You see a small spiderlike drone about the size of a large dinner plate. It has eight legs and it can scurry along the ground or up a wall quite fast. Though obviously a techno-drone Tom has made some effort to both make them look more realistic and to camouflage them from prying eyes. As a result they look a bit like large tarantulas, with brown fur and four pairs of alert, shining black eyes. They blend in shockingly well to most forest or urban environments and are difficult to spot even when moving and are almost undetectable when sitting still.
Though virtually silent when moving slowly at higher speeds they make a quiet hum as they leap from one rock to the next, intent of their mission.
Tom the Tinkerer is a electronics and robotics genius and nowhere is that more evident than when you see his latest set of robotic helpers, a set of three robotic spider-bots he can carry in a backpack and deploy where they are needed. The spider-bots have artificial intelligence and in "autonomous mode" can obey simple spoken commands somewhat like a well-trained dog. They can also be controlled in "direct mode" through a small X-box-like controller Tom carries with him (though he can only control one drone at a time this way). The controller sports both a video screen and headphones, so Tom can both see and hear what the drone see and hears. The drones are armed with hypodermic-like fangs that can inject a variety of substances, including poison, sleep or paralysis drugs. These fangs can be either retained or launched as darts; each spider bot has eight reloads of its "fangs".
Each spider contains 100 feet of strong paracord-like webbing that can be anchored and used much like a spider uses its webs, though the paracord itself is not sticky. It can, however, be used to trip or entangle the unwary or act as a grappling hook if Tom needs to get down or over some obstacle.
When activated the spiders consume rechargeable batteries. How long the batteries last depends on how much movement the spider is doing; an hour or two in direct combat, or up to forty-eight hours in non-moving "sentry mode".
Tom is always tinkering with the bots, adding or removing features in his search for perfection.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must use up Batteries in order to activate this Effect.
Summon up to 3 Sapient Spider bots 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 3 minions active at a time.
Using whatever materials are on hand, and I mean *whatever* materials, the artificer constructs a 2’ droid with beady ‘eyes’ and cog-shaped tracks for wheels. The COGGY. This little friend comes packed with cannons, surprisingly sturdy considering that they’re quite literally made of trash.
Exert your Mind and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: building the robots. You must actively and obviously use a wrench to activate this Effect. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.
Summon up to 3 Non-Sapient, Animate artillery robots 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 3 minions active at a time.
The Necromancer stands over a corpse and makes a series of grandiose lifting gestures. The corpse rises from the ground as though suspended by invisible strings, barks a pained groan, and lands on its feet, now a full-fledged member of the living dead.
Take a Severity-1 Injury and spend an Action. You must use up a corpse in order to activate this Effect.
Summon a single zombie at your location. They will last until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 1 minion active at a time.
Haerin stabs himself, the sword going into him and hitting something deep within his depths as if unlocking a door, and to that... He appears, from within the darkness. His hair, pale as the tundra, his eyes a deep black, and a venomous smile... Clad in simple cloth, with a simple blade along his side. A part of Haerin, freshly freed from the abyss, from his abyss, that moment, Baam, The Chaos Knight, appears.
Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend an Action. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you Your body rejects the soul division (Sev 4).
Summon the one and only Sapient Baam, The Chaos Knight at your location. They last until they are destroyed They are controlled by you. You may have at most one minion active at a time.
If killed, you cannot re-summon your minion until after your next Contract.
If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.
Grace calls Horatio, Obedience's pet in life and death, out of the ether. He ppears as a ghostly form covered in soot, which trails behind him in wisps as he pads out from somewhere nearby- under a chair, out of a trashcan or closet, from behind her head and onto her shoulders.... Horatio was loyal to the end, and will "die" over and over again fighting ferociouslu for his girls, and fighting. Even when they were both alive, it was their ability to communicate across barriers that got Obedience killed. Now that they've crossed the ultimate barrier together, they can truly and clearly understand each other.
Horatio usually resides in Grace’s mindscape, along with the rest of the menagerie, unless Grace is in a place private enough that he can come out and play.
While Obedience's life force was tied to the tree, bitter as the bark and as slow to progress, Horatio was hidden from her; she was too unfamiliar and for awhile, taken to fits of rage. Horatio wasn't willing to put up with it directly, after a time. But he never went far, watching over her out of even her sight... the most loyal of cats, our beloved Horatio.
Exert your Mind and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: Grace walks around waving her ball of yarn calling out for Horatio and inspecting places he could come out from.. You must actively and obviously use A ball of yarn to activate this Effect. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.
Summon a single Horatio at your location. They will last until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 1 minion active at a time.
You draw forth a circle of magical energy, conjuring up a small grey creature to serve your beck and call. While mischievous, they're loyal to their master's orders, able to deal with most tasks easily enough.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
Summon up to 3 Sapient Small Little Imp at your location. They last until they are destroyed They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. This Artifact may have at most 3 minions active at a time.
The mobster knows a guy they can call for a hired goon, who arrives about a minute later. The goons are dumb as bricks, but tough nonetheless, perfect for sending a message when you need to keep your hands clean.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use cell phone to activate this Effect.
Summon a single Sapient goon 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.
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.
The Vampire is able to turn one of their victims into a lesser vampire, a pale shadow of a full creature of the night but useful nonetheless. Having drained and killed their target, the Vampire performs a brief ritualistic bloodletting, wherein they spill their own blood into the target's mouth, forcing them to drink, and bonding them together as child and sire.
Shortly afterwards, the fledgling vampire will rise from death, hungry for blood and eager to serve.
Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend one minute. Select a Dead target within arm's reach that has died within the last hour. This Effect cannot be used unless you drained the target's blood while they were still alive.
Your target rises as an Animate being. The raised creature is totally mindless, with no memory of its past life or hint of its old personality. They cannot communicate. They will follow any command you speak.
The creature lasts until it dies again. It is revived at full health. Any Injuries it had in life are not accounted for when determining its penalties or progression towards re-death, though they may affect its ability to perform certain actions at GM's discretion. The raised creature must consume flesh every day or it will die again.
Raised creatures have their Abilities set to the same that they were in life. Their Charisma and Intellect are set to 1, but their Dexterity, Brawn and Perception are the same as they had in life. A raised creature cannot use any Effects.
Your revived targets deal 2 Weapon Damage with their unarmed attacks.
If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.