Book:Special Powers
Bedtime tales tell of the mysterious abilities held by legendary heroes and villains. The wizened old wizard who wields the power of sorcery. The humble martial artist who deals out justice through empowered fists. The spirit of rage in the berserk soldier who coldly cuts through lines of his enemies. A Special Power is a supernatural ability possessed of a character.
Purchasing
Special Powers have 5 ranks and each rank could be more costly than the previous. If a Special Power lists that its ranks cost 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 Expoints, you end up spending 15 to attain all 5 ranks.
Note that each rank may carry requirements, such as a minimum number of ranks in a skill or attribute.
It is strongly recommended that a character not be allowed to buy more than one rank at once. For instance, a starting character cannot have more than one rank in a Special Power, nor can a player stockpile Expoints to purchase more than one rank at once. Like all rules, this can be waived at your GM's discretion, but it seems to help balance starting characters.
Special Powers
Below is the list of special powers, their ranks, prerequisites, and what increasing levels of the Power provides a character.
Berserker
When an enemy attacks you and deals damage, you must make a Virtue check at a DL of 15 or fly into an adrenaline-induced violent frenzy. You may spend a Fate point to avoid the frenzy and the Virtue check, you may also voluntarily fail the check. You remain Berserk for a number of rounds equal to your (temporarily enhanced) Endurance score, or until all combatants are disabled, whichever comes first. You may spend a Fate point to exit the Berserk frenzy.
In your rage, you must engage in combat; you may not use an item unless it has a direct offensive capability, you will always seek to advance to melee range, and may not use ranged attacks while there are melee opponents to fight. You may under no circumstances back down, surrender, or flee. You take a −4 to any Skill checks that are not combat-oriented with the exception of those augmented by your frenzy (anything under Muscle, Endurance, or Courage).
You will attack combatants hostile to you first, followed by whomever is at hand. Once you engage an enemy, you must attack it exclusively until it is dead (unless the enemy puts itself out of your reach). If there are no combatants left besides allies, you may make a second Virtue check. Allies can attempt to placate you using either a Leadership or Negotiate check against a DL of 18.
Each time you end a Berserk frenzy, you move one place down the Knockout Track as the process has exhausted your body. As is normal for impaired condition, the penalties go away once the character has rested.
Many other Trumps and Faults put a great strain on the Berserker character — in particular, Peacemaker/Pacifist and Called. Such a character may have to go to great lengths to atone for his actions while gripped by rage.
The bonuses listed below can exceed your normal racial limits.
Incompatible with: Perspective
Ranks
1. Bloodlust
5 points
You gain a +2 bonus to your Muscle (and thus Damage rolls), Endurance (and thus Guard rolls), and Courage.
2. Bloodbath
5 points
Your bonuses while frenzied are: +4 to Muscle, Endurance, and Courage.
3. Carnage
5 points
Most think allies with Carnage are a liability. While going Berserk your bonuses are: +6 to Muscle, Endurance, and Courage. You are unable to speak in your Berserk state, except for guttural screams and growls.
4. Slaughter
5 points
+8 to Muscle, Endurance, and Courage.
5. Massacre
5 points
A Berserker who can Massacre is a whispered nightmare among soldiers; a ruthless killing machine that stands on a mountain of corpses. You gain +10 to Muscle, Endurance, and Courage. You can keep attacking even if reduced to 0 Health Points with the expenditure of a Fate point. Nothing short of the disintegration of your body or severing of all of your limbs can cease your rage (even without a head, your body will still wildly flail at the nearest target).
Familiar
When the magic a mage wields becomes more of a partner than a servant, a unique phenomenon occurs. The mage can beseech the realm of magic to grant her the friendship of an elemental that manifests in the guise of an animal. Some call it a familiar spirit or animal guide. Others call it a faithful steed. Regardless of the name she gives it, the mage gains the company of a creature that follows her along on her adventures.
A familiar is considered a legendary creature (see Nature in Chapter 4: Life and Death). As the mage gains ranks in this Special Power, the potential Size, Intellect, and abilities of the familiar all increase. The owner of a familiar need not be a wizened old wizard or fiery sorceress; an adept of the wilderness forms bonds with nature in mystical ways, also.
