Rocky gives a sharp call, "We got work to do." As his words hang in the air, the rumble of an approaching garbage truck grows louder. It screeches to a halt in the background, its engines growling. The door swings open, and one by one, his crew steps out—tough, loyal, and ready for whatever dirty work lies ahead. Each of them wears the marks of their loyalty, and with Rocky leading the charge, they’re ready to handle the mess, no questions asked.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
Summon up to 3 Sapient Mafioso at your location. They last for two hours or until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 3 minions active at a time.
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.
The guise of humanity is dropped. Panels open up and heat starts radiating from the core. All pretence of humanity drains from my eyes as limiters are disengaged. All power diverted to combat systems.
Zeta's limiters are dropped and extra radiators protrude from Zeta's back. The excessive heat melts the flesh and burns the cloths on Zeta's body revealing a mechanical nightmare that was hiding underneath.
Zeta's metal skeletal structure elongates to provide more leverage. The hands are revealed to be serrated claws. Zeta's now revealed chrome skull splits in half and the melted flesh drips away to reveal more mechanical eyes that over her entire head. Tooth caps fall away to reveal rows of sharp, pointy teeth.
Steam shoots out from under Zeta's revealed ribcage and bellows around her feet. Zeta's thigh bones split in two as they're revealed to be double and reverse jointed to provide greater maneuverability.
Zeta only has one thing left to say before the voice box is shutdown as it's power is diverted to combat prowess.
"Targets Acquired"
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You transform into Battle Mode for 3 minutes. You have access to all of your Powers while you are Battle Mode, and you can use your equipment. Your Battle Scars, Injuries, and physical Liabilities are carried over between forms. Reverting from your Alternate Form cannot cause your existing Injuries to kill you. Instead, you remain Incapacitated.
While transformed, your Brawn is increased by 1, your Dexterity is increased by 1, and your Perception is increased by 1. You do not suffer any Stress while transformed.
Your alternate form is its own deadly weapon. Unarmed attacks made in your alternate form deal +3 Weapon Damage (instead of the typical -1).
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation or for its duration will almost certainly be disturbed to see Obviously a murder Machine.
Your alternate form renders you unable to speak any human language and incapable of fine object manipulation. You can only hold or grasp objects in a crude, clumsy way.
Whenever you enter Combat, roll Self-Control. If you fail, you cannot choose which targets to attack and cannot stop fighting until there are no targets remaining.
Upon activation of the Shadow Form, a profound transformation takes place. The individual's physical appearance undergoes a dark metamorphosis, as if being submerged in an otherworldly abyss. Their silhouette becomes ethereal, shrouded in an inky, black mist that seems to pulsate with an inner energy. This transformative state lasts for a duration of 30 minutes. The individual's physical strength is visibly enhanced, with a subtle but noticeable increase in muscular definition. Large, black scars radiate smoky tendrils on their back, a visual testament to the power's influence. These scars serve as a permanent mark, even in their normal state. The individual's attire transforms into something reminiscent of gothic, Bloodborne-inspired clothing. Two imposing, large black smoky great swords protrude from their body, emerging from the scars. The scars replace traditional scabbards, adding an ominous and formidable aspect to their appearance.
In the hidden tapestry of mystical destinies, Oswald stands as a guardian against the shadows that lurk within the folds of deceit. His Gift, an enigmatic power woven into the very fabric of his being, is a manifestation of his unwavering commitment to the pursuit of justice. A dance with the arcane has bestowed upon him the transformative ability known as "Parach".
Oswald's Gift draws its power from the presence of darkness. When he activates the Shadow Form, he connects with the primal energies nestled within the shadows. The enveloping black mist becomes a channel for a unique force – the latent power of justice. This force goes beyond ordinary limits, stepping into a realm that defies the usual rules of reality.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You transform into Shadow Form for 3 minutes. You have access to all of your Powers while you are Shadow Form, and you can use your equipment. Your Battle Scars, Injuries, and physical Liabilities are carried over between forms. Reverting from your Alternate Form cannot cause your existing Injuries to kill you. Instead, you remain Incapacitated.
While transformed, your Attributes are the same. Your Stress is reduced by 2.
Your alternate form is its own deadly weapon. Unarmed attacks made in your alternate form deal +3 Weapon Damage (instead of the typical -1).
While transformed, instead of your normal clothes and equipment, you are equipped with: Two Large black smoky great swords poke out of his body, instead of scabbards, they are coming out of his scars.
He lights a cigarette, the smoke curling like script in a language he doesn’t know—yet.
When he speaks, the words come out clean, like he’s been saying them all his life. Spanish, Russian, Cantonese—it doesn’t matter. For the next hour, every phrase lands smooth, like jazz on a rainy night.
