The oracle dons the Witherheart Mask, which glows with a strange green mist. This mask is clearly magical, though seemingly only to predict the future as the oracle begins to speak their prophecy.
On mythology:
Cassiopeia has always been interested in the occult, to the point where she's done a double major involving Psychology and Classical Mythology. She's also incredibly curious about conspiracy theories, often going down lengthy rabbitholes, though part of her keeps a distance from it in that she's only reading a fictional story. With this gift she could very well bring them to life, and she's doing it all for the funsies.
On prophecies:
One has seen enough self-fulfilling prophecies in everyday life to know that people are very easily influenced by their own wills to stick to a path or stray from one completely. Though, it inevitably ends up the way it was predicted. If you were driving a car and trying not to hit a tree on the road, your focus is so solely on the tree that you veer towards it anyway. Cassiopeia is making use of this age-old hubris, this fallacy that "I'm not like them, I won't end up like this".
On wordplay:
If she's going to use her arsenal of words learned from 4 years of being an Arts student, it's only fair to allow the listener some level of free will. Let them play their cards against what they perceive to be Apollo's blessing, when in reality it all relies on Cassiopeia's competence.
Expend a point of Battery and spend at least one Action. Select a Human target within 20 feet. Your target may be actively engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your target. Roll Charisma + Occult at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If the contested Outcome is positive, your target will be compelled to follow your command to the letter-- but not necessarily the 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 and a conditional request. 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. The Effect ends if following your command would cause a target to cross one of their Limits in a way that would necessitate a Trauma roll.
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.
Sally uses powder to create a crossroads into the spirit world moving things between the crossroads to where it belongs.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select two Sapient targets within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use Powder to activate this Effect. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. If a target does not consent to the transfer, you must roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6 to use the effect on them. They can resist by rolling either Body or Mind at Difficulty 6, depending on what you are attempting to transfer to them.
You may choose a single instance of one of the following to transfer between your two targets:
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.
Harry Johnson channels the mystical prowess of Volga Svyatoslavich, the legendary bogatyr known for his cunning and subtle use of power. In the heat of battle, when his fists meet flesh, Harry can invoke the ancient magic of Volga, sending his opponent into a deep, dreamless slumber with a single, precise blow.
To the untrained eye, it might seem like a simple knockout—a powerful punch that drops an adversary. But those who know of the old tales might recognize the truth: this is no ordinary strike. As Harry’s fist connects, he unleashes a subtle yet potent force, drawing upon Volga’s ancient knowledge to lull his enemy into an inescapable sleep. The opponent’s eyes glaze over, their body succumbing to a paralysis that leaves them conscious yet utterly immobilized, as if bewitched by an ancient spell.
Spend an Action. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Roll Brawn + Melee 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 asleep for Contested Outcome x 3 rounds.
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.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
Valentine's arm or chosen body part turn into black tendrils and fills the locked item after chewing up some Big League Chew to have Darlin' be up to the task as the fluid moves into the locking mechanism and begins to twist and turn.
Spend an Action. Select a door, lock, or locked target within arm's reach. Cannot be used on Alien technology. You must use up Big League Chew in order to activate this Effect.
You may lock, unlock, and/or open your target.
S0L spends some time finding where the problem lies inside their body, then starts shifting their inner machinery to bypass or repair any damage to the hardware.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 Action. Select a Non-Living or Animate target within arm's reach that is no larger than an SUV. You may target Alien technology, so long as you have an understanding of its intended function. This Effect cannot be used unless it is used on yourself. More than half the target object must be present in order to begin repairs. Roll Perception + Technology at Difficulty 6 (or 8 for Sapient targets).
If you succeed, your target is repaired back to a functional state. If you fail, you spend the full time working before realizing you cannot repair the target.
If you are successful in repairing a Sapient Object, a single Injury on the target is reduced in Severity by your Outcome.
Dorris is able to use some of his wooden exterior in order to heal a target.
Exert your Mind and spend 15 minutes. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Choose a specific Injury on your target that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Charisma + Performance 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.
Through years of practice, the mobster is able to shatter someone's kneecap without much effort.
Spend an Action. Select a Living or Animate target within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use a melee weapon to activate this Effect. Roll Brawn + Melee 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 damage the target's knees.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
The mobster presents a reasoned, logical case to the target: there's a lot of dangerous folks out there, and only they can offer safety... for a price.
If they agree, they will pay the mobster a monthly fee for protection. If they stop making their payments... well, let's just say, the mobster can't be held responsible for any unsavory types that might pay them a visit.
This Effect cannot be used unless you are making a deal to exchange money for protection.
You may make an oath with a physically-present, Sapient target. Communicate the oath's terms to the target, including the requirements and penalties for each participant. If all agree to the terms, you must Exert your Mind and all participants must shake hands to seal the deal.
Record the oath as a Condition. If a party breaks the oath, the Condition ends and they suffer the oath's penalty.
When crafting your oath, you may incorporate any of the following penalties:
The target cannot be compelled to agree via a direct threat of violence, another Effect, or another oath. If you would like to use clever wording to mislead the target, you must succeed a contested Intellect + (Culture or Influence) roll.
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 priest's miracles expand into the treatment and curing of poisons and diseases. To do so, they require a ceremonial dedication (or often re-dedication) to the service of their god, during which the priest and the patient pray together and perform ritualistic bloodletting. These wounds burn with holy, golden fire, attacking the sinful malady and expelling it from the body.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. Select a Living target within arm's reach. You cannot target yourself. Your target takes a Severity 1 Injury. You must actively and obviously use a ceremonial dagger blessed with holy water to activate this Effect.
You may cure any Non-Alien diseases, toxins, or poisons afflicting your target even if you have not diagnosed or fully 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.
You may use this effect to sanitize a 15-foot radius, destroying all poisons, toxins, diseases such that they are inert and cannot affect any new targets
The Ninja always prepares a few smoke bombs ahead of time to get out of sticky situations. They can fill a room with smoke in an instant and last long enough for the Ninja to make an escape or find an opening for attack.
Spend an Action and use up this smoke bomb.
You create a hemispherical dome of smoke originating at your Location, with a radius of 60 feet. and lasting for 5 minutes. The area inside your zone is affected in any number of the following ways: