Difference between revisions of "Death Powers (FiD)"

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{{FiD}}
 
{{FiD}}
[[Powers_(FiD)#Common_Power_Effects|Main Page is Powers]]
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{{FiD-Powers}}
 
Death and disease are powerful forces.  
 
Death and disease are powerful forces.  
  
 
Action and motivation need not cease with death. Characters can use the powers of the dead, learn their secrets, and even reanimate them as undead.
 
Action and motivation need not cease with death. Characters can use the powers of the dead, learn their secrets, and even reanimate them as undead.
  
Death attacks are made with phlegm and ectoplasm that inflict disease. Paradoxically this means that death attacks don't kill quickly, instead they take their time as disease and infection kills you, and this is extremely hard to cure. Death attacks can weaken and corrupt objects, but again this is slow.
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Death attacks are made with phlegm and ectoplasm that inflict disease. Paradoxically this means that death attacks incapacitate, but don't kill quickly, instead they take their time as disease and infection kills you, and such harm is extremely hard to cure. Death attacks can weaken and corrupt objects, but again this is slow.
  
 
Death creatures are spirits of the dead.  
 
Death creatures are spirits of the dead.  
 
Study can call apparition that can communicate but not act.  
 
Study can call apparition that can communicate but not act.  
 
Attune can call ghosts that scare and some poltergeist activities at and undead spirits can be called to inhabit corpses as zombies and skeletons.
 
Attune can call ghosts that scare and some poltergeist activities at and undead spirits can be called to inhabit corpses as zombies and skeletons.
At mid to high tiers, spirits can be called to possess stronger things, such as an undead knight or a powerful mummy, or as incorporeal undead that can walk thru walls and are invulnerable to weapons that are not potent.
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At mid to high tiers, spirits can be called to possess stronger things, such as an undead knight or a powerful mummy, or as incorporeal undead that can walk thru walls and are invulnerable to mundane weapons.
  
 
== Death Power Effects Table ==
 
== Death Power Effects Table ==
 
{| class="wikitable"  
 
{| class="wikitable"  
 
|align="center" | '''Action'''  
 
|align="center" | '''Action'''  
|align="center" | '''Basic'''    <br> No minimum    <br> 3 Stress
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|align="center" | '''Basic'''    <br> No minimum    <br> 4 Stress
|align="center" | '''Advanced''' <br> Minimum 2 Dice <br> 5 Stress
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|align="center" | '''Advanced''' <br> Minimum 2 Dice <br> 5 Stress
|align="center" | '''Master'''  <br> Minimum 4 Dice <br> 7 Stress
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|align="center" | '''Master'''  <br> Minimum 4 Dice <br> 6 Stress
|align="center" | '''Apex'''    <br> Minimum 6 Dice <br> 13 Stress
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|align="center" | '''Apex'''    <br> Minimum 6 Dice <br> 7 Stress
 
|-
 
|-
|align="left" valign="top" | '''Attune'''
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|align="left" valign="top" | '''Attune'''  
|valign="top"| '''Perceive''' <br> You can detect undead in both physical and spirit form.  
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|valign="top"| '''Soul Sense'''     <br> Detect undead and Death powers.  
|valign="top"| '''Dismiss''' <br> You can banish an undead. Summoned undead are usually just gone, natural undead may reform later. You can end the operation of a death ability. You can summon undead spirits to animate corpses as simple corporeal undead.
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|valign="top"| '''Defy Death'''     <br> Banish undead and dismiss Death powers.  
|valign="top"| '''Summon''' <br> You can summon an undead spirit. This is generally an unwilling servant. It will obey one command from you and this can be extended. Learning who to summon may require study or be a a score in itself.
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|valign="top"| '''Defiant Spirit''' <br> Summon undead.  
|valign="top"| '''Gate''' <br> You can create a portal that allows travel to and from the plane of death.  
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|valign="top"| '''Soul's Crossing''' <br> Create a portal to the plane of death.  
  
 
|-
 
|-
|align="left" valign="top" | '''Command'''
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|align="left" valign="top" | '''Command'''  
|valign="top"| '''Rebuke''' <br> You can speak to undead even if normally couldn't, allowing you to use the command action normally on them.  
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|valign="top"| '''Wraith's Whisper''' <br> Command undead even if you don't share a language.  
|valign="top"| '''Translate''' <br> You and allies can communicate with undead.
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|valign="top"| '''Spectral Speech''' <br> Communicate with undead and dead things over vast distances.
|valign="top"| '''Authority''' <br> You can give commands to undead, as if you were their superior. This does not remove existing loyalties, which can lead to conflicts.  
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|valign="top"| '''Wraith's Will'''    <br> Command undead as if you were their superior.  
|valign="top"| '''Enslave ''' <br> You can permanently bind undead to service. Unless affected by other powers, they will stay in one location and act according to your instructions, like very loyal and literal-minded goons.
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|valign="top"| '''Enslave Essence ''' <br> Permanently bind undead to service.
 
|-
 
|-
|align="left" valign="top" | '''Consort'''
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|align="left" valign="top" | '''Consort'''  
|valign="top"| '''Mask''' <br> You add clothes and accessories that look rotten but are fully functional when used by you and undead creatures. You can make normal objects appear rotten. This can mask your identity or create very goth outfits.  
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|valign="top"| '''Death Mask'''       <br> Make clothes and accessories rotten but functional when used by you and undead creatures.  
|valign="top"| '''Gift of Undeath''' <br> You assume the form of an undead. Add 1d to one action and subtract 1d from all actions covered by an attribute except if you just raised one of them.
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|valign="top"| '''Grasp Undeath'''   <br> Assume the form of an undead.
|valign="top"| '''Curse of Undeath''' <br> You can shapechange a willing or helpless creature into a corporeal undead. This can be a curse, it can be broken but it is not easy. You can easily break the effect.
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|valign="top"| '''Gift of Undeath''' <br> Shapechange a willing or helpless creature into a undead.
|valign="top"| '''Haunted Hunt''' <br> You can transform a large number of willing or non-sentient creatures into corporeal undead and give them a simple instruction, typically someone for them to hunt.
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|valign="top"| '''Haunted Hunt'''     <br> Transform a number of willing creatures into undead, give a simple instruction.
 
|-
 
|-
|align="left" valign="top" | '''Finesse'''
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|align="left" valign="top" | '''Finesse'''  
|valign="top"| '''Ride''' <br> You can ride undead or a vehicle powered by undead as if they were trained to carry a rider.
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|valign="top"| '''Harrowing Herse''' <br> Ride undead or a vehicle of death as if they were trained.  
|valign="top"| '''Scythe''' <br> You can use the power as a fine and potent close-range attack, similar in effect to a fine potent dueling sword or pistol, or you can give your friends the Ride ability for the duration of a score.
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|valign="top"| '''Scythe'''         <br> Fine and potent close-range attack, similar to a fine potent weapon.
|valign="top"| '''Dead Man's Hand''' <br> You can do fine manipulation of corpses, allowing you to do small and exact manipulations at range. This allows you to open doors, trigger or hinder mechanisms, or perform other minor manipulations, as long as you have a corpse to work with.
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|valign="top"| '''Death Riders'''   <br> Animate a dead ride.  
|valign="top"| '''Deluge of Death''' <br> Your power manifests like a storm of undead, suppressing the effect of multiple opponents and acting as a fine potent weapon.
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|valign="top"| '''Dead Mans' Hands'''<br> Create a crew of undead.
 
|-
 
|-
|align="left" valign="top" | '''Hunt'''
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|align="left" valign="top" | '''Hunt'''  
|valign="top"| '''Scent of Death''' <br> You can track and pursue undead and corpses, even if they do not leave any mundane trail or clues.
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|valign="top"| '''Scent of Death'''   <br> Track and pursue undead and corpses.  
|valign="top"| '''Shard of Death''' <br> You can use your power to attack, similar in effect to a fine and potent rifle.
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|valign="top"| '''Shard of Death'''   <br> Attack similar to a fine and potent rifle.
|valign="top"| '''Outbreak''' <br> You can use your power to attack similar to a fine  and potent grenade. This allows you to fight many creatures in the same area very effectively, but there is a risk of collateral damage.
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|valign="top"| '''Wraithy Warning''' <br> Create signs of haunting.
|valign="top"| '''Plague''' <br> You call down the equivalent of a fine potent artillery barrage, attacking everything and everyone in a wide area. This will rot organic materials, but only slowly. Usually enough to provide cover for any escape.
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|valign="top"| '''Outbreak'''         <br> Attack like fine and potent grenade.
 
|-
 
|-
|align="left" valign="top" | '''Prowl'''
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|align="left" valign="top" | '''Prowl'''  
|valign="top"| '''Deathwatch''' <br> You can hide in graveyards, tombs, and haunted places.  
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|valign="top"| '''Deathwatch'''   <br> Hide in graveyards, tombs, and haunted places.  
|valign="top"| '''Ghost Walk''' <br> You can move on and through corpses and cadavers, including leather and silk.
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|valign="top"| '''Ghost Walk'''   <br> Move on and through tombs, corpses, and cadavers.  
|valign="top"| '''Dance Macabre''' <br> You can bring allies along when you use Reconnaissance and Maneuver.
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|valign="top"| '''Dance Macabre''' <br> Bring allies when you use Deathwatch and Ghost Walk.
|valign="top"| '''Death March''' <br> You and allies can teleport from one burial place to another. This is regional travel, you stay within the same city or region, but it is generally sufficient to enter or escape just about any situation or location.
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|valign="top"| '''Death March'''   <br> Crew teleport from one burial place to another.
 
