You take a drag on the joint, as the end begins to smoke without use of a light. As the thick smoke fills the air, tendrils begin to flow into the airways of the targets, filling them with a comfortable sensation of peace and non hostility.
(Can use a drugs secondary skill in place of influence)
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. Select a number of Living targets equal to your Charisma within 45 feet. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. Affected targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, for the next minute, affected targets will do things they otherwise wouldn’t have done, inspired by Calm. They will not necessarily display their emotions in an obvious way. Your own emotions are also shifted in the same way.
Actions they take will be in keeping with their character and the way they tend to deal with strong emotions. They will be unlikely to change their mind about any actions taken or decisions made until after the Effect ends.
Both attacking someone and being attacked will end the Effect.
Eins fiddles with her radio, the screen flashing red as static begins to overflow from it and forms into a physical substance that she manipulates with ease.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within arm's reach.
Select one of the following alterations to create out of Static originating at the target:
The alteration begins to form when you activate this Effect and finishes forming on your initiative in the next Round. Until it finishes forming, it is not guaranteed to function.
This alteration lasts three hours but may be prematurely destroyed or altered. Your alterations may be broken through with appropriate tools. Anyone attempting to break through must roll Brawn + a relevant Ability. A cumulative Outcome of 6 across all attempts breaks a hole large enough to move through. See the extended system text for GM guidance on various tools.
The Magpie radio lets out a loud static as it begins to offload the overloaded information.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You get +2 dice to any Mind resistance rolls you make. You also gain the following effects:
Julian Vasquez lays on the black top, spit on his forehead as Jason and Jessica walk away laughing. The need for justice fills his heart and he looks down at his Amulet, Paranoias amulet. he grabs it and red light glimmers through his hands. He calls out for Paranoia and his calls are returned. A demonic figure blood across his body bursts from the floor grabbing Jessica by the throat and using its twisted claws to shape Jessica's face into that of a pigs. Julian smiles, justice is served.
Exert your Mind and Spend an Action to activate. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may roll Body, Difficulty 7, as a Free Action to resist.
If you succeed, the target receives a new Battle Scar of your choosing, limited by the contested Outcome:
Fibrous strands of metal stretch outward from the point of contact with the wielder. When not in use, the primary tendril forms a perfect physical replica of Felix Law's left arm. Additional resting tendrils wrap tightly around the first.
The tendrils display some instinctive independence, and can extend, recede, contort, sharpen and liquefy as needed.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You gain 3 additional limbs that function as standard human arms and hands.
Each additional limb you posses can take one Quick Action per Round without incurring a -2 dice penalty to your main Action. Each additional appendage you have gives you +1 dice to make and resist Grapples (up to a maximum bonus of +4 dice).
Any Battle Scars that affect or remove your additional limb will heal in a single week.
Your extra appendage can be used to attack in exactly the same manner as a thrusting sword.
Your appendage is capable of bending and squishing in normally-impossible ways. It may fit through any gap that is not water-tight and retain its functionality.
Your extra appendage can stretch to reach an additional 30 feet.
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.
Vein grants the wielder borrowed knowledge of the their form and function, and masterfully repairs and replaces their living fibres instantaneously, effectively rendering themself indestructible.
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.
Virtuoso's Vessel: When using this Device for its primary purpose, you always roll a minimum of 8 dice. Excludes Effect activation rolls.
Vein's fibres flow idly through the wielder's cardiovascular system. This metal stitches together any wounds the wielder suffers instantaneously, and acts as a kind of re-bar for healing lingering injuries.
Due to an innate self-defence mechanism, Vein's fibres have an opposite effect on damage from pure, unalloyed metal. As Vein's main weapon is capped entirely with elemental tungsten, this ensures they hold a distinct physical advantage should cooperation cease between the symbiote and their host.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
Any Injury you receive from a source other than unalloyed metal heals quickly, reducing its Severity by one level every 6 hours. Any Injuries you receive while this Effect is active do not deteriorate over time. However, any Battle Scars caused by such an Injury will remain unless it is Properly Stabilized as normal.
As long as at least half your body remains intact, you cannot die and remain at Incapacitated, regardless of how many Injuries you take. It is clear to observers that you are still alive.
You may Exert your Mind and spend a Quick Action to reduce the Severity of one of your Injuries by 4. Does not affect Injuries suffered as an activation cost for Effects.
All Injuries you receive are considered Properly Stabilized. You may also choose to heal any Battle Scar on yourself that may not have been caused by an Injury. Doing so takes one day, and the Battle Scar affects you fully until that time.
Injuries you receive from unalloyed metal are increased in Severity by 1.
Vein's fibres wrap tightly around the wielder's skeleton. In response to physical trauma, the metal erupts instantly at the point of impact, absorbing a great deal of kinetic energy into Vein's physically indestructible form.
Due to an innate self-defence mechanism, Vein's fibres do not respond to damage from pure, unalloyed metal. As Vein's main weapon is capped entirely with elemental tungsten, this ensures they hold a distinct physical advantage should cooperation cease between the symbiote and their host.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You have 6, which reduces incoming damage from all sources of physical attack except unalloyed metal. Armor from multiple sources does not stack.
You may transfer your Armor to another target within 30 feet once per Round as a Free Action. You may transfer it back to yourself at any range.
Your Armor cannot be destroyed, and it always provides a minimum of 2 Armor regardless of any Armor shredding or penetration. It cannot be circumvented with Called Shots. When shredded, it returns to full potency in one hour.
