Blade of Shadows First Lesson: The mind is sharper than any sword.

2
The power to grievously injure a target.
Used by Cássio Rosário, Created by Caelum.
(When activating this Effect, it is obvious you are attacking the target. You must actively and obviously be using a tarot card (Three of Swords).)

Applying the first principles of umbral theory, Cássio has created an istrument by by which he may exact his revenge. With a flourish, the focus card is drawn from his sleeve, upon which it begins to burn with shadow. Cássio flicks it towards his target, and a wave of pitch-black shadowstuff cuts through the air, ready to rend the flesh of whatever poor fool crossed him. At the end of the attack, the card reappears in Cássio's hand.


Spend an Action. Select a target within 45 feet. You must actively and obviously use a tarot card (Three of Swords) to activate this Effect. Roll Charisma + Occult 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.

Any Injury inflicted is considered unstabilized even if its Severity is less than 4. The equipment and roll required to Stabilize it is treated as though it is a minimum of Severity 6.

You may use this Effect to Defend against any melee, projectile, or firearm Attacks within range or Clash against any Attack targeted at you. Using it to Defend deals no Damage but does not cost Exertion.

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

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Vengeful: Whenever someone wrongs you in a major way, you must roll Self Control or seek retribution.

  • 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 Power Gifts

You gain the following benefits at all times.

You get +4 dice to any Mind resistance rolls you make. You also gain the following effects:

  • Been There, Done That: If you succeed a Mind resistance roll, subsequent attempts to use that same Gift or supernatural ability on you for the next day will fail.
  • Instant Karma: If you successfully resist an Effect with your Mind, you may reflect it back to another target as though you had cast it.
  • Naturally Resistant: Any time you make a Mind resistance roll, the individual who you are resisting must Exert their Mind, or your resistance succeeds automatically.
  • Clash Of Wills: If you fail to fully resist an Effect, your Outcome is considered to be 0.

  • When reflecting an Effect, its Activation Outcome is equal to your resistance Outcome. If you reflect it back at the target who cast it originally, they do not receive a resistance roll.
  • These bonuses apply only to Mind rolls made to resist Effects and other supernatural phenomena. They do not apply to Trauma rolls or self-control rolls.

Being in compliance with Office Dress Code is to be dressed for success. This allows the wearer access to a multitude of benefits. Shoes in compliance allows for freedom of movement to tackle a myriad of situations!

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use Leather Office Shoes to activate this Effect.

You may move easily and without a roll in any of the following situations. Lasts 2 hours.

  • Amphibious: You are able to move about in liquids using standard Movement rules rather than any special swimming rules.
  • Spider Climber: You are able to climb on and cling to any surface without regard for the ordinary rules of gravity. You climb at half your normal movespeed.
  • Surface Skimmer: You are able to move across the top of any bodies of water, ice, or other surfaces where others might sink with no penalty to your movement speed.

As long as this Effect is active and you are traversing a terrain it covers, your movement speed is doubled.

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Alien Sting Phase 2.

  • This Effect not provide any inherent protection from dangerous surfaces such as acid, lava, etc, so be careful!

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location no further than 25 feet from you and in your line of sight. You must use up iron powder 20 g in order to activate this Effect. The area within 10 feet of the chosen Location immediately and obviously becomes imminently dangerous. Roll Intellect + Occult at Difficulty 6. Targets inside the radius may attempt an appropriate Reaction at GM’s discretion. Finding a physical barrier to use as cover will cut total Damage taken in half (applies after Reaction roll but before Armor).

If the Outcome is positive, your blast hits everything within 10 feet of the chosen Location with Damage equal to your Outcome + 4.

Any flammable Objects within the radius during the blast will catch fire, and any being who takes at least 4 Damage will catch fire. Starting the Round after they caught fire, flaming targets take 2 Damage per Round until the fire is extinguished.

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.

  • 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 2 Actions. Select a Device within 300 feet. Can be used 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.

This Effect is not obvious, and the only sign you are using an Effect is her nose wiggling. If someone suspects that an Effect was used, they must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 8 to pick up on your Tell.

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.

When targeting non-computer devices, you may operate switches, buttons, dials, levers, and latches.

