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. 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.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Self Reliant- roll a self control roll to put your life in someone else’s hands.
Despite the trauma to his body, Harold appears to have fallen into a coma. After a hour, he returns, the "killing" blow seemingly healed.
I awoke in a Victorian garden. Two mercury teacups sit on a table. The air smells like asbestos and something bitter. Sulphur? Across the table from me sits a skeleton, its eyes drilling holes into my soul. I know what it has come to tell me, even before wordless emotions tumble from its lipless mouth.
"Your time has come. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust"
I choke back my fear, then trembling, speak.
"Another few years, I beg of you. Am I not your most devoted servant? Have I not feared and revered you at every moment? How many have I sent into your arms?"
The skeleton sits emotionless, its jaw moving, speaking soundlessly.
"I have given you so many chances, Harold. But I must admit a sense of curiosity. Do you plan to evade me forever"
"Until death do we meet," I retort, half joking.
But it is already over. I am waking. Emotions begin to return to my body. Neurons fire randomly, an intricate web creating a tapestry of sparks. And so I return.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
If you would take an Injury that would kill you, you don’t die. Instead, you survive in an Incapacitated state. This state lasts for the next hour, at which point you fully return to life.
If, while you are unconscious, your wound level rises above your rating in Body + Charisma, or if you take an Injury with Severity greater than your rating in Charisma, you die. After you return, the Injury that would have killed you, as well as any Injuries sustained while Incapacitated, are healed. Battle scars obtained during this time remain.
The druid has now been blessed by nature to transform into any animal to help in stewarding. Consuming the fruit will allow the user to transform into an animal of choice temporarily, giving them it's abilities.
Use up this Mini golden apple (unless you succeed on 1d10, Difficulty 7) and spend an Action.
You transform into Gorilla or any region-appropriate large animal for two hours or until you choose to end the Effect. See the Extended System text for stats.
While transformed, you cannot use any equipment (including Artifacts and Consumables), and you do not have access to any of your Powers. Any equipment you are wearing transforms with you.
Injuries and Wound Level are carried over between forms. However, transforming can never kill you; you merely remain Incapacitated until your Injuries are sufficiently healed.
The ring glows as the object the user plans to enhance begins to shimmer with a slight red hue.
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend a minute. Select a non-Alien Device within arm's reach. Cannot be used to improve Armor.
Lasts the next two hours. 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.
Upgraded weapons count as any material your opponent might be particularly vulnerable to. Upgraded Armor cannot be circumvented by called shots. Upgraded Devices do not run out of fuel or energy.
Strengthened strands of dark envelope themselves, making these gloves resistant to the whims of the world, entropy, destruction and things of that nature.
This Artifact has been upgraded.
This Artifact 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 weapons count as any material your opponent might be particularly vulnerable to. Upgraded Armor cannot be circumvented by called shots. Upgraded Devices do not run out of fuel or energy.
Sir Seymore Alonso is fastidious in the maintenance of his equipment. How can a knight be seen with a slovenly appearance? His sword must be sharp and well-kept, and his armor and shield shine so cleanly that the sun gleams off their surface, and be polished enough that you could nearly see your face in them.
When Seymore polishes his equipment and utters prayer to the Lord for their reliability, they take on incredible qualities. A shield or armor feels lighter, and a sword becomes impossibly sharp. The Lord would never allow the equipment of one of His faithful champions to fail him.
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend a minute. Select a non-Alien trappings of a knight (melee armaments and metal armor) within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use polishing rag 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 , and any armor penalty it causes is reduced by 1. If an upgraded shield and armor are both worn, the upgrade bonus does not stack with itself.
Upgraded items have half their normal weight, for the purposes of encumbrance.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Delusion that you are a knight-errant facing a series of quests. You must insist that other contractors are your fellow knights or your squires, and you must introduce yourself as Sir Seymore Alonso, must give your name if asked, and cannot willingly conceal this identity.
The aristocrat knows a ritual that allows them to rent the best version of any item. They set $10,000 worth of cash on fire and place the item to be upgraded in the fire as well. While in the flame, the item morphs into a high-end version of itself. After a while, it reverts.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a non-Alien Device within arm's reach. You must use up $10,000 cash (or equivalent) in order to activate this Effect. Cannot be used to improve Armor.
Lasts the next two hours. Your target receives 3 extra dice to all actions taken for its intended use. Attacking with an upgraded weapon grants +3 Weapon Damage instead of additional dice.
The mad scientist produces thorium cores that can be used to upgrade tools and other devices. The core supercharges the item, increasing its quality and rendering it indestructible for a period. However, once the core runs dry, the object is rendered less useful than it was before. The core crackles with blue electricity while active.
Spend 1 Action and use up this glowing blue disk. Select a non-Alien Device within arm's reach. Cannot be used to improve Armor.
Lasts the next two hours. 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.
After the Effect ends, any upgraded targets suffer a -2 dice penalty until they are either repaired or upgraded again.