Charlatans

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location no further than 60 feet from you and in your line of sight. The area within 45 feet of the chosen Location immediately and obviously becomes imminently dangerous. Anyone in the area has 1 Round to attempt to escape. During the next Round, on your Initiative, roll Charisma + Occult ( dice) at Difficulty 6. Targets remaining 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 45 feet of the chosen Location with Damage equal to your Outcome + 8.

Anyone hit by the blast may roll Body at Difficulty 7 as a Free Action, and reduce their Damage taken by the Outcome.

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.

Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend one minute. Select a Location within arm's reach. You must be in an area abundant with The Firmament.

Select one of the following alterations to create out of Paper originating at the target:

• Sculpt: Sculpt a surface made of Paper up to 20 feet by 20 feet. You may make aesthetic changes or minor functional improvements like a ladder or stairs. You may sculpt windows, doors, and similar alterations into structures you created with this Effect.
• Wall: Create a straight wall made of Paper up to 20 feet long, 5 feet high, and 6 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 indefinitely 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 3 across all attempts breaks a hole large enough to move through. See the extended system text for GM guidance on various tools.

You may sculpt your walls, domes, or tunnels as you create them, without any additional activation time or cost.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact and you are engaged in unarmed combat.

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

Anyone who touches this Artifact will notice it warping their body and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Battle Scar: Shrimple Minded - You're a little dumb. (Intellect rolls take twice as long and you take -2 dice penalty on all Initiative rolls.). If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Battle Scar heals over the course of the next day.

Anyone who touches this Artifact will notice it warping their mind and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Trauma: Shrimply Terrified - You are quite the coward. (When starting combat outnumbered, roll Self-Control to resist fleeing. If you fail, you may Exert your Mind as the shrimp under your hat stops you from being a bitch). If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.

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:

• Assassin: If your attack Injures your target, they cannot make a sound, even incidentally, for a single Round. Even the sound of their body and equipment dropping to the ground is silenced.
• Finesse: When Attacking a single being, you may limit the Severity of any Injury you inflict or determine a maximum Wound Level, including Incapacitated. You may also choose to make this Injury properly or improperly stabilized, or to keep it unstabilized.
• One Inch Punch: You may make a full attack against any target you can touch, even if you are restrained. To an observer, you hardly move. In a crowded area, determining that you were the source of an attack requires a Perception + Alertness roll with an Outcome of 4.
• Precision Strikes: You may use Dexterity instead of Brawn to Attack and Defend. If you would successfully incapacitate a target using Finesse, you may opt to knock them out for one hour instead of having them suffer an Injury.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action.

Summon the one and only Sapient Task at your location. They last until they are destroyed They are controlled by you. This Artifact may have at most one minion active at a time.

• Initiative: Minions act directly after you in Combat starting the Round after they are summoned.
• Combat: Minions roll 4 dice to dodge, Grapple, or make unarmed Attacks. Their unarmed Attacks are melee range and deal +0 Damage.
• Body/Mind: Minions have 7 Body. Your minions roll 7 Mind resistance dice.
• Armor: Minions have 1 Armor.
• Movement: Minions can move 20 feet per Round as Free Movement and double that when performing an all-out Sprint.
• Intelligence: Minions have human-level intelligence and can speak your language. They can use equipment, Artifacts, and Consumables. However, they cannot Exert their Mind.
• Actions: Any Perception checks they make are rolled with 4 dice. Any other roll is made with 4 dice. They can lift and haul as though they have 2 Brawn.
• Powers: Your companion can Exert their Mind using your Mind and spend your Source.
• Unusual: Minions are obviously Alien to any observer.

You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.

If killed, you cannot re-summon your minion until after your next Contract.

This Artifact can be used as a shotgun. It is roughly the same size as a shotgun but can be collapsed into Shotgun Shell Bandolier and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.

Attack by rolling Dexterity + Firearms, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +5 Weapon Damage.

Anyone who touches this Artifact will notice it warping their body and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Battle Scar: Traumatic Brain Injury and One Eye. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Battle Scar heals over the course of the next day.

You also gain the following effects:

• Keyhole: Any bullet that kills your target tumbles through their body and may strike a target in a 90 degree angle behind them. Any damage beyond that needed for the kill is applied to the secondary target.
• 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.
• Silencer: The report of any shots you fire may be made silent at will.

This Artifact can be used as a blimp. It is roughly the same size as a blimp but can be collapsed into a phone-sized canvas cube and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.

This blimp has full science laboratory, bullet-proof envelope, and ample parachutes. Any roll to pilot this vehicle receives +2 dice.

You also gain the following effects:

• Crew of One: You alone may stand in for an entire crew if the vehicle would normally be piloted by more than one.
• Mind of its Own: This vehicle can move and take Actions without you driving it. It has seven dice for all Drive rolls.
• No Muffler: Any stealth rolls made to hide your vehicle automatically fail, and any rolls made to notice your vehicle automatically succeed.

Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action.

You automatically detect all people wielding weapons within 300 feet of you for the next hour. This includes any who come within range during the duration. You have a sense of how many valid targets are nearby, as well as their distance and direction.

This Artifact can be used as a rifle. It is roughly the same size as a rifle but can be collapsed into a metallic disk and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.

Attack by rolling Dexterity + Firearms, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +5 Weapon Damage.

You also gain the following effects:

• Silencer: The report of any shots you fire may be made silent at will.

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.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.

You have 6 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack.

Your Armor cannot be destroyed, and it always provides a minimum of 2 Armor regardless of any Armor shredding or penetration. It cannot be circumvented with Called Shots. When shredded, it returns to full potency in one hour.

Any time your Armor prevents Damage, your Armor rating is temporarily decreased by 2. Whenever it goes five Rounds without preventing any Damage, it is restored back to its full value.