You extend your arm towards the targeted area; muffled screams can be heard from those in the blast radius shortly before a torrent of wraiths breaks through the ground and radiate outward, bursting into ectoplasm and gnashing and clawing at whoever is caught in their wake.
Their ghastly screams cause incredible mental stress.
Free us, Jacob...
Give us control. No one will get in our way.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within 40 feet. The area within 25 feet of the chosen Location immediately and obviously becomes imminently dangerous. Roll Brawn + Alertness 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 the chosen Location with Damage equal to your Outcome + 4.
If you successfully hit your target, the value of any Armor they are wearing is reduced by 2. For material armor, this penalty lasts until it is repaired. For intrinsic armor, it lasts until the end of Combat and any relevant wound is healed.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see the mental anguish from the piercing wails and the haunting visages as they burst from the ground.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Vengeful: (Whenever someone wrongs you in a major way, make a Self-Control roll to resist taking revenge).
The target hears/feels their electronic device indicate that someone is trying to contact them, even if it is on silent or dead. This notification is only perceivable by the target. If there's a screen, the most commonly used calling app is used. The caller is a saved contact with whatever name/title and profile picture the caller desires.
If the target accepts the "call," they will hear a woman's voice talking to them through the device. No one else hears her, and the target's replies (their voice and lip movements) are also supernaturally obscured. At most, onlookers may notice the target accessing their device.
When the conversation ends, the device has no record of it, and all attempts to collect evidence of the call somehow fail.
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 target has in their possession (or is attending to) an electronic device that can send and recieve audio and the target is willing to engage in the conversation (meaning they accept the "call" and don't hang up).
You open up a line of communication to your target, and may converse with them as long as one of you maintains Concentration
The conversation 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 slow, deep breathing. 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.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: You must roll Self Control to resist chasing after smallish things in motion that dogs are known to chase after, including sticks/balls/squeaky toys and small animals. If you fail the roll, you will chase after it until you have physically touched it, lost sight of it, or it becomes clearly beyond your reach..
She points her arm in the direction of the injury as glass butterflies exit her sleeve the flutter around the injury then poofs into a cloud of silver sand that seeps into the body and heal the injury
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute to activate. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Your target must also Exert their Mind to activate this Effect. Choose a specific Injury on your target that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Charisma + Alertness at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, the Injury is reduced in Severity by your Outcome. If you reduce its Severity to 0, the Injury is fully healed. Otherwise, it is partially healed and will heal the rest of the way at its natural rate.
This counts as a successful Makeshift Stabilization if the Injury was not already Stabilized; any Battle Scars caused by the Injury will remain. Your patient is required to Not allowed to initiate any conflict for the next month. If they violate this rule, your treatment is immediately reversed.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is Strange movement of her sleeves. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
When Anthony shakes someone's hand, there is a momentary connection. The Lord unfolds their life in his mind - it takes but an instant, in the span of which he undergoes all their experiences overlaid upon each other in fractal patterns like lichen growing upon itself. From this kaleidoscopic mass of neural impulse, he is able to pull threads of connection, of consistency, and learn where his target's allegiances lie.
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend a minute. Select a Sapient target within arm's reach. This Effect cannot be used unless you shake the target's hand. At the end of your investigation, roll Intellect + Investigation at Difficulty 6.
You learn all the following information about your target:
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.
You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.
You tell a joke so funny the dead wake to join the act. Rigor mortis gives way to rictus grins and mechanical humor, and the animate corpse laughs just as heartily at any commands you issue as though they were just as funny as the original joke.
The corpses are powered by Mingus' own broken dreams. Once, he was driven by the idea that he could use the art of clowning to motivate the world to be better, more caring, more generous people. Now, that desire for motivation has culminated in a twisted perversion: he can motivate people to action - any action he wants! - with his jokes, but only after they've died. This is, of course, terrifying to him - he's still too human for it not to be.
Exert your Mind and spend one minute. Select a Dead target within arm's reach that has died within the last month. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. If you fail or Botch, you receive one Mind Damage and a new Trauma.
Your target rises as an Animate being. The raised creature is totally mindless, with no memory of its past life or hint of its old personality. They cannot communicate. They will follow any command you speak.
The creature lasts for eight hours or until it dies again. It is revived at full health. Any Injuries it had in life are not accounted for when determining its penalties or progression towards re-death, though they may affect its ability to perform certain actions at GM's discretion.
