Jiaojing’s Influence "Bound by the Spirit of the Trickster"

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The power to compel a target to follow your orders.
Used by Zhòng de piànzǐ, Created by Noralius.
(This Effect is not obviously Alien when used. You are obviously communicating a command to your target. )

Possessed by a jiaojing, Zong can weave subtle suggestions into others’ minds, bending their will with a whisper. But when others dismiss or ignore him, the spirit’s spite seeps through—demanding attention, retribution, and control.


Exert your Mind and spend at least one Action. Select a Human target within 20 feet. Your target may be actively engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your target. Roll Charisma + Alertness at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.

If the contested Outcome is positive, your target will be compelled to follow your command to their best understanding of the letter and spirit of the command until they have completed it or for your Contested Outcome in hours. You cannot issue another suggestion to the target until 10 minutes after they have completed the first command or 10 minutes after a failure.

The target is unaware that they are under supernatural influence and feel they are acting of their own free will. If you fail, they realize that you were attempting to influence them supernaturally with your command.

Your command can be an order to take an immediate Action and a conditional request. You cannot order a target to "do nothing," and they are free to take other Actions as they fulfill your request. Your command cannot be obviously self-destructive. The Effect ends if following your command would cause a target to cross one of their Limits in a way that would necessitate a Trauma roll.

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Bad back.

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Puppet of the Jiaojing.

  • You cannot order your target to endanger themselves, but you may order them to flee, attack a certain target, take a defensive or offensive stance, or similar.
  • The target must be able to understand you and must receive your communication for the suggestion to work.
  • Allowed Commands
    • Conditional Request: implants a triggered response or latent order. (e.g. "when you see your mom, give her a kiss" or "when I give the signal, strip naked and pretend you're possessed by the devil.")
    • Direct Order: The target must take an immediate action (e.g. “Sit down,” "run away," or "tell me your password.")
  • In the case of a failed activation, GMs should consider how bystanders would realistically react to a potentially-outlandish accusation of mind-reading.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Community Power Gifts

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Any Injury you receive from a source other than Fire heals quickly, reducing its Severity by one level every 6 hours. Any Injuries you receive while this Effect is active automatically count as a successful Proper Stabilization and do not deteriorate further. Any Battle Scars caused by such an Injury will heal with the Injury.

Injuries you receive from Fire are increased in Severity by 1.

  • The increase in Injury Severity stacks with any similar effects, such as the Vulnerable drawback on Inhuman Physiology.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your Stress from Injuries and Mind Damage is reduced to 0.

Spend an Action. Select a target within 50 feet. 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 2.

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.

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Weak Knees.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of Effect. There must be no substantial obstructions between you and your target.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your Stress from Injuries and Mind Damage is reduced to 0.

Stress from Injuries acts as a dice bonus instead of penalty.

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Beaten Eyes.

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: I can't take anymore... no, I have to win.

Fel was part of a ritual that his parents did to commune with greater beings. They put voices his head. The voices tell him things. They changed him. They keep changing him.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

You are permanently and visibly transformed: Eyes of black, and all bodily fluids are black. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living being when targeted. Your Dexterity is increased by 1 and your Perception is increased by 1.

Your appendages have 30 feet of reach.

You can squeeze through any cracks and passageways a cat would be able to.

Any Animate being that consumes or is injected with your bodily fluids receives a Severity-1 Injury. Every Round, they must roll Body Difficulty 9. If they fail, the Injury worsens by 1 Severity. If they succeed, the Injury stops worsening.

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Too many things: Details in your senses overwhelm you, and you cannot process them. Whenever you face an extreme or overpowering smell, you must succeed a Body roll, Difficulty 9 not to throw up. and Pure black eyes and black veins: All social rolls are made at +1 Difficulty. The Beautiful Asset is suppressed as long as you have this Battle Scar.

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Phobia of Fire..

The Severity of any Injury caused by Fire is increased by 2.

  • You may stretch, retract, or move your limbs 30 feet once per Round.
  • The increase in Injury Severity stacks with any similar effects, such as the Silver Bullets drawback on Regeneration.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

Stock Power Gifts

Spend an Action. Select a target any distance away from you. You must have a specific target in mind, but you require only an intuitive understanding of them, such as their name, face, or Location.

You may send a single message to your target. It can be as complex or as large as you like. It takes at least 30 minutes before it is received.

The message may be intercepted while in transit, and may be overheard, read, or otherwise understood by anyone near either you or the recipient. You must share a common language for your target to understand the message.

This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.

  • Depending on the length of your message, it may take a target some time and/or effort to understand it in its entirety.
  • Receiving a message does not force a target to pay attention to you, and they can feel free to ignore your message if they choose. Depending on the flavor of your Gift, they may or may not be able to return to it and read it later on.
  • Generally you cannot communicate with Contractors who are not in a Contract with you.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target any distance away from you. You must have a specific target in mind, but you require only an intuitive understanding of them, such as their name, face, or Location. This Effect cannot be used unless you can see your target.

You open up a line of communication to your target, and may converse with them as long as one of you maintains Concentration

The conversation will only be perceived by the intended recipient. You must share a common language for your target to understand the message.

  • Receiving a message does not force a target to pay attention to you, and they can feel free to ignore your message if they choose. Depending on the flavor of your Gift, they may or may not be able to return to it and read it later on.
  • Generally you cannot communicate with Contractors who are not in a Contract with you.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.

Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend a minute. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target does not know you're watching them. At the end of your investigation, roll Charisma + Investigation at Difficulty 6.

You learn a single specific piece of information, chosen from the following list, about your target:

  • You learn how to reliably contact the target.
  • The target’s trail for the past 24 hours is revealed to you and anyone you teach to follow it. This trail shows how long ago the target was there and is followable even when they are in a vehicle.

The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.

  • Contact info Low Outcome: a means of communication (phone, email, a secretary). High Outcome: specific phone numbers, email addresses, protocols for getting access to the individual.
  • Tracker You are not made instantly aware of where they have been in the past 24 hours; you must follow their trail. You may "happen upon" any trail they have made in the past 24 hours.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

You are permanently and visibly transformed: you have blue, bioluminescent blood and a hunched posture adapted to running on all fours. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living Creature when targeted. Your Dexterity is increased by 1.

Your body is adapted to sprinting. You receive +3 dice on non-attack rolls related to sprinting.

Any Animate being that consumes or is injected with your bodily fluids receives a Severity-1 Injury. Every Round, they must roll Body Difficulty 9. If they fail, the Injury worsens by 1 Severity. If they succeed, the Injury stops worsening.

You cannot be mistaken for a normal human. You cannot always use standard human clothes, equipment, vehicles, and facilities, and when you can, you suffer an increased Difficulty.

You cannot ignore or decrease the effects of Stress for any Self-Control rolls you make.

  • Even though you're targetable as a Creature, you still are also targetable as a Sapient being.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

Exert your Mind and Spend an Action.

You transform into your own corpse for one minute. While transformed, you may control the functioning of the object you have transformed into. You can perceive your surroundings as normal. You can be targeted as a Non-Living, Sapient Object.

If you are damaged while transformed, the damage is realized when you return to normal. If you are damaged before you transform, your inanimate form will appear partially damaged.

You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.

  • If a character is inside of you when you revert to your original form, you take a Severity-5 Injury when they burst from your innards as you shrink.
  • You cannot move in any way the object wouldn't normally be able to move. If you are a feather duster, you cannot float around, etc.