A campaign for Cypher System

by Michael Walton

Based on the CYOA "Soul Graft Battle Royale" by LordCirce

https://imgur.com/a/h5zbB4E

The Rules of the Game -- p. 2

Character Creation -- p. 8

Adversaries -- p. 76

Let the Games Begin -- p. 79

 THE RULES OF THE GAME
The rules of the tournament are simple, though the details vary with different iterations. A
number of humans are abducted from various worlds in the multiverse to compete in a battle
to the death. In order to make things interesting for the trillions of extradimensional viewers
the contestants are given equipment to help them survive and soul grafts -- mystical infusions
from the essence of supernatural beings -- to make them more capable combatants. Winning
is simple; all one has to do is reach the end of the contest without getting killed or subdued.
Winners receive fabulous prizes. Losers become fertilizer.

THE SETUP
Soulwars is not a stand-alone game; in order to play you will need the Cypher System core
rulebook. It would be helpful to have some other Cypher System sourcebooks as well -- in
particular The Strange Bestiary and Predation -- as sources for creatures found in the arena.

READY TO RUMBLE
Each tournament is different from the last in a variety of ways -- the venue, the number of
contestants and which universes they're taken from, the number and nature of hazards, etc.
What every tournament has in common with all of the others is that the contestants' basic
survival needs are always provided for (there's no sport in watching people untrained in and
unprepared for wilderness survival die of dehydration) and the contestants are always given
incentives to fight each other. The organizers find luxury food items, premium survival gear,
and protection from hazards to be powerful motivators. The most important difference is
whether a given iteration is an individual or team match.

Individual Tournaments
In an individual tournament each contestant ostensibly fights alone, though they are allowed
to form alliances. How temporary those alliances are depends on which type of individual
match is being played. Pitting gladiators or professional soldiers against people who aren't
combat trained is unsportsmanlike, so individual tourneys are either composed entirely of
contestants with similar levels of combat training or have aspects of play that require non-
combat skills.

Last One Standing: The most infamous matches are those in which there is only one prize
package -- albeit a really good one -- and only the sole surviving contestant can win it.

One Winner Per Prize: In the most common form of individual tourney multiple prizes are
offered but only one winner can earn each one. Once all other contenders for the chosen
prize have been eliminated the winner is usually free to withdraw from battle, but no prizes
are awarded until the end of the tournament.

Team Tournaments
Team tournaments group the contestants into teams who cooperate to ensure each other's
victories. Team tourneys are usually One Winner Per Prize, and therefore assemble teams
with only one member after each prize, but they can also be Last Team Standing matches in
which the last surviving team shares in an especially lavish prize. Teams are composed of
members with a variety of skills and talents -- combatants, survivalists, puzzle solvers, etc. --
so as to give them incentive to work with each other.
2
Prize Disclosure
Contestants aren't forbidden from disclosing which prize they've chosen -- in team matches,
members are encouraged to share their prize choices with each other -- but there's usually no
way to prove one's prize selection. Some matches feature prize tags that allow participants to
see what prizes other contestants have chosen, but they are always optional -- prize tags are
only visible to those who choose to "flag up" and show their own prize tags. Those who opt
out of showing their prize tags can keep their prize selections secret but can't see anyone
else's. Most matches allow prize tags to be toggled on and off.

Bonus Items
In the interest of keeping players alive long enough that the other players kill them before the
environment does the tournament organizers provide bonus items from time to time. A bonus
item can be anything from a pack of rations or canteen full of water to a piece of premium
gear or a cyhper. Bonus items are typically given as rewards for entertaining play or placed
so that obtaining them requires conflict with other contestants. In the latter case the item's
position is always clearly marked. Bonus items are only hidden if the search for them is part
of the viewers' fun... for example, hiding antidote from a contestant who has been poisoned.
The general area where the item is hidden might be marked, but that's as much of a hint as
the contestants get. Bonus items are never given as rewards for kills -- the organizers feel
that the benefits of making a kill are reward enough for that -- but one might be awarded for
making a kill in a particularly spectacular or clever manner.

Hazards
The other contestants aren't the only dangers in a Soul Graft Battle Royale; every tournament
also features additional hazards. At least two of the following will be present.

Adverse Weather: The game area -- at least, part of it -- is periodically subjected to weather
conditions that can hinder movement, limit visibility, or do damage outright. Electrical storms
(often with suspiciously accurate lightning), mini-tornadoes, earthquakes, poisonous fog, and
corrosive precipitation have all made appearances. There is usually either just one kind of
adverse weather per match or multiple types that are restricted to specific areas of the playing
field. A piece of gear that grants protection from a weather hazard or gives enough warning of
it for a contestant to find shelter is a common bonus item.

Dangerous Terrain: Most arenas have areas where the terrain hinders fast movement or limits
line-of-sight distance -- all that takes is swamp or dense forest -- but topography that prevents
contestants from leaving the game area is universal. Many playing fields have dangers such
as drowning hazards and dead-falls, and obstacles can serve to funnel contestants into more
serious hazards. It's a rare arena that features terrain that can deal actual damage, but it's
never wise to be careless around stalactites or take uncovered flames into a tunnel that might
contain explosive gas. Flora are also part of this category; a hedge of thorns or a wait-a-bit
tree can limit movement, while a large carnivorous plant can present a more direct danger.

Hostile Fauna: Most arenas have beasts in them. Sometimes they're part of the food supply,
but other times they are among the hazards (nor are the two mutually exclusive). Mundane
animals are the most common, but paranormal beasts, cryptids, and you-wish-they-were-
mythical monsters are almost always among the higher level hazards. Things that aren't
strictly fauna, such as constructs and elementals, are included in this category. Bonus items
3
that repel such creatures or hide one's presence from them are highly prized.

Murderous Architecture: An arena with areas that are actually indoors (not just underground)
might feature hazards of this type. Murderous architecture basically means traps -- collapsing
rooms, dart throwers, pitfalls, and so on. Such are often the primary hazards in and around
structures. If there is a bonus item that gives clues to the locations and/or natures of the traps
within a building expect there to be only one... and for all of the contestants to be told about it.

Restless Natives: The contestants aren't necessarily the only people in the gaming area... and
with all of history and an entire multiverse to draw from modern humans aren't necessarily the
only people. It's equally possible to encounter a horde of Mongols or orcs, a Roman legion, a
tribe of wood elves, a squad of space marines, or a coven of witches. Players aren't required
to fight any humanoids they meet. It might be possible to avoid them (if they don't have tech
or magic that defeats stealth) or to negotiate with them (if you speak their language). A much-
needed bonus item might be something the "natives" don't want to part with, however, and if
it's possible for you to negotiate with the humanoids and obtain their help it's equally possible
for your opponents to do so. The organizers always make sure that any humanoids present
on the playing field are numerous, well-armed, and given incentive to regard the contestants
as hostile.
The sub-category of restless natives that presents the greatest threat only appears in team
matches because it's extremely unlikely that individuals could deal with such a hazard. Every
so often, when the organizers need to set up an especially tough contest, the final boss fight
will be against one or more former contestants. Bonus points if the match is a replay of the
campaign and the bosses are former player characters.

Kill Count
As befits a grand death match contestants can increase their power by making kills. In order
to gain a kill a contestant must do one of the following:
 Actively participate as part of a group that kills a creature at least two levels higher than
their current tier;
 Deal significant damage to a creature whose level is at least one higher than their current
tier, even if someone else strikes the deathblow;
 Strike the deathblow on a creature whose level is at least equal to their current tier;
 Strike the deathblow on multiple creatures whose levels are lower than their tier -- two
creatures of one level lower, five of two levels lower, or ten of three levels lower. Killing
creatures more than three levels below the character's tier gains no benefit. All kills must
be made during the same scene;
 Accept the surrender of a soul-grafted combatant; knocking someone out and binding
them or otherwise rendering them helpless counts as taking a surrender.

A character gains a power-up upon making each kill, and the benefits become available
immediately. Each of these benefits can be taken once per tier.

Captured Artifact: You transfer one of the artifacts bound to the victim to be bound to you at its
current level of evolution. You can loot an artifact from a dead body, of course, but if you do
so without using this power-up the artifact reverts to its base level.

Evolved Artifact: You may evolve an artifact bound to you to its next level. You can spend
power-ups on this benefit once per tier per artifact -- if you have multiple artifacts bound to
4
you you can evolve each of them once per tier.

Improved Graft: You may take one of the upgrades for your graft.

Power Shift: A power shift is a permanent level of Effort that applies to a category of activities;
it reduces the difficulty of relevant tasks one step. You can apply a power shift to any of the
following, and you may have more than one power shift in each area. You get one power shift
for free at tier 3.
 Accuracy: Attack rolls, hand-eye coordination;
 Charisma: Deception, performance, persuasion, seduction;
 Dexterity: Acrobatics, balance, jumping, stealth;
 Intelligence: Crafting, Intellect defense, knowledge skills, navigation;
 Resilience: Endurance, Might defense, resisting pain;
 Speed: Initiative, running, Speed defense;
 Strength: Climbing, feats of strength, increased damage (+1 per shift with melee attacks
that rely on brute force rather than finesse).

Surrender
Losing a match doesn't necessarily mean dying. Someone who is about to lose can choose
to surrender before a deathblow is struck, and if the victor accepts that win still counts as a kill.
The downsides of surrendering are that the loser gives up part of their power (usually, but not
always, temporarily) and surrendering to someone who is going for the same prize that you're
after makes you ineligible to win that prize. The obvious upside is not being killed.
When you surrender you can reduce your power in either of two ways. The first is that your
highest currently active tier in your focus -- including any upgrades or power shifts associated
with it -- becomes inactive for 12 hours. If the highest active tier is tier 1 this reduces you to
mortal levels of ability for the duration. The second method, which is less risky in the short
term but involves a long term loss of power, is to give the victor one of the artifacts bound to
you. The artifact becomes bound to the victor at its current level of evolution.
By this point it is inevitable that a certain kind of player will have considered the possibility
of accepting an opponent's surrender, taking the benefits, and killing them anyway. There is
no physical agency in the tournament to prevent this. However, the organizers consider such
conduct unsporting and punish it accordingly. Any contestant who reneges on accepting a
surrender suffers a loss of power as if they had surrendered to their victim and is disqualified
from winning their chosen prize.

Winning
There wouldn't be much point to the tournament if there were no prizes. Every match offers
different prizes according to what the organizers have been able to obtain lately. The prizes
below are from the original CYOA. They can be used as is for the initial session, but GMs are
encouraged to come up with additional prizes for replays of the campaign. Each prize should
be a one-of-a-kind item or so rare that it only appears once in multiple replays.

Bodyguard Doll: The "doll" is a tall mechanical woman made of silvery metal. The mechanism
is incredibly durable, capable of changing its shape, and armed with a vast array of magitech
weapons and sensors. A bodyguard doll is fully sapient and, once imprinted, completely loyal
to its owner. One such doll is easily a match for a soul-grafted individual, and with backup
from its owner and its owner's lesser minions can challenge foes as potent as lesser gods.

5
Codex Arcanus: This grimoire was penned by a circle of archmagi and contains the sum of
their mystic knowledge. The early chapters cover basic information suitable for apprentices
while the sections near the end describe world-level magic. The book adds new pages to the
appropriate section when the owner wants to make additions. The other enchantment on the
book obscures the pages until the reader has enough mental discipline to safely handle what
they're reading. Owning the Codex Arcanus is justification for learning any spell or ritual the
GM is willing to allow. It also contains a wealth of information about preternatural flora and
fauna, magical materials, supernatural beings, and places of power.

Fountain of Youth: There is only one of these per world, and contrary to popular belief it can
easily be moved. In its mobile form the fountain is a sphere of glassy material about the size
of a grapefruit. Infusing the sphere with magical energy (i.e. an Intellect point) produces a
dose of liquid with healing powers up to and including fully healing someone who is near
death (in game terms, four recovery rolls in one turn) or ending the effects of a disease or
toxin. When used on a healthy living being the water reverses biological age by up to 10
years per dose until the creature reaches its prime. Immersing the sphere in water converts
all of it into the healing liquid... which is why the common usage is to place the sphere in a
spring or fountain. The fountain of youth can't affect a body of water larger than a pond. The
current owner can condense the fountain to sphere form and call it to their hand while within
short range of it. The fountain of youth cannot be stolen while the owner lives; it must either
be given freely or looted from the owner's corpse.

Gate Key: There are many of these items throughout the multiverse, but only a handful of
them in each universe. A gate key takes the form of an armband embedded with jewels of
various sizes and colors. A person with enough magical power -- or someone with a soul
graft -- can open a portal to a world in a different star system or even a different universe.
Existing gates can be opened up to three times per hour, and it's possible to open a quick-
and-dirty portal once a day by tearing a hole in spacetime. A gate key can also detect existing
dimensional gates. An improvised portal heals within a week or two... but during that time
anyone or anything can stumble through the gate and appear elsewhere. The guardians of
the continua take a dim view of anyone who uses these items so carelessly.

