Two spellcasters are attacked by a demon assassin---one reflexively raises a shield of fire; the other sows confusion with an illusion. The first of the group converging at the spaceport bar looking for rumors tries learning information directly from the patrons with their mental powers, another attempts to befriend everyone, and a third dares to intimidate a target in the corner by revealing the horrifying shape they can take. The warriors face off---one never quits a fight, always coming back for more, while the other holds nothing but their clenched and deadly fists.

Your focus helps make your character unique, differentiating you from the other PCs whether you have the same or different types. Your focus provides you with associated special abilities. It's the verb of the sentence "I am an adjective noun who verbs."

This chapter contains over forty foci, such as Blazes With Fire and Works for a Living. Each genre in this book includes a list of foci appropriate for that setting, but work with your GM if you have an idea for how a focus not on that list could be adapted to fit the genre and your character's theme.

When choosing your focus for a game, coordinate with the other players and the GM about what you're all thinking of selecting. Ideally, none of you should have the same focus, because your character's distinctiveness is part of the reason you're choosing a focus in the first place.

How your character came to have the focus you do is yours to define, as long as it fits within the setting. For example, if your character Entertains, maybe you grew up as part of a traveling troupe, or perhaps you found yourself in the role accidentally in order to make ends meet. If you choose Employs Magnetism, maybe it's because you're secretly a mutant, you stole an experimental device that confers the ability, or you don't know where your gifts come from and you want to find out. (It's okay for you, the player, to know the answer even if your character doesn't.)

Giving a little thought to the origin of your character's focus helps flesh out your background, ties you to other places and people, and connects to other parts of your character.

The foci descriptions in this book are purposely stripped down to basics so they have the widest possible application across multiple genres. A single descriptive sentence or two summarizes each one.

Each focus offers one or more genre theme suggestions. These help conceptualize how that focus might fit your character in a particular genre. For instance, the Builds Allies focus might mean that, in a science fiction genre, the allies you build are robots. But in a fantasy genre, you might be crafting golems and similar magically animated entities.

Each focus also offers one or more GM intrusion suggestions for possible ways the GM might complicate the situation, or as a consequence of a bad roll on your part.

Sometimes, a focus grants you additional equipment: one or two starting items you gain, in addition to whatever you already have from other sources, that might be required for you to use your ability or that might pair well with the focus. For instance, a character that can build things needs a set of tools. That said, many foci don't require additional equipment.

At tier 1, choose two tier 1 special abilities from your chosen focus. It's not in your best interest to choose an ability identical---or effectively identical---to one you already have, such as one granted by your type. Doing so doesn't provide any benefit unless it's an ability that specifically indicates it can be taken more than once or an ability that improves something you already have.

At tier 2 and each new tier after that, refer to your focus flowchart and pick one special ability. It shows how the focus's early abilities connect to and unlock its later abilities. Your new focus ability can be anything on the flowchart as long as it's your current tier or lower and connected by a line to an ability you already have. You can always go back and take a lower or equal tier ability, as long as you've taken any preceding ability in the flowchart. And you can always take another tier 1 ability (if any remain) for your focus.

If an ability specifically indicates it can be taken more than once, you can choose it again instead of advancing elsewhere along the flowchart.

Finally, you can't choose a higher-tier focus ability if it modifies a lower-tier ability you don't have yet.

Abides in Stone

Blazes With Fire

Builds Allies

Carries a Gun

Casts Spells

Changes Shape

Commands Mental Powers

Consorts With the Dead

Controls Beasts

Crafts Illusions

Doesn't Do Much

Employs Magnetism

Entertains

Explores

Fights Dirty

Fights Unarmed

Fights With Panache

Fuses Flesh and Steel

Fuses Mind and Machine

Grows to Towering Heights

Howls at the Moon

Hunts

Infiltrates

Leads

Masters Telekinesis

Masters Weaponry

Moves Like the Wind

Never Says Die

Performs Feats of Strength

Quells Evil

Reveres a Supernatural Force

Rides the Lightning

Sneaks Through the Shadows

Solves Mysteries

Speaks for the Land

Stands Like a Bastion

Strikes With Mystic Might

Talks to Machines

Tends to the Wounded

Walks Through Walls

Wears a Sheen of Ice

Works for a Living

Your flesh is made of hard mineral, making you a hulking, difficult-to-harm humanoid.

Intimidating Presence: Because of your stony presence, you gain an asset on all attempts to intimidate.

Stone Body: Your body is made of a hard substance like stone or crystal. Work with your GM to decide your exact form, though it is likely about the shape and size of a humanoid. You do not need to eat, drink, or breathe (though you do need rest and sleep).

As a being of mineral, you can take two more minor wounds than normal and ease block rolls, and your unarmed attacks deal an additional 2 damage.

Due to your relative mineral inflexibility, you have an inability in dodge tasks.

Stoneknowing (1 Intellect): You are trained in working any kind of stone.

In addition, if you touch a crystal or stone object or structure and concentrate, you learn its level and perhaps some relevant facts about its materials and structure. For example, you could learn that a brick wall is level 3 and conceals a hidden space behind it or that a boulder is level 5 and contains iron ore. Your GM may require an Intellect task for you to learn something especially subtle or secret. Last action.

Field of Stones: You can attempt to hide in natural terrain, appearing as a natural rock formation. If the terrain is rocky and your stealth roll is a 15 or less, you can treat the roll as a 15. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.) In other terrain, your stealth task to blend in as rocks is eased by two steps.

At tier 3: The minimum number rolled for this ability increases to 18.

Golem Grip (3 Might): You can easily grab foes with your stone fists. Make an eased attack against a foe. If you succeed, you restrict their movement, preventing them from moving away and hindering their physical attacks and attempts to break free.

If the target attempts to break free as their action, you must make a Might roll to continue holding them.

If you are holding a target, you can squeeze them automatically on your turn (no roll required), inflicting 4 damage.

Action.

Stone Bash: Your unarmed attack this round inflicts an additional 2 damage if you make it as a Last action.

Golem Stomp (4 Might): You stomp on the ground with all of your strength, creating a shock wave. Make separate attacks against three creatures in immediate range. Each creature you hit takes 3 damage and you choose if they are pushed out of immediate range or are knocked prone. Action.

Improved Stone Body: You can take one more moderate wound than normal.

Deep Reserves: When others are exhausted, you can push through. You can transfer up to 6 points among your Pools in any combination, at a rate of 1 point per round. For example, you could transfer 3 points of Speed to Might and 3 points of Intellect to Might, which would take a total of six rounds. This ability renews when you take a ten‑hour recovery. Action.

Heavy Hands: Your unarmed attacks deal an additional 2 damage.

Rolling Stone (5 Might): You can dive forward and contract your limbs, becoming a careening boulder moving up to a long distance. During this movement you can attack three foes by colliding with them. Make separate attack rolls for each; success means you inflict 6 damage. Last action.

Still As a Statue (5 Might): You freeze in place, burying your essence deep in your stone core. During this time, you lose all mobility as well as the ability to take physical actions. You cannot sense what's happening around you, and no time seems to pass for you. While using this ability, any wounds you take are reduced in severity by two steps. You rouse to normal wakefulness and mobility 24 hours later, removing three wounds of any severity. If an ally shakes you hard enough (with a minimum cost of 2 Might on their part), you rouse earlier, but no wounds (if you have any) are removed. Action to initiate.

Structural Brace (5+ Might): You serve as a structural brace, additional pillar, or other support buttress for a structure in danger of collapsing. If you need to roll to prevent the structure from collapsing and your roll is 18 or less, treat the roll as an 18. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.) While serving as a brace, you cannot move from where you are and you automatically fail dodge tasks. You can take an extra action on your turn to end the effect early; otherwise it ends when you take a ten-hour recovery.

Alternatively, you can simply hold up a mighty weight of up to 50 tons (45 tonnes) or use this ability to hold a door or gate shut (treating a roll of 18 or less as an 18, or higher with Effort).

Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3. Increase the weight you can hold by 10 tons (9 tonnes).

Action to initiate.

Earthshake (7 Might or Intellect): You trigger a violent earth movement in a short area within very long range. Buildings and terrain features are damaged, reducing their levels by 1 to 3, shedding debris and rubble. Creatures in the area take 6 damage from shaking and/or falling debris (roll a separate attack roll against each). Even on a failed attack, creatures in the area still take 3 damage. Action.

Mineralization: You can take one more major wound than normal.

You can sheathe your body in flames, which protect you and harm your foes.

Gentle Warmth (1 Intellect): You make it up to 30˚ F (15˚ C) warmer in an immediate area until you take a ten-minute or longer recovery (this reduces wound severity from cold temperature environments by two steps). This effect is centered on you and moves with you. Action.

Shroud of Flame (1 Intellect): At your command, your entire body becomes shrouded in flames until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. The fire doesn't burn you or your equipment, but it inflicts 2 damage on anyone who tries to touch you or strike you with a melee attack (no roll required).

While you are shrouded in flame, reduce the severity of wounds from heat and flames used against you by one step (major to moderate, moderate to minor, minor to none). For example, if you are hit by a fire attack that causes a moderate wound, you instead take a minor wound.

While shrouded in flame, you can touch a foe as a light unarmed attack, inflicting 2 fire damage.

Enabler.

Warm Air: While your Shroud of Flame is active, you heat the air beneath you, allowing you to fall up to 10 feet (3.5 m) safely. Falls of greater than 10 feet are treated as 10 feet less. Enabler.

Flameblade (2 Intellect): Your Shroud of Flame covers one weapon you wield in flame, such as a manufactured weapon like a sword or bow. (You could also intensify the flame already shrouding your hand, improving your unarmed attacks.) Any attack you make with the flaming weapon inflicts an additional 1 damage from fire (if the weapon fires projectiles, such as arrows from a bow, this damage applies to the projectiles). The flame ends if you stop holding or carrying the weapon, but as an extra action on your turn you can cover a different weapon you wield with flames. This ability ends automatically when you use a ten‑minute or longer recovery. Enabler.

Hurl Flame (2 Intellect): While your Shroud of Flame is active, you can reach into your halo and hurl a handful of fire at a target within short range, inflicting 4 fire damage if you succeed on an Intellect attack. Action.

Spreading Fire (2 Intellect): Once per turn if you take down a foe with an attack that inflicted fire damage, you can immediately make another fire‑based attack on that same turn against a new foe within short range as an extra action on your turn. Enabler.

Desperate Flame: While you have at least three moderate wounds or at least one major wound, you gain two free levels of Effort you can apply to one fire attack each round. This benefit lasts until you take your next ten-minute or longer recovery or you no longer have the qualifying wounds. Enabler.

Fiery Hand of Doom (3 Intellect): While your Shroud of Flame is active, you can reach into your halo and produce a hand composed of animate flame with a handspan of up to 3 feet (1 m), lasting until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. The hand is a level 3 creature that inflicts 1 extra fire damage when it attacks (4 damage total). The hand acts as you direct, floating in the air. Directing the hand is an action. Without a command, the hand does nothing but follow you. It can move a long distance in a round, but it never moves farther away from you than long range. The hand can attack, grab, move, and carry things. It inflicts 3 damage each round to any flammable object it holds. Action to create; action to direct.

Wings of Fire (4 Intellect): While your Shroud of Flame is active, you can spread wings of fire and fly until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, moving at a rate of up to 20 feet (6 m) per round in any direction. You can also take one other non‑movement action as an extra action on your turn. Action to initiate.

Enhanced Flames: Fire damage you deal using special abilities increases by 2 damage per attack.

Fire Tendrils (5 Intellect): Your Shroud of Flame sprouts three tendrils of flame that last until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. You can attack with each tendril as an extra action on your turn. Each tendril inflicts 3 damage (5 damage with Enhanced Flames). If you don't use the tendrils to attack, they remain but do nothing. Action to initiate.

Following the round in which you initiate Fire Tendrils, attacking with them---as extra actions on your turn---counts as your overall action for that round.

Plasma Field (5 Intellect): A selected portion of your fire shroud spikes to a temperature hot enough to incinerate incoming ranged attacks (such as arrows, bullets, a thrown metal knife, and so on), instantly turning them to ash. You are immune to such attacks for one round. You must be aware of an attack to incinerate it. Enabler.

Fire Servant (6 Intellect): You use your Shroud of Flame to create an automaton of fire that is your general shape and size, lasting until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. This NPC ally acts as you direct each round. Directing the automaton is an action, and you can command it only when you are within long range of it. Without a command, the automaton continues to follow your previous command. You can also give it a simple programmed action, such as "Wait here and attack anyone who comes within short range until they're dead." Action to create; action to direct.

Fire automaton: level 5; Armor 1; bash attacks deal 6 damage (1 from fire)

Inferno Trail (6 Intellect): Your Shroud of Flame leaves a trail of fire in your wake. The trail matches your path, creating a wall of flame about 6 feet (2 m) high that inflicts 5 damage on any creature that passes through it. If targets are flammable, they also catch on fire for an additional 1 damage each round until they spend a round putting out the fire. You can suppress the trail of fire when you wish as an extra action on your turn (and restart it the same way) or end the overall effect early. Otherwise, the effect ends after you use a ten‑minute or longer recovery. Action.

You create automatons, robots, constructs, or other artificial creatures that do as you command.

Automaton Assistant: You have built a level 2 automaton follower of your size or smaller that accompanies you and follows your instructions. You and the GM must work out the details of your automaton's appearance and personality.

If the automaton is damaged, a few minutes of your attention mends it---the automaton regains 2 health.

If the automaton is destroyed, it can be restored using your resources if you spend a few days tinkering.

Depending on the genre, your automatons might be metallic robots, animated objects, organic androids, magical golems, steampunk constructs, awakened statues, or something else entirely.

Efficient Builder: Anytime you gain resource points, you gain 1 additional point, but that point can be spent only on repairing or crafting.

Identify Machine (1 Intellect): You understand the purpose, function, level, and status of a single robot or powered device within immediate range. Last action.

Automaton Armor Upgrade (3 Intellect): You've built a new capability into one of your automatons---it can use its action to transform into an armored suit that you wear until you use a one-hour or longer recovery. If you are within an immediate distance when it transforms, it automatically forms itself around you. The transformed automaton acts as light armor; because it anticipates and reacts to your movements, you can freely use this armor. Enabler.

Automaton Cypher Upgrade (3 Intellect): You've built a new capability into one of your automatons---for one day, the automaton increases your cypher limit by one. Enabler.

Charm Machine (2 Intellect): You convince an unintelligent machine or automaton within immediate range to "like" you with a successful Intellect attack roll. A machine that likes you is 50 percent less likely to function if said function would cause you harm. For example, if a foe attempts to detonate a bomb near you controlled by a detonator that likes you, there is a 50 percent chance that it won't explode. The target likes you until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Action to initiate.

Expert Automaton: You've built a level 3 automaton follower. It otherwise functions much like your level 2 automaton from Automaton Assistant.

Instead of gaining a new level 3 automaton, you can upgrade an existing level 2 or 3 automaton follower (increasing its level by 1) and gain a new level 2 automaton.

You can take this ability multiple times, each time gaining another automaton.

Quick Control (4 Intellect): A successful Intellect attack allows you to command a machine or automaton (intelligent or not) within short range to take one action within its capabilities on its next turn, regardless of its normal programming or attitudes. If this action would cause the machine or automaton direct harm to itself or its allies, your Intellect attack against it is hindered. (If you use this ability to command an intelligent machine or automaton, it likely becomes hostile to you afterward.) Action.

Automaton Flight Upgrade: You've built a new capability into one of your automatons---as its normal movement, it can fly up to a long distance. If you wish, it can carry you but can only move at a rate of up to 20 feet (6 m) per round in any direction while doing so.

Automaton Turret Upgrade: You've built a new capability into one of your automatons---it can reconfigure itself and become an immobile energy weapon on a gimbal mount. The turret is a heavy weapon with very long range that inflicts 7 damage. If you have the automaton act on its own, it makes one hindered attack per round. If you or an ally use the turret as a weapon, attacks with it are eased. Action to change the automaton's configuration; Last action to attack with turret.

In a fantasy setting, the automaton turret probably shoots fire or lightning. In a science fiction setting, it probably shoots lasers.

Automaton Fleet: You've built four level 2 automaton followers, each no larger than yourself. You and the GM must work out the details of each automaton's appearance and personality.

If one of these automatons is destroyed, it can be restored using your resources after a few days of labor.

Automaton Force Field Upgrade: You've built a new capability into one of your automatons---it can erect a translucent level 5 force field around itself and anyone within immediate range of it until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Any creature protected by the field reduces incoming wounds by one severity (NPCs take 3 less damage). Enabler.

Automaton Evolution: One of your automaton followers is upgraded, increasing its level by 1. You can select this ability multiple times. Each time, the level of one of your automatons increases by 1.

Automaton Heavy Armor Upgrade (6 Intellect): You've built a new capability into one of your automatons---the robot can use its action to transform into an armored suit that you wear until you use a one-hour or longer recovery. If you are within an immediate distance when it transforms, it automatically forms itself around you. The transformed automaton acts as heavy armor; because it anticipates and reacts to your movements, you can freely use this armor. Enabler.

You carry a firearm (whether a conventional gunpowder pistol or some kind of blaster or energy weapon) and you know how to use it in a fight.

Concealed Carry: You can easily hide a one‑handed firearm on your person, drawing or holstering it as an extra action (a First action) on your turn. Tasks to hide this weapon (whether from someone looking at you or actually searching you) are eased by two steps.

You gain an asset on any task to spin, twirl, quick draw, or do another trick task involving your firearm and its holster.

You can perform skillful manipulations with your firearm, including gunspinning (twirling it around one finger), shooting an icon from a playing card at long range, shooting an object held in someone's hand at long range, shooting a coin tossed skyward at long range, and so on, after which you can reholster your firearm in the blink of an eye. These acts can't hurt or affect a creature (or their equipment); however, if you do this to impress or intimidate a foe, that task is eased.

Excellent Gunner: You can freely use firearms and suffer no penalty when using one.

You inflict an additional 1 damage with firearms.

For one attack you make with a firearm, you can roll twice and use the better result. This ability renews when you make a ten-minute or longer recovery. Enabler.

Keen Eye: You can see perfectly well half again as far as normal. You ignore attack and perception penalties for fog, smoke, mist, dim light, and very dim light.

Careful Shot: You can use Speed Effort or Intellect Effort to increase your ranged weapon damage.

In addition, if you use an action to line up your shot, the attack on your next turn inflicts 2 additional damage per level of Effort applied to increase damage (5 damage total per level of Effort). Enabler.

Reload (1 Speed): You can reload a firearm as an extra action on your turn. Enabler.

Sneak Attack (1 Speed): If you attack a foe under one of the following conditions, your light melee or light ranged weapon attack inflicts an additional 5 damage on a successful hit. (This ability doesn't work with medium or heavy weapons.)

First action.

Damage Dealer: You've become better at killing with firearms, inflicting an additional 3 damage with them.

Spray (2 Speed): If a weapon has the ability to fire rapid shots without reloading (usually called a rapid-fire weapon, such as a crank crossbow or submachine gun), you can spray multiple shots around your target to increase the chance of hitting, gaining an asset to the attack. This ability uses 1d6 + 1 attacks' worth of ammunition or power (or all of the weapon's stores, if it has less ammo or power than the number rolled). If the attack is successful, it deals 1 less damage than normal. You can also use this ability on multiple thrown weapons (such as stones, shuriken, daggers, and so on) if you're carrying them on your person or they are all within reach. Action.

Snap Shot: You can attack with your firearm and then attack again as an extra action on your turn. The second attack is hindered by two steps. Enabler.

Special Shot: When you hit a target with a firearm attack, you can choose to reduce the damage by 1 point but hit the target in a precise spot. Some of the possible effects include (but are not limited to) the following:

Enabler.

Arc Spray (3 Speed): If a weapon has the ability to fire rapid shots without reloading (usually called a rapid-fire weapon, such as a crank crossbow or submachine gun), you can fire your weapon at three targets (all next to one another) at once. Make a separate hindered attack roll against each target. Action.

Sniper: You are effective at much longer range than normal. Double the range of any firearm in your hands. If making a shot at very long range (or longer), you inflict an additional 1 damage.

Lethal Capability: You've mastered how to kill with a particular attack. You inflict an additional 5 damage with attacks of one specific type, such as your firearm, or some other specific attack you prefer.

You can gain this ability more than once. Each time you do, choose a different specific attack.

Shot Collision (4+ Speed): Once per round, if someone attacks you with a firearm, thrown weapon, or other physical projectile (such as an arrow, bullet, or crossbow bolt), instead of attempting a defense task, you can attempt to shoot the projectile out of the air. Make an attack against the projectile at the same difficulty as the defense task. If you hit, your shot deflects, destroys, or otherwise prevents the projectile from hitting you.

If you wish, the successfully deflected object explosively shatters in an immediate radius you select between you and the attacker, dealing 2 damage to all creatures and objects in the area (roll a separate attack against each). If you apply Effort to increase the damage, you deal 2 additional damage per level of Effort (instead of 3); targets in the area take 1 damage even if you fail the attack roll.

Enabler.

You have a book of various spells and can change which ones you have ready to cast each day---blasts of energy, summoning monsters, magical flight, teleportation, and copying cyphers can all be part of your repertoire.

Character abilities from the Casts Spells focus are magical spells or rituals. Your character has to use specific magic words and gestures to activate them, and they may require tiny amounts of strange ingredients like spider eyes and powdered gemstones. These are just story and flavor requirements; in terms of game mechanics, these abilities work just like abilities from other foci and from various types.

Blast (1+ Intellect): You emit a short-range blast of energy inflicting 4 damage on a target with a successful attack roll. Work with the GM to determine the type of energy comprising your blast.

You can tune the effect to make it hot enough to slice through material of up to level 5 that's no more than 1 foot (30 cm) thick if given a few rounds to concentrate on doing so.

If you have another damaging attack ability (from this focus or your type), you can use Blast to augment that ability, increasing its damage by 1.

You can change the name of the Blast ability so it relates to the kind of energy you create, such as Blast of Fire, or something more evocative suggesting the name of the spellcaster who created it, such as Malhavoc's Destructive Blast.

Effort: Gain fine control over the effect until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, varying the intensity as you wish within immediate range; for instance, you could use it to warm the area, cook food without burning it, provide bright light in the area, and so on. Increase the maximum level of material that you can cut through by 1.

Action to attack; Last action to initiate fine control; enabler to augment another attack ability.

Hedge Magic (1 Intellect): You can perform small tricks: temporarily change the color or basic appearance of a small object, cause small objects to float through the air, clean a small area, mend a broken object, prepare (but not create) food, and so on. You can't use Hedge Magic to harm another creature or object. Action.

Prepare Spell: Each day you can pick a different magical effect and cast it as a spell. Choose a low-power manifest cypher. You gain that cypher's effect as a spell (a character special ability) after spending ten minutes preparing. You can cast that spell as an action, costing 2 Intellect. This spell does not count toward your cypher limit. Unlike when using a cypher, you do not lose this spell after casting it.

Whenever you take a ten-hour recovery, you can change which cypher you've taken as a spell. Changing which cypher you have prepared as a spell ends all of your durations of the previous prepared spell.

You can select this ability up to three times, allowing you to choose one, two, or three cyphers each day as spells.

Ten minutes to complete preparing a cypher as a spell; action to cast a cypher as a spell.

At tier 3: You can use this ability to choose a low- or medium-power cypher as a spell. You can cast a medium-power cypher spell as an action, costing 4 Intellect.

At tier 6: You can use this ability to choose a low-, medium-, or advanced-power cypher as a spell. You can cast an advanced-power cypher spell as an action, costing 6 Intellect.

Sense Magic (1 Intellect): If there is magic of any kind at work within short range, you are aware of that fact (but not the specifics). Last action.

Confusion Ray (2 Intellect): You project a grey beam of disruptive mental energy at a creature within short range. Make an Intellect attack against your foe; success means you deal 1 damage (ignores armor) and their tasks are hindered until your next turn. Action.

Enchant Object (2 Intellect): You imbue a weapon, tool, or other usable item with magic that enhances its performance, lasting until you (or the user of the object) use a ten-minute or longer recovery. At any point while the ability is active, the creature using the object gains an asset to one action requiring the object. You decide if the object looks the same, glows like a candle, or gains a magical rune for the duration of the spell. Action.

Hover (2 Intellect): You float slowly into the air. If you concentrate, you can control your movement to remain motionless in the air or float up to a short distance as your action; otherwise, you drift with the wind or with any momentum you have gained. This effect lasts until you use a ten‑minute or longer recovery. Action to initiate.

Arcane Flight (3+ Intellect): You can float and fly through the air at your normal land speed until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. In terms of overland movement, a flying creature moves about 20 miles (32 km) per hour and is not affected by terrain.

Effort: Affect one additional touched creature of your size or smaller; you direct their movement and they must remain within sight of you or they fall.

Action to initiate.

Arcane Flight is better than Hover, so if you have both, you can exchange Hover for another tier 2 or lower ability from the Casts Spells focus.

Fireball (4+ Intellect): You create a burst of fire within long range, filling an immediate area. Roll against each creature in the area; you inflict 3 damage on a success, or 1 damage on a failure. Flammable objects may catch fire. Each level of Effort applied to increase damage adds 2 damage to each target (instead of 3). Action.

Identify Magic (3 Intellect): If you have sensed magic using the tier 1 ability, you can gain more specifics about what you sense: the level of the magic, the source of the magic (a spellcaster, a magical creature, an ongoing magical effect, or an enchanted object), and the general effects of the magic at play. Last action.

Summon Giant Spider (4+ Intellect): You conjure a giant spider, which appears within immediate range. The spider acts according to its nature, attacking a nearby creature that looks like suitable prey. The spider remains until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, then fades away.

Effort: Make the spider understand you and obey your verbal instructions.

Action to initiate.

Giant spider: level 3, perception as level 5, Speed defense as level 4 due to quickness; health 12; bite inflicts 3 damage plus 1 Speed damage from poison (ignores armor); moves a long distance each round when on webs

Arcane Teleportation (4+ Intellect): You instantly teleport to any location within a short distance that you can see.

Effort: Increase your range by a short distance. Teleport to a location you can't see. Bring one creature (of your size or smaller) with you.

At tier 5: If you spend 5 Intellect, your base distance and distance increment for Effort increase to long range, and each level of Effort applied lets you bring two people with you.

At tier 6: If you spend 6 Intellect, your base distance increases to anywhere on the same planet, and each level of Effort used lets you bring three people with you.

Action.

Soul Interrogation (5 Intellect): You attempt to learn secret information about a foe that you can use against them. Make an Intellect attack against a creature within long range. Success means you learn their level, basic abilities, and obvious weaknesses (such as a vulnerability to fire or silver), as well as their mannerisms and personal qualities that you could discover by conversing with them for an extended time. For the next few months, your actions against them are eased. Action.

Divination (6 Intellect): You contact a powerful entity (such as a deity, demon lord, or creature from a dimension of knowledge), ask one question, and get a general answer. The GM assigns a level to the question, so the more obscure the answer, the more difficult the task. Generally, knowledge that you could find by looking somewhere other than your current location is level 1, obscure knowledge of the past is level 7, and specific knowledge of future events beyond the next few minutes is impossible. Action.

Granite Wall (5+ Intellect): You create a level 5 granite wall within short range. The wall is four 10-foot by 10-foot (3.5 m by 3.5 m) squares, each 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick, arranged as you wish. The wall lasts until you use a one-hour or longer recovery, after which it crumbles to dust.

Effort: Increase the duration to until you use a ten-hour recovery. Make the duration permanent (this requires three levels of Effort).

Action.

Conjure Supernatural Creature (7+ Intellect): A supernatural creature from another dimension such as an angel, demon, or elemental manifests in a physical form within immediate range. The creature acts according to its nature, usually by attacking a nearby foe that is opposed to its own ethos (an angel would attack a demon or necromancer, a demon would attack an innocent or a holy priest, and an elemental would attack a creature of the opposing element). The creature remains until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, then fades away (although a demon or elemental might remain for a while to cause trouble).

Effort: Make the supernatural creature understand you and obey your verbal instructions.

Action to initiate.

Angel: level 5; health 15; physical, magical, or energy attack inflicts 6 damage; flies a short distance each round

Demon: level 5; health 25; physical, magical, or energy attack inflicts 6 damage; flies a short distance each round

Elemental: level 5; health 25; physical or energy attack inflicts 5 damage; amorphous form can pass through spaces as small as 1 foot (30 cm); air elemental flies a long distance each round; earth elemental has Armor 3; fire elemental has Armor 10 against fire; water elemental swims a long distance each round

Word of Death (6 Intellect): You speak a magic word so potent that it can instantly kill a foe. Make an Intellect attack against a foe within short range. If you succeed, you inflict 10 damage. Action.

You can transform into various animals, gaining their natural abilities as if you were born with them.

Animal Shape (3+ Intellect): You change into an animal as small as a rat or up to your own size (such as a large dog or small bear) until you use a recovery. Each time you transform, you can take a different animal shape. Your equipment becomes part of the transformation, rendering it unusable unless it has a passive effect, such as armor. In this form your stats remain the same as your normal form, but you can move and attack according to your animal shape (attacks from most human-sized animals inflict 4 damage; attacks from smaller animals inflict 2 damage) without penalty. Tasks requiring hands (such as using door handles or pushing buttons) are hindered when in animal form. You cannot speak but can still use abilities that don't rely on human speech. You gain a minor ability associated with the creature you become (see the Animal Form Minor Abilities box). For example, if you transform into a bat, you can fly up to a long distance each round. If you transform into an octopus, you can breathe underwater.

Effort: Gain an asset to one skill associated with the creature you become (see the Animal Form Minor Abilities box).

Effort: Become a talking animal; this looks exactly like a normal animal, but you can still talk and use any abilities that rely on human speech.

Effort: Take a hybrid shape; this is like your normal form but with animalistic features, even if that animal is something much smaller than you (such as a bat or rat). In hybrid form you can speak, use all of your abilities, make attacks like an animal, and perform tasks using hands without being hindered. Anyone who sees you clearly in hybrid form would never mistake you for a mere animal.

Action to change or revert.

Keen Eye: You can see perfectly well half again as far as normal. You ignore attack and perception penalties for fog, smoke, mist, dim light, and very dim light.

Scent Transformation (1 Intellect): You alter your scent so that you smell like an animal of your choosing until your next ten-minute or longer recovery. This can foil tracking attempts that are based on smell, and when attempting to interact with animals of your chosen type that rely heavily on smell, your tasks are eased by two steps. You can use this ability no matter what your shape is. Action to initiate.

Beast Communication (2 Intellect): You can convey a basic concept to a creature that normally can't speak or understand speech. The creature can also give you a very basic answer to a simple question. Action.

Soothe the Savage (2 Intellect): Make an Intellect attack roll to calm a nonhuman beast within short range that can see you. You must speak to them (although they don't need to understand your words). They remain calm until you use a ten‑minute or longer recovery or for as long as you keep using your action to calm them. Action.

Bigger Animal Shape: When you use Animal Shape, you can grow to about twice your normal size. Being so large, your animal shape gains the following additional benefits: you can ignore the first moderate wound you take, your unarmed attacks inflict an additional 4 damage, and you gain an asset on your unarmed attack rolls. However, your dodge tasks are hindered.

While using Bigger Animal Shape, you also gain an asset to tasks that are easier for a larger creature to perform, like climbing, intimidating, wading rivers, and so on.

Shapechanger Healing: When you change into an animal form, you are healed of one wound of any severity. This ability renews after you take a ten-hour recovery. Enabler.

Animal Scrying (4+ Intellect): If you know the general location of an animal that is friendly toward you and within 1 mile (1.6 km) of your location, you can sense through its senses until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. You must be in animal form or a form similar to that animal to activate this ability.

Effort: Activate this ability even if you are not in animal form or a form similar to that animal.

Action to establish.

Movement Adaptation (4 Might): You can modify your animal shape, either growing wings so you can fly or becoming aquatic with fins and gills (for example, if you are in the form of a gorilla, you could become a winged gorilla or a fishlike gorilla). If you choose flight, you can fly a long distance each round. If you choose aquatic, you can breathe water and swim at your normal land speed. You can carry a creature of your size or smaller, or if affected by Bigger Animal Shape, three creatures of your regular size or smaller. If you use Animal Shape, you gain the benefit of this ability without having to spend an action to trigger it. Action; enabler when using Animal Shape.

Enhanced Animal Shape: When you use Animal Shape, your animal form gains the following additional bonuses: +3 to your Might Pool, +2 to your Speed Pool, and you can ignore minor wounds from physical attacks. Enabler.

Not Dead Yet: When you would normally be dead, you instead fall unconscious for one round and then awaken.

When you awaken this way, you immediately gain 1d6 + 6 points to restore your stat Pools, and you remove one moderate wound and one major wound.

Once you use this ability, your tasks are hindered until you use a ten-hour recovery.

If you die again before you use your ten-hour recovery, you are truly dead.

You can select this ability twice. The second time you select it, the healing increases to 1d6 + 12 and you remove double the number of wounds.

Enabler.

Hard to See: When you move, you are a blur. It is impossible to make out your identity as you pass by someone at speed.

In addition, if you do nothing but move on your turn, your dodge and stealth tasks are eased by three steps until your next turn.

Lend Animal Shape (6+ Intellect): You change into an animal as if using Animal Shape, and one willing creature within immediate range also transforms into an animal of that type (bear, tiger, wolf, and so on) until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, as if they were using your Animal Shape ability. All creatures transforming with you must be your size or smaller. A creature can revert to its normal form as an action, but it cannot then change back into the animal form. One creature (whether you or someone else) changing form does not affect any other creature affected by this ability.

Effort: Affect an additional creature.

Action.

Lethal Capability: You've mastered how to kill with a particular attack. You inflict an additional 5 damage with attacks of one specific type, such as a claw, a bite, a tail slap, or some other specific attack you prefer.

You can gain this ability more than once. Each time you do, choose a different specific attack.

"Animals" and "beasts" are intentionally not rigorously defined, because it depends on the setting. The terms are, in fact, interchangeable synonyms. In an Earth-like setting, badgers, wolves, and eagles are animals and beasts. In a very different fantasy world, in a very different time period, or on a science fiction planet, a warg, a triceratops, and a rigellian stinkpig are beasts and animals, while a basilisk, a robot dog, and a Saturnian silicon spider probably are not. Basically, if it's more or less an animal, it is one. If it's supernatural or has some kind of special powers, it is not.

Use the following as examples or suggestions of what a character gains when in the shape of an animal. If an animal shape lists two skills, the character chooses which one they want to have an asset in each time they take that shape.

The GM can mix up the combinations of skills and other abilities for these animal shapes to create other Earth animals, or create animals in the campaign setting that don't exist on Earth.

Aquatic: The animal either breathes water instead of air or is able to breathe water in addition to breathing air.

Armor: The animal has a thick hide or shell that functions like light armor (but never hinders the character's tasks).

Constrict: The animal can grip its opponent fast after making a melee attack (usually with a bite or claw), easing attack rolls against that foe on later turns until the animal releases the foe.

Fast: The animal can move a long distance on its turn instead of a short distance.

Flying: The animal can fly, which (depending on the type of animal) may be up to a short or long distance on its turn.

Hands: The animal has paws or hands that are nearly as agile as those of a human. Unlike with most animal shapes, tasks that require hands are not hindered (although the GM may decide that some tasks requiring human agility, such as playing a flute, are still hindered).

Scent: The animal has a strong sense of smell, gaining an asset on tracking and dealing with darkness or blindness.

Small: The animal is considerably smaller than a human, easing its dodge tasks but hindering tasks to move heavy things.

