Warm Embrace Don't hug me too hard

3
Requires Novice
You possess protection against attacks.
Used by Cinder Alynth, Created by Contracted_Pyre.

Flames jump out from underneath Cinder's skin, rebuffing the attack and lashing out at the assailant.


You gain the following benefits at all times.

You have 4 Armor, which reduces incoming damage from all sources of physical attack except Water. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.

Any Injury received from Damage that was reduced by this Armor is considered makeshift stabilized and will not degrade further. Any Battle Scar received from such an Injury is reduced by 1 level to a minimum of a Minor Battle Scar.

When you take Damage from a source which is within 5 feet, deal back as much Damage as your Armor prevented.


Community Passive Gifts

You gain the following benefits as long as the item is Haunted and you are wearing this Artifact.

You and everything you are carrying is obscured in one of the following manners. You may Spend an Action to change the way in which you're concealed.

  • Arcane: You are partially obscured from being noticed by all senses, natural and supernatural. All attempts to notice you are rolled at -3 dice. Attempts to recall identifying information about you require a Mind roll at Difficulty 8.
  • Sight:You are partially obscured from being noticed by sight. All attempts to detect you using sight are rolled at a -3 dice penalty, and all attempts to detect you where sight would assist are rolled at -1 penalty. Anyone who detects you cannot determine any visual details about you beyond your general shape.

While this Effect is active, any Effect that would obscure you or your equipment specifically from other, additional senses fails automatically.

If someone discovers you, this Effect will not help you hide from them for the next minute. This Effect does not end early when you activate an obvious Effect, attack, or receive an Injury.

  • GMs should use their discretion when determining the exact impacts of this Effect, particularly in conjunction with environmental factors. Standing still against a complex background may render you impossible to detect, and footprints in snow may make it easy. A chance to detect you is not guaranteed.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

You have 5 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.

Your Armor’s rating is increased by 2. If you do something that Damages, restricts, or otherwise directly, negatively affects another being, your Armor’s rating is decreased by 3 for one minute. This penalty does not stack with itself.

  • This Effect’s Armor rating cannot be increased by any other Effects.
  • When shredded, it returns to full potency in one hour.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

You are permanently and visibly transformed: woodland spirit. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living being when targeted..

You may make a +2 Weapon Damage claw attack without additional equipment.

  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

On weapon usage:
People have guns (even in Canada, they're just quieter about it), but Zephyren legally cannot own one, and traveling with those can be such a pain for those with licenses anyway. He very much prefers a quieter option too. Also, blades are far more versatile (he wants to toss a bunch of vegetables in the air one day and try to slice them all). Never bring a knife to a gun fight? Think again.

On blade proficiency:
Fighting isn't the only thing Zephyren uses blades for. If anything he's rarely had to fight outside contracts; he mostly uses knives in the kitchen, and since he has been cooking from a very young age, there's no surprise that this is what he's the most comfortable with. In any video games, he predominantly uses a knife or sword. Don't ask how he's gotten through Resident Evil; let's just say he had to face a lot of corpses up close.

On bird talons:
Thankfully Zephyren has never been attacked by a bird, but from what he's read, talons can be really sharp. They have to grip onto things after all, even if it means they'd puncture their target.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with knives and daggers.

+2 dice to all rolls with knives and daggers. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using knives and daggers.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Falling Crane Strike: If you move and then make a successful attack against a target closer than the full distance you could have moved, you may choose to travel the excess movement in a straight line beyond the target.
  • Quick Draw: You may draw and equip yourself with any melee weapon on your person or within arm’s reach as a Free Action, as long as it is not being wielded by someone else.
  • Sheathing the Sword: When you would Clash with an opponent, before the dice are rolled, you may opt to have both sides deal full damage. If you do, your attack roll is at -2 Difficulty.
  • Two Swords are better than One: If you are wielding more than one melee weapon, you may Attack with all using the highest Weapon Damage, plus 1 for each additional weapon. If you reserve a weapon, any Clash or Defend roll you make is -1 Difficulty, and mob penalties are ignored. Maximum +5 Damage from bonus weapons.

"Guns are clunky, unpredictable, loud, cumbersome.

Knives are messy, dangerous, cruel and frankly... a tad too personal for my taste...

Now you see - what separates a true professional from an amateur is lethal, cold and calculated precision - any dimwit is capable of take a life, mutilate another living being until what's left is little more than an unrecognizable pile of meat.

Any hooligan can riddle their mark with lead until it starts taking on the likeness of Swiss cheese.

But you see patience is a virtue in our line of work - and It takes an exceptionally virtuous individual to wait for the opportune moment, pick out the nicks in their target's defense before striking at just the right angle and putting the mark down in one clean and mercifully lethal blow - someone like yours truly."

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with Needles.

+2 dice to all rolls utilizing Needles.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Juggler: You may juggle a number of throwable objects equal to your Dexterity as a Free Action. When you make a thrown weapon attack, you may choose to roll or re-use the last thrown attack's Outcome. Resets at the start of Initiative.
  • Ricochet: You can make a thrown attack against a target behind cover so long as there is at least one exposed pathway to them.

Stock Passive Gifts

You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.

You have 6 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack.

Your Armor cannot be destroyed, and it always provides a minimum of 2 Armor regardless of any Armor shredding or penetration. It cannot be circumvented with Called Shots. When shredded, it returns to full potency in one hour.

Any time your Armor prevents Damage, your Armor rating is temporarily decreased by 2. Whenever it goes five Rounds without preventing any Damage, it is restored back to its full value.

  • Armor recharging happens automatically and does not require an Action.
  • This Effect’s Armor rating cannot be increased by any other Effects.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.

You get +2 dice to any Body resistance rolls you make. You also gain the following effects:

  • Survivor: You are immune to all non-Alien diseases.
  • All Brawn No Brain: You suffer a -2 dice penalty on Mind resistance rolls.

  • These bonuses apply only to Body rolls made to resist Effects and other supernatural phenomena. They do not apply to other contexts such as attacks made while under the Creature Transformation Effect.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with melee ninja weapons.

+2 dice to all rolls with melee ninja weapons. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using melee ninja weapons.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Assassin: If your attack Injures your target, they cannot make a sound, even incidentally, for a single Round. Even the sound of their body and equipment dropping to the ground is silenced.
  • Falling Crane Strike: If you move and then make a successful attack against a target closer than the full distance you could have moved, you may choose to travel the excess movement in a straight line beyond the target.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are submerged in water.

You no longer require any food, water, or air in order to survive. You no longer age naturally, and supernatural attempts to age you fail. Any roll to resist an Effect dependent on any affected requirement automatically succeeds.

You may spend one minute entering a state of hibernation, during which you are inanimate and unaffected by any requirements for life. You may still perceive the outside world and may spend 3 Rounds "waking up" to end it.

  • In lieu of sleeping, once per day you may spend one hour meditating to recover a Mind Damage.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

As long as you maintain Concentration, you can take Actions and interact with things that are within 75 feet without needing to physically touch them or be near them. Any rolls made for Actions taken in this way use a Mental Strength of 2 in place of your Brawn rating, a Mental Agility of 2 in place of your Dexterity, and otherwise use your own Attributes and Abilities.

Telekinetic actions have the following restrictions and behaviors:

  • Line of Sight: You must be able to visually observe anything you interact with, and any actions that you are taking will end if their target moves out of sight.
  • Unarmed Combat: You cannot deal damage through unarmed combat or thrown objects with this Effect, though you may still grapple with targets.
  • Weapons: You cannot wield weapons effectively in combat.
  • Fine Tools: You are otherwise limited to actions that a normal human could do with their bare hands.
  • Levitation: If you are strong enough to lift yourself, you may levitate up to 75 feet away from the ground. Movement is limited to 5 feet per Round.
  • Multiple Items: You can only interact with one thing or take one Action at a time.
  • Lifting and hauling: you may lift 90 pounds.

  • Any telekinetic actions which interact with Animate targets may require contested rolls at GMs discretion.