Harry centers himself, drawing upon the indomitable spirit of Ilya Muromets, the bogatyr who stood guard over his land with unwavering resolve. As he exerts his mind, his other senses heighten to extraordinary levels, compensating for his blindness with unparalleled clarity. Over the course of a minute, he methodically analyzes the area, relying on sound, touch, scent, and the subtle vibrations in the air to reveal its secrets.
The faint hum of alien energy resonates in his mind like an out-of-tune string, guiding him to disturbances and unnatural influences. The texture of the ground beneath his fingers hints at hidden mechanisms, while the faintest shifts in airflow expose concealed doors and caches. Through deliberate focus, Harry transforms his surroundings into a tapestry of sensations, uncovering every hidden detail as though the land itself is whispering its story to him. True to Ilya’s legacy, Harry becomes a vigilant protector, unraveling the truth with patience and determination, even without sight.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 100 feet 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 focus card transmogrifies into a needle made of pure shadow, which is carefully inserted into the target. Shadowstuff then molds and reconstructs the target's flesh, restoring nominal functionality to even the most mutilated of limbs.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a Living target within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use a tarot card (XVII - The Star) to activate this Effect. Select a Battle Scar on your target to treat.
The treated Battle Scar heals as you finish activating this Effect.
A green and black energy flows from your hands to your target
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip), spend an Action, and specify a single event, circumstance, or phrase that will end this Effect. Select a Dead target within arm's reach with at least half its skeletal structure remaining.
Your target rises as a Living being. They remember their past life and retain their same personality. They can communicate as they would have been able to in life. They may roll Mind, Difficulty 8, to resist any commands you give them.
The creature lasts until the selected event occurs 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 Attributes are all the same as they were in life. Raised creatures have access to any Effects they had in life.
You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.
Oleander is well-versed in good study habits. As he investigates a place, he verbally describes each little detail that he sees, and that helps him make sense of what he's seeing; it might even gain him some new insight on this scene.
On places:
Oleander has traveled to many places in his lifetime for his job, yet he still has so much left to learn about the world at large. Now it's bigger than ever. He doesn't know how to feel about that yet.
On yapping:
Being restricted on the grounds of keeping up his reputation has left him deeply unsatisfied whenever he exists in silence. He'll yap to people and plants and even inanimate structures. He'll start talking to himself if he must; it's a good studying habit anyway. Oleander needs all he can to study the cases he's working on. He can't let a single detail escape him in court.
On information:
The internet is a vast place, and he often uses it to go down rabbitholes because of a related subject in a case. He'll always watch timelapses as a way to calm down, and this has inevitably led to more familiarity with how various things age over time.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 100 feet At the end of your investigation, roll Charisma + Investigation at Difficulty 6.
You learn a single specific piece of information, chosen from the following list, about the area:
You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.
A young man sits down on top of a Marshall 112 combo at Jake's Pawn Shop in a destitute part of Los Angeles. He fishes about on the stained carpet for the quarter inch input of the cable coiled in front of the dirty 1980s-era amp. He plugs it into the jack of the pristine pearl-white Ibanez Iceman. It reminds the kid of something a rockstar from the old days would play. Back when they were still made in Japan and not some lesser shithole. He strums the opening refrain from Stairway to Heaven as any good pawnshop guitarist should. His hand comes down to strum the next chord when he feels a presence swoop down on his mind. Like a Kingfisher slamming into the surface of his mind, he feels another with him. And then he feels nothing.
Nikki strums the second chord of Stairway to Heaven, his long brown hair hanging over his bare chest. He sings quietly, "and the piper's calling you to join him". He unplugs and stands up, Ibanez Iceman hanging around his slim body as if it never belonged anywhere else and walks out. His return to the skinlands announced by the jangle of bells tied around a pawn shop door.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living or Sapient target within 20 feet. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you Intended Target attacks guitar. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you possess your target for a number of days equal to the Contested Outcome. The target has no control over their body or actions, though they retain consciousness and will remember anything that occurs during the possession. While the possession is active, the host body will Take the appearance of Nikki, making it very obvious to anyone who sees them that something is not right.
Your original body will be left behind, unconscious, in its same location. You may perceive through your original body's senses by Concentrating. If your original body is touched, you may roll Perception + Alertness to notice. You may spend an Action to end the possession early.
Stats: During the possession, you use the host body’s Body rating, but your own Mind rating. Any rolls you make use the host body’s Brawn, Dexterity, and Perception but your own Charisma and Intellect. You may use either your own or the host’s Ability ratings, whichever is higher. You gain the effects of any physical Assets and Liabilities they have. You cannot read the target’s mind or memories.
Gifts: You have access to and can use any of your own Powers which are not intrinsic to your biology or physical body. You cannot access any Powers or other supernatural effects which the target has, unless they are intrinsic to the target’s biology or physical body.
Death: If the host body is killed or destroyed while you are still possessing it, you are evicted to your original body. If the possession ends and your original body was killed or destroyed, you die.
Eviction: If the host body is ever not within 20 feet of your original body, you will be forced out. If you attempt to force your host to take actions which would violate one of their Limits or their instinct for self-preservation, they may resist by rolling Mind. If their Outcome is higher than or equal to the contested Outcome, the possession ends and you are evicted from their body. If they fail, you remain in control.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is a soft sound of vibrating strings. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
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.
