When pressed against themselves, the wielder feels a wave of despair and loss overtake them rather than actually piercing their flesh. Dragging the blade across their body fully invokes the transformation, twisting and changing their body into an agent of their own suffering.
The Arch-Vampire has an innate feeling of 'wrongness' to look at. Porcelain skin with veins of blackened blood, and an ambient aura of black-fire malice.
Broken Thorn is a manifestation of the one who brought it into being, the vampire Lorelei. The blade was formed after Lorelei was forced to experience warmth and acceptance again and again, even as her monstrous self. A home-cooked meal mixed with human blood without judgement, a vision of Melody's old friends around her on the hospital bed after having saved her, the loyal attentions of a feline servant, and seeing the carefree joy of a little girl so much like her.
The vampire tore the dreams she had in life from her heart, corrupted as they were from loneliness and suffering, and fused them with the power she received from the Contract.
No one would hurt her again. Never again.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. This Effect cannot be used unless you have drunk blood from a sapient being in the last hour.
You transform into an Arch-Vampire for 30 minutes. You have access to all of your Powers while you are an Arch-Vampire, 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. You do not suffer any Stress while transformed.
While transformed, instead of your normal clothes and equipment, you are equipped with: A red cloak, red gloves, dark metal armor plates (3 armor obvious), heeled black boots, the Broken Thorn, and, if held when activating this effect, the Tenebrae Magnus Gladius. The inner cloak is filled with knives in sheathes numbering 30 in total. (+2 armor for sheer volume of metal)
You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation or for its duration will almost certainly be disturbed to see you draw your blade across your neck, splattering blackened blood across the floor, and transform with a swirl of black malice and a horrible noise into an even more monstrous form.
Anyone who touches this Artifact will notice it warping their mind and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Trauma: Broken Dreams - (Nightmares). If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.
You start typing on your phone. Upon closer inspection it's just a brick of uranium glass with a sticker on it. Besides hearing a weird voice, the target sees the message in the corner of their vision. It's suspiciously like Twitch's Text-to-Speech. May or may not be rereadable.
On Delphyrion's career:
As much as Delphyrion makes a joke out of it, he still relies on making chemistry videos to make a living. Contracts aren't enough to maintain a good budget for his experiments so he has to dabble in all sorts of different platforms and content. Livestreams, short-form videos, and podcasts are all on the table here, it's just that he doesn't want to be recognized for anything but his actual alchemy. Few friends know what his channels are.
On Twitch Chat:
Some find it endlessly entertaining to watch an hour-long video of a chair sitting in a hot tub. Delphyrion knows of a bell pepper guy in Los Angeles who has done pretty well for himself by doing that, much to the streamer's chagrin. In Delphyrion's case, Chat has been asking him to blow things up for the longest time. It's an enticing idea but he's still trying to figure out the legality of broadcasting the creation of chemical weapons in front of thousands of people online. With this ability, Delphyrion can finally become Chat too.
On brainrot:
After a long day of brain usage, Delphyrion sits down at his computer and doomscrolls. However, the sheer power of an entire Chat shutting down their brains at once can be devastating. They either become a hivemind or an apocalypse. They drive him insane all the time. Who knows if that's really the reason why Delphyrion's a mad scientist?
On uranium glass:
It was incredibly hard to obtain uranium, and he's probably ended up on another watchlist for this. To make the most of this, Delphyrion has made it into a piece of uranium glass shaped just like his phone, complete with some black dye in one part of it to simulate a screen. This is to confuse people whenever they try to steal Delphyrion's phone, because most would stay far away from radioactive materials of any sort. He himself is much safer than he was during the process of making it but he still feels a bit odd about putting it to his ear every time he mistakes it for his own phone. Maybe that's how this gift came about.
On the brand placement:
Delphyrion's mom has always been adamant that Dell products aren't good (their old home computer was very beaten up after a year or two of use, one of the hinges was about to pop open if not for the bull clip Delphyrion had forced onto it) but it's not like he's trying to endorse or renounce the brand. It was just very convenient. See, Dell, Delphyrion, Dell-phyrion, get it?
On the sticker:
One would assume that after so many years of using devices, Delphyrion could type with his eyes closed. He could, it'd just end up in a jumbled heap of random letters. He's trying to convince himself that this isn't like writing the name of each note onto individual piano keys. It's for the cosmetic. It's for the bit.
On TTS:
Text-to-speech sometimes acts as a hindrance to the stream-viewing experience, but some may argue that it's an integral part of it. Delphyrion doesn't have much opinion on it, he doesn't usually notice the text anyway so it's just a disembodied voice to him. This gift is also similar in that it's really hard to notice, much less read, the text in your peripheral vision because your peripheries don't have the cones to distinguish the shape of each letter. It's incredibly elusive because you can try to look at it but it'll just forever be a step too far to the right. This part is purely to annoy people, but if the target tries hard enough they might just be able to reread the message.
Spend an Action. Select a target any distance away from you. You must have a specific target in mind, but you require only an intuitive understanding of them, such as their name, face, or Location.
You open up a line of communication to your target, and may converse with them as long as one of you maintains Concentration
The conversation will only be perceived by the intended recipient. You must share a common language for your target to understand the message.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 1.
Ellis wields a mighty sword, Esperachius, forged from the very nail used to hang Jesus upon the cross. This is a blessed sword, and the Lord's will channels through it. It will never fully strike a creature not damned or tainted by a demonic presence; the wielder will find it simply too heavy to swing, and non-demonic entities will find the blade relatively dull to the touch. However, against those enemies the Lord has condemned to die, Ellis may sally forth with divine speed and smite them down with a ferocious blow.