The mage must choose an elemental to bind to an animal. Mages must labor over the decision. An elemental will only be compatible with an animal similar to its qualities. For instance, an air elemental would prefer a bird to a snake, and a lightning elemental would prefer a cheetah to a turtle. A mage can only recruit an elemental from one of the elements in which she has skill ranks. A mage with an Aura of Decay cannot recruit a verdance elemental. A mage who has Regeneration cannot recruit a ruin elemental. A mage who is Called cannot summon a dark elemental. A mage who has Fallen cannot summon a light elemental.
Despite their supernatural origins, familiars are flesh and blood, and can die in battle or be captured by enemies. The mage has the ability to call another when a familiar dies. The mage can also dismiss an existing familiar and call a replacement when she gains a new rank in this Special Power.
So long as the familiar is within 10 feet per rank in the element, the mage gains +1 to all rolls involving that Elemental Skill. If the elemental is next to you, you can parry attacks aimed at it.
Requires: At least 1 rank in an Elemental Skill.
Ranks
1. Least Elemental
Expoint Cost: 2 points
You call for aid, and a small friend answers. You can choose any animal Size −2 and below to be your familiar. It gains +1 to Intellect, Courage, and MDEF. It can communicate with any animal of its kind, and it can also understand any language you can.
2. Lesser Elemental
Expoint Cost: 3 points
A faithful companion takes your side. You can choose any animal Size 0 and below to be your familiar. It gains an additional point in the listed stats, to a total of +2 to Intellect, Courage, and MDEF. It can also speak any language you can.
3. Greater Elemental
Expoint Cost: 4 points
A sizeable ally is at your command and has your trust. You can choose any animal Size 2 and below to be your familiar. It gains an additional point in the listed stats, to a total of +3 to Intellect, Courage, and MDEF. You can now telepathically communicate with the familiar at any distance.
4. Major Elemental
Expoint Cost: 5 points
Your familiar weighs a metric ton or two. You can choose any animal Size 4 and below to be your familiar. It gains an additional point in the listed stats, to a total of +4 to Intellect, Courage, and MDEF. You can now, at any distance, share your familiar's senses: see through their eyes, hear through their ears, smell through their nostrils. As long as you concentrate, your perceive everything using your familiar's senses and not your own.
5. Arch-Elemental
Expoint Cost: 6 points
The legends tell of your gigantic steed, cloaked in magic power, bearing its archmage proudly. You can now choose any animal Size 6 and below to be your familiar. It gains an additional point in the listed stats, to a total of +5 to Intellect, Courage, and MDEF. You can now use your familiar as a conduit to deliver magic. At any distance, you can target anything your familiar can see or touch with your spells.
Spellcaster
There are numbered in the world a people called spell weavers, sorcerers, witches, and other names, and you are one of them. You are a mage and are respected, feared, distrusted, and misunderstood by the common folk for good reason: you may wield tremendous arcane power.
Ranks
1. Innocent Mage
Expoint Cost: 1 point
These magi are known as Innocents. Their skill with magic is wild, untrained, and unrefined, but they carry a gift that requires honing. This rank allows you to cast any spell you know at Intensity 1.
2. Novice Mage
Expoint Cost: 2 points
These magi are known as Novices. They show a talent for commanding magic, but have much to learn. They truly realize the insurmountable power available to them after lengthy practice. This rank allows you to cast any spell you know at Intensity 2.
3. Adept Mage
Expoint Cost: 4 points
These magi are known as Adepts. At home amongst the flows of arcane power, the Adepts are well on their way to mastery of their craft. Years of dedication have sharpened their minds and souls. This rank allows you to cast any spell you know at Intensity 3.
4. Master Mage
Expoint Cost: 7 points
These magi are known as Masters. They show nearly complete authority over sorcery itself. They teach the less experienced, they author new spells, they ask the pressing questions to unravel the secrets of magic. This rank allows you to cast any spell you know at Intensity 4.
5. Archmage
Expoint Cost: 11 points
These magi are known as Archmagi. They are at one with magic and are exceedingly rare. An archmage has the power to leave a mark on history itself, be it a blemish or an adornment. This rank allows you to cast any spell you know at Intensity 5.
Spirit Artist
Grasshopper, you have been touched by the Spirit Realm and gained access to the ambient energy circling throughout the cosmos. As a spirit artist, you harness the very life force inherent in all things to achieve stunning displays of supernatural ability. Be you the warrior monk, the holy sword, or the merciful healer, it begins by honing the spirit (see Chapter 16: Spirit).
