• Toughness: Animated targets are as easy to destroy as they were prior to being animated. If destroyed, the effect ends.
• Following Orders: Animated objects are controlled by the GM, and will follow any commands you give them, as long as they don't require problem-solving.

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

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

You learn a single specific piece of information, chosen from the following list, about your target:

• Determine if this target is Alien in origin or whether it has any Alien energy or outside influences. You receive information about the type of energy, including the name of the relevant Source pool or equivalent.
• If this target is destroyed or killed, you learn the name and appearance of the being responsible.

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

Spend an Action. Select a Living target within 30 feet. Roll Intellect + Occult ( dice) at Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, your target becomes drowsy for the next 3 Rounds, during which time they suffer an additional -2 dice Penalty to all Actions. At the end of their drowsiness, they fall asleep for Contested Outcome x 3 rounds.

Sleeping targets will not prematurely wake up on their own, but may still be woken up by sudden loud noises, being jarred or splashed with water, taking Damage, or similar rousing events. They will also awaken before dying of hunger, thirst, or suffocation. Drowsy targets always fall asleep, regardless of what happens while they are drowsy.

When an affected target wakes up, they remain drowsy for the next minute, and suffer a -3 dice penalty. If an affected target successfully resists being put to sleep, they will still become drowsy for the next minute, and will suffer the same penalty.

This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 1.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. Select a Sapient being, human, or Dead target within arm's reach. In order to target the Dead, you must have the presence of one of their loved ones. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is dead, or similarly a phantasmal entity or occult being that can be described as dead or "spiritual". You must actively and obviously use Chinese Instruments to activate this Effect.

The target can communicate in your language for the next hour.

While this Effect is active, you are at -2 dice to all Actions and cannot Concentrate.

You may only use this Effect once per target per day.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select an Animate target within 25 feet You must use up lithium-ion battery in order to activate this Effect. You must maintain Concentration while the effect is active. Roll Intellect + Technology ( dice) at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind ( dice) 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 question you ask and memory you replay takes a single Round to read.

You may read memories that the target has forgotten.

Spend 1 Action and use up this glowing blue disk. Select a non-Alien Device within arm's reach. Cannot be used to improve Armor.

Lasts the next two hours. Your target receives 2 extra dice to all actions taken for its intended use. Attacking with an upgraded weapon grants +2 Weapon Damage instead of additional dice. While it is upgraded, the item cannot be destroyed.

After the Effect ends, any upgraded targets suffer a -2 dice penalty until they are either repaired or upgraded again.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Animate target within 20 feet. You must actively and obviously use a watch or clock to activate this Effect. Roll Intellect + Science ( dice) at Difficulty 7.

If you succeed, the target will suffer a dice penalty equal to the Outcome for the next 2 Rounds. Dice pools may be reduced all the way down to 0 by this penalty. This breaks Concentration.

You may activate this Effect as a Reaction to contest any Action a valid target is taking, reducing their Outcome by your own. Your command has no impact beyond disrupting their Action.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living target within 45 feet as well as a specific emotion. This Effect cannot be used unless you are engaged in conversation with the target. Roll Charisma + Influence ( dice) at Difficulty 6. Affected targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6 -3 dice.

If you succeed, for the next minute, your target will do things they otherwise wouldn’t have done, inspired by the chosen emotion. 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.

Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend an Action. Select a Living or Sapient target within arm's reach. Roll Intellect + Occult ( dice) at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind ( dice) at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you possess your target for the Contested Outcome in minutes. The target has no control over their body or actions, and they are functionally unconscious through the entire possession, retaining no memory other than any Traumas they might obtain.

You do not leave your original body behind when you possess a target. When a possession ends, your original body will reappear at the host body’s same location. You may spend an Action to end the possession early.

Stats: During the possession, you use the host body’s Body rating, but your own Mind rating. Any rolls you make use the host body’s Brawn, Dexterity, and Perception but your own Charisma, Intellect, and Abilities. You gain the effects of any physical Assets and Liabilities they have. You cannot read the target’s mind or memories.

Gifts: You have access to and can use any of your own Powers which are intrinsic to your biology or physical body. You cannot access any Powers or other supernatural effects which the target has, unless they are intrinsic to the target’s biology or physical body.

Death: If the host body is killed or destroyed while you are still possessing it, you will die along with it.

Eviction: If you attempt to force your host to take actions which would violate one of their Limits or their instinct for self-preservation, they may resist by rolling Mind. If their Outcome is higher than or equal to the contested Outcome, the possession ends and you are evicted from their body.

If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Non-Alien Creature within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is a terrestrial animal.

For the next day, you may issue specific commands to your target which they will be compelled to follow.

Your commands can be complex and multi-layered, though they must still be specific. You cannot make them obviously endanger themselves or violate their instinct for self-preservation. The effects of the command will fade after a day has passed.