Marks caught a few villians in his day, and one thing they always seem to have in common is they never shut up.
He's learned how to conversationally 'push their buttons' and make them talk.
So far, the most reliable way has been to talk about himself, to instigate their inevitable sense of competition.
It takes constant conversation, so when Mark mentions his relavent truths, their target does too.
Preferably in the form of a back and forth gloating/determination sort of thing.
Examples:
"I'm Mark Collins, fighter of injustice, protector of the weak. I'm here to stop you! " (flexes in superhero pose)
"It's too late, Mark!" (laughs maniacally) "You'll never find the bombs in time!" (Shows him live feed of the city.) "Watch your public failure with me! The world will know my name! ZOXOB!"
"If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you're going to die. So they'll talk. They'll gloat. They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar. So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word."
Terry Pratchett
Exert your Mind (unless The target thinks they have the upper hand) and spend one minute to activate. Select a Sapient target within arm's reach. You must continuously interact with the individual in question in order to gather any information. At the end of your investigation, roll Brawn + Influence at Difficulty 6.
You learn all the following information about your target:
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome. For any information you learn about your target, the corresponding information about you is shared with them.
Any information you gather is A spoken conversation and made publicly available. This also includes any information the target learns about you.
It appears almost effortless, as Ego bends the fundamental laws of the universe. There's no need for any physical motion or verbal components-- in fact, he doesn't even need look where he's casting to manipulate reality all the same. The space around him simply warps to his will, as if affected by an uncanny gravitational pull, or a glitch in the physics engine of the world.
Upon closer examination, it's clear that the raw source of this power comes from somewhere within Emile. The intense concentration needed to just conjure any of this ability would be enough to break any normal individual, crushing them under the weight of what they attempt to lift. But for Ego? There's no toll too high, no barrier too much for him to overcome.
"If I could just bend my environment to my whims, through the power of my mind alone..." Perhaps if Emile believed this was remotely possible for himself, then none of this would have ever happened.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The same degree of force necessary for Distortion to take effect is applied to Emile's character in full, heightening his personality quirks to their natural extreme and afflicting his body with e̶l̴d̷r̸i̴t̸c̵h̶ consequences. To achieve this power fantasy in the way Emile deludes of, he must be shaped into something almost unrecognizable.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
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 4 in place of your Dexterity, and otherwise use your own Attributes and Abilities.
Telekinetic actions have the following restrictions and behaviors:
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Incipient Corruption: The fingers of your left hand appear withered, as if undergoing the first stages of necrosis. A small price to pay for power, isn't it? You are at a -1 die penalty for any roll utilizing the affected hand, Mental Overload: Your brain is flooded with a sea of e̶l̴d̷r̸i̴t̸c̵h̶ knowledge, leaving it susceptible to being rattled by a well aimed attack. Called Shots to your head do +2 Damage [Requires Outcome 6]. Whenever you Exert your Mind, your eyes briefly flash a shimmering silver as if your Samson activated., and Smug Bastard: Your face has a chronic, detrimentally smug expression that makes any social interaction much more difficult. All social rolls are made at +1 Difficulty. The Beautiful Asset is suppressed as long as you have this Battle Scar.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: L'appel Du Vide: Its call beckons at every moment, and you must bring yourself closer to that edge to fill its v̷o̸i̵d̸. When faced with the opportunity to perform an action in a more dangerous or exciting way, you must roll Self-Control to resist the impulse., Savior Complex: Your inner desire to aid people and improve the world has been warped with your sense of worth as a person, and your need to seek approval from others. Whenever you have the opportunity to help someone in need, you must succeed a Self-Control roll to resist the impulse, and Vindicative Vindication: You tire of dealing with the senseless opinions of the masses, and refuse to take any shit from them lying down. Each time someone wrongs you or disrespects you in a major way, you must succeed a Self-Control roll to resist taking revenge.
Angus' True form is finally unveiled. After months of preparation, taking pieces off one by one and creating them anew, he is complete. Angus no longer has skin, instead he is almost completely transparent. under direct sunlight Angus' body cascades into a prismatic shower of colors. physically cold to the touch, but his body seems to keep itself cold enough that only open flame seems to actually melt him. His body, now without the squishy stuff, reverberates loud noises within itself giving Angus a Tinnitus-like sensation. Now not needing to worry about the woes of muscle fatigue angus can fully push himself to his maximum potential. As angus grows, so too will his body now, adding small Icey improvements as time goes on.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You are permanently and visibly transformed: into a being of pure ice. You are considered to be a Sapient, Non-Living being when targeted. Your Brawn is increased by 1.
