A gift born of desperation, Vivian took the power granted to heal, found its flaws and turned it into a weapon. With a touch of her hand, Vivian's golden aura flows into the target, an expression of her very will. Whereas before this will was used to encourage healing her will now forces change.
Being a contractor is not an easy life. There is pain, loss and suffering. That being said, despite everything Vivian dedicated herself to giving hope to others despite not really believing it was impossible to improve the world. Her power works by allowing her to, in the simplest explanation, enforce her will on the world around her, through channelling her very essence of being. As such when this most recent contract occurred something shifted. For a moment, she considered not following her ideals. To give in and unleash on the world what it unleashes on her. A traumatic truth to the effects of her 'gifts' and what they are truly capable of. If she gave up the control and ideals she spouts despite not believing them. Perhaps even a punishment to herself, for whilst she wasn't truly traumatised she feels like she should have been. To be the Font of Hope is a powerful responsibility, one that can cause pain if misused.
Spend an Action. Select a Living target within arm's reach. 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. Roll Charisma + Influence 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:
You may affect up to 3 targets within range.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
Charlotte takes a deep couple of deep inhales from the nose, almost as if she was smelling something off. At the same time her other senses flair, her eyes widen, her ears twitch, all things that make her completely take in the target, to follow their trail, or to observe them medically by taking in the minute sounds of their heartbeat, the scents of tumors or chemical imbalances, or just to observe signs of potentially infection.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. You may select a target at any range if you use up something that has been worn or used by the target to the point of having the scent of the target. At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Animals at Difficulty 6.
You learn a single specific piece of information, chosen from the following list, 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.
Oswald strikes a lighter and lights a cigarette, the smoke curling unnaturally in the air. He holds the cigarette out, and it floats midair as if offered to an invisible presence. A glowing golden tether extends from his hand, coalescing into a towering minotaur in a 1920s detective coat. The air hums with energy as the spirit begins to search—sniffing the ground, scanning with glowing eyes, and tracing glowing trails through the air. Smoke lingers and curls around places of interest, and golden light highlights the passage of the unseen. The entire scene is clearly unnatural and unmistakably tied to Oswald’s presence.
The spirit he calls—Detective Taurus—is no ghost, but a psychic impression of all who’ve ever hunted answers with bloodhound hearts and weary soles. A thoughtform born of noir, grief, and the relentless need to know. When summoned, he doesn’t speak; he reveals. Through the curling smoke, through glimmers in the dirt, through golden traces only the gifted can see.
It’s not magic. It’s memory.
And memory, when called, always leaves footprints.
Spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 500 feet You must actively and obviously use Something reflective (like a mirror,) to activate this Effect. At the end of your investigation, roll Brawn + Investigation at Difficulty 6.
You learn the following information about the area:
This Effect is obviously Alien and eye-catching across its range to those witnessing it, and you are obviously the source.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Bovine Schizophrenia: Cows (farm animals in general but mostly cows) ARE SPEAKING TO ME??!!?? THE DEMANDS THEY DEMAND ARE DEMANDING.
You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.
You hear the distinct click of a shotgun shell being chambered. They're taking aim-- GET DOWN!
Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action. Select a Location no further than 40 feet from you and in your line of sight. Roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour. 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 Brawn + Melee at Difficulty 6. Targets remaining 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. Armor is fully effective against this Damage.
Any object destroyed or individual killed in your blast turns to dust. Any parts of structures within your blast radius are destroyed and cannot bear a load or block movement. Your blast leaves a 15 foot deep crater in the ground and deals +1 Damage.
When you activate this Effect, roll a single D10. if the result is 5 or lower, you receive a Severity-1 Injury and a Minor Battle Scar.
Murphy holds their musical instrument close as their eyes soften. They weave together a sweet melody, a tug on the heartstrings, as the target is suddenly overcome with intense emotion. The target starts to see things more clearly, that perhaps violence was never the answer. However, the experience might be... somewhat stressful for those who don't see things the same way.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. You must actively and obviously use a musical instrument to activate this Effect. Roll Charisma + Performance at Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 8 with a -3 dice penalty. If they are incapacitated or unconscious, they fail automatically and their Outcome is 0.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes Mind damage equal to the Contested Outcome. If you deal at least 3 Mind damage, the target will gain Soft-Hearted: Fear of Causing Pain as a Trauma. This Trauma may be removed by Effects or mundane therapy, as normal. Affected targets are aware that they are being attacked and can generally tell who did it.
A beam of white light surrounds the bullet in transit, striking with supernatural speed and force.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target within 300 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is a magical being. You must use up a bullet in order to activate this Effect. Roll Intellect + Firearms Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling to Dodge or Defend as a Reaction, Difficulty 6.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 4. Armor is fully effective against this Damage.
You may use this Effect to Defend against any melee, projectile, or firearm Attacks within range or Clash against any Attack targeted at you. Using it to Defend deals no Damage but does not cost Exertion.
You may choose to have this Effect Damage all targets in a perfectly straight line up to its maximum range.
The target suffers a -3 dice penalty for the next hour or until the Injury is healed. This dice penalty does not stack multiple times on the same target.
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.
The aristocrat knows a ritual that allows them to rent the best version of any item. They set $10,000 worth of cash on fire and place the item to be upgraded in the fire as well. While in the flame, the item morphs into a high-end version of itself. After a while, it reverts.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a non-Alien Device within arm's reach. You must use up $10,000 cash (or equivalent) in order to activate this Effect. Cannot be used to improve Armor.
Lasts the next two hours. Your target receives 3 extra dice to all actions taken for its intended use. Attacking with an upgraded weapon grants +3 Weapon Damage instead of additional dice.
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 detective pulls out their magnifying glass and investigates the area, learning details about any nearby structures and picking up details on what sorts of beings have passed through and when.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 100 feet You must actively and obviously use a magnifying glass to activate this Effect. 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 Toon performs some sort of cartoonish act of violence. This may be handing someone a bomb, hitting someone with a cartoon mallet, burping a burp that is so noxious it melts flesh, or anything else as long as it is cartoonish.
The attack is more of a throwaway gag than a plot element, so any props or properties of the attack are incidental and disappear immediately. Animated mallets evaporate in a puff of smoke, fire does not spread, and electricity cannot power devices.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target within 45 feet. Roll Charisma + Performance Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling to Dodge or Defend as a Reaction, Difficulty 6.
If the contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 4. Armor is fully effective against this damage.
The spy can twist the urban environment to their whims, erecting fences, walls, and barriers as needed. They whistle and gesture to where the wall should be, and the surrounding materials fly into place.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within 50 feet. You must be in an area abundant with man-made structures and materials.
Select one of the following alterations to create out of standard building materials originating at the target:
The alteration begins to form when you activate this Effect and finishes forming on your initiative in the next Round. Until it finishes forming, it is not guaranteed to function.
This alteration lasts one minute but may be prematurely destroyed or altered. Your alterations may be broken through with appropriate tools. Anyone attempting to break through must roll Brawn + a relevant Ability. A cumulative Outcome of 6 across all attempts breaks a hole large enough to move through. See the extended system text for GM guidance on various tools.