Penman's Parlay The writer knows JUST what to say to keep the story going.

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The power to communicate with humans and Sapient beings.
Used by Julio Ramos, Created by OmegaDeimos.
(It is clear that you are communicating with the target. You must actively and obviously be using up a pen's worth of ink and paper.)

When preparing this Power, Julio writes down in paper whatever comes to mind, usually poetic descriptions of what he sees or one-off tales.

Being a writer sucks. Pushing deadlines, the vultures of media, the pressure of expectations. So, to make things easier, the writer pretends everyone around them is a character, that if forced/written enough, will help them.


Exert your Mind and spend one minute. You must use up a pen's worth of ink and paper in order to activate this Effect.

You may understand and communicate to humans and Sapient beings as if you are fluent in a relevant language for the next hour.

This also includes understanding any recorded communications from the relevant targets, including writings, scent trails, etc.

While active, you may choose to use glib tongue. When you do, anything you say (even gibberish) will be exactly what the target wants to hear. You gain no understanding of what that might be.

  • The target of "human" refers to any target that speaks a human language.
  • When reading written communications, you get no information beyond what the writer was intending to communicate.

Community Activated Gifts

Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action. This Effect cannot be used unless The Dawn Hammer must have access to the open sky. and The Dawn Hammer must be in Vehicle Mode for at least one turn. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you The drop pod debris strikes the contractor, dealing a sev 4 injury and knocking down the contractor over..

Summon up to 3 Sapient Mass Produced Combat Android at your location. They last until they are destroyed They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. This Artifact may have at most 3 minions 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 Firearms Attacks. Their unarmed Attacks have 50 feet of range and deal +2 Damage.
  • Body/Mind: Minions have 3 Body. Your minions roll 3 Mind resistance dice.
  • Armor: Minions have 1 Armor.
  • Movement: Minions can move 15 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 3 dice. Your minion is able to Medical with a 7 dice pool. Any other roll is made with 3 dice. They can lift and haul as though they have 2 Brawn.
  • Unusual: Minions are obviously Alien to any observer.

  • Minions die if targeted with Energy Transfer (before the Effect resolves) or if an Artifact or Consumable they use would Injure them or cause them to roll Trauma.
  • Your minions may count as additional targeting types based on their flavor. For example: Living, Computer, Creature, etc.

Exert your Mind and spend 2 Actions. You must actively and obviously use a piece of clothing you wouldn't normally wear to activate this Effect.

You become disguised in a manner of your choosing. The disguise lasts for two hours, or you may end it early at will.

The new appearance may have a different sex, age, and race to your own, and you may alter height by up to a foot and your weight by 50%. Your disguise cannot directly mimic an existing person. You may change the appearance of your outfit. A disguise cannot affect your Attributes or other stats.

You may roll Charisma + Crafts to attempt to make your disguise Beautiful. If your Outcome is 6 or higher, non-Effect Charisma rolls where your good looks could help are rolled at -2 Difficulty. If you fail or botch, you are ugly instead, and non-Effect Charisma rolls are made at +2 Difficulty.

This Effect ends if you take an Injury or are stunned or incapacitated.

While disguised, you cannot use any Activated or Targeted Powers.

  • While you may alter your outfit's appearance, this does not grant or store equipment. This does not allow you to change the appearance of Artifacts or conceal their Alien appearance.
  • ‘Appearance’ includes voice, bone structure, skin quality, hair length and color, eye color, muscle tone, flesh texture, and generally anything perceivable about your body.

Exert your Mind and spend 2 Actions. This Effect cannot be used unless you are possessing a host.

You become disguised in a manner of your choosing. The disguise lasts until you either activate a new disguise, or choose to end the effect.

The new appearance may have a different sex, age, and race to your own, and you may alter height by up to a foot and your weight by 50%. Your disguise may directly mimic the appearance of a specific individual. You may change the appearance of your outfit. A disguise cannot affect your Attributes or other stats.

You may roll Charisma + Crafts to attempt to make your disguise Beautiful. If your Outcome is 6 or higher, non-Effect Charisma rolls where your good looks could help are rolled at -2 Difficulty. If you fail or botch, you are ugly instead, and non-Effect Charisma rolls are made at +2 Difficulty.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see your flesh and skin split apart before mixing and slapping back together as a different person.

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Bane: Fire - You are weak to a specific material or type of attack. (All Damage you take from [Fire] is increased by 1 and ignores any non-material Armor you may have.).

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.

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Alien Isolation - Paranoia.

  • A performance check is generally required to pass with people who know the individual you're mimicking.
  • While you may alter your outfit's appearance, this does not grant or store equipment. This does not allow you to change the appearance of Artifacts or conceal their Alien appearance.
  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • ‘Appearance’ includes voice, bone structure, skin quality, hair length and color, eye color, muscle tone, flesh texture, and generally anything perceivable about your body.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action.

You may understand and communicate to humans and Sapient beings as if you are fluent in a relevant language for the next hour.

This also includes understanding any recorded communications from the relevant targets, including writings, scent trails, etc.

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

  • The target of "human" refers to any target that speaks a human language.
  • When reading written communications, you get no information beyond what the writer was intending to communicate.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way. Lasts for three hours.

  • Sight: You can see things that are up to a mile away as though you were only standing twenty feet away, provided your view is unobstructed.
  • Hearing: You automatically know the origin location of any sound you hear, and you can tell which Action caused the sound.

Stock Activated Gifts

Exert your Mind and Spend an Action.

You transform into your own corpse for one minute. While transformed, you may control the functioning of the object you have transformed into. You can perceive your surroundings as normal. You can be targeted as a Non-Living, Sapient Object.

If you are damaged while transformed, the damage is realized when you return to normal. If you are damaged before you transform, your inanimate form will appear partially damaged.

You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.

  • If a character is inside of you when you revert to your original form, you take a Severity-5 Injury when they burst from your innards as you shrink.
  • You cannot move in any way the object wouldn't normally be able to move. If you are a feather duster, you cannot float around, etc.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use a clock or watch to activate this Effect.

You phase out of reality for 4 Rounds. During this time, you cannot perceive or affect the outside world or take any Actions. You cannot move. Nothing can interact with you in any way.

When you phase out, you may bring up to 1 additional target in arm's reach with you.

  • You may use your Free Movement on the Round you phase back in, but you cannot take an Action.

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.

  • This includes any objects that come into range during activation.
  • This Effect does not satisfy the line of sight targeting requirement for other Effects.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action.

You transform into a flowing pool of water for the next minute. You may end the effect early and return to your normal form at will. Your structure must remain relatively contiguous. Observers will view you as an unusual entity moving with a singular purpose.

While in this form, you can squeeze through any gap that is not water-tight.

Injuries from standard attacks are reduced to Severity 1, but Damage from AOE effects is increased by 1.

You cannot communicate or use equipment while transformed. Your equipment does not transform with you beyond basic body coverings. You cannot carry any items while transformed.

You have access to your Powers while transformed.

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 Severity-limiting effect from Squish does not stack with the Enhancement Tough from Mythic Brawn.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action.

You transform into a brown bear for two hours or until you choose to end the Effect. See the Extended System text for stats.

While transformed, you cannot use any equipment (including Artifacts and Consumables), and you cannot use your Active, Targeted, or Trap Powers. However, you can use your Passive Powers. Any equipment you are wearing transforms with you.

Injuries and Wound Level are carried over between forms. However, transforming can never kill you; you merely remain Incapacitated until your Injuries are sufficiently healed.

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Intolerance for society. When you are in a situation with strict social protocols (like a trial or a formal dinner) roll Self-Control not to enter a flight or fight response.

  • Creature Stats
    • Large (larger than human, smaller than elephant) Body: 8. Brawn 6. Dexterity 2. Fall damage increased by 2. Armor: 1
    All creatures get +3 dice to any non-combat Action that they are naturally adapted for. All creatures Medium and larger may attack by rolling Body, dealing +0 Damage (+1 for “predators”). Gms and Playgroup leaders can apply other bonuses and effects to specific animals.
  • Animals that are quicker than humans (like dogs) have 50 feet of Free Movement. Animals that are very slow (like turtles) have 0 feet of Free Movement.
  • You cannot transform if there is not enough room to do so.
  • The form you take must have the same stats and abilities as a single, extant animal of the relevant size.