Zephyren collects blades almost obsessively, perhaps because they are some of the least detectable weapons. Or, he does it instinctively because a bird is never complete without its talons. In result, he's also the most proficient with blades.
On weapon usage:
People have guns (even in Canada, they're just quieter about it), but Zephyren legally cannot own one, and traveling with those can be such a pain for those with licenses anyway. He very much prefers a quieter option too. Also, blades are far more versatile (he wants to toss a bunch of vegetables in the air one day and try to slice them all). Never bring a knife to a gun fight? Think again.
On blade proficiency:
Fighting isn't the only thing Zephyren uses blades for. If anything he's rarely had to fight outside contracts; he mostly uses knives in the kitchen, and since he has been cooking from a very young age, there's no surprise that this is what he's the most comfortable with. In any video games, he predominantly uses a knife or sword. Don't ask how he's gotten through Resident Evil; let's just say he had to face a lot of corpses up close.
On bird talons:
Thankfully Zephyren has never been attacked by a bird, but from what he's read, talons can be really sharp. They have to grip onto things after all, even if it means they'd puncture their target.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with knives and daggers.
+2 dice to all rolls with knives and daggers. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using knives and daggers.
You also gain the following effects:
The user pulls one of three stored up items from his sleeves.
Spend a Quick Action. You must actively and obviously use Sleeves to activate this Effect.
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.
A red ball of reversal energy
It was developed in my senior year of high school to save my freshman gyatts
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location no further than 40 feet from you and in your line of sight. You must use up 1 dollar of any currency in order to activate this Effect. The area within 25 feet of the chosen Location immediately and obviously becomes imminently dangerous. On the following Rounds, you may choose to detonate the Blast as a Free Action on your initiative. When you do so-- or when one minute elapses-- roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6.
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.
After you finish activating this Effect, you cannot move quicker than a walk (max 15 feet per Round) for one minute and suffer a -1 dice penalty for an hour. Exhaustion’s penalty and duration stacks with multiple activations.
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 firepit's fire at your target. Your fires require fuel and oxygen in order to continue burning.
Lighting a target on fire deals 4 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 firepit's fire 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 firepit's fire cannot cross.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Pyromania.
To control fire is a difficult thing to learn, but some progress has been made. The little arsonist has already singed himself once or twice.
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 firepit's fire at your target. Your fires require fuel and oxygen in order to continue burning.
Lighting a target on fire deals 4 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 depleted by any Damage dealt, destroying the 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 firepit's fire 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 firepit's fire cannot cross.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see The flames glow the colours of lit sulfur, they’re clearly unnatural..
Jackie focuses on the problem area, and forms a connection with the surroundings. Feeling out the nerve endings, the damage, what needs to be replaced and what can simply be grown on top of. Then she puts her hand on the area, and as she slowly draws it away a seed is planted. That seed slowly takes root, makes the connections it needs to, and grows out a fungal support structure to help its host perform the task.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Select up to four Battle Scars on your target to treat.
The treated Battle Scars heals as you finish activating this Effect. If used on a Battle Scar caused by an Unstabilized Injury, that Injury is Stabilized.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see painful and slow growth of fungi that takes over whatever function was supposed to be done by the injured area. They do what their host wishes them to, but the connection isn't a direct one.
Healing a Battle Scar in this way leaves behind fungal growths on the target which cannot be healed.
The Necromancer temporarily assumes the form of their own corpse, complete with maggots, spilled entrails, and exposed bone. They cannot move while transformed, but their empty eye sockets see as well as ever.
Exert your Mind and Spend an Action.
You transform into your own corpse for one minute. While transformed, you may control the functioning of the object you have transformed into. You can perceive your surroundings as normal. You can be targeted as a Non-Living, Sapient Object.
If you are damaged while transformed, the damage is realized when you return to normal. If you are damaged before you transform, your inanimate form will appear partially damaged.
You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.
The spy is able to transform an ordinary ballpoint pen into a monitoring device that is inconspicuous enough to blend in to most settings, but advanced enough to allow 360 degree surveillance as well as audio capture, which is sent to their smartphone.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within 10 feet. You must actively and obviously use a ballpoint pen to activate this Effect.
You place a ward, which is fixed to its initial location. You can hear and see through the ward as though you were standing at its location. Your wards last 3 hours. You may have at most 3 wards active at once.
The ward requires Concentration to monitor, though it will remain active until you deactivate it. It can be detected with a roll and destroyed through mundane means.
The vampire sucks a copious amount of blood from a human and replenishes their own cursed flesh.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. This Effect cannot be used unless you drink blood directly from a human until it injures them. Choose a specific Injury on yourself that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Brawn + Occult 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.
If your Outcome is greater than the Severity of the Injury you were attempting to treat, you may apply any excess Outcome to other Injuries on yourself.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation or for its duration will almost certainly be disturbed to see you drink blood directly from the vein.
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 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.