The Hive Tendrils twist into boiling spikes of metal fibre. The metals are structured such that the spikes are hottest at the tip, capped with a narrow head of pure tungsten. They can be driven forward and finessed deep into a target, boring through nearly any material with a combination of liquefying heat and sheer percussive force.
This Artifact can be used as a thrusting sword. It is roughly the same size as a thrusting sword and just as difficult to conceal.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +2 Weapon Damage.
This item is a living thing. When targeted, it counts as a Living Creature in addition to its other target types. If destroyed or abandoned for more than two days, it dies and becomes unusable.
You also gain the following effects:
Felix has surrendered his mortal future to the Arterial Hive in the pursuit of their shared goal. When Felix Law next dies, Vein's living metal fibres coil around his form as he is subsumed into the symbiote.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
The next time you die, you instead permanently transform into Vein.
One of Vein's Tendrils reaches into itself, through an aperture which opens behind the wielder. It grabs tightly and yanks them through the air, while the portal's centre remains directly behind the host.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. This Effect remains active for two hours.
As long as you are conscious, you are immune to falling Damage and may hover in place mid-air. Additionally, you may glide as you fall, traveling 35 feet horizontally for every 10 feet you fall. While gliding, you fall at a minimum speed of 10 feet per Round.
You may ascend into the air and fly using your mind. Your Free Movement is Mind x5 feet/Round, including vertically. You cannot Dash. When sprinting, roll Mind and add your rating in Mind plus 1 to the outcome, multiply by 5 to find your sprint speed. Your encumbrance limit is 10 lbs per point of Mind.
You are subject to the following effects while gliding or flying:
Vein's fibres intertwine delicately with the wielder's nervous system. The metal interferes with the synapses, regulating the host's physical and mental state at all times. In extreme circumstances, Vein will use this connection to force the host to act, even when incapacitated.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
Your Stress from Injuries and Mind Damage is reduced to 0.
While Incapacitated, you may Exert your Mind to take a single action.
The fibres at the end of Vein's primary Tendril fold into themselves, and a small aperture opens on the palm. Identical apertures open on the target's body. Words spoken into the aperture will be heard only in the minds of others under this effect. Every hole will close into itself and disappear if neither the user nor any target is maintaining concentration.
The aperture opens at a point chosen either consciously or subconsciously by each target, with the default being their left palm.
When sending a physical object with the message, Vein's Tendrils instead move to cover the desired object, swallowing it into the aperture. After about a minute, the object is expelled from the desired target's aperture, which can widen considerably to accommodate even a large payload.
This effect explicitly involves opening a series of minor portals to the Arterial Hive, the living pocket dimension that Vein originates from.
Spend an Action. Select a number of targets up to your Mind rating any distance away from you. You must have specific targets in mind, but you require only an intuitive understanding of them, such as their name, face, or Location.
You open up a line of communication to your targets, 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.
You may Exert your Mind to send any physical Object that would fit into a backpack with your message. Takes 1 minute to arrive. Any active traps on the objects are triggered when you attempt to send them, and wards and marks are likewise removed.
Vein's needle-thin fibres pierce the target's body, wrapping as close to the brain stem as possible. Once situated, the target's mind is laid bare, and Vein's host can probe the open memories until contact breaks.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select an Animate target within arm's reach You must maintain Concentration while the effect is active. Roll Dexterity + Melee at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Body at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you are able to view your target's memories. If you fail, the target knows you're attempting to read their memories.
You may ask a number of specific questions about their memory equal to your Contested Outcome. For example, “what is their computer password,” “What were they doing at 4:00PM yesterday,” etc. You cannot get answers to broad, analytical questions like “are they a good person?” or “what are their plans for the future?”
Each question you ask and memory you replay takes a single Round to read.
You may read memories that the target has forgotten.
A blue crystal of aqua aura quartz embedded in a headpiece on where third eye would be. When focused on it helps user to move and otherwise interact with their surroundings with mind itself.
It it has slight hum of purple-blue light as reacting on wearers thoughts and glows bright when used properly to affect reality.
A crystal popped from an old trinket for a game said to be real thing actually happened to be not that far from false advertisement. Unique way of artificially coating dumortierite quartz with gold gave the crystal potential to become functional.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
As long as you maintain Concentration, you can take Actions and interact with things that are within 75 feet without needing to physically touch them or be near them. Any rolls made for Actions taken in this way use a Mental Strength of 4 in place of your Brawn rating, a Mental Agility of 2 in place of your Dexterity, and otherwise use your own Attributes and Abilities.
Telekinetic actions have the following restrictions and behaviors:
Once attuned an nearly invisible mark is created on third eye of recipient. While communicating the third eye starts to glow faintly, thus becoming visible.
Every data channel is two sided. Remember which side are you on.
Spend an Action. Select a target within 300 feet of 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 are attuned to your target. You can attune by spending an action looking in the eye(s) of your target. You can have up to Itellect number of attuned targets.
You may send a single message to your target. It can be no more complicated than a multi-page letter or a long email.
The message will only be perceived by the intended recipient. You must share a common language for your target to understand the message.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
The mad scientist can craft steel helmets that protect their wearers from mental influence and attack.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You get +0 dice to any Mind resistance rolls you make. You also gain the following effects:
This device is a piece of chrome the size and shape of the back of a spoon. When placed against the skin, small hypodermic needles sprout from the device and attach it to the user's bloodstream. There, it filters and releases lifesaving drugs into the bloodstream, granting complete immunity from contracting new diseases and added resiliency in all other cases.
WARNING: The immunizing drugs have been shown to reduce inhibitions in test subjects.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You get +2 dice to any Body resistance rolls you make. You also gain the following effects: