Scythework

2
The power to enhance your tools beyond mundane limits.
Used by Marcus Vale, Created by jwesley123.
(Anyone who witnesses you activate this Effect or for its duration is very likely to be disturbed to see He bathes the items in hell portals. You must actively and obviously be using Gun.)

Marcus sets the item down, draws his gun, and presses the barrel to its surface like he’s taking its temperature. With a slow breath, he pulls the trigger—not to fire, but to open a thin, red slit in the air that hisses like steam and smells of rust and burnt paper. Without hesitation, he dips the object into the glowing wound, guiding it like a craftsman at work, his face unreadable. When he pulls it back out, the item looks exactly the same—no runes, no glow, just ordinary steel or plastic—but people still step back, uneasy, because they saw what it went through.

Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a non-Alien Device within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use Gun to activate this Effect. Can be used on Armor.

Lasts the next day. Your target receives 2 extra dice to all actions taken for its intended use. Attacking with an upgraded weapon grants +2 Weapon Damage instead of additional dice. While it is upgraded, the item cannot be destroyed. Upgraded Armor is shredded by half the normal amount. If it is a piece of Armor, it instead receives half that amount as bonus armor rating, rounded up. If an upgraded shield and armor are both worn, the upgrade bonus does not stack with itself.

You may choose a second valid Device target while activating this Effect and splice both targets into a single new Device. The newly created item has the same size as the larger of the two initial targets, and can be used to perform the same actions as either of the original items. It receives 2 to those actions for the next day.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation or for its duration will almost certainly be disturbed to see He bathes the items in hell portals.

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.

  • "Destroyed" in this context means "prevented from functioning for its primary purpose", so for instance, an upgraded land mine would still explode as normal if triggered, even though it cannot be "destroyed" and a car's windows may still be broken.
  • When Splicing, you must be in possession of both devices. The resulting object behaves exactly as if both devices occupy the same space and do not gain any new functionality at all.
  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • Exhaustion penalties and duration stack. If you activate this Effect or another Effect with Exhaustion, your penalty will worsen, and the duration is increased by one hour.
  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used. The same is true for extra dice.
  • Extra dice from this Effect do not apply to Gift activation rolls.
  • 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.

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Gift from playing in Another Bug Hunt spent on improving power: Scythework
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Community Targeted Gifts

Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action. A number of Animate targets within 50 feet who can perceive you through no greater than your Charisma rating are affected. Audiences or mobs with a singular focus count as one target. This Effect cannot be used unless A safety violation is in the area/building. Roll Charisma + Technology at Difficulty 6. All affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.

If you succeed, the targets will keep their full attention focused on you for contested Outcome in Rounds. They will automatically fail any rolls related to noticing anything other than you.

If you pass from their perception and they are unable to pursue you, the Effect ends. If they can follow you, they must do so for 2 Rounds or the Effect will end. The Effect will continue even if violence occurs nearby or if your target is Injured. It does end if the target takes Damage from a source other than you.

This does not affect the target’s opinion of you or their mood, and they may take any Actions while affected (including attacking), as long as that action centers on you. Fascinated targets cannot Concentrate.

  • 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.

Leon had felt the pain of arcane bondage before. What it felt like to have your soul shackled and your body unable to listen to a single command. He had broken those shackles, mostly, and today he had learned what incredible things the universe held. How others could take your body and leave you trapped by simple bindings that one could not even see. Leon would not have this, he would not have his body, his mind shackled by these profane others who had come to make him a slave again. Never again.

So he set out and studied at every Shinto shrine he could find. From every priest, he could meet to find a solution to find a Kami that would grant him the power to shatter these seals in exchange for the incredible divine offering he had been given for his victory, and his studies came to an unfortunate realization.

No single Kami could grant the power he needed, to shatter these otherworldly things and the stone that had one yoked his soul, to seal them forever so that he would never again need to fear the shackling power of the killing stone or this new threat again he had but one offering to give, but his cause for once was just, and he went to the shrine dedicated to the pantheon of the Shinto gods. On his knees he begged as he presented the offering, knowing that it alone was not enough but that their world and so very much more was at stake, and so he implored. Their duty as Kami went beyond the petty struggle of Yokai and Kami, that they needed to unite and he would be their agent on this plane if that is what it took to recognize that the universe was more important than the squabbles of individual men and women. Divine, Yokai, or Mortal. It mattered not, they were in the face of an incredible threat. Thus, the gods listened, and they accepted. Though they demanded they each be honored with a gesture before this power was used, together they would grant him the power to shatter, seal, or open these strange things but they would need his offering in exchange. The world at stake or otherwise, bestowing a divine boon such as this without compensation would render them weaker in the coming conflict. Thus, Leon parted with the boon he received and returned to begin studying the gestures and through that study created the nine cutting fingers.

臨/Rin: Tensho Kodaijingu/ Amaterasu Omikami

兵/Pyō: Sho Hachiman Daijin

闘/Tō: Kasuga Daimyojin

者/Shā: Kamo Daimyojin

皆/Kai: Inari Daimyojin

陣/Jin: Sumiyoshi Daimyojin

列/Retsu: Tanyu Daimyojin

在/Zai: Nittenshi

前/Zen: Marishi-Ten (Marici -Skt.)

Exert your Mind and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: Performing the Nine cutting fingers gesture on the target. Select a door, container, knot, or lock within arm's reach. This can be used on Alien targets. You must actively and obviously use A ritually blessed key to activate this Effect. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.