Venom: The animal is venomous (usually through a bite), inflicting an additional 1 poison damage

You can send and receive thoughts as easily as communicating by voice.

Empathic Sense: You sense the general mental state of a being within short range. You can sense their general emotion, and in particular how they feel about you. Last action.

Sense Psionics (1 Intellect): If there are mental powers, psionic abilities, or other psychic phenomena at work within short range, you are aware of that fact (but not the specifics). Last action.

Telepathic (1+ Intellect): You can speak telepathically with others who are within long range. Communication is two-way, but the other party must be willing and able to communicate. You don't have to see the target, but you must know that they're within range. You can have more than one active contact at once, but you must establish contact with each target individually. Each contact lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

Effort: Increase the duration so it lasts until you use a ten-hour recovery.

Action to establish contact.

Mind Reading (2 Intellect): You can read the surface thoughts of a creature you can see within short range. If the creature is unwilling, you must make an Intellect attack against them to read their thoughts. Once you have established contact, you can read the target's thoughts until you use a ten‑minute or longer recovery. Action to initiate.

Telepathic Bond (2 Intellect): You create a bond between yourself and another creature, allowing the two of you to communicate mentally at will. You must touch the creature to activate this and they must be willing. Either of you can dissolve the bond as a Last action. You two can speak telepathically with each other at any time as long as you are both willing and are within 100 miles (160 km) of each other. You can have only one telepathic bond at a time. Last action to form bond or dissolve it.

Identify Psionics (3 Intellect): If you have sensed psionics using the tier 1 ability, you can gain more specifics about what you sense: the level of the effect, the source of the effect (a creature or an ongoing psychic effect), and the general effects of the psionics at play. Last action.

Psychic Burst (3+ Intellect): You blast waves of mental force into the minds of three targets within short range (make an Intellect roll against each target). This burst inflicts 3 Intellect damage (ignores armor).

Effort: Attack an additional target.

Action.

Psychic Suggestion (4 Intellect): You attempt to make a foe within short range take the action you indicate on their next turn. Make an Intellect attack against the foe. If the action would cause direct harm to themself or their allies, the mental attack is hindered. Action.

Extended Range: You increase how far one of your mental abilities can reach. Choose one of your focus abilities that affects another creature. Your range for this ability increases by one range category (touch to immediate, then short, long, very long, 1 mile, 100 miles, and finally anywhere on the same planet). You can choose this ability multiple times, each time increasing the range of that ability or another ability by an additional range category.

Use Senses of Others (4 Intellect): You can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste through the senses of another creature within long range. You don't need to see the creature, but you must know that they are within range, and if they are intelligent and unwilling, you must succeed on an Intellect attack to begin sensing through their senses. Your shared senses last until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Action to establish.

Precognition (6 Intellect): You dimly sense the future. Until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, you gain the following benefits:

Enabler.

Mind Control (6+ Intellect): You control the actions of another creature you touch. The creature must be level 2 or lower and you must succeed at an Intellect attack against them. Control lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. While you have control, you maintain mental contact with the target and sense what they sense. You decide on a case-by-case basis if they follow your orders or if they can act freely.

When the duration ends, the creature doesn't remember being controlled or anything it did while under your command.

Effort: Increase the maximum level of the target you can affect by 1.

Action to initiate.

Telepathic Network (0+ Intellect): You create a telepathic network between yourself and ten willing creatures you know, no matter where they are. All creatures in the network are linked and can communicate telepathically with one another. They can also "overhear" anything said in the network. Activating or using this ability doesn't require an action and doesn't cost Intellect points; to you, it's as easy as speaking out loud. The network lasts until you choose to end it.

Effort: Increase the base number of people in the network to twenty (5 Intellect), lasting until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery; each additional ten people costs 1 Intellect.

Enabler to create a network; action to create an expanded network (twenty or more people).

The dead answer your questions, and their reanimated corpses serve you.

Basic Necromancy (3 Intellect): You animate the body of a dead creature of approximately your size or smaller within immediate range, creating a level 1 follower that is an undead creature. It has none of the intelligence, memories, or special abilities that it had in life. The creature follows your verbal commands until you use a one-hour or longer recovery, at which point it becomes an inert corpse. You can reanimate it again when it becomes inert or if it is "killed" by damage (though you may have to spend a few minutes with a needle and thread to reattach detached or loose parts).

Last action to animate.

Bone Lore (1 Intellect): With a touch, you ascertain the cause of death of a corpse, how long since its death, and its species when it was alive. Last action.

Speaker for the Dead (2 Intellect): You touch a corpse of a dead being and ask it a question. It can't answer questions that it wouldn't have understood in life, and it can't provide answers that it wouldn't have known in life.

The dead being is not compelled to answer you at all, so you might need to interact with it in a way that would have convinced it to answer while it was alive. For example, you might promise to give the corpse a proper burial, avenge their death, or carry a message to someone they knew when they were alive. This probably requires an interaction roll (typically charm or intimidation).

Action.

Blood Sorcery: You draw upon your own blood, spirit, or life energy to power your abilities. You take a moderate wound and add +1 Edge to the Pool of your choice while you retain that wound. Enabler.

Only one +1 Edge can be gained at a time using Blood Sorcery.

Improved Necromancy: You can use Basic Necromancy to animate multiple bodies at the same time. Each animated creature beyond the first costs 1 additional Intellect point (so 4 points for two bodies, 5 points for three, and so on).

Your range for Basic Necromancy (including when animating multiple bodies) increases to short.

Improved Speaker: When using Speaker for the Dead, for each additional Intellect point you spend beyond the initial ability cost, you can ask one additional question. Enabler.

Reading the Room (3 Intellect): You gain knowledge about an area by speaking with dead spirits or their residual energies.

You may ask the GM one question, which must be simple and matter-of-fact. You must succeed at an Intellect roll against the difficulty of the question, as set by the GM. "What killed the cattle in this barn?" is a good example of a simple question. "Why were these cattle killed?" is not an appropriate question because it has more to do with the mindset of the killer than the barn. Simple questions usually have a difficulty of 2, but extremely technical questions or those that involve facts meant to be kept secret can have a much higher difficulty.

Action.

Repair Flesh (3 Intellect): You can knit back together damaged flesh with a touch.

You can reduce a wound by one severity: major to moderate, moderate to minor, or minor to none.

Instead of curing a wound, you can enhance a character's next recovery by +2 Pool points.

If used on a living or undead NPC, you restore 3 health.

Action.

Greater Necromancy (5+ Intellect): You animate the body of a dead creature up to twice your size within short range, creating a level 3 follower that is an undead creature. It has none of the intelligence, memories, or special abilities that it had in life. The creature follows your verbal commands until you use a one-hour or longer recovery, at which time it becomes an inert corpse. You can reanimate it again when it becomes inert, or if it is "killed" by damage (though you may have to spend some time with a needle and thread to reattach detached or loose parts).

Each animated creature beyond the first costs 2 additional Intellect points (so 7 points for two bodies, 9 points for three, and so on).

Action to animate.

Wraith Cloak (4 Intellect): At your command, a nearby undead spirit wraps itself around you until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. The spirit is empowered during this period, automatically inflicting 4 damage (no roll required) to anyone who tries to touch you or strike you with a melee attack. While the wraith cloak is active, all your stealth tasks are eased. Enabler.

Terrifying Gaze (6 Intellect): You project a fearsome gaze at up to five living creatures within short range who can see you. Make a separate Intellect attack roll for each creature. Success means that the creature is frozen in fear, not moving or taking actions until you use a ten‑minute or longer recovery, they are attacked, or you leave their field of view. Some creatures without minds (such as slime monsters or animated statues) might be immune to Terrifying Gaze. Action.

Wall of Bones (5 Intellect): You create a barrier of bones tainted with undeath composed of four 10-foot by 10-foot (3.5 m by 3.5 m) squares, each 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick, arranged as you wish. The wall is a level 5 barrier. One or both sides emanate necrotic energy; anyone within immediate distance of such a side takes 5 damage (no rolls required) or double that if they pass through. The wall lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Action to create.

True Necromancy (8+ Intellect): You animate the body of a dead creature up to twice your size within short range, creating a level 5 follower that is an undead creature. It has none of the intelligence, memories, or special abilities that it had in life. The creature follows your verbal commands until you use a one-hour or longer recovery, at which time it becomes an inert corpse. You can reanimate it again when it becomes inert or if it is "killed" by damage (though you may have to spend some time with a needle and thread to reattach detached or loose parts).

Each animated creature beyond the first costs 3 additional Intellect points (so 11 points for two bodies, 14 points for three, and so on).

Action to animate.

Word of Death (6 Intellect): You speak a magic word so potent that it can instantly kill a foe. Make an Intellect attack against a foe within short range. If you succeed, you inflict 10 damage. Action.

Your ability to communicate and lead beasts is uncanny.

Beast Companion: You gain a follower that is a level 2 beast of your size or smaller that accompanies you and follows your instructions. You and the GM must work out the appearance and personality of your beast. Its movement is based on its creature type (avian, swimmer, and so on).

If your beast companion dies, you can use your resources hunting in the wild for a few days to locate and befriend a new one.

Beast Companion, as part of the Controls Beasts focus, can be taken multiple times. Each time, you gain another level 2 beast follower.

Friend to Small Creatures (1+ Intellect): A broad type of small creature you name that exists in the surrounding environment (such as insects, rats, bats, or birds) comes under your influence if you succeed on a difficulty 2 Intellect task for outdoor survival. Affected creatures within short range will not harm you or those you designate as allies until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

This ability doesn't work against hostile 
swarms of creatures of level 3 or higher. Your creatures---even common insects (level 0)---can swarm in large-enough numbers to hinder the attacks or defenses of a single target, or take some other action.

This ability could instead be used to calm or command vines, grass blades, creepers, roots, or branches of nearby plants rather than animals or insects.

Effort: Your creatures respond to your commands as NPC allies.

Action to initiate.

Understand Beast (2 Intellect): You sense the level, the nature, and any special abilities of a nonhuman creature within immediate range. Last action.

The GM has final say over what counts as a nonhuman beast. Unless some kind of deception is at work, you should know whether you can affect a creature before you attempt to use Soothe the Savage on them. Aliens, extradimensional entities, very intelligent creatures, and robots never count.

Beast Communication (2 Intellect): You can convey a basic concept to a creature that normally can't speak or understand speech. The creature can also give you a very basic answer to a simple question. Action.

Soothe the Savage (2 Intellect): Make an Intellect attack roll to calm a nonhuman beast within short range that can see you. You must speak to them (although they don't need to understand your words). They remain calm until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery or for as long as you keep using your action to calm them. Action.

Mount: You gain a follower that is a level 3 beast who serves you as a mount. You and the GM must work out the appearance and personality of your beast. Its movement is based on its creature type (avian, swimmer, and so on).

Instead of gaining a new creature as your mount, your beast companion can become your mount (this may involve a growth spurt), increasing their level to 3, in which case you gain a different level 2 beast companion.

While riding your mount, on your turn they can move and you can make an attack, and you gain an asset on the attack. (This is a special exception to how followers normally can aid your attack.)

Any focus ability you have that affects your beast companion (such as Beast Eyes or Improved Companion) can instead affect your mount (your choice).

If your mount dies, you can use your resources hunting in the wild for about a week to locate and train a new one.

Stronger Together: When you and your beast companion (or a beast you've calmed with Soothe the Savage) are within immediate distance of each other, you inflict an additional 2 damage when you attack and both of you gain an asset to defense tasks. Enabler.

Beast Eyes (3 Intellect): You link your mind to your beast companion (or a beast you've calmed with Soothe the Savage, if they remain well disposed toward you), perceiving through their senses if they are within 1 mile (1.6 km) of you. This ability lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Action to initiate.

Improved Companion: Increase the level of your beast companion (and their modifiers, if any) by 1. You can select this ability up to three times. Each additional time you select it, increase your beast's level by 1.

Beast Betterment: When you take a recovery within immediate range of your beast companion, you gain an additional 3 Pool points. Enabler.

Beast Call (5 Intellect): You temporarily summon one level 4 beast or a horde of small beasts (who together function as a level 4 creature) to help you. The beast or beasts do your bidding for as long as you focus your attention, but you must use your action each turn to direct them. The beasts are native to the area and arrive under their own power, so if you're in an unreachable place, this ability won't work. Action.

Armored Beast: Your beast's Armor increases by 2.

Control the Savage (6 Intellect): Make an Intellect attack roll to control a calm nonhuman beast within short range. You control it as long as you use your action each round to concentrate on the target. Action.

You fashion images from light that are so perfect they seem real.

Hedge Magic (1 Intellect): You can perform small tricks: temporarily change the color or basic appearance of a small object, cause small objects to float through the air, clean a small area, mend a broken object, prepare (but not create) food, and so on. You can't use Hedge Magic to harm another creature or object. Action.

Minor Illusion (1 Intellect): You create a single image of a creature or object within immediate range. The image must fit within an immediate area. The image can move (for example, you could make the illusion of a person walk or attack), but it can't leave the area. The illusion includes sound but not smell. It lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, but if you want to change the original illusion significantly---such as making a creature appear to be wounded---you must use an action to concentrate on it again. If you move out of range, the illusion vanishes.

Instead of a realistic illusion, you can create a confusing pattern of images around a creature within short range. As long as you use your action to change this pattern, you hinder the creature's attacks and defenses (no attack roll needed to affect them).

Action to create; action to modify.

You usually don't have to make a roll against a casual observer to get them to believe your illusion is real, but you probably do if they're doubtful or searching for unusual details. An observer who recognizes something as an illusion can ignore it, but it can still distract them and interfere with what they can see.

Sense Magic (1 Intellect): If there is magic of any kind at work within short range, you are aware of that fact (but not the specifics). Last action.

Illusory Disguise (2+ Intellect): You appear to be someone or something else, roughly of your size and shape, until you use a one-hour or longer recovery. Once created, the disguise requires no concentration.

Effort: Disguise one additional creature (1 Intellect); if you lose sight of a disguised creature, they lose their disguise.

Action.

Reveal Illusion (2+ Intellect): When you roll to find an illusion or invisible target within short range and your roll is less than a 12, treat the roll as a 12. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.) This ability lasts until you use a ten‑minute or longer recovery. Action to initiate.

Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3.

At tier 3: The minimum number rolled for this ability increases to 15.

Cast Illusion: Your immediate-range illusions (such as Minor Illusion, Major Illusion, and Grandiose Illusion) increase to short range.

Disguises created by your Illusory Disguise last about a minute after the disguised creatures move out of your sight.

Major Illusion (3+ Intellect): You create a complex scene of images within immediate range. The entire scene must fit within a long area. The images can move, but they can't leave the area. The illusion includes sound and smell. It lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery and changes as you direct (no concentration is needed). If you move beyond immediate range of the illusion's edge, the illusion vanishes.

Instead of a realistic illusion, you can create illusory confusing images around a creature within short range, hindering their attacks and defenses until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery (no attack roll needed to affect them). You do not need to use your action each round to maintain this effect.

Effort: Affect an additional creature with confusing images.

Action to create.

Illusion Cocoon (4 Intellect): With a successful Intellect attack, you wrap a target within long range in a full-sensory illusion so all‑encompassing that they are helpless, losing their turn each round until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, or until they take direct physical damage. Action.

Illusory Selves (4 Intellect): You create four illusions of yourself within short range. These each last until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. You mentally direct their actions; they aren't mirror images, and each one can do different things. If an image is struck violently, you choose whether it freezes motionless or disappears permanently. Action to initiate.

Invisibility (4+ Intellect): You become invisible. This effect ends if you do something to reveal your presence or position---attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on---or if you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

Effort: Use this ability on a creature you touch instead of yourself; they remain invisible until they act precipitously or they or you use a ten‑minute or longer recovery.

Action to initiate.

An invisible character's attack is eased by two steps. Attacks on an invisible character are hindered by four steps or are nearly impossible if the attacker has no idea where they might be.

Terrifying Image (6 Intellect): You can terrify foes with illusions created from their own fears. Make separate Intellect attacks against up to five creatures within long range. Success means a creature flees in terror, pursued by their nightmares until they've fled at least a very long distance or you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Failure means the creature ignores the images, which do not hamper them in any way. Action.

Grandiose Illusion (8 Intellect): You create a fantastically complex scene of images that fit within a 1-mile (1.6 km) cube, the nearest edge of which must be within immediate range of you. You must be able to see the images when you create them. The images can move in the cube and act in accordance with your desires. They can also act logically (such as reacting appropriately to fire or attacks) when you aren't directly observing them. The illusion includes sound and smell. For example, armies can clash in battle, with air support from machines or flying creatures, on and above terrain of your creation. The illusion lasts until you stop concentrating on it or you use a one-hour or longer recovery. Last action to initiate.

Permanent Illusion (9 Intellect): You make one of your ongoing illusions permanent. Choose an illusion (or portion of an illusion) that you created. The illusion must fit within an immediate area and remains in that area. The illusion is permanent, persisting on its own without your attention or presence. You can permanently end the illusion as an action, but anyone else who wants to end it must expend exceptional ingenuity to prevent it from regenerating after a while. Enabler.

You're a slacker, but you know a little about a lot of things.

Joy in Small Things: When you learn or figure out something important (as determined by your GM), you regain 4 points to your Intellect Pool. Each use of this ability after the first time restores 1 fewer Pool point; this renews after you take a ten-hour recovery. Enabler.

Life Lessons: You've learned a little of this and that, and you have a knack for getting things done. Choose any two noncombat skills. When you use Effort on either of those skills, you can apply a free level of Effort. Enabler.

Picking Up the Slack (1 Intellect): You can fill in for a skilled ally when they're unable to perform a specific task. If an ally within long range is trained (or more) in a skill but can't attempt the task (such as if there's a lock to be picked, but the skilled ally is unconscious or too far away), you gain an asset on that task. You cannot use this ability if you are trained (or better) in that skill. Enabler.

