A young man sits down on top of a Marshall 112 combo at Jake's Pawn Shop in a destitute part of Los Angeles. He fishes about on the stained carpet for the quarter inch input of the cable coiled in front of the dirty 1980s-era amp. He plugs it into the jack of the pristine pearl-white Ibanez Iceman. It reminds the kid of something a rockstar from the old days would play. Back when they were still made in Japan and not some lesser shithole. He strums the opening refrain from Stairway to Heaven as any good pawnshop guitarist should. His hand comes down to strum the next chord when he feels a presence swoop down on his mind. Like a Kingfisher slamming into the surface of his mind, he feels another with him. And then he feels nothing.
Nikki strums the second chord of Stairway to Heaven, his long brown hair hanging over his bare chest. He sings quietly, "and the piper's calling you to join him". He unplugs and stands up, Ibanez Iceman hanging around his slim body as if it never belonged anywhere else and walks out. His return to the skinlands announced by the jangle of bells tied around a pawn shop door.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living or Sapient target within 20 feet. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you Intended Target attacks guitar. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you possess your target for a number of days equal to the Contested Outcome. The target has no control over their body or actions, though they retain consciousness and will remember anything that occurs during the possession. While the possession is active, the host body will Take the appearance of Nikki, making it very obvious to anyone who sees them that something is not right.
Your original body will be left behind, unconscious, in its same location. You may perceive through your original body's senses by Concentrating. If your original body is touched, you may roll Perception + Alertness to notice. You may spend an Action to end the possession early.
Stats: During the possession, you use the host bodyโs Body rating, but your own Mind rating. Any rolls you make use the host bodyโs Brawn, Dexterity, and Perception but your own Charisma and Intellect. You may use either your own or the hostโs Ability ratings, whichever is higher. You gain the effects of any physical Assets and Liabilities they have. You cannot read the targetโs mind or memories.
Gifts: You have access to and can use any of your own Powers which are not intrinsic to your biology or physical body. You cannot access any Powers or other supernatural effects which the target has, unless they are intrinsic to the targetโs biology or physical body.
Death: If the host body is killed or destroyed while you are still possessing it, you are evicted to your original body. If the possession ends and your original body was killed or destroyed, you die.
Eviction: If the host body is ever not within 20 feet of your original body, you will be forced out. If you attempt to force your host to take actions which would violate one of their Limits or their instinct for self-preservation, they may resist by rolling Mind. If their Outcome is higher than or equal to the contested Outcome, the possession ends and you are evicted from their body. If they fail, you remain in control.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is a soft sound of vibrating strings. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
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.
Marnie is an Aquaman-style mermaid, with light blue-gray scales covering much of her body (although her face and hands, as well as most of her arms, are barely touched, leaving it easy to imagine that the few scales that are there are makeup or tattoos). These scales are hard and cold to the touch. She is easily able to swim and survive in the water, finding it easy to traverse, and wishes she could call it home permanently.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You are permanently and visibly transformed: mermaid. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living being when targeted. Your Charisma is increased by 1.
Your body is adapted to swimming. You receive +3 dice on non-attack rolls related to swimming.
While in the water, heat, cold, pressure, and other atmospheric hazards do not affect you, and dangerous local flora and fauna will not bother you unless you give them a reason.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: scales on the back of her hand, making it hard to use as normal.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: believes marine life is superior to humans.
Astraeus spends a minute focusing, a finger or two placed on his forehead as he draws forth the power, upon which a small, gleaming yellow fleur-de-lis appears. He and those affected feel strangely connected to eachother, unless they have an already bad relationship. Nevertheless, Astraeus gains the ability to commune with just about anyone, using the subjectโs most familiar โlanguageโ.
Exert your Mind and spend one minute.
You may understand and communicate to Creatures, humans, and Sapient beings as if you are fluent in a relevant language for the next hour.
Otto's influence over the sea is beginning to return, allowing some basic sculpting of water into walls.
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend an Action. Select a Location within 50 feet. You must be in an area abundant with water.
Select one of the following alterations to create out of water originating at the target:
The alteration begins to form when you activate this Effect and finishes forming on your initiative in the next Round. Until it finishes forming, it is not guaranteed to function.
