One of the symbols fills with a faint werelight and a spectral image of it washes over the mouth of a living target as the hourglass etching within the crystal seems to animate, counting down an hour.
When used on a person, they find their memory has filled with strange recollections of learning a language they didn't previously know, in a place they have never been. No details of this other life are gleaned, and when the hour is over, the magic fades and the memories and language are lost.
When used on an animal, they are able to speak as a human would, with a young woman's voice(regardless of the animal's age or gender)
Finally, when used on a memento possessed by a dead creature at the moment of it's death, a spectral form of the creature is called forth from the object, and is able to speak with the bearer while the magic holds, before dissipating
After the death of River Lodestar, Alan has used his study of timelines to link back to hers through one of her crystals, and in so doing has infused it with the power to recall those once lost from the instant before their death to commune with the living world.
River, conversely, had used these crystals to enter the minds of creatures, and "borrow" their forms for a time.
While Alan's magic is distinct from River's, he was able to borrow a bit of her ability to connect with other minds. Using this crystal, one can reach back into their past and gather the memories of a language the bearer knows, how they learned it and have spoken it for years, and can place just that part of themselves temporarily into the mind of another. they become able to understand and even speak in this tongue until the magic fades.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Sapient being, human, Creature, or Dead target within 50 feet. For dead targets, you must possess their an object the target physically posessed at the time of their death. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you are struck mute.
The target can communicate in your language for the next hour.
You may only use this Effect once per target per day.
Aria takes a handful of ashes out of her Bag of Ashes and closes it around the curved tail of her dragon knife. It will send the power towards her target, causing the target to erupt into flames. This remains until put out by the target or by her own ability.
Spend an Action. Select a target within 300 feet which has both fuel and oxygen available (if you are starting a new fire). You must use up hand full of ashes in order to activate this Effect.
You may start a new fire as large as a firepit's fire at your target. Your fires require fuel and oxygen in order to continue burning.
Lighting a target on fire deals 4 Damage each Round on your turn, starting in the Round after the one in which they caught fire. This Damage is reduced by Armor, but the target’s Armor rating will be depleted by any Damage dealt, destroying the Armor once it reaches 0.
You may extinguish flames as a Reaction. This does not extend to explosives.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
The spirits of obscurity have granted you their gift that you may use 3 times a day. Hush and stay still and they won't see you.
Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action.
You are obscured in one of the following manners. Lasts 30 minutes.
While this Effect is active, any Effect that would obscure you from other, additional senses fails automatically. If someone discovers you, this Effect will not help you hide from them for the next minute. This Effect does not end early when you activate an obvious Effect, attack, or receive an Injury.
Closing a handful of glitter over the curved tail of the dragon knife, causes the powers of obscurity to activate, giving Aria the ability to transform her appearance in a multitude of ways.
Exert your Mind and spend 2 Actions. You must use up glitter in order to activate this Effect.
You become disguised in a manner of your choosing. The disguise lasts until you either activate a new disguise, or choose to end the effect.
The new appearance may have a different sex, age, and race to your own, and you may alter height by up to a foot and your weight by 50%. Your disguise cannot directly mimic an existing person. You may change the appearance of your outfit. Your disguise can alter your smell, DNA, and other aspects that are not perceivable via human senses. This does not conceal you against investigative Effects. A disguise cannot affect your Attributes or other stats.
You may roll Charisma + Crafts to attempt to make your disguise Beautiful. If your Outcome is 6 or higher, non-Effect Charisma rolls where your good looks could help are rolled at -2 Difficulty. If you fail or botch, you are ugly instead, and non-Effect Charisma rolls are made at +2 Difficulty.
....
This Artifact cannot be broken.
This Artifact's creator is always aware of the direction and distance to this Artifact.
The user's body highlights in purple, their body gaining a small arcing effect of purple electricity, at the end of the effect a AA battery pop out of each bracer, smoking from overuse.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must use up a pair of AA Batteries in order to activate this Effect.
Lasts 1 hour. Whenever you use your Movement, after all other calculations, the distance you may travel is tripled.
If your last Action was used for an all-out sprint or you are already accelerated, you may spend an Action to accelerate without a roll, adding 300 feet/Round (not affected by your speed bonus) to your sprint speed, to a max of an extra 900 feet/Round. As long as you stay at these speeds, you may use this distance per Round as your Free Movement.
Any terrain you traverse while accelerated must be passable by a standard vehicle at similar speeds. Stopping, turning sharply, or decelerating more than 300 feet/Round must be performed as an Action. Failing to decelerate with an Action (whether because of an obstacle, sudden unfavorable terrain, an Injury, or other event) deals 3 Damage which Armor does not reduce.
If you were moving quicker than you could without super speed and go a Round without using your Movement, you collapse and must remain immobile and resting for two Rounds.
A hulking, large, pulsating shapeless sword of pure darkness that leaks with a ravenous hunger, changing into any weapon that suits the user. It tears into the soul of those it harms, no matter how meagre or light the damage it gives, it tears into the soul.... You want it?
This Artifact can be used as a great sword / giant axe. It is roughly at least twice as large as a great sword / giant axe and cannot be concealed on your person or disassembled for storage.
Attack by rolling Brawn + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +5 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:
The Goddess of Darkness assists Jules in his quest to return her sacred objects. She has allowed the backpack he was wearing the day he retrieved the Seal of Nephthys to form a bridge into the Otherworld. This 50 liter Backpack can hold an astonishing 1500 liters. The pack can only be opened to the Otherworldly Dimension of Nephthys when in shadows or darkness - at all other times, it appears to be empty.
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This Artifact can be used as a container. It is roughly the same size as a backpack and just as difficult to conceal. Unless night/shadows, this Artifact behaves as its mundane counterpart.
Your backpack holds 30 times what it normally could. Objects stored inside are weightless.
Living things can be stored in your backpack. They will have access to anything else inside and may attempt to break free, damaging or destroying the backpack in the process.
If your backpack is destroyed, things inside may get out, and it will cease to function until it is repaired.
Mummies are well known in the supernatural world with the ability to reach out to others through odd means. Brian takes the Martha's mask that he recently acquired and uses it to focus his message. He sits and concentrates as he lights a few candles. He reaches through the aether to speak with those that need him.
Spend an Action to activate. 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 open up a line of communication to your target, and may converse with them as long as you maintain Concentration
The conversation 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.
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.
When Winter Fang's glittering string is drawn, an ice arrow crystalizes nocked and ready to fire. These ice arrows melt quickly after piercing their foes, leaving deadly wounds instead of evidence.
This Artifact can be used as a bow. It is roughly at least twice as large as a bow and cannot be concealed on your person or disassembled for storage.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +3 Weapon Damage. Attacks do not require a successful called shot to do damage.
You also gain the following effects:
The Scepter of Ang-Kapal is a gruesome device fashioned to look like a skeletal arm clutching a glass eye. When used, blood from the person holding is drawn into the eye where it swirls with dark energy. The eye turns to a nearby corpse and shudders, reviving the creature. The creature does not retain any of its memories or personality, but it is absolutely loyal to whoever is holding the scepter.
The Scepter of Ang Kepal has the unfortunate side effect of driving its owner mad.
Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend one minute. Select a Dead target within arm's reach with at least half its skeletal structure remaining. 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.
Your target rises as an Animate being. The raised creature is totally mindless, with no memory of its past life or hint of its old personality. They cannot communicate. They will follow any command you speak.
The creature lasts for eight hours or until it dies again. It is revived at full health. Any Injuries it had in life are not accounted for when determining its penalties or progression towards re-death, though they may affect its ability to perform certain actions at GM's discretion.
Raised creatures have their Abilities set to the same that they were in life. Their Charisma and Intellect are set to 1, but their Dexterity, Brawn and Perception are the same as they had in life. A raised creature cannot use any Effects.
Destroying one of your zombies requires a called shot to the head or heart. All other Injuries zombies suffer result in Battle Scars only, limiting their mobility and effectiveness in other ways.
Your revived targets deal 2 Weapon Damage with their unarmed attacks.
If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.
The airship of solitude is the mad scientist's lair and preferred mode of travel. Not only does it include a full science laboratory, it can be collapsed into an incredibly small canvas cube and easily transported. The mad scientist may pilot the ship alone or rely on its autopilot features for ultimate convenience.
This Artifact can be used as a blimp. It is roughly the same size as a blimp but can be collapsed into a phone-sized canvas cube and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.
This blimp has full science laboratory, bullet-proof envelope, and ample parachutes. Any roll to pilot this vehicle receives +2 dice.
You also gain the following effects:
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 spy can do up their passport to take on the appearance of any valid form of identification they may need.
This Artifact can change its appearance. When not transformed, it is roughly the same size as a passport and just as difficult to conceal.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. This Artifact changes its appearance into an Object within the category of forms of identification. This lasts until you decide to end the Effect, which may be done as a Free Action.
The new object's appearance can mimic specific items (such as a particular painting, a certain person’s ID, etc), but must be of a similar size and weight to this Artifact.
The new appearance is illusory; it will hold up to scrutiny, but its composition is not altered and it gains no new functionality. Any attempt to use it for a function which it cannot perform (for instance, making bread look like a knife and then trying to stab someone) will cause the illusion to fail or allow a Perception check to see through the illusion, at the GM's discretion.