Viewing Effect - Sense Beings
Detect nearby beings of a certain type
Description
You are able to tell when a specific type of being is nearby, for a short period of time. You get a sense of what direction the entities are in, but not their precise locations or the exact number of them. This sense lasts for a minute.
System
Spend an Action and Exert your Mind to activate this Power for one minute. While this Power is active, all [[detected-beings]] within [[range]] are detected, including those who enter its range after activation and those behind walls. You get a rough sense of how many, but not exact number.
Eratta
Choose a type of being when you take this Power. Potential types of beings include: monsters, the undead, humans, vampires, shapeshifters, beings of a particular sex, people who have killed someone, etc.
Enhancements
- GPS (Provides you with both distance and direction toward the detected beings. This information is accurate enough to use for aiming at a +1 Difficulty.)
- Increased Racial Sensitivity (You may now sense another type of being.)
- Must fit with your original Power flavor-wise, otherwise you will need to make a new, separate Power.
- Divination (Points you in the direction of the closest target and gives you a rough sense of its distance from you, even if it is outside your range.)
- Conditionally Costless (This Power does not require Exertion in certain circumstances. The condition should be balanced such that the Power has an activation cost the majority of the time you are able to use it.)
- If you take this enhancement, you must occasionally be able to use the power at full cost and other times at no cost. This cannot be the same condition as the drawback "Conditional" as that would imply that the power is costless any time you can cast it.
- Battery-operated (This power has its own 3-point Source pool that is the only way to activate it. The Source regenerates at the rate of one point per day and cannot be raised with Experience.)
- Powers can share a battery pool by taking this Enhancement on each Power and specifying the same Source. Each additional Power after the first increases the capacity of the Source by 2, to a maximum of 10. This Enhancement cannot be used to enhance the owning character's source.
- Triggered (You cannot manually activate this Power. Instead, choose a triggering event, always outside your control, that activates this Power without requiring an Action or Exertion cost from you.)
- Cannot be taken with the "Conditional" Drawback. The triggering event must be outside of your control, and balance must be strictly enforced by Cell Leaders. Suitable events may include: suffering an Injury Severity two or higher, being grappled, falling unconscious, being tied up and bound, being angrily screamed at, etc.
- Got Eyes On Em (Any beings detected by the initial activation of this Power are "marked." Until the Power ends, you get live info about them even if they leave your range. After the Power ends, you receive live info about them until they leave your range.)
- Suspect List (Any being you detect is also identified, be it through a common name, a glimpse of their face, an aura, etc. The identifier cannot reveal hidden info and should just be enough to identify them.)
- Only gives very basic information which you could obtain from looking them over. Is not a substitute for Investigate Individual. When combined with the GPS enhancement, attaches a location to each specific being.
- Catch a Whiff (Even if this Power is not active, if any of the specified type of target enters range, you may roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 7. If you succeed, you become aware that one is somewhere nearby.)
- Concealed (This Power is not obvious. Bystanders must roll Perception + Alertness, Difficulty 7 to determine the Power's Source and Target. You must still exhibit some tell that you are using it such as a small gesture, an intense stare, or a bloody nose.)
- As per the standard rules, a complete success (Outcome of at least 4) is required to determine the source and target flawlessly. Lower outcomes may result in partial successes.
Drawbacks
- Focus (Activating this Power requires a specific kind of item.)
- Subject to GM approval.
- Once per Day (May only use this Power once per day.)
- Conditional (Only usable when a certain condition is met. This condition must be severe enough that the Power is unusable the majority of the time.)
- Condition must be significant. Subject to GM approval.
- Unique Focus (This Power takes the form of a specific, unique item, which can be borrowed, lost, or stolen.)
- Traumatic (Make a Trauma roll when you use this power)
- Scarring (You receive a Battle Scar when you activate this Power. If this Power is benign (e.g. healing), the target receives the scar.)
- Resistable (The target gets an attempt to resist this Power.)
- Long Cast (This Power takes one minute to activate.)
- One-Track Mind (Can only get a sense of the closest target within range, regardless of the total number of targets within range.)
- Double-Edged Sword (You are affected by this Power to the same extent as your target.)
- Cannot be taken on Powers that provide buffs of any kind.
- Exhausting (All Actions are -1 die after this Power ends. Lasts for either 24 hours, or the duration of this Power, whichever is greater.)
- Exhaustion penalties stack. If you activate this Power or another Power with Exhaustion, your penalty will continue to worsen.
- Sacrifice (Activating requires you to Exert your Body instead of Exerting your Mind or spending a point of Source.)
- You cannot use Armor to soak this damage.
- Fuel (Using this Power consumes some material good in addition to its other costs.)
- The unit of material consumed per activation must be specified at power creation time. For example, "A quart of gasoline," or "a head's worth of human hair" etc. The amount should be proportionate to the difficulty to access the material. For instance, something you can get in town (gasoline, ink) should require a half gallon per activation, something abundant like water should require at least a gallon, something rare like mercury should require a cup or so.
- Monstrous (This Power causes a mutation that elicits a strong, negative social response from the average person in your Cell's setting. The mutation is ALWAYS present and visible even if you are wearing long sleeves, pants, and shoes. Maximum one per Contractor)
- This mutation is ALWAYS present, even when the Power is not being used, and ALWAYS extreme and difficult to conceal. This mutation may complicate social situations at the GMs discretion. Maximum of one Power with the Monstrous Drawback per Contractor.
Parameter - Range
Default Level: 0
Seasoned Threshold: 2
Veteran Threshold: 4
- 50 feet
- 300 feet
- one mile
- ten miles
- one hundred miles
- one thousand miles
Example Powers
"Reaper" Assault Helmet - 1 Gift Sense Beings Power
The "Reaper" Assault Helmet is the signature piece of the Future Soldier's arsenal. It has a sleek, design and is made of a mysterious matte-metallic alloy. The wearer's face is exposed normally, but when a battle begins, a blue holographic visor flickers to life in front of the eyes. This HUD contains information about the soldier's ammunition and shield status, but more significantly can detect enemy combatants. Anyone nearby who is holding a weapon is painted with a red dot that follows them in real time. This allows the Future Soldier to fire at painted targets in the dark, detect ambushes lurking around corners, and grants an overall tactical advantage.
The visor activates automatically at the start of combat. The HUD lasts 1 minute, during which time all creatures that are holding a weapon within 50 feet are detected and painted with a red dot. The visor tracks their movement and location, and that of any new targets, as long as they remain in 50 feet.
This is a unique item that can be lost or stolen.
- GPS: Provides you with both distance and direction toward the detected beings. This information is accurate enough to use for aiming at a +1 Difficulty.
-
Triggered: You cannot manually activate this Power. Instead, choose a triggering event, always outside your control, that activates this Power without requiring an Action or Exertion cost from you.
- Triggering Event: The beginning of combat
-
Unique Focus: This Power takes the form of a specific, unique item, which can be borrowed, lost, or stolen.
- Focus: Reaper helmet
- Focus: Activating this Power requires a specific kind of item.
The "beginning of combat" trigger is borderline overpowered and should not be used for any Powers that are too offensive or defensive. Cell Leaders should be cautious when approving Powers that use it, especially if such a Power already exists inside the cell. Note that I gave the Power an ammo display in its Description. This is acceptable because that effect is not powerful enough to warrant an Enhancement, and it enhances the flavor of the Power quite a bit.