Chaff ?

1
Requires Seasoned
The power to create an environmental hazard.
Used by Polamedes, Created by jumbohiggins.
(Anyone who witnesses you activate this Effect is very likely to be disturbed to see Nano Chaff. You must actively and obviously be using Wire.)

Dozens of pores open in Polamedes body and tiny nanomachines visually the size of tiny dust particles flood the air. They intercept wifi packets, radio waves, light, phone calls etc and send dummy data back to the sender to prevent anything from being noticed as amiss.

While Pol is ejecting these nanomachines large patches of skin are pulled towards the respective holes and shredded into paste to make organic matter for more machines. A horrible squalching sound is made for several seconds as enough bio matter is collected for each subsequent wave of Chaff.

Once all are ejected into the air the skin starts to regrow in fleshy bands that the tiny nanomachines pull taught and re-stitch over the skin of Polamedes.


Exert your Mind and spend an Action. This Effect cannot be used unless In range of wifi. You must actively and obviously use Wire to activate this Effect.

You create a hemispherical dome of Dust (Nano machines) originating at your Location, with a radius of 200 feet. and lasting for as long as you maintain Concentration. You are fully immune to the effects of your zone. The area inside your zone is affected in any number of the following ways:

  • No Comms: Any being inside the zone cannot communicate in any way with any being outside the zone and vice-versa.
  • The Veil: Any being or recording device outside the zone that sees an Alien phenomena within the zone will not see it to be Alien in nature, instead “filling in the blank” with some mundane explanation for what they’re seeing. Those inside are unaffected.
The zone expands immediately to its full size from the chosen Location and will spread to fill the entire area regardless of any barriers or cover.

Your zone blends with the environment, seeming to arise naturally from local effects. Observers who roll Perception + Alertness and achieve an Outcome 4 or higher notice that it is unnatural.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see Nano Chaff.

  • Mundane phenomena can still be alarming. For example, instead of seeing someone summon chain lightning from their hands, they may see them opening up with an automatic rifle.
  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • You must retain Concentration to keep up the effect; if your Concentration is interrupted, the effect will end.
  • The Effect does not follow you after you activate it.
  • If you select a location at the edge of your range, you will be just outside the zone once the Effect is activated
  • 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.

Community Targeted Gifts

Exert your Mind and spend 2 Actions. Select a Sapient target or a Creature within arm's reach. You may select a target at any range if you use up a scrap of fabric stained with the blood of the target. You cannot investigate the same target more than once per hour. At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Occult at Difficulty 6. The target resists by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.

You learn a single specific piece of information, chosen from the following list, about your target:

  • You learn if the target is Doomed in some way; there is an active plot to kill them, they are affected by a debilitating disease or curse, they are in the path of an unknown danger, have the Dark Fate liability, an unresolved and potentially lethal Loose End, etc.
  • You determine any major weaknesses that the target might have.

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

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".
  • 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.

The Church of the Cleansing Soul brought to life a child, meant to be bear the weight of the world's pain to offer purifying of the mind and soul for any who stepped into the cleansing fire the child emerged from. As it turns out, a child's mind cannot hold the horror of eternity without venting that horror like a pressure pot waiting to explode.

They did not provide a big enough pressure valve. And they suffered for it.

Now, the Weeping Soul shares this agony with others, trying to find catharsis in seeing others burdened with their pain - not out of malice, but necessity and tantrum rage. It simply isn't FAIR.

Injustices that Trigger this Gift:
-seeing a Good Person injured purposefully or being injured accidentally and not receiving an apology
-a Good Person being lied to or lying
-something of value being taken away or withheld from a Good Person
-a Good Person being stolen from or stealing
-verbal abuse (cursing at people, name-calling, general cruelty)
-anything that would make you a Big Meanie

This Effect activates whenever a valid target within range is witnessed doing something that would prompt an injustice roll from this individual if left unaddressed or resolved. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. Roll Charisma + Occult Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7. If they are incapacitated or unconscious, they fail automatically.

If your Contested Outcome is positive, your target takes 1 point of Mind Damage and gains a new Trauma of your choice. The Trauma should be general and not specifically mention you. You should not have to be involved to trigger the Trauma.

This Trauma may be removed by Effects or mundane therapy, as normal. Affected targets are aware that they are being attacked and can generally tell who did it.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see a small child bleed black blood from their eyes and mouth. This is not a normal child - something is VERY wrong here.

  • When triggered, the Effect activation resolves immediately after the triggering Action. It is not Reaction speed.
  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • 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 an Action. Select a Human target within 20 feet. Roll Intellect+Occult (8 Dice) at Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 8 with a -3 dice penalty. If they are incapacitated or unconscious, they fail automatically and their Outcome is 0.

If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes Mind damage equal to the Contested Outcome. If you deal at least 3 Mind damage, the target will gain a new Trauma selected by the GM. This trauma cannot be removed by spending Experience and undergoing mundane therapy. Affected targets are aware that they are being attacked and can generally tell who did it.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see Alex pulls his face off to reveal his true demonic nature to the witnesses before then sliding the skin back on.

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.

  • 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.
  • 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 an Action. Select a target within arm's reach. This Effect cannot be used unless on a spirit under the user's control.

Your target is marked with a purple hued mark in a circular shape that seems to wriggle ever so slightly until it is removed or until you choose to end the Effect. 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 direction and distance from you. You can have up to 3 marks active.

You may activate another Effect through your Mark as though you were standing at its location. This destroys the Mark.

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

  • Marked individuals satisfy the line of sight requirement for targeted Effects.
  • 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 at least one Action. Select a Human target within 20 feet. You must use up $5,000 USD in order to activate this Effect. Your target may be actively 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 hours. 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 and a conditional request. 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.

This Effect ends if you are stunned, fall asleep, go unconscious, are incapacitated, die, or if your total Stress ever exceeds 5.

  • You cannot order your target to endanger themselves, but you may order them to flee, attack a certain target, take a defensive or offensive stance, or similar.
  • The target must be able to understand you and must receive your communication for the suggestion to work.
  • Allowed Commands
    • Conditional Request: implants a triggered response or latent order. (e.g. "when you see your mom, give her a kiss" or "when I give the signal, strip naked and pretend you're possessed by the devil.")
    • 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.

Stock Targeted Gifts

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Dead target within 50 feet. Dead targets must have died within the past week, and you must have their remains in your possession.

The target can communicate in your language for the next 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 an Action.

You may lock, unlock, and/or open any number of doors, containers, knots, or locks within arm's reach of you. Cannot be used on Alien technology.

If you successfully operate a lock, you may choose to destroy it, rendering it inoperable.

  • 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 an Action. Select a Non-Alien, Non-Sapient, Animate target within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is undead.

For the next day, you may issue specific commands to your target which they will be compelled to follow.

Your commands must be relatively simple and within the target’s intellectual grasp. You cannot make them obviously endanger themselves or violate their instinct for self-preservation. The effects of the command will fade after a day has passed.

  • Your commands must be directly communicated to your target in some way, though this does not require a shared language.
  • If targeting a Sapient target that counts as a Creature due to an Effect, you must succeed a contested Mind roll. You roll at Difficulty 6, and the target rolls at Difficulty 8.
  • Targets with Body ratings higher than 10 require a Charisma + Animals roll resisted by the target’s Body. Kaiju and environment-scale targets are immune.
  • 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 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:

  • You learn a hidden desire of the target. Roll Outcome determines the relevancy / secret-ness of the desire.
  • You learn their relationship to a specific individual (chosen prior to the effect activation).

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.

  • 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.