Space Powers (FiD)

From Action
Revision as of 21:28, 12 November 2024 by Starfox (talk | contribs) (→‎Finesse)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Fox in the DarkFox in the Dark logo
Starfox's Blades in the Dark fan page
Powers (FiD)Fox in the Dark logo

Governs location and distance, and is thus the power to teleport and create extradimensional spaces.

Space governs the position of all things in this universe and others. It is a very ordered form, at odds with powers like Flux and Time that represent change. Yet space magic is used to break the barriers between worlds and shatter the very rules it seems to uphold. The signature power of Space is teleportation.

Space attacks cut and dislocate.

Space creatures are alien Lovecraftian horrors from outer space or the wrinkles of reality. Learning who to summon may require study or be a score in itself, and even if you get it right these creatures are very dangerous. Getting it wrong is usually the last thing you do.

Space 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 Spatial Sight
Detect Space creatures and powers.
Rift Rejection
Dismiss any creature. Stop any teleport or Space power.
Spatial Summons
Summon a space creature.
Grand Gate
Create a portal that allows travel to and from any plane.
Command Warp Whisper
Command allies over any distance, they cannot answer.
Space Speech
You and allies can communicate over any distance.
Cosmic Command
Command space creatures as if you were their superior.
Cosmic Conquest
Permanently bind a space creature to service.
Consort Warp Wardrobe
Alter your dimensions.
Dislocate
Separate parts of your body.
Cosmic Conversion
Assume the form of a Space creature.
Spatial Synthesis
Cosmic Conversion on others.
Finesse Warp Walker
Ride a Space mount or vehicle.
Spatial Slice
Cut like a fine potent dueling sword.
Displace Dimensions
Lengthen or shorten distances.
Spatial Surge
Push your position in a chase.
Hunt Warp Watch
Track a teleporting or dimension warping creature.
Spatial Sniper
Ranged attack similar to a fine and potent rifle.
World Waves
Twist dimensions making an area confusing.
Warp Wrath
Attack similar to a fine and potent grenade.
Prowl Spatial Stealth
Hide in tiny cracks.
Spatial Step
Teleport line-of-sight.
Convey Crowd
Crew Spatial Stealth or Spatial Step.
Circle Teleport
Teleport between teleport circles.
Skirmish Shake and Shield
Ignore Space and falling damage.
Slice and Dice
Warp Whack, and the attack is fine and potent.
Shift and Slice
Warp Whack, and Spatial distortions prevent scale.
Slice Storm
Attack all enemies in a melee.
Study Warp Watcher
Identify space creatures and powers.
Teleport Trace
Analyze teleports and Space creatures and powers.
Dimension Detection
Find the location of a creature or object you know.
Omniscience
Teleport Trace over a large area.
Survey Spatial Scan
Sense Space powers and teleports.
Warped Watch
Choose a location; see as if you were there.
Spatial Scrying
See a creature or object of your choice.
Space Sight
Perceive everything at once over a wide area.
Sway Local Listener
Understand Space creatures and gain a basic understanding of their agenda.
Spatial Speech
You and allies can communicate with Space creatures. Make folk go with the flow.
Warp Whisper
Implant suggestions in the mind of space creatures.
Space Serenade
Long-term change the personality and motivations of space creatures.
Tinker Spatial Skill
Work at a tiny scale.
Teleport Technician
Reach into walls.
Dimensional Dexterity
Shrink or enlarge objects.
Teleport Circle
Create a teleport circle.
Wreck Warp Wreck
Teleport pieces of an object.
Warp Wrinkle
Block teleports into area.
Warp Vanish
Destroyed targets silently disappear.
Warp Wrath
Warp Wrinkle over a large area.

Expanded Space 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.

Spatial Sight Detect Space creatures and powers.

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

Rift Rejection Dismiss any creature. Stop any teleport or Space power.

You can dismiss any summoned creature by using its connection to its home plane. Dismissing a creature is hard and usually requires great outcome. A creature that has been wounded or otherwise weakened only needs standard outcome. A creature that wants to be dismissed requires only limited outcome.

Dispelling is usually easier. You can dispel any Space power and any power that affects a Space creature or any teleporter or gate or force a spirit of any kind to materialize or dematerialize as you wish.

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 also be used to break the continuing results of powers. When used directly, the effect is usually limited unless the opponent is relying on powers for their safety. Against an opponent that uses power to teleport you may stop them from escaping.

