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 3 Stress	Advanced Minimum 2 Dice 5 Stress	Master Minimum 4 Dice 7 Stress	Apex Minimum 6 Dice 13 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.	Perfect Prowess Enforce the rules of fair duels, preventing scale.
Hunt	Perfect Pursuit Bystanders and technology 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	Inquisitor's Insight Identify order powers and crafted item.	Insightful Inquiry Learn the powers and abilities of order.	Lexicon of Lore Read past events of order.	Wide-Angle Wisdom Wide Insightful Inquiry then 3 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 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.

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.

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

Machinist Magician Activate machines at a distance.

Perfect Prowess Enforce the rules of fair duels, preventing scale.

Hunt

Perfect Pursuit Bystanders and technology you rely on to track are reliable.

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

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.

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

Inquisitor's Insight Identify order powers and crafted items.

Insightful Inquiry Learn the powers and abilities of order.

Lexicon of Lore Read past events of order.

Wide-Angle Wisdom Wide Insightful Inquiry then 3 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 Smash damaged objects as if they were wood.

Defects to Dust Silent and traceless Implode Imperfection.

Deficiency Disaster Implode Imperfection over a large area.

Old 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.

Perceive: You gain the ability to detect supernatural creatures and powers. Your senses become attuned to the chaotic energies that permeate the world, allowing you to perceive entities and phenomena that are beyond the ordinary senses of mortals.

Dismiss: Through sheer force of will, you can compel any creature native to another plane of existence to return to that plane, or to cease the operation of any power. By disrupting the connection between the target and their plane of origin, you can banish them from the mortal realm or neutralize their abilities.

Summon: By tapping into the chaotic forces of other planes, you can call forth creatures from realms of pure chaos. However, these summoned beings are generally unwilling servants, and their obedience may be tenuous at best. You can issue them a single command, which they must obey, but maintaining control over them beyond that initial command may require further study or even a separate score.

Gate: With the power of Gate, you can create temporary portals that allow travel to and from chaotic planes of existence. These portals are unpredictable in nature, and the destination may vary each time they are opened. Exercise caution when using this power, as it can lead to encounters with beings of immense power and unpredictability.

Command

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

Mental Mandate You can command intelligent creatures even if normally couldn't, but you cannot understand them.

Psyche Parley You and allies can communicate with intelligent creatures.

Mental Monarchy You can give commands to intelligent creatures as if you were their superior. This does not remove existing loyalties, which can lead to conflicts.

Thought Thrall You can permanently bind intelligent 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.

Consort

Influence and manipulate social situations to your advantage.

Pretend Persona You can assume an identity and reflect it in your actions, such as a healer, noble, merchant etc. This the impression you give without changing your appearance.

Assume Aspect You assume the form of a normal humanoid, such as humans and variant humans. Add 1d to one action and subtract 1d from all actions covered by an attribute except if you just raised one of them.

Gift of Guise You can shapechange a willing or helpless creatures into any humanoid. This can be a curse, it can be broken but it is not easy. You can easily break the effect.

Gift of Gab You can give sentience and intelligence to non-sentient creatures, giving them roughly human intellect.

Finesse

Master subtle and precise applications of your powers to achieve your goals.

Psychic Saddle If there is an intelligent (but not sentient) mount or vehicle, you can ride it as if it was domesticated and you had the keys.

Neural Needle You can use the power as a fine and potent close-range attack, similar in effect to a fine potent dueling sword or pistol.

Neural Nudge You can do fine manipulation of the power, allowing you to do send small and exact suggestions to intelligent creatures. This allows you to make others open doors and perform other minor manipulations.

Psyche Surge Your power manifests like a storm of blades, suppressing the effect of multiple opponents and acting as a fine potent weapon.

Hunt

Track down targets and unleash the power of your mind in combat.

Trace Thought You can focus on a particular thought and vaguely sense and track creatures that share this thought.

Mental Marksman You can use your power to attack, similar in effect to a fine and potent rifle doing mental damage.

Cognitive Cascade 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.

Cognitive Cataclysm You call down the equivalent of a fine potent artillery barrage, attacking everything and intelligent creature in a wide area.

Prowl

Navigate unseen realms and explore the depths of consciousness.

Psychic Pursuit You can hide in crowds and identify someone you know when you see them, even if normal identification is not possible.

Astral Ascent You can detach your astral body, which is immaterial, transparent, and can hover. Any attack scatters it and sends your consciousness back to your body. While you project your astral body, your physical body is like an automaton; it can be led but takes no actions.

Astral Adventure You send your and allies' astral bodies to any location you know of or into the presence of any creature you know.

Astral Gateway You send your and allies' astral bodies to other planes, into someone's dream, and other mystic locations not of this world.

Skirmish

Engage in mental combat with precision and finesse.

Mental Melee You can use the power as a close-range mental attack, similar in effect to a melee weapon or pistol.

Psychic Strike Same as Skirmish Attack, except the weapon is fine and potent.

Cognitive Cover Your power creates distractions that prevents an intelligent enemy from benefiting from numbers and otherwise works as a fine potent weapon.

Mental Storm Your power strikes out in all directions, attacking all enemies in a wide area.

Study

Uncover secrets and unlock the potential of your intellect.

Identify Intellect You can identify intelligent objects and creatures.

Analyze Intellect You learn the powers and abilities of something you analyze.

Past Perception 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.

Universal Understanding 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.