In just few moments of reading this book, its enough for listeners to comprehend 3 pages worth of mind numbingly boring information that brings about feelings of intense drowsiness.
This classic book tells the story of the development of Income Tax from its beginning in 1799 to the present day and relates it to the social, economic and political history of the period.
There have been studies of Income Tax at various stages in its growth; studies of finance and taxation in general in which Income Tax has been closely concerned; studies too of some of the Chancellors of the Exchequer who have made significant contributions to the Income Tax system; but this is the first time an attempt has been made to encompass the whole 160 years or so of its life in one volume.
And a fascinating story it is too when set in perspective. The author shows how Income Tax was introduced to finance the Napoleonic Wars, how it was revived by Peel to pay for Free Trade, and how it underwrote Victorian prosperity and confidence. He then describes its immense expansion through two World Wars to its present position as a dominant feature of British finance. This book was first published in 1966.
Spend an Action. Select a Living target within 30 feet. Roll Intellect + Culture 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 minutes.
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.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
My mind races with new information. I can understand when somebody is about to move, not just from their stance or their facial expression... Their very own mind and muscular strain and tremor gives away their reaction, and their fear is palpable.
You gain the following benefits as long as the shield remains unshredded and you are wearing this Artifact.
Your senses are enhanced in the following way.
Any senses which have been heightened cannot be overloaded. Battle Scars you receive cannot affect these senses. If one of these senses does become suppressed, you may Exert your Mind to end the effect.
You must actively and obviously be using up A katashiro. You must use this Artifact obviously when activating this Effect.
Leon lays down flat and begins to close his eyes. His mind drifted into the embrace of yet another spirit brought into his service through the Inari charm. The Takarabune. A spirit much like the Inari that was originally connected with Woe, and the portent of a negative future and is now associated with the seven lucky gods, and in emulating the ritual many commit to on New Years, Leon can be granted a vision by the spirit as he passes through. Though in doing so he must enter a partially lucid dreaming state, and his eyes become cloudy and distorted even as the yokai guides him towards the items of value that are typically portrayed within the boat, as well as to the rifts to the spirit realm that call it home to dock once it is loaded. In doing so, however, he is not able to stop the Inari Charm itself from draining him heavily, and sometimes the spirit drinks too greedily leaving Leon more wounded than helped.
Exert your Mind and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: Leon must lay down fully and place the artifact under his head as he clasps the artifact between his hands and attempts to enter a lucid dreaming state for even just a moment.. You must use up A katashiro in order to activate this Effect. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means.
You automatically detect all Mystical Objects and Spatial Disturbances (Portals, people's effect on the world when they teleport, spirit realm rifts, etc) within 1 mile of you for the next hour. You have a clear sense of both the distance and direction towards any detected items. When you detect objects, instead of learning nothing about them, you may observe each object with all of your senses.
The means by which any Mystical Objects and Spatial Disturbances (Portals, people's effect on the world when they teleport, spirit realm rifts, etc) 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.
Henri lifts his eyepatch to show his new eye! This eye is very hypnotic and therapeutic. This eye gives off beautiful colors that will bend you and your mind to be very sleepy. Next thing you know, you're on dream street!
Spend an Action. Select a Living or Animate target within 30 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless there is an enemy present. Roll Dexterity + Performance at Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, your target becomes drowsy for the next 30 seconds, during which time they suffer an additional -2 dice Penalty to all Actions. At the end of their drowsiness, they fall into a state of sleep paralysis for Contested Outcome x 3 minutes. During this time, they remain fully conscious and aware of their surroundings but are incapable of taking any actions.
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 activating this Effect you may attempt a knockout. If you do and your Contested Outcome exceeds 4, the target falls asleep immediately. Otherwise, they suffer the drowsy penalty for 2 Rounds.
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's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
The ring is persistently cold and slightly vibrates as if keeping in a small storm at all times. The wielder concentrates on the gemstone in the center of the ring focusing on thoughts of cold environments. The wielder pinches the crack in the gemstone and draws forth one of the orbs, the orbs are about the size of a quarter when withdrawn. Toss the orb into the air causes the ball to expand to a radius of 15 feet around the wielder protecting them from outside harm. From the outside it appears that the protected area is covered by a whirling blizzard but on the inside the area is completely calm and cool, like a refrigerator. When struck by an outside force the blizzard bursts out and strikes the attacker with the same ferocity it was attacked with. In order to maintain concentration ritualistic chants in Tibetian must be constantly fed into the ring.