|-
 
|-
|align="left" valign="top" | '''Skirmish'''
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|align="left" valign="top" | '''Skirmish'''  
|valign="top"| '''Touch of Death''' <br> You can use the power as a close-range attack, similar in effect to a melee weapon or pistol.  
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|valign="top"| '''Block Death'''         <br> Block Death Harm.  
|valign="top"| '''Hand of Death''' <br> Same as Skirmish Attack, except the weapon is fine and potent.
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|valign="top"| '''Hand of Death'''       <br> Fine and potent Death attack.
|valign="top"| '''Ghost Dance''' <br> You can animate corpses and cadavers to create distractions and obstructions that prevents the enemy from benefiting from numbers and otherwise works as a fine potent weapon.
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|valign="top"| '''Ghost Dance'''         <br> Distractions and obstructions prevent scale.
|valign="top"| '''Carnival of Carnage''' <br> Your power strikes out in all directions, attacking all enemies in a wide area.
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|valign="top"| '''Carnival of Carnage''' <br> Attack all enemies in a wide area.  
 
|-
 
|-
|align="left" valign="top" | '''Study'''
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|align="left" valign="top" | '''Study'''  
|valign="top"| '''Name of the Deceased''' <br> You can identify corpses and cadavers, including silk, leather, and undead, learning their use and abilities.  
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|valign="top"| '''Name of the Deceased''' <br> Identify corpses, cadavers, and materials taken from the dead.  
|valign="top"| '''Seance''' <br> You can summon an apparition of a a dead who you have a link to and ask them questions.
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|valign="top"| '''Obituary'''             <br> Learn the powers and abilities of Death.
|valign="top"| '''History of the Deceased''' <br> You can 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, even back when they were alive.
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|valign="top"| '''Seance'''               <br> Summon an apparition of a dead person you have a link to and ask them questions.
|valign="top"| '''Tale of Tragedy''' <br> You research everything in a wide area. This is easy to do where you are, more difficult at range. You can then use hindsight on some of these targets.
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|valign="top"| '''Tale of Tragedy'''     <br> Obituary for every corpse in a large area.
 
|-
 
|-
|align="left" valign="top" | '''Survey'''
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|align="left" valign="top" | '''Survey'''  
|valign="top"| '''Scent of Death''' <br> You can sense manifestations of death at a distance and understand their general nature. This works even when you can't see the target, but both range and information suffers.
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|valign="top"| '''Scent of Death'''   <br> Sense manifestations of death, including undead and Death powers.
|valign="top"| '''Skull's Eye''' <br> Choose an skull that you have detected, whether it be an actual skull or a representation of one; you can perceive as if you were at that spot. You cannot use your Survey action for anything else when doing so.  
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|valign="top"| '''Skull Eye'''         <br> Choose an skull or a representation of one; perceive as if you were at that spot.  
|valign="top"| '''Seeking Skull''' <br> Choose a location or creature. You gain a sensor at the nearest skull, which is sometimes close enough to perceive the target.
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|valign="top"| '''Seeking Skull'''     <br> Choose a location or creature. You gain a sensor at the nearest skull.
|valign="top"| '''Omnipresent Death''' <br> You perceive from all skulls at once over a wide area.  As long as you concentrate you retain this perception and can report what you see to others.
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|valign="top"| '''Omnipresent Death''' <br> You perceive from all skulls at once over a wide area.  
 
|-
 
|-
|align="left" valign="top" | '''Sway'''
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|align="left" valign="top" | '''Sway'''  
|valign="top"| '''Moody Dead''' <br> You understand undead even if normally couldn't, allowing you to see their motivations.  
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|valign="top"| '''Moody Dead'''       <br> Understand undead even if normally couldn't and sense their motivations.  
|valign="top"| '''Dead Men Talking''' <br> You and allies can communicate with undead. You can make folk morose.
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|valign="top"| '''Dead Men Talking''' <br> You and allies can communicate with undead. You can make folk morose.
|valign="top"| '''Elegy''' <br> You can post suggestions in the mind of an undead, which will be triggered under conditions you specify. Common suggestions are to steal something, attack someone, or ignore some event. This is a subtle power, but easier to spot once triggered.
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|valign="top"| '''Elegy'''           <br> You can post suggestions in the mind of an undead.
|valign="top"| '''Unity in Death'''  <br> You change the personality and motivations of undead. This power is permanent, but blatant. The target remember their past, but regard it as unimportant compared to their new motivations. 
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|valign="top"| '''Unity in Death'''  <br> Permanently change the personality and motivations of undead.
 
|-
 
|-
|align="left" valign="top" | '''Tinker'''
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|align="left" valign="top" | '''Tinker'''  
|valign="top"| '''Dead Polish''' <br> You can work the remains of dead creatures but also decrepit and broken items, making them function normally despite their condition but not improving their looks or make them look good despite being decrepit, but not both.
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|valign="top"| '''Dead Style'''           <br> Work the remains of the dead. Make decrepit and broken items function normally.
|valign="top"| '''Dead Craft''' <br> You can shape materials you can Dead Polish as if they were of clay.  
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|valign="top"| '''Dead Craft'''           <br> Shape materials you can Dead Polish as if they were of clay.  
|valign="top"| '''Luxuries of the Dead''' <br> You can create objects Dead Polish can handle out of nothing, or transform an object from one material to another as long as you know the power required for both the starting and final form. This can create complex tools, such as fine and potent items appropriate to the power(s) used.
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|valign="top"| '''Luxuries of the Dead''' <br> Create Dead Polish objects out of nothing, Create fine and potent items.
|valign="top"| '''Funerary Splendor'''   <br> This is similar to create, above, but you mass produce objects, even a set of different objects. You can also make something large, such as a vehicle or building.
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|valign="top"| '''Funerary Splendor'''   <br> Mass produce Dead Craft or make something large, such as a vehicle or building.
 
|-
 
|-
|align="left" valign="top" | '''Wreck'''
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|align="left" valign="top" | '''Wreck'''  
|valign="top"| '''Rot to Death''' <br> You can slowly wreck remnants of the dead, but also objects that already suffer from some damage, corrosion, or corruption. Noisy and leaves a twisted object in place. Works as a sledgehammer in melee.
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|valign="top"| '''Rot of Death'''   <br> Wreck the living and the dead.
|valign="top"| '''Rot to Oblivion''' <br> Similar to Rot to Death, but faster.  When smashing objects from your power, such as corroded metal, you to affect hard objects as if they were wood. Works as a fine potent sledgehammer in combat.
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|valign="top"| '''Rot of Oblivion''' <br> Faster and stronger Rot of Death.
|valign="top"| '''Dust to Dust''' <br> Similar to Rot to Oblivion, but destroyed targets silently disappear or are reduced to a fine dust.
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|valign="top"| '''Dust to Dust'''   <br> Rot of Oblivion and destroyed targets silently vanish.
|valign="top"| '''The Bustling City Deserted''' <br> Similar to Rot to Oblivion, but over a large area. This can level a city block, empty a canal system of water, raze a city wall, and similar massive destruction.   
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|valign="top"| '''Crypt Cataclysm''' <br> Rot to Oblivion over a large area.   
 
|}
 
|}
  
== Expanded Air Powers ==
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== Expanded Death Powers ==
Expanded descriptions of effects that differ significantly from [[Powers (FiD)#Typical Powers and How to Use Them|Typical Powers]].
 
 
 
 
=== Attune ===
 
=== Attune ===
Harness the power of Attune to perceive and manipulate supernatural energies, allowing you to detect and interact with beings and phenomena from other planes of existence.
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Harness the power of Attune to perceive and manipulate supernatural energies, allowing you to detect and interact with beings and phenomena from the land of the dead.
  
'''Perceive:'''
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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.
''You can detect creatures and power use tied to your power.  
 
  
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.
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'''Soul Sense'''
Naturally, effect is reduced as the creature is more heavily obscured.
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Detect undead and Death powers.
The position usually starts controlled, with the usual consequence that you cannot try again.
 
  
'''Dismiss:'''
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This is usually done to see a spirit or disguised creature, 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).
''You can force a creature based on this power that is native to another plane of existence to return to that plane, or to end the operation of an ability of the power you use.
 
  
Dismissing a creature is hard, and might require the creature to be weakened, either by previous attempts to dismiss it, or by other attacks, interactions, or by being set up.  
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'''Defy Death'''
The consequences of this depends entirely on what happens around you when you do it.
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Banish undead and dismiss Death powers. Animate corpses.
If a powerful creature resists being dispelled, its obviously dangerous.
 
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.
 
  
Dispelling is usually easier, but not always.  
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Dismissing undead 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.
Most powers only dispel effects of their own power.  
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Undead are either Death spirits or things possessed by Death spirits, these are called corporeal undead.
Read this generously.  
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When a spirit possessing a corpse is dismissed, the corpse loses its animating power and collapses.
As an example, the fire power can dispel any fire power, but also powers that affect flames and heat sources, as well as powers that affect fire creatures.
 
It can be used as a defense against others' use of power, or it can be used to break the continuing effects of powers.  
 
  
Dispelling is often used as a setup action to help another character in a situation when the opposition is using powers.  
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You can only dispel Death powers and powers affecting undead and to make Death spirits materialize.
The position is controlled, possibly risky if there are a lot of other dangers around.
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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.
Limited effect creates an opening that makes the supported action potent.  
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When used directly, the effect is usually limited.
Normal effect improves the position of the supported action.
 
Great effect improves both position and effect of the supported power.
 
  
When used directly, the effect is usually limited unless the opponent is relying on powers for their safety.
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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.  
Against an opponent that uses power to fly or even breathe you can 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 simply not work, but will instead give you a clue to what you need to do to resolve the situation.
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'''Defiant Spirit'''
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Summon undead.
  
'''Summon:'''
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As outlined under Defy Death, undead are either incorporeal spirits or Death spirits possessing things, usually corpses but sometimes other things related to Death, like hearses, graves, tombs, or even entire graveyards or battlefields.
''You can call a creature from a place of your power. This is generally an unwilling servant. It will obey one command from you and this can be extended. Learning who to summon may require study or be a score in itself.
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Summons can use simple effects of their power and maintain power effects you have created. They can also give advice and information related to their own past lives.
  
