Russ' time spent preparing for the journey out west mainly focused on him creating and making everything that he could, from his tools to his duster. This process of creation caused him to unknowingly give praise to the Roman god of Fire Vulcan. As such Russ and the Items that he creates are imbued with a small amount of the god's fire causing the items that he creates to be warm to the touch. When Russ swings an item that he has created and makes contact with something a number of sparks fly out as though he struck hot metal and as that heat is transferred from Russ to the tool and then the target a much greater force is applied to the target than should be possible and the target flies back in a burst of sparks. This continuous cycle of heat and fire between Russ and his tools has left him with a bond to the tools he has created as items outside of that feel cold to the touch as to Russ it feels like he grows weaker the longer he is using items not created by his hand.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with Items made by oneself.
+2 dice to all rolls with Items made by oneself. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using Items made by oneself.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Compulsion to use Items made by You.
You also gain the following effects:
Cassiopeia invites you to sit down with her favourite book and read together, with a video of a fireplace playing in the ambience. After reading a seemingly random sentence she stops and asks how you feel about it. Also, what was your childhood like?
On therapy:
Of all the things she's learned throughout her university days, it's that everyone needs therapy - she herself has gone to a session or two for reasons she won't disclose. Whether they've had a good childhood or not doesn't matter. Stress can get to anyone and it's much better if everyone willingly learns how to deal with it instead of shutting themselves away. She knows she realistically can't help every person on Earth but at least it'll save her the pain of watching yet another star blink out.
On books:
She's always loved books. She wants to share that love with everyone else too. Someone she once knew would always put on fireplace or rain ambience in the background, and she's been doing that ever since. It's a fond memory.
On psychology degrees:
People don't usually get jobs directly related to an undergraduate psych degree, and Cassiopeia wasn't dedicated enough to study any further. She's thought of being a therapist before, of course, but she wouldn't want to make that her entire life.
On the Witherheart Mask:
Cassiopeia originally intended for the gift to go on the Mask, but she realizes it's a bit disingenuous to let a magical item do all the work for you. This would've been the description had she used the Mask:
"You sit down in the fabled Cafe Cosmo, where all your worries shall fly away. The barista appears to be a masked figure who listens in silence, but it also feels like the problems you reveal are being... absorbed."
Exert your Mind to activate. Select a Living target within arm's reach. You cannot target yourself. Over the course of one day, your patient must communicate with you and reveal at least one of their Traumas to you, including the details of those Traumas and the circumstances of how they were acquired. After the full treatment time has elapsed, roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6.
Your target may Resist. If your treatment is successful, you may remove one of the patient's revealed Traumas without incurring any Experience cost.
You may choose to use this Effect to temporarily relieve any number of the patient's Traumas (including mental Conditions). In this case, Treatment takes an Action and the effect lasts two hours. If the Patient is currently experiencing an episode, Difficulty is increased by 2.
The Corpus grants its vessel strength. In times of need, you bolster your brawn with a burst of blue energy.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Your Brawn rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Brawn (cannot be used on combat rolls or Effect activations).
You also gain the following effects:
A second pair of arms, smaller than the main pair, but no less useful.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You gain an additional limb that functions as a standard human arm and hand.
Each additional limb you posses can take one Quick Action per Round without incurring a -2 dice penalty to your main Action. Any Battle Scars that affect or remove your additional limb will heal in a single week.
I take a deep breath in and concentrate, I then close my eyes and miraculously I can understand this being word for word. What do you know I understand languages beyond my capabilities.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You may understand and communicate to Creatures and humans 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.
The Werewolf unleashes the beast within, quickly transforming into an imposing hybrid of human and wolf with a series of bone-popping snaps. Their head is replaced wholesale with that of a wolf, robbing them of speech but bestowing a maw of deadly fangs. Grey fur sprouts from a great deal of their body, and tight-fitting clothing is often ripped and torn in the transformation.
If The Werewolf is struck my moonlight, they are compelled to transform.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate.
You transform into a werewolf for 3 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. While transformed, your Brawn is increased by 1, your Dexterity is increased by 1, and your Perception is increased by 1.
Your alternate form is its own deadly weapon. Unarmed attacks made in your alternate form deal +3 Bonus Damage (instead of the typical -2).
You do not suffer wound penalties while in your Alternate Form.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation or for its duration will almost certainly be disturbed to see You turn into a werewolf.
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: you are compelled to transform each time you are struck by moonlight.
You cannot speak any coherent verbal language and must resort to other means of communication.
The influencer is 100% tuned-in to any sort of chatter about themselves. Any time someone nearby so much as whispers about them, they know who they were and what they said.
This Effect activates whenever someone talks about you. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a target Location within 75 feet. Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event.
You may perceive things through hearing as if you were standing at that Location for the next 30 minutes. You must maintain Concentration to keep up the effect. You cannot perceive anything at your physical location while the effect is active.
Any successful musician knows the value of a good roadie. The musician calls for a roadie, and one will promptly arrive. The roadie doesn't talk much, and they aren't too bright, but they can sure haul gear.
After a couple hours of work, the roadie will retire to smoke and get some sleep.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
Summon a single Sapient roadie 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 one minion active at a time.
You may only use this Effect once per day.
Who wouldn't want one of the mad scientist's famous implants? All it takes is a little time and a few terrifying experiments, and you too could be a better you!
Warning: not fully tested on humans. Risk of dry mouth, upset stomach, or lost limbs. Do not consult your doctor before signing the liability release.
Exert your Mind and spend eight hours. Select a Living or Animate target within arm's reach. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you cause a major Battle Scar instead of an augmentation. Your target must make a Trauma roll to reap the benefits of this Effect. They may choose to Resist the Effect and not make the roll. 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:
The augmentations you provide are not outwardly visible nor obvious.
The Thief casts a container's worth of fine powder into the air. The particulates are drawn to any sort of object that is designed to detect people, including tripwires, security cameras, detection lasers, heat sensors, etc. The powder will not trigger these devices or interfere with their operation, but it does reveal their presence to the Thief.
The cloud drifts and swirls, subtly following the Thief for a minute.
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.
Through years of practice, the mobster is able to shatter someone's kneecap without much effort.
Spend an Action. Select a Living or Animate target within arm's reach. You must actively and obviously use a melee weapon to activate this Effect. Roll Brawn + Melee at Difficulty 6. The target may roll Body, -2 dice at Difficulty 7, as a Free Action to resist.
If you succeed, the target receives a new Battle Scar of your choosing, limited by the contested Outcome:
All alterations you make must damage the target's knees.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.