Sukhman’s Lament

2
Requires Seasoned
You possess supernaturally heightened senses.
Used by Harry Johnson, Created by jwesley123.
(This Effect may or may not be obviously Alien.)

Harry Johnson was haunted by the faces of those he had failed, each one etched into his mind like a scar that wouldn’t fade. Driven to the edge, he chose to blind himself, hoping that darkness would bring him the peace he so desperately sought. But in the depths of his self-imposed blindness, he found no escape—only a curse that bound him even more tightly to the world he longed to leave behind.

As his vision faded, his other senses sharpened in ways he could hardly bear. It was as if the spirit of Sukhman Odikhmantievich, a mystic bogatyr from his lineage, had awakened within him, refusing to let him turn away. Sukhman was known for his uncanny ability to see beyond sight, a gift for perceiving the world’s hidden layers. Now, that power had passed to Harry, manifesting as a twisted gift that denied him the relief he had sought in blindness.

At first, Harry didn’t understand what was happening to him. His sense of smell became overwhelming, every scent pulling memories to the surface as if they were embedded in the air. He could smell the faintest traces of sweat, metal, and fear lingering around him, scents that brought back battles he thought he’d left behind. Each breath became a reminder of those he had lost, each scent carrying the echoes of faces and voices he could not forget. It was as if the world around him refused to let him go, holding onto him with the smells of sorrow, blood, and regret.

Soon, he discovered that his hearing had intensified, too. Every sound reached him with brutal clarity, each noise carrying a sense of purpose he couldn’t ignore. He could pick up the faintest whisper from across a room, distinguish the intentions behind movements, and feel the emotions in people’s voices. The softest sigh, the quietest scrape of a blade—everything spoke to him, telling him more than he wanted to know. Silence brought no peace, only a tense anticipation that something would break it, each sound pulling him back to the present, refusing him the respite he had hoped to find.

But the most unsettling discovery came when he began experimenting with music, trying to find solace in the familiar tones of an instrument. It was only then that he realized the full scope of his curse. When he played a note on a flute, a string instrument, or even a drum, he found that the sound reached out into the world, bouncing back with a picture of his surroundings. Each note provided him with a map—a way to “see” without sight, an echolocation that formed a mental image of the space around him. Yet, every time the sound returned, it carried something extra—a ghostly whisper, a faint echo of voices from his past, like the world was forcing him to confront the memories he’d tried to bury.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Smell: Your nose is highly sensitive and can differentiate between scents the way a dog can, as well as recognize things you have smelled before.
  • Hearing: You are capable of perceiving physical shapes via sound. You must produce a play a sound on a musical instrument to “ping” with your echolocation each Round you wish to use it.
  • 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.

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Complete Blindness.

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

You are viewing an old version of this Gift.
To view the most recent version Click Here

Revision purchased with:
Gift from playing in Fox Hunt spent on improving power: Sukhman’s Lament
Revision purchased with:
Improvement from writing a Journal for The Tomb of Cagliostro spent on improving power: Sukhman’s Lament    (since refunded)
Revision purchased with:
Gift from playing in Ring True spent on improving power: Sukhman’s Lament    (since refunded)
Revision purchased with:
Gift from playing in Safe House spent on improving power: Sukhman’s Lament
Revision purchased with:
Gift from playing in Danse Macabre spent on adjusting power: Sukhman’s Lament
Learn about charlatans - Hide fake ads

Community Passive Gifts

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.

Your Armor’s rating is increased by 2. If you do something that Damages, restricts, or otherwise directly, negatively affects another being, your Armor’s rating is decreased by 3 for one minute. This penalty does not stack with itself.

Any Injury received from Damage that was reduced by this Armor is considered Makeshift Stabilized and will not degrade further, and any Battle Scar caused by them is reduced by 1 level. You may attempt a single Proper Stabilization on such Injuries.

  • This Effect’s Armor rating cannot be increased by any other Effects.
  • When shredded, it returns to full potency in one hour.

Donald learned the importance of facing your problems head on, or more like fist on, sometimes even foot on.

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 +2 Weapon Damage (instead of -1).

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Alcoholism.

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:

  • Disarm: If you successfully Defend or Clash with a melee attack, you may take possession your opponent’s weapon or launch if up to 35 feet away.

  • Unlike the Ability Brawl, this Effect does not affect small weapons such as knives.

