Ad Hominem Go for the throat.

1
The power to inflict mental trauma on a target.
Used by Tescoh "Tez" Topping, Created by VelcroGnome.
(This Effect is obviously Alien when used. When activating this Effect, it is obvious you are interacting with the target. )

Wip. An imperceptible bassline hurtles towards your foe and worms it's way into their psyche, crippling them emotionally.


Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. Roll Charisma + Influence Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7. If they are incapacitated or unconscious, they fail automatically.

If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target loses that much Source. Once their Source is depleted, excess Outcome is applied as Mind Damage. If you deal at least 3 Mind damage, the target gains a Trauma of the GM's choice.

This Trauma may be removed by Effects or mundane therapy, as normal. Affected targets are aware that they are being attacked and can generally tell who did it.

  • 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.

You are viewing an old version of this Gift.
To view the most recent version Click Here

Revision purchased with:

Community Power Gifts

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Sapient or Creature target within 20 feet. Roll Charisma + Performance Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7. If they are incapacitated or unconscious, they fail automatically.

If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target loses that much Source. Once their Source is depleted, excess Outcome is applied as Mind Damage. If you deal at least 3 Mind damage, the target gains a new Trauma of your choice. The Trauma should be general and not specifically mention you. You should not have to be involved to trigger the Trauma.

This Trauma may be removed by Effects or mundane therapy, as normal. Affected targets are aware that they are being attacked and can generally tell who did it.

  • Mundane animals have a Mind score of 1 or 2 at the GM’s discretion.
  • 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 to activate. Select a target within 45 feet. You must actively and obviously use Musical Instrument to activate this Effect. Roll Charisma + Performance 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 3. Armor is fully effective against this damage.

The target suffers a -3 dice penalty for the next hour or until the Injury is healed. This dice penalty does not stack multiple times on the same target.

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

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target within arm's reach.

Your target is marked with small visage of their latest diseased family ancestor as a sandlike tattoo. The mark can only be discovered with a deep medical inspection or Effect. Removal inflicts a Severity 1 Injury on the target.

You are aware of the marked target's direction and distance from you. This lasts for the next month, or until either the mark is removed, or you choose to end the Effect. You can have up to 3 marks active.

  • Marked individuals 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.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

You are permanently and visibly transformed: tendril mass. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living Creature when targeted..

Your body is adapted to grappling. You receive +3 dice on non-attack rolls related to grappling.

No single organ in your body is critical for life. If any of your body parts are separated from your body, you may take Actions with the severed part for three hours. You may reattach severed body parts by spending an Action and Exerting your Mind.

Your appendages can reach an additional 30 feet.

Any creature that consumes or is injected with your bodily fluids receives a Severity-1 Injury. Every minute, they must roll Body Difficulty 9. If they fail, the Injury worsens by 1 Severity. If they succeed, the Injury stops worsening.

You cannot be mistaken for a normal human. You cannot always use standard human clothes, equipment, vehicles, and facilities, and when you can, you suffer an increased Difficulty.

You cannot speak any coherent verbal language and must resort to other means of communication.

You cannot ignore or decrease the effects of Stress for any Self-Control rolls you make.

  • Detached parts move at 5 feet per Round. You may activate awareness Effects through detached sensory organs. This does not grant extra Actions.
  • You may stretch or retract your limbs once per Round on your Initiative.
  • Even though you're targetable as a Creature, you still are also targetable as a Sapient being.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. You must actively and obviously use Cocktail Shaker to activate this Effect.

Choose an Object which could fit inside a regular backpack (up to 27 liters). It must be Non-Alien and generic. You cannot create explosives. You cannot create firearms.

Roll Intellect + Crafts to fabricate up to 5 copies of your chosen Object. The Difficulty is assigned by the GM and depends on the specificity of your chosen Object. The created item lasts 2 hours.

  • The Difficulty for the fabrication roll increases based on specificity. Something like a "shirt" would be Difficulty 5, whereas "Police uniform" would be Difficulty 9. The Outcome determines overall quality and how well the item fits the request.
  • You can fabricate a container of something so long as it contains a single type of thing (such as a tank of water) or it is designed to be packaged together (such as a first aid kit).
  • If you are able to activate this Effect as a Reaction, its roll contests the incoming Attack.

Stock Power Gifts

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.

  • Common emotions and the actions they inspire
    • Anger (shouting, cruelty, denying requests, attacking)
    • Pity (stopping an attack, executing an injured target)
    • Happiness (generosity, dancing, joking, socializing)
    • Sadness (finding solitude, openly crying, demotivation)
    • Fear (running, attacking)
  • If you succeed, the target MUST take at least one Action they otherwise would not have. Hey, GM who is reading this, I'm talking to you. You have to enforce this. Remember: Gifts must feel powerful.
  • 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 1 minute. Select a Computer within arm's reach. Does not work on Alien technology. Roll Intellect + Technology, with the Difficulty set by the GM depending on the security of the system you are hacking. Sapient targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you may issue a single command to the targeted system. This command must have a specific outcome or be a request for specific login credentials. The command you issue must be within the machine's current capabilities. For example, you cannot order a standard security camera to grow legs and walk around.

If your command does not require bypassing the security of the target (for example, typing on a computer that is unlocked), you do not need to Exert your Mind to activate this Effect, and activation only takes a single Action.

Your Hack cannot be reversed through mundane means for a number of hours equal to your Outcome.

Every hack you make leaves behind a flickering image of a ghost in the system as a personal "calling card" that informs anyone who uses the system that the hack occurred.

  • You cannot hack things outside of your range over remote connections such as the internet. The system you are affecting must be physically within range.
  • 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. 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.

  • 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 eight hours. Select a Living or Animate target within arm's reach. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you cause a major Battle Scar instead of an augmentation. Your target must make a Trauma roll to reap the benefits of this Effect. They may choose to Resist the Effect and not make the roll. 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:

  • 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.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Smell: Your nose is highly sensitive and can differentiate between scents the way a dog can, as well as recognize things you have smelled before.