Nerve Splice Surveillance in every corner.

1
This Artifact grants you the power to place wards to monitor an area.
Used by Zain Robinson, Created by Monday.
(Anyone who witnesses you activate this Effect is very likely to be disturbed to see the user poke and prod into their eyeballs to pull out a string of nerve endings. The ward can be detected with a roll and destroyed through mundane means. You must use this Artifact obviously when activating this Effect.)

The user deeply inserts the lens of the gadget directly into their eyeballs as if attempting to scrape them out, before extracting a string of its nerve endings out to create the ward. The senses of the ward may then be accessed remotely through a companion lens connected to their nervous systems.


Take a Severity-1 Injury and spend an Action. Select a target within 10 feet.

You place a ward, which is fixed to a target Object that can be moved and repositioned. You can perceive with all your senses or activate investigative Effects through the ward as though you were standing at its location. This Artifact may have at most 3 wards active at once.

The ward requires Concentration to monitor, though it will remain active until you deactivate it. It can be detected with a roll and destroyed through mundane means.

Your Ward records all activity it observes, regardless of whether or not you are actively monitoring it. This recording can be played back and referenced later.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see the user poke and prod into their eyeballs to pull out a string of nerve endings.

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.

You may only use this Effect once per day.

  • Your ward's recording is maintained even if your Ward is destroyed.
  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • 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.
  • The Injury received from activating this Effect heals in 1 day and cannot be prevented or prematurely healed by any means.
  • Any targets visible via your ward satisfy the line of sight requirement for targeted Effects.
  • 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

[Brain Hacks]: The boon provided has no physical marring and only weighs heavily on the afflicted's mind, not being actively harmful and merely taking up space. Its presence can always be felt, but is only a threat if the bearer already has too much on their mind.
[Critical Failure]: Serq is clumsily molding the power of the universe into the shape they see fit, fully aware of the consequences it might bring. Their link to The Mother protects them somewhat, but they are still susceptible to the psionic backlash created by pulling the wrong dimensional thread.

~~~

Cosmic Blessing: Specialized
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, receiving +2 dice to [_____].)

Cosmic Blessing: Environmental Adaptation
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, suffering no harm from heat, cold, pressure, or lack of oxygen while in [_____] - provided that challenge normally exists in that environment.)

Cosmic Blessing: Implanted Tool
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, being able to act as if you always have a fully-functional [_____] on-hand.)

Cosmic Blessing: Armor
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, gaining 2 Armor at all times.)

Cosmic Blessing: Pouch
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, being granted a small dimensional portal somewhere inside your body that can hold no more than a briefcase (15 liters). Items stored in this space can still be detected by any means that would find them were they held in a physical pocket.)

Cosmic Blessing: Zippy
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, gaining +10 feet of Free Movement.)

Cosmic Blessing: Maws and Claws
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, dealing +2 Weapon damage with unarmed attacks instead of -1.)

Exert your Mind and spend 30 minutes. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you immediately receive 4 points of mind damage that cannot be prevented, reduced, or recovered via any means other than restful sleep. The target can easily Resist.

You may add one augmentation to your target. Each augmentation counts as a Trauma 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.

  • 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 Living target within arm's reach. 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 4. Armor is reduced to 1/4, rounded down against this damage.

  • 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 within 300 feet. You must actively and obviously use Stave to activate this Effect. Roll Intellect + Occult 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.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see Reality and life gets rifted.

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

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: (MADDENING) Ultimate Bravery: You cannot believe how much of a bitch you've been; never again. (Roll Self Control to flee, back down. or otherwise concede or relent.).

  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of Effect. There must be no substantial obstructions between you and your target.

Spend 1 minute and use up this Beef Jerky. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Roll 7 dice at Difficulty 6, dice penalties do not apply.

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.

  • This consumable is destroyed when used and cannot be used again.
  • Unstabilized wounds do not degenerate during treatment.
  • 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 (unless you win a coin flip) and spend an Action. Select a non-Sapient, Animate target within arm's reach. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is aquatic (semi-aquatic flip a coin).

For the next day, you may issue specific commands to your target which they will be compelled to follow.

Your commands must be relatively simple and within the target’s intellectual grasp. You cannot make them obviously endanger themselves or violate their instinct for self-preservation. The effects of the command will fade after a day has passed.

  • Your commands must be directly communicated to your target in some way, though this does not require a shared language.
  • If targeting a Sapient target that counts as a Creature due to an Effect, you must succeed a contested Mind roll. You roll at Difficulty 6, and the target rolls at Difficulty 8.
  • 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 Dead target within arm's reach. Dead targets must have died within the past week, and you must have their remains in your possession.

The target can communicate in your language for the next hour.

  • 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 or a Creature within arm's reach. 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 + Medicine at Difficulty 6. The target may Resist.

You learn all the following information about your target:

  • You determine any medical or physiological issues they have, as well as their species and a general overview of their biology.
  • You learn a full medical history, including past injuries and illnesses as well as the healing process involved.

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

This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.

  • 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 10 Rounds and use up this a bottle of metallic fluid. Select a Object within arm's reach that is no larger than an SUV. Cannot be used on Alien technology. More than half the target object must be present in order to begin repairs. Roll 7 dice Difficulty 6, dice penalties do not apply.

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.

  • This consumable is destroyed when used and cannot be used again.
  • 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 2 Actions. Select a Location within your line of sight , and which is directly adjacent to water. You must be within arm's reach of water to activate this Effect.

You are transported directly to the chosen Location. You must wait an hour before activating this effect again.

  • 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 and use up this smoke bomb.

You create a hemispherical dome of smoke originating at your Location, with a radius of 20 feet. and lasting for 5 minutes. The area inside your zone is affected in the following ways:

  • Suppressed Vision: The zone is fully blocked from view. Nothing within the zone may see anything or be seen from the outside. Any rolls that rely on sight fail automatically, and any rolls that benefit from sight are made at -3 dice.
The zone expands immediately to its full size from the chosen Location, but will be stopped from spreading in a particular direction by any barriers or cover, and can only fit through openings large enough to fit a grown adult. If a new opening appears while the Effect is still active, it will finish spreading in that direction.

  • The Effect does not follow you after you activate it.
  • This consumable is destroyed when used and cannot be used again.
  • If you select a location at the edge of your range, you will be just outside the zone once the Effect is activated
  • 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.