The cornerstone incantation of the Blackstar Sisterhood and the reason they are feared as powerful heralds of curses: a warlock adds her own mixture of incense powder to the Light of The Abyss, making it briefly emmit a sickly green light and an acrid odor, akin to rotting grass, upon which the curse takes effect.
Spend an Action. Select a Living target within 20 feet. You must use up incense powder in order to activate this Effect. Roll Perception + Occult 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:
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
You flash your toothiest grin, showing it off to your target. Weaving together a beautifully intricate lie laced with half truths and jargon, you convince them of your expertise and can easily help them with whatever they're trying to accomplish! All they need to do is heed your advice...
Exert your Mind and spend at least one Action. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. Your target cannot be engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your target. Roll Charisma + Influence 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 hours. 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 must have some means of communicating this command to your target, but no one other than you and them will understand or perceive it.
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. This interrupts Concentration.
This Effect ends if you are stunned, fall asleep, go unconscious, are incapacitated, die, or if your total Stress ever exceeds 5.
These contracts bear the logo of the Inderpal Agency - they come prefilled with the various stipulations, consequences, & basic parameters, though much is left blank to allow customization by the end user. To activate, the contract is merely finished & signed by the respective parties. The contract remains, but it's power is expended after activation.
The default penalty is "Oathbreaker" taking the form of a elaborate henna marking on their face that cannot be removed. Other penalties may be selected in it's place if desired. Attempting to break the stipulations results in a splitting migraine & a cold sweat.
These Contracts are written with the same Ferro-Fluid that emits from the R.I.S.H.I. device or generated by the R.I.S.H.I. as a digital NFT
Standard CPS Contract
Upon agreement by the Close Protection Specialist & the Client (Hereafter referred to as "CPS" & "Client" respectively) the following Contract is established:
-The Client agrees to pay the designated rate per day the CPS is contracted to provide Close Protection services, in addition to reasonable expenses incurred by the CPS as well as any up front retainer if one was requested. This payment will be in British Pounds unless the CPS agrees to an acceptable alternative. The Client agrees to pay the full amount negotiated promptly, either per week of ongoing services or within five business days of a concluded agreement. The CPS may allot more time or waive payment if desired.
Responsibilities of the CPS
-The CPS will take any action required to ensure the life, safety, & freedom of the Client, up to & including personal injury, incarceration or loss of life. If the client is somehow abducted while under the CPS's protection, the CPS will dedicate every effort to secure the Client's freedom, with the normal pay structure being frozen during this time (the Client will still incur reasonable expenses, to be paid upon their release provided the efforts of the CPS contributed to their freedom).
Responsibilities of the Client
-The Client agrees to divulge any pertinent information requested by the CPS. Requested information is to be truthful, accurate, & delivered promptly. Information gained in this manner is considered confidential & the CPS is prohibited from sharing it with any third parties without the Client's permission.
-The Client agrees to a Non-Disclosure article regarding any actions or services taken by the CPS while under Contract unless the CPS gives express permission for those details to be shared with a designated third party. This NDA includes any form of recording or similar, any written record of actions taken by the CPS, any information that would be gained under questioning or interrogation, or any other means not listed here. The only information the Client may share without permission is public facing information (Amarjeet Inderpal, Inderpal Agency), that they did in fact hire the CPS & if they would do so again.
Stipulations
-If the Client chooses to engage in illegal activities that could endanger the reputation of the Inderpal Agency, the CPS may terminate the Contract. Doing so requires a notification be delivered to the Client explaining the reasoning behind the Contract termination as well as the refund of any payments made by the Client within five business days. If a Contract is terminated in this manner, all Conditions & Stipulations upon both CPS & Client are rendered void.
-The CPS will continue to provide services & be bound by the above stipulations until a designated objective has been completed or previously defined time period has elapsed. Once services have been rendered or if the contract has been terminated (either through non-payment or the above stipulation), the CPS will be free of all stipulations of this Contract unless hired again at a later date. A verbal agreement to reinstate previously negotiated services shall be all that is required from the Client should the CPS choose to offer it - new stipulations, costs, or other parameters will require a new Contract to be signed.
-If either the CPS or the Client break the terms of this arrangement by action or inaction, they will invoke a penalty clause, becoming Marked in the process.
You may make an oath with a 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 and all participants must sign the contract 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.
When crafting your oath, you may opt to enforce compliance. If you do, any participant that wishes to break the deal must take 3 Mind damage and succeed a Self-Control roll. They may attempt once per day.
The target may be at any range, but you must still be able to communicate the terms to them, and they must be able to sign the contract.
Charlie's eyes glow with the same spiritual light that the Dead Line does when under the active effects of The Lifeline. She brings her target's consciousness temporarily to a temporary 'transitory' space. In this space, both Charlie and her target can see each other standing in an environment representing their souls in an endless dark void. (As detailed in the Extended Description.)
Charlie feels out souls as if they were abstract environments tied to the person's inner self. A violent and insecure person would have a volcano twisted and bent, about to snap, while a gentle and patient person would have a calm pool of water in a delicate glade.
Charlie's own soul is an ever-changing labyrinth of railroad tracks reaching out in all directions shrouded in concrete tunnels. Among the many tunnels is a single winding rail lit by a green-blue light leading to some unknown place deep within.
(When describing the shape of a character's soul, consider the following:
- What is the character's temperament?
- What are the character's aspirations?
- How does the character view themselves?
- How can you tie the abstract shape of a soul to the character's nature?)
Spend 2 Actions. Select a Sapient target or a Creature within 20 feet. You must actively and obviously use a conductor's cap to activate this Effect. At the end of your investigation, roll Intellect + Occult at Difficulty 6.
You learn all the following information about your target:
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome. For any information you learn about your target, the corresponding information about you is shared with them.
This Effect is obviously Alien and eye-catching across its range to those witnessing it, and you are obviously the source.
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.
Off-white needles made of bone, dripping ink that seems to leap off the tip of the needles. The augmenting process is mostly preparation, thoroughly sterilizing the area and discussing what animal effectively represents the desired effect, before touching the needle to the recipient's skin. After this, the discussed tattoo appears instantly.
5 years after Gull's encounter with that tattoo kit, a new one fell out of his skin. This kit is made of bones, and Gull knows they're his.
Spend 30 minutes. Select a Living target within arm's reach. 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:
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
Ava is quick with her hands and very meticulous. Those that she helps are extremely relieved to be in her hands and those watching are thoroughly impressed with her ability to treat humans being that she was taught medicine for other species.
Veterinary School.
Exert your Mind and spend 15 minutes to activate. 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 Intellect + Animals at Difficulty 8.
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 the use of clever rhetoric, the spy is able to inspire a surge of emotion in a target with whom they are speaking.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living target within 45 feet as well as a specific emotion. This Effect cannot be used unless you are engaged in conversation with the target. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. Affected targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6 -3 dice.
If you succeed, for the next minute, your target will do things they otherwise wouldn’t have done, inspired by the chosen emotion. They will not necessarily display their emotions in an obvious way.
Actions they take will be in keeping with their character and the way they tend to deal with strong emotions. They will be unlikely to change their mind about any actions taken or decisions made until after the Effect ends.
The mad scientist produces thorium cores that can be used to upgrade tools and other devices. The core supercharges the item, increasing its quality and rendering it indestructible for a period. However, once the core runs dry, the object is rendered less useful than it was before. The core crackles with blue electricity while active.
Spend 1 Action and use up this glowing blue disk. Select a non-Alien Device within arm's reach. Cannot be used to improve Armor.
Lasts the next two hours. Your target receives 2 extra dice to all actions taken for its intended use. Attacking with an upgraded weapon grants +2 Weapon Damage instead of additional dice. While it is upgraded, the item cannot be destroyed.
After the Effect ends, any upgraded targets suffer a -2 dice penalty until they are either repaired or upgraded again.
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.
The spy can twist the urban environment to their whims, erecting fences, walls, and barriers as needed. They whistle and gesture to where the wall should be, and the surrounding materials fly into place.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within 50 feet. You must be in an area abundant with man-made structures and materials.
Select one of the following alterations to create out of standard building materials originating at the target:
The alteration begins to form when you activate this Effect and finishes forming on your initiative in the next Round. Until it finishes forming, it is not guaranteed to function.
This alteration lasts one minute but may be prematurely destroyed or altered. Your alterations may be broken through with appropriate tools. Anyone attempting to break through must roll Brawn + a relevant Ability. A cumulative Outcome of 6 across all attempts breaks a hole large enough to move through. See the extended system text for GM guidance on various tools.
The musician assumes a powerful stance and strums a mighty power chord on their guitar. A blast of sound waves radiate outwards, destroying all who dare face the power chord directly.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use your instrument to activate this Effect. The area within 25 feet of you immediately and obviously becomes imminently dangerous. Roll Charisma + Performance at Difficulty 6. Targets inside the radius may attempt an appropriate Reaction at GM’s discretion. Finding a physical barrier to use as cover will cut total Damage taken in half (applies after Reaction roll but before Armor).
If the Outcome is positive, your blast hits everything within 25 feet of you with Damage equal to your Outcome + 4. If you botched the activation roll, you will also take full Damage from the blast, otherwise it will not hurt you.
You may only use this Effect once per day.