What a "place of your power" means depends on the setting, but is always a different place that you normally cannot interact with.  
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You must know who you are to summon. In general, you can summon generic creatures one tier lower than yourself without having to do a flashback. This summons Death spirits to possess corpses to create basic undead like skeletons and zombies. These creatures are largely automatons and must receive instruction to perform even simple tasks. They have no connection or knowledge related to the corpse they animate and no memories of their own life.
This is usually a parallel world or plane of existence, dominated by your power.
 
So fire summons creatures from a very fiery place, air summons from a very airy place and so on.
 
These places can be unique to each power, or one big place where different places are dominated by different powers.
 
It might also be from other places in your own world, exotic regions of your own world or distant planets like Pluto or starts like Aldebaran.
 
This is the usual explanation in the cosmic horror genre.
 
In a science-fiction setting with powers this is usually related to faster-than-light travel, so if ships travel through hyperspace, this is also where summons come from.
 
If travel is by gate, the medium the gate stretches through is where summons come from, and so on.
 
The Gate power of Attune is the usual way to get to these places.
 
  
Summoning can bring you allies to fight, but more commonly you summon a spirit to do some specific task related to your power. Summons can use most power effects and maintain power effects you have created.
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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 an id number, a holographic blueprint, a 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.
They can also give advice and information related to their power.
 
In general, you can summon generic creatures one tier lower than yourself without having to do a flashback.
 
Such a creature is similar to a gang member.
 
 
 
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, a blueprint, or a 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.
 
Doin this kind of preparation also counts as a set-up action for your summoning, even if you are doing it in a flashback.
 
  
 
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.
 
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.
  
Spirits generally come in three types, elementals, spirits, and creatures with powers.  
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The most versatile undead are the spirits of dead people summoned to possess their own body.
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These become intelligent undead along the lines of vampires and liches.
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You can only do this with the spirits of creatures willing to become undead.
  
Elementals only exist for powers that have a direct physical manifestation, like the four classic elements of air, earth, fire, and water, but also the other forms that have a physical manifestation, electricity, ice, metal, and plant.
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Limited effect allows you to ask questions of an intelligent undead or demand a short period of physical labor from a simple undead.
An elemental is a simple creature totally dominated by its power.  
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Standard effect allows you to ask for any service that spreads death and continue what it did while alive.
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.
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Great effect allows actions outside the creature's comfort zone, but not things it directly opposes. An undead will do most things. Lengthy service also requires great effect, like summoning the creature to guard a treasure for as long as it can.
  
Spirits are similar to elementals in that they are made out of the stuff of their power, but the powers that create spirits are less material. This makes spirits ephemeral, less physically oriented, and usually more intelligent than elementals.
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Typical consequences include:
They can use sophisticated power effects and usually have an agenda of their own.
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* General sulkiness.
Darkness, Death, Flux, Illusion, Order, and Space can summon spirits.
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* The creature strikes out at you once.
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* Overly literal interpretations of your commands.  
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* You lose some of your life energy
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* Demands not to be summoned again until some time or event has passed.  
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* A tightwire struggle to keep the creature under control.  
  
Creatures with powers resemble normal creatures, most having a biological body, metabolism, and functioning as ordinary living creatures but also some exceptional abilities related to their power.
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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 undead, 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.
A fire dragon is impossibly large, flies, and breathes fire.  
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Offering a creature gifts or services appropriate to its nature can improve position.  
An air turtle hovers and can grow to massive size, to the point where a city can be built on top of them.
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This is essentially a devil's bargain, accepting a price in advance.
An undead creature is a corpse animated by the powers of Death.
 
And so on.
 
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 the creature is willing to do different things.
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'''Soul's Crossing'''
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 afterwards.
+
Create a portal to the plane of death.
  
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.  
+
Create a portal to the Land of the dead.
This includes dangerous tasks such as combat if the creature has such abilities, which most of them do.
+
There are things that are possible to do in the Land of the dead that are not allowed in the regular world. Death effects are reduced one step in difficulty, from advanced to basic, master to advanced, and apex to master. This opens the possibility of new super-apex powers that have to be negotiated with the game master. Such effects rarely reach outside the plane where you perform them, but if they affect creatures on that plane, the effect may remain when you return to the mundane world.
  
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.
+
Gating can allow access to creatures too powerful to summon and souls unwilling to become undead.
 +
In this case you can ask for an audience. The creature may then use the gate to come to you, call you into its presence, or just communicate with you.
  
The position is usually risky. The creature is being forced to serve and might lash out.  
+
Travel using a gate is usually played out as a score, which means there is an engagement roll. Depending on how quickly the matter is resolved, the game master may require a separate use of the power to return home again. However if you do this in a scene that is dangerous, such as asking for help against an enemy too powerful for you to defeat, the position is usually much worse.
Typical consequences are:
 
The creature strikes out at you once.
 
A tightwire struggle to keep the creature under control
 
The creature breaks things around you, demands concessions from you.
 
Overly literal interpretations of your commands.
 
The creature deliberately does its tasks poorly.
 
  
Offering a creature gifts or services appropriate to its nature can make the position controlled, with consequences like half-heated efforts, demanding not to be summoned again until some time or event has passed, or just general sulkiness.
+
=== Command ===
 +
Command and intimidate the undead, projecting authority. Position and effect depend on the situation and your relationship with the listeners.
  
Desperate position usually comes from trading position for effect, but it might come from a difference in ethos.
+
'''Wraith's Whisper'''
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.
+
Command undead even if you don't share a language.
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.  
 
  
'''Gate:'''
+
This is useful for intimidating creatures under your power and commanding foreign, alien, or very stupid undead.
''You can create a portal that allows travel to and from the plane of your power for a limited time.
+
Combined with Sway: Moody Dead, it allows two-way communication.
  
This is rarely useful, but can be under exceptional circumstances.
+
'''Spectral Speech'''
As outlined under Summoning above most powers are linked to a different world where that power is dominant.
+
Communicate with undead and dead things over vast distances.
There are also things that are possible to do on these planes that are not allowed in the regular world, most effects are reduced one step in difficulty, from advanced to basic, master to advanced, and apex to master.
 
This opens the possibility of new super-apex powers that have to be negotiated with the game master.
 
Such effects rarely reach outside the plane where you perform them, but if they affect creatures on that plane, the effect may remain when you return to the mundane world.
 
  
Gating can allow access to creatures too powerful to summon, so you instead ask for an audience.
+
You can communicate with undead 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 undead creature in a vehicle or installation as long as you can see the exterior. The communication is simple and direct, suitable for the Command skill.
The creature may then use the gate to come to you, call you into its presence, or just communicate with you.
 
  
Using a gate is usually played out as a score, which means there is an engagement roll.  
+
You can also use a skull as a communication device.  
Depending on how quickly the matter is resolved, the game master may require a separate game to return home again.
+
You say who you are trying to speak to, and if a skull is present near the target, you can communicate.
However if you do this in a scene that is dangerous, such as asking for help against an enemy too powerful for you to defeat, the position is usually much worse.
 
Once you have established a connection to a certain place or audience with a certain creature, you can usually do so again from a controlled position and without doing it as a score.
 
  
=== Command ===
+
'''Wraith's Will'''
Command creatures based on your power with communication and authority.
+
Command undead as if you were their superior.
Position and effect is determined normally, depending ion the situation and your relation to listeners.
 
If you know several powers and use a Command power but don't know what type of creature you are facing, it works as long as you have the appropriate power. You need not select a specific type of creature in advance.
 
If you try to Command a type of creature and don't the appropriate power, effect is at best limited—the game master may judge that Command skill can be used non-verbally, but often you will have no effect at all. 
 
This still has the normal stress cost.
 
  
'''Communicate:'''
+
Targets will see you as a leader type 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 animated 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 now-dead city.
''You can make creatures understand you, but you do not understand them.
 
  
This is useful because it allows you to intimidate creatures of your power and to command foreign or alien subordinates.
+
Limited effect might result in a creature not doing what it might not have done anyway, like not investigating a disturbance.
Combined with the basic power of Sway allows two-way communication.
+
This is usually enough to order skeletons and zombies to do nothing.
 +
Standard effect makes the creature do what it should, but in a way you decide, like like taking the left instead of the right patrol route.
 +
Great effect means targets will ignore their normal routine and go out of their way to please you, like fighting for you, or dire enemies ignoring or fleeing from you.
  
'''Translate:'''
+
The position depends on the creatures' actual relationship to you—ordering a creature that sees itself as your superior is a desperate position.
You and allies can communicate with creatures based on your power.
+
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 a small rebellion.
This allows full conversation with creatures of the power.
+
A controlled position comes from a creature that agrees you are superior, usually just making retrying harder.  
It is still a Command ability, it is more forceful and less subtle than the Sway equivalent.
 
  
'''Authority:'''
+
'''Enslave Essence '''
''You can give commands to creatures based on your power, as if you were their superior. This does not remove existing loyalties, which can lead to conflicts.
+
Permanently bind undead to service.
  
This is more powerful than a normal Command action, having about one additional level of effect, but it is not absolute.
+
This won’t work unless you are already in a position of power. The effect is similar to Authority but permanent. A creature can be freed by powers or strong passions.
Creatures of the relevant type will understand your orders.
 
  
Targets will see you as an officer, professional superior, alpha, or other leader type outranking them.
+
=== Consort ===
It is very helpful to have a grasp of the social order of your targets, as this allows you to avoid conflicting with their established loyalties.
+
Consort powers change your form and later that of other creatures. These powers might also be used as a set-up action for later. This will often give a bonus to effect or improved position or even allow an action that a human could not do.
Ordering city guards to return to barracks and ignore a disturbance is much harder (lower effect) than to tell them to scatter the disturbance and move on, because their task is to protect the city.
 
Limited effect can lead to a creature not doing what it is supposed to, such as reporting you or giving you a speeding ticket.
 
Standard effect makes the creature do what it is supposed to in a way you decide, such as a police escorting you to a safe location or do you a favor that is quick, such as letting you past a checkpoint even if they ought not to.
 
Great effect means targets will go out of their way to please you, such as warriors from a neutral faction fighting for you, enemies ignoring you or even fleeing.
 
 
 
The position depends on the creatures' actual relationship to you—a creature that perceives itself as your superior will use a stronger rebuke.
 
A controlled position comes from a creature that agrees you are superior to it, and usually just means that trying again is harder.
 
A risky position is typical against a creature that perceives itself an equal to you, and not your enemy. This might lead to heat, misunderstood orders, or that targets rebel in small ways.
 
 
 
'''Enslave:'''
 
''You can permanently bind creatures to service. Unless affected by other powers, they will stay in one location and act according to your instructions, like very loyal and literal-minded goons.
 
  
Obviously a broken ability, and one that will have a low effect unless you are already in a position of power.
+
A common consequences is that you are mistaken for someone, or that your assumed form is somehow a hindrance. You might be obnoxiously rotten, cause panic, or have unexpected handicaps.
The effect is similar to the authority, the difference is that this is a long-lasting and potentially permanent effect.  
 
A creature that is under the care of your enemies will likely break the effect after some time, and a creature confronted with something it used to feel very strongly about might break your control, but it otherwise lasts until removed by other effects.
 
  
=== Consort ===
+
'''Death Mask'''
Utilize the power of Consort to change forms and manipulate objects imbued with your power.
+
Make clothes and accessories rotten but functional when used by you and undead creatures.
You not only understand how to behave to conform to social norms, you change your own (and alter others') physical form.
 
  
'''Mask:'''
+
You do not physically change yourself, you change your accessorize and outfit.
''You can change your clothes and accessories by imbuing them with your power. This can mask your identity or create fabulous outfits.
+
This can make regular items and clothes look decrepit while staying functional.
 +
When the power ends, items return to their original status.
  
You do not physically change yourself, you accessorize and change your outfit.
+
'''Grasp Undeath'''
The effect is usually limited and the position controlled, but some changes might be more extreme than this.
+
Assume the form of an undead.
  
'''Shapechange:'''
+
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 makes a reasonable undead.
''You assume the form of another creature that manifests your power. Add 1d to one action and subtract 1d from all actions covered by an attribute except if you just raised one of them.
 
  
This is a true physical transmutation.
+
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 Death powers inherently without risking stress.
You need not assume the form of an existing creature, as long as the gamemaster agrees your new form matches the power you use.  
 
This can give you new abilities, but these are things you could already do using the same power.
 
You may get away without having to use each specific power, at the cost of losing some of the abilities of your original form.
 
So if you turn into a fish you don't have to use powers to swim and breathe water, but you are close to helpless on land.
 
  
If desired your transmutation might benefit an action relevant to your new form, at the cost of lowering all the actions covered by a specific attribute.
+
With limited effect you can transform into yourself like you would have been, had you returned from death as the undead whose form you assume. Those familiar with you will recognize you.  
You rating in the improved action increases by one.
+
Standard effect can make you a generic creature, very hard to recognize as yourself.  
The actions covered by your weakened attribute are all reduced by one, except that if you chose the attribute that governs your improved action, this action gains the benefit and does not suffer the penalty.
+
Great effect allows you to assume the shape and some of the personality of a specific creature you have studied.
  
''Example
+
'''Gift of Undeath'''
''Jillyan uses the Animal power to turn herself into a monkey. She gains a +1 bonus to the Prowl action, but suffers a -1 penalty to Finesse Skirmish and Wreck. She does not suffer the penalty on Prowl, as that is the action that was improved. If the penalty had instead been applied to Insight, Hunt, Study, Survey and Tinker would all have suffered the penalty.
+
Shapechange a willing or helpless creature into an undead.
  
'''Transform:'''
+
This is Shapechange 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 Grasp Undeath.
''You can shapechange a willing or helpless creature into a form imbued by your power. This can be a curse, it can be broken but it is not easy. You can easily break the effect.
 
  
This is the shapechange power applied to another creature.
+
This is sometimes used as a kind of poetic justice, transforming the target as a punishment, a curse that is very hard to break.
The duration depends of the effect, limited effect is very temporary, more of a warning.
 
Standard effect lasts for the duration of a score.
 
Great effect lasts a long time and potentially become permanent, depending on the development of the story.
 
Other abilities can be used to reverse such a transformation.
 
  
You cannot use this on a powerful opponent that cannot be defeated by a single successful action.
+
'''Haunted Hunt'''
You may have to confront them in several scenes to finally get them to the point where you can transform them.
+
Transform a number of willing creatures into undead, give a simple instruction.
  
'''Wild Hunt:'''
+
This is where Consort becomes a combination of Gift of Undeath and Attune: Defiant Spirit. You transform a number of existing creatures and give them a task that they will perform with morose monotony, 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.
''You can transform a large number of willing or non-sentient creatures and give them a simple instruction, typically someone for them to hunt.
 
  
This is where Consort becomes a combination of the Shapechange and Summon power effects.
+
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 undead crew in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Instead of summoning a host of allies, you transform a number of existing creatures and give them a task that they will perform with gusto.
 
Essentially you turn them into single-minded minions.
 
Targets must be willing, non-sentient like animals, or just very minor figures in the plot, likely several 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 turned into lesser servants, like the scene with the fairy godmother from Disney's Cinderella.
 
  
 
=== Finesse ===
 
=== Finesse ===
Exercise finesse with your power, manipulating and attacking with precision.
+
Deal death with finesse, manipulating and attacking with precision.
  
'''Ride:'''
+
'''Harrowing Herse'''
''If there is a mount or vehicle of the appropriate power, you can ride it as if it was domesticated and you have the keys. You can move and breathe in conditions manifesting your power without damage or hindrance.
+
Ride undead or a vehicle of death as if they were trained.
  
This allows you to use Finesse with mounts and vehicles you are not familiar with, allowing Finesse to substitute for Command and Tinker actions that could do the same thing.
+
This allows you to use Finesse with undead mounts and vehicles you are not familiar with.
 +
An undead vehicle is something like a ghost ship or a car possessed by an undead spirit or used mostly to transport the dead.
 +
You can bypass simple locks on vehicles, but not more serious security.
 +
You can ride undead beasts even if they are not trained to carry a rider. They must still be physically able to carry you.
  
'''Duel:'''
+
'''Scythe'''
''You can use the power as a fine and potent close-range attack, similar in effect to a fine potent dueling sword or pistol, or you can give your friends the Ride ability for the duration of a score.
+
Fine and potent close-range attack, similar to a fine potent weapon.
  
What this actually does depends on the power used.
+
Death attacks are made with phlegm and ectoplasm that inflict disease. Death attacks incapacitate but take their time actually killing as disease and infection kills, and this is extremely hard to cure. Death attacks can weaken and corrupt objects, but again this is slow.
Fire burns, wind slices, ice pieces or freezes, and so on.
+
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.
Certain targets may be more or less vulnerable to certain attacks, 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, no more, no less.
 
  
'''Manipulate:'''
+
'''Death Riders'''
''You can do fine manipulation of the power, allowing you to do small and exact manipulations at range. This allows you to open doors, trigger or hinder mechanisms, or perform other minor manipulations, as long as the target is appropriate to your power.
+
Animate a dead ride.
  
This allows you to manipulate small amounts of matter governed by your power.  
+
You can animate dead mounts or destroyed vehicles for you and your crew to ride.
This is similar to what you could do by hand, but you can do so at a distance of ten meters or so, allowing you to push buttons, trigger devices, and perform legerdemain at short range. This can substitute for simple Tinker actions, but nothing complicated.
+
These function just as if in pristine condition.
 +
Lasts until sunrise.
  
'''Surge:'''
+
'''Dead Mans' Hands'''
''Your power manifests like a storm of blades, suppressing the effect of multiple opponents and acting as a fine potent weapon. You can choose to affect multiple targets.
+
Create a crew of undead.
  
You create ans use weapon like Duel above, and also create distractions.
+
Spirits of the dead rise to assist you with a task.
The effect is like having a number of trusty but entirely defensive allies in the fight.  
+
The most obvious sue is to give you scale and the ability to fight against an opposing crew in combat, but Dead Mans' Hands can also act as a crew on a ship, a parade, laborers, or in other tasks that require a large but unskilled crew.  
This negates the advantage an enemy gets for having allies of their own, but is otherwise the same as Duel.
+
The crew remains until the task is finished or until sunrise, whichever comes first.  
  
 
=== Hunt ===
 
=== Hunt ===
Track, attack, and unleash devastating barrages with the power of Hunt.
+
Track, attack, and unleash devastating barrages with the power to Hunt Death.  
As you advance in power, the scope of your attacks becomes greater, allowing you to control significant areas and cause widespread destruction.
+
Shooting into melee can be dangerous to you and yours.
At short range, this is dangerous to you and yours.
 
  
'''Track:'''
+
'''Scent of Death'''
''You can track and pursue based on your power, even if the target does not leave any mundane trail or clues.
+
Track and pursue undead and corpses.
  
 +
You can sense the progress of death.
 +
This allows you to track the dying, dead (corpses) and undead.
 +
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.
 
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.
  
'''Potent Snipe:'''
+
'''Shard of Death'''
''You can use your power to attack, similar in effect to a fine and potent rifle.
+
Attack similar to a fine and potent rifle.
  
The effect of this action varies depending on the nature of your power.  
+
Strike an opponent with plague from a distance.
For instance, fire will burn, wind can slice, ice might pierce or freeze, and so forth.
+
Death attacks are made with phlegm and ectoplasm that inflict disease. You don't kill quickly, Death attacks take their time as disease and infection works, this is extremely hard to cure. Death attacks can weaken and corrupt objects, but again this is slow.
While some targets may exhibit more or less vulnerability to specific types of attacks, this is the exception rather than the rule.  
+
Essentially, 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.
Essentially, this ability serves as a versatile replacement for traditional equipment; a fine and potent finesse weapon would be equally effective in combat.  
 