This Artifact can be used as a Sword/Axe. It is roughly at least twice as large as a Sword/Axe and cannot be concealed on your person or disassembled for storage Unless it is being used against a demon or other damned or tainted creature, this Artifact behaves as its mundane counterpart.
Attack by rolling Brawn + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal 1 Weapon Damage +5 Bonus Damage. The target's Armor is reduced to 1/4, rounded up against this damage.
You also gain the following effects:
The user can form shadows into hardened forms that can be hurled at enemy's, the user can also decide to link to the thrown shadow being guided by it to a destination
This Artifact can be used as a throwing knife. It is roughly the same size as a throwing knife and just as difficult to conceal.
Attack by rolling Brawn + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Outcome + 3 Weapon Damage. The target's Armor is fully effective against this damage. Attacks
You also gain the following effects:
Emily collapses to her knees for a moment, and she locks her paws together. Her claws piece her own flesh, and she remembers, just for a short time, the night that she drank from the Red Grail.
The transformation starts from the blood that stains her claws, the fluid roiling for just a moment before it begins to run up her claws, paws, and her arms. The blood turns into thin, fluttering fabric that moves softly almost by itself. It covers her, wrapping her in many layers, obscuring her form. Her arms and legs and tail are lost in the fabric, her face shrouded in shadow. Digging though the fabric might not even find her at all... although the fabric caresses those who do.
And yet...
Everyone who looks at The Priestess knows she has an ever-present smile.
It is said that those who die at the hands (or paws) of one of the Hedonistic Priestesses always die with a smile on their face.
Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: kneeling, and digging your claws into your own flesh.. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.
You transform into a Red Grail Priestess for 3 hours. You have access to all of your Powers while you are a Red Grail Priestess, and you can use your equipment. The Injuries and Battle Scars of your Alternate Form and your true form are tracked separately.
While transformed, your Attributes are the same. Your Stress is reduced by 2.
While transformed, instead of your normal clothes and equipment, you are equipped with: Long, red flowing robes that are constantly in a sensuous motion. One of her hands, wrapped in cloth more blood-red than blood, holds a shield made of thin crystal. It sings a wonderful, keening sound when struck. She wears the Reaper's Skull over her muzzle. On a belt, hidden within the robes, are various injectors of recreational drugs.
You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.
If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.
It is in a form of a white feather and becomes engulfed in feathers when he turns it into a sniper rifle.
This Artifact can be used as a heavy sniper rifle. It is roughly the same size as a heavy sniper rifle and just as difficult to conceal.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Firearms, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +5 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
The Future Soldier's PSG is capable of briefly supercharging its effectiveness with a jolt of Omega Cell energy. While active, the future soldier glows with an extremely bright golden light.
While the shield is supercharged, the Future Soldier cannot move or see the outside world, but they are completely isolated from anything that occurs outside the shield.
Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action or Reaction.
You phase out of reality for up to 4 Rounds. During this time, you cannot perceive or affect the outside world or take any Actions. You cannot move. Nothing can interact with you in any way.
When you activate this Effect, you may limit its duration to a period of your choosing. If you are able, you may also end it as a Free Action on your initiative.
You leave a golden glow shaped like yourself at your location.
If the Selkie's seal skin is worn close to the body, any contact with salt water will cause them to transform into a seal. While transformed, they have full access to their normal suite of Powers.
This Effect activates whenever you are submerged in salt water. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event.
You transform into small 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.
"The Coffin" can only be used to store things commonly found in coffins, such as bodies, clothes, jewelry, photos, weapons, coins, and similar.
This Artifact holds 5 times what it normally could inside of it. Objects stored inside are weightless. Unless you are storing something commonly found in coffins, this Artifact behaves as its mundane counterpart. This Effect cannot be used unless you are storing something commonly found in coffins.
Living things can be stored in this Artifact. They will have access to anything else inside and may attempt to break free, damaging or destroying the Artifact in the process.
If this Artifact is destroyed, things inside may get out, and it will cease to function until it is repaired.
When scanned or investigated without opening, the contents of this container appear normal and unremarkable.
On a Downtime, you may change this Artifact from one type of container to another. Maximum once per Downtime.
If anyone other than you opens the container, it appears empty. Others can still destroy it to get at the contents.
The spy can do up their passport to take on the appearance of any valid form of identification they may need.
This Artifact can change its appearance. When not transformed, it is roughly the same size as a passport and just as difficult to conceal.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. This Artifact changes its appearance into an Object within the category of forms of identification. This lasts until you decide to end the Effect, which may be done as a Free Action.
The new object's appearance can mimic specific items (such as a particular painting, a certain person’s ID, etc), but must be of a similar size and weight to this Artifact.
The new appearance is illusory; it will hold up to scrutiny, but its composition is not altered and it gains no new functionality. Any attempt to use it for a function which it cannot perform (for instance, making bread look like a knife and then trying to stab someone) will cause the illusion to fail or allow a Perception check to see through the illusion, at the GM's discretion.
The Predatory Raiment has a cloak feature that allows its owner to hide themselves and their equipment with active camouflage. When viewed, they look like a slightly shifted and shimmering version of the surrounding environment.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are not at all wet and you are wearing this Artifact.
You and everything you are carrying is obscured in one of the following manners. You may Spend an Action to change the way in which you're concealed.
While this Effect is active, any Effect that would obscure you or your equipment specifically from other, additional senses fails automatically.
If someone discovers you, this Effect will not help you hide from them for the next minute. This Effect does not end early when you activate an obvious Effect, attack, or receive an Injury.