These contracts bear the logo of the Inderpal Agency - they come prefilled with the various stipulations, consequences, & basic parameters, though much is left blank to allow customization by the end user. To activate, the contract is merely finished & signed by the respective parties. The contract remains, but it's power is expended after activation.
The default penalty is "Oathbreaker" taking the form of a elaborate henna marking on their face that cannot be removed. Other penalties may be selected in it's place if desired. Attempting to break the stipulations results in a splitting migraine & a cold sweat.
These Contracts are written with the same Ferro-Fluid that emits from the R.I.S.H.I. device or generated by the R.I.S.H.I. as a digital NFT
Standard CPS Contract
Upon agreement by the Close Protection Specialist & the Client (Hereafter referred to as "CPS" & "Client" respectively) the following Contract is established:
-The Client agrees to pay the designated rate per day the CPS is contracted to provide Close Protection services, in addition to reasonable expenses incurred by the CPS as well as any up front retainer if one was requested. This payment will be in British Pounds unless the CPS agrees to an acceptable alternative. The Client agrees to pay the full amount negotiated promptly, either per week of ongoing services or within five business days of a concluded agreement. The CPS may allot more time or waive payment if desired.
Responsibilities of the CPS
-The CPS will take any action required to ensure the life, safety, & freedom of the Client, up to & including personal injury, incarceration or loss of life. If the client is somehow abducted while under the CPS's protection, the CPS will dedicate every effort to secure the Client's freedom, with the normal pay structure being frozen during this time (the Client will still incur reasonable expenses, to be paid upon their release provided the efforts of the CPS contributed to their freedom).
Responsibilities of the Client
-The Client agrees to divulge any pertinent information requested by the CPS. Requested information is to be truthful, accurate, & delivered promptly. Information gained in this manner is considered confidential & the CPS is prohibited from sharing it with any third parties without the Client's permission.
-The Client agrees to a Non-Disclosure article regarding any actions or services taken by the CPS while under Contract unless the CPS gives express permission for those details to be shared with a designated third party. This NDA includes any form of recording or similar, any written record of actions taken by the CPS, any information that would be gained under questioning or interrogation, or any other means not listed here. The only information the Client may share without permission is public facing information (Amarjeet Inderpal, Inderpal Agency), that they did in fact hire the CPS & if they would do so again.
Stipulations
-If the Client chooses to engage in illegal activities that could endanger the reputation of the Inderpal Agency, the CPS may terminate the Contract. Doing so requires a notification be delivered to the Client explaining the reasoning behind the Contract termination as well as the refund of any payments made by the Client within five business days. If a Contract is terminated in this manner, all Conditions & Stipulations upon both CPS & Client are rendered void.
-The CPS will continue to provide services & be bound by the above stipulations until a designated objective has been completed or previously defined time period has elapsed. Once services have been rendered or if the contract has been terminated (either through non-payment or the above stipulation), the CPS will be free of all stipulations of this Contract unless hired again at a later date. A verbal agreement to reinstate previously negotiated services shall be all that is required from the Client should the CPS choose to offer it - new stipulations, costs, or other parameters will require a new Contract to be signed.
-If either the CPS or the Client break the terms of this arrangement by action or inaction, they will invoke a penalty clause, becoming Marked in the process.
You may make an oath with a 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 and all participants must sign the contract 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.
When crafting your oath, you may opt to enforce compliance. If you do, any participant that wishes to break the deal must take 3 Mind damage and succeed a Self-Control roll. They may attempt once per day.
The target may be at any range, but you must still be able to communicate the terms to them, and they must be able to sign the contract.
Through years of practice, the mobster is able to shatter someone's kneecap without much effort.
Spend an Action. Select a Living or Animate target within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use a melee weapon to activate this Effect. Roll Brawn + Melee at Difficulty 6. The target may roll Body, -2 dice at Difficulty 7, as a Free Action to resist.
If you succeed, the target receives a new Battle Scar of your choosing, limited by the contested Outcome:
All alterations you make must damage the target's knees.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
While transformed, the Werewolf can leap great distances, climbing structures and closing the gap to their prey.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location which is at most 60 feet away horizontally or 15 feet away vertically. This Effect cannot be used unless you are in werewolf form.
You jump to the chosen location. If jumping blind or landing precariously, must roll Dexterity + Athletics to land safely. You will never take fall Damage from successfully landing a jump made with this Effect.
You may opt to trade your free movement for a Super Leap if you are jumping less than 50 feet or if you are closing a gap to an opponent and spend your Action on an attack.
The Skeleton Key slips easily into any keyhole and turns without a fuss.
Spend an Action.
You may lock, unlock, and/or open any number of doors, containers, knots, or locks within arm's reach of you. Cannot be used on Alien technology.
If you successfully operate a lock, you may choose to destroy it, rendering it inoperable.
The hacker is capable of crafting bottles of nanites. When poured on a broken object, the nanites go to work restoring it to a functioning state. The goop shimmers and crawls, sparking with blue electricity as it reforms broken parts.
Spend 10 Rounds and use up this a bottle of metallic fluid. Select a Object within arm's reach that is no larger than an SUV. Cannot be used on Alien technology. More than half the target object must be present in order to begin repairs. Roll 7 dice Difficulty 6, dice penalties do not apply.
If you succeed, your target is repaired back to a functional state. If you fail, you spend the full time working before realizing you cannot repair the 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.