Inspiring Ease: Through stories, songs, art, or other forms of entertainment, you inspire your allies. When you and any number of allies spend a ten‑hour recovery together (yours or theirs), the allies are inspired by you. Once per day, each inspired ally can ease one task. This inspiration remains while you remain within a long distance of them. The inspiration is suspended at greater distances, but resumes automatically if you get within range. The inspiration ends if you use a ten‑hour recovery while away from the ally. Ten‑hour recovery to initiate.

Totally Chill: Your ten-minute recovery takes you only one action, and your hour-long recovery takes ten minutes.

Extra Padding (1+ Might): You carry around a little more weight than most---maybe muscle, maybe fat, or a mix of both. This extra padding provides extra protection from physical threats, allowing you to ignore a minor wound you just took (do not mark the wound on your character sheet).

This ability renews after your ten-hour recovery.

Effort: Ignore a moderate wound instead of a minor wound. Ignore a major wound instead of a minor wound (this requires two levels of Effort).

Enabler.

Improvise: (3 Intellect): If you aren't trained in a task, you can improvise to gain an asset on that task---a tool you cobble together, sudden insight, or just dumb luck. The asset lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Enabler.

Agile Wit: When attempting a Speed task, you can spend points from your Intellect Pool instead of your Speed Pool, and vice versa. Use the Edge stat for the Pool you're spending points from.

Gather Your Strength: Your attack this round deals an additional 2 damage if you make it as a Last action instead of as an action or a First action. Enabler.

Attention to Detail: Your task this round (other than an attack) has an asset if you attempt it as a Last action instead of an action or First action. Enabler.

Drawing on Life's Experiences (6 Intellect): You've seen a lot and done a lot, and that experience comes in handy. Ask the GM one question, and you'll receive a general answer. The GM assigns a level to the question, so the more obscure the answer, the more difficult the task. Generally, knowledge that you could find by looking somewhere other than your current location is level 1, and obscure knowledge of the past is level 7. Action.

You command metal and the power of magnetism.

Craft Metal: You can manipulate metal easily, allowing you to craft metal objects without heat. You also gain an asset to all tasks involving crafting metal.

Move Metal (1 Intellect): Until you use a one-hour or longer recovery, you can exert force on metal objects within short range as your action. Each use of this ability requires an action, allowing you to move an object at a distance if it contains metal or is made of metal. You can only move or manipulate an object if you could physically do so with your own hands. For example, you could lift and pull a light metal object anywhere within range to yourself or move a heavy object (like a piece of furniture) an immediate distance. This power lacks the fine control to wield a weapon or move objects with much speed, so in most situations, it's not a means of direct attack; however, you could pull a metallic object from another creature's grasp, push a creature in metallic armor an immediate distance, or hinder a creature's attack or defense by applying restraining pressure to an armored leg or arm or to a metallic weapon. Affecting an unwilling creature or their equipment requires an Intellect attack roll.

You can use your action to create a magnetic disruption within short range, hindering electronic devices, electronic machines, and machine creatures (such as robots) by two steps for one round.

Action to initiate; action to move metal or disrupt electronics.

Sense Metal (1 Intellect): If there is ferromagnetic metal of any kind within short range, you are aware of that fact, as well as the amount, type, and general location. Last action.

Electromagnetic Eyes (2 Intellect): You sense your environment using the electromagnetic fields that invisibly fill most locations---invisible to others, but not to you. You can "see" up to long range even in complete darkness, and you have an asset on perception tasks related to noticing hiding living creatures (which have their own electromagnetic fields) as well as metal and magnetic objects and powered devices. You can see otherwise invisible creatures normally.

You always know which way is north (assuming you're on a planet with magnetic poles).

This ability lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

Action to initiate.

Electromagnetically Charge (1+ Intellect): You gather energy from the electromagnetic fields that invisibly fill most locations, then use it to heal yourself, reducing the severity of one of your wounds. You are healed of a minor wound, reduce a moderate wound to a minor wound, or reduce a major wound to a moderate wound.

Alternatively, you can use this ability to restore charge to a mundane handheld device, such as a cell phone or small radio, that uses electricity and has lost its charge or whose batteries have been exhausted.

Each time you use this ability, the Intellect point cost increases by 1. The cost returns to 1 after you take a recovery.

Last action.

Repel Metal: By manipulating magnetism, you have an asset to block and dodge rolls against attacks that include metal, such as bullets, thrown knives, metal-tipped arrows and crossbow bolts, and so on.

Guide Bolt (3+ Intellect): When you make an attack with metallic ammunition---including bullets, thrown knives, metallic bolts, or metal-tipped arrows---on a target within short range, you can improve the attack's aim and velocity, which grants an asset to the attack and inflicts an additional 3 damage. You can use this ability only once per round.

Effort: Affect an ally's attack instead of your own if their attack passes within short range.

Enabler.

Rend Metal (3+ Intellect): You instantly tear, rip, or burst a metal object of up to level 3 that is within short range. You must be able to see the object and it can't be bigger than half your size (or, if part of a larger object like a wall, a section that is no bigger than half your size). The affected object is destroyed; optionally, it also expels shrapnel, inflicting 1 damage per level on all creatures in immediate range (make separate Intellect attack rolls).

Affecting an unwilling creature's equipment requires an Intellect attack roll, but the roll is eased by two steps.

Effort: Increase the maximum level of the metal object you can affect by 1.

Action.

Magnetic Field (5 Intellect): A field of magnetism around you pulls incoming, ranged, metallic projectile attacks (such as arrows, bullets, a thrown metal knife, and so on) to the ground. It also disperses energy attacks such as electricity, x-rays, lasers, and other attacks that are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. You are immune to such attacks for one round. You must be aware of an attack to foil it. Enabler.

Magnetize (4+ Intellect): Your touch permanently magnetizes an object (regardless of whether it is metallic) no larger than you with a level 5 magnetic force, or demagnetizes an object no larger than you whose magnetic force is level 5 or less. A magnetized object attracts metal brought within 1 foot (30 cm) of it. Pulling the metal away requires a successful Might task. Magnetizing or demagnetizing electronic equipment destroys it if its level is 5 or less. You can use magnetic abilities (such as Move Metal and Command Metal) on a magnetized object.

Alternatively, you can create a magnetic field that repels metal objects of level 3 or less (in effect, this is much like a force field that only affects metal things).

Effort: Increase the level of a new magnetic force by 1. Increase the maximum level of an existing magnetic force you want to demagnetize by 1.

Action.

Command Metal (5 Intellect): You reshape a metallic object you can see in short range as you desire. The item's mass can be no greater than your own. You can affect multiple items at once as long as their combined mass does not exceed yours. You can fuse multiple items together. You can use this power to destroy a metal object (as the Rend Metal ability), or you can craft it into another desired shape (crudely, unless you succeed on a sculpting or crafting task). You can then move the new object anywhere within range. For example, you could take a few metal shields or panels, fuse them together, and use the resulting shape to block a doorway.

You can use this ability to attack one target within short range, causing a foe's armor to constrict, rendering a metal item into shards that you fling across the battlefield, and so on. Regardless of the form of the attack, it is an Intellect attack that deals 7 damage.

Last action; action to attack.

Iron in the Blood: You have honed your magnetic senses, allowing you to sense and manipulate the trace amounts of iron in flesh and blood. You can now move creatures with Move Metal and attack them directly with Rend Metal (inflicting 5 damage with a successful attack) and Command Metal (inflicting 7 damage), although your Intellect attack is hindered when doing so.

Diamagnetism: You magnetize any nonmetallic object within short range so that it can be affected by your other magnetic powers, as if using Magnetize at range and on the fly (to permanently magnetize an object, you must spend Intellect as noted for Magnetize). Therefore, with Move Metal, you can move any object you can see. With Repel Metal, you have an asset to all block and dodge rolls, regardless of whether the incoming attack uses metal (even pure energy attacks bend slightly to your will). And so on.

Iron Punch (8+ Intellect): You magnetically pick up a heavy metallic object within short range and hurl it at a target within short range. With a successful Intellect attack, you deal 10 damage to the target and the object.

Effort: Affect an additional target that is adjacent to the first target.

Action.

Diamagnetism supersedes Magnetize, so if you have both, you can exchange Magnetize for another equal or lower-tier ability from this focus.

You perform, mostly for the benefit of others.

Anecdote (2 Intellect): You can lift the spirits of a group of creatures and help them bond together by entertaining them with an uplifting or pointed anecdote. Choose one task (other than an attack or defense task) related to your anecdote. Until you use a one-hour or longer recovery, those who pay attention to your story are trained in that task.

Alternatively, you can spend time interacting with a group of people within short range. As long as they are at least neutral toward you (rather than hostile), they become friendly toward you until you use a one-hour or longer recovery.

Action to initiate; one minute to complete.

Inspiring Suggestion (2 Intellect): When you make a helpful suggestion to an ally, they have a better chance of succeeding at what they're doing. Choose an ally who can see and understand you, then suggest a specific action for them to take, such as "attack the leader" or "climb the wall." If the ally chooses to take that exact action, they gain two assets on that task. First action.

Knowing the Audience (1 Intellect): You ascertain the general mood of a group of people within short range. If they are trying to conceal that information, you may attempt a difficulty 3 task to learn the truth of their attitude. On the following round, you also gain an asset to a single recognizing motive task regarding one person in that group to gain more detail and information about that individual. Last action.

Inspiring Ease: Through stories, songs, art, or other forms of entertainment, you inspire your allies. When you and any number of allies spend a ten-hour recovery together (yours or theirs), the allies are inspired by you. Once per day, each inspired ally can ease one task. This inspiration remains while you remain within a long distance of them. The inspiration is suspended at greater distances, but resumes automatically if you get within range. The inspiration ends if you use a ten‑hour recovery while away from the ally. Ten‑hour recovery to initiate.

Rising Courage (2 Intellect): A target you choose within immediate range has an asset to their next Intellect defense task and next initiative task. Enabler.

Find Motivation (3+ Intellect): When your mind would be negatively affected by an effect of level 4 or less (psychic commands, illness, fear, boredom, mind control, and so on), you can ignore the effect. If the effect lasts for a while (such as fear or mind control), it has no power over you until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. If the effect is instantaneous (such as a psychic blast that inflicts damage), it doesn't affect you at all.

Effort: Increase the maximum effect level you can ignore by 1.

Enabler.

Perfect Stranger (3 Intellect): You completely throw yourself into a role, becoming almost unrecognizable until you use a one-hour or longer recovery. This often involves altering your voice, posture, accent, or clothing to "sell" this new guise.

All tasks to pretend to be someone other than yourself are eased. Three times while this ability is active, if you use Effort on an interaction or knowledge task related to this role, you gain a free level of Effort.

Action to initiate.

Calm (3 Intellect): If you succeed on an Intellect attack against a living foe who can see and hear you, you prevent them from attacking anyone or anything for one round by way of your jokes, song, or other performance. Action.

Captivate or Inspire: You can use this ability in one of two ways.

Captivate: Your words keep the attention of all NPCs in immediate range that hear them for as long as you speak, if you succeed on a persuasion, deception, or intimidation skill roll against a difficulty level equal to the highest level of an NPC in the crowd.

Inspire: Your words inspire all NPCs that hear them, allowing them to perform tasks as if one level higher until you use a
one-hour or longer recovery.

In either case, you choose which NPCs are affected. If anyone in the crowd is attacked while you're trying to speak to them, you lose the crowd's attention.

Action to initiate.

Willing Sacrifice: When you successfully draw the attack or take the attack meant for another character and you fail to dodge or block the attack, reduce the severity of the attack's wound by one step (major to moderate, moderate to minor, minor to none).

You can draw or take more than one attack in a given round if all of the attacks were meant for one target.

Enabler.

Master Entertainer: Your allies affected by Inspiring Ease can ease a second task each day, or ease one task by two steps instead of just one.

Vindictive Performance (5 Intellect): When you tell a joke, perform a song or poem, draw a picture, relate an anecdote, or otherwise provide entertainment, you can select one creature within short range who is able to understand you. During your performance, you heap indirect but biting derision on this creature. If you succeed, the creature doesn't realize that they've become the victim of your performance until you wrap up the entertainment at a moment you choose in a way that strikes home. The creature takes 6 Intellect damage (ignores armor) and loses their next turn. One or more actions to initiate.

You love discovering and exploring new locations, whether a tranquil valley, a dangerous wasteland, or a forbidding planet---and you have the necessary skills to survive and thrive in those places.

Exploration Survivor: You know how to survive in new and strange locations. After spending at least ten minutes in a region and succeeding on a outdoor survival task (generally difficulty 2, or whatever the GM determines is appropriate to the area), you find something useful you were seeking. The useful thing might be shelter in the form of a cave or tree hollow, materials to start a fire, fresh water, a game animal you bring down with ease, edible plants and fungi, or something to counteract a bleeding wound or poison.

You are able to feed yourself and five allies for as long as you remain in this region.

Once you've been to a notable location within a region (such as your campsite or a prominent landmark), you know the general direction and distance to it from where you are right now.

Enabler.

Tough: You can take an additional minor wound.

Untamed Recovery: You gain an extra one-action recovery each day.

Beast Companion: You gain a follower that is a level 2 beast of your size or smaller that accompanies you and follows your instructions. You and the GM must work out the appearance and personality of your beast. Its movement is based on its creature type (avian, swimmer, and so on).

If your beast companion dies, you can use your resources hunting in the wild for a few days to locate and befriend a new one.

Experienced Explorer: Your experience with creatures, plants, and substances in various regions gives you some additional protection against them. Your defense rolls against poison are eased and you reduce wounds from poison by one step (major to moderate, moderate to minor, minor to none). For example, if you are bitten by a snake whose poison inflicts a moderate wound, you take only a minor wound from the poison.

You are immune to natural diseases.

When in the wild, natural effects such as tall grass, thick brush, rugged terrain, landslides, and bad weather do not hinder you or slow your movement, and any wounds from them are reduced by one step.

Finally, you can find edible food and potable water in the wilderness, enough to feed yourself and a few other people, if given an hour or so to explore.

Animal Senses and Sensibilities: Most of the time, if you're about to walk into an ambush or a trap that is level 4 or lower, the GM should alert you (though depending on the circumstances, you may not have time to warn your companions).

Even if you are unaware of an incoming attack, the attacker doesn't gain any advantage against you, such as from surprise.

Wilderness Encouragement (3 Intellect): Your knowledge and experience allow you to help others rest and recover. While in the wilderness or when talking about your time in the wilderness, choose one ally within short range who can understand you (you can choose yourself). The ally can immediately make an extra one-action recovery or remove a moderate wound. You can't use this ability on the same creature again until they've used one of their own recoveries. Action.

Wild Camouflage (4 Intellect): By adjusting your clothing, using various disguise tricks, and drawing upon your deep knowledge of your surroundings, you are hard to make out in the wilderness until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. While you are camouflaged, you gain two assets to dodge and stealth. This effect ends early if you do something to reveal your presence or position---attacking, using a special ability with an obvious effect, moving a large object, and so on. Action.

Wilderness Awareness (4 Intellect): Your connection to the natural world extends to a degree that some would call supernatural. While in the wilderness, you can extend your senses 1 mile (1.6 km) in any direction and ask the GM a very simple, general question about that area, such as "Where is the enemy camp?" or "Is my friend Deithan still alive?" or "Where's the most poisonous thing I could find?" If the answer you seek is not in the area, you receive no information. Action.

Explorer's Awareness: You're instinctively vigilant about potential threats, foes, obstacles, and hazards in your line of sight. When you use Effort on initiative and perception tasks, you gain two free levels of Effort. Enabler.

The Wild Is on Your Side (5 Intellect): Nature itself intervenes against your foes within short range. Until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, rocks trip them, vines entangle them, insects bite them, small animals distract or confuse them, and so on, hindering all their tasks. You can only use this ability when in a wilderness environment. Enabler.

One With the Wild (6 Intellect): You and your allies gain an unusual connection to the wilderness within long range until you use a one-hour or longer recovery. This has three effects:

Action to initiate.

Survivor: If you have a minor or moderate wound, you can rally without using any Might points. This ability renews each time you take a recovery. Enabler.

You'll do anything to win a fight: bite, scratch, kick, trick, and worse.

Dirty Trick (1 Intellect): You attempt to distract your foe (by getting them to look elsewhere, making a clumsy feint to set up your real strike, and so on) so you can follow up with an attack. Make an Intellect attack to deceive your foe; success means their defense against your melee attack this round is hindered. Because your foes catch on that you're tricky, each time after the first that you use this ability in a combat encounter, the Intellect attack is hindered by one step.

Instead of following up with an attack, you can follow up with some other action, and if you succeed at an eased bluffing task against them, they don't realize what you did. For example, you could distract a foe and then press the button that opens all of the lion cages, throw an incriminating object into a trash can, or even attempt to pickpocket them.

Enabler.

Go for the Eyes (2 Speed): You attempt to injure your foe's eye, such as by gouging it or throwing dirt in their face. Make a hindered melee attack; success means their vision is impaired until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, hindering their tasks that rely on sight (which is most tasks). Action.

Scratching and Kicking (1 Speed): Your melee attack deals an additional 1 damage due to it including some combination of scratching, kicking, and/or biting. Enabler.

Despite My Wounds: While you have two or more moderate wounds or one major wound, you get a free reroll on one action each round (as if you had spent 1 XP). Enabler.

Sneak Attack (1 Speed): If you attack a foe under one of the following conditions, your light melee or light ranged weapon attack inflicts an additional 5 damage on a successful hit. (This ability doesn't work with medium or heavy weapons.)

First action.

When the Deal Bombs: There's always a risk that someone you deal with will try to turn on you. After successfully charming, deceiving, interacting positively with, or using Fast Talk or a similar ability on a creature, if they become hostile to you within a day or so, you automatically reduce the wound severity of their first successful attack against you by one step. Enabler.

At tier 3: Instead of reducing the wound's severity, you ignore it completely (no damage).

Fast Kill (2 Might or Speed): When you hit with a melee or ranged attack, you deal an additional 4 damage. You can't use this ability in two consecutive rounds. Enabler.

