Cortical Stacks Immortality for the rest of us.

4
Requires Seasoned
This Artifact grants you grants you the ability to come back to life.
Used by Dominic West, Created by leonvanderblight.
(While "dead," you in an Incapacitated state, though you appear dead to any means of detecting life. You must wear or wield this Artifact plainly to receive these benefits. While you are receiving any benefits from this Effect, this Artifact is obviously Alien and cannot be concealed under your clothes or similar.)

Not foolproof yet, but the silvery metal implant is placed along the back of the neck and runs up toward the base of the skull. Encoding data constantly from the brain via its connection, the implant is ready at all times to provide all data required to recreate the user. So long as the implant is taken to a suitable computing device, it can process the information and, using Dominic's patented energy into matter technology, create a new body for the subject on the spot. Though it does leave the question unanswered as to whether or not it's the same person or an entirely new person created in the image of the person who came before.


You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.

If you would take an Injury that would kill you, you don’t die. Your body disappears and you leave The cortical stack at the base of the back of their neck. In order to bring you back, someone must perform a simple ritual using it during a Downtime. You return fully healed of all Injuries.


Community Passive Gifts

Apparently, the UP is an Enchanted Forest, because Neva can now understand the speech (and they can understand her!) of terrestrial animals.

How many conversations must be happening around her! Will the birds chirping to attract a mate distract her? Or will they provide critical intel at the opportune time?

You gain the following benefits at all times.

You may understand and communicate to terrestrial animal as if you are fluent in a relevant language.

  • Communing with terrestrial animal does not grant them intellect but does allow you to converse with them.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your Charisma rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Charisma (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).

Edit: Expensive...might be better as Activated? This is a major investment, clearly to take advantage of the trading economy. It'll raise the question: how many Senses can you have between Crafted items & Innate Powers?

If the max is still relevant, this item will be wasted on most high level characters...

You gain the following benefits at all times. You must actively and obviously be using Neckerchief to gain the benefits of this Effect.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Smell: Your nose is highly sensitive and can differentiate between scents the way a dog can, as well as recognize things you have smelled before.
  • Touch: You can pick up on subtle differences between textures with ease, and can immediately find what you are looking for when rummaging (digging through trash, finding a needle in a haystack, etc), assuming it is actually present.
  • Taste: You can recognize any flavor you have previously tasted and name it, and may determine the composition of something based on its taste.

Any senses which have been heightened cannot be overloaded. Battle Scars you receive cannot affect these senses.

  • Examples of overloading a sense include: an explosion causing temporary deafness, a bright light causing blindness, a sedative causing numbness, etc.

You gain the following benefits as long as you have your picture of your dead Parents.

Your Brawn rating is increased by 3. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Brawn (cannot be used on combat rolls or Effect 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:

  • Absorb: As you are receiving an Injury, you may Exert your Mind to reduce its incoming Severity by your rating in Extra Brawn.
  • Heavy Hitter: Successful attacks made with Brawn will either knock your target back Outcome x 5 feet, or knock them down to the ground. Choose which effect the attack will have prior to rolling for it.
  • Tough: You gain Armor equal to half your Brawn rating. This Armor cannot be penetrated or shredded and protects against falling Damage.

  • Armor from multiple sources does not stack. Instead, the highest is used.
  • If your picture of your dead Parents is damaged, destroyed, or lost, you lose all benefits from this Effect for the next two months.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

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:

  • Finesse: When Attacking a single being, you may limit the Severity of any Injury you inflict or determine a maximum Wound Level, including Incapacitated. You may also choose to make this Injury properly or improperly stabilized, or to keep it unstabilized.

Stock Passive Gifts

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with melee ninja weapons.

+2 dice to all rolls with melee ninja weapons. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using melee ninja weapons.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Assassin: If your attack Injures your target, they cannot make a sound, even incidentally, for a single Round. Even the sound of their body and equipment dropping to the ground is silenced.
  • Falling Crane Strike: If you move and then make a successful attack against a target closer than the full distance you could have moved, you may choose to travel the excess movement in a straight line beyond the target.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Smell: Your nose is highly sensitive and can differentiate between scents the way a dog can, as well as recognize things you have smelled before.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are in werewolf form.

You have 4, which reduces incoming damage from all sources of physical attack except silver. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.

Any Injury received from Damage that was reduced by this Armor is considered Makeshift Stabilized and will not degrade further, and any Battle Scar caused by them is reduced by 1 level. You may attempt a single Proper Stabilization on such Injuries.

  • This Effect’s Armor rating cannot be increased by any other Effects.
  • When shredded, it returns to full potency in one hour.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Hearing: You are capable of perceiving physical shapes via sound. You must produce a cricket chirp to “ping” with your echolocation each Round you wish to use it.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your Dexterity rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Dexterity (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).

  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.