Shadow's Embrace

2
The power to interact with the world without physically touching it.
Used by Larry Augustes Bartholomew Junior, Created by BenGre24.
(Anyone who witnesses you activate this Effect or for its duration is very likely to be disturbed to see Visions of terrible memories that have previously happened.. )

Tendrils of shadows form on the user's back and creep down their body and traverses through shadows to the target the user has chosen.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. This Effect cannot be used unless The target has to be touched by some form of shadow. and Charisma + Influence Roll (Diff 6) to convince the entity.. Make a Trauma roll when you activate this Effect.

You can interact with things that are within 75 feet without needing to physically touch them or be near them. Lasts for two hours. 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 4 in place of your Dexterity, and otherwise use your own Attributes and Abilities.

Telekinetic actions have the following restrictions and behaviors:

  • Reactions: You cannot use a Reaction telekinetically.
  • Line of Sight: You may use this Effect on targets which are out of sight, provided you have an understanding of their location.
  • Unarmed Combat: You are able to deal damage through unarmed attacks, grapples, and thrown objects. Unarmed Mastery does not apply.
  • Weapons: You are able to effectively wield weapons to Attack, Defend, and Clash with this Effect.
  • Fine Tools: You are otherwise limited to actions that a normal human could do with their bare hands.
  • Maintaining Focus: You must maintain Concentration while taking Actions in this way. If you are Injured or interrupted, you must roll Mind at Difficulty 9 to maintain Concentration. If you fail, you cannot engage in telekinetic actions for the next 6 - Intellect rounds.
  • Levitation: If you are strong enough to lift yourself, you may levitate up to within 75 feet away from the ground. Movement is limited to 5 feet per Round.
  • Multiple Items: You may control 4 total objects at the same time.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation or for its duration will almost certainly be disturbed to see Visions of terrible memories that have previously happened..

  • Using this Effect on targets which you cannot see will not give you any descriptive information about their location or surroundings, though you will have a sense of whether or not you are “touching” them, or if they bump into something.
  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • Any telekinetic actions which interact with Animate targets may require contested rolls at GMs discretion.
Revision purchased with:
Gift from playing in The Headlights spent on new power: Shadow's Embrace
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Community Power Gifts

You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in unarmed combat.

+2 dice to rolls for Attacking, Defending, Grappling, and Clashing without a weapon. Unarmed attacks do +4 Weapon Damage (instead of -1).

You may Defend against melee, projectile, or firearm Attacks from any range and Clash with those in range of your Attacks. Attacking materials like steel or spikes will not Damage you unless it has an Effect that does so.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Shredder: If you successfully hit your target, the value of any Armor they are wearing is reduced by 2. For material armor, this penalty lasts until it is repaired. For intrinsic armor, it lasts until the end of Combat and any relevant wound is healed.

  • Unlike the Ability Brawl, this Effect does not affect small weapons such as knives.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. You must actively and obviously use Musical Instrument to activate this Effect. Roll Charisma + Performance at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you create a Barrier extending out 15 feet from yourself, which absorbs 2 times the next Outcome Damage. Only applies to attacks which originated outside the 15 foot radius, and protects anyone who is within that radius. The Damage reduction from the Barrier is applied before Armor, and is treated like Armor by any effects such as Armor Penetration. You may only have 1 active barrier at a time.

You must maintain Concentration while using this Effect. The Barrier will fall if you are interrupted, or if it absorbs the full amount of damage. When a Barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds. As long as it does not fall, the barrier regenerates back to full strength at the end of each Round of combat.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action or Reaction. Roll Intellect + Alertness at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you create a barrier around yourself, which absorbs the next Outcome + 4 Damage. Any Damage absorbed by the barrier is reflected back to the attacker, up to a maximum of the Barrier Strength Parameter’s bonus. Their Armor applies in full. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. You may only have 1 active barrier at a time.

You must maintain Concentration while using this Effect. The barrier will fall if you are interrupted, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.

  • If you use this Effect as a Reaction to dodge, you still need to make a roll to dodge. The Effect will occur regardless of the Outcome of this roll, but if you fail you will be hit by the relevant attack prior to the Effect occurring.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

You are permanently and visibly transformed: red skin hobgoblin. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living being when targeted. Your Dexterity is increased by 1.

  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

On birds:
Zephyren has an almost abnormal fixation on bird metaphors. He thinks almost exclusively in them sometimes, but of course he wouldn't say it out loud. Sources are unclear on where he got it from, but it may have started from his Chinese given name. After Googling what it meant, he had gone into a deep rabbit hole looking at bird lore. He probably hasn't ever gotten out.

On perception:
He's always been perceptive, more so than others, much to his dismay. In the past he was the first to get bad vibes from a situation and walk away. Some part of him wonders if it's just a difference in opinion, but he knows that it usually isn't just that. The gap has only gotten bigger, and it really doesn't help quell his apathy for people.