Ranks
1. Spirit Initiate
Expoint Cost: 1 point
The first tier of spirit artists are young in their talent. Their connection to the Spirit Realm remains weak but stable as they train. This rank allows you to perform any spirit art you know at Concentration 1.
2. Spirit Pupil
Expoint Cost: 2 points
The second tier of spirit artists demonstrate clear potential. As they seek answers within themselves, they begin to understand the possibilities in manipulating the power of life itself. This rank allows you to perform any spirit art you know at Concentration 2.
3. Spirit Disciple
Expoint Cost: 4 points
The third tier of spirit artists are constantly aware of their place in the continuous ebb and flow of qi (or whatever they choose to call it). Years of discipline have strengthened their abilities. This rank allows you to perform any spirit art you know at Concentration 3.
4. Spirit Mentor
Expoint Cost: 7 points
The fourth tier of spirit artists are bound to the world beyond. Their staggering expertise in wielding spiritual forces enable them to instruct those willing to learn and to seek enlightenment from the powers that be. This rank allows you to perform any spirit art you know at Concentration 4.
5. Spirit Master
Expoint Cost: 11 points
The fifth tier of spirit artists achieve complete mastery over their relationship with the Spirit Realm. They are immensely scarce and can divert the river of fate with their overwhelming power. This rank allows you to perform any spirit art you know at Concentration 5.
Therianthrope
Ancient tales speak of mysterious shape-shifters known as Therianthropes: people with supernatural powers who can assume the form of an animal. Some assume it to be a curse, the punishment for some moral indiscretion. Others guess it to be an affliction, a disease of sinister origin. Some cultures revere it as a privilege, a gift to walk between the worlds of animal and man.
Any sentient humanoid can be a Therianthrope. They typically seem a bit different from normal folk — slightly more perceptive, and with an air of brutality about them. The player must choose which animal is the one into which the character can transform, typically apex predators, and usually mammals. Therianthropes which transform into aquatic creatures (sharks, dolphins, etc.) can only do so when in water.
Therianthropes can either transform into the animal or a monstrous human/animal hybrid. The character must spend 2 Magic Points to begin the transformation, which takes 6 Action Points to complete. The character must spend 1 MP for each round spent in monstrous or animal form. Reverting to the original form takes 6 AP, but doesn't cost any MP. If the character runs out of MP or is killed while in monstrous or animal form, he or she immediately reverts to the original form. Since the transformation is decidedly magical in nature, the character cannot transform or remain transformed while inside of a Spell Ward or similar anti-magic field.
While in animal form, the character assumes the physical attributes, trumps, and faults of the animal itself. The character also receives the bonuses listed in the ranks below. While in monstrous form, the character keeps his or her own physical attributes, trumps, and faults, as well as the below bonuses. When the character transforms, anything being worn on the person (a backpack, clothing, armor) is "folded in" to the transformation and disappears, coming back when the character reverts. Anything the character is holding (e.g. a weapon) remains in hand. The character cannot cast spells while in animal form nor hold weapons. While in monstrous form, the character has no restrictions on holding equipment or spells. Attacks in monstrous or animal form using teeth, claws, horns, or whatever the creature has, use the Hand-to-hand skill.
If a GM wishes, and the campaign setting allows for it, the transformation may be affected by lunar events. For instance, the GM may allow the player to waive the MP requirement in the light of the full moon. Or perhaps, during the full moon, the character cannot control the transformation and must transform (maybe with sentient awareness, maybe not).
There is a little known weakness possessed by Therianthropes. Any weapon comprised partially or entirely of silver deals Tainted Damage to a Therianthrope. A character can be aware of this fact with a DL 20 Lore check.
Requires: Bloodhound and Animal Kinship with the type of transformation animal.
Ranks
1. The Critter Within
5 points
You hear dog whistles and always need to trim your nails. The character receives a +1 bonus to Perception, Stealth, and Intimidate in any form. While in monstrous or animal form, the character receives a +1 bonus to Muscle, Agility, Endurance, and Courage. The character also receives a +1 bonus to the Harm of Hand-to-hand attacks while in monstrous or animal form.
2. The Creature Within
5 points
House pets and children shy away from you, and you always find shed fur on your equipment. The character receives a total bonus of +2 to Perception, Stealth, and Intimidate in any form. While in monstrous or animal form, the character receives a +2 bonus to Muscle, Agility, Endurance, and Courage. The character also receives a +2 bonus to the Harm of Hand-to-hand attacks while in monstrous or animal form.
