The kamaitachi that surrounds him has changed his body and shares its mind and memories Ricter, giving him alluring ice-blue slitted eyes, small pointed fangs, and a long black-colored tail covered in fur. Slowly turning him into one of them.
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A yokai spirit of the wind has attached itself to him and has begun changing him for his survival, giving him sharpened teeth, perceptive eyes, a tail for balance, and sharing some of their knowledge with him in brief flashbacks. With their two minds almost meshing it makes processing information easier, and identifying things simpler, especially since the Kamaitachi has delt with humans a lot in the past.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You are permanently and visibly transformed: Kamaitachi. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living being when targeted. Your Brawn is increased by 1 and your Perception is increased by 1.
You are immune to damage from heat and flames. If heat is a substantial component of other damage you would take (e.g. slashed with a flaming sword), that damage is reduced by 2 (in addition to Armor)
A lot of animal communication is soundless, and most of that is through movement and posture. I've learned to understand that and make the appropriate motions in return. That much is obvious to anyone's eyes, though they may not realize that I intuitively understand the sounds animals make as well (which are easier to hear clearly, now that my hearing range is extended). When communicating to them I make as many of the right sounds in their speech as I can: whistling to a bird, meowing to a cat, chittering to a squirrel, and so on. They also seem to pick up on human language, at least when I say it, but it's like someone speaking with an accent. I prefer to only use human speech if I can't make the right sound, both for clarity and also to avoid humans overhearing and understanding my side of the conversation.
Anyhow, they get me and I get them, but if I take the form of a similar enough animal (or the same kind) then they understand me flawlessly. We can talk easier then, and also not be understood by humans when we do.
Some legends talk about humans learning the languages of animals, often from a mystical source like tasting dragon blood, but also as simple as being taught bird tongue by a bird. How did this ability spontaneously manifest? Honestly, it's through an inherent connection with animals that comes about from latent and innate shapeshifting abilities. It's in the blood, metaphorically anyway.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You may understand and communicate to terrestrial animal as if you are fluent in a relevant language.
Toropova summons the Manitou in her eye for a favor. The dear headed ghostly apparition and toropova plays a quick hand of poker for old time sakes while it looks the item over. Sometimes toropova gets caught cheating resulting in the enraged spirit breaking the object and leaving.
Spend a minute. Select a target Object within arm's reach. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you completely destroys object.. You must actively and obviously use deck of card's to activate this Effect. At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Alertness at Difficulty 6.
You learn all the following information about your target:
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.
With a primal scream or a silent, gritted determination, they reach down and, with tremendous force and pain, tear their own arm from its socket. The sound is gut-wrenching, a mix of ripping flesh and snapping bone, and blood spurts violently from the wound, soaking their clothes and the ground around them.
The arm, still warm and perhaps twitching slightly from residual nerve impulses, is used like a brutal club. The jagged, exposed bone at the severed end becomes a crude, makeshift blade, capable of tearing through flesh.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You are permanently and visibly transformed: Walking Corpse. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living being when targeted..
No single organ in your body is critical for life. If any of your body parts are separated from your body, you may take Actions with the severed part for three hours. You may reattach severed body parts by spending an Action and Exerting your Mind.
You may make a +2 Weapon Damage Melee attack without additional equipment.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Delusions of Invincibility.
Odar suddenly gets a pounding headache, and glimpses a vision of the cryptid that triggered their sense. They then have the urge to find and eliminate this cryptid before it kills again.
This Effect activates whenever a cryptid kills any living thing. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour.
You automatically detect the closest of any cryptids within 300 feet of you for the next hour. This includes any who come within range during the duration. You have a sense their direction, but you are not aware of their exact location.]]
Even if there are no cryptids within 300 feet of you, you become aware of the direction the closest one is in, as well as a rough sense of its distance from you.
All cryptids who you can sense are equally able to sense you.
With the blessing and title of Chitari, Sara Gause Viper has been bestowed with a sliver of Chitari's essence
Being imbued with part of the Goddess of change's essence allows her to shift her own body at will, and reverse any changes should they put too much strain on Sara
It isn't pretty to watch though, entailing abomination combinations of Snakes, Scorpions, dart frogs, spiders, wasps, and other venomous/poisonous fauna. With all the exposed bones, organs, and flesh, it's pretty easy for people to run away in horror, or grab a weapon to kill the assumed monstrosity. better make sure to cover that up in public.
- {Chitari is talking} (Chitari is thinking) /Sara is thinking/ :Narrator is narrating: -
: Sara sat in her Goddess's mindscape, anxiously thinking through what actions she could take next, how she could get a grip on herself, a way to keep on going....... :
{....You've been like that for 3 hours now, Viper}
"I know, it's just....... I have no home, no one to go to within 10.... even 100 miles..... and then I have to watch my back for shapeshifting aliens, keep low so that the police don't lock me up, and complete contracts without..... the forest thing happening again...and- "
: Sara ranted to Chitari about any problem she could think of, venting out enough issues and trauma to keep a therapist busy for years on end :
(She really has gone through a lot, especially with the eye demon...... one of my best followers, and she's breaking down from all this......change...)
: at the thought of the word, Chitari remembered her previous follower, worshipping her and her ideals of cleverness, quick thinking, and the ability to adapt to change.
she gave her most loyal followers the name of Prophet and blessed them with a sliver of her essence. :
{Sara, do you think things are changing too quickly for you to keep up?}
"YES, I.... the moment things seem to have calmed down, some supernatural phenomenon or Contractor does something or vanishes into the Aether, missing for weeks or months, and trying to keep a home for even 4 months isn't possible, I've had to do so much in order to keep myself fed, healthy, and SAFE, and it seems to only get wo-"
{Do you want to be the one changing things instead?}
/Sara's downward spiral of a rant was paused by her Goddess's out of nowhere question. being able to make a change for once sounded amazing, but...../
"is that even possible? No Offense Chitari, but even with your help, It- I...... what can fix me"
{I can't fix you, but I can help you adapt}
Spend an hour to activate. Select a Living target within arm's reach. The target can easily Resist.
You may add one augmentation to your target. Each augmentation counts as a Battle Scar and can have exactly one of the following Effects:
You may cure any Battle Scars you have created with this Effect with a Free Action on your initiative. They are healed over the course of the next hour.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see grotesque venomous creatures like snakes and scorpions swirling around Sara with exposed organs and bones, melting and molding Sara's body.
This Gift's level is capped at 2 Gifts and cannot be increased further.
Your alteration "heals" over the course of the next month, after which it is fully cured.
You may only target yourself.
The magician dons their wizard hat, raises their arms, wiggles their fingers, and a rain of sparks fly woosh around an object. It shudders to life and follows the magicians commands, including to do things it was not designed to do.
Exert your Mind and an Action. Select a Inanimate target within arm's reach which could fit inside a briefcase (15 liters). You must actively and obviously use a pointed hat with stars and moons to activate this Effect.
Your target will become Animated indefinitely. You may choose to end the effect at will, as a Free Action. You can maintain a max of 4 targets animated at once.
Animated Objects have the following restrictions and capabilities:
This is a doctor who exists on the front lines. They're most at home working under stressful conditions when the stakes couldn't be higher.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
All Stabilizations you attempt are considered Proper Stabilizations.
You also gain the following effects:
The beastmaster shouts, and their human voice cracks into a deep, bestial roar. Their body swells with muscle, clothes melting into a thick pelt of fur. Seconds later the beastmaster is gone. Standing in their place is a massive grizzly bear.
However, even in human form the beast within remains close to the surface, and the beastmaster finds highly civilized social situations unbearable.
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.
All it takes is a flick of your hair and a bat of your eyelashes, and you’ve got their attention.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. A number of Sapient, Living targets within 50 feet who can perceive you through no greater than your Charisma rating are affected. Audiences or mobs with a singular focus count as one target. Roll Charisma + Performance at Difficulty 6. All affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If you succeed, the targets will keep their full attention focused on you for Contested Outcome in Rounds. They will automatically fail any rolls related to noticing anything other than you.
If you pass from their perception and they are unable to pursue you, the Effect ends. If they can follow you, they must do so for 2 Rounds or the Effect will end. The Effect ends early if the target is Injured or violence occurs nearby.
This does not affect the target’s opinion of you or their mood, and they may take any Actions while affected (including attacking), as long as that action centers on you. Fascinated targets cannot Concentrate.
As long as the ninja is carrying a weapon, their self-defense is almost subconscious. Subtle twitches and lighting-fast feints and parries using sword and scabbard can buy the ninja precious seconds to enact an escape plan or make the kill.
You gain the following benefits at all times. You must actively and obviously be using a sword to gain the benefits of this Effect.
You have 4 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.
Whenever your Armor reduces incoming Damage, you are immediately made aware of the source of the Damage. You may pinpoint their location for 30 seconds.
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.