Water Powers (FiD)

Water is the element of life, spirituality, and endless flowing cycles.

Water is matter in a liquid state and fluidity in general. In philosophy it is recognized as an element, sometimes as the first to form and the basis of all others, in others as the river that rings the world. Liquids often enable other elements to function, making earth fertile, filling the air with clouds and vapors, and either fueling or putting out fire. It is linked to the spiritual and nurturing side of life, and often considered a female element. Water powers often have subtle or indirect effects.

Water attacks can smash, drown, or be a corroding acid.

Water Power Effects Table

Action	Basic No minimum 4 Stress	Advanced Minimum 2 Dice 5 Stress	Master Minimum 4 Dice 6 Stress	Apex Minimum 6 Dice 7 Stress
Attune	Tide Tracker Detect water creatures and powers.	Tide Tilt Dismiss a water creature. End a Water power.	Tide Tamer Summon a water creature.	Tidewater Create a portal to the plane of water.
Command	Wave Words Water creatures understand your commands.	Wave Wisp Communicate with distant Water creatures.	Wave Whisper Command Water creatures as a superior.	Wave Warden Permanently bind Water creatures to service.
Consort	Fluid Fashions Clothes and accessories of Water.	Fluid Form Assume the form of a Water creature.	Fluid Flux Fluid Form a willing or helpless creature.	Fluid Flock Fluid Forgery on crowds.
Finesse	Ripple Ride Ride a swimming mount or water vehicle.	Ripple Rend Fine and potent melee attack.	Ripple Reach Fine control of water.	Ripple Riot Travel in and on water.
Hunt	Splash Search Track in water.	Splash Shot Attack like a fine and potent rifle.	Splash Shape Control water terrain.	Splash Storm Water attack on an area.
Prowl	Stream Stealth Hide in water.	Stream Speed Breathe and move fast through water.	Stream Strategy Crew Stream Stealth and Stream Speed.	Stream Step Teleport crew between water locations.
Skirmish	Current Cure Resist water damage.	Current Cut Fine and potent melee attack.	Current Curbing Prevent scale in melee.	Current Clash Strike out in all directions, attacking all nearby enemies.
Study	Aqua Assessment Identify liquids, Water creatures, and Water powers.	Aqua Analysis Learn the powers and abilities of Water.	Aqua Archive Read the past events of Water.	Aqua Atlas Aqua Assessment on an area, then Aqua Archive.
Survey	Stream Sight Sense Water at a distance.	Stream Scope Perceive from any liquid.	Stream Spy Spy from a liquid.	Stream Sweep Perceive from many liquids at once.
Sway	Fluid Friend Understand Water creatures.	Fluid Fluency Communicate with Water creatures.	Fluid Fluster Post suggestions in a Water creature.	Fluid Fellowship Permanently change personality.
Tinker	Fluid Fabrication Emulate tools for liquids.	Fluid Formation Shaped liquids will retain their shape.	Fluid Fusion Create liquids out of nothing.	Fluid Foundry Fluid Formation on a large scale.
Wreck	Tide Tumble Pollute liquids or strike with a watery sledgehammer.	Tide Tear Evaporate liquids, slice as a watery blade.	Tide Tow Tide Tear, but destroyed targets disappear silently.	Tide Tsunami Tide Tear over a large area.

Expanded 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.

Tide Tracker Detect water creatures and powers.

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

Tide Tilt Dismiss a water creature. End a Water power.

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 Water power or that affects a liquid or a Water creature.

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 or to force a Water spirit to materialize. 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 breathe water 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.

Tide Tamer Summon a water 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.

Summoned creatures generally come in three types, elementals, spirits, and creatures with powers.

A Water is a simple creature totally dominated by its power. Most elementals have animal intelligence, and often take the shape of animals as well, tough waves, whirlpools, and humanoid forms are also common.

Spirits are immaterial, ephemeral, less physically oriented, instead manifesting the emotional and mental manifestations of Water: caring, mercurial, and spiritual. Spirits are more intelligent than elementals. They can use sophisticated powers and usually have an agenda of their own.

Creatures with powers resemble normal creatures, having a biological body, metabolism, and functioning as ordinary living creatures but also have some exceptional abilities related to their power. A Water dragon is impossibly large, swims through the sky, and can cause floods. Not all creatures with powers are summonable or dismissible, many are native to this world and have no special vulnerability to Attune powers.

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 Water creature is not too choose, but its mercurial nature makes it fickle and it likes to rotate between multiple tasks. This includes dangerous tasks such as combat if the creature has such abilities, which most of them do.

Great outcome allows actions outside the creature's comfort zone, but not things it directly opposes. A Water creature abhors static tasks. 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.
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 fire and summon a water spirit, 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.

Tidewater Create a portal to the plane of water.

Opens a route of transport to a plane of Water. 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.

There are things that are possible to do on these planes that are not allowed in the regular world, most Water power abilities 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 power rarely reach outside the plane where you perform them, but if they affect creatures on that plane, they may remain when you return to the mundane world.

Command

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

Wave Words Water creatures understand your commands.

This is useful for intimidating and commanding foreign or alien Water creatures. Combined with Sway: Fluid Friend, it allows two-way communication.

Wave Wisp Communicate with distant Water creatures.

You can communicate with Water creatures over any distance as long as you know the target, and a line-of-sight even if you do not. You can communicate with the most powerful Water creature in a vehicle or installation as long as you can see the exterior. The communication is simple and direct, suitable for the Command skill.

You can also use a surface of calm water to communicate with another creature also observing a surface of calm water, but this generally requires an agreed-upon time.

Wave Whisper Command Water creatures as a superior.

Targets will see you as a superior or alpha outranking them. This does not remove existing loyalties, which can lead to conflicts. Understanding the social order of your targets helps avoid conflict with their established loyalties. Ordering a pod of sharks to ignore a disturbance is harder (needs more outcome) than telling them to deal with it and move on, because their nature is to hunt.

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.

Wave Warden Permanently bind Water creatures to service.

This won’t work unless you are already in a position of power. It is similar to Wave Whisper but permanent. Strong emotions can break your control, but otherwise, it lasts until dispelled.

Consort

Consort powers change your form and later that of other creatures. This often works as a set-up action, giving you a bonus to effect or improved position, make success automatic, or even allow an action that a human could not even attempt.

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.

Fluid Fashions Clothes and accessories of Water.

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

Fluid Form Assume the form of a Water 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 is a Water creature.

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.

Limited outcome: 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: A generic creature, very hard to recognize as yourself.
Great outcome: Assume the shape and some of the personality of a specific creature you have studied.

Fluid Flux Fluid Form a willing or helpless creature.

This is Fluid Form applied to a willing or helpless 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 Fluid Form.

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

Fluid Flock Fluid Form on crowds.

This is where Consort becomes a combination of the Fluid Flux and Attune: Tide Tamer power abilities. You transform a number of existing creatures and give them a task that they will perform with gusto, turning them into 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, friendly waves to act as servants or laborers.

Finesse

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

Ripple Ride Ride a swimming mount or water vehicle.

This allows you to use Finesse with Water creature mounts and water 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.

Ripple Rend Fine and potent melee attack.

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.

Ripple Reach Fine control of water.

This allows you to manipulate small amounts of liquid, similar to what you could do by hand, but you can do so at short range, allowing you to push buttons, trigger devices, and perform legerdemain as long as you have liquid to act for you. This can substitute for simple Tinker actions, but nothing complicated. You can open doors, trigger or hinder mechanisms, or perform other minor manipulations, as long as the target is appropriate to your power. This takes almost no time and can be used as a set-up for yourself or quickly between other actions.

Ripple Riot Travel in and on water.

Your crew and rides can travel on and under water at normal speed. The power provides air as needed and negates water pressure.

Hunt

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

Splash Search Track in water.

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.

Splash Shot Attack like 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.

Splash Shape Control water terrain.

You can create waves, floods, rain, dew, and mist. This is usually used as a setup, but may also change how people act in reaction to the environment—rain and the like are likely to make people want to stay indoors or run out as the case may be. This does not inflict any direct damage.

Splash Storm Water attack on an area.

An escalation of Splash Shot. 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.

Stream Stealth Hide in water.

This allows you to hide and breathe in water. You can hide in any liquid, but you can't breathe toxic liquids. It otherwise works just like any other attempt to use Prowl to avoid notice. Note that only you can use this ability, your friends and allies cannot unless you use Travel, below.

Stream Speed Breathe and move fast through water.

This allows you swim effortlessly at running speed, make far jumps out of water, endure any pressure, and breathe any liquid. Your crew cannot use this unless you employ Stream Strategy, below.

Stream Strategy Crew Stream Stealth and Stream Speed.

Now you and your allies can use Stream Stealth and Stream Speed. They still use their own Prowl action.

Stream Step Teleport crew between water locations.

You and allies can teleport from one location in water to another. This is regional travel, you stay within the same city or region, but it is generally sufficient to escape just about any situation or location.

