Attention to detail “Gathering Evidence is how a lawyer works”

1
You possess supernaturally heightened senses.
Used by Harold Polk, Created by jwesley123.
(This Effect may or may not be obviously Alien.)

Harold’s Enhanced Perception interprets every scent and sight as though it were a silent “speech act” embedded in the world around him. Just as Speech Act Theory suggests that language conveys intent and action, Harold’s senses allow him to detect unspoken messages within scents and traces left by touch, movement, or presence. Each scent or invisible detail, like a fingerprint, becomes a form of communication—a kind of sensory language revealing clues about who or what was present, and what actions took place.

Through his heightened sense of smell, Harold treats scents as unique “signatures” left by individuals or objects, each telling its own story. To him, a scent is a lingering “utterance” of someone’s presence, as if their movements and actions left traces in the air. By differentiating between scents with precision, he can read this invisible narrative and connect it to people, places, and events he’s encountered before.

Harold’s vision allows him to see normally invisible details—fingerprints, bacteria, residual marks—as the “evidence” of actions, each trace a physical “speech act” left behind. Just as words convey hidden intentions, these traces serve as residual expressions of past interactions. When Harold views these otherwise invisible elements, it’s as if he’s reading silent statements from the world itself, each detail contributing to a deeper understanding of what has transpired.

In this way, Harold’s Enhanced Perception transforms sensory information into a conversation with his surroundings, where every trace, scent, and hidden detail is a part of a larger dialogue that only he can perceive. His mastery of Speech Act Theory enables him to interpret these sensory “statements” and unravel the story beneath the surface, making him an expert at uncovering truths in silence.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Smell: Your nose is highly sensitive and can differentiate between scents the way a dog can, as well as recognize things you have smelled before.
  • Sight: You can see things that are normally invisible to the naked eye, such as fingerprints and bacteria.

Any heightened senses require you to maintain Concentration to use, and do not apply to any passive Perception checks.

  • Your microscopic vision requires a close look at a very small, specific area to use. It does not grant increased distance vision, it simply provides a higher resolution, allowing you to see finer and finer detail.
Revision purchased with:
Improvement from running The Night The Storm hit spent on improving power: Attention to detail    (since refunded)
Revision purchased with:
Gift from playing in Crimes of Passion spent on new power: Attention to detail
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Community Heightened Senses Gifts

Exert your Mind and spend an Action.

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

  • Smell: Your nose is highly sensitive and can differentiate between scents the way a dog can, as well as recognize things you have smelled before.
  • Hearing: You automatically know the origin location of any sound you hear, and you can tell which Action caused the sound.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Touch: You can identify any material with a touch and immediately find what you are looking for when rummaging, assuming it is actually present. You may withdraw items from your bags with a Quick Action instead of an Action.
  • Taste: You can recognize any flavor you have previously tasted, and you may determine the composition of something based on its taste. You can immediately detect any poison or dangerous food or drink you taste and spit it out to avoid being dosed.

Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Blindness.

  • “Rummaging" means digging through trash, finding a needle in a haystack, etc.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Sight: You can see perfectly in dark and even pitch-black environments. You suffer no dice penalty due to darkness.
  • Touch: You can identify any material with a touch and immediately find what you are looking for when rummaging, assuming it is actually present. You may withdraw items from your bags with a Quick Action instead of an Action.

Any heightened senses require you to maintain Concentration to use, and do not apply to any passive Perception checks.

Anyone who touches this Artifact will notice it warping their body and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Battle Scar: Crackling Veins - Electricity surges through your arms to enhance the senses, producing a blue glow and the crackle of static under the skin. You take a -2 dice penalty to all Stealth rolls, and direct skin contact with metal surfaces produces an electric spark. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Battle Scar heals over the course of the next day.

  • “Rummaging" means digging through trash, finding a needle in a haystack, etc.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Smell: Your nose is highly sensitive and can differentiate between scents the way a dog can, as well as recognize things you have smelled before.
  • Hearing: You are capable of perceiving physical shapes via sound. You must produce a infrasonic growl to “ping” with your echolocation each Round you wish to use it.
  • Hearing: You may hear sounds of sub- and hyper-sonic frequencies, allowing you to hear tiny things (mice, insects, etc) better, and pick up on the vibrations of massive things (earthquakes, atmospheric disruptions, etc) long before others.
  • Hearing: You automatically know the origin location of any sound you hear, and you can tell which Action caused the sound.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Smell: Your nose is highly sensitive and can differentiate between scents the way a dog can, as well as recognize things you have smelled before.
  • Hearing: You receive +3 dice on any attempt to detect a creature or locate the source of a sound.

Stock Heightened Senses Gifts

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Sight: You can see things that are normally invisible to the naked eye, such as fingerprints and bacteria.

  • Your microscopic vision requires a close look at a very small, specific area to use. It does not grant increased distance vision, it simply provides a higher resolution, allowing you to see finer and finer detail.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action.

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

  • Thermal: You are able to "see" heat signatures within your line of sight.
  • Hearing: You automatically know the origin location of any sound you hear, and you can tell which Action caused the sound.

  • Your thermal vision allows you to judge temperatures of surfaces fairly accurately as long as they are within livable temperatures.

You gain the following benefits at all times.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way.

  • Smell: Your nose is highly sensitive and can differentiate between scents the way a dog can, as well as recognize things you have smelled before.