Mystery Box: Many tournaments feature a prize whose exact nature isn't revealed until after it
is awarded. The mystery box is always just as cool as the other prizes -- sometimes more so
-- with the restriction that it is not directly destructive. It might be something with otherwise
world-changing possibilities, however. As a general guideline the mystery box should either
have versatility equal to that of the Codex Arcanus or do one thing extremely well. A brave
GM might allow a player with no tendencies toward power gaming to define their own prize
once they've won it.

Soul Grafter: This complex device is the instrument used to create soul grafts. With this and
a bit of essence from a supernatural creature you can give a graft to another being. When
given to a humanoid this results in a person with paranormal powers. Adding a soul graft to
an animal or plant creates a chimera, while a graft grants a soul to a non-sentient construct
and makes it a truly living being. Taking essence from a willing donor is time-consuming but
painless. An unwilling donor has to have a major portion of its body mass rendered down to
concentrated materia. With practice it's possible to create grafts using non-magical creatures
-- grafting human essence into an animal can create a sapient animal, while grafting animal
essence into a human might make a sexy catgirl. If you're willing to risk the subject exploding
6
in a flash of mana you can add a second soul graft to someone who already has one. The kit
comes with three essences of the winner's choosing and an instruction manual that explains
how to perform a graft from prepared essence. There is only a basic outline for how to add a
second graft. Perhaps the Codex Arcanus has more details?

Treasure Chest: This prize isn't so simple as a massive chest full of gold, jewels, and other
valuables. It can be completely emptied and will refill itself within a month using wealth that is
lost or stolen from somewhere else in the multiverse. The chest produces 1d6 million dollars
worth of valuables with every refill. A second enchantment, a minor greed charm, makes
others more likely to accept goods that came from the chest within the last week as payment -
- you have an asset on tasks for using wealth from the treasure chest as a payment or bribe.
The third enchantment on the chest makes the wealth tax-free.

The Venue: It's not uncommon for the tournament location itself to be awarded as a prize to a
victor. The new owner receives a limited gate key -- usually a ring, bracelet, or choker -- that
lets them access the arena from their current location on their origin world (or whatever world
they're returned to after the games), an interdimensional locus, or an extant dimensional gate.
Any surviving lifeforms in the venue become non-hostile to the new master and their allies
unless attacked but are automatically hostile to intruders. If the owner's soul graft has a lair
option that lair expands to take up the entire venue. At the owner's discretion the arena can
be set to draw in random creatures from nearby universes, either as prey to fight or eat or as
"wandering monsters" to enhance the security. This feature can be toggled on or off at will.
The tournament organizers sometimes arrange to use a venue awarded this way for future
contests... and the owner is the final boss.

7
 CHARACTER CREATION
Each character in a Cypher System campaign has a descriptor, a type, and a focus. The
description of a character can be summed up as "a [adjective] [noun] who [verbs]." Creating
a character for Soulwars follows a five-step process.

Step 1: Formulate a character concept. Who is the character? What's their nationality? Their
ethnicity? Their sex? Their gender? What did they do for a living before being abducted for
the contest? What are their likes and dislikes? Height and weight? Hair and eye color?
What is their name? The concept should guide the player's decisions for the following steps.

Step 2: Choose a type; this is the noun in the [adjective] [noun] who [verbs]. See the list of
types on pp. 22-63 of the Cypher System core rulebook.

Step 3: Choose a descriptor; this is the adjective in the [adjective] [noun] who [verbs]. See
the list of descriptors on pp. 64-89 of the Cypher System core rulebook. You can also use
descriptors from other Cypher System sourcebooks with the GM's permission.

Step 4: Choose a focus; this is the verb in the [adjective] [noun] who [verbs]. You may only
use the foci found in this book or, if the GM allows it, a focus created or modified specifically
to be used with this campaign.

Step 5: Choose gear. Soulwars characters won't have much in the way of gear, at least when
they first start out. The original Soul Graft Battle Royale CYOA awarded two artifacts, but this
campaign modifies that somewhat. Each PC gets to choose one artifact and two pieces of
battle gear -- either an armor and a weapon or two weapons. Two armors is acceptable if one
of them is a shield. Every contestant is given a full canteen, a day's rations, a blanket, and a
backpack. Each contestant also receives a random cypher; use the manifest cypher table on
p. 344 of the Cypher System core rulebook.
The contest organizers always provide a selection of weapons both archaic and modern
(futuristic weapons only appear as bonus items). They also provide a full load of ammunition
for ranged weapons, but any reloads must be obtained in the arena.
The list of artifacts below is from the original CYOA. A GM who doesn't mind a bit of extra
work can use these as examples for creating additional artifacts.