Moreover, using this action in a fight doesn't consume any additional time; activating your attack power is akin to drawing a weapon—neither faster nor slower.
 
  
'''Area Attack:'''
+
'''Wraithy Warning'''
''You can use your power to attack similar to a fine and potent grenade. This allows you to fight many creatures in the same area very effectively, but there is a risk of collateral damage.
+
Create signs of haunting.
  
An escalation of Potent Snipe, this affects all enemies in a single location.  
+
You can create signs of haunting, such as faintly glowing images, rattling noises, and banging doors. You can cover a single building indoors or a city block outdoors.
The effect is more powerful but less precise.
+
This is usually used as a setup, but may also change how people act in reaction to the environment—hauntings are likely to make people want to stay indoors or run out as the case may be. Does not inflict any direct damage.
This means it does more collateral damage, but no more effect on enemies.
 
Targets in trenches, behind walls, or otherwise shielded are not in direct damage, but tend to keep their heads down, which gives your side the initiative.
 
  
'''Barrage:'''
+
'''Outbreak'''
''You call down the equivalent of a fine potent artillery barrage, attacking everything and everyone in a wide area. Depending on your power, this can raze buildings and create rubble. Usually enough to provide cover for any escape.
+
Attack like a fine and potent grenade.
  
Continued escalation, this can create a crater or raze buildings, but creatures are no more or less likely to survive.
+
An escalation of Shard of Death. 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.
It is no more likely to harm creatures than Potent Snipe or Area Attack, but does so over a wide area.
 
Enemies in bunkers and other cover are discomforted, but not damaged.
 
Creatures in this area need to keep their heads down, which is usually enough of a distraction that your side can do something else unopposed, such as prowling about or running away.
 
  
 
=== Prowl ===
 
=== Prowl ===
Sneak, move, and perhaps even fly or teleport with the stealth and agility granted by Prowl.
+
Sneak and move with stealth and agility.
Most powers use Prowl in ways that vary from the norm, so this is a more rough sketch than the power abilities of many other actions.
+
Works in environments that manifests Death, like ossuaries, graveyards, necropolises, tombs, and battlefields.
  
'''Reconnaissance:'''
+
'''Deathwatch'''
''You can hide in environments linked to your power. This allows you to hide in impossible places as long as the environment manifests your power. You gain advantage when sneaking on creatures linked to your power.
+
Hide in graveyards, tombs, and haunted places.
  
This provides you cover to hide in places you ordinarily could not.
+
This allows you to hide in impossible places as long as the environment manifests Death.
Where you can use this is explained in each specific power.
 
 
It otherwise works just like any other attempt to use Prowl to avoid notice.
 
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 Travel, below.
+
Note that only you can use this ability, your friends and allies cannot unless you use Dance Macabre, below.
  
'''Maneuver:'''
+
'''Ghost Walk'''
''You can move on and through environments composed of your environment. This allows you to climb on air, swim unhindered, walk through walls of the appropriate material and so on, depending on your exact power.
+
Move on and through tombs, corpses, and cadavers.
  
Again, each power will explain how it can use this mobility.
+
This allows you to safely climb and walk through the walls of tombs, ossuaries, graveyards and similar places of Death as well as piles of corpses, bones, or crowds of lesser undead.
Your friends and allies cannot use this unless you employ Travel, which is described later
 
  
'''Travel:'''
+
'''Dance Macabre'''
''You can bring allies along when you use Reconnaissance and Maneuver.
+
Bring allies when you use Deathwatch and Ghost Walk.
  
 
Now you and your allies can Prowl in places where your power is at home.  
 
Now you and your allies can Prowl in places where your power is at home.  
They still use their own Prowl action.
+
They still use their own Prowl action rating.
 +
 
 +
'''Death March'''
 +
Crew teleport from one burial place to another.
  
'''Transport:'''
+
You and allies can teleport from one graveyard or tomb to another. 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.
''You and allies can teleport from one location where your power is present to another. This is regional travel, you stay within the same city or region, but it is generally sufficient to enter or escape just about any situation or location.
 
  
How and where you use this is explained in each power.
+
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 much less familiar with.
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 ===
 
=== Skirmish ===
Engage in close combat and create chaos with the power to Skirmish.
+
'''Block Death'''
 +
Block Death Harm.
  
'''Skirmish Attack:'''
+
Absorb Harm from Death powers, infection, and disease.
''You can use the power as a close-range attack, similar in effect to a melee weapon or pistol.
+
This allows you to survive most infectious environments unless they cause actual Harm.
 +
Roll Skirmish when subject to Death Harm.
 +
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.
  
What this actually does depends on the power used. Fire burns, wind slices, ice pieces or freezes, and so on.
+
'''Hand of Death'''
Certain targets may be more or less vulnerable to certain attacks, but this is the exception.
+
Fine and potent Death attack.
Besides variety, this only substitutes for equipment, mundane weapons are just as effective.
 
In a fight, using this does not take any more time, activating your attack power is equivalent to drawing a weapon, no more, no less.
 
  
'''Fine Skirmish Attack:'''
+
Strike down melee opponents with death and disease.
''Same as Skirmish Attack, except the weapon is fine and potent.
+
Death attacks incapacitate, but don't kill quickly, they take their time as disease but such Harm is extremely hard to cure.
  
'''Obstruction:'''
+
'''Ghost Dance'''
''Your power creates distractions and obstructions that prevent the enemy from benefiting from numbers and otherwise works as a fine potent weapon.
+
Distractions and obstructions prevent scale.
  
This creates some kind of hindrance, perhaps spectral allies, perhaps a maze or concealing mist.
+
Ghosts and animated corpses distract enemies so they cannot coordinate to use scale.
The effect is to deny your enemies the advantage of numbers.
+
You can use Hand of Death as a part of this.
You also gain the benefit of the Fine Skirmish Attack, giving you a fine, potent weapon.
 
  
'''Flurry:'''
+
'''Carnival of Carnage'''
''Your power strikes out in all directions, attacking all enemies in a wide area.
+
Attack all enemies in a wide area.
  
This 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 current skirmish, within 10 meters or so.
+
Hand of Death and Ghost Dance combined, not only avoid scale but strike at all opponents in Melee.
  
 
=== Study ===
 
=== Study ===
Study and analyze objects and creatures imbued with your power to gain insight and knowledge.
+
Study and analyze objects and creatures imbued with Death to gain insight and knowledge. This works on bone and skin used as materials, on corpses, cadavers, and on undead.
 +
 
 +
'''Name of the Deceased'''
 +
Identify corpses, cadavers, and materials taken from the dead.
 +
 
 +
Identify corpses, cadavers, including silk, leather, and undead.
 +
This gives the name and very basic information in narrative terms, but not details or actual rules.
 +
 
 +
'''Obituary'''
 +
Learn the powers and abilities of Death.
 +
 
 +
You learn of any powers or special abilities the creature or object has. This includes actual rules and game effects.
  
'''Analyze:'''
+
'''Seance'''
''You can identify objects and creatures that manifest your power and see the use of the abilities of your power.
+
Summon an apparition of a dead person you have a link to and ask them questions.
  
'''Research:'''
+
This requires a link to the dead. Part of the corpse, grave, cenotaph, and place of death all qualify. A personal object can also do, as well as a close friend or relative of the deceased.
''You know the powers and abilities of something you analyze.
 
  
'''Hindsight:'''
+
You summon a powerless apparition of a dead person. This can be a ghostly image or voice, or a manifestation on something like a Ouija board or tarot reading. The spirit of the dead can tell you about things that happened in its lifetime. Most apparitions are vain and eager to speak about their lives and the wrongs they suffered, especially to people close to them. They retain habits from life, particularly negative ones like suspicion, greed, and vengefulness.
''You can 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.
+
An apparition is usually unable to speak of its continued existence after death.
  
'''Omniscience:'''
+
'''Tale of Tragedy'''
''You research everything in a wide area. This is easy to do where you are, more difficult at range. You can then use hindsight on some of these targets.
+
Obituary for every corpse in a large area.
 +
 
 +
Provides an Obituary for everything as far as you can see, pinpointing locations of interest like tombs and sites of murder. You can then use Seance to learn the history of up to three dead people from this area.
  
 
=== Survey ===
 
=== Survey ===
Survey and perceive manifestations of your power to gain valuable information and insight.
+
Perceive and locate manifestations of Death. 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.
 +
 
 +
'''Scent of Death'''
 +
Sense manifestations of Death, including undead and Death powers.
 +
 
 +
This is a basic spotting power, selectively sensing things related to your power.
 +
You can limit what you are looking for down to a particular corpse or grave if you have a link or sufficient information to eliminate false positives.
 +
 
 +
'''Skull Eye'''
 +
Choose a skull or a representation of one; perceive as if you were at that spot.
 +
 
 +
You move your perception to a skull, real or manufactured, and sense as if you were at that spot.
 +
If using an actual buried skull, you can perceive from any point of the grave it is buried in.
 +
You still sense things at your actual location, but very dimly.
  
'''Detect:'''
+
'''Seeking Skull'''
''You can sense manifestations of your power at a distance and understand their general nature. This works even when you can't see the target, but both range and information suffer.
+
Choose a location or creature. You gain a sensor at the nearest skull.
  
'''Sensor:'''
+
Similar to Skull Eye but allows you to focus on a specific creature or position. Automatically directs towards the best vantage point provided by a suitable skull, hopefully close enough to observe the target.
''Choose an object manifesting your power that you have detected; you can perceive as if you were at that spot. You cannot use your Survey action for anything else when doing so.
+
Fails if no suitable viewpoint is available.
  
'''Scry:'''
+
'''Omnipresent Death'''
''Choose a location or creature. You gain a sensor at the nearest suitable object, which is often close enough to perceive the target.
+
You perceive from all skulls at once over a wide area.
  