3. The Animal Within
5 points
You scare cattle at your approach and can smell their fear. The character receives a total bonus of +3 to Perception, Stealth, and Intimidate in any form. While in monstrous or animal form, the character receives a +3 bonus to Muscle, Agility, Endurance, and Courage. The character also receives a +3 bonus to the Harm of Hand-to-hand attacks while in monstrous or animal form.
4. The Beast Within
5 points
No one goes outside during a full moon in your home town thanks to you. The character receives a total bonus of +4 to Perception, Stealth, and Intimidate in any form. While in monstrous or animal form, the character receives a +4 bonus to Muscle, Agility, Endurance, and Courage. The character also receives a +4 bonus to the Harm of Hand-to-hand attacks while in monstrous or animal form.
5. The Monster Within
5 points
You are a savage, wild thing of unspeakable ferocity, and bar patrons the world over will tell others of the night they saw you in the forest. The character receives a total bonus of +5 to Perception, Stealth, and Intimidate in any form. While in monstrous or animal form, the character receives a +5 bonus to Muscle, Agility, Endurance, and Courage. The character also receives a +5 bonus to the Harm of Hand-to-hand attacks while in monstrous or animal form.
Third Eye
You are possessed of a supernatural resistance or immunity to Illusions and deceptions of all kinds. Effectively, you automatically pass all Lucidity checks. Surely you must be blessed of higher powers, for this is a rare gift indeed. You can be Blind and have the Third Eye, for not all illusions are visual. Against deceptions which are not magical or supernatural in nature (e.g. a prosthetic disguise) you receive a +1 to your Discern check for each rank of Third Eye you purchase.
Ranks
1. Closed Eye
3 points
Simple tricks and prestidigitations are foiled by you. You are immune to all Intensity 1 Illusion Spells and similar effects.
2. Bleary Eye
4 points
You can peer straight through cunning enchantments. You are immune to all Intensity 2 Illusion Spells and similar effects.
3. Open Eye
5 points
Powerful illusions are easily thrown aside by your piercing vision. You are immune to all Intensity 3 Illusion Spells and similar effects.
4. Lidless Eye
6 points
You can see through all but the most powerful magics. You are immune to all Intensity 4 Illusion Spells and similar effects.
5. Shining Eye
7 points
Some call you "The Seer", others "The Veil Lifter", or even "One Rooted in the Real". You are unaffected by Illusions of any kind, up to and including Intensity 5 Illusion Spells and similar effects.
Weapon Savant
You and your weapon are like an artist and his brush. A weapon savant knows how to use her weapon-of-choice better than any other, and even the act of watching a master practicing her art in combat is enough to awe onlookers. For details on the bonuses listed here, consult the Combat chapter.
Incompatible with: Combat Shy, Clumsy, Coward
Ranks
1. Weapon Discipline
Expoint Cost: 2 points
You have trained many hours with your chosen weapon type. All that practice has paid off and you gain a +1 to the Harm score of the weapon.
Requires: A minimum of 6 ranks in the weapon
2. Weapon Dedication
Expoint Cost: 3 points
Even those who are very familiar with your chosen weapon type regard you as more skilled than they will ever be. You gain an additional +1 to the Harm score of the weapon, to a total of +2. You also gain +1 to the Parry score.
Requires: A minimum of 7 ranks in the weapon
3. Weapon Specialist
Expoint Cost: 4 points
You are nearly unrivaled in your region in regards to skill with your chosen weapon. Spectators gather whenever you're in combat. You gain an additional +1 to the Harm score of the weapon, to a total of +3. You also gain +1 against being disarmed, and +1 to Accuracy.
Requires: A minimum of 8 ranks in the weapon
4. Weapon Master
Expoint Cost: 5 points
You can count on two hands the number of people as good as you in the world with your chosen weapon. Students beseech you to instruct them and damsels beg for you to fight in their honor. You gain an additional +1 to the Harm score of the weapon, to a total of +4. You also gain +1 to disarm someone with your weapon.
Requires: A minimum of 9 ranks in the weapon
5. Weapon Wizard
Expoint Cost: 6 points
Minstrels will tell tales of you long after you die. You have met two or three people in the entire world who can meet or best you with the weapon you have chosen. People name fighting styles after you. You gain an additional +1 to the Harm score of the weapon, to a total of +5. You also gain an additional +1 to Accuracy, to a total of +2.
Requires: A minimum of 10 ranks in the weapon