On overstimulation:
It has always been a drawback; even having someone raise their voice at him was sometimes enough to send him into a spiral. (Not that the volume of one's voice had much effect, as opposed to the tone or expression.) He would immediately go into fight-or-flight, and every little thing would anger him to no end. He hates it. He knows this is why he doesn't like interacting with people, and he knows it's on him to control, but he would also like to be cut some slack. Every night he can hear the neighbours down the hall doing the devil's dance when no one else can. It's terrible.

On indifference:
Zephyren's solution is to shut himself into his little mindscape, behind layers and layers of disassociation. This is why he may appear quite unaware despite his sharp senses. It's the only way he can escape the noises in his head, as rude as it is to completely ignore people around him. Though, if you came close enough, he'll snap out of it immediately, albeit irritatedly.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your Perception rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Perception (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Phonophobia: When you hear an unexpected loud noise (such as a police siren passing by) or enter a loud environment, roll Self-Control to avoid entering a fight-or-flight response.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Clear-Sighted: If you see an illusion, disguise, or other false reality, you recognize it as such but cannot immediately see through it.
  • Constant Vigilance: You may React to surprise Attacks, and you do not automatically lose initiative if ambushed or caught-flat footed. +2 dice to Initiative.
  • Saw it Coming: Any time you attempt to dodge an Attack from someone lower than your position in Initiative, you may Exert your Mind to automatically succeed without a roll. You may use Source to make a Desperate Defense. There is still a maximum of one Desperate Defense per Round.

  • You can still be ambushed if you are incapacitated, stunned, or being kept unconscious supernaturally.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

Stock Power Gifts

Spend a Quick Action. You must actively and obviously use a burlap sack to activate this Effect.

You may withdraw an item from your stash, or add an item that is within arm’s reach to your stash. You may only stash targets which are in your possession, grappled, or otherwise controlled by you.

You may store Objects in your stash, each no larger than something which could fit inside a briefcase (15 liters), and you may store up to 3 things at a time.

You may choose to equip any equipment you withdraw at no additional cost.

  • "Equip" refers to drawing a gun, putting on a piece of armor, etc. You may store or withdraw a maximum of 6 items in a given Round. Reminder: you may perform up to two Quick Actions for -2 dice each or 3 if you use up your Action, unless a different Effect grants you additional Quick Actions.
  • Containers which hold multiple things may count as a single item so long as the things within are generally packaged together. For instance, you may stash a clip full of bullets, a medical kit full of medical supplies, or a box of crackers, but you cannot stash a backpack full of miscellaneous equipment.
  • You may only attempt to store Objects which are free-standing and disconnected from other things. The use of this Effect will not allow you to sever any connections holding an Object in place.
  • The Maximum Object Size parameter is intended to roughly capture the weight / size restriction of items and isn’t intended to restrict shape. GM discretion is advised. A human being is level 4 in the Maximum Object Size parameter.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action.

You automatically detect all illegal materials within 50 feet of you for the next hour. You have a clear sense of both the distance and direction towards any detected items. You do not learn any details about the detected items.

  • This includes any objects that come into range during activation.
  • This Effect does not satisfy the line of sight targeting requirement for other Effects.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target Location within 75 feet.

You may perceive things as if you were standing at that Location. The effect lasts indefinitely but you must maintain Concentration to keep it up. You cannot perceive anything at your physical location while the effect is active.

You create a visible manifestation at the Location where your senses are projected which looks like a ghostly image of yourself meditating.

  • This does not satisfy the Line of Sight requirement for targeted Effects.

Thank you to the original creator of this Gift, Frakcherd https://www.thecontractrpg.com/profile/view/603/

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target within 20 feet which has both fuel and oxygen available (if you are starting a new fire). You must actively and obviously use a laser pointer to activate this Effect.

You may start or extinguish a fire as large as a fire in a residential fireplace at your target. Extinguishing a fire does not cost Exertion. You may create or extinguish fires the size of a lighter or candle flame without Exerting your Mind. Your fires require fuel and oxygen in order to continue burning.

Lighting a target on fire deals 3 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 shredded by any Damage dealt, destroying material Armor once it reaches 0.

You may extinguish flames as a Reaction. This does not extend to explosives.

You may spend a Free Action on your initiative move a fire as large as a fire in a residential fireplace that is within 20 feet to another location within 20 feet. You may Exert your Mind to draw a line which a fire up to twice as large as a fire in a residential fireplace cannot cross.

  • Your fires may be extinguished with appropriate Actions and materials. Stop, drop, and rolling to extinguish requires spending an Action and making a Dexterity + Athletics roll, with an Outcome of 3 putting out the flames.
  • If the target is larger than your flame size, the Armor destruction creates a weak point instead of applying to the entire target.
  • 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.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Any Injury you receive from a source other than silver or fire. 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.

You may Exert your Mind and spend an Action to reduce the Severity of one of your Injuries by 2. Does not affect Injuries suffered as an activation cost for Effects.

Injuries you receive from silver or fire. are increased in Severity by 1.

  • The increase in Injury Severity stacks with any similar effects, such as the Vulnerable drawback on Inhuman Physiology.