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.

Spatial Summons Summon a space creature.

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 powers and maintain powers 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.

Space creatures normal creatures, having a biological body, metabolism, and functioning as ordinary living creatures but also have some exceptional abilities related to their power. They are very alien tough, some with disconnected body parts, others completely lacking symmetry or even a fixed form. Many can survive and travel in space at great speed.

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

Standard outcome allows you to ask for any service appropriate to the type of creature. A Space creature will transport you or carry messages or even fight for you.

Great outcome allows actions outside the creature's comfort zone, but not things it directly opposes. Lengthy service also requires great outcome, like summoning the creature to guard a treasure for as long as it can.

Typical consequences include:

  • A bargain of payment in things the creature prizes. Each Space creature is different here.
  • The creature strikes out at you once.
  • You need to concentrate to keep the creature under control.
  • The creature breaks things around you.
  • Overly literal interpretations of your commands.
  • The creature deliberately does its tasks poorly.
  • Demanding not to be summoned again until some time or event has passed.

Offering a creature gifts or services appropriate to its nature can help. This is essentially a devil's bargain, accepting a price in advance. Desperate position usually comes from trading position for outcome (called trading position for effect in the rulebook), but it might come from a difference in ethos. If you are a priest of a sane religion and summon a Space creature, or if the summon is three or more tiers above you, the position will be desperate. Desperate consequences include a tightwire struggle to keep the creature under control, a demand that 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.

Grand Gate Create a portal that allows travel to and from any plane.

You can open a gate to any plane you have sufficient information on. 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. 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.

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. A creature is less likely to be contacted using Space instead of whatever power it is linked to.

Command

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

Warp Whisper Command allies over any distance, they cannot answer.

This is useful for intimidating Space creatures commanding foreign or alien subordinates. Combined with Sway: Local Listener, it allows two-way communication.

Space Speech You and allies can communicate over any distance.

You can project an image of yourself to communicate with any creature you are familiar with over any distance, even across planar barriers. Anyone near you or the target can see and hear anyone joining the conversation, but not the surroundings. Targets do not need to respond, if they refuse to cooperate no message gets through.

Cosmic Command Command space creatures as if you were their superior.

Space creatures see you as an alpha or 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 space creatures to bugger off is easier than it is to make them remain still.

Limited outcome 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 outcome 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 outcome 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.

Cosmic Conquest Permanently bind a space creature to service.

This won’t work unless you are already in a position of power. This is similar to Authority but permanent. Strong emotions can break your control, but otherwise, it lasts until dispelled. They may still flit in and out of existence.

Consort

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

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

Warp Wardrobe Alter your dimensions.

Alter your own dimensions and those of your clothes and accessories, making you elongated or compressed like a fun-house mirror. Unlike most other Basic Consort powers, this is an actual change, and allows you to vary your size from 20% to 200% of normal in each dimension independently, you can become twice as tall and only one-fith as wide or any other combination. Your weight does not change.

Dislocate Separate parts of your body.

Separate parts of your body that will still work normally, but at a distance. You withdraw your limbs into higher dimensions and then have them emerge in other, nearby locations. This also allows you to squeeze through walls. Your dislocated parts are still connected to you, only through other dimensions. You can move them normally. This is usually used as a setup action to aid other actions by extending your reach (by dislocating hands) or viewpoint (by dislocating the head).

Cosmic Conversion Assume the form of a Space creature.

This is a true physical transmutation. You need not assume the form of an existing creature, as long as the gamemaster agrees your new form matches the power you use. Space creatures are really weird, as outlined under Attune: Spatial Summons, and using such a shape might have adverse effects on your mental health.

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

With limited outcome 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 outcome can make you a generic creature, very hard to recognize as yourself. Great outcome allows you to assume the shape and some of the personality of a specific creature you have studied.

Spatial Synthesis Cosmic Conversion on others.

This is Cosmic Conversion applied to another creature. The duration depends of the outcome, limited outcome is very temporary. Standard outcome lasts for the duration of a score. Great outcome 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 outcome, see Shapechange.

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

Finesse

Exercise finesse with your power, manipulating and attacking with precision.

Warp Walker Ride a Space mount or vehicle.

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 beasts even if they are not trained to carry a rider. They must still be physically able to carry you. Space vehicles are vehicles that teleport, travel faster than light, or that can travel in freefall outside an atmosphere.

Spatial Slice Cut like a fine potent dueling sword.

Besides variety, this only substitutes for equipment, fine and potent finesse weapon is just as powerful. In a fight, using this does not take any more time, activating your attack power is equivalent to drawing a weapon.

Displace Dimensions Lengthen or shorten distances.

You can warp nearby distances, making things be closer or further away from you and each other. You can move creatures out of melee or pull nearby enemy into melee. This facilitates escape and pursuit and can be used as a setup action when engagement is relevant. It takes almost no time and can be used as a set-up for yourself or quickly between other actions.

Spatial Surge Push your position in a chase.

You selectively shorten the distance for your crew and lengthen it for others, which always makes your ride move further than the opponent's, even if it is actually slower. When advantage in a chase is determined by speed, you are always considered faster. This is wonderful in the open air or an empty freeway, less so in a congestion.

Hunt

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

Warp Watch Track a teleporting or dimension warping creature.

This works even if the quarry does not leave any mundane trail or clues. Consequences here are mainly to lose the trail, but depending on the environment and targets, it might lead you to get lost, into traps, or even into an ambush.

Spatial Sniper Ranged attack similar to a fine and potent rifle.

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

World Waves Twist dimensions making an area confusing.

You warp distances in a large area, moving things closer to or further away from you and to a lesser extent from each other, halving or doubling the distance. This can create range for safe sniping or speed up pursuit. The change is not as dramatic as Displace Dimensions, but affects a much larger area. This is usually used as a setup.

Warp Wrath Attack similar to a fine and potent grenade.

An escalation of Spatial Sniper. 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.

Spatial Stealth Hide in tiny cracks.

Hide in tiny cracks and cover as long as they are large enough to hide your normal-size head. 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 Convey Crowd, below.

Spatial Step Teleport line-of-sight.

Teleport to a location you can see well, at about pistol-shot distance. Your friends and allies cannot use this unless you employ Convey Crowd, below.

Convey Crowd Crew Spatial Stealth or Spatial Step.

Now you and your allies can use Spatial Stealth or Spatial Step. They still use their own Prowl action.

Circle Teleport Teleport between teleport circles.

You and your crew can teleport from one teleport circle to any other teleport circle you have the pattern for.

Skirmish

Prosper in the chaos of battle.

Shake and Shield Ignore Space and falling damage.

This allows you to ignore most harm from Space attacks, attacks from Space creatures, and damage from falls and crashes. Roll Skirmish when subject to harm from such energies. 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.

Slice and Dice Warp Whack, and the attack is fine and potent.

Besides variety in the type of damage, this only substitutes for equipment, mundane weapons are just as powerful. Certain targets may be more or less vulnerable to certain attacks, but this is the exception.

Shift and Slice Warp Whack, and Spatial distortions prevent scale.

You manipulate location and distance, enabling you to hinder a crowd of opponents to get to you. This is like Slice and Dice and also negates scale.

Slice Storm Attack all enemies in a melee.

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

Study

Study and analyze Space objects and creatures. The outcome required depends on range, limited outcome for touch, standard outcome for line-of-sight, and great outcome 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.

Warp Watcher Identify Space creatures and powers.

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

Teleport Trace Analyze teleports and Space creatures and powers.

You learn of any powers or special abilities a target has. This includes actual rules and game result. You can see if someone has teleported in the vicinity and where they teleported to.

Dimension Detection Find the location of a creature or object you know.

Find the location of a creature or object you know. This enables Prowl: Spatial Step to their location.

Omniscience Teleport Trace over a large area.

Provides a detailed view of events involving Space far as you can see, pinpointing locations of interest like teleport circles, places where teleport is blocked, and common places to teleport to or from. This enables Prowl: Spatial Step to each location.

Survey

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

Spatial Scan Sense Space powers and teleports.

Perceive and locate Space creatures, power use, and teleports, but you cannot distinguish these thigs from each other or analyze what happened.

Warped Watch Choose a location; see as if you were there.

You move your perception to a location you specify and sense as if you were at that spot as long as you maintain concentration. You state coordinates for your sensor to appear at, and if these are off you might get a sensor in solid walls or in an empty space. You still sense things at your actual location, but only very dimly.

Spatial Scrying See a creature or object of your choice.

Similar to Warped Watch but allows you to focus on a specific creature or position. Automatically directs your senses to towards the best vantage point for Warped Watch, close enough to observe the target.

Space Sight Perceive everything 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. Space Sight focuses on solids shapes, giving you a three dimensional map of static things, while things that move are a bit blurry, especially if they move unpredictable. It is challenging for targets to hide unless they are constantly and unpredictably moving.

Sway

Communicate, mesmerize, and manipulate Space creatures. Position is determined normally, depending on the situation and your relation to listeners.

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

Local Listener Understand Space creatures and gain a basic understanding of their agenda.

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

Space creatures has very odd viewpoints to the point of seeming insane, and reading their deep motivations would be dangerous. Because of this Local Listener is often only used to understand immediate intentions rather than actual motivations.

Spatial Speech You and allies can communicate with Space creatures. Make folk go with the flow.

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

You can make any creature more apt to go with the flow, ignoring strange events and distractions.

Warp Whisper Implant suggestions in the mind of space creatures.

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 outcome achieved: limited outcome lasts for the immediate situation, normal outcome lasts for the duration of the score, and great outcome can extend beyond the score if it fits the story.

Space Serenade Long-term change the personality and motivations of space 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 Space creature sane. These changes will last for the score at the very least, but they can randomly end.

Tinker

Manipulate, shape, and create objects and construction imbued with Space power to suit your needs. The powerfulness and durability of your constructions depend on the outcome. 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.

Long-term projects only work as specified.

Spatial Skill Work at a tiny scale.

Very precisely control small objects, allowing repair and assembly work at a tiny scale.

Teleport Technician Reach into walls.

Reach into walls to manipulate internal alarms, locks, and other devices.

This either increased effect or improves position when working with lock, alarms, and other projects where reaching the spot you want to work on is hard.

Dimensional Dexterity Shrink or enlarge objects.

You can shrink and enlarge objects. Shrinking allows you to carry more than normal. Make a Tinker check: 1-3: 1 more load. 4-5: 2 more load. 6: 3 more load. You can do this repeatedly, as a flashback when you are low on load, or to help someone else.

You can also enlarge tiny objects, work on them, and then let them shrink back to normal, which allows very precise work that would normally require an advanced workshop.

Teleport Circle Create teleport circles.

You can create a teleport circle. This is an immobile assembly of geometrical figures used with teleportation. This can be a pattern on the ground or floor, a circle of standing stones, patterns of different kinds of trees, or almost anything else that can be interpreted as a geometric pattern. Its even possible to create teleport circles that incorporate stellar phenomena like the sun, moon, planets or stars, making such a circle only useable at certain times.

Each teleport circle has a unique pattern. Anyone who knows this pattern can use any teleport power to teleport to a teleport circle in the same region. This is in addition to the normal teleport options.

Destroying a Teleport Circle can be hard or easy depending on what it is made from and how easily it is recognizable. A pattern drawn in chalk is very fragile and can be destroyed by gusts. A pattern of standing stones is tough. A pattern made by a single rock and the rest are stars and planets may only work on certain dates, but is very hard to either understand or destroy.

Wreck

Wreck Space can disintegrate matter, but mainly deals with damaging the space continuum, making it harder to teleport.

Warp Wreck Teleport pieces of an object.

You can teleport small bits of an object a short distance, creating cracks and weakness in a material. This is good for weakening strong structures, but not so good at actually destroying them. It is good at destroying small precise structures like clockwork and electronics.

Warp Wrinkle Block teleports into area.

Wrinkle the space continuum, making teleporting out of or into the area more difficult. This reduces effect by two steps (this means you normally start at no effect) and increases position. If position is already deadly, reduce effect by two steps. When used against NPCs this is played out as a more conventional action where a success prevents the opposition from teleporting. This can then act as a setup or just steer the story.

As a long-term project this can last a long term, and potentially become permanent with maintenance. Such an advanced Warp Wrinkle can have holes to which anyone can safely teleport, or codes that allow those having the code to ignore the Warp Wrinkle.

Warp Vanish Destroyed targets silently disappear.

Warp Wreck, but instead of teleporting the pieces, they disappear into other dimensions. This can clear out evidence and remove dangerous substances. It is very hard to find things teleported away in this manner.

Warp Wrath Warp Wrinkle over a large area.

Warp Wrinkle, but over an entire section of a city.