Ice Powers (FiD)

Starfox's Blades in the Dark fan page

The power of frozen water, arctic cold, and creatures of cold.

Ice is a special case and a bit hard to classify. Some claim it is a variant of fire, cold where fire is hot. Others claim that it is an aspect of water, or a mix of water and air. Some claim it is an element all to itself. Most ice creatures could not care less and use the powers regardless.

Many powers of this form are limited to ice and snow. This includes frozen water, but also ice and snow created by freezing substances that are liquid or gaseous at normal room temperature. In many cases, the ice created with this form is actually dry ice, which means it melts without leaving any water behind.

Ice attacks with intense cold or with icicles.

Ice elementals are spirits of cold and snow as well as columns of ice. Learning who to summon may require study or be a a score in itself. Ice creatures is anything living in the arctic. Arctic animals are governed by both the Ice and Animal powers.

Ice Power Effects Table

Action	Basic No minimum 3 Stress	Advanced Minimum 2 Dice 5 Stress	Master Minimum 4 Dice 7 Stress	Apex Minimum 6 Dice 13 Stress
Attune	Ice Intuition Detect ice creatures and powers.	Frigid Farewell Dismiss ice creatures and negate Ice powers.	Frigid Follower Summon Ice creatures.	Glacial Gateway Create a portal to the plane of Ice.
Command	Icebound Edicts Command any Ice creature. You cannot understand them.	Polar Parley Crew can communicate with ice creatures.	Arctic Authority Commands Ice creatures as if you were their superior.	Icy Allegiance Permanently bind ice creatures to service.
Consort	Frosty Fashion Add frost, snow, and ice to clothes and accessories.	Frost Form Assume the form of an Ice creature.	Frost Freeze Frost Form a willing or helpless creature.	Frost Flock Frost Form willing or non-sentient creatures, give them an order.
Finesse	Snow Steed Ride an ice or snow vehicle or Ice creature.	Icy Impact Fine and potent Ice close-range attack.	Frosty Finesse Fine manipulation of ice.	Icicle Inferno A storm of icicles, suppressing scale.
Hunt	Frosty Finder Track an Ice creature or over frozen terrain.	Frostbolt Ice to attack similar in effect to a fine and potent rifle.	Snowstorm Chill the environment, turn water into ice and rain into snow.	Avalanche Ice attack similar to a fine and potent grenade.
Prowl	Frostcloak Hide in environments of ice and snow.	Glacier Glide Move freely on and through wintry environments.	Crystal Conduit Bring allies when you use Frostcloak and Glacier Glide.	Glacial Gateway You and allies can teleport from one ice-walled space to another.
Skirmish	Crystal Coat Protection from cold.	Crystal Cleave Skirmish Attack, except the attack is fine and potent.	Crystal Cave Create distractions and obstructions that prevents scale.	Crystal Cyclone Attacking all enemies in the area.
Study	Crystal Clarity Identify powers, objects, and creatures of Ice.	Crystal Comprehension Learn the powers and abilities of something you analyze.	Crystal Chronicle Read the past events of something you analyze.	Icebound Intellect Wide Crystal Comprehension, then limited Crystal Chronicle.
Survey	Glacial Glimpse Sense ice and cold.	Glacier Gaze Choose a bit of ice; perceive as if you were at that spot.	Crystal Clairvoyance Choose a location or creature, gain a sensor at the nearest ice.	Crystal Clarity You perceive from all ice at once over a wide area.
Sway	Glacier Gab Understand Ice creatures and their motivations.	Glacier Gathering Crew can communicate with Ice creatures. Inspire cool and aloofness.	Crystal Charm Post suggestions in the mind of an Ice creature.	Icebound Imprint Permanently change the personality and motivations of an Ice creature.
Tinker	Frosty Finesse Handle icy materials as the appropriate tools and protective devices.	Crystal Crafting Shape icy materials as if they were of clay.	Crystal Conversion Create ice out of nothing. Transform ice into another power's material.	Frosty Factory Mass produce Crystal Crafting or make a large as a vehicle or building.
Wreck	Frosty Force Wreck like an ice axe. Noisy and leaves a twisted object in place.	Crystal Crush Wreck Ice as if it was wood. Works as a fine potent sledgehammer in combat.	Thraw Crystal Crush, but destroyed targets silently disappear as mist and spray.	Crystal Catastrophe Crystal Crush over a large area. This can freeze a town, canal or lake.

Expanded Ice Powers

Harness the power of Attune Ice to perceive and manipulate supernatural energies, allowing you to detect and interact with beings and phenomena from other planes of existence.

The consequences usually depends on what happens around you when you do it. Having helpers and bodyguards reduces the consequences, and sometimes a creature wants to be dismissed and the consequence might be that it loses control of itself, or that other creatures appear to intervene.

Attune

Ice Intuition Detect ice creatures and powers.

This is usually done to spot a disguised summoned creature. However, it can also help identify a creature's connection to powers, providing valuable insights into their nature. Limited effect suffices against a creature you can clearly see. You need greater effect against against a creature that is hidden (standard effect) or behind a wall (great effect).

Frigid Farewell Dismiss ice creatures and negate Ice powers.

Dismissing a creature is hard and usually requires great effect. A creature that has been wounded or otherwise weakened only needs standard effect. A creature that wants to be dismissed requires only limited effect.

Dispelling is usually easier. You can dispel an Ice power or any power that affects ice or an Ice creature. Dispelling is often used as a setup action to help another character in a situation when the opposition is using powers. This improves the position of the supported action. It can be used as a defense against others' use of power, or it can be used to break the continuing effects of powers.

When used directly, the effect is usually limited unless the opponent is relying on powers for their safety. Against an opponent that uses power to move inside solid ice you may have a better effect.

When dramatically appropriate that a power is hard to dispel, often because it is the crux of the situation, this will not negate the power but instead give you a clue to what you need to do to resolve the situation.

Frigid Follower Summon Ice creatures.

Summoning can bring you allies to fight or labor for you, giving you scale. They can also give advice and information related to their power. Summons can use simple effects of their power and maintain power effects you have created.

You can summon generic creatures without having to do a flashback. Such a creature is similar to a gang member in ability and they are often summoned in groups to add scale. To summon a particular creature, similar to a cohort, you need its unique identity, often called true name in the mystical power traditions. For a technomancer this would be a type id number or block of data. Learning about the right creature to summon is a task in its own right, often requiring a flashback or downtime activity to use Command, Consort, Study, or Sway to gain information.

It might be worth the extra effort to summon a creature of higher tier, but this is also much more demanding, using the usual rules for tiers.

Summoned creatures generally come in three types, elementals, spirits, and creatures with powers.

An elemental is a simple creature totally dominated by its power. Most elementals have animal intelligence, and often take the shape of animals as well, tough animated chunks of matter and humanoid forms are also common.

Spirits are immaterial and ephemeral, less physically oriented, manifesting their cool and aloof nature. They are more intelligent than elementals and can use sophisticated power effects, often having their own agendas.

Creatures with powers resemble normal creatures, having a biological body, metabolism, and functioning as ordinary living creatures but also have some exceptional abilities related to their power. An ice worm is impossibly large, slips through cracks in glaciers, and steals the warmth of those it constricts. Not all creatures with powers are summonable or dismissible, many are native to this world and have no special vulnerability to Attune power effects.

Depending on your degree of effect a summoned creature is willing to do different things. Limited effect allows you to ask questions of an intelligent creature or demand a short period of physical labor from a simple creature. The creature will not fight for you. If forced into a fight due to circumstances, it will resent it.

Standard effect allows you to ask for any service appropriate to the type of creature. A devil will do evil, a fire elemental will burn stuff, and so on. This includes dangerous tasks such as combat if the creature has such abilities, which most of them do.

Great effect allows actions outside the creature's comfort zone, but not things it directly opposes. A devil will do most things except those associated with Light, a fire elemental will heat your forge or power your steam engine. Lengthy service also requires great effect, like summoning the creature to guard a treasure for as long as it can.

Typical consequences include:

• A bargain of payment in things the creature prizes such as unusually pure water or a perfect snowflake.
• The creature strikes out at you once.
• A tightwire struggle to keep the creature under control.
• You need to concentrate to keep the creature under control.
• The creature breaks things around you.
• Overly literal interpretations of your commands.
• The creature deliberately does its tasks poorly.
• Demanding not to be summoned again until some time or event has passed.
• General sulkiness.

