Oz brings the cigarette to his lips and taps the ash off its end with a casual flick, as if entirely unaware of the grotesque transformation about to unfold. A single flake of ash drifts downwardโslow, serene, unaffected by gravity's urgency or the surrounding chaos. It hovers and twists lazily in the air, utterly unbothered by the screams, blood, or tension nearby.
Then, where that speck of ash touches the earth, flesh begins to growโslow and deliberate at first, like muscle stretching beneath skin. Facesโflattened, stretched, and locked in silent torment begin to rise, pressed like frescoes against the ever-thickening mass. The wall expands outward in a straight line, up to 40 feet long and 10 feet high, forming a solid slab of compacted skin, muscle, bone, and cursed soul-matter. Itโs flat enough to walk across... for the most part -- though the sensation underfoot is sickening.
Observers feel the air grow heavier, the world slightly wrongโlike Hell has blinked into their reality for just a moment. And all the while, that first ashflake drifts to rest... as though it had nothing to do with any of this.
Oz didnโt learn this from a wizardโs tome or a back-alley occultist. He learned it from a creature that most wouldโve overlookedโa frail, withered thing, ancient beyond comprehension but hollowed out by time. It wasnโt terrifying when Oz found it. It was hiding. Hunted by a third-rate monster hunter with more bravado than brains.
The thing could barely stand. Its claws were chipped, its eyes sunken and dull. But when Oz saw the hunter raise their weapon, something in him rebelled. Maybe it was pity. Maybe curiosity. Maybe a whisper of something older.
In gratitude, the creature offered him a secretโa technique older than most names, passed down not to preserve power, but to be rid of it. A method born in the Fifth Circle of Hell, back when Wrath still had shape and weight.
The technique hinges on equivalence: a tiny, forgotten thingโa piece of ashโcan be traded, momentarily, for something vast and wrathful and real. The ash is a symbol. Burned, spent, weightless. Exactly the opposite of what it summons. Thatโs the balance. Thatโs the key.
The wall doesn't scream, but it wants to.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within 50 feet. You must actively and obviously use Cigarrettes to activate this Effect.
Select one of the following alterations to create out of Human flesh, skin and faces, dense as a wall of concrete. originating at the target:
The alteration begins to form when you activate this Effect and finishes forming on your initiative in the next Round. Until it finishes forming, it is not guaranteed to function.
This alteration lasts three hours but may be prematurely destroyed or altered. Your alterations may be broken through with appropriate tools. Anyone attempting to break through must roll Brawn + a relevant Ability. A cumulative Outcome of 6 across all attempts breaks a hole large enough to move through. See the extended system text for GM guidance on various tools.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see a literal wall of corpses and suffering souls..
Sosna has a quite visibly inhuman appearance, particularly their eyes, ears and hands/feet. The part in which this can be seen to be especially practically useful is what is essentially claws on their hands and feet.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You are permanently and visibly transformed: woodland spirit. You are considered to be a Sapient, Living being when targeted..
You may make a +2 Weapon Damage claw attack without additional equipment.
The paper from Bryan's form wraps around himself and whoever he's touching before folding in on itself, before unfolding from nothingness at the target location. However, the sudden overload of information from this instantaneous transportation has a chance of damaging Bryan's mind.
Exert your Mind and spend 2 Actions. Select a Location within your line of sight. This Effect cannot be used unless you are in your Amorphous Transformation. You must actively and obviously use folding paper 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 are transported directly to the chosen Location. Anyone who is touching you as you Travel will be brought along with you. You must wait an hour before activating this effect again.
If you traverse any a library, paper factory, or other place with a significant amount of paper for one minute, you may activate this Effect and travel to the edge of any other a library, paper factory, or other place with a significant amount of paper that youโre aware of, regardless of range.
Len reaches for something and grabs it out of a black mist that forms around her hand.
Len has been seeped in blood, death and war. She has seen slaughter. She has shifted as a result, become more in tune with Hades, the God of death. Len has gain the ability to store things in a private place in the land of the death, summoning up the mists of the river Styx, and reaching to them to a place only she knows.
Spend a Quick Action.
You may withdraw an item from your stash, or add an item that is within armโs reach to your stash. You may only stash targets which are in your possession, grappled, or otherwise controlled by you.