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Weak Stomach: Your time in a more perfect world has left you weaker to the more ugly parts of the one you live in and Minor Vertigo: Take a -1 to any rolls involving balance or grace..

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Fear of the Dark: You are utterly terrified of darkness. You must succeed a Self-Control roll in order to leave a well-lit area. If you fail, you may Exert your Mind to face your fear. Take a Mind Damage if you are ever surprised while it’s dark and Autophobia: You are deeply afraid of being alone outside of your safe space. To leave a safe location alone, make a self-control roll. If you fail, you may Exert your Mind to face your fear.

  • You cannot hack things outside of your range over remote connections such as the internet. The system you are affecting must be physically within range.
  • 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 to activate. Roll Intellect + Technology at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, you create a barrier around yourself, which absorbs the next Outcome + 2 Damage up to a maximum of half the total damage from a given attack, the rest of which penetrates through to it’s target. 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.

The barrier will fall after two hours, 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.

Stock Power Gifts

You gain the following benefits at all times.

All Stabilizations you attempt are considered Proper Stabilizations.

You also gain the following effects:

  • In-Network Coverage: Any rolls to provide medical treatment to treating an Injury, including Effect activations, receive +2 dice.

  • All stabilizations being proper stabilizations applies to stabilizations from other Effects such as Heal Wound.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Roll Dexterity + Brawl Difficulty 6. 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.

When you activate this Effect, instead of occurring immediately, you may choose to delay its effects until the target takes a particular Action. For example: "when they fire a gun" or "when they swim in deep water."

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.

  • A given target can have a maximum of one Suspended Effect on them at a time. The selected triggering Action cannot be used to reveal information about the target (e.g. no "activate when they are a vampire"). It must be an Action they take, not a thought or something that happens to them.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of Effect. There must be no substantial obstructions between you and your target.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

If you would take an Injury that would kill you, you don’t die. Instead, you survive in an Incapacitated state. This state lasts for the next hour, at which point you fully return to life. Unstabilized Injuries do not degrade while you are Incapacitated

If, while you are unconscious, your wound level rises above your rating in Body + Charisma, or if you take an Injury with Severity greater than your rating in Charisma, you die. After you return, the Injury that would have killed you, as well as any Injuries sustained while Incapacitated, are healed. Battle scars obtained during this time remain.

You gain the following benefits as long as the target object has a cutting edge.

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 2 in place of your Brawn rating, a Mental Agility of 2 in place of your Dexterity, and otherwise use your own Attributes and Abilities.

Telekinetic actions have the following restrictions and behaviors:

  • Line of Sight: You must be able to visually observe anything you interact with, and any actions that you are taking will end if their target moves out of sight.
  • Unarmed Combat: You cannot deal damage through unarmed combat or thrown objects with this Effect, though you may still grapple with targets.
  • 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.
  • Levitation: If you are strong enough to lift yourself, you may levitate up to 75 feet away from the ground. Movement is limited to 5 feet per Round.
  • Multiple Items: You can only interact with one thing or take one Action at a time.
  • Lifting and hauling: you may lift 90 pounds.

  • Any telekinetic actions which interact with Animate targets may require contested rolls at GMs discretion.

Exert your Mind and spend at least one Action. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. Your target cannot be engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your target. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.

If the contested Outcome is positive, your target will be compelled to follow your command to their best understanding of the letter and spirit of the command until they have completed it or for your Contested Outcome in minutes. You cannot issue another suggestion to the target until 10 minutes after they have completed the first command or 10 minutes after a failure.

The target is unaware that they are under supernatural influence and feel they are acting of their own free will. If you fail, they realize that you were attempting to influence them supernaturally with your command.

Your command can be an order to take an immediate Action. You cannot order a target to "do nothing," and they are free to take other Actions as they fulfill your request. Your command cannot be obviously self-destructive. The Effect ends if following your command would cause a target to cross one of their Limits in a way that would necessitate a Trauma roll.

  • The target must be able to understand you and must receive your communication for the suggestion to work.
  • Allowed Commands
    • Direct Order: The target must take an immediate action (e.g. “Sit down,” "run away," or "tell me your password.")
  • In the case of a failed activation, GMs should consider how bystanders would realistically react to a potentially-outlandish accusation of mind-reading.
  • 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.