Offering a creature gifts or services appropriate to its nature can help. This is essentially a devil's bargain, accepting a price in advance. Desperate position usually comes from trading position for effect, but it might come from a difference in ethos. If you are a priest of light and summon a demon, or if the summon is three or more tiers above you the position will be desperate. Consequences include the spirit demanding you sell your soul, become its agent in the world, that you come to its home plane to serve it there for a time (usually three scores), that you defeat the creature in a duel or similar dramatic story events.

Glacial Gateway Create a portal to the plane of Ice.

Command

Command and intimidate creatures based on your power, projecting authority. Position and effect depend on the situation and your relationship with the listeners.

Icebound Edicts Command any Ice creature. You cannot understand them.

This is useful for intimidating Ice creatures and commanding foreign or alien subordinates. Combined with Sway: Glacier Gab, it allows two-way communication.

Polar Parley Communicate with ice creatures at any range.

You can communicate with Ice creatures over any distance as long as you know the target, and a line-of-sight even if you do not. You can communicate with the most powerful creature related to your power in a vehicle or installation as long as you can see the exterior. The communication is simple and direct, suitable for the Command skill.

You can send your own image reflected in ice to communicate with anyone in a similar manner, as long as they are near some clear ice.

Arctic Authority Commands Ice creatures as if you were their superior.

Targets will see you as a cool leader outranking them. This does not remove existing loyalties, which can lead to conflicts. Understanding the social order of your targets helps avoid conflicting with their established loyalties. Ordering city guards to ignore a disturbance is harder (needs more effect) than telling them to deal with it and move on, because their task is to protect the city.

Limited effect might result in a creature not doing what it might not have done anyway, like forgetting to report you or give you a ticket. Standard effect makes the creature do what it should, but in a way you decide, like a police officer escorting you to safety or doing you a quick favor. Great effect means targets will ignore their normal routine and go out of their way to please you, like neutral faction warriors fighting for you, or enemies ignoring or fleeing from you.

The position depends on the creatures' actual relationship to you—ordering a creature that sees itself as your superior is a desperate position. A controlled position comes from a creature that agrees you are superior, usually just making retrying harder. A risky position is typical against a creature that sees itself as your equal and not your enemy, possibly leading to heat, misunderstood orders, or small rebellions.

Icy Allegiance Permanently bind ice creatures to service.

This won’t work unless you are already in a position of power. The effect is similar to Arctic Authority but permanent. Strong emotions can break your control, but otherwise, it lasts until dispelled.

Consort

Consort powers changes your form and later that of other creatures. These powers might also be used as a set-up action. This may give a bonus to effect or improved position, make success automatic, or even allow an action that a human could not do.

A common consequences is that you are mistaken for someone, or that your assumed form is somehow a hindrance. You might be obnoxiously attractive, trigger prejudices, or have unexpected handicaps.

Frosty Fashion Add frost, snow, and ice to clothes and accessories.

You do not physically change yourself, you change your accessorize and outfit. You can conceal your identity and create Fabolous outfits. As an advanced ability, you can do this for another.

Frost Form Assume the form of an Ice creature.

This is a true physical transmutation. You need not assume the form of an existing creature, as long as the gamemaster agrees your new form appropriate for an ice creature.

Shapechange can work as a set-up action for a number of other actions but may penalize other things, as appropriate to your new form. When appropriate, your new form can use Basic and Advanced powers inherently without risking stress.

With limited effect you can transform into yourself like you would have been, had you grown up as the creature whose form you assume. Those familiar with you will recognize you. Standard effect can make you a generic creature, very hard to recognize as yourself. Great effect allows you to assume the shape and some of the personality of a specific creature you have studied.

Frost Freeze Frost Form a willing or helpless creature.

This is Frost Form applied to another creature. The duration depends of the effect, limited effect is very temporary. Standard effect lasts for the duration of a score. Great effect lasts a long time and potentially become permanent, depending on the the story. If you also want to make the target unrecognizable, that requires additional effect, see Shapechange.

This is sometimes used as a kind of poetic justice, transforming the target as a punishment, a curse that is very hard to break.

Frost Flock Frost Form willing or non-sentient creatures, give them an order.

This is where Consort becomes a combination of the Frost Freeze and Frigid Follower power effects. You transform a number of existing creatures and give them a task that they will perform with gusto, turning them into single-minded minions. Targets must be willing, non-sentient like animals, or just very minor figures in the plot, many tiers below you.

This is usually used to create a host of goons that will fight and chase for you. Such goons are more interested in chasing and cornering targets than in actual combat. Or they can be given bit parts, like the snowmen in Calvin and Hobbes do if animate.

Finesse

Exercise finesse with Ice, manipulating and attacking with precision.

Snow Steed Ride an ice or snow vehicle or Ice creature.

This allows you to use Finesse with mounts and vehicles you are not familiar with. You can bypass simple locks on vehicles, but not more serious security. Ice vehicles are designed to run on ice and snow, like a snow cat or ice yacht. You can ride beasts even if they are not trained to carry a rider. They must still be willing and physically able to carry you.

Icy Impact Fine and potent Ice close-range attack.

Wield an icicle like a fine and potent fencing sword. Certain targets may be more or less vulnerable to this attack, but this is the exception. Besides variety, this only substitutes for equipment, fine and potent finesse weapon is just as effective. In a fight, using this does not take any more time, activating your attack power is equivalent to drawing a weapon.

Frosty Finesse Fine manipulation of ice.

Fine manipulation of ice. This allows you to open doors, trigger or hinder mechanisms, or perform other minor manipulations, as long as you have a bit of ice as a tool.

This allows exact manipulation of small amounts of ice and snow. This can substitute for simple Tinker actions, but nothing complicated. You can open doors, trigger or hinder mechanisms, or perform other minor manipulations, as long as you have some ice or snow to work with or the target would react to a sudden chill. You can freeze puddles into ice slicks and create hoarfrost.

Icicle Inferno A storm of icicles, suppressing scale.

As Icy Impact, and you also create distractions. The effect is like having a number of trusty but entirely defensive allies in the fight. This negates any scale advantage an enemy gets for having allies of their own.

Hunt

Track, attack, and unleash devastating barrages with the power of the Ice Hunt. At short range, this can be dangerous to you and yours.

Frosty Finder Track an Ice creature or over frozen terrain.

Track by sensing differences in temperature. These are easy to track but fade pretty quickly. This works even if the quarry does not leave any mundane trail or clues. Consequences here are mainly to lose the trail, but depending on the environment and targets, it might lead you to get lost, into traps, or even into an ambush.

Frostbolt Ice to attack similar in effect to a fine and potent rifle.

Attack with a fine and potent bolt of ice and cold. This serves as a replacement for traditional equipment; a fine and potent ranged weapon would be equally effective in combat. While some targets may exhibit more or less vulnerability to specific types of attacks, this is the exception rather than the rule.

Snowstorm Chill the environment, turn water into ice and rain into snow.

Create a local cold snap. Temperatures go down, the north wind blows, hoarfrost covers everything, rain turns to hail or snow, and water slowly freezes over.

This is usually used as a setup, but may also change how people act in reaction to the environment—a cold snap is likely to make people want to stay indoors. This does not inflict any direct damage.

Avalanche Ice attack similar to a fine and potent grenade.

An escalation of Frostbolt. Less precise, this affects all creatures at a location, with a risk of collateral damage. Targets in trenches, behind walls, or otherwise shielded are not in direct danger, but tend to keep their heads down, which gives your side the initiative.

Prowl

Move with stealth and agility.

Frostcloak Hide in environments of ice and snow.

This allows you to hide in impossible places as long as there is ice and snow. It otherwise works just like any other attempt to use Prowl to avoid notice. Note that only you can use this ability, your friends and allies cannot unless you use Crystal Conduit.

Glacier Glide Move freely on and through wintry environments.

Move freely on and through wintry environments. You won't sink into soft snow unless you wish to. This allows you to easily climb and walk on walls of ice, and increase your speed by skiing on snow and skating on ice.

Crystal Conduit Bring allies when you use Frostcloak and Glacier Glide.

Now you and your allies can Prowl in Ice. They still use their own Prowl action

Glacial Gateway You and allies can teleport from one ice-walled space to another.

