Oleg has applied his deep understanding of physiology and source magic to develop the Enhanced Synapses power. By creating a tailored mutagen and custom reagents, Oleg forces his brain to undergo targeted evolution, accelerating his cognitive functions. This power sharpens his ability to process vast amounts of information at incredible speeds, allowing him to analyze, synthesize, and understand complex concepts far faster than a normal human. Currently, his focus is on information processing, but as the evolution progresses, he expects significant improvements in memory retention, deductive reasoning, and other critical cognitive abilities. This is the crown jewel of his nervous system modifications—an augmentation that not only enhances his mind but sets the stage for further intellectual advancements.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Your Intellect rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Intellect (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).
You also gain the following effects:
Delphyrion reaches a hand into their hair and pulls out what seems to be a hypercube. One can't really perceive what's inside it, but as it intersects with our world, a more recognizable object emerges.
On stashing:
Delphyrion's had access to obscure and illicit chemicals for a long time, but they hadn't expected to make such great use of them on the contracts. He loves his bags and long coats and big pockets, but he could always use a better way to store things that he doesn't want people seeing. There's a limit to how many liquids he could bring on a plane, and how many times someone could mistake him for a perv who brings... a "certain kind of liquid" to deadly missions.
On technique:
He's itching to go up to someone and lift his lab coat while saying, "Want some goods?" at some point. It's definitely more practical to pull it out from under their hair though.
On hypercubes:
There were so many. Too many. 8. Eight. Huit. Ocho. 여덟. Not a good memory. Still a cool concept. He hates it. He's enamoured. So much left to learn. He's falling.
Spend a Quick Action.
You may withdraw an item from your stash, or add an item that is within arm’s reach to your stash. You may only stash targets which are in your possession, grappled, or otherwise controlled by you.
You may store Objects in your stash, each no larger than something which could fit inside a briefcase (15 liters), and you may store up to 3 things at a time.
You may choose to equip any equipment you withdraw at no additional cost.
When a target is within reach, Kashmir utilizes her feminine charm to weaken the heart of her victim by blowing a kiss. Whether or not this catches them off guard, the true dangers will not become noticeable until a later time.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Roll Charisma + Influence 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 + Medicine at Difficulty 6, and can be cured by ingesting a snake's venom sack.
When you activate this Effect, instead of occurring immediately, you may choose to delay its effects until the target takes a particular Action. For example: "when they fire a gun" or "when they swim in deep water."
Baga leans back with his spear in hand before throwing with all his might
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with Spears.
+2 dice to all rolls utilizing Spears.
You also gain the following effects:
Calamity follows the bakeneko wherever they go. Summoning balls of spectral fire, burning homes to the ground with a meagre brush of the tail, all classical abilities of this Yōkai. Imbuement's set Goro on a monstrous path, the only foreseeable end being a transformation into something completely otherworldly.
Exert your Mind (only for extinguishing a fire, no cost for starting one) and spend an Action. Select a target within 20 feet which has both fuel and oxygen available (if you are starting a new fire).
You may start or extinguish a fire as large as a fire in a residential fireplace at your target. Your fires require fuel and oxygen in order to continue burning.
Lighting a target on fire deals 3 Damage each Round on your turn, starting in the Round after the one in which they caught fire. This Damage is reduced by Armor, but the target’s Armor rating will be shredded by any Damage dealt, destroying material Armor once it reaches 0.
You may extinguish flames as a Reaction. This does not extend to explosives.
While cooking, Pen uses her nails to pierce the base of her palm and allows a drop of her blood to join with whatever she's making, focusing her mind on people that have hurt her in the past and using that physical pain, as well as a simple incantation, to fuel her intent.
A simple ritual that Pen learned which causes angry spirits of the target's ancestors to immediately begin to haunt and affect the target. Her blood ties her to all of her ancestors by her DNA, and upon consumption by a target mingles with theirs to cause anyone in their family tree that might be angry with them to make that anger known. Most of the time, this is a spurned relative who died relatively recently - however the curse goes as far back as it needs to find an angry spirit. If you go far back enough, everyone has a connection to someone that died bitter and alone.
Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend 30 seconds to turn food into a trap. This trap lasts one day or until triggered or disarmed. This Effect cannot be used unless Pen prepared the food herself. Roll Charisma + Occult at Difficulty 6. Choose any number of the following symptoms:
The trap looks like food. Only those who have seen this trap before can identify it as a trap. Anyone who is aware of the trap may intuitively avoid, trigger, or destroy it.
Any Living target within within arm's reach that uses the trap as food will trigger it. Your target may resist by rolling Body at Difficulty 8.
When the trap is triggered, the target is afflicted with a Condition that causes the chosen symptoms. 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 bloodletting into a ritual circle while a priest performs an exorcism.
Any Scars, Traumas, or Injuries caused by your symptoms cannot be healed until the underlying Condition is cured.
You may only use this Effect once per day.
If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.
The aquamancer is an adept swimmer and moves with agility in or out of the water.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You may move easily and without a roll in any of the following situations.
The ninja does not approve of guns; they prefer using the bow for its stealth and versatility.
You gain the following benefits as long as engaged in combat with wooden longbows.
You receive +2 dice to all rolls using wooden longbows. Reloading is considered a Free Action.
You also gain the following effects:
The psychic can reach into another's' mind and pilfer their deepest memories. Doing so causes the psychic's nose to bleed and is exceptionally draining.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. Select a Living, Animate target within 20 feet You must maintain Concentration while the effect is active. Roll Intellect + Investigation at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
You are able to view your target's memories. The target is aware that their thoughts are being probed but not of the source of the probe. The Effect ends if the target moves out of range or your Concentration is interrupted.
You may ask specific questions about their memory - “what is their computer password,” “What were they doing at 4:00PM yesterday,” etc - but you cannot get answers to broad, analytical questions like “are they a good person?” or “what are their plans for the future?”
Each question takes as long as it takes to answer to read. When replaying a full memory, it is replayed in double time.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is your nose bleeding. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
After this Effect ends, you cannot move quicker than a walk (15 feet per Round) for one minute and suffer a -1 dice penalty for an hour.
Unimportant characters just can't seem to hit our hero with their attacks. Injuries that are sustained from underlings are conveniently non-severe.
You gain the following benefits as long as the attacker isn't important enough to have a name.
You have 4 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.
The beastmaster shouts, and their human voice cracks into a deep, bestial roar. Their body swells with muscle, clothes melting into a thick pelt of fur. Seconds later the beastmaster is gone. Standing in their place is a massive grizzly bear.
However, even in human form the beast within remains close to the surface, and the beastmaster finds highly civilized social situations unbearable.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You transform into a brown bear for two hours or until you choose to end the Effect. 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.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Intolerance for society. When you are in a situation with strict social protocols (like a trial or a formal dinner) roll Self-Control not to enter a flight or fight response.