The Quick & the Dead "In this line of work, you are either fast or dead"

3
Requires Seasoned
You possess superhuman agility and poise.
Used by Liam Holloway, Created by Strazhari.

Liam is guided by the dead, who guide him to do better & spur him on his way - in this manner, he always seems to be one step ahead, ducking aside or striking first as the ghosts tip him off to danger.


You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your Dexterity rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Dexterity (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).

You also gain the following effects:

  • Reactionary: You gain an additional Reaction each Round. You cannot take an Action after taking a Reaction.
  • Split Second: You may Dodge or Defend against surprise attacks.

  • You cannot React to the same Action more than once.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

Revision purchased with:
Improvement from Earning commission in PBSNP spent on improving power: The Silent Majority    (since refunded)
Revision purchased with:
Improvement from Earning commission in PBSNP spent on improving power: The Silent Majority    (since refunded)
Revision purchased with:
Revision purchased with:

Community Power Gifts

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location which is at most 75 feet away horizontally or 15 feet away vertically. You must actively and obviously use knife knuckle to activate this Effect.

You jump to the chosen location. If the landing is precarious, the GM may call for a roll to land safely. You will never take fall damage from successfully landing a jump made with this Effect.

You may opt to trade your free movement for a Super Leap if you are jumping less than 50 feet or if you are closing a gap to an opponent and spend your Action on an attack.

Instead of physically passing through the air, you are teleported directly to your destination. Does not allow you to go through walls, cages, or grapples.

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Shaky hands: -2 dice to all rolls involving keeping your hands steady, and fine dexterity.

  • If you are Encumbered, the maximum range is cut in half. If Encumbrance has reduced your total movement to 0, you cannot activate this Effect.
  • vertical jump height measures to the bottom of your feet, so your total vertical reach is at least a body length greater.
  • Rolls to land safely will generally be Athletics, but GMs may call for a different roll at their discretion if it makes sense for the specific circumstances.
  • You must be on a surface of some kind in order to activate this Effect; it cannot be activated while in mid-air.
  • You may only use this Effect once per Round of combat, regardless of any Enhancements you have taken.
  • 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 may perceive things through sight within 75 feet of you as though there were no walls or obstacles blocking your view for the next 30 minutes.

Any Perception rolls made through obstacles are rolled at +1 Difficulty.

  • 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 as long as you have your Glossy Cosmic eyes.

Your Charisma rating is increased by 3. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Charisma (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Psychopathy When faced with situations where you might exploit, manipulate, or harm others for personal gain, you must succeed a Self-Control roll to avoid acting on these tendencies--when you act on them, you must callously and aggressively pursue the course of action / opportunism. and Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) You inherently lack the capacity for empathy and regard for others. Whenever you attempt to act with kindness, compassion, or empathy, or take any action that involves caring for others, you must make a Self-Control roll: If you fail the roll, you will disregard or dismiss the needs, feelings, or well-being of others in your actions. Your approach will be purely self-serving and indifferent to the impact on those around you..

If you are witnessed actively using this Effect, whoever sees it can make a Perception + Alertness roll at Difficulty 6. A complete success reveals the source of your power.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Come Again?: Whenever you say something or present yourself in a way that upsets someone, you may Exert your Mind. If you do so you may change what you said or how you present yourself, and the first attempt will be dismissed and forgotten.
  • Me, an Empath: You have an intuitive understanding of the emotional state of any Animate being within 30 feet. Once per person per day you may roll Charisma + Influence to learn what things they respect or disrespect in others.
  • Poker Face: You reveal only what you want to reveal. It is impossible to determine whether or not you are lying. You may roll Charisma + Performance to resist any investigative Effect that targets you. If you successfully resist, you determine the info they get.

  • On its own, your empath abilities do not allow you to detect lies.
  • In rare cases, GMs may require you to make a roll to lie to particularly powerful beings.
  • If your Glossy Cosmic eyes is damaged, destroyed, or lost, you lose all benefits from this Effect for the next two months.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Select a Battle Scar on your target to treat.

The treated Battle Scar heals as you finish activating this Effect. If used on a Battle Scar caused by an Unstabilized Injury, that Injury is Stabilized.

You may specify a specific condition that the patient must adhere to. If they break this condition, the treatment is immediately reversed. Record this regimen as a Condition. Lasts until the end of their next Contract or 1 month for non-Contractors.

Healing a Battle Scar in this way leaves behind a tattoo like the rippling effect of sunlight shining down through water that faintly glows in the dark on the target which cannot be healed.

  • 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 as long as you are engaged in combat with thrown weapons.

+2 dice to all rolls utilizing thrown weapons.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Catcher In The Rye: You may catch anything flying or thrown as a Free Action with no roll, as long as it is not an attack.
  • Jackie Chan: You do not receive a Difficulty penalty when throwing objects that are not designed for throwing.

Stock Power Gifts

Spend an Action. Select a target any distance away from you. You must have a specific target in mind, but you require only an intuitive understanding of them, such as their name, face, or Location. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is listening and you are speaking to multiple people.

You may send a single message to your target. It can be no more complicated than a multi-page letter or a long email.

The message will only be perceived by the intended recipient. You must share a common language for your target to understand the message.

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

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

  • Receiving a message does not force a target to pay attention to you, and they can feel free to ignore your message if they choose. Depending on the flavor of your Gift, they may or may not be able to return to it and read it later on.
  • Generally you cannot communicate with Contractors who are not in a Contract with you.
  • 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.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way. Lasts for three hours.

  • Thermal: You are able to "see" heat signatures within your line of sight.
  • Hearing: You automatically know the origin location of any sound you hear, and you can tell which Action caused the sound.

  • Your thermal vision allows you to judge temperatures of surfaces fairly accurately as long as they are within livable temperatures.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Any Injury you receive heals quickly, reducing its Severity by one level every day. Any Injuries you receive while this Effect is active automatically count as a successful Proper Stabilization and do not deteriorate further. Any Battle Scars caused by such an Injury will heal with the Injury.

You may choose to heal any Battle Scar on yourself that is not caused by an Injury. Recovery takes one day, and the Battle Scar affects you fully until that time.

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: any scars that heal this way leave the flesh in that area bluish and semi-transparent, causing you to be viewed as a freak by most people who see you.

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:

  • Poisoned: The target gains a Severity-1 Injury which ignores Armor and doesnโ€™t heal naturally. For every hour that passes, they receive a new identical Injury. If this new Injury would kill them, they roll 1d10 at Difficulty 6. Success cures the condition; otherwise, they will die.
Symptoms begin to appear immediately, and will remain and continue to worsen until the affliction is cured. The affliction is not contagious and will not spread to others.

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.

  • Successfully diagnosing an affliction also includes information about the treatment method.
  • The chosen method of treatment must be something that you could obtain in a small town given an afternoon.
  • Curing an affliction removes the Condition, but does not automatically heal any Injuries, Battle Scars, or Traumas which may have been caused by that condition.
  • 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 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 โ€œpuppeteerโ€ it.

  • while you can use an illusion to obscure something smaller, you cannot make anything directly invisible (you canโ€™t make a tank look like a regular baseball, but you can hide it in an illusion of a giant baseball).
  • You may only puppeteer a single illusion at once.
  • 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.