You and allies can teleport from place surrounded by ice and snow to another. A natural cave works as long as some natural ice is present. This is regional travel, you stay within the same city or region, but it is generally sufficient to escape just about any situation or location.

This takes you to places you are familiar with. Both effect and position is worse unless you know where you are going, which means it is great for escapes but less so for intrusion into an enemy's territory that you are likely to be much less familiar with.

Skirmish

Prosper in the chaos of battle.

Crystal Coat Protection from cold.

Absorb cold. This allows you to ignore most harm from a dangerously cold environment matching your. Roll Skirmish when subject to harm from such cold. This is your inherent resistance, it does not require any activity on your part. Reduce the level of harm inflicted based on the level of success. 1-3: Nothing. 4-5: Reduce level of harm by one. 6: Reduce level of harm by two. Crit: Negate all harm and recover 1 stress.

Crystal Cleave Skirmish Attack, except the attack is fine and potent.

Make a melee attack using cold and ice. Besides variety in the type of damage, this only substitutes for equipment, mundane weapons are just as effective. Certain targets may be more or less vulnerable to cold, but this is the exception.

Crystal Cave Create distractions and obstructions that prevents scale.

This creates a maze of ice. The effect is to deny the advantage of numbers.

Crystal Cyclone Attacking all enemies in the area.

Turns you into a one-man army. Not only do you negate the advantage your enemy may get from numbers, you also spread your effect to hurt all your enemies in the skirmish.

Study

Study and analyze objects and creatures of Ice to gain insight and knowledge. The effect required depends on range, limited effect for touch, standard effect for line-of-sight, and great effect to reach a target you know of or have some link to, but which is out of line-of-sight.

Position depends on the situation. Safely in your base the position is controlled. In the middle of a fight or when pinned down the position is desperate. Sometimes thing you are researching it dangerous in itself, worsening position, consequences may give you knowledge that lacks crucial details.

Crystal Clarity Identify powers, objects, and creatures of Ice.

This gives the name and very basic information in narrative terms, but not details or actual rules.

Crystal Comprehension Learn the powers and abilities of something you analyze.

You learn of any powers or special abilities the target has. This includes actual rules and game effects.

Crystal Chronicle Read the past events of something you analyze.

This includes previous owners and how the object has been moved around as well as significant scenes from its history. The power zooms in on events of interest to you.

Icebound Intellect Wide Crystal Comprehension, then limited Crystal Chronicle.

Provides a detailed view of events involving cold, ice, and snow as far as you can see, pinpointing locations of interest like trails and frozen lakes. You can then use Crystal Chronicle to learn the history of up to three such locations.

Survey

Perceive and locate things related to Ice. The effect you need depends on the target's concealment. Limited effect finds targets in concealment. Standard effect finds those hiding behind cover and in far places you can only barely see. Great effect can look behind walls and into hard cover.

Glacial Glimpse Sense ice and cold.

This is a basic spotting power, selectively sensing things related to your power.

Glacier Gaze Choose a bit of ice; perceive as if you were at that spot.

You move your perception to to some ice or snow and sense as if you were at that spot as long as you maintain concentration. You still sense things at your actual location, but only very dimly.

Crystal Clairvoyance Choose a location or creature, gain a sensor at the nearest ice.

Similar to Glacier Gaze but allows you to focus on a specific creature or position. Automatically directs towards the best vantage point provided by ice or snow, typically close enough to observe the target. Fails if no suitable viewpoint is available.

Crystal Clarity You perceive from all ice at once over a wide area.

Enhances your senses impossibly, akin to being multiple individuals spread across the scene. Creates a comprehensive mental image of the area, revealing numerous details simultaneously. It's challenging for targets to hide unless they are aware of the need to conceal themselves from ice and snow.

Sway

Communicate, mesmerize, and manipulate Ice creatures. Position and effect are determined normally, depending on the situation and your relation to listeners.

Limited effect works if it follows the target's existing impulses, just overcoming fragile self-restraint. Standard effect can convince a target with no particular stake in the matter. Great effect will convince a reluctant target, but not a passionate one.

Glacier Gab Understand Ice creatures and their motivations.

You can gauge the mood and motivations of Ice creatures and understand what they are saying. This does not allow you to be understood. Used together Command: Icebound Edicts, this allows full communication.