This alteration lasts one minute but may be prematurely destroyed or altered. Your alterations may be broken through with appropriate tools. Anyone attempting to break through must roll Brawn + a relevant Ability. A cumulative Outcome of 6 across all attempts breaks a hole large enough to move through. See the extended system text for GM guidance on various tools.
Nikki plays a song that settles into the back of your mind like a splinter.
Exert your Mind and spend three Actions performing the following ritual: Singing or Playing Guitar. Select a Living target within 45 feet as well as a specific emotion. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted. Roll Charisma + Performance at Difficulty 6. Affected targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 9.
If you succeed, for the next minute, your target will do things they otherwise wouldnโt have done, inspired by the chosen emotion. They will not necessarily display their emotions in an obvious way.
Actions they take may be extreme and out of character for them. They will be unlikely to change their mind about any actions taken or decisions made until after the Effect ends.
If any affected target takes or deals Damage, this Effect ends.
The user becomes more proficient in armed combat
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:
The psychic can reach into another's' mind and pilfer their deepest memories. Doing so causes the psychic's nose to bleed and is exceptionally draining.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. Select a Living, Animate target within 20 feet You must maintain Concentration while the effect is active. Roll Intellect + Investigation at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
You are able to view your target's memories. The target is aware that their thoughts are being probed but not of the source of the probe. The Effect ends if the target moves out of range or your Concentration is interrupted.
You may ask specific questions about their memory - โwhat is their computer password,โ โWhat were they doing at 4:00PM yesterday,โ etc - but you cannot get answers to broad, analytical questions like โare they a good person?โ or โwhat are their plans for the future?โ
Each question takes as long as it takes to answer to read. When replaying a full memory, it is replayed in double time.
This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is your nose bleeding. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.
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.
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 one minute. You must actively and obviously use a cell phone to activate this Effect.
Summon a single goon at your location. They will last until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 1 minion active at a time.
You may only use this Effect once per day.
True to their namesake, the hacker can penetrate the security of any computer system, granting access to its informational stores, or, in a pinch, allowing them to issue commands. The hacked system will display a flickering image of a ghost until it is dismissed.
While hacking, The Technician's fingers move with supernatural speed, blurring like a ghost.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. Select a Computer within arm's reach. Does not work on Alien technology. Roll Intellect + Technology, with the Difficulty set by the GM depending on the security of the system you are hacking. Sapient targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you may issue a single command to the targeted system. This command must have a specific outcome or be a request for specific login credentials. The command you issue must be within the machine's current capabilities. For example, you cannot order a standard security camera to grow legs and walk around.
If your command does not require bypassing the security of the target (for example, typing on a computer that is unlocked), you do not need to Exert your Mind to activate this Effect, and activation only takes a single Action.
Your Hack cannot be reversed through mundane means for a number of hours equal to your Outcome.
Every hack you make leaves behind a flickering image of a ghost in the system as a personal "calling card" that informs anyone who uses the system that the hack occurred.
Finally, the girls are fusing the way theyโve wanted to since they began Contracting, three and a half years ago. It took Graceโs left eye for them to try this, but the girls are now able to spend a week focusing their energy towards a Battle Scarred area and permanently replacing it with The Spiritโs ghostly flesh. The replaced chunks, eyes, arms, whatever may come, appear just as The Spiritโs: bluish and semi-transparent, but now function just as the respective physical flesh would.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Any Injury you receive heals quickly, reducing its Severity by one level every day. Any Injuries you receive while this Effect is active automatically count as a successful Proper Stabilization and do not deteriorate further. Any Battle Scars caused by such an Injury will heal with the Injury.
You may choose to heal any Battle Scar on yourself that is not caused by an Injury. Recovery takes one day, and the Battle Scar affects you fully until that time.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: any scars that heal this way leave the flesh in that area bluish and semi-transparent, causing you to be viewed as a freak by most people who see you.
While transformed, the werewolf's toughened hide provides protection from all manner of attacks, except silver.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are in werewolf form.
You have 4 Armor, which reduces incoming damage from all sources of physical attack except silver. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.
Any Injury received from Damage that was reduced by this Armor is considered makeshift stabilized and will not degrade further. Any Battle Scar received from such an Injury is reduced by 1 level to a minimum of a Minor Battle Scar.