Incapacitating Attack (4 Speed): Your successful attack also briefly incapacitates the target. Until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery (or until someone uses an action to give them aid), they are prone, unable to stand or crawl more than an immediate distance each round, and their defenses are hindered. Enabler.

Feint (2 Speed): If you use one action creating a misdirection or diversion, in the next round you can take advantage of your opponent's lowered defenses. Make a melee attack roll against that opponent. You gain an asset on this attack. If your attack is successful, it inflicts an additional 4 damage. Action.

Mind Games (4 Intellect): You use lies and trickery, mockery, and perhaps even hateful, obscene language against a foe that can understand you. If you succeed, the foe is confused, enraged, or otherwise distracted enough that they lose their next turn, and on the turn thereafter, their tasks are hindered. Action.

Knock Out (5+ Might): Make a hindered melee attack against a foe of level 3 or lower. If the attack hits, instead of inflicting damage you knock them unconscious until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery (or someone uses an action to bring them back around).

Effort: Increase the maximum level of the foe you can affect by 1.

Action.

Using the Environment (4 Intellect): You can use the environment to your advantage. If there is something within immediate distance that plausibly could provide cover (a table, chandelier, banister, second foe, and so on), you have cover and an asset on your melee attacks.

It is a routine task (no roll required) for you to move anywhere that it is physically possible for you to reach as part of normal movement, climbing, or jumping, and you ignore obstacles and difficult terrain when you do so. For example, you could climb up a tapestry to a balcony or slide down a ship's sail, but not slip through an arrow slit or enter a locked cage.

This ability lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

Enabler.

Lethal Strike (6 Speed): With a swift and sudden melee or ranged weapon attack, you strike a foe in a vital spot. If you hit, you inflict an additional 7 damage. Action.

Twisting the Knife (4 Speed): If you've hit a foe with a melee weapon in this combat, you automatically hit them again with that same weapon (no roll required), dealing normal damage. You can't use this ability with a special attack or if you want to use Effort to increase damage, but abilities that automatically affect your damage do apply to this attack. Action.

You're a scrapper and love a good fight. Punches, kicks, and full-body movements are your weapons.

Body as a Tool: In addition to making your body a weapon, you can use it as a tool. You gain an asset to athletics and gymnastics tasks.

No Need for Weapons: You inflict an additional 2 damage with unarmed attacks.

Resilience: You can take one more moderate wound than normal.

Advantage to Disadvantage (3 Speed): You make a hindered attack featuring several quick moves against an armed foe. If you hit, you inflict damage and disarm them---choose whether you want to be holding their weapon or it is knocked to the ground 10 feet (3.5 m) away. For the rest of the combat encounter, you gain an asset on intimidation tasks against your foe.

First action.

Fearsome Reputation (3 Might or Intellect): You announce yourself (perhaps mentioning one of your intimidating deeds) to all foes within long range who can hear and understand you. Make a separate Intellect attack roll for each foe. Success means they are afraid of you, easing your tasks against them until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Action.

High and Low: You and an ally tag-team a foe for greater effectiveness. Choose one ally you can see. If you hit a foe that they've hit with a melee attack this turn, your attack inflicts an additional 2 damage. Enabler.

Moving Like Water (3 Speed): Until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, if you fail to dodge an attack, you can still attempt to block it, but the block task is hindered. Enabler.

Throw (2 Might): When your unarmed attack damages a creature of your size or smaller, you throw that creature 1d20 feet away from you. The creature lands prone. Enabler.

Divert Attacks (4 Speed): Until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, you automatically deflect, block, or dodge any ranged projectile attacks (no roll required). However, on your next turn after you're attacked with ranged projectiles, all your other actions are hindered. Action to initiate.

Knock Out (5+ Might): Make a hindered melee attack
against a foe of level 3 or lower. If the attack hits, instead of inflicting damage you knock them unconscious until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery (or someone uses an action to bring them back around).

Effort: Increase the maximum level of the foe you can affect by 1.

Action.

Stunning Attack: When making an unarmed attack, you can choose to have the attack roll be hindered; if you hit, in addition to the normal effect of the attack, the foe loses their next turn. Enabler.

Lethal Capability: You've mastered how to kill with a particular attack. You inflict an additional 5 damage with attacks of one specific type, such as unarmed attacks, or some other specific attack you prefer.

You can gain this ability more than once. Each time you do, choose a different specific attack.

Master of Unarmed Fighting Style: You inflict an additional 3 damage with unarmed attacks.

When you succeed on a Might defense roll to block an unarmed attack against you, reduce its severity by two steps instead of one (major to minor, moderate and minor to none).

Enabler.

You're a swashbuckling daredevil who fights with a flamboyant style that's entertaining to watch.

Attack Flourish: When you attack, you add stylish moves, entertaining quips, or a certain something that entertains or impresses others. One creature you choose within short range who can see you gains an asset to their next task if taken within a round or two. Enabler.

Roguish Smile (1+ Intellect): With a smile and perhaps a wink, you erase the last round from the memory of a target of level 3 or less within immediate distance (make an Intellect attack against them to succeed).

Effort: Increase the maximum level of the foe you can affect by 1.

Action.

Taunting Defense (2 Intellect): When you defend against a melee attack, your mocking moves, entertaining quips at your foe's expense, or a certain something draws out your foe's anger. Your foe's attack is hindered, but if they hit, they deal an additional minor wound. Enabler.

Dashing Defense: When wielding a light or medium weapon against a foe of your size or smaller, if you fail to dodge an attack, you can still attempt to block it. Enabler.

Fast Kill (2 Might or Speed): When you hit with a melee or ranged attack, you deal an additional 4 damage. You can't use this ability in two consecutive rounds. Enabler.

Wounded Fury: While you have at least three moderate wounds or at least one major wound, you gain one free level of Effort you can apply to your attack each round (easing your chance to hit or dealing 3 extra damage). This benefit lasts until you take your next ten-minute or longer recovery (or you no longer suffer from those wounds)

At tier 3: The benefit increases to two free levels of Effort.

Enabler.

Acrobatic Attack (1+ Speed): You leap into the attack, twisting or flipping through the air. If you use Effort on the attack roll, you get a free level of Effort on it.

If you roll a natural 17 or 18, instead of inflicting extra damage you can choose to have a minor effect.

You can't use this ability if you can't freely use the armor you're wearing.

Enabler.

Flamboyant Boast (1 Intellect): You boastfully describe an act that you will accomplish, and then as an extra action on your turn, you attempt it. If an average person would find the action difficult (or impossible) and you succeed on it, non-allies who witnessed it are so amazed and confused that all actions they attempt on their next turn are hindered.

The GM will help you determine whether your boast is something that would significantly impress onlookers.

If you fail the boasted task, until you use a
ten-minute or longer recovery your attempts to affect witnesses (with attacks, special abilities,
or skills) are hindered.

Enabler.

Quick Adjustment (2 Speed): Your nonlethal attack (an attempt to disarm, an attack against an inanimate object, or an attack to subdue) is a First action. Enabler.

Improved Dashing Defense: One ally within immediate range who is using a light or medium weapon gains the benefit of Dashing Defense until your next turn. Enabler.

Misdirect (3 Speed): When an opponent misses you, you can redirect their attack to another target of your choosing that's within immediate range of you. Make an unmodified attack roll against the new target (do not use any of your or the opponent's modifiers to the attack roll, but you can apply Effort for accuracy). If the attack hits, the target takes damage equal to the attacking foe's level. Enabler.

Agile Wit: When attempting a Speed task, you can spend points from your Intellect Pool instead of your Speed Pool, and vice versa. Use the Edge stat for the Pool you're spending points from.

Using the Environment (4 Intellect): You can use the environment to your advantage. If there is something within immediate distance that plausibly could provide cover (a table, chandelier, banister, second foe, and so on), you have cover and an asset on your melee attacks.

It is a routine task for you to move anywhere that it is physically possible for you to reach as part of normal movement, climbing, or jumping, and you ignore obstacles and difficult terrain when you do so. For example, you could climb up a tapestry to a balcony or slide down a ship's sail, but not slip through an arrow slit or enter a locked cage.

This ability lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

Enabler.

Again and Again (6 Speed): You can take an extra action on your turn. Enabler.

Return to Sender (3 Speed): If you successfully block or dodge a melee attack, you can immediately make a melee attack against the attacking foe. You can't use this ability again until after you take your normal turn. Enabler.

Your body is partly or fully machine.

Defensive Cybernetics: Some of your body is made of durable machine parts, some internal, some external. Work with your GM to decide your exact form and configuration.

If you have a minor or moderate wound, you can rally to remove it as an action without using any Might points. This ability renews each time you take a recovery.

Hidden Shield: You have a shield built into your body (probably your arm) made of a composite of metal and advanced polymers. The shield is concealed until you wish to use it.

You can freely use the shield in one hand as a light melee weapon.

As an extra action on your turn, you can make a melee attack with the shield, but if you do so the main attack and shield attack are both hindered.

If your shield is destroyed due to blocking wounds, you cannot use it until you use your resources to repair it, taking about one day.

Powered Cybernetics (2+ Might): You can use your cybernetics to support and enhance your physical actions. When you roll on a task to carry, climb, jump, or smash and your roll is less than a 9, treat the roll as a 9. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.) This ability renews when you take a recovery.

Enabler; action to carry, climb, jump, or smash.

Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3.

At tier 3: The minimum number rolled for this ability increases to 12.

High-Speed Interface: By directly plugging into a machine or device within immediate range, you ease tasks to identify and operate it.

The interface allows you to interact with the device as fast as it can process information, which is usually faster than a regular person could manipulate the device (such as through a keyboard or voice interface).

HUD (0+ Intellect): You have a heads-up display (HUD) system that helps you perceive your environment. You can see in very dim light as though it were bright light. You can see in total darkness as if it were very dim light. You can see up to a short distance through fog, smoke, and other obscuring phenomena.

Effort: You can use Effort in varying amounts to gain alternate effects as follows:

Enabler.

Enhanced Self-Repair: You reduce the Might cost of rallying to remove wounds by 2.

Weaponization: You have a weapon built
into your body. Choose one light or medium
one-handed weapon, such as a broadsword, baton, or medium pistol. You are trained in this weapon. You can hide or reveal this weapon as an extra action on your turn.

If your embedded weapon is a firearm, it reloads through a slot in your arm, can hold ten shots, and fires through a disguised barrel in the center of the palm of your hand.

Instead of embedding a weapon, you can embed a multitool that counts as either a set of light tools or a set of heavy tools (your choice when you gain this ability).

Deep Reserves: When others are exhausted, you can push through. You can transfer up to 6 points among your Pools in any combination, at a rate of 1 point per round. For example, you could transfer 3 points of Speed to Might and 3 points of Intellect to Might, which would take a total of six rounds. This ability renews when you use a 
ten-hour recovery. Action.

Fusion: You can fuse your manifest cyphers and artifacts with your body. You can use these fused devices with First actions (assuming their normal use requires a regular action).

Action to fuse item with your body or detach it.

Bolts of Power (5 Intellect): You simultaneously unleash four lightning bolts, making four separate attacks against targets within short range. Each bolt inflicts 4 damage, or 1 damage on a failed attack roll. Action.

Closed Loop Body: You don't need to eat or breathe, and you suffer no ill effects from vacuum or extreme temperatures (though fire, cold, and other attacks are suffered normally).

Cybernetic Alacrity: Any time you use Effort on a noncombat Speed task, add your choice of the following options: a free level of Effort on the action or a minor effect on the action. Enabler.

Embedded Drone (3 Intellect): You have an embedded drone built into your body that you can launch and control until you use a one-hour or longer recovery (at which time it returns to you). The drone is no larger than 1 foot (30 cm) on a side. It has manipulators, allowing it to attempt to accomplish physical tasks, and a built-in firearm that it can use to make attacks. The drone can immediately take an action on the turn that you launch it. If the drone is destroyed, you can use your resources to restore it over several days. Action to initiate.

Embedded drone: level 4; long-range embedded pistol inflicts 4 damage; flies a short distance each round

Electronic aids implanted in your brain make you a mental powerhouse.

Data Processor (1+ Intellect): Drawing upon stored information and the ability to process incoming data at amazing speeds, you temporarily become trained in a mental task. Each time you activate this ability, choose one Intellect skill, such as hacking, Intellect defense, a knowledge skill, or perception; you become trained in that skill until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

Normally you can use this ability to become trained in only one skill at a time; activating it again replaces the previous use with a new trained skill.

Effort: Increase your maximum number of temporary trained skills by one.

Action to initiate.

Think Fast: Your mind is quick and elusive. You are trained in Intellect defense.

Wireless Interface (1+ Intellect): You can mentally communicate with machines within short range. Communication is two-way, but the machine must be willing and able to communicate. You don't have to see the target, but you must know that it's within range. You can have more than one active contact at once, but you must establish contact with each machine individually.

Once you've established contact, tasks involving that machine take half the normal time, and tasks that are an action become a First action.

Each contact lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

Effort: Increase the duration so it lasts until you use a one-hour or longer recovery. Increase the range by a step (long, very long, 1 mile, 10 miles, or anywhere on the planet).

Action to establish contact.

Analytic Processor (4 Intellect): Ask the GM a question you want answered. The GM sets a difficulty for the answer---the more obscure the answer, the more difficult the task. If you succeed at an Intellect task against this difficulty, you get a short answer to the question. If you fail, you take 4 Intellect damage from digital feedback. Action.

Machine Reading (2 Intellect): You can read the surface "thoughts" of a machine within short range, even if it doesn't want you to. You must be able to see it. Once you have established contact, you can read the machine's thoughts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Action to initiate.

Action Processor (4 Intellect): Your Data Processor ability can now grant you training in physical skills as well, such as athletics, gymnastics, dodging or blocking, or attacks with a specific weapon. This does not change how many skills Data Processor can simultaneously give you training in. Enabler.

Awareness (3 Intellect): You become hyperaware of your surroundings until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. You are aware of all living things within long range (including their general position). By using an action to concentrate, you can choose one of them and attempt to learn their general health and power level. Action.

When you use Awareness, you are also aware of thinking machines in long range.

Expanded Wireless: The base range for Wireless Interface increases to anywhere on the planet.

Locked Skill: When you activate Data Processor, choose one of the skills it gives you training in; this is your "locked" skill. Your training in the locked skill lasts until you use a ten-hour recovery.

If you activate Data Processor again before you use this recovery, you can reset the duration of your locked skill or choose another skill to be your locked skill.

You can select this ability up to three times. Each time you select it, your maximum number of locked skills increases by one.

Enabler.

Precognition (6 Intellect): You dimly sense the future until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. During this time, you gain the following benefits:

Enabler.

Machine Enhancement: Anytime you use Effort on an Intellect action, add your choice of the following options: a free level of Effort on the action or a minor effect on the action. Enabler.

Mind Surge: You have an extra one-action recovery each day that can only be used to replenish your Intellect Pool.

You can grow larger and, with enough experience, to towering heights.

Enlarge (1+ Might): You grow to a height of 9 feet (3 m) until you use a recovery. Your equipment increases size with you. While enlarged, you add +1 to your Might Edge, you can ignore the first moderate wound you take, and your unarmed attacks inflict 4 damage. While enlarged, your dodge tasks are hindered.

Each time you use Enlarge, the Might cost increases by 1. The cost resets after you take a recovery.

Last action; enabler to use again to remain enlarged.

If you have multiple abilities that let you grow to a larger size, their effects don't add together---you just get the benefits from the biggest one.

Longstrider: When you are larger than normal, your long-term movement speed (not your movement each round, but when walking, running, or hiking over a minute or longer) is doubled thanks to your bigger stride and your greater endurance.

Mighty Leap (1 Might): When you are larger than normal and jump, you move twice as far as normal, either horizontally or vertically. Enabler.

Preternaturally Strong (2 Might): When you roll for a carrying, climbing, jumping, or smashing task and your roll is less than a 9, treat the roll as a 9. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.) While bigger than normal, each size increment (Enlarge, Bigger, Huge, Gargantuan, and Colossal) increases this minimum number rolled by 3. This ability renews when you take a recovery.

Enabler.

At tier 3: The minimum number rolled for this ability increases to 12.

Scary Big: Even when you're not larger than normal, your presence is compelling; you have an asset to charm and intimidation tasks. If you have grown larger than your normal size, you have two assets. Enabler.

Bigger: When you use Enlarge, if you spend an additional 1 Might, you grow to a height of 12 feet (4 m). While bigger, you add +1 to your Might Edge, you can ignore the first two moderate wounds you take, your unarmed attacks inflict 6 damage, and you gain an asset to tasks that are easier for a larger creature to perform (like climbing or wading). While bigger, your dodge tasks are hindered by two steps. Enabler.

When you spend extra Might to use Bigger, Huge, Gargantuan, or Colossal, the benefits from those abilities replace the benefits you get from Enlarge.

Towering Throw (2 Might): When you deal damage to a creature of your size or smaller with an unarmed attack, you throw that creature 1d20 feet away from you. The creature lands prone. While bigger than normal, each increment (Enlarge, Bigger, Huge, Gargantuan, and Colossal) increases the distance you throw the creature by another 1d6 feet and deals an additional 1 damage upon their impact. Enabler.

Huge: When you use Enlarge, if you spend an additional 2 Might, you grow to a height of 16 feet (5 m). While huge, you add +1 to your Might Edge, you can ignore the first three moderate wounds you take, your unarmed attacks inflict 7 damage, and you gain an asset to tasks that are easier for a larger creature to perform (like climbing or wading). While huge, your dodge tasks are hindered by two steps. Enabler.

Towering Strike (3 Might): When you hit with a Might attack, you deal an additional 4 damage. While bigger than normal, each increment (Enlarge, Bigger, Huge, Gargantuan, and Colossal) inflicts an additional 1 damage. This ability renews after you take a recovery. Enabler.