Your body is adapted to Sprinting. You receive +3 dice on non-attack rolls related to Sprinting.
You are immune to damage from cold. If cold is a substantial component of other damage you would take (e.g. falling from a great distance into a vat of liquid nitrogen), that damage is reduced by 2 (in addition to Armor)
Your Injuries no longer degrade with time.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Tinnitus.
The Severity of any Injury caused by Fire is increased by 2.
Tom whips out his gun in a blink of an eye, careful now, you just might die.
You gain the following benefits as long as engaged in combat with firearms.
+2 dice to all firearms rolls.
You also gain the following effects:
How can you hurt the Dark? When you are wounded the Shadows will reinforce you the same way they empower you. Darkness creeps in from behind wherever you are being perceived.
You gain the following benefits as long as a majority of your body is not touched by bright light.
Your Stress from Injuries and Mind Damage is reduced to 0.
Fields of stardust and gleaming light begin to form amidst the air creating a field of wonderous streaks of light, it's looking up at the night sky, but all around you, blinded by its radiant beauty.
Spend at least two Actions performing the following ritual: moving your arms upwards in a wave to activate. Select a Location within 45 feet. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.
Star Fog, which can be no larger than an SUV is generated at your target, and it will remain in place for the next minute or you choose to end it. It can be perceived by people through their sight. The illusion cannot be used as an attack. You cannot make an exact replica of an existing Animate being or Object.
Anyone who touches the illusion (or who would be able to perceive it significantly through a sense it cannot fool) realizes it is an illusion, and the entire effect will be ended for all targets.
The illusion will remain fixed to its initial Location. It may have moving parts and engage in simple, predetermined movements but cannot perform anything complex or interactive unless you maintain Concentration and “puppeteer” it.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
The pyro points a laser pointer towards a target, and a cat-sized-and-shaped fire springs into life, very clearly attracted to the laser. This flame cat can also be shaped from existing fires. While the pointer is active it remains in the shape of a cat, pouncing towards the little red dot. When the laser pointer is not active, the flames return to normal.
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.
The Ninja is so attuned to the sounds of their surroundings, they may focus their mind to "see" using the subtle acoustic vibrations.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Your senses are enhanced in the following way.
The survivalist spends a moment setting up a makeshift booby trap. The tripwires and pressure plates are so expertly hidden, they can only be noticed by those who have fallen victim to them before.
The victim is hit with a tiny curare dart. Pain wracks their body as a potent neurotoxin spreads through their veins.
Exert your Mind and spend 30 seconds to trap a region of any shape that contains your current location and fits entirely within 300 feet. This trap lasts one day or until triggered or disarmed. You must use up a dart in order to activate this Effect. Roll Intellect + Survival Difficulty 6.
The trap looks like a tripwire, a pressure plate, or a hidden switch. Only those who have seen this trap before can identify it as a trap. Anyone who is aware of the trap may intuitively avoid, trigger, or destroy it.
Any Living target that enters the chosen region will trigger the trap. The target may contest by rolling Body, Difficulty 6.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 2. The target's Armor is completely ignored.
The target suffers a -3 dice penalty for the next hour or until the Injury is healed. This dice penalty does not stack multiple times on the same target.
Instead of dealing Damage all at once, the Injury caused by this Power starts at Severity 1 and worsens at the rate of one level per Round until it reaches the Severity it would have otherwise been.
The Thief casts a container's worth of fine powder into the air. The particulates are drawn to any sort of object that is designed to detect people, including tripwires, security cameras, detection lasers, heat sensors, etc. The powder will not trigger these devices or interfere with their operation, but it does reveal their presence to the Thief.
The cloud drifts and swirls, subtly following the Thief for a minute.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must use up a container of fine powder in order to activate this Effect.
You automatically detect all object that are designed to detect people, including tripwires, security cameras, detection lasers, heat sensors, etc within 50 feet of you for the next hour. You have a clear sense of both the distance and direction towards any detected items. When you detect objects, instead of learning nothing about them, you may observe each object with all of your senses.
The mobster knows a guy they can call for a hired goon, who arrives about a minute later. The goons are dumb as bricks, but tough nonetheless, perfect for sending a message when you need to keep your hands clean.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use cell phone to activate this Effect.
Summon a single Sapient goon at your location. They last for two hours or until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most one minion active at a time.