Forensic Intuition

2
Requires Seasoned
The power to detect all nearby Evidence Of Crimes.
Used by Harold Polk, Created by jwesley123.
(This Effect is not obviously Alien when used.)

Harold Polk’s Forensic Intuition is a unique extension of his mastery of Speech Act Theory, enabling him to interpret traces of past actions as though they were lingering “speech acts” left behind. By focusing his mind, Harold attunes himself to the silent “statements” made by evidence of crimes, interpreting each item as a residual expression of intent and action. To him, every piece of evidence is a fragment of an unspoken story, a series of “acts” that reveal themselves under his scrutiny.

For an hour after activating this ability, Harold senses the presence, distance, and direction of all evidence of crimes within 50 feet, as if these traces are calling to him, revealing their locations and the intent behind their concealment. His understanding of Speech Act Theory allows him to “read” the manner in which each piece of evidence was hidden or secured, making him instinctively aware of the techniques used to disguise it and the steps required to access it. Harold’s mind treats these traces as hidden messages, piecing together actions and motives to uncover truths buried in silence. Through this heightened awareness, Harold becomes a linguistic detective, reading evidence as if it were the remnants of a conversation between crime and concealment.


Exert your Mind and spend one minute.

You automatically detect all Evidence Of Crimes within 50 feet of you for the next hour. You have a clear sense of both the distance and direction towards any detected items. You do not learn any details about the detected items.

If no Evidence Of Crimes targets are within 50 feet of you, and then one enters range, you automatically detect it, even if this Effect is not active.

The means by which any Evidence Of Crimes are hidden or disguised is made clear to you, as well as how to access them if they are secured. This includes objects secured via the Stash Effect.

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

Community Power Gifts

You gain the following benefits at all times.

You have 4 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.

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.

  • Armor recharging happens automatically and does not require an Action.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Hearing: You are capable of perceiving physical shapes via sound. You must produce a geiger counter-esque 'click' at the back of your throat to “ping” with your echolocation each Round you wish to use it.
  • Electroreception: You may detect electromagnetic fields, electric currents, and even neurological activity in a 50 foot radius from yourself at all times. When detecting neurological activity, you learn nothing but the creature's rough size.

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Vestigial Eyes - Your eyes appear clouded and milky, grown over with a thin film of skin. You make social rolls at +1 difficulty while they are uncovered.

  • When you are within 50 feet of range, your electroreception sense is sufficient for aiming.

after a night filled with nightmares and horrible visions, David had gained access to knowledge that allowed him to forge, bend , and mold his body into a more advanced form. upon completion of his first session he found he was far stronger than he was before

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:

  • Tough: You gain Armor equal to half your Brawn rating. This Armor cannot be penetrated or shredded and protects against falling Damage.

  • Armor from multiple sources does not stack. Instead, the highest is used.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

Spend an Action. Select a target within 50 feet. Roll Brawn + Occult Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling to Dodge or Defend as a Reaction, Difficulty 6.

If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 4.

This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of Effect. There must be no substantial obstructions between you and your target.

When he first started flipping identities, the disguises we're subtle. Glasses, perhaps peroxide bleached hair.
After lots of time, anxiety, and an experimental spirit, he's learned quite a few tricks in prosthetics, makeup, and most importantly, method acting.

Spend a minute. You must actively and obviously use Disguise Kit, or at the very least, makeup. to activate this Effect. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. If you fail or Botch, you receive one Mind Damage and a new Trauma.

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. You may add inhuman features to your disguise. 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 Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.

Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Split Personality Disorder- He does not recall being disguised while disguised- he believes he IS the disguised person, likely becoming making a mind roll if shown evidence..

  • 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.
  • While you can add inhuman features, they are aesthetic only. Think star trek alien, monstergirl, demon, etc. Does not grant things such as a prehensile tail, an extra damaging brawl attack, improved senses, etc.
  • ‘Appearance’ includes voice, bone structure, skin quality, hair length and color, eye color, muscle tone, flesh texture, and generally anything perceivable about your body.

Stock Power Gifts

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.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

If you would take an Injury that would kill you, you don’t die. Instead, you survive in an Incapacitated state. This state lasts for the next hour, at which point you fully return to life. Unstabilized Injuries do not degrade while you are Incapacitated

If, while you are unconscious, your wound level rises above your rating in Body + Charisma, or if you take an Injury with Severity greater than your rating in Charisma, you die. After you return, the Injury that would have killed you, as well as any Injuries sustained while Incapacitated, are healed. Battle scars obtained during this time remain.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your Charisma rating is increased by 1. You may Exert your Mind to automatically gain an Outcome of 5 on any roll that uses Charisma (Cannot be used on combat rolls or Power activations).

You also gain the following effects:

  • Party Animal: You are welcome at, and will be granted entrance to, any social gathering or party, at least as an observer.
  • The Price Of Fame: Any sightings or recordings of your activity can easily be traced back to you. Even when disguised or using an alias, people always get a Perception check to recognize you.

  • A "social gathering" might include a birthday party, after-work drinks, a ski trip, or yoga in the park, among other things. It likely would not include a cult gathering to summon a demon, Congressional negotiations over a contentious bill, etc.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

This Effect activates whenever you receive a Severity 2 or higher Injury from an attack. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a Living target within 45 feet. Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. Affected targets can resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, for the next minute, your target will do things they otherwise wouldn’t have done, inspired by remorse for hurting such a pure soul. They will not necessarily display their emotions in an obvious way.

Actions they take will be in keeping with their character and the way they tend to deal with strong emotions. They will be unlikely to change their mind about any actions taken or decisions made until after the Effect ends.

  • When triggered, the Effect activation resolves immediately after the triggering Action. It is not Reaction speed.
  • Common emotions and the actions they inspire
    • Anger (shouting, cruelty, denying requests, attacking)
    • Pity (stopping an attack, executing an injured target)
    • Happiness (generosity, dancing, joking, socializing)
    • Sadness (finding solitude, openly crying, demotivation)
    • Fear (running, attacking)
  • If you succeed, the target MUST take at least one Action they otherwise would not have. Hey, GM who is reading this, I'm talking to you. You have to enforce this. Remember: Gifts must feel powerful.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Roll Dexterity + Brawl Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling Body, Difficulty 6.

If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 2. The target's Armor is completely ignored.

When you activate this Effect, instead of occurring immediately, you may choose to delay its effects until the target takes a particular Action. For example: "when they fire a gun" or "when they swim in deep water."

Instead of dealing Damage all at once, the Injury caused by this Power starts at Severity 1 and worsens at the rate of one level per Round until it reaches the Severity it would have otherwise been.

  • A given target can have a maximum of one Suspended Effect on them at a time. The selected triggering Action cannot be used to reveal information about the target (e.g. no "activate when they are a vampire"). It must be an Action they take, not a thought or something that happens to them.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of Effect. There must be no substantial obstructions between you and your target.