Glacier Gathering Crew can communicate with Ice creatures. Inspire cool and aloofness.

This allows you and your crew to use the Sway action with full effect, overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers. You are persuading, not speaking with authority.

Inspire any creature show cool and aloofness.

Crystal Charm Post suggestions in the mind of an Ice creature.

This is essentially an enhanced Sway attempt, allowing you to implant suggestions that will trigger under conditions you set. The power remains subtle until the suggestion is activated. The target will not remember being swayed.

Suggestions cannot be absurd to the target. A typical use would be to sway a servant to leave a window open or a guard to forget to load their weapon. Suggestions fade over time depending on the level of effect achieved: limited effect lasts for the immediate situation, normal effect lasts for the duration of the score, and great effect can extend beyond the score if it fits the story.

Icebound Imprint Permanently change the personality and motivations of an Ice creature.

This is permanent but blatant. It changes the target's mind on a deep level, altering their priorities and loyalties. Target remember their past but considers it unimportant compared to their new motivations. There are limits to this power, especially for creatures linked to a power—you cannot make a fire creature love the sea or an angel perform deeds of darkness. Exceptional creatures and circumstances can break this change.

Tinker

Manipulate, shape, and create objects imbued with your power to suit your needs. The effectiveness and durability of your constructions depend on the effect. More powerful devices are harder to sustain and will not last as long. Most creations will endure until the end of a score.

Position depends on the tranquility of your workspace and if you are working on something dangerous in itself.

For long-term projects, Tinker powers can substitute for missing tools, but that is all they do until you can Fabricate.

Frosty Finesse Handle icy materials as the appropriate tools and protective devices.

This ability substitutes for tools and protection devices typical of a small workshop.

Crystal Crafting Shape icy materials as if they were of clay.

This surpasses normal crafting, letting you manipulate elements that are not stable, shaping snow and raw cold and making them stay in the new shape. This can substitute for pipes and containers and facilitate the construction of traps or devices, avoiding the need for extensive equipment.

You can also form parts of a larger icy object as if it were clay, creating tunnels in glaciers.

Crystal Conversion Create ice out of nothing. Transform ice into another power's material.

You don't need tools to build complex fine and potent Ice items.

You can create Ice from nothing. This is like Crystal Crafting, above, but needs no raw materials.

With multiple powers you can transform Ice into material linked to another. This allows intricate transformations where a metal sword can be transmuted into pure cold and still work as a sword, or a wooden door can be changed to soft snowfall so you can walk through and the door then returns to normal.

Frosty Factory Mass produce Crystal Crafting or make a large as a vehicle or building.

You can mass produce objects or create large structures like ships or buildings that normally require a work force and facilities. In long-term projects involving construction or crafting, Frosty Factory makes many dozens of items with the same effort as one item, but with a stress cost.

Wreck

Destroy, dismantle, and obliterate objects made of stuff related to your power.

The effect required depends on the size and structural strength of your target. Standard effect is a car-sized hole in a brick or mortar wall. Construction significantly weaker than this only demands limited effect. A smaller hole stil need the same effect. Something larger and/or stronger requires great effect.

The position depends on the situation. A quiet workspace is controlled, the general hustle of adventure risky, dealing with a fight, massive crowds, or dangerous construction is desperate.

Frosty Force Wreck like an ice axe. Noisy and leaves a twisted object in place.

Just as crude as it sounds. You destroy things of Ice and strike with the force of a sledgehammer in combat. As usual, Wreck may be at an advantage or disadvantage in combat compared to Hunt, Finesse and Skirmish, depending on the situation.

Crystal Crush Wreck Ice as if it was wood. Works as a fine potent sledgehammer in combat.

This bypasses the strength of icy materials, allowing you to break even the strongest ice as if it was mere wood. You can also use this to smash other things or as a fine, potent sledgehammer.

Thraw Crystal Crush, but destroyed targets silently disappear as mist and spray.

The real difference here is that wrecking things is now silent and leave less traces, as what you wreck disappears. Get rid of evidence, as long as that evidence matches your power.

Crystal Catastrophe Crystal Crush over a large area. This can freeze a town, canal or lake.

Rather straightforward, this just scales things up.