Telepathic Chatter

1
The power to communicate over great distances.
Used by Norman Brown, Created by Noralius.
On Legendary Artifact The Bouncer Belt.
(Activating this Effect is not obvious. The only sign you are using an Effect is its all in his mind. )

The Psychic can speak directly into someone's mind, engaging in an entirely telepathic conversation. While they do, they take on a blank, vacant stare in the direction of their target, and appear to be muttering gibberish to themselves under their breath.


Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target within 300 feet of 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. This Effect cannot be used unless you have a Picture of them.

You open up a line of communication to your target, and may converse with them as long as one of you maintains Concentration

The conversation will only be perceived by the intended recipient. You must share a common language for your target to understand the message.

This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is its all in his mind. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.

  • Receiving a message does not force a target to pay attention to you, and they can feel free to ignore your message if they choose. Depending on the flavor of your Gift, they may or may not be able to return to it and read it later on.
  • Generally you cannot communicate with Contractors who are not in a Contract with you.
  • 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.

Community Targeted Gifts

Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. The area within 20 feet of you immediately and obviously becomes imminently dangerous. Anyone in the area has 1 Round to attempt to escape. During the next Round, on your Initiative, roll Intellect + Technology at Difficulty 6.

If the Outcome is positive, your blast hits everything within 20 feet of you with Damage equal to your Outcome + 2. Armor is fully effective against this damage. If you botched the activation roll, you will also take full damage from the blast, otherwise it will not hurt you.

Anyone hit by the blast may roll Body at Difficulty 7 as a Free Action, and reduce their Damage taken by the Outcome.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.

Exert your Mind and spend an hour. Select a Living target within arm's reach. You must use up a piece of freshly cooked meat in order to activate this Effect. Select up to four Battle Scars on your target to treat.

The treated Battle Scars heals as you finish activating this Effect. If used on a Battle Scar caused by an Unstabilized Injury, that Injury is Stabilized.

  • 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.

Exert your Mind and spend 30 minutes. Select a Living target within arm's reach. You cannot target yourself. The target can easily Resist.

You may add one augmentation to your target. Each augmentation counts as a Battle Scar and can have exactly one of the following Effects:

  • Specialized: You receive +2 dice to a particular non-combat, non-Effect Action.
  • Environmental Adaptation: You do not suffer harm from heat, cold, pressure, or lack of oxygen in a particular environment, provided that challenge normally exists in that environment.
  • Implanted Tool: You have access to the functionality of some common Device at all times. The selected Device can be no larger than a motorcycle helmet.
  • Armor: You have 2 Armor at all times. As always, Armor from multiple sources does not stack.
  • Pouch: Part of your body functions as a hidden pocket. It can hold no more than a briefcase (15 liters).
  • Zippy: Your Free Movement is increased by 10 feet.
  • Maws and Claws: Your unarmed attacks do +2 Weapon Damage instead of -1.

The augmentations you provide are not outwardly visible nor obvious.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see termites swarming over the target, chewing through flesh and building something greater.

  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • Remember: A Contractor’s Body rating is reduced by 1 for each Battle Scar after their fourth.
  • You may not augment targets with pouches or implanted devices that are larger than they are.
  • Targets without Body ratings may have a maximum of 4 augmentations.
  • Example environments for adaptation: space, all saltwater, all fresh water, all water under 50 feet deep, all water deeper than 50 feet, the jungle, radioactive areas, a specific alien world, etc.
  • 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.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target within 45 feet. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you Your attacks fail, you are grappled by your opponent in turn.. Roll Brawn + Brawl 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 6. Armor is fully effective against this damage.

If the target receives an Injury, they are knocked back 5 * Severity feet.

The target suffers a -3 dice penalty for the next hour or until the Injury is healed. This dice penalty does not stack multiple times on the same target.

If the target takes damage from this Effect, they will receive at least a Minor Battle Scar regardless of the Severity of their Injury. The specifics of the scar are up to GM's discretion.

  • 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.