Gargantuan: When you use Enlarge, if you spend an additional 5 Might, you can grow to a height of 30 feet (9 m). While gargantuan, you add +2 to your Might Edge, you can ignore the first three moderate wounds and first major wound you take, your unarmed attacks inflict 8 damage, and you gain two assets to tasks that are easier for a larger creature to perform (like climbing or wading). You can make an unarmed attack against all creatures in an immediate area (make separate attack rolls for each). While gargantuan, your dodge tasks are hindered by three steps. If you fall prone while gargantuan, you take a moderate wound and require a Last action to get up. Enabler.

Might for Mind: When performing a task that would normally require spending points from your Might Pool, you can spend points from your Intellect Pool instead, and vice versa.

Colossal: When you use Enlarge, if you spend an additional 7 Might, you grow to a height of 60 feet (18 m). While colossal, you add +2 to your Might Edge, you can ignore the first three moderate wounds and first two major wounds you take, your unarmed attacks inflict 9 damage, and you gain two assets to tasks that are easier for a larger creature to perform (like climbing or wading). You can make an unarmed attack against all creatures in an immediate area (make separate attack rolls for each). While colossal, you can't effectively dodge attacks from creatures one-quarter your size or smaller (attacks from such creatures automatically hit you). If you fall prone while colossal, you take a moderate wound and require a Last action to get up. Enabler.

Grab: If you make an unarmed attack as a Last action, your attack deals 2 less damage and the target is grabbed. All the grabbed target's tasks are hindered, including any attempts to escape your grip. As an attack, you can deal 4 damage to your grabbed foe (no attack roll required).

While bigger than normal, each increment (Enlarge, Bigger, Huge, Gargantuan, and Colossal) hinders the target's escape attempts by an additional step and increases your grip damage by 1.

Last action to initiate; action to squeeze grabbed targets.

For brief periods, you become a fearsome and powerful creature with control issues.

Beast Form (0+ Might): On five consecutive nights each month, you uncontrollably change into a monstrous beast until the first hint of dawn or the moon sets (but see below). Work with your GM to determine the details of this form. In this new form, you add +4 to your Might Pool, +1 to your Might Edge, +2 to your Speed Pool, and +1 to your Speed Edge; you ignore the first moderate wound you take; and you can freely use your unarmed attacks as light weapons (eased attack, 2 damage) or medium weapons (unmodified attack, 4 damage), whichever seems appropriate for that attack.

While in beast form, you can't spend Intellect points for any reason other than to try to change to your normal form before the duration is over (a difficulty 4 task). In addition, you attack any and every living creature within short range. After you revert to your normal form, all your tasks are hindered until you use a one-hour or longer recovery. If you did not kill and eat at least one substantial creature while in beast form, the hindrance is two steps instead of one and lasts until you use a ten-hour recovery.

Effort: You can intentionally change into your beast form if you succeed at a difficulty 4 Intellect task. If you fail, you can keep trying each round (at no additional Might cost to activate this ability) until you succeed or decide to give up.

Enabler to involuntarily change into beast form; action to voluntarily change into beast form; action to change back to your normal form.

A PC in beast form usually loses or at least leaves behind their regular-sized clothing and armor.

Call Upon the Beast (1 Intellect): While not in beast form, you can call upon your beastly nature for a moment and give a menacing growl or have your eyes become more animal-like. If you do this, you gain a free level of Effort on an intimidation task. Enabler.

Keen Eye: You can see perfectly well half again as far as normal. You ignore attack and perception penalties for fog, smoke, mist, dim light, and very dim light.

Beast Senses: You have heightened senses; you have an asset to perception and initiative tasks. If you are in beast form, you have two assets, and even if you are unaware of an incoming attack, the attacker doesn't gain any advantage against you, such as from surprise.

Controlled Change: You can try to use your Beast Form ability to change into your beast form on any night (a difficulty 4 Intellect task). Any transformations you make using this power are in addition to the five nights per month that you change involuntarily. Action to change.

Scales (2 Might): You grow scales all across your body until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, during which time your block tasks are eased. Action when in your normal form; enabler when using Beast Form.

Talons or Claws (1 Might): You can make your fingertips grow sharp talons or claws (whichever matches your beast form) until you use a
ten-minute or longer recovery, during which time your unarmed attacks deal an additional 1 damage. Action when in your normal form; enabler when using Beast Form.

Bigger Beast Form: When you use Beast Form, you grow larger, during which time you achieve a height of 12 feet (4 m). Being so large, your beast form gains the following additional benefits: you can ignore the first moderate wound you take, your unarmed attack rolls have an asset, you can freely use your unarmed attacks as heavy weapons (6 damage), and you gain an asset to tasks that are easier for a larger creature to perform (like climbing or wading). While in your bigger beast form, your dodge tasks are hindered. Enabler.

Sleeker Beast Form: When you use Beast Form, your beast form gains the following additional bonuses: +1 to your Might Edge, +2 to your Speed Pool, and +1 to your Speed Edge. Enabler.

Wounded Fury: While you have at least three moderate wounds or at least one major wound, you gain two free levels of Effort you can apply to an attack each round. This benefit lasts until you take your next ten-minute or longer recovery (or you no longer suffer from those wounds). Enabler.

Beast Healing: When you change into your beast form, you are immediately healed of one wound of
any severity. This ability renews after you take
a ten-hour recovery. Enabler.

Greater Controlled Change: It's easier to change into and out of the shape granted by your Beast Form ability. Transforming either way is now a difficulty 2 Intellect task.

Poison Bite (4 Might): You grow fangs and an extended overbite or underbite, allowing you to make poisonous bite attacks as light unarmed attacks (eased attack, 2 damage) until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. If your bite attack succeeds, the target takes an additional 5 damage (ignores armor) from poison and their tasks are hindered for one round. Action when in your normal form; enabler when using Beast Form.

Wings (4 Might): You sprout wings massive enough to give you the power to fly up to a long distance each round. You can carry a creature your size or smaller (if using Bigger Beast Form, you can carry up to three creatures of your normal size or smaller). Action when in your normal form; enabler when using Beast Form.

Brute Squad (8 Might): You can perform two Might tasks on this turn, one with your normal action and one with an extra action. For example, you could make a melee attack and smash open a door, throw a heavy couch and jump over a wall, or make two melee attacks. Enabler.

Enhanced Beast Form: When you use Beast Form, your beast form gains the following additional bonuses: +3 to your Might Pool, +2 to your Speed Pool, and you can ignore all minor wounds from physical attacks.

Constrict: While in beast form, if you make an unarmed attack as a Last action, your attack deals 2 less damage and you grab the target, possibly by wrapping part of your body around them. All the grabbed target's tasks are hindered, including any attempts to escape. Each round they remain grabbed, you can use your action to inflict 5 damage on them (no roll required). Last action to initiate; action to constrict a grabbed target.

Lethal Capability: You've mastered how to kill with a particular attack. You inflict an additional 5 damage with your claws, your bite, or some other specific attack you prefer.

You can gain this ability more than once. Each time you do, choose a different specific attack.

Perfect Control: You no longer need to attempt an Intellect task to use Beast Form or revert back to your normal form. You can change back and forth as your action. While in beast form, you no longer have to eat a creature to avoid being hindered after you revert to normal.

You are a stalking hunter who excels at bringing down your selected quarry, whether person or beast.

Hunter's Determination: When you attack a foe and miss, you gain an asset on your attacks and defenses against that foe. If you miss them again, you gain a second asset against them. You lose these assets if you change targets or the combat ends. Enabler.

Knowledge of Nature: While in the wilderness, you can always find edible food of some kind and potable water if it exists. Likewise, you can find medicinal herbs or natural remedies that grant you an asset on treatments to heal wounds, disease, or poison.

Sneak Attack (1 Speed): If you attack a foe under one of the following conditions, your light melee or light ranged weapon attack inflicts an additional 5 damage on a successful hit. (This ability doesn't work with medium or heavy weapons.)

First action.

Fast Kill (2 Might or Speed): When you hit with a melee or ranged attack, you deal an additional 4 damage. You can't use this ability in two consecutive rounds. Enabler.

Quarry (2 Intellect): You pick a creature and focus your intention on pursuing them. Choose one creature you can see to become your quarry. You gain an asset on all tasks involving following, understanding, interacting with, attacking, or defending against your quarry. This asset includes hunting-related tasks, if appropriate, such as skinning, dressing, the best way to prepare and preserve any resulting game meat, and so on. You can have only one quarry at a time. Action to initiate.

Awareness (3 Intellect): You become hyperaware of your surroundings until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. You are aware of all living things within long range (including their general position). By using an action to concentrate, you can choose one of them and attempt to learn their general health and power level. Action.

Horde Fighting: When two or more foes attack you at once in melee, you can use them against each other. Each round, choose whether you gain an asset to block and dodge rolls against them or to attack rolls against them. Enabler.

Poison Crafter: If you have about an hour, you can use your resources to craft one dose of poison you can use as a contact poison on a weapon. A weapon coated with the poison (requiring a Last action to carefully apply) inflicts an additional 2 damage until you use a one-hour or longer recovery.

Your experience with poison gives you some additional related benefits. You gain an asset on detecting, identifying, and resisting poison. Your defense rolls against poison are eased, and you take 2 less Speed damage from poison (if the poison inflicts Speed damage) or reduce wounds from poison by one step (major to moderate, moderate to minor, minor to none). For example, if you are hit by an attack that adds a moderate wound from poison, you only take a minor wound from the poison.

Poison crafting uses resource points---in this case, use Craft Cypher and the weapon augmentation cypher to create a poison you can apply to your weapon. The poison, a manifest cypher, applies toward your cypher limit.

Better Sneak Attack: When using Sneak Attack, you gain an asset on the attack. On your next turn, your target takes an additional 5 damage (ignores armor). The target can prevent this additional damage by taking a recovery, using any ability that heals it, or using its action to attend to the injury. Enabler.

Sprint and Grab (2 Speed): You move a short distance and make a melee attack to grab a foe of your size or smaller. (Unlike a normal situation of taking an action and moving a short distance, this doesn't hinder your tasks.) A successful attack means you grab the foe and bring it to a halt if it was moving (this can be treated as a tackle, if appropriate). Action.

Damage Dealer: You've become better at killing with one kind of weapon. Choose one melee or ranged weapon. You inflict an additional 3 damage with this weapon. You can select this ability up to two times for any particular weapon (for a total of 6 damage).

Hunter's Drive (5 Intellect): You gain greater prowess in the hunt. If your quarry is within 10 miles (16 km) of you, your movement rate is doubled if you are trying to reach them.

You gain an additional asset on tasks related to your quarry.

This ability lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

Enabler.

Escape Plan: When you kill a foe, you can attempt a stealth task as an extra action on your turn to hide from anyone around, assuming that a suitable hiding place is nearby. Enabler.

Lethal Strike (6 Speed): With a swift and sudden melee or ranged weapon attack, you strike a foe in a vital spot. If you hit, you inflict an additional 7 damage. Action.

Multiple Quarries: When you activate Quarry, you can select four creatures you can see to be your quarry instead of just one. Each additional quarry you select adds 2 Intellect to the cost of Quarry. Enabler.

Subtlety, guile, and stealth allow you to get in where others can't.

Fast Talk (1 Intellect): When speaking with an intelligent creature who can understand you and isn't hostile, you convince that creature to take one reasonable action in the next round. A reasonable action must be agreed upon by the GM; it should not put the creature or its allies in obvious danger or be wildly out of character. Action.

Letting Their Guard Down (1 Intellect): If you interact with an intelligent NPC and successfully use disguise or deception against them, they reveal some minor additional information, such as which door is never locked, how many guards are on the upper level, or which way the king plans on ruling on a matter before him. Enabler.

Master of Disguise (2 Intellect): You disguise yourself in well under half the time---one Last action---rather than the minute or more normally required when attempting a disguise task, and if the disguise comes under direct scrutiny or challenge, you gain an additional asset to your disguise tasks to maintain the deception. Last action.

Natural Sneak (2+ Intellect): When you roll for a lockpicking, perception, pickpocketing, or stealth task and your roll is less than a 6, treat the roll as a 6. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.) This ability renews when you take a recovery.

Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3.

Enabler.

At tier 3: The minimum number rolled for this ability increases to 9.

Awareness (3 Intellect): You become hyperaware of your surroundings until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. You are aware of all living things within long range (including their general position). By using an action to concentrate, you can choose one of them and attempt to learn their general health and power level. Action.

Flight Not Fight: If you use your action only to move, your dodge tasks are eased until your next turn. Enabler.

Blend In (4 Intellect): By changing your posture, your facial expression, and perhaps your clothing, you make yourself appear unimportant but not out of place for wherever you are. For example, you could look like a janitor in an office building, an orderly in a hospital, or a clerk in a police station. People can still see you, but those of level 3 or less attach no importance to your presence. If a higher-level creature notices you, you can attempt an Intellect task against their level to retain your unimportant-seeming status. While blending in, you gain two assets to dodge and stealth tasks. This effect ends if you do something to call attention to your presence or position---attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on---or if you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. This ability works even if the NPC observes you through a security camera or similar device. Attempting to fool an animal (such as a guard dog or police dog) is hindered. Action to initiate.

Defend and Respond (3 Might or Speed): If you block or dodge a melee attack, you can immediately make a melee attack against your attacker. You can't use this ability more than once per round. Enabler.

Scrutinize Defenses (3+ Intellect): When you spend an hour or so thoroughly exploring an area (whether directly, through surveillance footage or a blueprint, or questioning people familiar with the area) no larger than a long distance in diameter, you can ask the GM one question about the area's defensive systems and procedures. The GM must answer you truthfully. For example, you could ask how often guards pass by a particular spot, what the guards are armed with (if anything), or if there are electronic or magical alarms. This ability resets when you use a ten-hour recovery.

Effort: Ask an additional question.

Action to initiate; one hour to complete.

Convenient Device (variable Intellect): Because you planned ahead or were given a special tool to overcome an obstacle, you produce a piece of equipment that removes one harmful or negative condition affecting you or an ally within immediate range. For example, if you are poisoned, you have an antidote. If an ally is blinded by pepper spray, you have a salve that negates the irritant. If you are handcuffed, you have a miniature lockpick or a pen laser that cuts metal. The device works only once (but you can use this ability again to produce another one). The Intellect cost for using this ability is equal to the level of the effect you're trying to overcome. Action.

Invisibility (4+ Intellect): You become invisible. This effect ends if you do something to reveal your presence or position---attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on.

Effort: Use this ability on a creature you touch instead of yourself; it lasts until they do something to reveal their presence or until you (not they) use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

Action to initiate.

An invisible character's attack is eased by two steps. Attacks on an invisible character are hindered by four steps or are nearly impossible if the attacker has no idea where they might be.

Persistence Training (5+ Might): You immediately end mind control affecting you. You also regain your ability to take your next turn normally and/or take it without hindrance by shaking off a lingering disabling effect.

Effort: Use this ability on an ally within immediate range instead of yourself.

Enabler for yourself; action for another.

Brainwashing (6+ Intellect): You use trickery, well-spoken lies, and mind-affecting chemicals (or other means, like magic or high technology, as appropriate to your genre) to control the actions of another creature you touch. The creature must be level 3 or lower and you must succeed at an Intellect attack against them. Control lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, and if you can see them you decide on a case-by-case basis if they follow your orders or if they can act freely.

When the duration ends, the creature doesn't remember being controlled or anything it did while under your command.

Effort: Increase the maximum level of the creature you can affect by 1.

Action to initiate.

Spring Away (5 Speed): After successfully dodging an attack or some other danger, you can immediately move up to a short distance. (This movement doesn't hinder your tasks.) Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until your next turn. Enabler.

Your natural leadership capability allows you to command others, including a loyal band of followers.

Always Witty: Every time you use a recovery, if your Intellect Pool isn't already full, you get 1 extra point to restore to your Intellect Pool. You can select this ability up to three times.

Inspiring Suggestion (2 Intellect): When you make a helpful suggestion to an ally, they have a better chance of succeeding at what they're doing. Choose an ally who can see and understand you, then suggest a specific action for them to take, such as "attack the leader" or "climb the wall." If the ally chooses to take that exact action, they gain two assets on that task. First action.

Lighting a Fire Under Them: You issue a command to a follower or ally within short range and that person's next action is a First action (if the action would have been Last, it happens normally). You can't use this ability again until after your next ten-minute or longer recovery. Last action.

Basic Follower: You gain a level 2 follower who has two level 3 modifications (one of which is charm).

You can take this ability multiple times, each time gaining another follower.

Natural Leader (3+ Intellect): When you roll to bargain, bluff, charm, interrogate, or intimidate a character and your roll is less than a 9, treat the roll as a 9. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.)

This ability renews when you take a recovery.

Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3.

Enabler.

At tier 3: The minimum number rolled for this ability increases to 12.

A person manipulated by Natural Leader becomes more difficult to work with; the GM should treat them as one level higher for later uses of the ability.

Advanced Command (4+ Intellect): You give a command to a creature within short range who can hear and understand you. If you succeed at an Intellect roll against them, they obey that command for one round. If the command would cause direct harm to them or their allies, the attack is hindered.

Effort: Attempt to give them one command each following round (make an Intellect attack for each additional command); the ability ends when you fail the attack.

Action.

Expert Follower: You gain a level 3 follower who has three level 4 modifications of your choice.

Instead of gaining a new level 3 follower, you can advance an existing follower to level 3 and gain a new level 2 follower.

You can take this ability multiple times, each time gaining another follower.

Calm (3 Intellect): Through jokes, song, or other art, you prevent a living foe from attacking anyone or anything for one round. Action.

Captivate or Inspire: You can use this ability in one of two ways.

Captivate: Your words keep the attention of all NPCs that hear them for as long as you speak.

Inspire: Your words inspire all NPCs that hear them, allowing them to perform tasks as if one level higher until you use a one-hour or longer recovery.

In either case, you choose which NPCs are affected. If anyone in the crowd is attacked while you're trying to speak to them, you lose the crowd's attention.

Action to initiate.

Improved Follower: One of your followers increases their overall power, knowledge, and ability. Choose one of your followers. Their level increases by 1, their existing modifications each increase by 1, and they gain a new modification (equal to their base level plus 1).

You can take this ability once per tier, each time improving a follower (the same one or a different one).

Stimulate (6 Intellect): Your words encourage a target in immediate range who can understand you. The next action they take is eased by three steps. (For this task, the asset limit is three instead of two.) Action.

Band of Followers: You gain four level 3 followers, each with three level 4 modifications of your choice.

Instead of gaining four new level 3 followers, you can advance four existing level 2 followers to level 3 and gain a new level 2 follower in place of each of them.

Mind of a Leader (6 Intellect): When you develop a course of action to deal with a future situation, you can ask the GM one very general question about what is likely to happen if you carry out the plan, and you will get a simple, brief answer.

Each of the allies who know the plan (including you) gain an asset to one roll of their choice related to that future situation, as long as the situation occurs within a few days of creating the plan.

Action to initiate planning; enabler for asset.

You can telekinetically move objects with your mind without physically touching them.

Push (2 Intellect): You telekinetically push a target within short range an immediate distance in any direction. You must be able to see the target, it must be your size or smaller, and it must not be affixed to anything. The push is quick, and the force is about as direct and crude as a kick or punch. Action.

Steady Hand (1 Intellect): Using your telekinesis to stabilize yourself or improve your grip, you gain a free level of Effort to use on one physical noncombat task. You can't use this ability again until after you take a recovery action. Enabler.

Telekinesis (2 Intellect): You telekinetically affect an object you can see within long range that is not too heavy for you to physically affect if you were standing next to it and could use your hands normally. Options include closing or opening a door, writing a simple symbol or a few words with a writing instrument, transferring an object a short distance, wresting an object from another creature's grasp (on a successful Intellect roll versus their level), pushing a creature an immediate distance (with a successful attack roll), or even hindering a creature's attack or defense by applying restraining pressure to a leg or arm (with a successful attack roll). In all cases, the effect must occur over the course of one round. Action.

Deflect Attacks (4 Intellect): You automatically block, deflect, or dodge any ranged projectile attacks (no roll required). However, on your next turn after you're attacked with ranged projectiles, all your other actions are hindered. This ability lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Action to initiate.

Energize Object (2 Intellect): You channel energy into an object (like a melee or ranged weapon). Until you use a one-hour or longer recovery, any attack you make with the energized object inflicts an additional 1 damage from energy (if the weapon fires projectiles, such as bullets from a rifle, this damage applies to the projectiles). The energy drains out if you stop holding or carrying the object, but as an extra action on your turn, you can energize a different object. Action.

When you energize an object, you use psychokinetic energy, which tends to give affected weapons a subtle purple glimmer.

Armoring Debris (5 Intellect): You use nearby small objects from the environment (rocks, broken items, clumps of dirt, and so on) to intercept incoming attacks until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. This allows you to attempt to better block wounds (block tasks are eased by one additional step; dodge tasks are unaffected). Action to initiate.

Enhance Strength (3+ Intellect): Until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, you use your telekinesis to augment your physical actions. When you roll on a task using brute force, such as moving a heavy object or smashing down a door, and your roll is less than a 9, treat the roll as a 9. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.)

Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3.

Action to initiate.

Apportation (4 Intellect): You pull a physical object to you across almost any distance. You can choose any piece of normal equipment on the equipment list for your genre, or (once between each ten-hour recovery) you can let the GM randomly determine what object appears. You can't use this ability to take an item held by another creature. The object appears next to you. Action.

Random Object

Mind for Speed: When performing a task that would normally require spending points from your Intellect Pool, you can spend points from your Speed Pool instead, and vice versa.

Psychokinetic Attack (5 Intellect): You can use this ability in one of two ways.

Heavy Throw: You telekinetically grab an object within short range and hurl it at a target within short range. (To throw a creature instead of an object, you first have to telekinetically grab them with a successful Intellect attack.) Make an Intellect attack against your target. If you succeed, your target and whatever you throw take 6 damage.

Shattering Burst: You unleash your power directly against an object up to half your size within short range. Make an Intellect attack (this is eased by three steps compared to using physical strength to attack the object). If you succeed, you instantly destroy the object.

Action.

Improved Apportation (6 Intellect): You pull a creature of level 3 or lower to you across almost any distance. You can choose a kind of creature that you've already encountered, or (once between each ten-hour recovery) you can let the GM randomly determine what creature appears. The creature appears next to you. They have no memory of anything before being called by you, but they have the general knowledge of a typical creature of their type. The creature is open to communicating and helping you. Action.

Random Creature

Reshape (5 Intellect): You reshape matter within short range in an area no larger than a 5-foot (1.5 m) cube. If you use only one action on this ability, the changes you make are crude at best. If you spend at least ten minutes and succeed at an appropriate hindered crafting task, you can make complex changes to the material. You can't change the nature of the material, only its shape. For example, you can make a hole in a wall or floor, seal up a hole, create a sword from a piece of iron, or break or repair a chain. Using this ability multiple times lets you make larger changes, such as building a wall, bridge, or similar structure. Action.

You are a master user of a particular type of weapon, be it a sword, whip, dagger, bow, gun, or something else.

Battle Competence: You can freely use all weapons and all armor.

As an action, you learn the level of up to three creatures that you can see within short range. This ability can be foiled by disguises or shapechanging.

Enabler for weapon use; action for evaluating creatures.

The weapon use aspect of Battle Competence is a "catch up" ability for characters whose type doesn't give them the ability to use most weapons and armor, and they don't want to be limited to just their chosen weapon. Most characters with this focus won't need the catch-up aspect of Battle Competence at all.

Display of Skill (2 Intellect): Seeing you use your weapon in combat (or perform showy moves outside of combat) gives one ally confidence that equates to a free level of Effort they can use on an action of their choice before their (or your) next ten-minute or longer recovery. Conversely, one foe can be cowed by this display, giving you a free level of Effort on a subsequent intimidation task. Enabler; action if used outside of combat.

Weapon Master: You're proficient in using one kind of weapon (such as medium blades, light bashing, or heavy ranged) that would otherwise be unfamiliar to you. You can freely use this kind of weapon and suffer no penalty when using one.

You inflict an additional 1 damage with this kind of weapon.

You are trained in crafting your chosen kind of weapon. (Crafting training allows you to easily craft and repair weapons of that type using your resources.)

You can gain this ability multiple times. Each time you do so, pick a new kind of weapon to master.

Careful Shot: You can use Speed Effort or Intellect Effort to increase your ranged weapon damage.

In addition, if you use an action to line up your shot, the attack on your next turn inflicts 2 additional damage per level of Effort applied to increase damage (5 damage total per level of Effort).

Perfect Attack (2+ Might or Speed): Make an attack with your chosen weapon. If your roll is less than a 9, treat the roll as a 9. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.)

If you succeed, the attack inflicts normal damage.

This ability doesn't allow you to succeed at an attack that would be impossible, such as slashing a person a mile away or shooting an arrow at the moon.

This ability renews when you take a recovery.

Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3.

Action.

At tier 3: The minimum number rolled for this ability increases to 12.

Throw Weapon (1+ Speed): You throw your light or medium melee weapon at a foe within short range as if it were a medium thrown weapon. Whether the weapon hits or misses, it rebounds back to your grasp if you succeed on a difficulty 3 Speed task (or difficulty 4 if the weapon is edged).

Effort: Throw a heavy weapon (instead of a light or medium weapon) as a Last action.

Action; Last action to throw heavy weapon.

If you throw your weapon and fail to catch it after it rebounds, it most likely ends up a short distance from you.

Disarming Strike (3 Speed): Make an attack against a foe with your chosen weapon. If you hit, you inflict 1 less damage than normal, but you disarm your foe, knocking their weapon to the ground 10 feet (3.5 m) away.

If your chosen weapon is a whip, you can instead choose to hinder your attack, and if it succeeds, the foe's weapon lands in your other hand.

If your chosen weapon is a bow, you can instead choose to hinder your attack, and if it succeeds, the foe's weapon is "nailed" to a nearby object or structure.

Action.

Rapid Attack (3 Speed): You make an additional attack on your turn with your chosen weapon. You can use this ability only once per round. Enabler.

Spray (2 Speed): If a weapon has the ability to fire rapid shots without reloading (usually called a 
rapid-fire weapon, such as a crank crossbow or submachine gun), you can spray multiple shots around your target to increase the chance of hitting, gaining an asset to the attack. This ability uses 1d6 + 1 attacks' worth of ammunition or power (or all of the weapon's stores, if it has less ammo or power than the number rolled). If the attack is successful, it deals 1 less damage than normal. You can also use this ability on multiple thrown weapons (such as stones, shuriken, daggers, and so on) if you're carrying them on your person or they are all within reach. Action.

Never Fumble: If you roll a natural 1 when attacking with your chosen weapon, you can ignore or countermand the GM intrusion for that roll.

You can never be disarmed of your chosen weapon, nor will you ever drop it accidentally.

Rival Talent: You can tell a lot about someone by the weapon they wield. You ease all tasks (attacking, defending, influencing, tracking, and so on) against any foe using the same kind of weapon as your chosen weapon.

Special Shot: When you hit a target with a firearm attack, you can choose to reduce the damage by 1 point but hit the target in a precise spot. Some of the possible effects include (but are not limited to) the following:

Enabler.

Arc Spray (3 Speed): If a weapon has the ability to fire rapid shots without reloading (usually called a rapid-fire weapon, such as a crank crossbow or submachine gun), you can fire your weapon at three targets (all next to one another) at once. Make a separate hindered attack roll against each target. Action.

That Was a Feint (5 Might or Speed): You immediately retry a failed attack roll with your chosen weapon, except this time you have an asset on the task. If this retry fails, you can't use this ability to retry it again. Enabler.

Lethal Strike (6 Speed): With a swift and sudden melee or ranged weapon attack, you strike a foe in a vital spot. If you hit, you inflict an additional 7 damage. Action.

Perfect Follow-Through (8 Might or Speed): You can attack with your chosen weapon and take another action as an extra action on your turn. Enabler.

Shot Collision (4+ Speed): Once per round, if someone attacks you with a firearm, thrown weapon, or other physical projectile (such as an arrow, bullet, or crossbow bolt), instead of attempting a defense task, you can attempt to shoot the projectile out of the air. Make an attack against the projectile at the same difficulty as the defense task. If you hit, your shot deflects it, destroys it, or otherwise prevents it from hitting you.

If you wish, the successfully deflected object explosively shatters in an immediate radius you select between you and the attacker, dealing 2 damage to all creatures and objects in the area (roll a separate attack against each). If you apply Effort to increase the damage, you deal 2 additional damage per level of Effort (instead of 3); targets in the area take 1 damage even if you fail the attack roll.

Enabler.

You are an incredibly fast runner, whether moving toward a foe or away from danger.

Some of the special abilities on the Moves Like the Wind flowchart are genre restricted, meaning those particular abilities are probably only suitable for a superhero, space opera, or other fantastic genre. The other abilities are suitable for most genres.

Fleet of Foot (1+ Speed): As an extra action on this turn you can move up to a short distance. (This movement doesn't hinder your tasks.)

Effort: As an extra action on this turn you can move up to a long distance (instead of a short distance); this movement doesn't hinder your tasks.

Enabler.

Get Out: If you move at least an immediate distance away from the most obvious threat or toward what promises to offer safety, one task you attempt next round is eased. Enabler.

Recover Faster: When you rally as your action, you gain an extra action on your turn that you can only use for moving. Enabler.

Escape (2+ Speed): When you roll to escape (such as slipping your restraints, squeezing through the bars, breaking the grip of a creature holding you, or pulling free from sucking quicksand) and your roll is less than a 9, treat the roll as a 9. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.)

Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3.

Action.

At tier 3: The minimum number rolled for this ability increases to 12.

Obstacle Running (3 Speed): Any movement you take this round ignores most difficult terrain that would otherwise slow your movement, allowing you to travel at normal speed through areas with rubble, fences, tables, and similar objects that you would have to climb over or move around. This movement might include sliding on a railing, briefly running along a wall, or even stepping on a creature to boost yourself over something. If an obstacle would normally require a Might or Speed task to overcome, such as swinging on a rope, balancing on a rope, or jumping over a hole, the task is eased. Enabler.

Incredible Running Speed: You move much farther than normal in a round.

When using Fleet of Foot, all distances you move are doubled.

If you run a long distance as your entire action, all your tasks are hindered by one step until the end of your next turn (instead of two steps).

As a Last action, you can run up to 500 feet (150 m), but all your tasks are hindered by two steps until the end of your next turn.

Enabler.

Speedy Threat: You spin and move such that your attacks are aided by your quick motion. If you move at least an immediate distance on your turn, your melee attack that turn gains an asset. Enabler.

Blink of an Eye (4 Speed): You move up to 1,000 feet (300 m). (This movement doesn't hinder your tasks.) Last action.

Increasing Determination: If you fail at a noncombat physical task (such as pushing open a door or climbing a cliff) and then retry the task, the task is eased. If you fail again, you gain no special benefits. Enabler.

Speed for Mind: When attempting a Speed task, you can spend points from your Intellect Pool instead of your Speed Pool, and vice versa. Use the Edge stat for the Pool you're spending points from. Enabler.

Go to Ground (4 Speed): As your action, you move up to a long distance and then attempt to hide. You gain an asset on the stealth task to blend in, disappear, or otherwise escape the senses of everyone previously aware of your presence (this movement doesn't hinder your stealth task). Action.

Hard to See: When you move, you are a blur. It is impossible to make out your identity as you pass by someone at speed.

In addition, if you do nothing but move on your turn, your dodge and stealth tasks are eased by three steps until your next turn. Enabler.

Speed Surge: You immediately recover 1d6 + 6 points to your Speed Pool. This ability renews when you make a ten-hour recovery. Enabler.

Up to Speed: If you do nothing but move for three actions in a row, you accelerate greatly and can move up to about 200 mph (320 km/h)---about 2000 feet (600 m) each round---for ten minutes or about 35 miles (60 km). After this you must stop and take a recovery. Enabler.

You never quit, can shrug off a beating, and always come back for more.

Determination: When you retry a failed task, in addition to the required level of Effort you must use, you gain a free level of Effort. You cannot use this ability again until after you have taken a recovery. Enabler.

Push on Through: Instead of a ten-minute recovery, you have a second one-action recovery---your first two recoveries are one action, the third is one hour, and the fourth is ten hours.

You can take one more moderate wound than normal.

You can use one of your one-action recoveries to allow an ally to use one of their ten-minute recoveries as an action.

Safe Fall: When you take a wound from a fall, reduce its severity by one step. Enabler.

Always Mighty: Every time you use a recovery, if your Might Pool isn't already full, you get 1 extra point to restore to your Might Pool. You can select this ability up to three times.

Ignore the Pain: You ignore one step of hindrance from one major wound or from having taken all your moderate wounds.

You can choose this ability up to three times. Each time you choose it, it allows you to ignore another step of hindrance caused by wounds.

Enabler.

Blood Fever: While at least one of your Pools has no points, or while you have at least two moderate wounds or one major wound, you gain an asset to attacks or defense rolls (your choice), as well as to intimidation rolls. Enabler.

Hidden Reserves: When you use a one-action recovery, you add +1 to your Might Edge and your Speed Edge until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Enabler.

Increasing Determination: If you fail at a noncombat physical task (pushing open a door or climbing a cliff, for example) and then retry the task, the task is eased. If you fail again, you gain no special benefits. Enabler.

Outlast the Foe: If you have been in combat for five full rounds, you have an asset for all tasks in the remainder of the combat, and you deal an additional 1 damage per attack. Enabler.

Not Dead Yet: When you would normally be dead, you instead fall unconscious for one round and then awaken.

When you awaken this way, you immediately gain 1d6 + 6 points to restore your stat Pools, and you remove one moderate wound and one major wound.

Once you use this ability, your tasks are hindered until you use a ten-hour recovery.

If you die again before you make your ten-hour recovery, you are truly dead.

You can select this ability twice. The second time you select it, the healing increases to 1d6 + 12 and you remove double the number of wounds.

Final Defiance: When you would normally be dead, you instead remain conscious and active for one more round. (This ability activates before Not Dead Yet activates.)

As an extra action on your turn each round thereafter, you can attempt a difficulty 5 Might task to remain alive for one additional round.

During these extra rounds of life, all your tasks are hindered.

If by the last round you're alive you do not receive healing, gain points in a Pool, or otherwise rally or remove a wound that killed you, Not Dead Yet activates.

Enabler.

Ignore Affliction (5 Might): Until you use a
one-hour or longer recovery, you ignore any unwanted condition or affliction (such as disease, paralysis, mind control, broken limb, and so on, but not damage) and act as if it does not affect you. If the condition would normally last less than an hour, it is entirely negated. You can use this ability even if the condition prevents you from taking actions. Action.

A muscled prodigy, you can haul incredible weight, hurl your body through the air, and punch through doors.

Always Mighty: Every time you use a recovery, if your Might Pool isn't already full, you get 1 extra point to restore to your Might Pool. You can select this ability up to three times.

Hitting Harder: You inflict an additional 1 damage with unarmed attacks.

Inspiring Display (2 Might): After succeeding at a task that depends on brute force (such as smashing down a barred door, tearing open a locked container, lifting or moving a heavy object, or striking someone with a melee weapon), choose an ally who saw you. A chosen PC regains 2 points to a Pool of their choice; a chosen NPC regains 2 health. Enabler.

Desperate Feat: While you have at least one moderate or major wound, you add +1 Edge to the Pool of your choice. Enabler.

Feat of Strength (1 Might): Your physical action is impressive, inspiring an ally or intimidating a foe. After succeeding at a task that depends on brute force (such as smashing down a barred door, tearing open a locked container, lifting or moving a heavy object, or striking someone with a melee weapon), choose a creature who saw you succeed. If they are an ally, you ease their next task. If they are a foe, you can either hinder one of their tasks on their next turn or immediately attempt an eased intimidation task against them. Enabler.

