Marks caught a few villians in his day, and one thing they always seem to have in common is they never shut up.
Not everyone can leave themselves open, provoke in just the right way and even let themselves get into seemingly precarious situations, just to loosen some lips.
He's learned how to conversationally 'push their buttons' and make them talk.
So far, the most reliable way has been to talk about himself, to instigate their inevitable sense of competition.
It takes constant conversation, so when Mark mentions his relavent truths, their target does too.
Preferably in the form of a back and forth gloating/determination sort of thing if it is antagonistic, or a comraderie building honesty moment if not.
Examples:
"I'm Mark Collins, fighter of injustice, protector of the weak. I'm here to stop you! " (flexes in superhero pose)
"It's too late, Mark!" (laughs maniacally) "You'll never find the bombs in time!" (Shows him live feed of the city.) "Watch your public failure with me! The world will know my name! ZOXOB!"
"If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you're going to die. So they'll talk. They'll gloat. They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar. So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word."
Terry Pratchett
Exert your Mind and spend one minute. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. 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 Brawn + Influence 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.
Any information you gather is A spoken conversation and made publicly available. This also includes any information the target learns about you.
You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.
Sharpen your senses and see what others miss—when the spotlight hits, secrets hidden in plain sight are yours to unveil.
Even death, after a while, becomes something cliche in the eyes of those exposed to it enough.
That is why the realization of life being brought back through a reversal of time is so interesting. How is it possible? What strings are pulled to accomplish this? *Who* pulls the strings?
He brews on the questions for a little while in the shadows of his room. Tomorrow again, will the spotlight be shined on him.
For now, he waits.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Your Perception rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Perception (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).
You also gain the following effects:
Lavender holds out seeds and throws them to the ground. As they slowly dissolve into the Earth below them, they transform into _______ with cracking and shaping bones and flesh.
Exert your Mind and spend one minute. You must use up a handful of seeds in order to activate this Effect.
You transform into a bob cat or any region-appropriate medium-sized animal until you transform into something else or choose to return to your original form. See the Extended System text for stats.
While transformed, you cannot use any equipment (including Artifacts and Consumables), and you cannot use your Active, Direct, or Trap Powers. However, you can use your Passive Powers. Any equipment you are wearing transforms with you.
Injuries and Wound Level are carried over between forms. However, transforming can never kill you; you merely remain Incapacitated until your Injuries are sufficiently healed.
An enormous, hulking creature whose body appears almost unnatural due to its enhanced musculature. The most notable feature is the grotesque body. The head being disfigured, with stretched, uneven skin and exposed muscles. One of the eyes look larger than the other, giving him a distorted appearance. Metal staples and stitching holds parts of the skin together. The jaw is a large, gaping maw with teeth sticking out permanently.
A towering, monstrous figure, its massive form grotesque and unnatural, crafted through various experimental. The body is a patchwork of exaggerated muscle, each bulging and swollen to the point of deformity, unnatural strength that goes far beyond what any living thing normally should possess. Every movement is heavy and awkward, as if this abomination was never meant to exist in its current state.
The most horrifying feature is its warped and disfigured appearance. Its head, a mess of distorted flesh, looks like it was brutally reshaped by a force that cared little for balance or symmetry. The skin on its face is stretched unevenly across its skull, with some parts pulled so tight they seem ready to tear, while others sag loosely, creating a disturbing mismatch of textures. One eye is disturbingly enlarged, bulging grotesquely out of its socket, while the other is small, sunken, and almost lifeless, giving the creature an eerie, lopsided expression that seems permanently frozen in agony.
Metal staples and thick, crude stitching cover its flesh, crisscrossing its entire body in a patchwork. These rough repairs hold together sections of skin that don't seem to belong on the same being, as if pieces were violently fused. The seams are jagged, and in some places the skin appears torn, revealing layers of sinew and exposed muscle underneath, as though the body is barely holding together, threatening to unravel with every move.
Its jaw is a wide, gaping maw filled with jagged teeth that protrude unnaturally, as if too large to properly fit inside its mouth. The jaw itself seems locked in a permanent snarl, unable to close completely, giving the creature a look of endless hunger. The teeth, uneven and sharp, stick out at grotesque angles.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You are permanently and visibly transformed: Grotesque Body. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living being when targeted. Your Brawn is increased by 1 and your Dexterity is increased by 1.
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.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Grotesque Body.
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.
A graceful fighting style
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with lightsaber.
+2 dice to all rolls with lightsaber. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using lightsaber.
You also gain the following effects:
Kei has learned how to use many, many weapons in her pursuit of finding the ultimate meal, leading to her becoming quite skilled in doing so.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with melee weapons.
+2 dice to all rolls with melee weapons. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using melee weapons.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Tinnitus.
You also gain the following effects:
The Psychic can, with great focus and mental strain, channel their will to move objects with their mind.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You can 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:
The ninja is a master of a wide variety of martial weapons. They kill quickly and quietly.
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:
The witch knows bad things happen to bad people. By bringing attention to a karmic imbalance, she can hurry it along, causing her target's bad luck to catch up with them. The target finds themselves suffering injuries due to freakishly bad luck until they cleanse themselves or perish.
Exert your Mind and spend one minute. Select a Living target within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target deserves it. Roll Charisma + Occult at Difficulty 6. Your target may resist by rolling Body at Difficulty 7.
If you succeed, the target is afflicted with a Condition that causes one of the following symptoms:
The affliction is not treatable by modern medicine. It may be diagnosed by rolling Intellect + Occult at Difficulty 6, and can be cured by bathing fully in clear running water.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is you staring at the target, speaking calmly. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
The magician places a mirror to reflect a subject and conjures an illusion that perfectly replicates it!
If the illusion is touched, it shatters into a thousand tiny shards of glass.
Exert your Mind and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: place a mirror such that it reflects the subject of your illusion. Select a target within 45 feet. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.
a reflection of something else in the area, which can be no larger than a person is generated at your target, and it will remain in place for the next minute or you choose to end it. It can be perceived by people through their sight. The illusion cannot be used as an attack. You may create a replica of a specific being or Object, though it is still limited by what you do or do not know about the subject.
Anyone who touches the illusion (or who would be able to perceive it significantly through a sense it cannot fool) realizes it is an illusion, and the entire effect will be ended for all targets.
The illusion will remain fixed to its initial target, and can only change locations if the initial target is mobile in some way. It may have moving parts and engage in simple, predetermined movements but cannot perform anything complex or interactive unless you maintain Concentration and “puppeteer” it.
The Thief examines an object closely for a minute to appraise its value. As their eyes dance across the subject, their pupils split vertically, and their irises fade to gold. If it is a particularly valuable item, the Thief may greedily lick their lips, revealing a forked tongue.
Within a minute, they have determined how materially valuable the object is and why.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a target Object within arm's reach. At the end of your investigation, roll Charisma + Culture at Difficulty 6.
You learn all the following information about your target: