Minerva sucks in a breath and grips her pendant, squeezing it hard enough to hurt. She stares into her own reflection, and wills it to change. Her own form is begins to change in accordance with her desires. She breathes hard during this; the process is obviously deeply unpleasant, more so the bigger changes she makes.
Minerva's will begins to manifest further. More than just influencing people, more than just influencing herself, her will begins to spill over onto the world itself.
She started with small changes the first night, exploring the spark that had formed in her. The next night, she had fur. She could feel her bones grind, her jaw cracking as it turned into a maw, her flesh stretch as a tail burst out. She collapsed, crying. But they were tears of happiness, for in this first moment, all was right in the world. She slept like that, the first time she did it. It was restful sleep. She sleeps like that whenever she can now.
She's realized that her clothes are merely an extension of herself - and as such, she can mutate them just as much.
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Meta: Minerva's mutation is more than just bone deep, and a large part of her transformation is instinctive and subconscious. When she gives herself fur, she's also instinctively messing with her own neurochemistry. She experiences a form of mild and constant euphoria while transformed.
She needs a mirror because she's exerting her will on changing herself, and at the moment, she needs to look at what she's doing.
"Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both marble and sculptor."
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History: As Minerva's concept comes together, I think 'everything is a cantrip / is effortless for her' is a big part of it. At the point of this edit, the power hasn't been used on a contract or a significant part of a move.
After Minerva's inability to use her powers while she was transformed lead to one of her fellow contractors dying, she focused, practicing. Practicing, practicing. She learned to use them when she's not her... but the pain she worked though is still there, always in the back of her mind.
Seasoned:
Minerva's powers intensified. Building on top of the latent power she has over other people, it's blossomed into something entirely more. People accept her if she believes she should be accepted. Her changes are deeper, touching her soul. But most importantly, they last. They last as long as she needs. She goes to sleep and awakes.. proper.
Something's happened, though. She doesn't have full control over it, and when she tries to change her form, it's almost like holding onto water. She needs to struggle as hard as she can just to keep from falling apart. It's hard work, and she has to exert her mind. At times, she wishes it was as easy as before.
Professional:
Minerva's experiences - traumatic and otherwise - have provided a little bit of clarity. She's only truly content in her true form. She's reluctant to do it - it takes her longer, she has a little bit less control over mutating her true form. But after everything that's happened, it's not quite as traumatic - she knows she'll go back. It's a deeper shift, as well. If something happens, she won't 'finch', and go back to her true form. She knows she can go back to it when she can. Just not yet.
Exert your Mind and spend a half hour. You must actively and obviously use a silver fox pendant 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 can "pass" in any culture or group without arousing suspicion as long as you look normal for that group and can communicate with those inside the group.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see The moment Minerva 'unlatches' her form, it pulses like a degaussed TV. Her clothes and flesh both smear some, uncountable wounds on her her leaking. They don't seem to hurt, but she's obviously struggling to stay in one piece. In the wounds, the tears to another place entirely, one can sense all the things that shouldn't be said. Intrusive thoughts come to mind. But are they hers? Or yours?.
After this Effect ends, you cannot move quicker than a walk (15 feet per Round) for one minute and suffer a -1 dice penalty for an hour.
You may only use this Effect once per day.
One's skin turns to twisted, knotted, barkless wood spreading from the left shoulder in reaction to damage.
When Defensive Curl is activated additional roots shoot out from your body to attempt to stop the attack.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You have 3 Armor, which reduces incoming damage from all sources of physical attack except Fire. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.
You may spend an Action or Reaction and Exert your Mind to double your Armor rating for one Round.
The bond between couturier and customer is one of the most intimate.
Expected to understand the very foundations of the customers style, while also interpreting it in a new and unique way. Close fittings. Skin to skin measurements.
Enhancing this just a bit, that level of confidentiality and platonic intimacy can be leveraged and a permenant bond forged.
You may make an oath with a physically-present, Sapient target. Communicate the oath's terms to the target, including the requirements and penalties for each participant. If all agree to the terms, you must Exert your Mind and all participants must A kiss (hand, cheek, ring etc is acceptable) to seal the deal.
Record the oath as a Condition. If a party breaks the oath, the Condition ends and they suffer the oath's penalty.
When crafting your oath, you may incorporate any of the following penalties:
The target cannot be compelled to agree via a direct threat of violence, another Effect, or another oath. If you would like to use clever wording to mislead the target, you must succeed a contested Intellect + (Culture or Influence) roll.
The user extends their hand with the owl skull wave their hand around with the owl skull and says "DENMAD EHT FO LUOS UOY EM PLEH".
They also have to cut their hand and smear the blood on the skull neck or chest of the body.
Take a Severity-1 Injury and spend one minute. Select a Dead target within arm's reach with at least half its skeletal structure remaining. You must actively and obviously use a owl skull to activate this Effect.
Your target rises as an Animate being which is ghostlike and incorporeal, unable to physically interact with the real world, though they may pass through walls and make noise. The raised creature is totally mindless, with no memory of its past life or hint of its old personality. They can communicate as they would have been able to in life. They will follow any command you speak.
The creature lasts for the next day 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.
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.
You may only use this Effect once per day.
Ringo partially transforms one of his arms into a flesh-like rifle that he can use to shoot at his targets, the rifle uses his flesh that act as a type of parasite that destroys the target from the inside.
Spend an Action. Select a Living target within 45 feet. Roll Intellect + Firearms Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling to Dodge or Defend as a Reaction, Difficulty 6.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 4. The target's material Armor is completely ignored.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see your arm turning into a rifle.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
He’s strong
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You are permanently and visibly transformed: more defined muscles. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living being when targeted. Your Brawn is increased by 2 and your Dexterity is increased by 2.
Be amazed as the magician wields a deck of simple playing cards with all the poise and precision of a ninja's shurikens. Fear not, for they will not hit you, unless they want to.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with playing cards.
+2 dice to all rolls utilizing playing cards.
You also gain the following effects:
The aquamancer is an adept swimmer and moves with agility in or out of the water.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You may move easily and without a roll in any of the following situations.
The aquamancer spends a minute soaking their wounds in at least a gallon of water. During this time, the injured area is obviously absorbing the liquid, and the flesh visibly knits back together.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. You must use up at least a gallon of water in order to activate this Effect. Choose a specific Injury on yourself that has not yet been treated with this Effect and roll Brawn + Survival at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, the Injury is reduced in Severity by your Outcome. If you reduce its Severity to 0, the Injury is fully healed. Otherwise, it is partially healed and will heal the rest of the way at its natural rate.
This counts as a successful Makeshift Stabilization if the Injury was not already Stabilized; any Battle Scars caused by the Injury will remain.
The magician reaches into their hat and focuses. Inside, light wells and flows like a viscous liquid. Then, they withdraws the item of their choosing.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. You must actively and obviously use a top hat to activate this Effect.
Choose an Object which could fit inside a regular backpack (up to 27 liters). It must be Non-Alien and generic. You cannot create explosives. You may create firearms.
Roll Perception + Occult to fabricate your chosen Object. The Difficulty is assigned by the GM and depends on the specificity of your chosen Object. The created item lasts 2 hours.
The doctor is a master at surgical transplantation. As long as they have a donor part, they can replace any permanent, lingering battle scars on their patient. Of course, the transplanted part doesn't always match, and the patient must be careful to follow the doctor's aftercare orders, or the replacement will be rejected.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a Living target within arm's reach. You must use up a donor body part matching the injured area in order to activate this Effect. Select a Battle Scar on your target to treat.
The treated Battle Scar heals as you finish activating this Effect. You may specify a specific condition that the patient must adhere to. If they break this condition, the treatment is immediately reversed. Record this regimen as a Condition.
Healing a Battle Scar in this way leaves behind a mismatched replacement on the target which cannot be healed.