Naturally Strong (2+ Might): When you roll on a task to carry, climb, jump, or smash, and your roll is less than a 9, treat the roll as a 9. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.)

This ability renews when you take a recovery.

Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3.

Enabler.

At tier 3: The minimum number rolled for this ability increases to 12.

Deep Reserves: When others are exhausted, you can push through. You can transfer up to 6 points among your Pools in any combination, at a rate of 1 point per round. For example, you could transfer 3 points of Speed to Might and 3 points of Intellect to Might, which would take a total of six rounds. This ability renews when you take a
ten-hour recovery. Action.

Iron Fist: You inflict an additional 3 damage with unarmed attacks.

Amazing Strength: When you use Effort from your Might Pool on a noncombat task, you get a free level of Effort on that task. Enabler.

Throw (2 Might): When your unarmed attack damages a creature of your size or smaller, you throw that creature 1d20 feet away from you. The creature lands prone. Enabler.

Brute Strike (4 Might): When you hit with a Might attack, you deal an additional 6 damage. You can't use this ability in two consecutive rounds. Enabler.

Brute Squad (8 Might): You can perform two Might tasks on this turn, one with your normal action and one with an extra action. For example, you could make a melee attack and smash open a door, throw a heavy couch and jump over a wall, or make two melee attacks. Enabler.

Jump Attack (5+ Might): You jump up to 4 feet (1 m) into the air and make a melee attack against a foe on the way up or down. If you hit, you inflict damage and can attempt a difficulty 4 Might roll to inflict an additional 4 damage and knock them prone.

Effort: Add 2 feet to the jump height and an additional 2 damage to the attack (whether or not you knock the target prone).

Action.

You are skilled in finding, destroying, and banishing undead, demons, and creatures of similar ilk.

Inspiring Trust (1 Intellect): Allies in your presence that share your sense of good versus evil add +1 to their recoveries. Enabler.

Sense Evil (2+ Intellect): When you use an action to perceive undead, demons (or creatures possessed by demons), or creatures of similar ilk within immediate range, if you roll a 9 or less, treat the roll as a 9. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.) This ability lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3.

Action to initiate.

At tier 3: The minimum number rolled for this ability increases to 12.

Tribulation (1+ Intellect): You conjure pure spiritual energy to blast up to five undead, demons, and creatures of similar ilk of level 2 or less within short range. If you succeed on a separate Intellect attack against each foe, you choose whether they spend their next turn fleeing or lose their next turn.

Effort: Increase the maximum level of the foe you can affect by 1. Specify some other action for the creatures to perform for one round, such as attacking a foe of your choice.

Last action.

"Creatures of similar ilk" could include additional categories of ineffably evil entities, depending on the campaign. Work with your GM to determine the details if there are any questions. For instance, other hellish creatures, fallen angels, Lovecraftian creatures, creatures from the "Crawling Deeps," or creatures born of "the Strange" might be just as anathematic as undead and demons.

Invisibility to Evil (2+ Intellect): You or a touched ally become becomes effectively invisible to undead, demons, or creatures of similar ilk of level 3 or less until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. This effect ends if the target does something to reveal their presence or position---attacking, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on.

Effort: Increase the maximum level of foes who can't perceive the invisible target by 1.

Action to initiate.

Shield Against Evil (1 Intellect): You bless yourself or a touched ally with protection against undead, demons, or creatures of similar ilk until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. The protection eases defense rolls against the specified creature variety and grants immunity against mental influence, fear, and possession (from any source). Action.

Blast Evil (4 Intellect): You blast an adjacent immediate area with cleansing radiance, inflicting 3 damage on up to three targets in the area---make a separate attack roll against each. If the targets are undead, demons, or creatures of similar ilk, they take 6 damage instead. If any targets are possessed by a spirit, demon, or similar entity, they gain another opportunity to resist the effect and eject their possessor. Action.

Unearth Evil (4+ Intellect): You detect the faint whiff of undead, demons, and similar ilk from a great distance. When you use this ability, you generate a mental "heat map" of qualifying creatures within a 10-mile (16 km) radius. Affected creature locations are accurate to within about 100 feet (30 m). This takes anywhere from an hour to a full day of concentration, depending on what the GM feels is appropriate due to time, distance, or other mitigating circumstances. However, you don't know in advance how long it will take. Creatures of level 4 or higher are aware that something has noticed them, but they don't necessarily realize what.

Effort: Once you have established where each qualifying target is located, you retain a sense of their locations (so if they move, you are aware of their new position) until you use a one-hour or longer recovery (this requires two levels of Effort).

Action to initiate.

A heat map is a simple map of an area using colors to show the intensity of something in a visual way, like showing where things are "hot" or "cold"---or, in this case, "evil."

Rebuke Evil (4+ Intellect): You rebuke one undead, demon, or creature of similar ilk within short range that you make a successful Intellect attack against. The affected creature does their best to accomplish a goal you specify in your rebuke, even if it would cause them or their allies harm, until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

Effort: Affect an additional foe (make a separate attack roll against each foe); you must give the same command to all affected creatures.

Last action.

Righteous Cloak (4 Intellect): You shine with wholesome light, automatically inflicting 4 damage (no roll needed) on anyone who tries to touch you or strike you with a melee attack. While Righteous Cloak is active, bright light illuminates a short area around you if you wish. This ability lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Enabler.

Shrug Off Evil: You are immune to mental influence, fear, and possession (from any source).

You ignore one wound inflicted by undead, demons, or creatures of similar ilk. This aspect of this ability renews after you take a ten-hour recovery. Enabler.

Fence Out Evil (6+ Intellect): You encircle a short area in a transparent, immaterial wall of cleansing light until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. When the wall appears, each undead, demon, or creature of similar ilk within its area---or that enters the area---automatically takes 3 damage (ignores armor) from the light (no attack roll required) each round. In addition, you can attempt an Intellect attack against a qualifying creature in the area each round as your action. If you succeed, that creature is affected as if you successfully used Rebuke Evil against them. Action to initiate; action for each targeted use.

Supreme Retribution (8 Intellect): You call down a shaft of roaring radiant flame in an immediate area within long range. Make separate Intellect attacks against each creature in the area. Success means you inflict 4 damage; all creatures take 1 damage even on a failed attack roll. Choose one creature in the area to take an additional 3 damage regardless of whether your attack succeeded or failed. Action.

You are a member of a religious order that studies the mystical power that unites all things across galactic distances, granting you psychic and physical abilities.

Defensive Precognition (4 Intellect): You automatically dodge all ranged attacks (no roll required). However, on your next turn after you're attacked with a ranged attack, all your other actions are hindered. This ability lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Action to initiate.

Push (2 Intellect): You telekinetically push a target within short range an immediate distance in any direction. You must be able to see the target, it must be your size or smaller, and it must not be affixed to anything. The push is quick, and the force is about as direct and crude as a kick or punch. Action.

Use the Force (2 Intellect): You gain an asset on a single noncombat task you attempt this turn. You cannot use this ability again until after you take a recovery. Enabler.

Desperate Feat: While you have at least one moderate or major wound, you add +1 Edge to the Pool of your choice. Enabler.

Telekinesis (2 Intellect): You telekinetically affect an object you can see within long range that is not too heavy for you to physically affect if you were standing next to it and could use your hands normally. Options include closing or opening a door, writing a simple symbol or a few words with a writing instrument, transferring an object a short distance, wresting an object from another creature's grasp (on a successful Intellect roll versus their level), pushing a creature an immediate distance (with a successful attack roll), or even hindering a creature's attack or defense by applying restraining pressure to a leg or arm (with a successful attack roll). In all cases, the effect must occur over the course of one round.

Action.

Telepathic Message (2+ Intellect): You can send a one-way telepathic message lasting about a minute. You must have at least seen the target before, and they must be on the same planet as you. The target recognizes the contact as a telepathic message and may recognize your mental "voice."

Effort: Increase the range to anywhere in the same star system. Increase the range to anywhere in the same galaxy (this requires three levels of Effort). Action to initiate.

Acrobatic Attack (1+ Speed): You leap into the attack, twisting or flipping through the air. If you use Effort on the attack roll, you get a free level of Effort on it.

If you roll a natural 17 or 18, instead of inflicting extra damage you can choose to have a minor effect.

You can't use this ability if your physical actions are hindered from wearing armor.

Enabler.

Psychic Suggestion (4 Intellect): If your Intellect attack succeeds, a target within short range takes the action you indicate on their next turn. If this action would cause direct harm to the creature or their allies, your mental attack is hindered. Action.

Telekinetic Crush (4 Intellect): Make a hindered Intellect attack against a nonliving foe (such as a robot or zombie). If you succeed, you crush them, inflicting 6 damage. Action.

Unbalancing Strike (4 Speed): Make a melee attack to knock your foe off balance. This attack is eased by two steps. If you succeed, you inflict damage and all actions they attempt on their next turn are hindered. Action.

Telekinetic Throw (5 Intellect): You telekinetically grab an object within short range and hurl it at a target within short range. (To throw a creature instead of an object, you first have to telekinetically grab them with a successful Intellect attack.) Make an Intellect attack against your target. If you succeed, your target and whatever you throw each take 6 damage. Action.

Total Awareness: You automatically and frequently use your special senses to check your immediate vicinity, making it very difficult to surprise, hide from, or sneak up on you. When you use Effort on initiative and perception tasks, you gain two free levels of Effort. Enabler.

Lethal Capability: You inflict an additional 5 damage with attacks of one specific type, such as a thrown knife, a shot with a blaster, unarmed attacks, or some other specific attack you prefer.

You can gain this ability more than once. Each time you do, choose a different specific attack.

Return to Sender (3 Speed): If you successfully block or dodge a melee attack, you can immediately make a melee attack against the attacking foe. You can't use this ability again until after you take your normal turn. Enabler.

You emit and manipulate lightning and thunder.

Control Electric Device (2+ Intellect): You can attempt to control or disrupt an electric device 
(in other words, a non-intelligent device or machine that is powered by electricity) at long range. Make an Intellect attack against the device. If your roll is less than a 12, treat the roll as a 12. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.)

If you succeed, you can control the device as if you were next to it, even if normally you would have to touch it, read a screen, or manually operate it. If the machine is protected against casual access via some kind of security protocol, your tasks to hack or otherwise bypass that security are hindered unless you are within immediate range. If it is held by another creature, you must succeed against the creature's level or the device's level, whichever is higher.

If attempting to disrupt the device, success means it shorts out and, if you wish, also explodes in an immediate radius, dealing 1 damage to all creatures in the area (make separate Intellect attack rolls against each creature).

Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3.

Action.

At tier 3: The minimum number rolled for this ability increases to 15.

Lightning Hand (1 Intellect): Your hands crackle with electricity, allowing you to make either one touch attack or one long-range lightning blast attack, inflicting 4 damage.

Alternatively, if you wield a weapon, it crackles with electricity and inflicts an additional 1 damage. This version of the ability lasts until you use a 
ten-minute or longer recovery.

Action for touch; enabler for weapon.

Touch attacks are effectively light unarmed attacks, and therefore are eased.

Thunder Crash (2 Intellect): You affect a target in long range with overwhelming thunder. With a successful Speed attack, you inflict 2 damage and induce a tremor in their body. Each round after this initial attack, as an extra action on your turn you can make another attack roll for the destructive tremor to inflict an additional 1 damage on the target. If you fail this roll, the tremor ends.

Action to initiate.

Bolt Rider (4 Intellect): You can move a long distance from one location to another almost instantaneously, carried by a bolt of lightning. You must be able to see the new location, and there must be no intervening barriers. Action.

Radiohead: You can transmit and receive radio transmissions across a broad range of frequencies. You can keep your radio communications entirely private, or relay them audibly as if you were a standard radio. If attempting to access an encrypted digital radio signal, you must succeed on an Intellect task against the encryption's level. Communicating this way is as natural for you as verbal speech, which means sometimes you may overhear something interesting over the radio even when not searching for it. Enabler.

Resist the Storm: You're resistant to the natural hazards of storms. Choose either electricity or sonic energy. If attacked with this kind of energy, reduce the severity of the wound by one step (major to moderate, moderate to minor, minor to none).

You can take this ability twice, each time selecting a different kind of energy.

Enabler.

Deafening Bolt (3 Intellect): You unleash a bolt of lightning at a target within long range. If your attack succeeds, the target takes 5 damage and is deafened until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery, during which time they can't hear anything and their defense tasks are hindered. Action.

Electric Armor (3 Intellect): Lightning crackles across your body until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. The electricity doesn't harm you, but it automatically inflicts 3 damage on anyone who tries to touch you or strike you with a melee attack (no roll required).

While this ability is active, you ignore moderate and minor wounds from electricity.

While this ability is active, you can make a touch attack that inflicts 2 damage from electricity.

Enabler.

Bolts of Power (5 Intellect): You simultaneously unleash four lightning bolts, dealing 4 damage to up to four targets in short range; roll separately against each target. Even on a miss, your target still takes 1 damage. Action.

Subsonic Rumble (5 Intellect): You emit an unnerving subsonic rumble that most living creatures can't hear but that affects them all the same. For creatures within short range, attempts to charm them, intimidate them, or frighten them are eased by two steps. You continue to emit this rumble until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Action to initiate.

Discharge (5+ Intellect): You take on a visible shine, tone, or crackling energy discharge. This is harmless unless you choose to direct it outward. While this ability is active, as an action you can strike up to three targets in short range (make separate Intellect attack rolls). Success means you inflict 4 damage.

This ability lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

Effort: Increase the effect on a target so that in addition to taking damage, they lose their next turn.

Action to initiate.

Electric Flight (0+ Intellect): While Electric Armor is active, you can fly. You can move a short distance and take an action, or move a long distance as your action. (Unlike a normal situation of taking an action and moving a short distance, this doesn't hinder your tasks.) You can carry one creature of your size or smaller with you. They aren't harmed by your Electric Armor.

Effort: Cover and protect a passenger with Electric Armor as if they were you.

Enabler.

Flash Across the Miles (6+ Intellect): You move as a bolt of lightning almost instantaneously to a location you're familiar with on the same planet. The location must be outdoors or open to the sky.

Effort: Travel to an indoor location if a lightning bolt could find an open route to that spot from the outside (such as through a window or doorway).

Action.

Wall of Lightning (8 Intellect): You create a barrier of crackling electricity composed of six 10-foot by 10-foot (3.5 m by 3.5 m) squares, each 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick, arranged as you wish. The wall is a level 7 barrier. One or both sides crackle with excess electricity; anyone within immediate distance of an energized side takes 10 damage (no rolls required), or double that if they pass through. The wall lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Action to create.

You use shadows and darkness to make your way unseen, moving quickly and smoothly, and you never seem to be where danger is. Maybe you use these abilities to hunt treasures, or maybe just to steal.

Always Speedy: Every time you use a recovery, if your Speed Pool isn't already full, you get 1 extra point to restore to your Speed Pool. You can select this ability up to three times.

Eyes Adjusted: You can see in very dim light as though it were bright light. You can see in total darkness as if it were very dim light.

Natural Sneak (2+ Intellect): When you roll on a lockpicking, perception, pickpocketing, or stealth task and your roll is less than a 6, treat the roll as a 6. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.)

This ability renews when you take a recovery.

Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3.

Enabler.

At tier 3: The minimum number rolled for this ability increases to 9.

Safe Fall: When you take a wound from a fall, reduce its severity by one step. Enabler.

Underworld Contacts: You know many people in a variety of communities who engage in illegal activities. These people are not necessarily your friends and might not be trustworthy, but they recognize you as a peer. You and the GM should work out the details of your underworld contacts.

Nine Lives: You can use Might Effort or Speed Effort on block rolls.

Retaliatory Swipe (3 Speed): If a melee attack hits you, you can immediately make a melee attack against your attacker. You can't use this ability more than once per turn. Enabler.

Hard-Won Resilience: Due to your experiences, you've been exposed to all sorts of terrible things and are developing a general resistance. You can take one more moderate wound than normal.

Unbalancing Strike (4 Speed): Make a melee attack to knock your foe off balance. This attack is eased by two steps. If you succeed, you inflict damage and all actions they attempt on their next turn are hindered. Action.

Dirty Fighter (2 Speed): Make a Speed attack against a foe within long range who you want to distract, blind, annoy, hamper, or otherwise interfere with. If you succeed, you hinder their attacks and defenses until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery. Action.

Slippery Customer: You ignore all penalties from very dim light and darkness.

You ignore penalties for actions in cramped spaces.

You gain an asset on stealth tasks in dim light, very dim light, and darkness.

Again and Again (6 Speed): You can take an extra action on your turn. Enabler.

Alley Rat (6 Intellect): While in a city, you attempt to find or create a significant shortcut, secret entrance, or emergency escape route where it looked like none existed. To do so, you must succeed at an Intellect task, with the difficulty set by the GM based on the situation. You and the GM should work out the details of your unexpected path, but it should let you move at least a short distance away from where you are now. Action.

You're a master of deduction, using evidence to find the answer.

Investigative Knack (2+ Intellect): You have a keen eye for detail and can pick up subtle cues that indicate someone is lying or withholding information.

When you study an area for clues or converse with (or interrogate) someone for information, if you roll a 9 or less on your perception, interaction, or recognizing motive task, treat the roll as a 9. (This means you don't get a GM intrusion if you roll a 1.) This ability lasts until you use a ten-minute or longer recovery.

Effort: Increase the minimum number rolled for this ability by 3.

Action to initiate.

At tier 3: The minimum number rolled for this ability increases to 12.

Sense Weakness (2 Intellect): After observing a creature for one round, you know of any special weaknesses they may have and your attacks inflict an additional 1 damage against them. Action to initiate.

Sleuthing (3 Intellect): When you're tracking a target of interest, looking for anything out of the ordinary (such as a clue or a single piece of evidence) at the scene of interest, or otherwise attempting to learn something about a mystery, you can ask the GM one question about the task and get a very short helpful answer that might be obvious to the character, but not to the player who doesn't have their character's experience. Action.