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

Skirmish

Prosper in the chaos of battle.

Current Cure Resist water damage.

Absorb energies related to Water. This includes Water attacks, water cannon, high pressure, and acids. This allows you to ignore most harm from a dangerous environment matching your . 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.

Current Cut Fine and potent melee attack.

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.

Current Curbing Prevent scale in melee.

This creates some kind of hindrance, like walls of churning waters, mires, and whirlpools. The result is to deny the advantage of numbers.

Current Clash Strike out in all directions, attacking all nearby enemies.

Turns you into a one-man army. 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 objects and creatures imbued with your power to gain insight and knowledge. 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.

Aqua Assessment Identify liquids, Water creatures, and Water powers.

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

Aqua Analysis Learn the powers and abilities of Water.

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

Aqua Archive Read the past events of Water.

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

Aqua Atlas Aqua Assessment on an area, then Aqua Archive.

Provides a detailed view of events involving your power as far as you can see, pinpointing locations of interest like bases and power nodes. You can then use Hindsight to learn the history of up to three such locations.

Survey

Perceive and locate manifestations of your power. 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.

Stream Sight Sense Water at a distance.

This is a basic spotting power, selectively sensing things related to your power.

Stream Scope Perceive from any liquid.

You move your perception to an object or place with water or other liquid 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.

Stream Spy Spy from a liquid.

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

Stream Sweep Perceive from many liquids at once.

Enhances your senses impossibly, akin to being multiple individuals spread across the scene. You sense from every bit of liquid in a wide area. 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 Water 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.

Fluid Friend Understand Water creatures.

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

Fluid Fluency Communicate with Water creatures.

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

In addition, you can make any creature feel caring, mercurial, and spiritual, which is commonly used as a setup for a Sway going along with these moods.

Fluid Fluster Post suggestions in a Water creature.

This is essentially an enhanced Sway attempt, allowing you to implant suggestions in Water creatures 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.

Fluid Fellowship Permanently change personality.

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

Tinker

Manipulate, shape, and concoct liquids to suit your needs. The power 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.

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

Fluid Fabrication Emulate tools for liquids.

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

Fluid Formation Shaped liquids will retain their shape.

This surpasses normal crafting, letting you shape liquids and making them stay in the new shape while still flowing, creating conduits without pipes. You can work liquids without having to have them in a container, which allows faster and more exact chemistry. You don't need tools to build complex fine and potent items. This can facilitate the construction of traps or devices, avoiding the need for extensive equipment.

Fluid Fusion Create liquids out of nothing.

You can create liquids from nothing. This is like Fluid Formation, above, but needs no raw materials.

With multiple powers you can transform liquids into material linked to another power. This allows intricate transformations where a metal sword can be transmuted into liquid and still work as a sword, or a wooden door can be changed to mist so you can walk through and the door then returns to normal.

Fluid Foundry Fluid Formation on a large scale.

You can mass produce liquids or create large structures like a lake or canal that normally require a work force and facilities. In long-term projects involving construction or crafting, Fluid Foundry makes many dozens of items with the same effort as one item, but with a stress cost.

Wreck

Destroy, dismantle, and obliterate liquids, or smash stuff using water.

The outcome required depends on the size and structural strength of your target.

Limited Outcome: Construction significantly weaker than a brick wall. Destroy any liquid occurring in nature.
Standard Outcome is a car-sized hole in a brick or mortar wall. A smaller hole still needs standard outcome. Destroy any liquid that can be made using mundane technology.
Great Outcome can affect something larger and/or stronger, up to the size of a house, ship, or other large construct. Destroy any liquid, even one incorporating powers.

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.

Tide Tumble Pollute liquids or strike with a watery sledgehammer.

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

Tide Tear Evaporate liquids, slice as a watery blade.

Destroy 1000 cubic meters of liquid. You can also use this to smash other things or as a fine, potent sledgehammer.

Tide Tow Tide Tear, but destroyed targets disappear silently.

The real difference here is that wrecking things is now silent when you have the right power. Leave less traces, as what you wreck disappears. Get rid of evidence, as long as that evidence matches your power.

Tide Tsunami Tide Tear over a large area.

Rather straightforward, this just scales things up to a billion cubic meters. This can empty a harbor of water or temporarily dry out a river. Used in the sea, it creates an empty space that, when the sea rushes back in, creates a local tsunami. You can also use liquids to destroy other things, causing a mayor flood, break levees, or even create a tsunami, tough there is a delay for truly large effects to form.