Dresden D6 Special Abilities v3.2

Creature Features	Minor Abilities	Shapeshifting	Toughness
Faerie Magic	Nevernever Powers	Speed	True Faith
Items of Power	Psychic Abilities	Strength	Vampirism
			Hunger Chart

 

Powers are accessible by Race, Feat, or GM Fiat. Point cost is noted in the entry, and the Feat should explain how many points you get to spend. If it is a race, then point cost is incorporated into the racial template.

 

Creature Features

The abilities listed here are all about the basic nastiness found in a number of beastly and monstrous creatures in the Dresdenverse.

 

Addictive Saliva

Your saliva is a powerful narcotic, leaving a victim insensate in the short term.

With just a little more exposure, your victim goes straight from senseless to senselessly addicted. For those poor saps, detoxing is a bitch—it’s easier, and more pleasant, just to play along with whatever their new master demands of them.

Mechanics: Reflexes, Martial Arts, Marksmanship, and any other attack form that results in a physical touch. Upon contact, the target must roll Willpower, Stamina, or Strength vs. 5D for the first touch, +1D for each subsequent touch.  Once addicted, you will have to wait the time on the chart, based on your addiction level, to try and resist again. Until then, you are insensate and more willing to go along with your new Master or Mistress. 

Addiction Chart:

Point Cost: 1

 

Aquatic

You’re an underwater creature, with the benefits that come from that.

Mechanics: Able to breathe underwater and move at normal rate. No penalties to skills while underwater.

Point Cost: 1

Breath Weapon

You’re able to spit or otherwise throw some sort of self-generated projectile over a short distance.

Note: You’ll need to lock down this breath weapon to a single type of effect—e.g., acid, fire, lightning, etc.—when you take this ability.

Example Breath Weapons: 

Acid: 4D, 2D Persistent, 4 rds, ROF: 1rd, Range: 5/10/20

Fire: 6D, ROF: 1rd, Range: 10/20/40

Lightning: 6D, ROF: 1rd, Range: 5/10/20

Water: 5D, ROF: 1rd, Range: 5/10/20

Mechanics: At the time of character creation decide which type of effect. Use Marksmanship skill to hit with the weapon. The attack can have Cone or Blast features, see the Spell Creation Charts. 

Point Cost: 2

Claws

You have claws, fangs, or other natural weapons that let you add damage when attacking with your “bare” hands.

Note: Unless you have the ability to conceal your nature or change your shape (whether through Flesh Mask, shapeshifting powers, or the application of a Glamour), your claws are always visible.

Mechanics: Brawling or Martial Arts or equivalent skill to hit, damage is Str+2D

Optional: For an additional +2 cost, your attacks have Venomous, which adds Venom damage; +2D to damage, with persistent effects.

Point Cost: 1

 Diminutive Size

You’re very small, or able to become very small at will if you’re a shapeshifter—at the very largest, you’re dwarfed by even a small human child. While small, you have +4D to sneak or stealth rolls and +2D to perception checks. However, Strength checks are -2D to -4D. +2D to dodge rolls

Note: This ability is always in effect unless you have the ability to shapeshift. Also, note scale differences when shrunk down, see the Scale Chart. 

Point Cost: 1

Echoes of the Beast

Some part of you is a beast, an animal—often due to shapeshifting abilities or something similar. This brings along the benefits of that animal’s senses.

Beast Senses: Whether in human form or otherwise, your senses are strongly tuned in a fashion fitting a particular type of beast (you must specify the senses when you take the ability, based on what the beast is known to have). Whenever it seems reasonable that you’d have some sort of beast-born advantage of the senses, you get a +2D bonus to your roll.

Beast Trappings. You are able to do one minor thing that normal people can’t do, related to the abilities of your beast-kin. This might be tracking by scent (for a wolf or other predator), finding your way around while blind or in total darkness (like a bat), or hiding in plain sight (like a chameleon). Bonus of +1D or +2D to appropriate rolls.

Beast Friend. You may achieve at least an instinctual understanding (if not actual communication) with beasts of a similar type. This can allow you to make assessment actions to suss out a particular animal’s motives. +2D to appropriate rolls

Musts: Define the type of beast you share a kinship with at the time you take this ability.

 

Point Cost: 1

Hulking Size

You’re very large, or able to become very large at will if you’re a shapeshifter—at the very largest, as tall as a house.

Scale: Depending on how much bigger you are than normal, use scale rules for to-hit and damage resolution.

Too big for things: have trouble interacting with normal sized stuff.

+2D to intimidation rolls; -2D or more to stealth rolls, adjusted for scale differences

Note: This ability is always in effect unless you can shapeshift.

Point Cost: 2

Living Dead

You’re dead, but you keep walking around. It’s kind of gross.

Musts: You’ve got to be dead.

Corpse Body. Your body is a corpse. This means that you cannot recover from damage with time, because your body does not regenerate. Any physical damage you suffer is permanent until you take some kind of effort to fix them (know any good taxidermists?) or seek supernatural assistance to reconstruct your body.

Death is a Nuisance. Unless wholly destroyed or killed by special means, you’re already dead, and that doesn’t seem to have fazed you much. No “death” result is ever permanent unless special means are used (usually as determined by your creature type).

Dude! You’re Dead! And that’s pretty scary to a lot of people. When dealing with folks unaccustomed to the walking dead (and that’s most “regular” people), gain a +1D on Intimidation. The downside? Take a –1D penalty on nearly every other social skill. For every level of physical damage you’ve sustained, increase the penalty/bonus by –1D/+1D. That said, the effect is short-lived with any one target—as they become accustomed to a reality where the dead walk, they eventually become inured to it as an additional reason to be terrified.

Point Cost: 1 

Pack Instincts

You are part of a pack and share a certain kind of unspoken, animal communication with one another.

Musts: You must define who is in your pack, and they all must share this ability.

Mechanics: When near another member of your pack, gain +1D to your Perception checks. When in the same area as others of your pack, you may communicate with one another wordlessly. Only single words and simple concepts may be communicated: attack, protect, follow, distract. By focusing your senses, you may make a Search, Perception, or  Investigation roll to pick out the approximate location of others in your pack. When ambushed, if any one of your pack spots the ambush (by succeeding at an Perception roll), all packmates are considered to have won the Perception roll as well.

Note: Only applies while in animal form. 

Point Cost: 1 

 

Spider Walk

You can climb on things the way a spider would.

Mechanics: While climbing, you may treat any surface, no matter the angle, as no more difficult than walking normally. Ceilings? No problem. If someone or something tries to pull you from the wall, use Strength+2D to resist being yanked off the surface.

Point Cost: 1

 

Supernatural Sense

You have a supernatural sense of some sort, enabling you to detect something no one could normally detect (e.g., smell hope), or to perceive something normally in situations where you otherwise couldn’t (see in complete darkness).

Musts: With each supernatural sense, you must identify whether this is a purely mystical sense or a more physical sense (using Investigation and Perception, or Perception-based skills as appropriate, though you could argue other skills, such as Lore).

Note: The sense you define can’t be a “gamebreaker” without the GM’s approval—no “hear someone’s True Name in their heartbeat,” probably no “see through walls.” Alternatively, such things might be possible, but they should probably cost an extra one or two points at least. A number of abilities already encompass some portion of supernatural sensory ability. Don’t purchase this ability unless it’s clearly something extra, above and beyond what you already enjoy from your other abilities.

Mechanics: In situations where you might be penalized or otherwise told that it’s impossible to sense something, you can nevertheless attempt to sense the thing you’ve defined, without penalty. (Use appropriate skill or attribute to roll.)

Strange Senses 1 pt more. You may instead define a small set of up to three thematically related supernatural senses.

Broad Senses 2 pt more. Take this instead of Strange Senses. You have a wide array of supernatural senses, easily up to a dozen.(!)

Point Cost: 1 

Wings

You have wings of some sort— gossamer as a faerie, leathery and batlike as a demon—enabling you to fly.

Musts: Your wings are always present and visible unless you have an ability (Flesh Mask, Shapeshifting Powers, or the application of a Glamour) allowing you to hide them. You should define the appearance of the wings when you take this ability.

Mechanics: You can fly at your usual move, +5 to 10 more squares, depending on method. GM approval needed.

Point Cost: 1

Faerie Magic

The abilities of the faerie focus heavily on the appearance of things. Glamours—faerie illusions— are the mode of the day, leading to the truism: if it looks too good to be true, it probably is, and it’s probably fae.

 

Glamours

You are able to create the basic glamours of the fae—minor veils and “seemings” that make something look like what it isn’t.

Mechanics:

Minor Veils. With a moment of concentration, you may draw a veil over something (not particularly large—maybe the size of a small, tight group of people), hiding it from sight and other means of detection. Use your Willpower or Con/Deceit skills to oppose efforts to discover the veil. Depending on circumstances, other Presence skills can be used. If the veil is discovered, it isn’t necessarily pierced—but the discoverer can tell that it’s there and that it’s wrong. Use the Difficulty modifiers from Spellcraft Veils Rules. 

Seemings. You are able to cause someone or something to appear to be other than what it is—usually this is personal, but it may be used on other objects and people if they belong to you or have entered a pact with you. You may use your Willpower or Con/Deceit skill to oppose any efforts to discover that the seeming is something other than real.

  

Point Cost: 2

Greater Glamours

As a pure fae of considerable power, you are able to create true seemings— actual objects, or near enough as to make no difference in the moment (i.e., ectoplasmic constructs). Your veils are potent and your lesser seemings are flawless.

Musts: Character must be a pure fae. This replaces Glamours, if the character previously had it.

Mechanics:

Veils. With a moment of concentration, you may draw a veil over something (not particularly large—maybe the size of a small, tight group of people), hiding it from sight and other means of detection, as with the Minor Veils effect of Glamours. Use your Willpower or Con/Deceit at +2D to oppose any efforts to discover the veil. You may set aside this +2D bonus to draw a veil over a whole environment/area. Use Spellcraft Veil Difficulty Modifiers. 

Seemings. As with the Glamours effect of the same name (above). You may use your Willpower or Con/Deceit skill at +2D to oppose any efforts to discover the seeming.

True Seemings. You may create an object—and with some difficulty, even ephemeral creatures— out of ectoplasm, the stuff of the Nevernever. These are not casually detectable as “unreal,” per se, save through magical means of perception, so they are immune to most efforts to discover the seeming. As far as the effects of the object are concerned, simply give it the same attributes a fully real object of its type would have. You may only have one object at a time via seeming—the act of creating another dismisses the first. Use Conjuring Modifiers. 

 

Point Cost: 4

Seelie Magic

Drawing on the power of the Summer Court, you’re able to cast spells that fit its essential nature: wildness, birth, growth, renewal, fire. These magics are under the sway and watch of the Queens of Summer (Lady, Queen, and Mother), and inevitably making use of them will catch their notice. While some might think the Summer Court is all warmth and light, they should pause to consider that unbridled growth favors an ebola virus just as much as it does a pear tree.

Note: The cost is 4 points unless you already practice another kind of true magic, such as Minor Talent, Apprentice Wizard, Wizard, Sorcerer, or Focused Practitioner, in which case the cost is reduced by 1 for each ability you already possess. If you have none of these, then you now have Magic Manipulation at 2D, 1 element: Summer’s Fire,  with 2 Magic Manipulation skills under it. For Practitioners already so versed, you gain 1 element: Summer’s Fire, and can add 1 more Magic Manipulation skill. 

Mechanics:

Summer Spellcasting. You are able to cast spells of a deep and true nature, drawing upon the magics of the Summer Court. Due to the faerie nature of this power source, it is less flexible in some areas than mortal spellcasting and is therefore subject to the limitations described in its entry under “Sponsored Magic”. +2D to skill rolls that use Summer’s nature: fire, wildness, birth, growth, and renewal. 

 

Point Cost: 4

Unseelie Magic

Drawing on the power of the Winter Court, you’re able to cast spells that fit its essential nature: wildness, death, decay, slumber, ice. These magics are under the sway and watch of the Queens of Winter (Lady, Queen, and Mother), and inevitably making use of them will catch their notice. While some might think the Winter Court is all frozen cruelty, they should remember that without their balance to Summer, the world of man would end, choked off by unbridled nature.

Notes: The cost is 4 points unless you already practice another kind of true magic, such as Minor Talent, Apprentice Wizard, Wizard, Sorcerer, or Focused Practitioner, in which case the cost is reduced by 1 for each ability you already possess. If you have none of these, then you now have Magic Manipulation at 2D, 1 element: Winter’s Ice,  with 2 skills under it. For Practitioners already so versed, you gain 1 element: Summer’s Fire, and can add 1 more Magic Manipulation skill. 

Mechanics:

You are able to cast spells of a deep and true nature, drawing upon the magics of the Winter Court. Due to the faerie nature of this power source, it is less flexible in some areas than mortal spellcasting and is therefore subject to the limitations described in its entry under “Sponsored Magic”. +2D to skill rolls that use Winter’s nature: wildness, death, decay, slumber, ice. 

 

Point Cost: 4

Items of Power

 

“Items of Power” is a catch-all category for abilities that are derived not from the person himself, but from the magical equipment they bring to the table. Champions of the supernatural heavyweights, including the Champions of God, Knights of the Faerie Courts, and other Emissaries of Power, might carry such artifacts to battle, as protection or weaponry.

 

Item of Power

You have an item of great power— an artifact that goes beyond the ephemeral items created by spellcasters. This is an artifact with an ancient story, often drawing its power from some vast supernatural entity of old.

Musts: The Item of Power ability may not be taken multiple times—even if the character has multiple items of power. A single instance of the Item of Power ability covers all such items that the character carries.

Options: Plenty! An Item of Power is a way to take Minor Abilities, Strength, Toughness, Speed, or some other abilities (subject to approval) at a small discount, based on the nature of the item (see below).

Mechanics:

It Is What It Is. The item is often based on a mundane template—a sword, a shield, a suit of armor—and as such may have some armor or damage values completely independent of its supernatural nature. Swords will have damage bonuses like swords, armor will protect like armor. All the same, the item should be obvious as something unusual.

Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, it cannot be broken, save through dedicated magical ritual predicated upon perverting its purpose. How this manifests may vary; the item may be breakable but able to repair itself, or it may simply refuse to be fractured.

Imparted Abilities. Choose a set of abilities that are imbued within and imparted by the Item of Power. Take these abilities normally, recording their point cost and noting that they’re part of the Item. Abilities outside of the Minor Abilities, Strength, Toughness, and Speed categories must be examined closely by the GM and may be disallowed.

Simply possessing the Item of Power is not enough to use the abilities. Rules must be followed, and bargains must be made. Work out the particulars with the GM.

While the item may be “loaned” once in while for a specific single task, it is not an easy thing to do: the owner of the item must pay a action die for every scene in which they allow another to enjoy its benefits, or the item fails to work for the recipient. The recipient must still obey the rules associated with the Item of Power.

 

Point Cost: Varies

Sword of the Cross

You possess one of the three Swords of the Cross, their hilts reportedly forged from the nails that fixed Christ to the Cross. Those bearing the Swords are called the Knights of the Cross.

Musts: You must have a destiny or calling to inherit the Sword, represented as a Knight of the Cross.

Mechanics:

All Creatures Are Equal Before God. This is the truest purpose of the Swords of the Cross, the ability that makes even ancient dragons take pause when facing a Knight. When facing an opponent, the Knight may spend an Action Die to ignore that opponent’s defensive abilities (Toughness based ones, primarily), as well as any mundane armor the foe has, for the duration of the scene. In essence, a Sword of the Cross may take the place of whatever it is that a creature has a weakness to (whatever “the Catch” is on their Toughness powers), on demand, so long as the Knight can spend that Action Die—particularly handy when facing ultra-tough Denarians or true dragons. Whatever abilities a creature may have, the job of a Sword of the Cross is creating a mostly even playing field— or something very much like it—between mortal and monster.

Divine Purpose. A Sword of the Cross may only be swung with true selfless purpose in mind and heart; if this is not the case, the bond between the Knight and the Sword is broken and may only be restored by undergoing some sort of trial of faith. When swung without such purpose in mind and heart, the blow does not land (any attack roll automatically fails), the bond is immediately broken, and the sword falls from the wielder’s hand. Basically, the GM and player should look at the description above as a guideline for how to resolve it—your character might be tempted to use the sword for selfish reasons, and could either receive an Action Die to stay their hand or succumb to the temptation and lose the sword temporarily. If another takes up the sword and swings it selfishly, your Knight is still responsible for how the sword is used, with similar repercussions.

Holy. This weapon is a powerful holy symbol in its own right. It's very touch is like holy water or that of a cross or other symbol of faith backed by the belief of the possessor.

It’s a Sword. A Sword of the Cross always takes the form of a sword, though the precise type of sword may change through the ages. There are only three in existence. As a sword, it possesses the damage and other attributes of any sword.

True Aim. When swung in keeping with its purpose, a Sword of the Cross grants a +1D to the wielder’s Melee Weapons skill.

Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, it cannot be broken, save through dedicated magical ritual predicated upon perverting its purpose.

Point Cost:  3

Minor Abilities

The minor supernatural abilities that exist in the world are too numerous to be categorized easily. All the same, you’ll find some in the “Psychic Abilities” section, and a few more are listed here. Usually these abilities offer some small advantage, but in many cases they also come with a disadvantage or a price.

 

Cloak of Shadows

You and the shadows are as one. You’re able to melt into the shadows with ease; the cover of night offers easy concealment.

Mechanics: See in the Dark. Perception skill rolls are not penalized by darkness.

Melt into the Shadows. You’re more effective than most at hiding in a reasonably sized area of darkness or shadow. Under the cover of darkness, you get a +2D bonus to your Sneak or Tracking rolls when hiding, or vs. Perception skill rolls.

 

Point Cost: 1

Ghost Speaker

You see dead people. All the time. Some people mistakenly refer to you as an ectomancer (a kind of Focused Practitioner), but your ability is more instinctual and you are not technically a spellcaster (although this ability can be added on top of an existing spellcaster if the character template allows for it).

Mechanics: See the Dead. You have no problems perceiving the presence of spirits and ghosts, unless they are deliberately trying to conceal themselves— in which case it’s Investigation (or Perception or Search) vs. Sneak or Hide. 

Seen by the Dead. Spirits and ghosts have no problem perceiving you as well, regardless of how tenuous their manifestation is—they recognize you as a conduit to the mortal world and will readily come forward to contact you. This means such creatures will see and find you more easily than other people, when all other factors are equal. Spirits get a +2D when trying to perceive or locate you.

Speak to the Dead. You can speak and otherwise communicate directly with ghosts and other invisible or incorporeal spirits, without any need to perform thaumaturgy.

Seek the Dead. The dead seek you out, and it goes the other way as well—enough so that you may use Contacts to seek out information and specific individuals among the dead.

 

Point Cost: 1

Mana Static

Despite not being a mortal practitioner of magic, you have a tendency to cause technology to short out the way a wizard or other mortal spellcaster does.

Musts: If the character ever takes a spellcasting ability, it replaces this one.

Note: While we don’t have documentation of this sort of ability in our casefiles, it’s pretty well supported by theory. There are plenty of folks out there with undeveloped magical talent, and it’s easy to see how they might first—and perhaps only—manifest the hexing aspect of their abilities.

Mechanics:

Hexing. You can hex technology deliberately, as described in Spellcrafting: Hexing. You may need to roll your Willpower skill occasionally to keep your emotions in check and avoid accidentally hexing technology, to deliberately zap something, roll Willpower skill +2D, mojo cost is damage taken by the caster. 

 

Point Cost: 1

 

Marked by Power

You’ve been marked by something powerful, in a way recognizable to those with a magical affinity. Such people and creatures will think twice about acting against you, but they’ll also see you as a representative of the thing that’s marked you.

Mechanics:

Aegis of Respect. A magical mark is upon you, placed by a creature or person of significant power. It’s not that the mark provides any actual protection, but magically aware people and creatures can perceive this mark upon you and word tends to get around that you’ve been “claimed.” Whenever dealing with someone in the magical community, all of your social skill rolls operate at a +2D bonus. The downside, of course, is that people tend to see you as a representative of the thing that marked you, which can lead to some uncomfortable entanglements and assumptions. If you absolutely must conceal this mark, you can, but it takes some concentration—use any appropriate skill (Sneak or Con/Deceit, usually) restricted by Willpower to do so, but you can’t do anything stressful (like combat) without dropping the concealment.

 

Point Cost: 1

Wizard’s Constitution 

You are a wizard, or are like a wizard—incredibly long lived for a human, able to recover from injuries just a little better than the next guy.

Note: This ability is replaced by any Inhuman or better Recovery or Toughness ability, if any such abilities are taken. In terms of game effects, the uses of this ability are so minor that they’re really almost cosmetic; hence the zero cost.

Mechanics:

Total Recovery. You’re able to recover from physical harm that would leave a normal person permanently damaged. You can recover totally from any consequence—excluding extreme physical ones—with no other excuse besides time; simply waiting long enough will eventually heal you completely. (Many wizards use this ability to avoid hospitals, where their tendency to disrupt technology can put others in serious danger.)

Long Life. As a side-effect of your improved ability to recover from injury, your lifespan is significantly extended. In game terms this will rarely have relevance, but it’s why the Senior Council of the White Council of wizards can talk at length about the events of the American Civil War (many of them were there) and several can go back even further than that.

Point Cost: 0

Nevernever Powers

This category of powers is for those creatures other than Faeries that are strongly rooted in the Nevernever—like spirits and ghosts—as well as the ability to affect or reach the Nevernever easily.

 

Demesne

As a spirit that has been linked to the mortal world, you naturally create a space within the Nevernever tied to that place or concept. This space reflects the  landscape of your “mind.”

Mechanics:

Home Turf. You have an immense amount of control over the features of your demesne; the “local reality” bends to your will. You automatically succeed at any declarations about the physical form of your demesne, and in combat you can roll Willpower to place environmental conditions upon the demesne. You can even roll your Willpower as a physical attack against intruders, using the nature of the Nevernever to harm opponents.

 

Point Cost: 1

Spirit Form

You are an incorporeal spirit form, able to pass through walls and other barriers in the mortal world (thresholds still have an almost physical reality to you, however).

Mechanics:

Insubstantial. You are incorporeal, able to pass through walls, reducing most defenses to zero. Thresholds, however, will act as physical barriers to you. Without also taking Physical Immunity to a broad range of effects, you can still be harmed by physical attacks.

Variable Manifestation. You must manifest visibly to truly perceive anything “useful” about the world around you. Even when largely separated from the world, those with a high magical sensitivity may feel your presence.

Variable Visage. As a spirit, your form may change somewhat in response to your mood or idea of self, causing you to appear more fearsome or beautiful, granting a +2D to appropriate social actions based on appearance (Intimidation for a fearsome appearance, Persuasion or Con/Deceit for a beautiful one). Usually this is an exaggeration of your “normal” appearance or disguise in some way.

Poltergeist +2 points to Cost. If you take this upgrade, your manifestation is reinforced with solid ectoplasm and able to manipulate objects in the mortal world. When doing so, you may use your Willpower instead of your Strength to move heavy things. You may use physical combat skills to affect the world as well.

 

Point Cost: 3

  

Swift Transition

Most supernatural creatures may cross over into the Nevernever naturally, so long as they are in a place that particularly resonates with their nature (White Court vampires, for example, tend to disappear mysteriously in the backs of strip clubs). With this ability, a spirit or other creature may cross over into the Nevernever from nearly anywhere at all.

Mechanics:

Everywhere is a Portal. You may transition to the Nevernever from nearly any location in the mortal world, so long as you are not forcibly restrained by some magical or ritual means.

No Mortal Home +1 point to Cost. If it suits your concept—such as with ghosts—you are so native to the Nevernever that you are pulled to it if given no strong reason to remain in the mortal realm. If you make this choice, then under high damage or magical assault, you may need to make Willpower rolls (against a difficulty in line with the strength of an attack, etc.) in order to remain in the mortal world. If knocked unconscious or otherwise wholly incapacitated, you immediately transition to the Nevernever, for better or for worse.

 

Point Cost: 2

Worldwalker

You have a natural ability to cross into and out of the Nevernever by opening a gateway. Others in close proximity to you may pass through this opening as well—and things within the Nevernever may use it to get out. You’re also adept at finding places where the barrier between this world and the Nevernever is weak and permeable, bypassing the need to open a rift yourself.

Notes: This is another “extrapolated” ability, not documented in Harry’s casefiles, but pretty well supported by theory. It’s already true that many supernatural creatures can cross over into the Nevernever in places that share an affinity with their kind (such as the White Court ability to step into and out of the Nevernever at strip clubs and brothels), so it seems reasonable that someone with a little bit of latent magic ability would be able to manifest a similar kind of affinity. It’s also worth observing that spellcasters usually needn’t worry about this ability—their spellcraft abilities already provide the ability to detect and open rifts between the mortal realm and the Nevernever.

Mechanics:

Rift Sense. You’re able to sense places where the fabric of reality is weak, allowing easy passage into or out of the Nevernever. You may use Investigation or Lore to find such places.

Rift Maker. You are able to tear a temporary hole between this world and the next, allowing people and things to pass into or out of the Nevernever for a few seconds (it takes a true spellcaster to hold a rift open for longer). You may only do this once per scene (or per hour, if more appropriate). Some supernatural power-players will get a bit agitated or excited about this, however, since this inevitably weakens the fabric between the Nevernever and our own world in a given location.

Strange Worlds. By dint of using this ability and not, y’know, dying or getting enslaved in Faerie or the like, you’ve had enough exposure to the Nevernever to have a degree of familiarity with it. All Lore and Survival checks regarding the geography of the Nevernever and other trivia involving it are made at +2D, and you may use Lore instead of Survival while there.

 

Point Cost: 2

Psychic Abilities

Psychic abilities seem to divide into two types—ones which are more trouble than they’re worth (using the Sight can drive you mad; Cassandra’s Tears is more a source of sorrow than solace), and those which break the hell out of the Laws of Magic (Domination being a good example).

Cassandra’s Tears

You are afflicted by the condition known as Cassandra’s Tears—you have a limited ability to see the future and predict the shape of things to come. But there’s a big downside: most people simply ignore or won’t believe your warnings.

Unbelievable Predictions. You are able to make precognitive predictions or receive them from the GM. This places an aspect on the “world” related to the prediction that remains until it comes true or is otherwise resolved. See the guidelines on YS 324 for more details about predictions. Whenever trying to warn people about what you foresee, you are at a –2D to any attempts to convince them that what you’re saying is correct.

 

Point Cost: 0

Controlled Fate

You can control probability to a limited extent, making life more or less predictable through magical power.

Whenever you roll, you may choose to roll any number of additional dice between two and six

Whenever someone in your presence rolls, you may choose to have them roll any number of additional dice between two and six.

 

Point Cost: 1

Domination

This ability is most commonly seen among a segment of Black Court vampires.

Given a captive victim, a skilled Black Court vampire or other creature with this ability can break down the target’s will through direct psychic assault. It’s not subtle, and it’s not pretty, and it usually leaves a wreck of a mind in its wake.

Mechanics:

Psychic Domination. Given a helpless captive, you may use your Willpower skill as an overt psychic attack, dealing mental stress and damage until the victim’s mind is entirely under your sway. While the victim may defend with their own Willpower, they usually can’t counter-attack, and eventually he’ll just be whittled down—especially if you get creative with the “preparation” of your victim.

Create Renfield. If you manage to take out a victim using this method, you have the option of turning the character into a “Renfield” (OW86): a horribly broken individual, with nothing left to do except foam at the mouth and fanatically execute on your instructions. It takes a day to create a Renfield in this fashion.

Master Dominator +2 points more to Cost. If you take this upgrade, increase your psychic attacks to +2D damage on a successful hit and you can create enhanced Renfields with Inhuman Strength (YS 183), Inhuman Recovery (YS 185), and lifespans of no longer than a month. It takes three days to create an enhanced Renfield.

Possession +3 points more to Cost. This variant is seen most commonly among demons; with this upgrade, you may fully possess your victim once you’ve taken him out with your domination attack. Your domination attacks inflict +2D damage on successful hits. This upgrade is possible only when combining this power with another that allows you to become insubstantial.

Gaseous Form (YS 175) could allow you to possess a victim by way of inhalation, while Spirit Form (YS 170) would allow you to simply “step into” the victim’s body. Once you’ve taken possession, you may control your victim completely—without any easy telltales of mind control—and gain access to all of their physical abilities and many of their mental ones. Once someone has a reason to be suspicious, you must use your Con/Deceit to defend against discovery.

 

Point Cost: 2

Incite Emotion

You are able to incite certain strong emotions in a target—usually emotions of passion or pain. Dark or morally “corrupt” emotions (lust, wrath, despair, and others) are the usual ones available. Emotions created by this ability are real, but not True, so True Love, Courage, Hope, and so forth are off the table.

Options: This ability costs 1 Point to start and requires you to pick a single emotion you can incite, be it rage, lust, fear, protectiveness, or the like. More potent versions (see below) may be purchased by increasing the point cost. The emotion this ability incites may be changed under special circumstances, as part of character development.

Mechanics:

Emotion-Touch. If you can touch someone, you can make them feel something. You’re able to do attacks at +2D to your Willpower roll (using Intimidation for anger or fear and Con/Deceit for every other emotion) that force an emotion on a target, so long as you’re in the same area as they are and you can physically touch them. The victim defends with their Willpower. You may be able to prevent the victim from taking other actions as well if you do this as a defense instead of as an attack.

Additional Emotion +1 to cost. For every point of cost spent on this upgrade, you can choose another emotion to use with your Incite Emotion ability. All other upgrades apply to any emotions you can incite.

At Range +1 to cost. You may use this ability on targets up to 20 meters without touching them.

Lasting Emotion +1 to cost. If you increase the cost of this ability by 1, you gain the ability to do Emotion-Touch as a mental attack instead of a mere attack or defense. If such an attack hits, you gain a +2D damage bonus on a successful hit, increasing the chances of inflicting a mental consequence (and thus, a more lasting emotional state). The victim defends with their Willpower.

Potent Emotion +1 to cost. The Lasting Emotion upgrade is a prerequisite to this one. You get another +2D damage bonus on successful attacks as per Lasting Emotion.

Point Cost: 1

Psychometry

You have a semi-magical (“psychic”) talent for catching glimpses of the past when you touch objects.

Mechanics:

Rolling Willpower versus the following difficulties:

Easy, less than two hours into the past

Moderate, two hours to a week

Difficult, week to six months

Very Difficult, six months to a year

Heroic, year to two years

+10 for each additional year into the past.

Time to use: Five minutes, +10 to difficulty for each minute cut. Minimum time is one minute.

The user senses the past events in a given place or the magical imprints left by living beings who handled the specific object. Meeting the difficulty number gives the user dulled sensory impressions from the past. Achieving twice the difficulty allows the user to watch the past as though it were a movie with more detailed sensory input. Beating three times the difficulty number lets the user witness events from the object’s perspective.

Point Cost: 1

The Sight

Wizards and others have learned to open their third eye, perceiving the magical world in great detail. The downside here is that the often-phantasmagorical images are burned into their brains—never forgotten, always vivid.

Musts: Be a spellcaster or that you have received training of some kind to open your third eye.

Arcane Senses. Even with your third eye closed you have heightened arcane senses. You may use Perception and other skills (Lore, Investigation, Search or Track for examples). You also gain +1D to Lore when using it to understand supernatural things or counter spells or situations. Can give +1D bonuses to rolls for sussing out magic. The Sight can also be “Kept Up” as a Danger sense, Willpower or Concentration check to do so. When “Up”, the Sight is not active, but passively sensing. 

Wizard’s Touch. As another aspect of your arcane senses, when you touch another being who has some magic potential, the GM may ask you to roll Lore to catch just a hint of a “spark”—indicating their nature as something other than mundanely mortal. Even on a failed roll, you might experience some sort of sense that something is “off,” without being able to pin it down.

Opening the Third Eye. You may use the Sight to fully open your third eye, with all of the risks and rewards that come with it. See YS 223 for details on how the Sight works. 

Communicate with Ghosts. The Sight allows the user to see and communicate with ghosts. It can also help penetrate Veils. +1D to Perception vs. Veils. 

Sight Trauma. Sometimes seeing something as it truly is, can be traumatic. In Turn Coat, Harry Dresden senses that he is being followed during his drive home. He opens his Sight and Sees the Skinwalker, Shagnasty, and the pure evil of the monster nearly disables him and almost sends him insane. Even after he closes his Sight, every time he recalls the attack, he is almost knocked out by the Sight memory. He manages to walk to Billy's by calculating prime numbers in his head and keeping his thoughts off the attack. To recover himself, he goes into a dark, quiet room and little by little, he desensitizes himself from the memory until he can think of the Skinwalker and not fall to his knees. Dresden refers to these sorts of reactions as "Sight Trauma".

Point Cost: 1

Soulgaze

Wizards (and a rare few others) have the ability to gaze upon another’s soul directly—but only the first time they make more than a moment of eye contact, and only if the one they gaze upon actually has a mortal soul. When it doesn’t happen, that in and of itself is an interesting piece of information!

Mechanics: +1D to Perception or other skills to determine trust, damage, and any mind magics in use (past or present) and so on. 

Soulgaze. When a practicing wizard and a being with a soul (all mortals along with White Court vampires and others) look each other in the eyes, it begins what is known as a soulgaze. It gives the other a window into their soul, which can't be faked. It doesn’t relay specific information (you can’t use it to interrogate someone), but it does give one a vague impression on whether they’re trustworthy or not, or if they've been psychically harmed, etc. Just like if one were to use their Sight, the memory of the gaze doesn’t fade with time, being as sharp years later as when it happened. One circumstance in which a Soulgaze doesn't occur, is when a doctor looked into Harry Dresden's eyes. She didn't so much as look into his eyes, as examine them, which is professional intent.

Application of the Sight [1]. If you have the Sight, above, you may take Soulgaze for free if you so choose. It’s not mandatory.

Point Cost: 1 or 0

Telekinesis

You can exert physical force with the power of your mind alone.

Mind over Matter: Whenever you would use your Brawling skill, you may use your Willpower or Marksmanship skill instead. Marksmanship skill is used to hit and Willpower for Strength.

Telekinetic Reach. If an action would normally require you to touch something, you can do it from 20 meters away. If you use this effect to do something which requires good fine motor control, your Marksmanship skill is used to hit and Willpower for Strength or Dexterity. 

Telekinetic Attacks. You may use your Marksmanship skill to hit people either unarmed or with objects. Damage is the Willpower roll. If objects, use the objects damage +Willpower roll. 

Enhanced Telekinesis [1]. Your Telekinetic Reach extends to everything within your line of sight. In addition, unarmed attacks that you make with this Power are now Damage +2D.

Defensive Telekinesis [1]. You are protected by a shell of telekinetic power. You may use your Willpower skill to defend against physical attacks or to create physical barriers. Spellcraft defensive modifiers would be helpful for finding difficulties. 

Self-Propelling Telekinesis [1]. (Requires Defensive Telekinesis) Your telekinesis is strong enough to let you carry yourself. This allows you to fly as though you had the Wings power, using Willpower or Flying skill instead of Reflexes or possibly other skills to move around in the air.

Point Cost: 2

Shapeshifting

Shapeshifting can happen solely in the mind, but more often it is an alteration of the body. The changed form may be greater or smaller in size than the original. The True Shapeshifting ability is rarely possible for a mortal mind to bear—the stress and strain placed on the sense of self inevitably leads to a psychotic break of some sort. (This may be why those mortals who do learn how to shapeshift rarely enjoy more than a single, fixed alternate form—such as werewolves of the Alpha style.) Whatever the case, this is very much a case of (mental) function follows form—changing the body may well be the easiest part. What to do with the mind when this happens—that’s paramount, at least as far as mortal shapeshifters are concerned. Most supernatural creatures already have it covered—or aren’t particularly bothered by petty things like psychosis. Others conquer this problem with a variety of limitations, magical “cheats,” or just good hard training. Unless explicitly noted otherwise, shapeshifting may be done as one action.

 

Beast Change

You’re able to take on the form of a beast, rearranging the priorities of your skill list.

Musts: You must define the particular kind of beast that you change into.

Beast Form. You take on the shape and appearance of the beast you specified at the time you took this ability. This only covers a cosmetic change of form and does not convey additional abilities like Claws (YS 162) or any supernatural Strength, Speed, or Toughness abilities—you will need to take those separately to get the appropriate benefit.

Skill Shuffle. You may shuffle around your skills for a different configuration while changed (using the same number of skill points and following the same rules as during character creation, YS 65), so long as any knowledge or social skills are not given a higher value by the change. In other words, you can’t suddenly know more about Shakespeare just because you’re a wolf (or whatever). Physical and perception skills, however, may (and perhaps should) be increased in this way.

 

Point Cost: 1

Demonic Co-Pilot

Running around in a body that isn’t yours is hard, so you contract out the hard work to a spirit. Usually an evil, angry one. This ability was used by the Hexenwolves talisman and by Bob. (When he possessed Sue the Dinosaur!)

Musts: Some idea or detailed document of the Pact. The GM should think about what the co-pilot’s agenda is. Also what kind of Alt-Form they use.

Mechanics:

Shapeshifted Form. Your form changes into something else. Can be animal, real or imagined, or a demonic form. When in this form, it uses a spirit to help “pilot” it. 

Demon’s Agenda. You gain a +1D on any skill roll that’s in keeping with your shapeshifted form or demonic co-pilot’s agenda (often having to do with gleeful murder). When doing so, you must roll Willpower against the result, as if you were defending against an attack. Failure to defend results in mental damage as if from an attack; any psychological consequences that result are set by the GM, in line with the demon’s agenda.

 

Point Cost: 1

Flesh Mask

This is a variant on Human Guise, see below, that offers a few extra benefits. Most commonly used by Red Court vampires, a Flesh Mask is a real-seeming outer layer of ectoplasmic flesh, usually embodying an idealized human form. But the creature beneath can move around inside, sometimes able to perform small actions underneath its very “skin,” likely unnoticed by those around it. (Gross)

Mechanics:

Flesh Mask. The flesh mask is a pliable outer shell of false flesh, made of ectoplasm. The true creature beneath can tear through this mask with ease, discarding it to take its true form. Similarly, the flesh mask may be ripped away from the creature by particularly vicious attacks—any physical attack that inflicts a damage of 3pts or more is sure to pierce the mask, at least a little. It takes only a few minutes for a flesh mask to be restored after it has been removed, whatever the means.

Idealized Appearance. Your flesh mask has a single appearance—usually a stunningly attractive version of the human you were before you became a vampire. Any social action where appearance is a primary factor gains a +2D on the roll, so long as the target of your action is not aware of the horror that lies beneath the outer veneer.

What Lies Beneath. You may move around within your flesh mask, so long as the motions are small and subtle—such as pulling your real arm out of the mask-arm and pointing a small gun at your opponent. Keeping such an action concealed is done with a simple Sneak or Hide roll. (Still Gross)

 

Point Cost: 1

Gaseous Form

Certain Black Court vampires may have the ability to turn into a cloud of gas, seeping under door cracks, traveling great distances undetected, and so on. Other creatures may do this as well.

Gaseous Transformation. You may transform into a gaseous cloud. In gas form,

you set aside all ability to act in exchange for the Physical Immunity ability (YS 186) with a Catch of any of your normal weaknesses, if you have any, plus the vulnerabilities a cloud of gas might have; the ability to fly à la the Wings ability (YS 165); and the Insubstantial effect of Spirit Form (YS 170). The only real actions available to you are movement and maneuvers—you cannot

attack or defend while in this form. It takes two actions to make the transformation. While in this form, you’re potentially vulnerable to things that can affect a gaseous cloud: someone could bottle up part of you if they got off a good enough “attack;” a strong head-wind could impede travel, if you are trying to float into the face of it. However, you may be able to ignore other barriers entirely by seeping through cracks under doors or windows, traveling through ventilation systems, and so forth. You’ll still be stopped by something airtight and slowed down by something that’s mostly airtight.

 

Point Cost: 3

Human Form

You’re a shapeshifter, but when you haven’t shapeshifted, you’re just a normal person.

Regular Joe/Regular Jane. Specify which of your supernatural abilities (usually most or all of them) are unavailable to you when you’re not shapeshifted into your “powered” form. As long as you specify at least 2 points worth of supernatural powers, you gain back 1 point of points for making this choice. If you only have 1 point of supernatural powers affected by this, Human Form is not worth any cost.

Rare or Involuntary Change -1 to cost. If you are only rarely able to take your powered form (due to involuntary change, rare times of the day or month or year, etc.), you regain two points of points for taking this ability, instead of one. The total cost of the abilities affected by the Human Form must be greater than the amount of points paid back by this effect. So to get this version of Human Form, it must affect at least 3 points’ worth of powers.

 

Point Cost: 1 or 0

Human Guise

Congratulations, you pretty much look like everyone else.

Notes: The effects of this ability are so minor that they’re really considered to be almost cosmetic, at least in terms of the impact on the game mechanics; hence the zero cost. Ghouls are one example of a creature with this ability, as are White Court vampires.

Normal Appearance. You have a number of supernatural abilities (often from “Creature Features”, though others may apply) that give you an appearance that’s noticeably, often horrifically, different from normal folks. With this ability, you are able to take on a human guise that conceals your supernatural nature from mundane senses. Supernaturally gifted individuals may still sense your unusual nature using The Sight, Investigation, Perception, or Lore.

Your other abilities are still technically available to you while you’re looking normal, unlike with Human Form (see this page). The moment you choose to use your powers, however, the human guise drops away. So long as you do not use your abilities, you don’t give away your nature to mundane senses—though under times of great stress or high emotion, you may be called on to make a Willpower roll to keep the guise in place.

 

Point Cost: 0

Mimic Abilities

You are able to mimic the abilities of another individual, at least to an extent.

Musts: You must set aside a number of points from character creation equal to the maximum total point value of any mortal stunts and supernatural abilities you wish to copy from a target. These are called your “mimic points”.

Mechanics:

Eat Power. You may clone the supernatural powers of your target (see below) under particular circumstances. This cloning is only possible if you lay hands on a significant part of the victim—such as their brain, their heart, or a large portion of their magic power. If the victim is not dead from this, then they are at least diminished while you access their abilities (reflected by the damage resulting from the attack that allowed you to steal from them, the terms arrived at when taking him out, etc.). This is what gave the Nightmare not only Harry’s form but also his advanced spellcrafting abilities in the Grave Peril casefile. The cloning may be undone if the victim is able to turn tables on you and reclaim what you’ve stolen from them. Usually this requires winning some sort of supernatural or magical conflict with you, though it probably goes without saying that killing you will restore the victim’s power. You can keep your mimic points configured in a certain way indefinitely. If you switch out your current set of powers for a new one, however, you can’t go back to your previous “settings”—you’d have to eat those powers again to have access to them.

Mimic Stunt. You are able to clone any of your target’s Feats. You must clone these abilities by temporarily paying for them out of your mimic points (above).

Mimic Skill. Allocate one mimic point to copy any one of your target’s skills. This replaces your actual rating with that skill while the allocation remains in place.

 

Point Cost: Variable

Mimic Form

You are able to mimic the appearance of another, given the right materials to work with: ideally a piece of their flesh, some strands of hair, a patch of skin, or a vial of blood. (Mortal monster-hunters, take heed!)

Mechanics:

Take Form. You may take on the form, voice, and other seemings of another individual, provided you have possession of something significant of theirs—the better the object, the more convincing the copy. You roll Disguise, along with Con/Deceit at +4D to fool others if your mimicked appearance is close to perfect; the bonus decreases significantly if you don’t have the right “fuel.”

 

Point Cost: 2

Modular Abilities

You can improve your physique, taking on a variety of abilities as you change your form.

Musts: You must “pre-pay” a number of points equal to the maximum total value of the abilities you want to be able to change around at will, plus a surcharge of two points (so a pool of 7 points would cost 9 points: the base of 7, plus 2). These are called your form points.

Function Follows Form. You may shapeshift your form to take on a variety of abilities, taking a full action to change them around. When making such a change, you may reallocate some or all of your form points (see above) to purchase new abilities, focusing on those available as Creature Features, certain Minor Abilities, Speed, Strength, and Toughness.

Point Cost: Varies (ha ha! Didn’t see that coming, did ya?)

True Shapeshifting

You are able to shapeshift into a variety of human and non-human (usually animate, but could be inanimate) forms.

Options: None, but the Modular Abilities power (above) is recommended.

Mechanics:

Multi-Form. You may take on nearly any humanoid or beastly form as an action. Changing into something else—say, a tree, a vacuum cleaner, a water bed—takes a longer amount of time, usually several actions, or even minutes, depending on how different. Concealing your true nature while in these forms is casually easy, but if you do something to call it into suspicion, your attempts to evade detection are at +4D on your Con/Deceit, Disguise, or Sneak rolls.

Skill Shuffle. As with the skill-shuffling effect of the same name under the Beast Change power, only with multiple different configurations to suit the form you take.

 

Point Cost: 4

Speed

When it comes right down to it in the battle between mankind and creatures of darkness, the creatures have the upper hand when it comes to physical capability. One such area is speed— simply, most of them have the ability to move faster than we can. Like any of the physical “building block” categories (see also Strength and Toughness abilities below), Speed is divided first and foremost into three levels—Inhuman, Supernatural, and Mythic. You must have a character concept that fits taking one of these abilities. The Mythic level is nearly always reserved for potent NPCs.

Inhuman Speed

You are very fast, just past the edge of human capability.

Mechanics:

Improved Initiative. Your Initiative is at +4.

Athletic Ability. All your Strength and Reflexes checks are made at +1D, including dodging. When sprinting, this bonus is increased to +2D.

Casual Movement. Whenever moving as part of another physical activity, you may move twice the normal move without loosing an action

Almost Too Fast To See. Sneak is +2D while moving.

 

Point Cost: 2

Supernatural Speed

You’re able to move far faster than the eye can see—or at least so fast that what’s seen is only a blur. You can cross physical distances easily and quickly; acting before ordinary mortals do is trivial.

Notes: This ability replaces Inhuman Speed if taken.

Supreme Initiative. You always go first in initiative order in a conflict, regardless of your Reflexes rating. If there are other entities present who share this ability, you must then use Reflexes to resolve initiative order among yourselves. If someone has Mythic Speed (below), it trumps this ability. 

Superior Athletic Ability. All your Strength and Reflexes checks are made at +2D, including dodging. When sprinting, this bonus is increased to +4D.

Effortless Movement. Whenever moving as part of another physical activity, you may move 3x your move without losing all actions

Faster Than the Eye. +3D to Sneak when moving.

 

Point Cost: 4

Mythic Speed

You are a rare supernatural creature whose very essence is tied to the notion of speed. You’re like the wind itself. Hell, you may be the wind itself.

Musts: This ability replaces Inhuman or Supernatural Speed if taken.

Mechanics:

Super Supreme Initiative. You always go first in initiative order in a conflict, regardless of your Reflexes rating. If there are other entities present who share Mythic Speed, you must then use Reflexes to resolve initiative order among yourselves.

Extra Superior Athletic Ability. All your Reflex and Strength checks are made at +3D, including dodging. When sprinting, this bonus is increased to +6D. You may set aside this bonus to simply declare that you have no problem keeping up with a moving vehicle.

Instant Movement. Whenever moving as part of another physical activity, you may move up to 4x your move without losing actions.

Like the Wind. No one ever gets a bonus to spot you when you’re using Stealth, no matter how fast you’re moving.

Point Cost: 6

 

Strength

Nothing matches supernatural strength for putting a hurt on an opponent quickly and decisively. Sadly for humanity, usually that opponent is…humanity. Like any of the physical “building block” categories (see also Speed and Toughness above and below), Strength is divided first and foremost into three levels—Inhuman, Supernatural, and Mythic. You must have a character concept that fits taking one of these abilities. The Mythic level is nearly always reserved for potent NPCs, but even the Inhuman level can change the nature of the battlefield.

 

Inhuman Strength

You are able to lift more and hit harder than the average human can, due to your supernatural heritage.

Improved Strength. You gain a +3D to your Strength score.

  

Point Cost: 2

Supernatural Strength

You have supernatural strength— you’re able to lift and break things you shouldn’t be able to, and people who get in your way tend to be very, very sorry.

Musts: Supernatural Strength replaces Inhuman Strength if taken.

Superior Strength. You gain a +6D to your Strength roll.

 

Point Cost: 4

Mythic Strength

Your strength is a thing out of legend—legends that feature you. This ability is usually only available to NPCs.

Musts: Mythic Strength replaces Inhuman or Supernatural Strength if taken.

Supreme Strength. You gain a +12D to your Strength roll.

 

Point Cost: 6

Toughness

Supernatural creatures are difficult to kill. Sometimes they’re just impossible to damage without a specialized means, like magic or a weapon made of inherited silver. But more often, they can simply take more punishment than a normal person can. Like any of the physical “building block” categories (see also Speed and Strength above), Toughness is divided first and foremost into three levels—Inhuman, Supernatural, and Mythic. You must have a character concept that fits taking one of these abilities. The Mythic level is nearly always reserved for potent NPCs, as is the special Physical Immunity ability.

NOTE: Toughness abilities require you to define the circumstances under which the ability is not effective— this is represented by a feature attached to your toughness abilities called The Catch, defined below.

The Catch

Your Toughness abilities are limited in some way.

The Catch. You must specify something that bypasses your Toughness abilities. 

Some examples include:

Cold Iron

Holy Items or Symbols

Garlic

Judas’ Noose

Water

Fire

And so on…

Any Recovery powers you have are also affected by the Catch, and so will not speed up the recovery of an injury caused by something that bypasses the Catch.

  

Point Cost: 0

Inhuman Recovery

You have an incredible fortitude, able to exert yourself longer and heal faster than a normal human can.

Musts: You must attach this power to a Catch.

Total Recovery. You’re able to recover from physical harm that would leave a normal person permanently damaged. You can recover totally from any consequence (excluding extreme ones) with no other excuse besides time; simply waiting long enough will eventually heal you completely.

Fast Recovery. Out of combat, you may recover from physical damage as if they were one level lower in severity. So, you recover from Motally Wounded as though it was Incapacitated, etc. injuries reduced below Wounded are always removed by the beginning of a subsequent session.

Vigorous. You may skip a night of sleep with no ill effects. +2D to stamina checks.

Shrug It Off. In combat, once per combat sequence, you may clear away a Wounded level of damage as an action.

 

Point Cost: 2

Inhuman Toughness

You’re unusually tough and have incredible fortitude. You’re able to take more punishment than a normal human can.

Musts: You must attach this power to a Catch.

Hard to Hurt. You naturally have Armor: +1D vs. Physical damage

 

Point Cost: 2

Supernatural Recovery

You can exert yourself constantly without issue and, given just a little downtime, you can recover from particularly nasty wounds.

Musts: This ability replaces Inhuman Recovery. You must attach this power to a Catch.

Total Recovery. As with Inhuman Recovery: You’re able to recover from physical harm that would leave a normal person permanently damaged. You can recover totally from any consequence (excluding extreme ones) with no other excuse besides time; simply waiting long enough will eventually heal you completely.

Faster Recovery. Out of combat, you may recover from physical damages if they were two levels lower in severity. So, you recover from Mortally Wounded as though it was Wounded, etc. Injuries reduced to Wounded or below are always removed by the beginning of a subsequent session.

Unfaltering. You may skip a week of sleep with no ill effects. +3D to Stamina checks

It’s Nothing. Twice per combat sequence, you may clear away Wounded damage as an action.

Point Cost: 4

Supernatural Toughness

Your body can take punishments that would easily kill a normal person.

Musts: This ability replaces Inhuman Toughness. You must attach this power to a Catch.

Harder to Hurt. You naturally have Armor: +2D vs. Physical damage

 

Point Cost: 4

Mythic Recovery

You heal faster than anyone should be able to. Prometheus’ liver has fits of jealousy.

Musts: This ability replaces Inhuman or Supernatural Recovery. You must attach this power to a Catch.

Total Recovery. As with Inhuman Recovery: You’re able to recover from physical harm that would leave a normal person permanently damaged. You can recover totally from any damage (excluding extreme ones) with no other excuse besides time; simply waiting long enough will eventually heal you completely.

Really Amazingly Fast Recovery. Out of combat, you may recover from all physical damage before the beginning of the next scene after you receive them!

Indefatigable. You never need to sleep. +4D to Stamina checks

Ha! You Call That a Hit? Three times per combat sequence, you may clear away a Wounded damage result as an action.

 

Point Cost: 6

Mythic Toughness

Issues of the flesh rarely trouble you. Your body has, to a great extent, transcended the petty concerns of mortality.

Musts: This ability replaces Inhuman or Supernatural Toughness. You must attach this power to a Catch.

Nearly Impossible to Hurt. You naturally have Armor: 3D against all physical damage.

 

Point Cost: 6

Physical Immunity

You simply can’t take physical damage from anything normal.

Musts: You must attach this power to a Catch.

Physical Immunity. You take no damage from physical attacks and other harms, unless someone satisfies your Catch. This does not make you unusually tough to such attacks; if you want to be tough in all cases, even when your Physical Immunity is compromised, take Inhuman, Supernatural, or Mythic Toughness as well with a less susceptible Catch—or one of the Recovery abilities if you merely want to heal quickly when your invulnerability is pierced. 

Stacked Catch [0]. This second Catch may only affect how the Physical Immunity works, and it’s called a Stacked Catch. If you take a Stacked Catch, the first Catch covering the other Toughness powers does not include the Physical Immunity as one of the abilities covered.

 

Point Cost: 8

True Faith

The power of belief is very real and very palpable in the Dresdenverse. This means that unshakeable faith in a higher power—faith that the higher power will protect and guide you—has a potent magical effect when focused. These abilities don’t arise through training or innate talent; they’re the result of a life of strong faith, elevating the act of belief into a power of its own. As such, these powers are usually seen in seemingly ordinary people—but their power of belief has made them extraordinary and supernatural.

 

Bless This House

Your faith is proof against the invasion of the supernatural, enabling you to improve the strength of a threshold in a place where you reside.

Mechanics:

Bless This House. By your very presence in a place, you may increase the strength of its threshold—assuming you have anything to work with (a place without a threshold can’t get one). If your Willpower is higher than the threshold rating of a particular place, the threshold gets a +2D bonus while you are there. Multiple individuals who have this power can stack the effects, making a den of the faithful potentially very safe from supernatural incursion—unless someone’s so foolish as to invite a powerful supernatural creature in.

 

Point Cost: 1

Guide My Hand

By giving yourself over to your faith, you may sense the purpose the higher powers have in mind for you, guiding your hands (and your feet) to take you to where you are most needed.

Faith Manages. Given the time to pray for guidance and provided that your goals are pure and your actions are selfless, you may spend an Action Die to use your Willpower skill instead of any other skill for one roll. This effect cannot be used for any attacks or maneuvers, but it can be used to bypass other kinds of obstacles.

Spiritual Guidance. You have a semi-conscious awareness of where you are needed most. Usually, this simply means you are guided to the right place at the right time. If the GM agrees that such a circumstance is in effect, you need not spend an Action Die to stage a fortuitous arrival. Sometimes this might work in reverse, allowing an ally to show up where you already are.

 

Point Cost: 1

Holy Touch

When acting with a pure heart and selfless purpose, your very touch is harmful to creatures vulnerable to such things.

Musts: You must have taken Righteousness (see below) in order to take this ability.

Holy Touch. If you act in keeping with your calling, keeping a pure heart and selfless purpose, your touch can be imbued with a holy power. This could qualify your touch as satisfying a Catch (YS 185) for the Toughness powers of some creatures. Even if not, creatures that would be an offense to your faith take a STR+1D hit from being touched by you. You could use this with a Brawling, Martial Arts, or other attack, to have your hands act effectively as a weapon against such creatures. 

For example, suppose your character, with this ability, is attacked by a Black Court vampire—you might look at the GM and say, “Hm. I want to have this confrontation, but I don’t want to fight—what if I hit it with my Holy Touch, spend an Action Die, and try to force it to deal with me in a different way?” The GM says, “Okay, your touch burns the vampire and it jumps back, eyeing you cautiously. You still look like dinner, you can tell, but it’s listening—for now.”

 

Point Cost: 1

Righteousness

Your prayers have a profound effect.

