The user takes a firm grasp of this artifact and lets out a solemn prayer to the Spirit of Film Noir, asking for it's aid in this time of need. Within seconds, their form is crumbling apart, leaving little of them behind but dust.
The user has been transported into the World of Film Noir, the abode of Frank's benefactor. It appears as an almost endless greyscale city, its streets lined with collapsing buildings and tired denizens. Cigarette smoke forms an impenetrable smog around the city, accompanied by an ever-present smooth jazz soundtrack.
Over-exposure to this world can cause adverse various mental effects, often slowly morphing the user's mind into a flanderized mess of Film Noir tropes.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action or Reaction. 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 1 Round. During this time, you cannot perceive or affect the outside world or take any Actions. You cannot move. Nothing can interact with you in any way.
When the band made by the above ritual is worn, it occasionally (every 4 hours or so) briefly flashes a translucent outline of its wielder’s body at peak condition (this is their “elemental”, the shell or outline of their soul), and the wielder is able to focus as if they themselves were at peak condition.
The band captures a person’s elemental, the shell of a person’s soul that is left behind in its movement, according to some of the occultist Helena Blavatsky’s teachings. By briefly redisplaying this shell over the user’s form, the user can synchronize their body with their soul at a healthier time. A necromantic ritual for “soul finding” has recently allowed David to find a more complete version of a person’s elemental, allowing this technique to synchronize a previous healthier mind as well.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
Your Stress from Injuries and Mind Damage is reduced to 0.
A soft golden glow surrounds the artifact and the hand of the user, then spreads to the target. The sound of a lock's tumblers clicking into place echoes in the ears of those that are aware of the effect.
The first iteration of this item looks like the Skeleton Key from Skyrim. Nocturnal's priceless opener of all doors, her blessing to her most trusted. Because Luz is a nerd.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Non-Alien door, container, knot, or lock within arm's reach that is no more complex than a standard commercial door, personal safe or a keycard reader.
You may lock, unlock, and/or open your target.
A thin tie in dark green and blue coloring with flecks of golden thread interwoven through the fabric. The gold is actually tiny script that enumerates multiple famous legal cases that are used as precedent in the defense of attacked parties and those wronged by inequity.
When harm comes toward the wearer from an attack that isn't legally sanctioned the tie comes to life and the script projects outward a glowing golden bubble that absorbs the incoming attacks and renders them helpless on the ground.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You have 4, which reduces incoming damage from all sources of physical attack except attacks legal to make in the situation under US law. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. Called Shots may circumvent your Armor, depending on its coverage.
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.
This object is marked with runes, at least 1 inside and 1 outside. When activated, a faint werelight outlines them as the container shrinks and morphs into a metal cigarette case with a runic design in the center. Activating this expands the container back to its full size. From inside, the runes glow faintly for as long as the container is shrunk(this does not provide illumination, but indication)
Mike can mark the interior and exterior of an object with runes to create a spatial compression. The interior rune(s) anchor the volume of space inside while the external one(s) compress the object spatially and warp it's form. The cigarette case form is just a jab at his former boss's smoking habit.
Your Artifact has a normal storage capacity, but can be collapsed down to a pocket-sized version without losing any internal storage. You cannot access the contents while it is collapsed. Objects stored inside are weightless.
Living things can be stored in this Artifact. They will have access to anything else inside and may attempt to break free, damaging or destroying the Artifact in the process.
If this Artifact is destroyed, things inside may get out, and it will cease to function until it is repaired.
When scanned or investigated without opening, the contents of this container appear normal and unremarkable.
These batteries are the size and shape of a Mobile cellphone charger, made of a dense silver metal alloy, full of some glowing green liquid. When activated the cracks and breaks melt gently glowing back into place. These devices disperse no radiation and are extremely stable that the energy stabilizes when the container is broken, so it is completely safe environmentally.
Exert your Mind and spend 10 minutes. Select a Object within arm's reach that is of any size. You may target Alien technology, so long as you have an understanding of its intended function. More than half the target object must be present in order to begin repairs. Roll Intellect + Science at Difficulty 6.
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. If your target only requires fuel or power and is otherwise in working order, this Effect costs no Exertion, and the target is fueled/powered for the next 24 hours.
Possession of this Artifact causes the following Trauma to manifest over the course of a day: a compulsion to protect the environment. If you lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next month.
This device is a piece of chrome the size and shape of the back of a spoon. When placed against the skin, small hypodermic needles sprout from the device and attach it to the user's bloodstream. There, it filters and releases lifesaving drugs into the bloodstream, granting complete immunity from contracting new diseases and added resiliency in all other cases.
WARNING: The immunizing drugs have been shown to reduce inhibitions in test subjects.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You get +2 dice to any Body resistance rolls you make. You also gain the following effects:
The mad scientist can craft steel helmets that protect their wearers from mental influence and attack.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You get +0 dice to any Mind resistance rolls you make. You also gain the following effects: