**Description:** The "Body of the Ancient Cryptic" passively alters the user’s body, giving them a primal, beast-like appearance combined with ancient, mystical energies. These physical changes not only enhance their combat abilities but also make them appear more formidable and inhuman to those around them.
**Visible Changes:**
- **Beastly Claws:** The user's hands and fingers elongate slightly, ending in sharp, retractable claws. These claws appear to be made of a dark, obsidian-like material and can tear through most materials with ease.
- **Feral Eyes:** Their eyes take on a bestial quality, with slit-like pupils and a glowing, predatory hue—often amber, red, or another unnatural color. These eyes grant heightened vision, especially in darkness.
- **Rugged, Enhanced Physique:** The user’s muscles are denser, their bones more robust, and their posture slightly hunched, resembling a primal predator. This gives them enhanced strength and agility beyond normal human limits.
- **Roughened Skin:** Their skin takes on a tougher, almost hide-like texture, with patches of scales or hardened ridges in certain areas, providing natural armor.
- **Elongated Teeth:** The user’s teeth sharpen into fangs, giving them a fearsome grin and enabling them to bite with great force when necessary.
- **Beastial Presence:** A low growl or snarl might be heard from the user when they are angered or in danger. Their overall demeanor is predatory, making others instinctively sense danger in their presence.
These beastly transformations, combined with ancient, arcane markings and energies, make the user a terrifying force, blending primal strength with cryptic wisdom.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You are permanently and visibly transformed: perfect bodys. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living Creature when targeted. Your Brawn is increased by 1, your Perception is increased by 1, and your Charisma is increased by 1.
Your appendages can reach an additional 30 feet.
You may make a +2 Weapon Damage claws and fangs attack without additional equipment.
Whenever you enter Combat, roll Self-Control. If you fail, you cannot choose which targets to attack and cannot stop fighting until there are no targets remaining.
You cannot speak any coherent verbal language and must resort to other means of communication.
You cannot ignore or decrease the effects of Stress for any Self-Control rolls you make.
The Severity of any Injury caused by Sliver is increased by 2.
Asha unleashes her inner beast, transforming into an imposing hybrid of human and wolf. Her head reforms into that of a wolf, robbing her of speech but bestowing a maw of deadly fangs. Dark brown, white-patched fur sprouts from her body as it swells with muscle, ripping any tight-fitting clothes. Her eyes turn amber in color and almost seem to glow. There is little humanity in them. While transformed, Asha is impulsive and driven more by instinct than logic.
If Asha is struck by the light of a full or gibbous moon, she is compelled to transform.
Asha is equally afraid of and enthralled with the wolf within. This could ultimately help her! But only if she can figure out to somehow control it.
Exert your Mind and spend a Quick Action.
You transform into a werewolf for 30 minutes. You have access to all of your Powers while you are a werewolf, and you can use your equipment. Your Battle Scars, Injuries, and physical Liabilities are carried over between forms. Reverting from your Alternate Form cannot cause your existing Injuries to kill you. Instead, you remain Incapacitated.
While transformed, your Brawn is increased by 2 and your Dexterity is increased by 2. Your Stress is reduced by 2.
Your alternate form is its own deadly weapon. Unarmed attacks made in your alternate form deal +3 Weapon Damage (instead of the typical -1).
You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.
Your alternate form renders you unable to speak any human language and incapable of fine object manipulation. You can only hold or grasp objects in a crude, clumsy way.
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.
While transformed, you automatically fail any Mind roll to resist an impulse and suffer -3 dice on all other Mind rolls.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Whenever you are struck by the light of a full or gibbous moon, you must roll Self-Control to resist transforming. Triggers a max of once per night.
The mobster knows a guy they can call for a hired goon, who arrives about a minute later. The goons are dumb as bricks, but tough nonetheless, perfect for sending a message when you need to keep your hands clean.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use cell phone to activate this Effect.
Summon up to 3 Sapient goon at your location. They last for two hours or until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 3 minions active at a time.