Spend enough time chewing the fat with a local—really listen—and something clicks behind those wolf-eyes of his. It ain’t just language he picks up, it’s meaning, rhythm, the heartbeat of a dialect.
One good hour, one hard pull on the mind, and it’s his. Accent and all. Like he was born under that tongue’s moon.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You may understand and communicate to humans as if you are fluent in a relevant language for the next hour.
This also includes understanding any recorded communications from the relevant targets, including writings, scent trails, etc.
Thad's bass licks are so powerful and resonant that they create a barrier of sound waves in a sphere around him, stopping projectiles in their tracks, and even sometimes sending them bouncing back at their attackers. The air around him seems to vibrate and fuzz as his riffs keep chugging.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use a bass guitar to activate this Effect. Roll Dexterity + Performance at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you create a Barrier extending out 15 feet from yourself, which absorbs 2 times the next (Outcome +4) Damage. Only applies to attacks which originated outside the 15 foot radius, and protects anyone who is within that radius. Any Damage absorbed by the barrier is reflected back to the attacker, up to a maximum of 4. Their Armor applies in full. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. You may only have 1 active barrier at a time.
You must maintain Concentration while using this Effect. The barrier will fall if you are interrupted, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.
You ever feel a sound so hard it stops a bullet? That’s what this is. I twist the knobs, drop the beat, and boom a wall of pure rhythm locks in. It’s not just a shield. It’s the beat saying ‘not today.’ You want through? Better be louder than me.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you create a barrier around yourself, which absorbs the next Outcome +4 Damage. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. You may only have 1 active barrier at a time.
The barrier will fall after two hours, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is whispering Bass lines (Uzz Uzz Uzz). 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.
The magician reaches into their hat and focuses. Inside, light wells and flows like a viscous liquid. Then, they withdraws the item of their choosing.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. You must actively and obviously use a top hat to activate this Effect.
Choose an Object which could fit inside a regular backpack (up to 27 liters). It must be Non-Alien and generic. You cannot create explosives. You may create firearms.
Roll Perception + Occult to fabricate your chosen Object. The Difficulty is assigned by the GM and depends on the specificity of your chosen Object. The created item lasts 2 hours.
The Necromancer stands over a corpse and makes a series of grandiose lifting gestures. The corpse rises from the ground as though suspended by invisible strings, barks a pained groan, and lands on its feet, now a full-fledged member of the living dead.
Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend an Action. You must use up corpse in order to activate this Effect.
Summon up to 3 Non-Sapient, Animate zombie at your location. They last for two hours or until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 3 minions active at a time.
You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.
If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.
The beastmaster shouts, and their human voice cracks into a deep, bestial roar. Their body swells with muscle, clothes melting into a thick pelt of fur. Seconds later the beastmaster is gone. Standing in their place is a massive grizzly bear.
However, even in human form the beast within remains close to the surface, and the beastmaster finds highly civilized social situations unbearable.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You transform into a brown bear for two hours or until you choose to end the Effect. See the Extended System text for stats.
While transformed, you cannot use any equipment (including Artifacts and Consumables), and you cannot use your Active, Targeted, or Trap Powers. However, you can use your Passive Powers. Any equipment you are wearing transforms with you.
Injuries and Wound Level are carried over between forms. However, transforming can never kill you; you merely remain Incapacitated until your Injuries are sufficiently healed.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Intolerance for society. When you are in a situation with strict social protocols (like a trial or a formal dinner) roll Self-Control not to enter a flight or fight response.
The Thief casts a container's worth of fine powder into the air. The particulates are drawn to any sort of object that is designed to detect people, including tripwires, security cameras, detection lasers, heat sensors, etc. The powder will not trigger these devices or interfere with their operation, but it does reveal their presence to the Thief.
The cloud drifts and swirls, subtly following the Thief for a minute.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must use up a container of fine powder in order to activate this Effect.
You automatically detect all object that are designed to detect people, including tripwires, security cameras, detection lasers, heat sensors, etc within 50 feet of you for the next hour. You have a clear sense of both the distance and direction towards any detected items. When you detect objects, instead of learning nothing about them, you may observe each object with all of your senses.
The time-traveler spins the second hand on one of their watches and speeds up until they are a blur.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use a watch to activate this Effect.
Lasts 1 minute. Whenever you use your Movement, after all other calculations, the distance you may travel is doubled.
Outside of Combat, any non-Gift, non-movement Actions you attempt take drastically less time to complete, as long as your personal speed is a factor in the Action. Total time reduction is determined by the GM and capped at 90% (executing the Action takes no less than 1/10th the normal time).