Raised creatures have their Abilities set to the same that they were in life. Their Charisma and Intellect are set to 1, but their Dexterity, Brawn and Perception are the same as they had in life. A raised creature cannot use any Effects.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is The corpse laughing whenever Mingus gives it a command. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
Doors identify you as a main character of the story and provide plot convenience when near. You verbally weave a portend to entice the need for the door to lock or unlock and open.
While not quite animating an object, unlocking a door requires a will of the doors own. Crafting that will and projecting it onto the door means a micro usage of Causal Diction must be used (refer to "Living Story"). This concise impartation of will and beliefs that infer a crucial event will occur and/or unless the door locks or unlocks in favor of the Storyteller. The same technique also conveniently extends to anything that functions like a door.
Spend an Action. Select a door, container, knot, or lock within 20 feet. This can be used on Alien targets.
You may lock, unlock, and/or open your target.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Betrayal (limit).
The hacker can overload any electronic device by fiddling with their smart watch for a moment. The targeted device shudders and gets white-hot before bursting into deadly shrapnel.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a object that uses electricity within 20 feet no larger than a duffel bag (35 liters). You must actively and obviously use a smart watch to activate this Effect. Roll Intellect + Technology Difficulty 6.
If your Outcome is 4 or higher, the target will be completely destroyed and can no longer function, though it may still be repaired. If your Outcome is less than 4, the target will be partially damaged, and any attempts to use it will suffer a dice penalty equal to your Outcome.
When a target is destroyed, it sends shards flying. Anyone within 5 feet of the object rolls 4d10 at Difficulty 6 and takes damage equal to the Outcome. Can be reacted to.
By focusing and whispering a prayer under their breath, the priest may invoke their god to protect those who have good works left to do.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action or Reaction. Select a Animate target within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is a living human. Roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour. Roll Charisma + Occult at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you create a barrier around your target, which absorbs the next Outcome +2 Damage. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. You may only have 1 active barrier at a time.
You must maintain Concentration while using this Effect. The barrier will fall if you are interrupted, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is you whispering a prayer under your breath. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
The detective can flash their badge and bark out orders to a person or a crowd, and the target will have trouble ignoring their command.
Exert your Mind and spend at least one Action. All Sapient targets within 20 feet of you are affected. You must actively and obviously use a police badge to activate this Effect. Your target cannot be engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your targets. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. Any affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If the contested Outcome is positive, your targets will be compelled to follow your command to the letter-- but not necessarily the spirit-- of the command until they have completed it or for your Contested Outcome in minutes. You cannot issue another suggestion to the target until 10 minutes after they have completed the first command or 10 minutes after a failure.
The target is unaware that they are under supernatural influence and feel they are acting of their own free will. If you fail, they realize that you were attempting to influence them supernaturally with your command.
Your command can be an order to take an immediate Action. You cannot order a target to "do nothing," and they are free to take other Actions as they fulfill your request. Your command cannot be obviously self-destructive. Commands may force a target to violate one of their Limits, and they will need to make a Trauma roll once the suggestion wears off.
The mobster presents a reasoned, logical case to the target: there's a lot of dangerous folks out there, and only they can offer safety... for a price.
If they agree, they will pay the mobster a monthly fee for protection. If they stop making their payments... well, let's just say, the mobster can't be held responsible for any unsavory types that might pay them a visit.
This Effect cannot be used unless you are making a deal to exchange money for protection.
You may make an oath with a physically-present, Sapient target. Communicate the oath's terms to the target, including the requirements and penalties for each participant. If all agree to the terms, you must Exert your Mind and all participants must shake hands to seal the deal.
Record the oath as a Condition. If a party breaks the oath, the Condition ends and they suffer the oath's penalty.
When crafting your oath, you may incorporate any of the following penalties:
The target cannot be compelled to agree via a direct threat of violence, another Effect, or another oath. If you would like to use clever wording to mislead the target, you must succeed a contested Intellect + (Culture or Influence) roll.
The mutant has gained some control over their genetic instability, allowing them to trigger a mutation at will. When the need arises, their flesh warps and twists, and a new mutation manifests that is suited to whatever obstacle the mutant happens to be facing at the time.
Spend 30 minutes. You may only target yourself. 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:
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
Your alteration "heals" over the course of the next month, after which it is fully cured.