Having further advanced their knowledge of the technology, Dr Lazcowicz and Eliza have reconstructed the Mind/machine interface as an internal structure within the vertebrae themselves and extending through internal nerve fibers, eliminating both the dermal patch controller and the visible trace glow when his mind is being augmented by the nanite network.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Your Intellect rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Intellect (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).
You also gain the following effects:
Jerm points at you, your mind is plagued with horrific visions of a pulsating mass of flesh and blood. For some reason, you find this to be the funniest yet most horrific thing you've ever seen in your entire life.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 8 with a -3 dice penalty. If they are incapacitated or unconscious, they fail automatically.
If they fail, your target will take 1 point of Mind damage and gain a new Trauma selected by the GM. This Trauma may be removed by Effects or mundane therapy, as normal. Affected targets are aware that they are being attacked and can generally tell who did it.
When the user nocks and draws an arrow, they shine slightly.
You gain the following benefits as long as engaged in combat with combat bows. You must actively and obviously be using a bow and arrows to gain the benefits of this Effect.
You receive +2 dice to all rolls using combat bows. Reloading is considered a Free Action.
You also gain the following effects:
The aristocrat knows a ritual that allows them to rent the best version of any item. They set $10,000 worth of cash on fire and place the item to be upgraded in the fire as well. While in the flame, the item morphs into a high-end version of itself. After a while, it reverts.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a non-Alien Device within arm's reach. You must use up $10,000 cash (or equivalent) in order to activate this Effect. Cannot be used to improve Armor.
Lasts the next two hours. Your target receives 3 extra dice to all actions taken for its intended use. Attacking with an upgraded weapon grants +3 Weapon Damage instead of additional dice.
The Soldier has spent a healthy ten thousand hours training with the weapons of their military. They are deadly when wielding any firearm made in their home country. Drawing their standard issue at the start of a confrontation is pure reflex, and they may plan their shots to deal collateral damage to those behind their target.
You gain the following benefits as long as engaged in combat with firearms made in your home country.
+2 dice to all firearms made in your home country rolls.
You also gain the following effects:
The mobster presents a reasoned, logical case to the target: there's a lot of dangerous folks out there, and only they can offer safety... for a price.
If they agree, they will pay the mobster a monthly fee for protection. If they stop making their payments... well, let's just say, the mobster can't be held responsible for any unsavory types that might pay them a visit.
This Effect cannot be used unless you are making a deal to exchange money for protection.
You may make an oath with a physically-present, Sapient target. Communicate the oath's terms to the target, including the requirements and penalties for each participant. If all agree to the terms, you must Exert your Mind and all participants must shake hands to seal the deal.
Record the oath as a Condition. If a party breaks the oath, the Condition ends and they suffer the oath's penalty.
When crafting your oath, you may incorporate any of the following penalties:
The target cannot be compelled to agree via a direct threat of violence, another Effect, or another oath. If you would like to use clever wording to mislead the target, you must succeed a contested Intellect + (Culture or Influence) roll.
The detective can learn a lot by watching someone for a minute. Each subtle detail, every unexplained stain, reveals something about where the target has been. Ocassionally, they'll drop a business card, or explain how to contact them. The detective is listening.
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend a minute. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target does not know you're watching them. At the end of your investigation, roll Charisma + Investigation at Difficulty 6.
You learn a single specific piece of information, chosen from the following list, about your target:
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.
You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.
The priest channels their true faith into a brutal assault on the consciousness of demonic or unholy creatures. By wielding their favored holy symbol, a gilded crucifix, they can put a proper fear of god into them, leaving them cowering at any truly holy things they encounter.
Exert your Mind (unless you have been recently attacked by your target) and spend an Action. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is undead, demonic, or another evil creature. You must actively and obviously use a gilded cross to activate this Effect. Roll Brawn + Alertness Difficulty 6. Affected targets may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7. If they are incapacitated or unconscious, they fail automatically.
If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target loses that much Source. Once their Source is depleted, excess Outcome is applied as Mind Damage. If you deal at least 3 Mind damage, the target gains a Trauma of the GM's choice.
This trauma cannot be removed by spending Experience and undergoing mundane therapy. Affected targets are aware that they are being attacked and can generally tell who did it.