'''Omnipresence:'''
+
Skull Eye on everything in 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.
''You perceive from all objects manifesting your power at once over a wide area. As long as you concentrate you retain this perception and can report what you see to others.
 
  
 
=== Sway ===
 
=== Sway ===
Communicate, mesmerize, and manipulate creatures imbued with your power to achieve your goals.
+
Communicate, mesmerize, and manipulate undead.  
Sway creatures based on your power with persuasion and cajoling.
+
Position and effect are determined normally, depending on the situation and your relation to listeners.  
Position and effect is determined normally, depending ion the situation and your relation to listeners.
+
Limited effect works if it follows the target's existing impulses, just overcoming self-restraint. For undead this is includes violence against the living.
If you know several powers and use a Sway effect but don't know what type of creature you are facing, it works as long as you have the appropriate power.  
+
Standard effect can convince a target with no particular stake in the matter.  
You need not select a specific type of creature in advance.
+
Great effect will convince a reluctant target, but not a passionate one
If you try to Sway a type of creature and don't the appropriate power, effect is at best limited—the game master may judge that the Sway action can be used non-verbally, but often you will have no effect at all. 
+
 
This still has the normal stress cost.
+
'''Moody Dead'''
 +
Understand undead even if normally couldn't and sense their motivations.
  
'''Communicate:'''
+
You can gauge the mood and motivations of undead and understand what they are saying. This does not allow you to be understood. Used together with Command: Wraith's Whisper, this allows full communication.
''You can understand creatures linked to your power even if normally couldn't, and gauge their mood and motivations.
 
  
This does not allow you to be understood by those whose intentions you read. Used together with the basic Command power, this allows full communication.
+
'''Dead Men Talking'''
 +
You and allies can communicate with undead. You can make folk morose.
  
'''Translate:'''
+
This allows you to use the Sway action with full effect, overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers. Unless you also use Command: Spectral Speech, you are persuading, not speaking with authority.  
''You and allies can communicate with creatures based on your power.
 
  
This allows you to use the Sway power to its full effect.
+
You can make any type of creature morose, not just undead.
You are still wheedling unless you also use Command the advanced Command effect.
 
  
In addition, many powers will have the power to inspire a mood or emotion specific to that power.
+
'''Elegy'''
 +
You can post suggestions in the mind of an undead.
  
'''Mesmerize:'''
+
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.
''You can post suggestions in the mind of a creature manifesting your power, which will be triggered under conditions you specify. Common suggestions are to steal something, attack someone, or ignore some event. This is a subtle power, but easier to spot once triggered.
 
  
Essentially this is an attempt to Sway with two advantages.
+
Suggestions cannot be absurd to the target. A typical use would be to sway an undead to engage in some opportunistic slaughter or morose lethargy. 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.
The target will not remember that you swayed them, and if you succeed, you can give them instructions that will activate later, in a situation you specify.
 
A typical use of this would be to sway a servant to leave a window open in a hallway or a guard to forget to load their weapon.
 
Besides the normal challenges of persuasion, suggestions fade depending on your effect. Limited effect lasts in the immediate situation.
 
Normal effect lasts for the duration of the score, and great effect can last past the end of the score, as makes sense in the story.
 
  
'''Inculcate:'''
+
'''Unity in Death'''
''You change the personality and motivations of creatures that manifest your power. This power is permanent, but blatant. The target remembers their past but regards it as unimportant compared to their new motivations.
+
Permanently change the personality and motivations of undead.
  
This changes the target on a deep level, changing their loyalties and priorities.
+
This power is permanent but blatant. It changes the target on a deep level, altering their priorities and loyalties. The target remembers 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 an undead cherish Life. Exceptional creatures and circumstances can break this change.
There are limit to this, particularly for creatures linked to a power - you cannot make a fire creature love the sea or an angel of light do deeds of darkness.
 
Exceptional creatures and exceptional circumstances can break this change.
 
This depends more on role-playing than die rolls.
 
  
 
=== Tinker ===
 
=== Tinker ===
Manipulate, shape, and create objects imbued with your power to suit your needs.
+
Manipulate, shape, and create objects of Death 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.  
When used with long-term projects, powers can often substitute for missing resources such as tools or raw materials, but that is all it does until you can start using Fabricate.
+
 
 +
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 use Funerary Splendor.
 +
 
 +
'''Dead Style'''
 +
Work the remains of the dead. Make decrepit and broken items function normally.
  
'''Handle:'''
+
You can craft bone, skin, sinew, and other materials from corpses and cadavers.
''You can handle materials that manifest your power as if you had the appropriate tools and protective devices.
+
You can take a decrepit item and make it function as new while you or an undead use it.
 +
It still looks decrepit.
  
This mainly substitutes for tools, up to a small workshop.
+
'''Dead Craft'''
You are also protected from any dangerous effects of working with the elements of your power.
+
Shape Death materials as if they were of clay.
  
'''Shape:'''
+
This surpasses normal crafting, letting you manipulate elements that are not stable, shaping bone and blood as if they were elastic and make 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 shape materials that manifest your power as if they were of clay, and they will retain their new shape for some time even if they would normally not, such as water, sand, or smoke.
 
  
You can now do more than normal craft could do.
+
You can restore decrepit items in both appearance and function.
You can work elements of your power that  normally cannot be shaped, and it will remain in the shape you set it in.
 
This has the effect of pipes and containers suited to the materials at hand, without any material containers or conduits.
 
This may allow you to set up traps or devices that would normally require extensive equipment.
 
  
The position depends on how quiet your workplace is and how much time you have to work with.
+
'''Luxuries of the Dead'''
The effect determines the effectiveness of your construction, but also how long it will last.
+
Create Dead Polish objects out of nothing, create fine and potent items.
Devices that are more powerful are harder to contain, and thus wont last as long.
 
Most shaping will only be good for a single scene, but if your effect surpasses that required for the effect you want, you can stretch the effect until the end of the score.
 
  
'''Create:'''
+
You don't need tools to build complex fine and potent items appropriate to your powers or to restore grave goods to their former splendor.
''You can create objects manifesting your power out of nothing or transform an object from one material to another as long as you know the power required for both the starting and final form. This can create complex tools, such as fine and potent items appropriate to the power(s) used.
 
  
This is two distinct effects. The first allows you to create matter related to your power out of nothing. This is raw matter (or energy, depending on the power used) and needs to be shaped and refined to be of much use.
+
You can create stuff related to Death from nothing. This is like Dead Craft, above, but needs no raw materials.
  
The second can only be used if you know multiple powers. You transmute material connected to one of your powers into material connected to another power.  
+
With multiple powers you can transform material linked to Death into material linked to another. This allows intricate transformations where a metal sword can be transmuted into blood and still work as a sword, or a bone door can be changed to air so you can walk through and then revert door back to how it was.
The result will maintain its form as if affected by the Shape ability.
 
The advantage of this is that you can transform a complex object and it will retain its form and function as far as its new material allows.
 
This can transform something like a sword from metal to fire, and it would still be a functional sword.
 
A door could be changed from wood to air, you then pass through and the door reverts to wood.
 
  
'''Fabricate:'''
+
'''Funerary Splendor'''
''This is similar to Create, above, but you mass-produce objects, even a set of different objects. You can also make something large, such as a vehicle or building.
+
Mass produce Dead Craft or make something large, such as a vehicle or building.
  
Pretty self-explanatory, this is Create on a larger scale.
+
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, Funerary Splendor makes many dozens of items with the same effort as one item, but with a stress cost.
This is useful for equipping a large band or building something large out of nothing.
 
When doing long-term projects that involve building or crafting, you can use Fabricate to gain great effect, even under what normally be poor conditions, but this has the usual stress cost.
 
  
 
=== Wreck ===
 
=== Wreck ===
Destroy, dismantle, and obliterate objects made of stuff related to your power.  
+
Wreck remnants of the dead. Finish off damaged things. Noisy and leaves a twisted object in place.
 +
 
 +
Destroy, dismantle, and obliterate objects related to Death.
 +
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.
  
'''Jimmy:'''
+
'''Rot of Death'''
''You can jimmy objects manifesting your power much like a sledgehammer. Noisy and leaves a twisted object in place.
+
Wreck the living and the dead.  
  
Just as crude as it sounds.  
+
Finish off damaged things. Noisy and leaves a twisted object in place.
You destroy things related to your power, and strike with the force of a sledgehammer in combat.
+
You can affect anything that comes from a dead body or that has suffered damage enough to hinger its function.
As usual, Wreck may be at an advantage or disadvantage compared to Finesse and Skirmish, depending on the situation.
+
You can also make a rough melee attack.
 +
Death attacks are made with phlegm and ectoplasm that inflict disease. Death attacks incapacitate, but don't kill quickly, they take their time as disease and infection kills slowly, and this is extremely hard to cure. Death attacks can weaken and corrupt objects, but again this is slow.
  
'''Smash:'''
+
'''Rot of Oblivion'''
''Similar to jimmy. When smashing objects from your power, such as metallic objects for the metal power, you to affect hard objects as if they were wood. Works as a fine potent sledgehammer in combat.
+
Faster and stronger Rot of Death.
  
This reduces the strength of strong materials, allowing you to break even the strongest barrier, as long as it of the proper material and not too thick.  
+
Rot of Death, but faster, you rot most materials as if they were wood. Works as a fine potent sledgehammer in combat.
You can also use this as a sledgehammer to smash other things, and ads a fine, potent sledgehammer in combat.
+
This bypasses the strength of materials, allowing you to break anything that comes from a dead body or that has suffered any significant damage. You can also use this to smash other things or as a fine, potent sledgehammer.
  
'''Disintegrate:'''
+
'''Dust to Dust'''
''Similar to smash, but destroyed targets silently disappear or are reduced to a fine dust.
+
Rot of Oblivion and destroyed targets silently vanish.
  