You may store Objects in your stash, each no larger than something which could fit inside a ziploc snack bag (1 liter), and you may store up to 3 things at a time.
You may choose to equip any equipment you withdraw at no additional cost.
The Dive is capable of well... diving; he can dive into soft ground / semi-solid surfaces just as if he were diving into water. He is also, of course, able to just... swim like a fish.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You may move easily and without a roll in any of the following situations.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: The Sea King (Delusions of Grandeur pretty much).
God's divine blessing
You gain the following benefits at all times.
You have 4 Armor, which reduces incoming damage from all sources of physical attack except holy weapons. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. This Armor cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.
You may transfer your Armor to another target within 30 feet once per Round as a Free Action. You may transfer it back to yourself at any range.
You may spend an Action or Reaction and Exert your Mind to double your Armor rating for one Round.
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.
The Blademaster is so attuned to blades that they may manipulate any bladed object at a range simply by willing it. Observers see translucent spider-silk connecting the Blademaster's fingers to the blade, allowing them to puppet it.
You gain the following benefits as long as the target object has a cutting edge.
As long as you maintain Concentration, you can take Actions and interact with things that are within 75 feet without needing to physically touch them or be near them. Any rolls made for Actions taken in this way use a Mental Strength of 2 in place of your Brawn rating, a Mental Agility of 2 in place of your Dexterity, and otherwise use your own Attributes and Abilities.
Telekinetic actions have the following restrictions and behaviors:
This witch is a cruel and vengeful creature who works her vile arts against those she deems worthy of punishment. All she must do is point. A flash of green lightning strikes her victim and disappears. Immediately, or upon the completion of some condition, if the witch chooses, the victim's body warps and shifts into a gross mockery of its former self. Whether she's giving someone the head of a donkey or stealing their voice, the witch's enemies always get what is coming to them.
The sheer wickedness of this spell corrupts the witch, giving her a disgusting, witchy appearance.
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and Spend an Action. Select a Living target within 45 feet. Roll Intellect + Occult 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:
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."
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Witchy Appearance. You have a long, warty nose and chin, wrinkled skin, and a hunch back. Social rolls are at +2 Difficulty, and your free movement is reduced by 10 feet.
Your alteration "heals" over the course of the next month, after which it is fully cured.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Compulsion for payback. You must roll Self-Control to avoid using this Gift on anyone who wrongs you in a major way.
The ninja is a master of a wide variety of martial weapons. They kill quickly and quietly.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are engaged in combat with melee ninja weapons.
+2 dice to all rolls with melee ninja weapons. You may Defend against firearm attacks from any range using melee ninja weapons.
You also gain the following effects:
Most severe injuries occur far from a facility that could treat them, and in the fetid muck of the battlefield even minor wounds may be a death sentence. Luckily the soldier is well-trained in the use of their standard-issue medical kit. They may stabilize even the most severe injuries with a little gauze and some no-anesthetic stitching. Furthermore, the treated wounds of their comrades never get infected.
You gain the following benefits at all times. You must actively and obviously be using a standard issue military medical kit to gain the benefits of this Effect.
All Stabilizations you attempt are considered Proper Stabilizations.
You also gain the following effects:
Finally, the girls are fusing the way theyโve wanted to since they began Contracting, three and a half years ago. It took Graceโs left eye for them to try this, but the girls are now able to spend a week focusing their energy towards a Battle Scarred area and permanently replacing it with The Spiritโs ghostly flesh. The replaced chunks, eyes, arms, whatever may come, appear just as The Spiritโs: bluish and semi-transparent, but now function just as the respective physical flesh would.
You gain the following benefits at all times.
Any Injury you receive heals quickly, reducing its Severity by one level every 6 hours. Any Injuries you receive while this Effect is active do not deteriorate over time. However, any Battle Scars caused by such an Injury will remain unless it is Properly Stabilized as normal.
All Injuries you receive are considered Properly Stabilized. You may also choose to heal any Battle Scar on yourself that may not have been caused by an Injury. Doing so takes one day, and the Battle Scar affects you fully until that time.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: any scars that heal this way leave the flesh in that area bluish and semi-transparent, causing you to be viewed as a freak by most people who see you.