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:

  • Bullet Time: Exert your Mind and spend an Action or Reaction to make a single dodge roll that applies its full Outcome to any attacks made against you that Round. Mob bonuses do not apply on attacks against you this Round.
  • Infinity-Jointed: Your body is incredibly flexible, allowing you to maneuver and squeeze through tight spots as if you were the size of a cat, and you get +3 dice to rolls which require extreme flexibility, such as escaping grapples.
  • Track Star: You may always move at your full Dash speed without any penalty.

  • Reminder: to calculate the distance you can dash in one Round of combat, add together Dexterity + Brawn + 1, and multiply that by 5 feet.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

You gain the following benefits as long as you have your Crystal Heart.

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

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: I am a rock being.

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:

  • Champion of the Caber Toss: You may lift an additional 2000 pounds per point of Brawn beyond 5, and you may throw items up to this weight to a distance of your throwing roll’s Outcome x10 feet.
  • Tough: You gain Armor equal to half your Brawn rating. This Armor cannot be penetrated or shredded and protects against falling Damage.

  • Armor from multiple sources does not stack. Instead, the highest is used.
  • If your Crystal Heart 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.

This Artifact cannot be broken. If this Artifact is lost and in no one else’s possession, it finds its way back to its true owner during the next Downtime.

By default, the creator of this Artifact is its true owner. The true owner may formally bequeath this Artifact onto another person within arm’s reach, after which they are its true owner. If the true owner dies or is destroyed, their ownership ends. If this Artifact has no true owner, anyone may spend one day attuning to it to become its true owner.

This Artifact's true owner is always aware of the direction and distance to this Artifact.

If this Artifact is in no one else’s possession, its true owner may Exert their Mind and spend two Actions to bring it to themselves.

This Artifact's true owner must have it with them to have restful sleep. They cannot regain Mind or Source while separated from this Artifact.

  • "Cannot be broken" means that damage cannot render the Artifact's Effects unusable, nor can it cease to be used for its primary mundane purpose, if it has one.

Stock Passive Gifts

You gain the following benefits as long as you are biting and you are engaged in unarmed combat.

+2 dice to rolls for Attacking, Defending, and Clashing without a weapon. Unarmed attacks do +2 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:

  • Jiu-Jitsu:When you successfully grapple an opponent, you may choose to also deal damage to them equal to the Contested Outcome on the grapple roll.

  • The total damage of a ju-jitsu grapple-attack is equal to your Outcome minus their Outcome. Bonus Damage from the Bonus Damage Parameter does not apply to damage dealt through this Enhancement.
  • Unlike the Ability Brawl, this Effect does not affect small weapons such as knives.

You gain the following benefits as long as engaged in combat with firearms made in your home country.

+2 dice to all firearms made in your home country rolls.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Point Control: Called Shots that you attempt only require a Contested Outcome of 2 for small targets and 4 for tiny targets.
  • Quick Fingers: Drawing your weapon is a Free Action as long as it is on your person. You may reload or swap ammo as a Free Action.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your Charisma rating is increased by 1. 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).

You also gain the following effects:

  • Party Animal: You are welcome at, and will be granted entrance to, any social gathering or party, at least as an observer.
  • The Price Of Fame: Any sightings or recordings of your activity can easily be traced back to you. Even when disguised or using an alias, people always get a Perception check to recognize you.

  • A "social gathering" might include a birthday party, after-work drinks, a ski trip, or yoga in the park, among other things. It likely would not include a cult gathering to summon a demon, Congressional negotiations over a contentious bill, etc.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

You gain the following benefits as long as you have fed on fresh human blood in the past 24 hours and you are not in direct sunlight.

You are permanently and visibly transformed: a seductive and powerful humanoid, with pale skin and wicked fangs. You are considered to be a Sapient, Non-Living being when targeted. Your Brawn is increased by 1, your Dexterity is increased by 1, and your Charisma is increased by 1.

Your Injuries no longer degrade with time. You do not age naturally, and supernatural attempts to age you fail.

The Severity of any Injury caused by fire and heat is increased by 2.

  • You must still perform some equivalent of eating, sleeping, and drinking unless other Effects allow you to ignore that requirement.
  • The increase in Injury Severity stacks with any similar effects, such as the Silver Bullets drawback on Regeneration.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

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:

  • Assassin: If your attack Injures your target, they cannot make a sound, even incidentally, for a single Round. Even the sound of their body and equipment dropping to the ground is silenced.
  • Falling Crane Strike: If you move and then make a successful attack against a target closer than the full distance you could have moved, you may choose to travel the excess movement in a straight line beyond the target.