The real difference here is that wrecking things is now silent when you have the right power.
+
Does damage as Rot of Oblivion and destroyed targets silently vanish or are reduced to a fine dust. The key difference is that the destruction is silent and leaves minimal traces. Because this power is tied to Death, it ensures that all evidence of a murder is eradicated.
You also leave less traces, as what you wreck disappears.  
 
This can also be used to get rid of evidence, as long as that evidence matches your power.
 
  
'''Obliterate:'''
+
'''Crypt Cataclysm'''
''Similar to smash, but over a large area. This can level a city block, empty a canal system of water, raze a city wall, and similar massive destruction.
+
Rot to Oblivion over a large area.
  
 +
Similar to Rot to Oblivion, but over a large area.
 +
Level a necropolis or anything weathered.
 
Rather straightforward, this just scales things up.
 
Rather straightforward, this just scales things up.

Latest revision as of 12:10, 15 November 2024

Fox in the DarkFox in the Dark logo
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Powers (FiD)Fox in the Dark logo

Death and disease are powerful forces.

Action and motivation need not cease with death. Characters can use the powers of the dead, learn their secrets, and even reanimate them as undead.

Death attacks are made with phlegm and ectoplasm that inflict disease. Paradoxically this means that death attacks incapacitate, but don't kill quickly, instead they take their time as disease and infection kills you, and such harm is extremely hard to cure. Death attacks can weaken and corrupt objects, but again this is slow.

Death creatures are spirits of the dead. Study can call apparition that can communicate but not act. Attune can call ghosts that scare and some poltergeist activities at and undead spirits can be called to inhabit corpses as zombies and skeletons. At mid to high tiers, spirits can be called to possess stronger things, such as an undead knight or a powerful mummy, or as incorporeal undead that can walk thru walls and are invulnerable to mundane weapons.

Death Power Effects Table

Action Basic
No minimum
4 Stress
Advanced
Minimum 2 Dice
5 Stress
Master
Minimum 4 Dice
6 Stress
Apex
Minimum 6 Dice
7 Stress
Attune Soul Sense
Detect undead and Death powers.
Defy Death
Banish undead and dismiss Death powers.
Defiant Spirit
Summon undead.
Soul's Crossing
Create a portal to the plane of death.
Command Wraith's Whisper
Command undead even if you don't share a language.
Spectral Speech
Communicate with undead and dead things over vast distances.
Wraith's Will
Command undead as if you were their superior.
Enslave Essence
Permanently bind undead to service.
Consort Death Mask
Make clothes and accessories rotten but functional when used by you and undead creatures.
Grasp Undeath
Assume the form of an undead.
Gift of Undeath
Shapechange a willing or helpless creature into a undead.
Haunted Hunt
Transform a number of willing creatures into undead, give a simple instruction.
Finesse Harrowing Herse
Ride undead or a vehicle of death as if they were trained.
Scythe
Fine and potent close-range attack, similar to a fine potent weapon.
Death Riders
Animate a dead ride.
Dead Mans' Hands
Create a crew of undead.
Hunt Scent of Death
Track and pursue undead and corpses.
Shard of Death
Attack similar to a fine and potent rifle.
Wraithy Warning
Create signs of haunting.
Outbreak
Attack like fine and potent grenade.
Prowl Deathwatch
Hide in graveyards, tombs, and haunted places.
Ghost Walk
Move on and through tombs, corpses, and cadavers.
Dance Macabre
Bring allies when you use Deathwatch and Ghost Walk.
Death March
Crew teleport from one burial place to another.
Skirmish Block Death
Block Death Harm.
Hand of Death
Fine and potent Death attack.
Ghost Dance
Distractions and obstructions prevent scale.
Carnival of Carnage
Attack all enemies in a wide area.
Study Name of the Deceased
Identify corpses, cadavers, and materials taken from the dead.
Obituary
Learn the powers and abilities of Death.
Seance
Summon an apparition of a dead person you have a link to and ask them questions.
Tale of Tragedy
Obituary for every corpse in a large area.
Survey Scent of Death
Sense manifestations of death, including undead and Death powers.
Skull Eye
Choose an skull or a representation of one; perceive as if you were at that spot.
Seeking Skull
Choose a location or creature. You gain a sensor at the nearest skull.
Omnipresent Death
You perceive from all skulls at once over a wide area.
Sway Moody Dead
Understand undead even if normally couldn't and sense their motivations.
Dead Men Talking
You and allies can communicate with undead. You can make folk morose.
Elegy
You can post suggestions in the mind of an undead.
Unity in Death
Permanently change the personality and motivations of undead.
Tinker Dead Style
Work the remains of the dead. Make decrepit and broken items function normally.
Dead Craft
Shape materials you can Dead Polish as if they were of clay.
Luxuries of the Dead
Create Dead Polish objects out of nothing, Create fine and potent items.
Funerary Splendor
Mass produce Dead Craft or make something large, such as a vehicle or building.
Wreck Rot of Death
Wreck the living and the dead.
Rot of Oblivion
Faster and stronger Rot of Death.
Dust to Dust
Rot of Oblivion and destroyed targets silently vanish.
Crypt Cataclysm
Rot to Oblivion over a large area.

Expanded Death Powers

Attune

Harness the power of Attune to perceive and manipulate supernatural energies, allowing you to detect and interact with beings and phenomena from the land of the dead.

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.

Soul Sense Detect undead and Death powers.

This is usually done to see a spirit or disguised creature, 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).

Defy Death Banish undead and dismiss Death powers. Animate corpses.

Dismissing undead 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. Undead are either Death spirits or things possessed by Death spirits, these are called corporeal undead. When a spirit possessing a corpse is dismissed, the corpse loses its animating power and collapses.

You can only dispel Death powers and powers affecting undead and to make Death spirits materialize. 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.

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.

Defiant Spirit Summon undead.

As outlined under Defy Death, undead are either incorporeal spirits or Death spirits possessing things, usually corpses but sometimes other things related to Death, like hearses, graves, tombs, or even entire graveyards or battlefields. Summons can use simple effects of their power and maintain power effects you have created. They can also give advice and information related to their own past lives.

You must know who you are to summon. In general, you can summon generic creatures one tier lower than yourself without having to do a flashback. This summons Death spirits to possess corpses to create basic undead like skeletons and zombies. These creatures are largely automatons and must receive instruction to perform even simple tasks. They have no connection or knowledge related to the corpse they animate and no memories of their own life.

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 an id number, a holographic blueprint, a 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.

The most versatile undead are the spirits of dead people summoned to possess their own body. These become intelligent undead along the lines of vampires and liches. You can only do this with the spirits of creatures willing to become undead.

Limited effect allows you to ask questions of an intelligent undead or demand a short period of physical labor from a simple undead. Standard effect allows you to ask for any service that spreads death and continue what it did while alive. Great effect allows actions outside the creature's comfort zone, but not things it directly opposes. An undead will do most things. Lengthy service also requires great effect, like summoning the creature to guard a treasure for as long as it can.

Typical consequences include:

  • General sulkiness.
  • The creature strikes out at you once.
  • Overly literal interpretations of your commands.
  • You lose some of your life energy
  • Demands not to be summoned again until some time or event has passed.
  • A tightwire struggle to keep the creature under control.

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 undead, 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. Offering a creature gifts or services appropriate to its nature can improve position. This is essentially a devil's bargain, accepting a price in advance.

Soul's Crossing Create a portal to the plane of death.

Create a portal to the Land of the dead. There are things that are possible to do in the Land of the dead that are not allowed in the regular world. Death effects are reduced one step in difficulty, from advanced to basic, master to advanced, and apex to master. This opens the possibility of new super-apex powers that have to be negotiated with the game master. Such effects rarely reach outside the plane where you perform them, but if they affect creatures on that plane, the effect may remain when you return to the mundane world.

Gating can allow access to creatures too powerful to summon and souls unwilling to become undead. In this case you can ask for an audience. The creature may then use the gate to come to you, call you into its presence, or just communicate with you.

Travel using a gate is usually played out as a score, which means there is an engagement roll. Depending on how quickly the matter is resolved, the game master may require a separate use of the power to return home again. However if you do this in a scene that is dangerous, such as asking for help against an enemy too powerful for you to defeat, the position is usually much worse.

Command

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

Wraith's Whisper Command undead even if you don't share a language.

This is useful for intimidating creatures under your power and commanding foreign, alien, or very stupid undead. Combined with Sway: Moody Dead, it allows two-way communication.

Spectral Speech Communicate with undead and dead things over vast distances.

You can communicate with undead 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 undead creature 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 also use a skull as a communication device. You say who you are trying to speak to, and if a skull is present near the target, you can communicate.

Wraith's Will Command undead as if you were their superior.

Targets will see you as a leader type 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 animated 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 now-dead city.

Limited effect might result in a creature not doing what it might not have done anyway, like not investigating a disturbance. This is usually enough to order skeletons and zombies to do nothing. Standard effect makes the creature do what it should, but in a way you decide, like like taking the left instead of the right patrol route. Great effect means targets will ignore their normal routine and go out of their way to please you, like fighting for you, or dire 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 risky position is typical against a creature that sees itself as your equal and not your enemy, possibly leading to heat, misunderstood orders, or a small rebellion. A controlled position comes from a creature that agrees you are superior, usually just making retrying harder.

Enslave Essence Permanently bind undead to service.

This won’t work unless you are already in a position of power. The effect is similar to Authority but permanent. A creature can be freed by powers or strong passions.

Consort

Consort powers change your form and later that of other creatures. These powers might also be used as a set-up action for later. This will often give a bonus to effect or improved position 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 rotten, cause panic, or have unexpected handicaps.

Death Mask Make clothes and accessories rotten but functional when used by you and undead creatures.

You do not physically change yourself, you change your accessorize and outfit. This can make regular items and clothes look decrepit while staying functional. When the power ends, items return to their original status.

Grasp Undeath Assume the form of an undead.

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 makes a reasonable undead.

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 Death powers inherently without risking stress.

With limited effect you can transform into yourself like you would have been, had you returned from death as the undead 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.

