Crime Scene Sense

2
Requires Seasoned
The power to detect all nearby Evidence Of Crimes.
Used by Harold Polk, Created by jwesley123.
(This Effect has no explicit visibility requirement.)

When Harold Polk activates Crime Scene Sense, there’s no outward display of power. Instead, his demeanor subtly changes—his eyes narrow slightly, and his gaze becomes more focused and intense, as if he’s honing in on something that others cannot perceive. The world around him seems to slow down in his mind as his heightened awareness kicks in.

As he walks through an area, seemingly mundane details start to stand out to him. Scuff marks on the floor, an out-of-place object, or a faint odor all become clues that lead him to the evidence of a crime. His mind automatically connects these details, almost like pieces of a puzzle falling into place. It’s as if an internal compass directs him toward the evidence, though to an observer, it might just look like he’s following his instincts.

When he encounters hidden or disguised evidence, his mind instinctively understands the methods used to conceal it. He might notice a slight irregularity in the way a drawer closes or the faint impression of a hidden compartment behind a wall. This knowledge seems to come from a place of deep intuition, as if he’s simply “tuning in” to the crime rather than discovering something supernatural.

To those around him, Harold’s actions might seem like incredible deductive reasoning or a stroke of genius—a natural gift for solving mysteries rather than a display of any otherworldly power.


Exert your Mind and spend one minute.

You automatically detect all Evidence Of Crimes within 50 feet of you for the next hour. You have a clear sense of both the distance and direction towards any detected items. You do not learn any details about the detected items.

If no Evidence Of Crimes targets are within 50 feet of you, and then one enters range, you automatically detect it, even if this Effect is not active.

The means by which any Evidence Of Crimes are hidden or disguised is made clear to you, as well as how to access them if they are secured. This includes objects secured via the Stash Effect.

  • This includes any objects that come into range during activation.

Community Power Gifts

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your Brawn rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Brawn (cannot be used on combat rolls or Effect activations).

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Disfigured(Stone skin).

You also gain the following effects:

  • Tough: You gain Armor equal to half your Brawn rating. This Armor cannot be penetrated and protects against falling Damage.

  • Armor from multiple sources does not stack. Instead, the highest is used.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

You gain the following benefits as long as you have your Left eye.

Your Perception rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Perception (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).

If you are witnessed actively using this Effect, whoever sees it can make a Perception + Alertness roll at Difficulty 6. A complete success reveals the source of your power.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Constant Vigilance: You cannot be ambushed or caught-flat footed when awake. When asleep, you can make a Perception + Alertness roll at Difficulty 6 to wake up in time.
  • Weak Points: You may use Perception in place of Dexterity on attack rolls.
  • Can't Unsee: Any Trauma rolls you make are rolled at +2 Difficulty.

  • You can still be ambushed if you are incapacitated, stunned, or being kept unconscious supernaturally.
  • If your Left eye is damaged, destroyed, or lost, you lose all benefits from this Effect for the next two months, or until you can recover any relevant missing items (which may involve a side-game and requires a GM to approve whatever process is used).
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

Exert your Mind and spend a Quick Action.

You transform into Black-Carapace Armored Insect-like Equine Humanoid for 3 Rounds. You have access to all of your Powers while you are Black-Carapace Armored Insect-like Equine Humanoid, and you can use your equipment. Your Battle Scars, Injuries, and physical Liabilities are carried over between forms. Reverting from your Alternate Form cannot cause your existing Injuries to kill you. Instead, you remain Incapacitated.

While transformed, your Attributes are the same. You do not suffer any Stress while transformed.

Your alternate form is its own deadly weapon. Unarmed attacks made in your alternate form deal +3 Weapon Damage (instead of the typical -1).

Your alternate form renders you unable to speak any human language and incapable of fine object manipulation. You can only hold or grasp objects in a crude, clumsy way.

  • Reminder: Weapon Damage from multiple sources does not stack. Instead, the highest value is used.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend a Quick Action.

You transform into Blood Fiend for 3 minutes. You have access to all of your Powers while you are Blood Fiend, and you can use your equipment. Your Battle Scars, Injuries, and physical Liabilities are carried over between forms. Reverting from your Alternate Form cannot cause your existing Injuries to kill you. Instead, you remain Incapacitated.

While transformed, your Brawn is increased by 2 and your Dexterity is increased by 2. You do not suffer any Stress while transformed.

Your body is adapted to Stealth. You receive +3 dice on non-attack rolls related to Stealth.

Your alternate form is its own deadly weapon. Unarmed attacks made in your alternate form deal +3 Weapon Damage (instead of the typical -1).

Your alternate form renders you unable to speak any human language and incapable of fine object manipulation. You can only hold or grasp objects in a crude, clumsy way.

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.

While transformed, you automatically fail any Mind roll to resist an impulse and suffer -3 dice on all other Mind rolls.

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

If you become Incapacitated or suffer an Injury Severity 4 or greater, this Effect ends.

  • Reminder: Weapon Damage from multiple sources does not stack. Instead, the highest value is used.
  • The sacrificial Injury received from activating this Effect cannot be prevented by any means or healed before 1 day has passed. It is shared with all Effects that use sacrifice. This Injury does not requires Stabilization or cause Battle Scars when it becomes Severe.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

This Effect activates whenever a cryptid kills any living thing. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour.

You automatically detect the closest of any cryptids within 300 feet of you for the next hour. This includes any who come within range during the duration. You have a sense their direction, but you are not aware of their exact location.]]

Even if there are no cryptids within 300 feet of you, you become aware of the direction the closest one is in, as well as a rough sense of its distance from you.

All cryptids who you can sense are equally able to sense you.

  • If this Effect fails due to the Unreliable check, you must still pay any associated activation costs.

Stock Power Gifts

Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 100 feet Can only be activated while you are in the wilderness. At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Survival at Difficulty 6.

You learn the following information about the area:

  • You can tell which entities lay claim to each part of the area and how these borders have shifted over time.
  • You learn where exactly creatures and people live within the area, and what sorts of creatures they are.
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

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

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

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.

  • In lieu of sleeping, once per day you may spend one hour meditating to recover a Mind Damage.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are biting and you are engaged in unarmed combat.

+2 dice to rolls for Attacking, Defending, and Clashing without a weapon. Unarmed attacks do +2 Weapon Damage (instead of -1).

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:

  • Jiu-Jitsu:When you successfully grapple an opponent, you may choose to also deal damage to them equal to the Contested Outcome on the grapple roll.

  • The total damage of a ju-jitsu grapple-attack is equal to your Outcome minus their Outcome. Bonus Damage from the Bonus Damage Parameter does not apply to damage dealt through this Enhancement.
  • Unlike the Ability Brawl, this Effect does not affect small weapons such as knives.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action.

Summon a single Sapient roadie at your location. They last for two hours or until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. 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 3 dice to dodge, Grapple, or make roadie Attacks. Their unarmed Attacks are melee range and deal +0 Damage.
  • Body/Mind: Minions have 5 Body. Your minions roll 3 Mind resistance dice.
  • Armor: Minions have 1 Armor.
  • Movement: Minions can move 15 feet per Round as Free Movement and double that when performing an all-out Sprint.
  • Intelligence: Minions have human-level intelligence and can speak your language. They can use equipment, Artifacts, and Consumables. However, they cannot Exert their Mind.
  • Actions: Any Perception checks they make are rolled with 3 dice. Your minion is able to lifting and hauling with a 7 dice pool. Any other roll is made with 3 dice. They can lift and haul as though they have 2 Brawn.
  • Unusual: Minions are not obviously Alien.

You may only use this Effect once per day.

  • Minions die if targeted with Energy Transfer (before the Effect resolves) or if an Artifact or Consumable they use would Injure them or cause them to roll Trauma.
  • Your minions may count as additional targeting types based on their flavor. For example: Living, Computer, Creature, etc.

Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a non-Alien Device within arm's reach. You must use up $10,000 cash (or equivalent) in order to activate this Effect. Cannot be used to improve Armor.

Lasts the next two hours. Your target receives 3 extra dice to all actions taken for its intended use. Attacking with an upgraded weapon grants +3 Weapon Damage instead of additional dice.

  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used. The same is true for extra dice.
  • Extra dice from this Effect do not apply to Gift activation rolls.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.