When you feel endangered, your bones are shaped like clay under your will, swiftly coming out of a part of your body and taking the shape of blades to help you deal with the threat.
Then as fast as they appeared, they come back inside.
Spend an Action. Select a target within arm's reach. This Effect cannot be used unless when defending/ clashing or against something traping or physically restraining you. Roll Intellect + Crafts Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling to Dodge or Defend as a Reaction, Difficulty 6.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 2. Armor is fully effective against this Damage.
You may use this Effect to Defend against any melee, projectile, or firearm Attacks within range or Clash against any Attack targeted at you. Using it to Defend deals no Damage but does not cost Exertion.
If you successfully hit your target, the value of any Armor they are wearing is reduced by 2. For material armor, this penalty lasts until it is repaired. For intrinsic armor, it lasts until the end of Combat and any relevant wound is healed.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
Spend an hour healing one battle scar.
Scar healing is a powerful, paradoxical ability born from a past steeped in violence. Once used to take lives with lethal precision, these hands are now capable of healing the deepest scars and nerve damage, restoring what was thought lost forever. This power emerged after a profound transformation, offering a chance at redemption. This ability is now a mission to mend the wounds of others, turning a history of destruction into a path of restoration and hope.
Exert your Mind and spend an hour. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Select a Battle Scar on your target to treat.
The treated Battle Scar heals as you finish activating this Effect.
Marks caught a few villians in his day, and one thing they always seem to have in common is they never shut up.
Not everyone can leave themselves open, provoke in just the right way and even let themselves get into seemingly precarious situations, just to loosen some lips.
He's learned how to conversationally 'push their buttons' and make them talk.
So far, the most reliable way has been to talk about himself, to instigate their inevitable sense of competition.
It takes constant conversation, so when Mark mentions his relavent truths, their target does too.
Preferably in the form of a back and forth gloating/determination sort of thing if it is antagonistic, or a comraderie building honesty moment if not.
Examples:
"I'm Mark Collins, fighter of injustice, protector of the weak. I'm here to stop you! " (flexes in superhero pose)
"It's too late, Mark!" (laughs maniacally) "You'll never find the bombs in time!" (Shows him live feed of the city.) "Watch your public failure with me! The world will know my name! ZOXOB!"
"If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you're going to die. So they'll talk. They'll gloat. They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar. So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word."
Terry Pratchett
Exert your Mind and spend one minute. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. You must actively converse with the individual in question for one minute in order to gather any information. At the end of your investigation, roll Brawn + Influence at Difficulty 6.
You learn all the following information about your target:
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome. For any information you learn about your target, the corresponding information about you is shared with them.
Any information you gather is A spoken conversation and made publicly available. This also includes any information the target learns about you.
You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.
Observing the effects of the affliction up close, Nathan attaches a strip of yellow paper to the body of the afflicted as he incants a particular mantra in Mandarin.
As he does so, he builds the body of the talisman, drawing, preferably with cinnabar ink and a brush, from its head to its feet, before the malady is suppressed, the fu flaring to life momentarily, drying instantaneously.
The talisman is mainly composed of its head, gut and feet. Learning this particular effect from school under the Three Pure Ones, these fu begin with three hooks. The gut is the main soul and essence of the talisman, and that which determines its effectiveness and is formulated with several secret characters. The feet, lastly, are as varied as the stars in the sky, depending on the intention behind the talisman.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. Select a Living target within arm's reach. You must use up yellow paper in order to activate this Effect.
You may cure any Non-Alien diseases, toxins, or poisons afflicting your target so long as you have fully diagnosed or understood it. You may cure diseases or poisons even if they are not treatable through modern medicine. During treatment, the malady you are treating does not progress or cause additional Damage or other effects. Your patient is required to keep the talisman on them and unharmed (includes getting it wet) for the next month. If they violate this rule, your treatment is immediately reversed.
You may treat Alien maladies and curses. If there is some method to cure them, you learn what it is. If the malady does not provide its own means of curing it, it is cured.
Oleg's mutagenic mastery manifests in a visceral display of accelerated healing. As he activates this power, damaged flesh, torn tendons, and shattered bones erupt in a frenzy of regeneration. A warm, blood-red glow bathes the affected area, marking the violent reconstruction of tissue. The process, while instantaneous and life-saving, initiates with a surge of searing pain as cells multiply explosively and tissues forcefully realign. In mere moments, wounds close, fractures mend, and organs repair—a miracle of science that blurs the line between agony and relief.
When used, add condition to target:
[Aftercare: Acidic Avoidance]
Your recent injury requires special aftercare to ensure proper healing. For the next month, you must avoid being attacked by, exposed to or consuming any substances with a pH of 3.5 or lower, including but not limited to acidic foods and beverages like citrus, vinegar and sodas. Failure to adhere to this restriction will cause the effects of your healing to immediately reverse, and you will regain the damage that was previously healed. This condition is vital for maintaining your recovery, so be mindful of everything you consume during this time. Remove condition at the start of your next contract [Given at X wins].
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. Choose a specific Injury on your target that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Intellect + Medicine 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. Your patient is required to avoid acidic substances - not only those that cause damage, but also those in common food and beverages (pH equal or below 3.5) for the next month. If they violate this rule, your treatment is immediately reversed.
The Ringmaster shouts their orders to their target(s), enticing and compelling them to move as they say.
Exert your Mind and spend at least one Action. Select a number of targets equal to your Charisma within 20 feet. Your target may be actively engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your targets. Roll Charisma + Alertness at Difficulty 6. The targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If the contested Outcome is positive, your targets will be compelled to follow your command to their best understanding of the letter and spirit of the command until they have completed it or for your Contested Outcome in minutes. You cannot issue another suggestion to the target until 10 minutes after they have completed the first command or 10 minutes after a failure.
The target is unaware that they are under supernatural influence and feel they are acting of their own free will. If you fail, they realize that you were attempting to influence them supernaturally with your command.
Your command can be an order to take an immediate Action. You cannot order a target to "do nothing," and they are free to take other Actions as they fulfill your request. Your command cannot be obviously self-destructive. Commands may force a target to violate one of their Limits, and they will need to make a Trauma roll once the suggestion wears off.
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. This interrupts Concentration.
If the Contested Outcome of your activation roll is 4 or higher, the activation cost of this Effect is refunded.
This Effect ends if you are stunned, fall asleep, go unconscious, are incapacitated, die, or if your total Stress ever exceeds 5.
The Witch summons a crow, whispers a message to it, and sends it off to deliver her words. Half an hour later, the crow arrives at the recipient and repeats her message aloud in its croaking, animal voice.
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.
The De-Neuralizer is a small silver device that can emanate a bright flash of light. Any being that looks into it with uncovered eyes has their most recent period of the their memory set into a highly over-writable state for a moment. While in this state, their memories may be overwritten at will.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within within arm's reach. All Sapient targets within 20 feet are affected. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is looking directly into the device with uncovered eyes. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If the contested Outcome is positive, the most recent 1 hour from your target’s memory is either replaced with new memories or forgotten entirely. This is recorded as a Condition. The level of detail and completeness of the alteration depends on your Outcome. If you fail, the target realizes that you are attempting to alter their memories.
The period is chosen either by time (i.e. “last Friday night”) or by reference to a specific event (i.e. “when the murder occurred”).
The Witch gazes at a calm and trusting animal and blinks, revealing eyes that have changed to match the creature's. Her body goes limp and collapses, and the witch proceeds to walk away, now temporarily borrowing the animal's body.
A borrowing Witch is a visitor in the animal's mind and cannot overstay her welcome or force the animal into danger.
Spend an Action or Reaction. Select a Non-Alien Creature target within 20 feet. The target may Resist.
You possess your target and have control over their actions for the next hour. Your original body will be left behind, unconscious. You may perceive through your original body's senses by maintaining Concentration. If your original body is touched, you may roll Perception + Alertness to notice. You may spend an Action to end the possession early.
Stats: Any Actions you take will use the possessed creature’s Brawn, Dexterity, and Perception, but use your own Charisma, Intellect, and Abilities.
Gifts: You do not have access to any Gifts while you are possessing your target.
Death: If the host suffers an Injury, or is destroyed or incapacitated, you are evicted back into your own body. If the possession ends and your original body was killed or destroyed, you will die.
Eviction: You cannot force your host to take Actions which would violate their instinct for self-preservation (which includes engaging in Combat for any purpose other than self-defense or natural hunting); any attempt to do so will sever the connection and send you back into your own body. If you are forced out of the target's body prematurely, you must make a Trauma roll.
Targets with Body ratings higher than 10 require a Charisma + Animals roll resisted by the target’s Body. Kaiju and environment-scale targets are immune.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
As a free creature, The Fairy cannot withstand being caged or imprisioned in any way. Luckily, they possess a glamour that allows them to unlock any lock binding them with a wink of their eye. The lock falls open with a sparkle of light and a sound like a ringing bell.
Spend an Action. Select a Non-Alien door, container, knot, or lock within arm's reach. This Effect cannot be used unless the targeted lock or door is being used to restrain or imprison you.
You may lock, unlock, and/or open your target.
The magician dons their wizard hat, raises their arms, wiggles their fingers, and a rain of sparks fly woosh around an object. It shudders to life and follows the magicians commands, including to do things it was not designed to do.
Exert your Mind and an Action. Select a Inanimate target within arm's reach which could fit inside a briefcase (15 liters). You must actively and obviously use a pointed hat with stars and moons to activate this Effect.
Your target will become Animated indefinitely. 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: