After some years in prison, Brad learned how to inflict wounds that don’t quite heal right. Though learning to fight dirty has landed him in solitary confinement more then a few times.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in unarmed combat.
+2 dice to rolls for Attacking, Defending, and Clashing without a weapon. Unarmed attacks do +0 Weapon Damage (instead of -1).
You may Defend against melee, projectile, or firearm Attacks from any range and Clash with those in range of your Attacks. Attacking materials like steel or spikes will not Damage you unless it has an Effect that does so.
You also gain the following effects:
Minerva sucks in a breath and grips her pendant, squeezing it hard enough to hurt. She stares into her own reflection, and wills it to change. Her own form is begins to change in accordance with her desires. She breathes hard during this; the process is obviously deeply unpleasant, more so the bigger changes she makes.
Minerva's will begins to manifest further. More than just influencing people, more than just influencing herself, her will begins to spill over onto the world itself.
She started with small changes the first night, exploring the spark that had formed in her. The next night, she had fur. She could feel her bones grind, her jaw cracking as it turned into a maw, her flesh stretch as a tail burst out. She collapsed, crying. But they were tears of happiness, for in this first moment, all was right in the world. She slept like that, the first time she did it. It was restful sleep. She sleeps like that whenever she can now.
She's realized that her clothes are merely an extension of herself - and as such, she can mutate them just as much.
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Meta: Minerva's mutation is more than just bone deep, and a large part of her transformation is instinctive and subconscious. When she gives herself fur, she's also instinctively messing with her own neurochemistry. She experiences a form of mild and constant euphoria while transformed.
She needs a mirror because she's exerting her will on changing herself, and at the moment, she needs to look at what she's doing.
"Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both marble and sculptor."
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History: As Minerva's concept comes together, I think 'everything is a cantrip / is effortless for her' is a big part of it. At the point of this edit, the power hasn't been used on a contract or a significant part of a move.
After Minerva's inability to use her powers while she was transformed lead to one of her fellow contractors dying, she focused, practicing. Practicing, practicing. She learned to use them when she's not her... but the pain she worked though is still there, always in the back of her mind.
Seasoned:
Minerva's powers intensified. Building on top of the latent power she has over other people, it's blossomed into something entirely more. People accept her if she believes she should be accepted. Her changes are deeper, touching her soul. But most importantly, they last. They last as long as she needs. She goes to sleep and awakes.. proper.
Something's happened, though. She doesn't have full control over it, and when she tries to change her form, it's almost like holding onto water. She needs to struggle as hard as she can just to keep from falling apart. It's hard work, and she has to exert her mind. At times, she wishes it was as easy as before.
Professional:
Minerva's experiences - traumatic and otherwise - have provided a little bit of clarity. She's only truly content in her true form. She's reluctant to do it - it takes her longer, she has a little bit less control over mutating her true form. But after everything that's happened, it's not quite as traumatic - she knows she'll go back. It's a deeper shift, as well. If something happens, she won't 'finch', and go back to her true form. She knows she can go back to it when she can. Just not yet.
Exert your Mind and spend a half hour. You must actively and obviously use a silver fox pendant to activate this Effect.
You become disguised in a manner of your choosing. The disguise lasts until you either activate a new disguise, or choose to end the effect.
The new appearance may have a different sex, age, and race to your own, and you may alter height by up to a foot and your weight by 50%. Your disguise cannot directly mimic an existing person. You may change the appearance of your outfit. Your disguise can alter your smell, DNA, and other aspects that are not perceivable via human senses. This does not conceal you against investigative Effects. A disguise cannot affect your Attributes or other stats.
You can "pass" in any culture or group without arousing suspicion as long as you look normal for that group and can communicate with those inside the group.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see The moment Minerva 'unlatches' her form, it pulses like a degaussed TV. Her clothes and flesh both smear some, uncountable wounds on her her leaking. They don't seem to hurt, but she's obviously struggling to stay in one piece. In the wounds, the tears to another place entirely, one can sense all the things that shouldn't be said. Intrusive thoughts come to mind. But are they hers? Or yours?.
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.
You may only use this Effect once per day.
His movements are wild yet remarkably precise, striking with a primal instinct that turns the battlefield into a chaotic mess of shredded flesh, splintered bone, and bloodied earth. The sight of Norman lost in battle is nightmarish—a whirlwind of claws, teeth, and fury, tearing through his foes with unstoppable aggression, leaving nothing but carnage in his wake.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in unarmed combat.
+2 dice to rolls for Attacking, Defending, Grappling, and Clashing without a weapon. Unarmed attacks do +0 Weapon Damage (instead of -1).
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Weak Stomach.
You may Defend against melee, projectile, or firearm Attacks from any range and Clash with those in range of your Attacks. Attacking materials like steel or spikes will not Damage you unless it has an Effect that does so.
You also gain the following effects:
The attacker's motions are slightly reduce, or their aim goes slightly off. The attacker is dissuaded from hurting the user, to the point where they just seem to miss their target. If the user cannot see the attacker, or vice-versa, they can attack as normal.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You have 6 Armor, which reduces incoming damage from all sources of physical attack except Hazard damage (Falling pool of acid non-controlled fire etc.). Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.
Ringer
Ringer
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You have 6 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.
You may spend an Action or Reaction and Exert your Mind to double your Armor rating for one Round.
Once per Contract, anyone protected by this armor may use Will to Survive even if their own Will to Survive has been depleted. This ‘once per Contract’ limitation applies to the Armor itself and remains even if shared or given away.
Beco cracks his knuckles and a large shadowy hand manifests behind him.
Take a Severity-1 Injury and spend an Action.
You gain an additional limb that functions as a standard human arm and hand. Lasts two hours.
Each additional limb you posses can take one Quick Action per Round without incurring a -2 dice penalty to your main Action. Any Battle Scars that affect or remove your additional limb will heal in a single week.
Your extra appendage can stretch to reach an additional 30 feet.
You may dedicate your extra Quick Action to contest any attempt to escape your Grapples. If you do so, you roll your full dice pool to contest and retain your Action.
Your extra appendage is not connected to your nervous or circulatory systems, and you will not take damage if it is hit by an attack or destroyed.
Your Extra Appendage is incapable of fine object manipulation.
The detective pulls out their magnifying glass and investigates the area, learning details about any nearby structures and picking up details on what sorts of beings have passed through and when.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 100 feet You must actively and obviously use a magnifying glass to activate this Effect. At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Investigation at Difficulty 6.
You learn the following information about the area:
You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.
The pyro points a laser pointer towards a target, and a cat-sized-and-shaped fire springs into life, very clearly attracted to the laser. This flame cat can also be shaped from existing fires. While the pointer is active it remains in the shape of a cat, pouncing towards the little red dot. When the laser pointer is not active, the flames return to normal.
Thank you to the original creator of this Gift, Frakcherd https://www.thecontractrpg.com/profile/view/603/
Exert your Mind 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 must actively and obviously use a laser pointer to activate this Effect.
You may start or extinguish a fire as large as a fire in a residential fireplace at your target. Extinguishing a fire does not cost Exertion. You may create or extinguish fires the size of a lighter or candle flame without Exerting your Mind. 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.
You may spend a Free Action on your initiative move a fire as large as a fire in a residential fireplace that is within 20 feet to another location within 20 feet. You may Exert your Mind to draw a line which a fire up to twice as large as a fire in a residential fireplace cannot cross.
The time-traveler spins the second hand on one of their watches and speeds up until they are a blur.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use a watch to activate this Effect.
Lasts 1 minute. Whenever you use your Movement, after all other calculations, the distance you may travel is doubled.
Outside of Combat, any non-Gift, non-movement Actions you attempt take drastically less time to complete, as long as your personal speed is a factor in the Action. Total time reduction is determined by the GM and capped at 90% (executing the Action takes no less than 1/10th the normal time).
Once the werewolf tastes the blood of their prey, there's no escape. Those injured by the beast's claws and teeth are marked with its saliva. Their wounds smell strongly of blood, and it's only a matter of time before the werewolf returns with a vengeance to finish the kill.
This Effect activates whenever a target you have injured with your teeth or claws escapes the range of your unarmed attacks. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a target within arm's reach. Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is alive and bleeds.
Your target is marked with a throbbing wound that smells strongly of blood. 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 1 mark active.
You receive +2 dice to any rolls made against a marked target.
The musician assumes a powerful stance and strums a mighty power chord on their guitar. A blast of sound waves radiate outwards, destroying all who dare face the power chord directly.
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.