You may lock, unlock, and/or open your target.

You may Exert your Mind and spend two Actions to seal a lock or a closed door. Sealed doors / locks cannot be destroyed, removed, or operated by mundane means. When sealing a door, you may specify a passphrase which grants access.

  • Operating some locking mechanisms through this Effect may have a secondary effect, such as a turn-key ignition on an older or cheaper car causing it to start or stop. Note that the locking mechanism itself must satisfy the standard targeting requirements (including line of sight), not just the vehicle.
  • Any mechanism that requires a key, keycard, key fob, or combination may be considered locked, at the GM's discretion. This Effect may be used on doors and containers secured with control panels or other electronic locks, but not computer security systems at large.
  • 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.

Exert your Mind and spend 2 Actions. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. At the end of your investigation, roll Intellect + Alertness at Difficulty 6. The target resists by rolling Body at Difficulty 7.

You learn all the following information about your target:

  • You determine any medical or physiological issues they have, as well as their species and a general overview of their biology.
  • You determine any major weaknesses that the target might have.

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

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.

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

  • Weakness Must be things that are systemed around. For example, silver for a werewolf. Not general like "she's bad at fighting".
  • Exhaustion penalties and duration stack. If you activate this Effect or another Effect with Exhaustion, your penalty will worsen, and the duration is increased by one hour.
  • 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.

Spend one minute. Select a Sapient target within arm's reach. You must actively converse with the individual in question for one minute in order to gather any information. At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Medicine at Difficulty 6. The target may Resist.

You learn all the following information about your target:

  • You determine any medical or physiological issues they have, as well as their species and a general overview of their biology.
  • You learn the target’s Traumas, Limits, and whether or not their thoughts, emotions, or memories are being influenced by any Alien forces.
  • You determine any major weaknesses that the target might have.

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

This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.

  • Weakness Must be things that are systemed around. For example, silver for a werewolf. Not general like "she's bad at fighting".
  • 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.

Use up this The panacea (unless you succeed on 1d10, Difficulty 7) and spend 1 minute to activate. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Your target must make a Trauma roll when you activate this Effect. Roll 7 dice Difficulty 6, penalty does not apply.

If you succeed, the Injury is reduced in Severity by your Outcome. If you reduce its Severity to 0, the Injury is fully healed. Otherwise, it is partially healed and will heal the rest of the way at its natural rate.

This counts as a successful Makeshift Stabilization if the Injury was not already Stabilized; any Battle Scars caused by the Injury will remain.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see As the Skin weaves together as the patient screams in pain.

  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • This consumable is destroyed when used and cannot be used again.
  • Unstabilized wounds do not degenerate during treatment.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.

Stock Targeted Gifts

Exert your Mind and spend at least one Action. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. Your target cannot be engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your target. Roll Charisma + Influence 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 minutes. 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. 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.

  • The target must be able to understand you and must receive your communication for the suggestion to work.
  • Allowed Commands
    • 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.

Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a Living target within arm's reach. You must use up a donor body part matching the injured area in order to activate this Effect. Select a Battle Scar on your target to treat.

The treated Battle Scar heals as you finish activating this Effect. If used on a Battle Scar caused by an Unstabilized Injury, that Injury is Stabilized.

You may specify a specific condition that the patient must adhere to. If they break this condition, the treatment is immediately reversed. Record this regimen as a Condition. Lasts until the end of their next Contract or 1 month for non-Contractors.

Healing a Battle Scar in this way leaves behind a mismatched replacement on the target which cannot be healed.

  • 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.

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.

Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 100 feet You must actively and obviously use a magnifying glass to activate this Effect. At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Investigation at Difficulty 6.

You learn the following information about the area:

  • You can tell the age of any structure or natural formation in the area. This includes trees and plants growing in the area.
  • You learn how heavily trafficked the area is, what sorts of Animate beings have moved through the area and when.
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

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

  • 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.

Exert your Mind and spend eight hours. Select a Living or Animate target within arm's reach. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you cause a major Battle Scar instead of an augmentation. Your target must make a Trauma roll to reap the benefits of this Effect. They may choose to Resist the Effect and not make the roll. The target can easily Resist.

You may add one augmentation to your target. Each augmentation counts as a Battle Scar and can have exactly one of the following Effects:

  • Specialized: You receive +2 dice to a particular non-combat, non-Effect Action.
  • Environmental Adaptation: You do not suffer harm from heat, cold, pressure, or lack of oxygen in a particular environment, provided that challenge normally exists in that environment.
  • Implanted Tool: You have access to the functionality of some common Device at all times. The selected Device can be no larger than a motorcycle helmet.
  • Armor: You have 2 Armor at all times. As always, Armor from multiple sources does not stack.
  • Pouch: Part of your body functions as a hidden pocket. It can hold no more than a briefcase (15 liters).
  • Zippy: Your Free Movement is increased by 10 feet.
  • Maws and Claws: Your unarmed attacks do +2 Weapon Damage instead of -1.

The augmentations you provide are not outwardly visible nor obvious.

  • Remember: A Contractor’s Body rating is reduced by 1 for each Battle Scar after their fourth.
  • You may not augment targets with pouches or implanted devices that are larger than they are.
  • Targets without Body ratings may have a maximum of 4 augmentations.
  • Example environments for adaptation: space, all saltwater, all fresh water, all water under 50 feet deep, all water deeper than 50 feet, the jungle, radioactive areas, a specific alien world, etc.
  • 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.