Friend of the Dark Shadows protect.

2
This Artifact grants you the power to create a protective barrier.
Used by Za'id, Created by Unifel.
( The target and source of this Effect are obvious to bystanders.You must obviously use this Artifact to activate this Effect. When activating this Effect, this Artifact is obviously Alien and cannot be concealed under your clothes or similar.)

When active, the artifact seems to darken from the inside, even in the brightest daylight. When attacked, those shadows lash out and interrupt whatever was attempting to hurt the user.


Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Roll Intellect + Occult at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you create a barrier around yourself, which absorbs the next Outcome +4 Damage. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. This Artifact may only have 1 active barrier at a time.

The barrier will fall after two hours, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.

  • Effects with circumvent Armor completely also circumvent your barrier.

Community Barrier Gifts

Spend an Action or Reaction to activate. Select a Animate target within arm's reach. Roll Dexterity + Athletics at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you create a Barrier extending out 15 feet from your target, which absorbs 2 times the next Outcome + 2 Damage. Only applies to attacks which originated outside the 15 foot radius, and protects anyone who is within that radius. Nothing can pass into the bubble until the barrier is broken. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. You may only have 1 active barrier at a time.

You must maintain Concentration while using this Effect. The barrier will fall if you are interrupted, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.

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

  • If you use this Effect as a Reaction to dodge, you still need to make a roll to dodge. The Effect will occur regardless of the Outcome of this roll, but if you fail you will be hit by the relevant attack prior to the Effect occurring.
  • 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.

The user radiates Causal Diction to the point where it begins to interact with the world around them. On paper, this might seem like a barrier that blocks incoming attacks against the user. However, it would be more accurate to state that objects drawing close to this radiated energy become filled with the desire to miss the intended target and deviate from their chosen course. If more than will the user is exerting is put into an attack, not all of its force will be diverted. It is imperative to understand that this is not a shield. It is merely an interaction between fundamental forces of the universe.

Spend an Action or Reaction. Select a Animate target within arm's reach. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you create a barrier around your target, which absorbs the next Outcome +4 Damage. Any Damage absorbed by the barrier is reflected back to the attacker, up to a maximum of 4. Their Armor applies in full. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. This Artifact may only have 1 active barrier at a time.

You must maintain Concentration while using this Effect. The barrier will fall if you are interrupted, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.

This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 1.

Anyone who touches this Artifact will notice it warping their mind and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Trauma: Nightmares. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.

  • Effects which circumvent Armor completely also circumvent your barrier.
  • 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.

Many scholars of occult ran into a problem of not being able to put up a powerful enough barrier, either due to low mana capacity, low mana throughtput, troubles with concentration, or all three at the same time. But what if instead of creating one strong barrier, you just created multiple weak ones in several layers?

Of course, you could always run into a problem of creating a barrier too weak to fully protect against any significant attack, and you are sacrificing some of the advantages of single-layer barrier, like it restoring itself to full power every three-five seconds, or being able to create one in a split second if necessary. On the other hand, you receive what is effectively a barrier which does not requires your full focus to keep it functioning, and can be created even if you aren't the most capable magic-wise, and will be able to provide at least some level of protection against any attack, unless you manage to completely botch the rite

Exert your Mind and Spend an Action to activate. Select a Animate target within arm's reach. Roll Intellect + Occult at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you create a Barrier around your target, which absorbs the next Outcome Damage. The Damage reduction from the Barrier is applied before Armor, and is treated like Armor by any effects such as Armor Penetration. You may only have 1 active barrier at a time.

The Barrier will fall after an hour, or if it absorbs the full amount of damage. When a Barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Roll Intellect + Athletics at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you create a barrier around yourself, which absorbs the next Outcome + 2 Damage. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. You may only have 1 active barrier at a time.

The barrier will fall after two hours, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.

This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is a light static effect around them. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.

"Don't wait for an opening, create it yourself - even a small deviation is enough to throw a wrench into most plans, especially when the plan is to strike an already moving target which is quite frankly rather rude to begin with."

Exert your Mind and spend an Action or Reaction. You must use up a bandolier worth of needles in order to activate this Effect. Roll Dexterity + Athletics at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you create a Barrier extending out 15 feet from yourself, which absorbs 2 times the next (Outcome +4) Damage. Only applies to attacks which originated outside the 15 foot radius, and protects anyone who is within that radius. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. You may only have 1 active barrier at a time.

You must maintain Concentration while using this Effect. The barrier will fall if you are interrupted, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.

  • Effects which circumvent Armor completely also circumvent your barrier.

Stock Barrier Gifts

Exert your Mind and spend an Action or Reaction. Select a Animate target within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is a living human. Roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour. Roll Charisma + Occult at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you create a barrier around your target, which absorbs the next Outcome + 2 Damage. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. You may only have 1 active barrier at a time.

You must maintain Concentration while using this Effect. The barrier will fall if you are interrupted, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.

This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is you whispering a prayer under your breath. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.

  • If you use this Effect as a Reaction to dodge, you still need to make a roll to dodge. The Effect will occur regardless of the Outcome of this roll, but if you fail you will be hit by the relevant attack prior to the Effect occurring.
  • If this Effect fails due to the Unreliable check, you must still pay any associated activation costs.
  • 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.