You start typing on your phone. Upon closer inspection it's just a brick of uranium glass with a sticker on it. Besides hearing a weird voice, the target sees the message in the corner of their vision. It's suspiciously like Twitch's Text-to-Speech.
On Delphyrion's career:
As much as Delphyrion makes a joke out of it, he still relies on making chemistry videos to make a living. Contracts aren't enough to maintain a good budget for his experiments so he has to dabble in all sorts of different platforms and content. Livestreams, short-form videos, and podcasts are all on the table here, it's just that he doesn't want to be recognized for anything but his actual alchemy. Few friends know what his channels are.
On Twitch Chat:
Some find it endlessly entertaining to watch an hour-long video of a chair sitting in a hot tub. Delphyrion knows of a bell pepper guy in Los Angeles who has done pretty well for himself by doing that, much to the streamer's chagrin. In Delphyrion's case, Chat has been asking him to blow things up for the longest time. It's an enticing idea but he's still trying to figure out the legality of broadcasting the creation of chemical weapons in front of thousands of people online. With this ability, Delphyrion can finally become Chat too.
On brainrot:
After a long day of brain usage, Delphyrion sits down at his computer and doomscrolls. However, the sheer power of an entire Chat shutting down their brains at once can be devastating. They either become a hivemind or an apocalypse. They drive him insane all the time. Who knows if that's really the reason why Delphyrion's a mad scientist?
On uranium glass:
It was incredibly hard to obtain uranium, and he's probably ended up on another watchlist for this. To make the most of this, Delphyrion has made it into a piece of uranium glass shaped just like his phone, complete with some black dye in one part of it to simulate a screen. This is to confuse people whenever they try to steal Delphyrion's phone, because most would stay far away from radioactive materials of any sort. He himself is much safer than he was during the process of making it but he still feels a bit odd about putting it to his ear every time he mistakes it for his own phone. Maybe that's how this gift came about.
On the brand placement:
Delphyrion's mom has always been adamant that Dell products aren't good (their old home computer was very beaten up after a year or two of use, one of the hinges was about to pop open if not for the bull clip Delphyrion had forced onto it) but it's not like he's trying to endorse or renounce the brand. It was just very convenient. See, Dell, Delphyrion, Dell-phyrion, get it?
On the sticker:
One would assume that after so many years of using devices, Delphyrion could type with his eyes closed. He could, it'd just end up in a jumbled heap of random letters. He's trying to convince himself that this isn't like writing the name of each note onto individual piano keys. It's for the cosmetic. It's for the bit.
On TTS:
Text-to-speech sometimes acts as a hindrance to the stream-viewing experience, but some may argue that it's an integral part of it. Delphyrion doesn't have much opinion on it, he doesn't usually notice the text anyway so it's just a disembodied voice to him. This gift is also similar in that it's really hard to notice, much less read, the text in your peripheral vision because your peripheries don't have the cones to distinguish the shape of each letter. It's incredibly elusive because you can try to look at it but it'll just forever be a step too far to the right. This part is purely to annoy people.
Spend an Action.
You may send a single message to all targets which are within a specified range. It can be no more complicated than a multi-page letter or a long email.
You must share a common language for your target to understand the message.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
As this activates, the internals of the watch disappear from within the watch case, and reappear scattered randomly throughout the target. The watch and all the parts (now inside the target) still function during this time, as if they were still in their usual place. As the target gets closer to the final Severity level, the parts slowly reappear, starting with the face and hands almost instantly, all the way down to the rotor once they reach the final Severity level.
Spend an Action. Select a target within 50 feet. You must actively and obviously use an analog watch to activate this Effect. Roll Intellect + Crafts Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling Body, Difficulty 6.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 2.
Any Injury inflicted is considered Unstabilized no matter its Severity. The roll required to Stabilize it is treated as though it is a minimum of Severity 6. These wounds do not heal naturally, though Effects may still be used to heal them.
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.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
Instead of dealing Damage all at once, the Injury caused by this Power starts at Severity 1 and worsens at the rate of one level per Round until it reaches the Severity it would have otherwise been.
Dolores looks directly at her target and they receive a mental message from the raspy alto voiced woman.
Spend a Free 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.
You may send a single message to your target. It cannot be longer or more complex than a couple short sentences.
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 a prominent vein can be seen pulsing on her forehead. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: mute.
Aquara manifests her toggled ribbons, which can be used to attack or to defend.
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 injure your ribbons severely in some way, rendering them unusuable until healed. Roll Dexterity + 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 4.
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.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
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.
Clara's hands sink into the target like wet clay and smear their skin like paint.
-TAXIDERMY-
Etymology
From Ancient Greek τάξις (táxis, “arrangement”, “order”) + δέρμα (dérma, “skin”). Analysable as taxi- + derm- + -y.
Spend an Action. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Roll Dexterity + Crafts 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:
All alterations you make must inflict battle scars achievable by manipulation of the targets skin.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
Speaking a verse to the angelic figure, the mental torment of hell is channeled and makes the target and everyone in a 20ft radius visualise the horrors that inhabit the unholy depths.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a single Sapient target or a Location within 20 feet. If you select a Location, all Sapient targets within 20 feet within 20 feet of it, besides yourself, are affected. You must actively and obviously use a fetish of an angel carved from wood to activate this Effect. Roll Charisma+Occult at Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 8. If they are incapacitated or unconscious, they fail automatically and their Outcome is 0.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the affected targets takes Mind damage equal to the Contested Outcome. If you deal at least 3 Mind damage, the affected targets will gain Paranoia as a Trauma. This Trauma may be removed by Effects or mundane therapy, as normal. Affected targets are aware that they are being attacked and can generally tell who did it.
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.
The mystic can meld their aura with another, allowing them to superimpose their being, physical and mental, into a target. Observers witness the mystic fading and entering their target's body as wisps of smoke, leaving no trace of their own body behind.
While inside, they can control their target's actions. Affected targets have no memory of the experience.
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 at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind 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.
The aristocrat knows a ritual that allows them to rent the best version of any item. They set $10,000 worth of cash on fire and place the item to be upgraded in the fire as well. While in the flame, the item morphs into a high-end version of itself. After a while, it reverts.
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.
The Future Soldier learned to create foam grenades in their own time period, and they still can, kinda. They look like glowing orange capsules with a rugged rubberized grip. When thrown, they burst into a splash of expanding neon orange foam. The foam hardens in seconds, severely hampering the movement of anyone unlucky enough to have been splashed. Those affected may use their hands or weapons to hack away at the foam and free themselves.
Occasionally, the fuses on these bootleg grenades fails, and they go off immediately.
Spend an Action and use up this small metallic grenade with pin (unless you succeed on 1d10, Difficulty 7). Make a thrown Attack at a Location within normal Attack range. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you are hit as it activates immediately at your present location. The target may roll to dodge or Defend, as normal for thrown Attacks. The Attack itself does not deal any Damage beyond the Effect.
If you succeed, all affected targets will be restricted at their location by a physical, tangible binding. They can still move their arms and use Effects, but are reduced to ¼ of their movement speed.
The binding around a target must be destroyed in order for them to break free. Breaking the binding requires a total amount of Damage equal to twice the original Contested Outcome. Damage from multiple attacks is cumulative and stacks linearly.
The aquamancer channels a nearby source of water into a flexible whip, which can be used to attack or to defend.
Spend an Action. Select a target within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use at least a gallon of water to activate this Effect. Roll Dexterity + Athletics 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 4.
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.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.