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.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Complete Blindness.
fire
make mean people go boom
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. Anyone in the area has 1 Round to attempt to escape. During the next Round, on your Initiative, roll Intellect + Occult 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.
Desdemona withdraws a hairpin from her purse and uses it to pick a lock, short a circuit on an electronic lock, etc.
Desdemona has needed to break out of various jails in various countries on assignment, and has become adept at it.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a door, lock, or locked target within 20 feet that is no more complex than a personal safe door or a keycard reader. Cannot be used on Alien technology.
You may lock, unlock, and/or open your target.
Due to his charismatic nature tagging along with supernatural abilities, you have the ability to suggest things to people where they may comply.
Exert your Mind and spend at least one Action. Select a Human target within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless can't be in direct sunlight. Make a Trauma roll when you activate this Effect. Communicate a command to your target. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If the contested Outcome is positive, your target will be compelled to follow your command to their best understanding of the letter and spirit of the command until they have completed it or for your Outcome in hours. 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, a conditional request, and an abstract goal. You cannot order a target to "do nothing," and they are free to take other Actions as they fulfill your request. Commands can put the target into a potentially self-endangering scenario, including Combat, though you cannot force a target to directly attack themselves. 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.
This Effect ends if you are stunned, fall asleep, go unconscious, are incapacitated, die, or if your total Stress ever exceeds 5.
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.
Tom feels warm and cozy in his robes, he loves his robes, and the robes love Tom too. In his cocooned state black octopus like tendrils wrap and embrace Tom protecting him from injury and the environment.
You gain the following benefits at all times. You must actively and obviously be using cultists robe to gain the benefits of this Effect.
You no longer require any food, water, or air in order to survive. You no longer age naturally, and supernatural attempts to age you fail.
You may spend one minute entering a state of hibernation, during which you are inanimate and unaffected by any requirements for life. You may still perceive the outside world and may spend 3 Rounds ‘waking up’ to end it.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: concussive nerupothy.
The Hemomancer's viscous form shudders, reaching a long, surging appendage toward their ally surrounded by enemies. As soon as contact is made, the ally's skin, muscle, and bone slaws off in crimson strips, flowing back toward the central mass before dropping into a nearby puddle of blood. The puddle acts as a translucent window into a shuttering pocket dimension, thumping heart rate matching the pile of flesh that now tends to her patient's wounds.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action or Reaction. This Effect cannot be used unless Amorphous is Active. You must actively and obviously use a puddle of blood at least 1 Liter in volume to activate this Effect. 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.
You phase out of reality for up to 4 Rounds. During this time, you cannot affect the outside world but may take mental and self-targeting Actions. You cannot move. Nothing can interact with you in any way.
When you phase out, you may bring up to 1 additional target in arm's reach with you. While phased out together, you may interact as if standing in an empty void that extends infinitely in all directions.
When you activate this Effect, you may limit its duration to a period of your choosing. If you are able, you may also end it as a Free Action on your initiative.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation or for its duration will almost certainly be disturbed to see the target forcefully dematerialized.
You leave reflections of the Phased targets at your location.
The Witch wiggles her fingers at her broomstick, and it leaps from the ground with a whoosh of wind. She may then hop on and fly around. It’s so fun, she often finds herself cackling uncontrollably.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use a broom to activate this Effect. This Effect remains active for two hours.
As long as you are conscious, you are immune to falling Damage and may hover in place mid-air. Additionally, you may glide as you fall, traveling 35 feet horizontally for every 10 feet you fall. While gliding, you fall at a minimum speed of 10 feet per Round.
You may ascend into the air and fly using your mind. Your Free Movement is Mind x5 feet/Round, including vertically. You cannot Dash. When sprinting, roll Mind and add your rating in Mind plus 1 to the outcome, multiply by 5 to find your sprint speed. Your encumbrance limit is 10 lbs per point of Mind.
You are subject to the following effects while gliding or flying:
The Werewolf’s body, long caught in the crossfire between human and beast, has developed a powerful coping mechanism. It draws upon the conflict, healing severe injuries in a matter of days.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Any Injury you receive from a source other than silver or fire. heals quickly, reducing its Severity by one level every 6 hours. Any Injuries you receive while this Effect is active do not deteriorate over time. However, any Battle Scars caused by such an Injury will remain unless it is Properly Stabilized as normal.
You may Exert your Mind and spend an Action to reduce the Severity of one of your Injuries by 2. Does not affect Injuries suffered as an activation cost for Effects.
Injuries you receive from silver or fire. are increased in Severity by 1.
The Witch is a master herbalist and can cure any number of illnesses and diseases with her special potions. She goes into the wilderness to find the proper set of herbs. Once she has what she's looking for, she mixes them together and boils the concoction. Steam rises from the mixture, twisting into recognizable shapes such as animals and spirits. The whole process takes about fifteen minutes, after which the patient must drink the entire mixture. They are immediately cured.
The proper preparation varies from person to person, so a single batch cannot be used to treat multiple people.
Exert your Mind and spend 15 minutes. Select a Living target within arm's reach. This Effect cannot be used unless you can forage for herbs. You must actively and obviously use water, a container, and heat to activate this Effect.
You may cure any Non-Alien diseases, toxins, or poisons afflicting your target even if you have not diagnosed or fully understood it. You may cure diseases or poisons even if they are not treatable through modern medicine. During treatment, the malady you are treating does not progress or cause additional Damage or other effects.
Whenever you cure a disease, poison, or toxin, if it had inflicted any Damage, your target is healed for half that Damage.
As long as the ninja is carrying a weapon, their self-defense is almost subconscious. Subtle twitches and lighting-fast feints and parries using sword and scabbard can buy the ninja precious seconds to enact an escape plan or make the kill.
You gain the following benefits at all times. You must actively and obviously be using a sword to gain the benefits of this Effect.
You have 4 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.
Whenever your Armor reduces incoming Damage, you are immediately made aware of the source of the Damage. You may pinpoint their location for 30 seconds.
Any time your Armor prevents Damage, your Armor rating is temporarily decreased by 2. Whenever it goes five Rounds without preventing any Damage, it is restored back to its full value.
The creature's claws rip through the poor, defenseless doctor's coat, opening deep gashes in their gut. It bares its fangs to lunge for the killing blow, but the doctor looks up at the attacker. Their eyes filed not with utter terror at their imminent demise, only a look of disappointment and pity. Touched, the monster hesitates. . .
This Effect activates whenever you receive a Severity 2 or higher Injury from an attack. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a Living target within 45 feet. Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. Affected targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, for the next minute, your target will do things they otherwise wouldn’t have done, inspired by remorse for hurting such a pure soul. They will not necessarily display their emotions in an obvious way.
Actions they take will be in keeping with their character and the way they tend to deal with strong emotions. They will be unlikely to change their mind about any actions taken or decisions made until after the Effect ends.