(Will complete at a later date)
Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action or Reaction. Roll Intellect + Culture at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you create a Barrier extending out 15 feet from yourself, which absorbs 2 times the next Outcome + 2 Damage. Only applies to attacks which originated outside the 15 foot radius, and protects anyone who is within that radius. Any Damage absorbed by the barrier is reflected back to the attacker, up to a maximum of the Barrier Strength Parameter’s bonus. Their Armor applies in full. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. This Artifact may only have 1 active barrier at a time.
You must maintain Concentration while using this Effect. The barrier will fall if you are interrupted, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.
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Spend 2 Actions. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 100 feet At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Investigation at Difficulty 6.
You learn the following information about the area:
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 1.
Anyone who touches this Artifact will notice it warping their body and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Battle Scar: asdf. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Battle Scar heals over the course of the next day.
You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.
The lightning bracers can be activated to summon a thunderbolt into the wearer's hand. Throwing these thunderbolts makes an incredibly loud boom. Once a thunderbolt is in hand, the wearer can throw as many as they wish. The electricity from these bolts will jump between nearby targets.
This Artifact produces ephemeral projectiles that can be used as a javelin.
Attack by rolling Brawn + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +3 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
The spy can do up their passport to take on the appearance of any valid form of identification they may need.
This Artifact can change its appearance. When not transformed, it is roughly the same size as a passport and just as difficult to conceal.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. This Artifact changes its appearance into an Object within the category of forms of identification. This lasts until you decide to end the Effect, which may be done as a Free Action.
The new object's appearance can mimic specific items (such as a particular painting, a certain person’s ID, etc), but must be of a similar size and weight to this Artifact.
The new appearance is illusory; it will hold up to scrutiny, but its composition is not altered and it gains no new functionality. Any attempt to use it for a function which it cannot perform (for instance, making bread look like a knife and then trying to stab someone) will cause the illusion to fail or allow a Perception check to see through the illusion, at the GM's discretion.
Dazzle Glasses are advanced "black-tech" espionage gear. They can be styled as any sort sunglasses. When the wearer is recorded, they will quickly flash a non-visible laser into the recording device, destroying it after only a moment of footage is taken.
This Effect activates whenever you are recorded. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a Non-Sapient Object within 20 feet no larger than a duffel bag (35 liters). Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. Roll Perception + Culture Difficulty 6.
If your Outcome is 4 or higher, the target will be completely destroyed and can no longer function, though it may still be repaired. If your Outcome is less than 4, the target will be partially damaged, and any attempts to use it will suffer a dice penalty equal to your Outcome.
When Winter Fang's glittering string is drawn, an ice arrow crystalizes nocked and ready to fire. These ice arrows melt quickly after piercing their foes, leaving deadly wounds instead of evidence.
This Artifact can be used as a bow. It is roughly at least twice as large as a bow and cannot be concealed on your person or disassembled for storage.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +3 Weapon Damage. Attacks do not require a successful called shot to do damage.
You also gain the following effects:
"The Coffin" can only be used to store things commonly found in coffins, such as bodies, clothes, jewelry, photos, weapons, coins, and similar.
This Artifact holds 5 times what it normally could inside of it. Objects stored inside are weightless. Unless you are storing something commonly found in coffins, this Artifact behaves as its mundane counterpart. This Effect cannot be used unless you are storing something commonly found in coffins.
Living things can be stored in this Artifact. They will have access to anything else inside and may attempt to break free, damaging or destroying the Artifact in the process.
If this Artifact is destroyed, things inside may get out, and it will cease to function until it is repaired.
When scanned or investigated without opening, the contents of this container appear normal and unremarkable.
On a Downtime, you may change this Artifact from one type of container to another. Maximum once per Downtime.
If anyone other than you opens the container, it appears empty. Others can still destroy it to get at the contents.