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 100 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.
Rather than aiming for brute force, each strike is executed with a controlled finesse that speaks to a deep understanding of the human anatomy. The blade seems to caress the air as it arcs through a mesmerizing series of loops, spins, and thrusts. With each movement, Machida's eyes remain fixed on his opponent's form, as if reading the very essence of their being.
"Itamae style: Usugiri" draws inspiration from the precision and finesse displayed in the traditional Usugiri cutting technique employed by Itamae. Just as the Itamae utilize their delicate knife skills to create thin, precise cuts in delicate ingredients, Machida applies a similar philosophy to his swordplay, but in a combat context.
The connection becomes evident in the way both techniques emphasize control, accuracy, and respect for the subject. In Usugiri, the goal is to cut ingredients so finely that their natural flavors are preserved, demonstrating the chef's skill in enhancing the essence of the food. Similarly, Machida's approach is not to inflict severe harm but to precisely incapacitate his opponent while minimizing undue suffering.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with melee weapons.
+2 dice to all rolls with melee weapons. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using melee weapons.
You also gain the following effects:
Alan's irises, no longer a faint blue, are now brilliant emerald green, and seem to catch the light like they were jewels. When he uses his sight to react preeminently or trace the threads of time to catch clues he might otherwise miss, this spreads over his whole sclera and shrinks his pupil to a pinpoint, giving the look of actual gemstones in his eye sockets to the truly observant. Regardless, they look more haunted now.
A foolhardy attempt a a ritual beyond his skill gave Alan a glimpse of the infinity of time. His eyes have absorbed the emerald he used as a focus, and this has sharpened his perception of the world, as well as letting him glimpse the interactions of the timelines of himself and people and things around him. This event has strained his mind, however, and left him more susceptible to traumas from events around him.
You gain the following benefits as long as you have your Unnatural Emerald Irises.
Your Perception rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Perception (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).
If you are witnessed actively using this Effect, whoever sees it can make a Perception + Alertness roll at Difficulty 6. A complete success reveals the source of your power.
You also gain the following effects:
As the lights go out, every thing becomes so much clearer. This is where you were meant to be. This is your hunting grounds.
You gain the following benefits as long as it's night time.
Your senses are enhanced in the following way.
Neil gathers Miasma, which coalesces into a humanoid shape, and chants the name of the one he wishes to speak with. After a minute, a phantasmal mimicry of the deceased's form appears, allowing Neil to speak with them.
Exert your Mind and spend one minute. Select a Dead target within 50 feet. For dead targets, you must possess their Their full, True Name.
The target can communicate in your language for the next hour.
From Edith's hands sprout a a single thorn that she detaches and flicks at her target. If it finds its mark, brambles sprout from the ground and entangle her prey.
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend an Action. Select a target within 45 feet. Roll Dexterity + Firearms at Difficulty 6. The target may contest by Defending or Dodging.
If you succeed, your target will be restricted at their location by a physical, tangible binding. They cannot move to a new location, and, if your Contested Outcome was greater than their Brawn, they are encased and cannot take any physical Actions other than attempting to escape until they break free.
The target may spend an Action and roll Brawn or Dexterity + Athletics to attempt to break free. They must accumulate a total Outcome equal to or greater than the original Contested Outcome to escape. Damage to the binding from outside sources also contributes.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Wooden hands.
The Vampire is able to turn one of their victims into a lesser vampire, a pale shadow of a full creature of the night but useful nonetheless. Having drained and killed their target, the Vampire performs a brief ritualistic bloodletting, wherein they spill their own blood into the target's mouth, forcing them to drink, and bonding them together as child and sire.
Shortly afterwards, the fledgling vampire will rise from death, hungry for blood and eager to serve.
Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend one minute. Select a Dead target within arm's reach that has died within the last hour. This Effect cannot be used unless you drained the target's blood while they were still alive.
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 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. The raised creature must consume flesh every day or it will die again.
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.
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 aquamancer channels a nearby source of water into a flexible whip, which can be used to attack or to defend.
Spend an Action. Select a target within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use at least a gallon of water to activate this Effect. Roll Dexterity + Athletics 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.
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.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
The survivalist is adept at following an animal through any terrain. Once they find a recent track, they may focus their will to illuminate the trail of their target. Any part of the target's trail within eyeshot glows a bright, misty green. Even the trails made by vehicles the target was riding in are illuminated.
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 fresh tracks of the target. At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Survival at Difficulty 6.
You learn all the following information about your target:
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.
Any information you gather is revealed by illuminating the trail in a glowing light and made publicly available.
You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.
The Ninja is a master at blending in to any crowd or organization. If they can find complete privacy, they may channel their ninjutsu to temporarily create the illusion of any outfit or uniform they desire. The new clothes shimmer into existence over their existing garb over the course of a minute of meditation.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute.
You become disguised in a manner of your choosing. The disguise lasts for two hours, or you may end it early at will.
The new appearance must have a similar sex, age, and race to your own. You cannot significantly change your height and weight. Your disguise cannot directly mimic an existing person. You may change the appearance of your outfit. A disguise cannot affect your Attributes or other stats.
You may roll Charisma + Crafts to attempt to make your disguise Beautiful. If your Outcome is 6 or higher, non-Effect Charisma rolls where your good looks could help are rolled at -2 Difficulty. If you fail or botch, you are ugly instead, and non-Effect Charisma rolls are made at +2 Difficulty.
You cannot alter the appearance of your flesh and blood.
The Soldier has spent a healthy ten thousand hours training with the weapons of their military. They are deadly when wielding any firearm made in their home country. Drawing their standard issue at the start of a confrontation is pure reflex, and they may plan their shots to deal collateral damage to those behind their target.
You gain the following benefits as long as engaged in combat with firearms made in your home country.
+2 dice to all firearms made in your home country rolls.
You also gain the following effects: