Mind Schticks (Action)
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| Heroic Action Role-Play |
Blunder About
Limit Break
The GM moves you up to a double move towards the most story-relevant hidden feature, secret door, trap, hidden clue, ambush or other surprise (good or bad). If there are no such features about, the GM might even invent one.
Conditional Method
Inherent
Select one Method compatible with your Tradition when you learn this power. Also select one condition, such as "In combat", "at night" or another kind of condition that you cannot control directly. The selected method only applies under the indicated condition. It has no effect, good or bad, when the condition does not apply.
Genius
Inherent
You are a mental giant among your kin and have an aura of wisdom and power about you. Your Mind can be up to two points higher than the normal racial maximum.
Jack of All Trades
Inherent
You have a great talent for improvising things you do not really know. You have a skill value of 10 in all untrained skills and can learn skill schticks or powers based on untrained skills.
Mastermind
Limit Break
You are a true mastermind, always one step ahead of the opposition. You make secret master plans that insure your success. You are able to bring hidden resources into play at any appropriate time. This is more common amongst villains than among heroes.
At any point during a scenario, you can reveal yet another well-placed resource. This can be followers, equipment, a secret weapons cache, a hidden vehicle; the only limitations are that you must have access to the resource and be able to motivate it as a part of your secret master plan.
A master plan will never solve a plot, but it allows you to have the resources you need to set up interesting scenes and tackle difficult challenges. The main use is to avoid lengthy pauses when you have to stock up on gear and resources.
Mentor
Inherent
You have mentor or employer that sees you as a trusted agent. The mentor is a constant source of information, employment opportunities, and often useless advice. It will provide information, payment, and act as a teacher, patron, and exemplar.
The GM is encouraged to use the mentor as an adventure hook, and might tailor benefits and rewards to the mentor’s outlook on you. You can also turn to the mentor for help and advice, but a mentor will not accept being used and will avoid becoming directly involved in the action. The mentor is a powerful figure, which might or might not mean that he is a high-power character. A rich merchant, influential queen, or behind-the-scenes monster can function as a mentor just as well as the classic warrior lord or sage. The exact details of your mentor are up to the DM and unknown to you. A mentor might have a secret agenda and use you as a pawn in it, but is rarely hostile to your ideals.
Method Mastery
Select one Method compatible with your Tradition when you learn this power. You can use the focus condition of this method, but does not suffer its associated power loss limitation. The GM needs to keep a tight check on this power; some methods are balancing very powerful focus conditions against very powerful limitations, and this should not be exploited using this schtick.
Rebound
Trigger Action
There is no end to your endurance. You have some personal source of power, some action or circumstance that restores you to full vigor. This can be things like making love to a new lover, making a blood sacrifice, succeeding with a heroic rescue, speaking out against evil, taking a drinking binge and so on. It must require roleplaying, and be a challenge to achieve or have some negative consequence.
When you successfully activate rebound, you recover all lost Hits and Fortune Points, just as if t was a new play session. All lingering harmful effects that are not Curses end.
Selective Methods
Limit Break
You can turn any one Methods off with this schtick. When turned off, it has no effect on you. You can only have one method turned off at a time.
Super Genius
Inherent
You can freely exceed the normal Mind limit based on your race. This schtick is considered a Power even tough it lacks a Form. To take it, you have to have a Tradition, and if the Methods of your tradition or a Power Loss Limitation makes you lose your powers, your attribute is reduced to the normal maximum value until your powers return. Note that this is mainly a problem for Folk - other creatures do not have ability maximums.
Talented
Inherent
Some people are very good at folding paper kites or riding canoes over waterfalls, without having a high rating in the governing skill of Craft or Ride.
You have a specific and narrow talent, something that would ordinarily be based on a skill or ability you are not less skilled in. When performing in your specialty field, you use your highest Action Value for the task, regardless of your value in the skill normally used. Natural talents must be fairly specific; flying is too broad, but parachuting or hang gliding qualifies.