The artifact is an image of a star. It glows slightly, a sharp white light.
Pressing one's finger over it, they feel a rush of energy. A vast nothingness pressing against their mind. A slash of void and stars open in front of them, for them to step through, and they arrive at their destination.
They can hear little bits of that nothingness at all times. Whispers telling them that they can't trust anyone.
The ability to make this item depends on a few things.
The conscious part is Vel attempting to make an item with the powers of https://thecontractrpg.com/gift/revision/58634/. They do this with carving an image of a star, and a lot of images of distance, and the night sky, trying to get more power into the concept. But some other things leaked in.
One is the residual effects of Vel diving deep into their mind, and the source of their power https://thecontractrpg.com/questionnaire/c/5226#answer-12687 .
(Basically, Vel's source of power is semi eldritch, relating to stories, and some meta nature of the contract)
The Other relates to some things which are minor spoilers for some plot lines I'm running.
Spend an Action. Select a Location which is at most 60 feet away horizontally or 15 feet away vertically. If you have activated this Effect 10 times it the last minute, you must Exert your Mind. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. If you fail or Botch, you receive one Mind Damage and a new Trauma.
You jump to the chosen location. If jumping blind or landing precariously, must roll Dexterity + Athletics to land safely. You will never take fall Damage from successfully landing a jump made with this Effect.
Instead of physically passing through the air, you are teleported directly to your destination. Does not allow you to go through walls, cages, or grapples.
Anyone who touches this Artifact will notice it warping their mind and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Trauma: The Whispers of the Universe (Paranoia). If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.
The façade of the face opens up revealing a monstrous construction made of technology. Electric tendrils exit the face and start operating. This feels uncomfortable for the person being operated on.
“I don’t like it but I have to do what I have to do.”
Exert your Mind and spend 30 minutes. Select a Living target within arm's reach. The target can easily Resist.
You may add one augmentation to your target. Each augmentation counts as a Trauma and can have exactly one of the following Effects:
The augmentations you provide are not outwardly visible nor obvious.
You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see Berndts face opens up, revealing a robotic interface underneath his skin. mechanical tendrils exit his face and start the augment process. Seeing this gives people the supernatural feeling that something is obviously wrong with this..
Lines of a magnetic ferro-fluid flow from underneath the steel bracelet, forming a Henna pattern on the desired surface. This effect cannot be employed unless "unlocked" by the activation of an Inderpal Close Protection Contract. When activated, the R.I.S.H.I. will release ferro fluid markings that will form a lotus pattern on either the wielder or the target.
To count as "Under Contract" the target must have an active Binding Oath negotiating a Close Protection Contract with Inderpal & the target must either a) be in close enough proximity for those services to be rendered or b) Inderpal must be attempting to regain such proximity at all costs.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within 10 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless under a Close Protection Contract.
You place a ward, which is fixed to its initial location. You can hear and see through the ward as though you were standing at its location. This Artifact may have at most 3 wards active at once.
The ward requires Concentration to monitor, though it will remain active until you deactivate it. It can be detected with a roll and destroyed through mundane means.
You may declare a condition to watch for on an active Ward. If it occurs, you may roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 6, to notice it, even if you are not actively monitoring that ward.
Your Ward records all activity it observes, regardless of whether or not you are actively monitoring it. This recording can be played back and referenced later.
You may communicate through your ward, though doing so will reveal its presence.
You have a natural intuition for resonance, and can semi-reliably modulate your banshee scream to shatter an object like glass.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Non-Sapient Object or piece of an Object or structure within 20 feet no larger than a duffel bag (35 liters). Roll Charisma + Performance Difficulty 6.
If your Outcome is 4 or higher, the target will be completely destroyed and can no longer function, though it may still be repaired. If your Outcome is less than 4, the target will be partially damaged, and any attempts to use it will suffer a dice penalty equal to your Outcome.
The Henna marking unfolds from underneath the bracelet, crawling across the skin to form matching patterns on both the prospective client & the wielder of R.I.S.H.I. - this process is not fast, & is easy to avoid should someone wish to do so.
The quantum connection provided by the Ferro Fluid marking transmits telemetry including vitals, distance & direction. When activated, the R.I.S.H.I. will release ferro fluid markings that will form a lotus pattern on either the wielder or the target.
Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action. Select a Animate target within arm's reach. The target may Resist.
Your target is marked with a Henna marking. Your mark can be discovered if the target is inspected visually. Removal inflicts a Severity 1 Injury on the target.
You are aware of the marked target's vital status, injuries, direction and distance from you. This lasts for the next month, or until either the mark is removed, or you choose to end the Effect. This Artifact can have up to 3 marks active.
You may use any Awareness Powers on a marked target at any range.
Your Marked targets are all similarly aware of your direction and distance from them while the Mark is active.
Dimitry senses that of the land surrounding him, knowing what is to come.
He finds his naturally mind appealing opal necklace laced around his neck to be glowing somewhat, and he channels this necklace and is able to see around the lands near him and figure out traps and otherwise peoples of the land.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 1 mile You must actively and obviously use Opal Necklace, Dimitry hands his to activate this Effect. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. If you fail or Botch, you receive one Mind Damage and a new Trauma. At the end of your investigation, roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6.
You learn the following information about the area:
You may only use this Effect once per day.
You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.
Dazzle Glasses are advanced "black-tech" espionage gear. They can be styled as any sort sunglasses. When the wearer is recorded, they will quickly flash a non-visible laser into the recording device, destroying it after only a moment of footage is taken.
This Effect activates whenever you are recorded. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a Non-Sapient Object within 20 feet no larger than a duffel bag (35 liters). Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. Roll Perception + Culture Difficulty 6.
If your Outcome is 4 or higher, the target will be completely destroyed and can no longer function, though it may still be repaired. If your Outcome is less than 4, the target will be partially damaged, and any attempts to use it will suffer a dice penalty equal to your Outcome.
The Ninja always prepares a few smoke bombs ahead of time to get out of sticky situations. They can fill a room with smoke in an instant and last long enough for the Ninja to make an escape or find an opening for attack.
Spend an Action and use up this smoke bomb.
You create a hemispherical dome of smoke originating at your Location, with a radius of 60 feet. and lasting for 5 minutes. The area inside your zone is affected in any number of the following ways:
The psychic can glean various important details about a person simply by engaging in a short conversation with them.
Spend one minute. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. 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 + Influence 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 spoken aloud in conversation and made publicly available.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.
The Witch summons a crow, whispers a message to it, and sends it off to deliver her words. Half an hour later, the crow arrives at the recipient and repeats her message aloud in its croaking, animal voice.
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.
The De-Neuralizer is a small silver device that can emanate a bright flash of light. Any being that looks into it with uncovered eyes has their most recent period of the their memory set into a highly over-writable state for a moment. While in this state, their memories may be overwritten at will.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within within arm's reach. All Sapient targets within 20 feet are affected. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is looking directly into the device with uncovered eyes. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If the contested Outcome is positive, the most recent 1 hour from your target’s memory is either replaced with new memories or forgotten entirely. This is recorded as a Condition. The level of detail and completeness of the alteration depends on your Outcome. If you fail, the target realizes that you are attempting to alter their memories.
The period is chosen either by time (i.e. “last Friday night”) or by reference to a specific event (i.e. “when the murder occurred”).