Gift of Undeath Shapechange a willing or helpless creature into an undead.

This is Shapechange 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 Grasp Undeath.

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

Haunted Hunt Transform a number of willing creatures into undead, give a simple instruction.

This is where Consort becomes a combination of Gift of Undeath and Attune: Defiant Spirit. You transform a number of existing creatures and give them a task that they will perform with morose monotony, 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 undead crew in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Finesse

Deal death with finesse, manipulating and attacking with precision.

Harrowing Herse Ride undead or a vehicle of death as if they were trained.

This allows you to use Finesse with undead mounts and vehicles you are not familiar with. An undead vehicle is something like a ghost ship or a car possessed by an undead spirit or used mostly to transport the dead. You can bypass simple locks on vehicles, but not more serious security. You can ride undead beasts even if they are not trained to carry a rider. They must still be physically able to carry you.

Scythe Fine and potent close-range attack, similar to a fine potent weapon.

Death attacks are made with phlegm and ectoplasm that inflict disease. Death attacks incapacitate but take their time actually killing as disease and infection kills, and this is extremely hard to cure. Death attacks can weaken and corrupt objects, but again this is slow. 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.

Death Riders Animate a dead ride.

You can animate dead mounts or destroyed vehicles for you and your crew to ride. These function just as if in pristine condition. Lasts until sunrise.

Dead Mans' Hands Create a crew of undead.

Spirits of the dead rise to assist you with a task. The most obvious sue is to give you scale and the ability to fight against an opposing crew in combat, but Dead Mans' Hands can also act as a crew on a ship, a parade, laborers, or in other tasks that require a large but unskilled crew. The crew remains until the task is finished or until sunrise, whichever comes first.

Hunt

Track, attack, and unleash devastating barrages with the power to Hunt Death. Shooting into melee can be dangerous to you and yours.

Scent of Death Track and pursue undead and corpses.

You can sense the progress of death. This allows you to track the dying, dead (corpses) and undead. 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.

Shard of Death Attack similar to a fine and potent rifle.

Strike an opponent with plague from a distance. Death attacks are made with phlegm and ectoplasm that inflict disease. You don't kill quickly, Death attacks take their time as disease and infection works, this is extremely hard to cure. Death attacks can weaken and corrupt objects, but again this is slow. Essentially, 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.

Wraithy Warning Create signs of haunting.

You can create signs of haunting, such as faintly glowing images, rattling noises, and banging doors. You can cover a single building indoors or a city block outdoors. This is usually used as a setup, but may also change how people act in reaction to the environment—hauntings are likely to make people want to stay indoors or run out as the case may be. Does not inflict any direct damage.

Outbreak Attack like a fine and potent grenade.

An escalation of Shard of Death. 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

Sneak and move with stealth and agility. Works in environments that manifests Death, like ossuaries, graveyards, necropolises, tombs, and battlefields.

Deathwatch Hide in graveyards, tombs, and haunted places.

This allows you to hide in impossible places as long as the environment manifests Death. 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 Dance Macabre, below.

Ghost Walk Move on and through tombs, corpses, and cadavers.

This allows you to safely climb and walk through the walls of tombs, ossuaries, graveyards and similar places of Death as well as piles of corpses, bones, or crowds of lesser undead.

Dance Macabre Bring allies when you use Deathwatch and Ghost Walk.

Now you and your allies can Prowl in places where your power is at home. They still use their own Prowl action rating.

Death March Crew teleport from one burial place to another.

You and allies can teleport from one graveyard or tomb to another. 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 much less familiar with.

Skirmish

Block Death Block Death Harm.

Absorb Harm from Death powers, infection, and disease. This allows you to survive most infectious environments unless they cause actual Harm. Roll Skirmish when subject to Death Harm. 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.

Hand of Death Fine and potent Death attack.

Strike down melee opponents with death and disease. Death attacks incapacitate, but don't kill quickly, they take their time as disease but such Harm is extremely hard to cure.

Ghost Dance Distractions and obstructions prevent scale.

Ghosts and animated corpses distract enemies so they cannot coordinate to use scale. You can use Hand of Death as a part of this.

Carnival of Carnage Attack all enemies in a wide area.

Hand of Death and Ghost Dance combined, not only avoid scale but strike at all opponents in Melee.

Study

Study and analyze objects and creatures imbued with Death to gain insight and knowledge. This works on bone and skin used as materials, on corpses, cadavers, and on undead.

Name of the Deceased Identify corpses, cadavers, and materials taken from the dead.

Identify corpses, cadavers, including silk, leather, and undead. This gives the name and very basic information in narrative terms, but not details or actual rules.

Obituary Learn the powers and abilities of Death.

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

Seance Summon an apparition of a dead person you have a link to and ask them questions.

This requires a link to the dead. Part of the corpse, grave, cenotaph, and place of death all qualify. A personal object can also do, as well as a close friend or relative of the deceased.

You summon a powerless apparition of a dead person. This can be a ghostly image or voice, or a manifestation on something like a Ouija board or tarot reading. The spirit of the dead can tell you about things that happened in its lifetime. Most apparitions are vain and eager to speak about their lives and the wrongs they suffered, especially to people close to them. They retain habits from life, particularly negative ones like suspicion, greed, and vengefulness. An apparition is usually unable to speak of its continued existence after death.

Tale of Tragedy Obituary for every corpse in a large area.

Provides an Obituary for everything as far as you can see, pinpointing locations of interest like tombs and sites of murder. You can then use Seance to learn the history of up to three dead people from this area.

Survey

Perceive and locate manifestations of Death. 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.

Scent of Death Sense manifestations of Death, including undead and Death powers.

This is a basic spotting power, selectively sensing things related to your power. You can limit what you are looking for down to a particular corpse or grave if you have a link or sufficient information to eliminate false positives.

Skull Eye Choose a skull or a representation of one; perceive as if you were at that spot.

You move your perception to a skull, real or manufactured, and sense as if you were at that spot. If using an actual buried skull, you can perceive from any point of the grave it is buried in. You still sense things at your actual location, but very dimly.

Seeking Skull Choose a location or creature. You gain a sensor at the nearest skull.

Similar to Skull Eye but allows you to focus on a specific creature or position. Automatically directs towards the best vantage point provided by a suitable skull, hopefully close enough to observe the target. Fails if no suitable viewpoint is available.

Omnipresent Death You perceive from all skulls at once over a wide area.

Skull Eye on everything in 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.

Sway

Communicate, mesmerize, and manipulate undead. 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 self-restraint. For undead this is includes violence against the living. 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

Moody Dead Understand undead even if normally couldn't and sense their motivations.

You can gauge the mood and motivations of undead and understand what they are saying. This does not allow you to be understood. Used together with Command: Wraith's Whisper, this allows full communication.

Dead Men Talking You and allies can communicate with undead. You can make folk morose.

This allows you to use the Sway action with full effect, overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers. Unless you also use Command: Spectral Speech, you are persuading, not speaking with authority.

You can make any type of creature morose, not just undead.

Elegy You can post suggestions in the mind of an undead.

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 an undead to engage in some opportunistic slaughter or morose lethargy. 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.

Unity in Death Permanently change the personality and motivations of undead.

This power is permanent but blatant. It changes the target on a deep level, altering their priorities and loyalties. The target remembers 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 an undead cherish Life. Exceptional creatures and circumstances can break this change.

Tinker

Manipulate, shape, and create objects of Death 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 use Funerary Splendor.

Dead Style Work the remains of the dead. Make decrepit and broken items function normally.

You can craft bone, skin, sinew, and other materials from corpses and cadavers. You can take a decrepit item and make it function as new while you or an undead use it. It still looks decrepit.

Dead Craft Shape Death materials as if they were of clay.

This surpasses normal crafting, letting you manipulate elements that are not stable, shaping bone and blood as if they were elastic and make 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 restore decrepit items in both appearance and function.

Luxuries of the Dead Create Dead Polish objects out of nothing, create fine and potent items.

You don't need tools to build complex fine and potent items appropriate to your powers or to restore grave goods to their former splendor.

You can create stuff related to Death from nothing. This is like Dead Craft, above, but needs no raw materials.

With multiple powers you can transform material linked to Death into material linked to another. This allows intricate transformations where a metal sword can be transmuted into blood and still work as a sword, or a bone door can be changed to air so you can walk through and then revert door back to how it was.

Funerary Splendor Mass produce Dead Craft or make something large, such 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, Funerary Splendor makes many dozens of items with the same effort as one item, but with a stress cost.

Wreck

Wreck remnants of the dead. Finish off damaged things. Noisy and leaves a twisted object in place.

Destroy, dismantle, and obliterate objects related to Death. 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.

Rot of Death Wreck the living and the dead.

Finish off damaged things. Noisy and leaves a twisted object in place. You can affect anything that comes from a dead body or that has suffered damage enough to hinger its function. You can also make a rough melee attack. Death attacks are made with phlegm and ectoplasm that inflict disease. Death attacks incapacitate, but don't kill quickly, they take their time as disease and infection kills slowly, and this is extremely hard to cure. Death attacks can weaken and corrupt objects, but again this is slow.

Rot of Oblivion Faster and stronger Rot of Death.

Rot of Death, but faster, you rot most materials as if they were wood. Works as a fine potent sledgehammer in combat. This bypasses the strength of materials, allowing you to break anything that comes from a dead body or that has suffered any significant damage. You can also use this to smash other things or as a fine, potent sledgehammer.

Dust to Dust Rot of Oblivion and destroyed targets silently vanish.

Does damage as Rot of Oblivion and destroyed targets silently vanish or are reduced to a fine dust. The key difference is that the destruction is silent and leaves minimal traces. Because this power is tied to Death, it ensures that all evidence of a murder is eradicated.

Crypt Cataclysm Rot to Oblivion over a large area.

Similar to Rot to Oblivion, but over a large area. Level a necropolis or anything weathered. Rather straightforward, this just scales things up.