Mechanics:

Potent Prayer. When pursuing your calling, you may make a prayer to guide your actions righteously—spend an Action Die to invoke your prayer and define a Divinely-inspired purpose you’re aiming at. While in effect, use your Willpower to complement any action that directly addresses your purpose.

Desperate Hour. In times of most desperate need, you may call out a prayer for aid from the Divine. Any time you are hit by an attack that requires you to take a severe or extreme damage to avoid being taken out, you may make such a prayer. You may also call upon this prayer in any scene where a friend, ally, or innocent victim is taken out, forced to concede, or otherwise suffer a lasting, terrible fate (like being crippled, kidnapped, etc.). Roll your Willpower as an attack against every non-allied, supernatural creature in the same area as you, which can be resisted by their Willpower. This attack does holy, physical damage that cannot be offset by any supernatural abilities (it automatically satisfies the Catch on any Toughness powers). You can only make one such prayer per scene.

 

Point Cost: 2

Vampirism

Vampirism abilities cover the need to feed, affecting creatures that feed on blood or emotions to gain their power. Not every creature with these abilities could be called a “vampire,” but the mechanism is much the same.

 

Blood Drinker

You can (and, with Feeding Dependency, must) drink blood. Feeding on lifeblood sustains you more fully than any other food might, and you’re particularly good at it. Anything short of freshly-spilled blood is less vital and, thus, less fulfilling; a fresh kill is like a three-course meal, while a bag from the blood bank is like an hors d’oeuvre—small and tasty, but ultimately leaving you hungry for the main course. You have no need to eat regular food (though you might still enjoy it).

Drink Blood. Any time you draw blood in close personal combat—with your claws or your teeth—you can ingest some of it to gain sustenance. Roll Brawling, Martial Arts, or another appropriate skill (Melee Combat, etc.) to make your victim bleed. (Usually a Wounded or higher damage result. Once you’ve done this successfully, gain a +1D to your attack on subsequent exchanges against the same target. If Damage made, then you can use The Taste of Death ability, see below.

The Taste of Death. Once per combat sequence, if you inflict enough damage to kill a victim from feeding, you may take an immediate “free” healing roll.

Blood Frenzy. When in the presence of fresh blood, you feel a nearly uncontrollable urge to attack. The GM is within their rights to call for Willpower rolls to resist the urge.

 

Point Cost: 1

Emotional Vampire

You can (and, with Feeding Dependency, see below, must) “eat” strong emotions—often lustful and passionate or otherwise dark ones. Purely positive emotions, such as love, are not an option. This very much follows the law of “you are what you eat”: those who feed on fear and despair tend to be fearsome creatures (or at least control freaks), while those who feed on lust tend to be consummate seducers and very sexually active.

As a baseline, whenever you’re near an “eligible” strong emotion, you may draw in mild sustenance from it. This just grazes the surface of the victim’s life force, maybe making them just a shade less vital in the long term, but it doesn’t have much of an immediate effect. Being in the presence of many people experiencing strong emotions—a mob during a panicked riot or an orgy at a “swingers” convention, for example has a multiplicative effect; as such, emotional vampires are nearly always drawn to such events.

Musts: You must choose the emotion associated with this power when you take it.

Mechanics:

Feeding Touch. Physical contact is where it’s at for a satisfying, long-term meal. When a victim is in the throes of an eligible emotion (usually easy for a White Court vampire using their Incite Emotion ability, see Psychic Abilities above), you may draw some of their life force out of them to sustain you. This is done as a psychological attack with an appropriate skill (usually Willpower). So a Willpower vs. Willpower roll off occurs, if the Vampire wins, they take the difference as points to power abilities or replenish stores of energy, while the target takes it as damage.  If you have the Incite Emotion ability, inciting the emotion and feeding on it may be done as a two actions. One to incite, the other to feed. On subsequent exchanges, if the emotion is still in place you may continue to feed, gaining a +1D on the roll. If doing more things at the same time as feeding, use Concentration to see if you are successful. 

The Taste of Death. Once per combat sequence, if you inflict enough damage to kill a victim from feeding, you may take an immediate “free” healing roll.

Feeding Frenzy. When in the presence of heightened emotions and willing victims, you feel a nearly uncontrollable urge to feed. The GM is within their rights to call for Willpower rolls to resist the urge.

 

Point Cost: 1

Feeding Dependency

You gain some of your supernatural abilities by feeding on blood, emotions, or something else (in the case of ghouls, massive quantities of meat). If you take this ability, it “attaches” to most if not all of your supernatural powers except for those from this category (at least 2 points’ worth).

Mechanics:

Hunger Is Stressful. You have an additional energy reserve, called Hunger. For every use of Supernatural abilities, the Willpower difficulty increases to resist giving into the need to feed. Each ability’s point cost becomes the difficulty number. If the player uses more than one ability per combat sequence, these numbers stack. As combat continues, these numbers accumulate every time an ability is used. Damage Taken also adds to the difficulty. Willpower rolls become increasingly difficult. Unless, during combat, the player feeds on a victim, which will alleviate the Hunger. Willpower rolls must be made at the start of each turn following power use, until the Hunger is alleviated.

Hunger Chart

The Hunger will be alleviated by feeding on enough points of damage to victim(s) that equals or surpasses the total points used and damage sustained. 

The Hunger will abate, gradually, without feeding, out of combat, at a rate of 2 points per hour. Assuming the player can keep Willpower going, without going into a feeding frenzy.

Example: Oskar, a White Court Vampire, encounters several bikers from a bar after he seduces one of their ‘old ladies’. Oskar uses his Inhuman Speed and Inhuman Strength to ward them off in the first round of combat. This uses 4 points, causing Oskar to feel a ‘Lil Hungry’, forcing him to roll Willpower against a Moderate Difficulty at the start of his next round of combat. Successful, he attempts to take out the remainder of bikers. Unfortunately, one of them actually gets the drop on him, causing 5 points of damage, Wounded 1. Now he is 9 points down, entering Very Hungry territory. The GM wants him to roll his Willpower, which is now up to a Difficult level. He fails. Oskar now turns on the bikers, unleashing his Incite Emotion power, going another 1 point down, for a total of 10, as he causes his assailant to feel very, um, excited. He then uses his Emotional Vampire power, costing another point, now total of 11, rolling his Willpower, a 28,  vs. his opponent’s Willpower, a roll of 8, and doing 20 points of damage. He absorbs everything from his assailant, killing him, bringing his point cost to 0, with 9 points extra, so he can use some of his abilities for “Free” until they are used or expire. Additionally, since he killed the biker he can make an immediate healing roll, as per the ‘The Taste of Death’ feature of the Emotional Vampire power. Successful, Oskar looks at the remaining bikers, with his eyes silver and bright, and smiles at them like a predator. “I really didn’t want to do that, ya? But now that I have, who’s next?” The bikers run away. 

Point Cost: 1

 

Tattoos of St. Giles

You’ve enlisted or allied with the Fellowship of St. Giles (OW89) to keep your Red Court vampirism in check. They’ve covered you in normally invisible tattoos that carry a magic potency, enabling you to better fight off the dark urges rising within you—and letting others know when you’re in jeopardy of giving in to your hunger.

Musts: The tattoos are only available to someone infected, but not yet turned, by Red Court vampirism. You lose this ability immediately if you ever turn and become a full Red Court vampire.

Mechanics:

A Warning to Others. Whenever you take hunger stress, as per the Hunger Chart above, your tattoos become visible, darkening into a black ink, then turning red when you’re at high risk of going into frenzy; (Very Hungry to Ravenous on the chart) this gives others a bonus to any perception checks to realize your situation. 

Biofeedback. The tattoos give you a boost when exercising your self-control. Whenever your tattoos are visible, you gain +1D to your Willpower when using it defensively.

Deeper Reserves. You can run longer and harder before really losing it. Think of it as a Hunger point reserve of 5 points before taking on Hunger points. 

Supernatural Player. The tattoos mark you as a member of the Fellowship when those “in the know” see them on you. If your tattoos are showing, gain a +1D to your Intimidation when dealing with such individuals.

Fellowship Training. The tattoos come with the Fellowship’s training program. Gain +1D to Lore when using it to identify supernatural threats. Increase this bonus to +2D when using Lore to identify signs of the Red Court at work.

 

Point Cost: 2