You place a hand on the object, gloved or not, and glare into its figurative or literal soul. You may even sniff or lick it depending on how confident you are that it won't kill you right away. Observers to this act may feel a mild to intense discomfort depending on what item it is (pray that it's not someone's clothing, cough cough) but you can insist that this is all for the sake of science.
On testing:
Delphyrion has always wanted to know everything. However, no matter how strong one's background is in chemistry, you'd usually need equipment and time to study an object's composition. Not to mention the amount of harm it could do to the item.
On alien origins:
Whatever it is that they encounter on their contracts, Delphyrion would very much like to know when something is out of this world so they don't have to waste time trying to apply human logic to it. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but sometimes a cigar is very much not a cigar.
On chemistry:
This gift could be groundbreaking, but only if you know what you're looking at. Initially Delphyrion wanted to use it for finding the chemical makeup of an item, though they realize they should already know as long as it's recognizable. Chemistry is all about using what you have, and what's the use of a weapon that you know nothing about?
On questionable acts:
Look, living creatures are born with five senses for a reason. Delphyrion will use all five senses if it means new knowledge can be found. Sure, they've gotten sick from licking stuff for no reason, and they've licked a frozen pole (you can imagine how that went down), but at least now there is a reason to do so. This will do wonders for their immune system.
Spend a minute. Select a target Object within arm's reach. At the end of your investigation, roll Intellect + Science at Difficulty 6.
You learn a single specific piece of information, chosen from the following list, about your target:
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.
The mare's most classic trick: with a touch, they may render a target unable to move. The target's limbs do not follow their commands; they are trapped in their own body. Blue ethereal flames surround their body, locking it in place.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target was asleep in the past 12 hours. Roll Charisma + Occult at Difficulty 6. the target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If you succeed, your target will be restricted at their location by an intangible, ethereal binding. They can still move their arms and use Effects, but cannot move to a new location.
Restricted targets may attempt to break the binding and escape by spending an Action and rolling Mind at Difficulty 7. Breaking free requires a total cumulative Outcome of twice the original Contested Outcome.
Your bindings affect intangible beings like ghosts.
The User places their hand upon Geneva and recites the tome as the Archangel Gabriel descends to seal the oath. After swearing upon The Lord's Name, chains emerge from the archangel's wings sealing the oath.
You may make an oath with any number of Sapient targets. Communicate the oath's terms to the targets, including the requirements and penalties for each participant. If all agree to the terms, you must Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and all participants must Swear upon The Lord's name 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 targets 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 targets, you must succeed a contested Intellect + (Culture or Influence) roll.
The targets may be at any range, but you must still be able to communicate the terms to them, and they must be able to Swear upon The Lord's name.
It is obvious to your targets that the oath you are proposing will be supernaturally enforced.
This power will injure whoever is in the way, Tara must poke her thumb with the blade and draw blood in order to activate the blast.
When Tara is out of blood vials, may cut open herself to use power again. It will inflict a Severity 1 Injury at the start, destabilizing or increasing in severity every subsequent use.
Spend an Action. Select a target within 300 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless you feed the artifact a blood bag's worth of blood for each shot. Roll Intellect + Occult 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.
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.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 1.
Exert your Mind, spend one minute, and select a specific place, person, or item within arm’s reach. Select a Dead target within arm's reach with at least half its skeletal structure remaining. This Effect cannot be used unless on a dark environment and you must have a personal item that the dead target had in life. You must use up Black Obsidian in order to activate this Effect.
Your target rises as an Animate being which is ghostlike and incorporeal, unable to physically interact with the real world, though they may pass through walls and make noise. 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 it strays at least 80 feet from the chosen place, person, or item 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.
Your risen ghost may "rest" inside the object, location, or person they are bound to and emerge whenever they wish.
You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.
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.
Hawthorne ejects a stream of blue fungus into the air at their target., which moves into their airways and into their brain
The fungus attacks the brains cognitive ability suppressing the brains ability to function putting them into a distressed stain and constant mental strain. Because of this strain the victims to the power generally are emotionally unstable and lash out when distressed
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. Roll intellect science 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 uncontrollable anger - every time you become upset or angry make a self control roll to not lash out 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.
The user places this slip of paper from the mystic against their head, speaks the inscribed phrase, and envisions a time they wished they were alone. the paper bursts into a shockwave that pushes a nearby being away. The repulsion field can be maintained for several seconds by meditating on the nature of solitude.
Spend an Action and use up this paper with mysterious calligraphy. Select a Animate target up to 100 feet away.
Targets are pushed back until they are 100 feet away.
This Effect cannot move anything heavier than 500 pounds.
Affected targets may use a Reaction and roll Dexterity or Brawn + Athletics to hold on to a nearby anchor, if available. A complete success increases their effective weight by whatever they hold onto.
Pushing a target straight upward requires you to be directly beneath them and halves the range. GM’s may ask for a Dexterity + Athletics roll when repositioning yourself around a target to get a desired angle. They may React to reposition or anchor themselves as normal.
You may maintain Concentration after the initial activation of this Effect to continue the push on the target. Lasts up to one minute.
The De-Neuralizer is a small silver device that can emanate a bright flash of light. Any being that looks into it with uncovered eyes has their most recent period of the their memory set into a highly over-writable state for a moment. While in this state, their memories may be overwritten at will.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within within arm's reach. All Sapient targets within 20 feet are affected. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is looking directly into the device with uncovered eyes. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If the contested Outcome is positive, the most recent 1 hour from your target’s memory is either replaced with new memories or forgotten entirely. This is recorded as a Condition. The level of detail and completeness of the alteration depends on your Outcome. If you fail, the target realizes that you are attempting to alter their memories.
The period is chosen either by time (i.e. “last Friday night”) or by reference to a specific event (i.e. “when the murder occurred”).
The musician pours their heart and soul into their music, giving others some much needed perspective and solace and all around good vibes. This can be a temporary easing of the mind, but with prolonged music therapy it can even permanently cure psychic damage.
Exert your Mind to activate. Select a Living target within arm's reach. You cannot target yourself. This Effect cannot be used unless you continuously play music for your target during the activation. Over the course of one Downtime, your patient must communicate with you and reveal at least one of their Traumas to you, including the details of those Traumas and the circumstances of how they were acquired. After the full treatment time has elapsed, roll Charisma + Performance at Difficulty 6.
Your target may Resist. If your treatment is successful, you may remove one of the patient's revealed Traumas without incurring any Experience cost.
Once per day per target, you may choose to use this Effect to stabilize the Mind of a target within arm's reach. Treatment takes 30 seconds but will not remove any Traumas. If you are successful, restore 2 Mind damage.
You may choose to use this Effect to temporarily relieve any number of the patient's Traumas (including mental Conditions). In this case, Treatment takes an Action and the effect lasts two hours. If the Patient is currently experiencing an episode, Difficulty is increased by 2.
The Scepter of Ang-Kapal is a gruesome device fashioned to look like a skeletal arm clutching a glass eye. When used, blood from the person holding is drawn into the eye where it swirls with dark energy. The eye turns to a nearby corpse and shudders, reviving the creature. The creature does not retain any of its memories or personality, but it is absolutely loyal to whoever is holding the scepter.
The Scepter of Ang Kepal has the unfortunate side effect of driving its owner mad.
Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend one minute. Select a Dead target within arm's reach with at least half its skeletal structure remaining. 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.
Your target rises as an Animate being. The raised creature is totally mindless, with no memory of its past life or hint of its old personality. They cannot communicate. They will follow any command you speak.
The creature lasts for eight hours 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 Charisma and Intellect are set to 1, but their Dexterity, Brawn and Perception are the same as they had in life. A raised creature cannot use any Effects.
Destroying one of your zombies requires a called shot to the head or heart. All other Injuries zombies suffer result in Battle Scars only, limiting their mobility and effectiveness in other ways.
Your revived targets deal 2 Weapon Damage with their unarmed attacks.
If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.
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.