Exert your Mind and Spend an Action. Select a Living target within 45 feet. Roll Brawn + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may roll Body, -2 dice at Difficulty 7, as a Free Action to resist.

If you succeed, the target receives a new Battle Scar of your choosing, limited by the contested Outcome:

  1. A Minor Battle Scar E.g. an aesthetic-only body modification (a disfigured face, a pig's tail), impacted hand or foot, or vocal changes that complicate communication
  2. A Major Battle Scar E.g. a disabled/removed hand or foot, an inability to speak, an impacted major sense, removal of a minor sense, impacted movement.
  3. A Severe Battle Scar E.g. a disabled/removed arm or leg, deafness, aesthetic changes that are nearly impossible to conceal.
  4. An Extreme Battle Scar E.g. removal/disabling both hands or both legs, blindness, a full-body deformation that leaves the target humanoid but makes it difficult to use clothes, vehicles, and equipment designed for humans.
Refer to the stock Battle Scars on the Character Sheet for specific systems.

If you inflict two Extreme (Outcome > 3) Battle Scars on the target, you may transform them fully into another species.

All alterations you make must Woodland creatures.

Your alteration "heals" over the course of the next month, after which it is fully cured.

  • They take on the stats of the chosen species, ala the Creature Transformation Effect. If these Battle Scars are cured, they are returned to their original species over the course of the next 24 hours. Upon full polymorph, the two Battle Scars combine into one.
  • Remember: A Contractor’s Body rating is reduced by 1 for each Battle Scar after their fourth.
  • You may opt to inflict a Battle Scar that is less severe than what your Outcome allows.
  • 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.

Stock Targeted Gifts

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”).

  • You do not gain mind-reading through this effect, so your ability to alter their memory is limited by your knowledge of what they might know.
  • The target's roll to realize their memories have been altered can be made a maximum of one time 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.

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 Perception + Influence at Difficulty 6.

You learn all the following information about your target:

  • You learn a hidden desire of the target. Roll Outcome determines the relevancy / secret-ness of the desire.
  • You learn their relationship to a specific individual (chosen prior to the effect activation).

The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

Any information you gather is spoken aloud in conversation and made publicly available.

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

You cannot investigate the same target 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.

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. This Effect cannot be used unless you are speaking to multiple people and the target is listening.

You may send a single message to your target. It can be no more complicated than a multi-page letter or a long email.

The message will only be perceived by the intended recipient. You must share a common language for your target to understand the message.

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

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

  • Receiving a message does not force a target to pay attention to you, and they can feel free to ignore your message if they choose. Depending on the flavor of your Gift, they may or may not be able to return to it and read it later on.
  • Generally you cannot communicate with Contractors who are not in a Contract with you.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Sapient target within arm's reach. Your target may Resist to cancel the transfer.

You may choose a single instance of one of the following to transfer from your target to yourself, or from yourself to them:

  • A single Trauma
  • Up to two points of Mind damage
  • A single Injury and any Battle Scars it caused
This Effect cannot be used again for the next hour.

Whenever you transfer an Injury, it's Severity increases by 1. Whenever you transfer Mind damage or Traumas, the recipient takes an additional Mind damage.

After you finish activating this Effect, you cannot move quicker than a walk (max 15 feet per Round) for one minute and suffer a -1 dice penalty for an hour. Exhaustion’s penalty and duration stacks with multiple activations.

  • Exhaustion penalties and duration stack. If you activate this Effect or another Effect with Exhaustion, your penalty will worsen, and the duration is increased by one hour.
  • Does not apply to transfers made through the Forced Exchange enhancement.
  • 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.

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.

  • Operating some locking mechanisms through this Effect may have a secondary effect, such as a turn-key ignition on an older or cheaper car causing it to start or stop. Note that the locking mechanism itself must satisfy the standard targeting requirements (including line of sight), not just the vehicle.
  • Any mechanism that requires a key, keycard, key fob, or combination may be considered locked, at the GM's discretion. This Effect may be used on doors and containers secured with control panels or other electronic locks, but not computer security systems at large.
  • 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.