Order Powers (FiD)

Starfox's Blades in the Dark fan page

Order is the power the status quo, of perfection, of loyalty, indoctrination, and dogma.

Order is the system of the world; the ordered universe of space and matter we are all familiar with. Order powers restore normality, negate randomness, negates powers, and makes mechanisms and people behave as expected. It is associated with what science calls low entropy; a completely ordered universe has no content but enormous potential.

Order attacks come in two kinds. One is regular weapons. Your weapons become potent and wont fail them as long as you use them properly for a proper cause, which may circumstantially improve position. The other is exorcism. Order is powerful in banishing unnatural creatures. Exorcism is a fine and potent attack that only works against creatures that can be dismissed and creatures that possess others. This attack is also situational, but sometimes very useful, like when you want to strike at a possessing devil without harming its victim.

Known as virtues, creatures of order represent different tasks, functions, skills, and moral values. Get the right one and it will perform to perfection. Get the wrong one, and you have a very insistent pedantic.

Order Power Effects

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	Virtuous Vision Detect summoned creatures and active powers.	Power Purge Dismiss creatures. End the operation of any power.	Herald of Harmony Call a virtue, creatures of order from a plane of law.	Disciplined Domain Create a portal to a plane of law.
Command	Loyal Linguistics Command creatures with loyalty to your faction.	Factional Fellowship Send messages to distant creatures of your faction.	Add Alegience Create loyalty in any creature.	Oath of Obedience Permanently remove and create loyalty.
Consort	Unifying Uniform Change your clothes and accessories to match local customs.	Maestro of Mimicry Assume the form of a local creature.	Form of the Flock Shapechange allies or victims into local creatures.	Assimilation Form Flock several willing or non-sentient creatures.
Finesse	Tool Tamer Weapons, machines, and vehicles you use work perfectly.	Weapon Warden Fine and potent close-range attack, or give crew Tool Tamer.	Machinist Magician Activate machines at a distance.	Rational Route Find the best route.
Hunt	Perfect Pursuit Creatures and devices you rely on to track are reliable.	Precise Projectile Make a weapon attack fine and potent, or make an potent exorcism at range.	Pristine Path Clear a path, negating obstructions..	Hunter's Havoc Perfect a grenade, making it fine and potent, or make a potent exorcism in an area.
Prowl	Recon Routine Understand security routines, preventing scale.	Refine Route Secure a route, preventing random setbacks.	Guide's Glide Bring allies along when you Recon Routine or Refine Route.	Punctual Pathway Teleport crew from one transport nexus to another.
Skirmish	Combat Cowl Protect yourself from chaotic damage.	Combat Control Fine and potent skirmish Attack or exorcism.	Combat Command Deny the enemy the ability to coordinate negates scale.	Combat Conquest Optimize to attack multiple enemies without disadvantage.
Study	Studious Scan Identify a power, creature, or item.	Exact Examination Learn the powers and abilities a power, creature, and item.	Lexicon of Lore Read past events of a power, creature, and item.	Omniscient Order Studious Scan all you see then three times Lexicon of Lore.
Survey	Vigilant Vision Sense powers that break the status quo.	Sensor's Secret Sense from a guard or surveillance device.	Enhanced Espionage Choose a location or creature. Gain nearest Sensor's Secret.	Web of Watchers Sensor's Secret at all places at once over a wide area.
Sway	Diplomatic Discourse Communicate with and sway creatures who are not enemies.	Negotiation Nexus You and allies can communicate with creatures who are not enemies.	Compelling Command Post suggestions in the mind of a creature who is not an enemy.	Inculcate Influence Permanently change the personality and motivations of creatures.
Tinker	Tool Tweak Repair objects as if you had the appropriate tools.	Device Design Create known objects from existing components.	Create Components Create fine and potent known items.	Machine Miracle Mass Device Design.
Wreck	Find Fault Noisily wreck anything damaged. Make a potent but clumsy exorcism.	Implode Imperfection Smashing damaged objects as if they were wood.	Defects to Dust Silen and traceless Implode Imperfection.	Deficiency Disaster Implode Imperfection over a large area.

Expanded Order Powers

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.

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.

Virtuous Vision Detect summoned creatures and active powers.

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

Power Purge Dismiss creatures. End the operation of any power.

An essential part of the power of Order is to restore the natural order. This allows the dispelling and dismissing of all powers and to force the materialization of any power.

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

Dispelling is 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 to break the continuing effects of powers. When used directly like this, the effect is usually limited unless the opponent is relying on powers for their safety. 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 not negate the power but instead give you a clue to what you need to do to resolve the situation.

Herald of Harmony Call a virtue, creatures of order from a plane of law.

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

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

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

Summoned creatures of order come in three types, Virtues, automatons, and creatures with powers.

Virtues are spirits of order, immaterial, ephemeral, manifesting different concepts and ideas, such as steam power, electricity, science or virtues such as bravery or intelligence. They can use sophisticated power effects and seek to manifest their core idea.

Automatons are somewhat equivalent to the elementals of other powers. These are artificial bodies possessed by a virtue that provides movement and intelligence. Some automatons are mechanical or clockwork creatures, others are animated statues. Either is about as hard to make, a culture generally sticks to one of these methods. It is possible to dismiss a virtue possessing an automaton, leaving the body with no mind or animation.

Creatures with powers are less common as agents of order. They resemble perfect mundane creatures, having a biological body, metabolism, and functioning as ordinary living creatures but also have some exceptional abilities related to order. Agents of law may turn domesticated animals and even humans into creatures with powers of order by fusing them with virtues. This grants animals and all creatures inherent powers of order and a longer lifetime, bat the price of sterility.

Not all creatures with powers are summonable or dismissible, many are native to this world and have no special vulnerability to Attune power effects. This applies particularly to order creatures, that are often mundane creatures engineered to be this way. It is not possible to dismiss a virtue merged with a living creature.

Depending on your degree of effect the creature is willing to do different things. Limited effect allows you to ask questions of an intelligent creature or demand a period of physical labor but no deviation from this task.

Standard effect allows you to ask for any service appropriate to the type of creature and the creature will react intelligently to problems.

Great effect allows actions outside the creature's comfort zone, overriding its natural objectives. This is risky, ar creatures of order tent to go mad in this situation.

It is easier to demand continuing service of a creature of order than it is of other powers. Increasing the effect by just one step will make the creature continue to do the task you ordered it to do for as long as it can. It will continue past the bounds of reason, finding an automaton that has patrolled an area long enough to wear a grove in the ground along its route actually happens.

Typical consequences include:

• A struggle of logic to keep the creature under control.
• You need to concentrate to keep the creature under control.
• Overly literal interpretations of your commands.
• Over-zealousness turns into a problem.

Offering a creature gifts or services appropriate to its nature can help. This is essentially a devil's bargain, accepting a price in advance. Creatures of order usually wish you to adopt an agenda of law or to learn some argument or proof of science.

Desperate position usually comes from trading position for effect, but it might come from a difference in ethos. If you are a priest of chaos 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.

Disciplined Domain Create a portal to a plane of law.

Opens a portal to one of the perfect planes of order. The first-time you gate to a certain place the position is at least risky and becomes desperate if there is any kind of disturbance. As would be expected, these are orderly places and your intrusion is likely to call an appropriate reception, including guardians. A gate lasts for a while, enough for a quick score. If things take a lot of time it might require a separate use of the power to return home again. Gating can allow access to creatures too powerful to summon, so you instead 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.

There are things that are possible to do on such a plane that are not allowed in the regular world, most Order 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.

Command

Assume control over intelligent beings and shape the course of events to your will.

Loyal Linguistics Command creatures with loyalty to your faction.

Your faction here includes anyone aligned with your cause. This is useful for intimidating creatures under your power and commanding foreign or alien subordinates across language barriers. You do not understand them. Combined with the basic power of Sway, it allows two-way communication.

Factional Fellowship Send messages to distant creatures of your faction.

You can communicate with any creature you know of that is aligned with your cause over any distance.

Add Allegiance Create loyalty in any creature.

Issue a command with the authority of Order to any creature that shares your cause. This does not remove other existing loyalties, which can lead to conflicts. Understanding the social order of your targets helps avoid conflicting with their established loyalties. Ordering city guards to ignore a disturbance is harder (needs more effect) than telling them to deal with it and move on, because their task is to protect the city.

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

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

Oath of Obedience Permanently remove and create loyalty.

This won’t work unless you are already in a position of power but is not limited by cause or creature type. The effect is similar to Loyal Linguistics but permanent. Strong emotions can break your control, but otherwise, it lasts until dispelled.

Consort

The Consort powers of Order allows you to merge into a group.

Unifying Uniform Change your clothes and accessories to match local customs.

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

Maestro of Mimicry Assume the form of a local creature.

You assume the form of a creature that is a part of the social group that you are observing.. This is a true physical transmutation and includes patterns of speech and movement.

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

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

Form of the Flock Shapechange allies or victims into local creatures.

This is Maestro of Mimicry applied to another creature, which must be willing or at least unable to resist. 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 Maestro of Mimicry.

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

Assimilation Form Flock several willing or non-sentient creatures.

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

This is usually used to create a host of goons that will fight and chase for you. Such goons are more interested in chasing and cornering targets than in actual combat. Or they can be given bit parts as laborers, servants, or a chorus.

Finesse

Tool Tamer Weapons, machines, and vehicles you use work perfectly.

Devices you use resist damage and dysfunction. This will improve your position where machines are essential to success, such as when riding a vehicle.

As an advanced ability you can give this to your entire crew.

Weapon Warden Fine and potent close-range attack, or give crew Tool Tamer.

General rules for Order attacks are in the introduction. Besides variety, this only substitutes for equipment, a 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.

Machinist Magician Activate machines at a distance.

This allows you to manipulate machinery in small precise ways. You can make a mechanism activate or create a small interruption. This can activate a trap, open or close a mechanical door, or cause a hydraulic press to fire just a little late or early. The effect doesn't last but is quite precise.

This is mainly used as a setup action in a fight or action scene.

Rational Route Find the best route.

This gives you information about the best route to travel to a destination. You need not know where the destination is, but you must be able to uniquely identify it, which can be a unique name (Paris, France), map coordinates, or a description. This does not provide any actual transportation and does not consider random events along the route.

Hunt

Perfect Pursuit Creatures and devices you rely on to track are reliable.

When tracking or pursuing someone, any device or beast used will work as it should, and people you question will be reliable as long as they are not opposed to you. This usually reduces the consequences of a roll, but in certain situations might instead improve the effect.

Precise Projectile Make a weapon attack fine and potent, or make a potent exorcism at range.

General rules for Order attacks are in the introduction. You make a long-range weapon potent and ensure it won't jam, or you make along-range exorcism.

Pristine Path Clear a path, negating obstructions.

You and your crew ignore temporary obstructions on a path, such as fallen branches or trees, potholes, wrecks and the like. As long as there is any part of the path that is clear, you completely ignore such hindrances. If the road is completely blocked this still improves either effect or position one step.

Hunter's Havoc Perfect a grenade, making it fine and potent, or make a potent exorcism in an area.

Precise Projectile as an area attack. There is a risk of collateral damage, but when used as an exorcism this is rarely a problem.

Prowl

Recon Routine Understand security routines, preventing scale.

Against your understanding of patrols, alarms, and patterns, it does not matter if the enemy has one lookout, or a dozen. This prevents problems based on scale.

Refine Route Secure a route, preventing random setbacks.

Once you move along a certain route, you master that path and can use it again without difficulty until the terrain changes. This is very useful on your home ground, where you will have tried out all reasonable routes. Even on neutral territory you may well have used many routes, you can flashback to when you took that route the first time.

Guide's Glide Bring allies along when you Recon Routine or Refine Route.

For your allies, Refine Route applies to routes they have travelled earlier. They still use their own Prowl action.

Punctual Pathway Teleport crew from one transport nexus to another.

You and your allies can teleport from one common travel destination to another. Typical uses include traveling from bus stop to bus stop, moving between any level of an elevator, or teleporting from one highway entry to another highway exit. This is regional travel, you stay within the same city or region, but it is generally sufficient to escape just about any situation or location.

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

Skirmish

Combat Cowl Protect yourself from chaotic damage.

This protects against fluke accidents and attacks using the Flux power. You ignore most harm from a random environmental dangers. Roll Skirmish when subject to harm from chaotic damage. 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.

Combat Control Fine and potent skirmish attack or exorcism.

General rules for Order attacks are in the introduction. Skirmish attacks use pistols or melee weapons, or you can resort to exorcism. Besides variety in the type of damage, this only substitutes for equipment, fine and potent mundane weapons are just as effective. Certain targets may be more or less vulnerable to certain attacks, but this is the exception.

Combat Command Deny the enemy the ability to coordinate, negates scale.

You anticipate the enemy's attempts to coordinate, which prevents them from using scale against you.

Combat Conquest Optimize to attack multiple enemies without disadvantage.

General rules for Order attacks are in the introduction. Skirmish attacks use pistols or melee weapons, or you can resort to exorcism. Whichever you choose, your use is perfectly optimized, you become a one-man army. Not only do you negate the advantage your enemy may get from numbers, you also spread your effect to hurt all your enemies in the skirmish.

Study

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

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

Studious Scan Identify a power, creature, or item.

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

Exact Examination Learn the powers and abilities a power, creature, and item.

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

Lexicon of Lore Read past events of a power, creature, and item.

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

Omniscient Order Studious Scan all you see then three times Lexicon of Lore.

Provides Studious Scan as far as you can see, pinpointing locations of interest like bases and power nodes. You can then use Lexicon of Lore to learn the history of up to three such things.

Survey

Perceive and locate manifestations of Order and Flux and perceive which one you are detecting. 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.

Vigilant Vision Sense powers that break the status quo.

This is a basic spotting power, selectively sensing Order and Flux and able to tell them apart. You can restrict your search to items, creatures, powers or even specific types of such things.

Sensor's Secret Sense from a guard or surveillance device.

You move your perception to an object or place that manifests your power and sense as if you were at that spot as long as you maintain concentration. You still sense things at your actual location, but only very dimly.

Enhanced Espionage Choose a location or creature. Gain nearest Sensor's Secret.

Similar to Sensor's Secret, but allows you to focus on a specific creature or position. Automatically directs your senses to towards the best vantage point for Sensor's Secret, typically close enough to observe the target. Fails if no suitable viewpoint is available.

Web of Watchers Sensor's Secret at all places at once over a wide area.

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

Sway

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

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

Diplomatic Discourse Communicate with and sway creatures who are not enemies.

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

Negotiation Nexus You and allies can communicate with creatures who are not enemies.

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

Compelling Command Post suggestions in the mind of a creature who is not an enemy.

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

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

Inculcate Influence Permanently change the personality and motivations of creatures.

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

Tinker

Manipulate, shape, and create objects your needs. Order can repair anything you are familiar with and create anything you fully understand or have the blueprints for. The effectiveness and durability of your constructions depend on the effect. More powerful devices are harder to sustain and will not last as long. Most creations will endure until the end of a score.

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

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

Tool Tweak Repair objects as if you had the appropriate tools.

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

Device Design Create known objects from existing components.

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

You can also form parts of a larger object as if it were clay, creating openings in walls, doors, and other massive objects.

Create Components Create fine and potent known items.

You don't need tools to build complex fine and potent items appropriate to your powers. You can quickly do a quick rebuild of items into other items made of roughly the same material, as long as you have access to blueprints. Such a rebuild only lasts for the score.

Machine Miracle Mass Device Design.

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, Machine Miracle makes hundreds of items with the same effort as one item, but with a stress cost.

Wreck

Order cannot destroy that which is faultless, but it can amplify any significant fault that exists. This lets you destroy, dismantle, and obliterate anything that is already damaged.

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.

Find Fault Noisily wreck anything that starts out damaged. Make a potent but clumsy exorcism.

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

Implode Imperfection Smash damaged objects as if they were wood.

This bypasses the strength of materials, allowing you to break even the strongest barrier, as long as it starts out damaged.

You can also use this as a potent but clumsy attack or to make an exorcism. General rules for Order attacks are in the introduction.

Defects to Dust Silent and traceless Implode Imperfection.

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

Deficiency Disaster Implode Imperfection over a large area.

Rather straightforward, this just scales things up.