Ascaris Miseria

1
Requires Seasoned
This Artifact allows you to heal the mind after traumatic experiences.
Used by Luci Alessi, Created by Riley.
On Legendary Artifact Luci's Sketchbook.
(You must use this Artifact obviously when activating this Effect.)

While Luci communicates with her target (and in her own case, while she's projecting her thoughts and feelings onto the page), she draws a picture depicting the target's trauma and the circumstances behind its manifestation. Afterward, she rips the page out, crumbles it up into a little ball, and gives it to the target to eat.

It slips down into the user's stomach, melts into a bubbling mucus, and forces itself into their nervous system. The rogue energies force themselves directly up and into the target's brain, where they seek out the trauma they have been sicced on and forcefully pull it from the roots of grey matter. Not a pleasing experience in the slightest.

But to cap it off, the mucus coagulates in the target's stomach and begins to bubble violently until, inevitably, the target vomits the mucus back up. The inky black liquid- not too immediately dissimilar to the likeness of a roundworm, as it splatters onto the surface, takes a physical form related to the removed trauma and groans lowly as little appendages reach out and attempt to crawl back into the target's body.

When constantly meddling with what goes on outside of the base reality, there is always a likelihood that someone or something unfriendly may notice her. The Well is home to a variety of creatures, after all.

Amalgamations are typically just leftover spurts of energy that coagulated together and created something malformed. Most of the time, they are not that dangerous even if they are a little feral.
Revenants, wraiths- whatever you want to call them, they tend to manifest as undead spectres or wraiths- entities that are formless and only when looked at may take form due to the mind's inherent need to seek sanity. They may crawl itself up just in time and worm their way into Luci's mind if she isn't careful with some of her powers, and they will attempt to live out certain vices vicariously through her, in an attempt to experience basic needs that they are starved of in the Well.
Eidolons are typically not a concern for the complete opposite reason that Amalgamations aren't. They can be describe more accurately as a system than actual entities that were here long before the universe existed and will be there long after. Simply put, whatever Luci might be up to will hardly ever register for them- like to what esteem an elephant might hold an ant.

To most people, The Well is a type of Hell, and that doesn't necessarily change for Luci, except for with the creation of this power, allowing her to purge rogue entities from her mind and more safely maneuver the vast Oblivion. It has the unintended effect of also working against normal traumas.


Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) to activate. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Your target must make a Trauma roll when you activate this Effect. Over the course of one minute, your patient must communicate with you and reveal at least one of their Traumas to you, including the details of those Traumas and the circumstances of how they were acquired. After the full treatment time has elapsed, roll Charisma + Crafts at Difficulty 6.

Your target may Resist. If your treatment is successful, you may remove one of the patient's revealed Traumas without incurring any Experience cost.

Once per day per target, you may choose to use this Effect to stabilize the Mind of a target within arm's reach. Treatment takes 30 seconds but will not remove any Traumas. If you are successful, restore 2 Mind damage.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see the target consume a piece of paper, and then a minute later, vomit up a thick black mucus. As it splats on the ground, it reaches up with several thin appendages and tries to crawl up and back into the target's mouth.

  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • The treatment time may be broken up into multiple sessions if necessary.
  • 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 a minute to activate. Select a Sapient target within arm's reach. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you The P.E.N.I.S Explodes, dealing a Severity-4 Injury to Terry.. You must actively and obviously use Personal Electroresonant Nocturno-Ignition Spectrometer (PENIS) to activate this Effect. If a target does not consent to the transfer, you must roll Intellect + Technology at Difficulty 6 to use the effect on them. They can resist by rolling either Body or Mind at Difficulty 6, depending on what you are attempting to transfer to them.

You may choose as many things as you like from the following to transfer from your target to yourself, or from yourself to them:

  • A single Power. Lasts two hours. You cannot transfer this Power.
  • A single Injury and any Battle Scars it caused
Both yourself and the target can take no other Actions until the transfer is complete, or it will fail. Cannot be used again on the same target for the next day.

Whenever you transfer an Injury, it's Severity increases by 1. Whenever you transfer Mind damage or Traumas, the recipient takes an additional Mind damage.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.

Spend an Action. Select a target within 300 feet. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you gain battle scar: traumatic brain injurie. You must use up engraved bullet in order to activate this Effect. Roll Perception + 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. Armor is fully effective against this Damage.

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.

If the target suffers an Injury from this Effect, they will receive at least a Minor Battle Scar regardless of its Severity. When this Effect causes a Battle Scar, you may select which one of the appropriate level.

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

  • 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 to activate. Select a door, lock, or locked target within arm's reach. Cannot be used on Alien technology.

You may lock, unlock, and/or open your target.

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

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Check the Lock.

  • Any door or restraint that is fastened or shut with a mechanism may be considered locked, at the GM's discretion. Can be used on control panels or other electronic locks, but not computer security systems.
  • If you operate a locking mechanism through this Effect which has some other secondary effect (such as the ignition on a car causing the car to start) you may cause that effect as well.
  • 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.

Pamala found this while breaking into the apartment of one of her targets. The man was suspected in doing ritualistic killings for a while now.

She couldn’t find a single trace of that man but the chain seemed as if it called to her. As if it always had belonged in Pamalas possession.
She knew that this kind of power would be helpful in achieving her goals and following her dream.

Finding this chain was the thing which birthed her wish to be a necromancer.

Spend an Action. Select a target within 45 feet. Roll Intellect + Investigation 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 2.

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.

If the target suffers an Injury from this Effect, they will receive at least a Minor Battle Scar regardless of its Severity. When this Effect causes a Battle Scar, you may select which one of the appropriate level.

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

  • 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.

Use up this Charm and spend 2 Actions to activate. Select a Computer within 20 feet. 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. The hacking roll and their defensive roll are both 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.

Your Hack cannot be reversed through mundane means for a number of hours equal to your Outcome.

Every hack you make leaves behind A tree with a pentagram on the trunk in the system as a personal "calling card" that informs anyone who uses the system that the hack occurred.

  • This consumable is destroyed when used and cannot be used again.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.

Stock Targeted Gifts

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 Location within 50 feet. You must be in an area abundant with man-made structures and materials.

Select one of the following alterations to create out of standard building materials originating at the target:

  • Wall: Create a straight wall made of standard building materials up to 40 feet long, 10 feet high, and 12 inches thick. This wall can also be used to create a bridge, ramp, or similar. It must be free-standing.

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.

  • Attempting to break any alterations with inappropriate tools may damage or destroy the tools at the GM's discretion.
  • Any structures you create leave precise gaps for obstacles in their path or push them out of the way. You cannot directly destroy objects or structures or damage beings by creating walls or domes.
  • Tool guidance for GMs:
    • Difficulty 9: Brawn 5, no tools.
    • Difficulty 7-8: One-handed tools or makeshift tools (like a sword). Mythic Brawn without tools.
    • Difficulty 6: Appropriate manual tools. Crowbar, sledgehammer, armor-shredding attacks.
    • Difficulty 4-5: Power tools, vehicles, explosives.
  • This Effect produces the substance you are controlling unless it is drawn from the environment via “Required Environment” Drawbacks.
  • 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.

This Effect activates whenever someone talks about you. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a target Location within 75 feet. Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event.

You may perceive things through hearing as if you were standing at that Location for the next 30 minutes. You must maintain Concentration to keep up the effect. You cannot perceive anything at your physical location while the effect is active.

  • When triggered, the Effect activation resolves immediately after the triggering Action. It is not Reaction speed.
  • This does not satisfy the Line of Sight requirement for targeted Effects.

Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend an Action. Select a Living or Sapient target within arm's reach. Roll Intellect + Occult at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you possess your target for the Contested Outcome in minutes. The target has no control over their body or actions, and they are functionally unconscious through the entire possession, retaining no memory other than any Traumas they might obtain.

You do not leave your original body behind when you possess a target. When a possession ends, your original body will reappear at the host body’s same location. You may spend an Action to end the possession early.

Stats: During the possession, you use the host body’s Body rating, but your own Mind rating. Any rolls you make use the host body’s Brawn, Dexterity, and Perception but your own Charisma, Intellect, and Abilities. You gain the effects of any physical Assets and Liabilities they have. You cannot read the target’s mind or memories.

Gifts: You have access to and can use any of your own Powers which are 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 target’s biology or physical body.

Death: If the host body is killed or destroyed while you are still possessing it, you will die along with it.

Eviction: 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 you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.

  • The sacrificial Injury received from activating this Effect cannot be prevented by any means or healed before 1 day has passed. It is shared with all Effects that use sacrifice. This Injury does not requires Stabilization or cause Battle Scars when it becomes Severe.
  • Access to equipment-based Gifts such as Signature Items depends entirely on whether you are holding the relevant object, and is not impacted by whether or not you are possessing a 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.

Spend an Action or Reaction. Select a Non-Alien Creature target within 20 feet. The target may Resist.

You possess your target and have control over their actions for the next hour. Your original body will be left behind, unconscious. You may perceive through your original body's senses by maintaining Concentration. If your original body is touched, you may roll Perception + Alertness to notice. You may spend an Action to end the possession early.

Stats: Any Actions you take will use the possessed creature’s Brawn, Dexterity, and Perception, but use your own Charisma, Intellect, and Abilities.

Gifts: You do not have access to any Gifts while you are possessing your target.

Death: If the host suffers an Injury, or is destroyed or incapacitated, you are evicted back into your own body. If the possession ends and your original body was killed or destroyed, you will die.

Eviction: You cannot force your host to take Actions which would violate their instinct for self-preservation (which includes engaging in Combat for any purpose other than self-defense or natural hunting); any attempt to do so will sever the connection and send you back into your own body. If you are forced out of the target's body prematurely, you must make a Trauma roll.

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.

This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.

  • 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.
  • 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.