Artifacts
An artifact is at its base level of power when first obtained. As the character makes kills they
can devote power-ups to evolving the artifact to make it more useful. Evolving an artifact to
level 1 binds it to you. A soul-bound artifact can be dismissed to an extradimensional pocket
or summoned at will, and it will eventually return if lost or destroyed -- for example, when the
character sleeps a broken artifact appears next to them fully repaired before they wake up.
The bonuses and effects of each of an artifact's levels are cumulative unless the description
specifies that a bonus increases; in that case the larger bonus replaces the smaller one.
Artifacts can also be gained from fallen opponents. An artifact taken as part of a surrender
transfers at its current level of power, while an artifact looted from a corpse reverts to its base
level. You may have a number of bound artifacts up to your current tier +1.
If an artifact grants training or specialization in a skill you lose that skill when you lose the
artifact unless you have spent XP to retain the skill.
8
Alchemist's Flask: This sturdy stoppered flask contains twice as much liquid as its apparent
volume (about 1 liter) would allow. Looking through the opening grants knowledge of the
alchemical properties of anything viewed through the bottom.
 Level 1: Holding the flask informs you of the nature and effects of whatever liquid the flask
contains. Peering through the top gives you a hint about the possible effects of adding an
ingredient viewed through the bottom.
 Level 2: The flask now holds 4x as much liquid as its apparent volume, and the potency of
any alchemical mixture contained in the flask for at least 12 hours is increased. When
using the flask to create an alchemical mixture you can emphasize certain traits while
suppressing others -- for example, increasing a medicine's curative effect while reducing
side effects (or vice versa).
 Level 3: The flask now holds 6x as much liquid as its apparent volume and can store up
to three liquids at a time; the magic of the flask keeps the contents separate from each
other and dispenses the one desired on command. It now takes only 6 hours for the flask
to increase the potency of an alchemical mixture it contains.

Belt of the Bold: While wearing this belt your ordinary clothing grants the same protection as
light armor with no Speed penalty.
 Level 1: Your protection increases to the equivalent of medium armor, and your strength is
doubled for the purpose of lifting and carrying.
 Level 2: Your protection increases to the equivalent of heavy armor, and you reduce the
difficulty of resisting mental or emotional influence one step.
 Level 3: Your protection now applies to Speed and Intellect damage.

Broken Hourglass: This non-functional hourglass has 50 grains of sand in the bottom. The
sand won't fall out no matter how the glass is shaken or turned. While the hourglass is in your
possession you know the time of day to within five minutes, and you gain training in initiative
tasks if you don't already have it.
 Level 1: You can spend a grain of sand to enter "bullet time" for one turn. During the turn
in which you do this you can take two actions. You can also smash the glass to freeze
time for everyone but you and any allies you choose to exempt for one round per 5 grains
of sand remaining. You may spend 5 grains of sand per ally you wish to exempt from this
effect. The hourglass will repair itself from being smashed at the end of your next 10-hour
rest but won't refill with sand.
 Level 2: The hourglass replenishes one grain of sand every four hours, and the capacity
increases to 80 grains.
 Level 3: You can use the freeze time effect without breaking the glass; you just spend the
grains. Sand now replenishes at the rate of one grain per hour, but after freezing time the
glass doesn't start to regain sand for 24 hours.

Charming Mask: While wearing this plain white mask you gain training in pleasant social
interaction if you don't already have it. If you are trained you gain specialization instead, and
if you are already specialized you have an asset on pleasant social interaction tasks.
 Level 1: You see the general emotional state of an intelligent being as a colorful aura --
red for anger, orange for desire, yellow for fear, green for envy, blue for sadness, or
purple for happiness. You can shift the mask to appear as some other object that would
be worn on the face (i.e. a pair of glasses or a headband).
 Level 2: The aura sight can now display nuances of emotion as combination colors -- for
9
 example, a green-and-orange aura for romantic rivalry or a red-on-yellow aura for fear
camouflaged by aggression. You can now shift the mask to appear as any item that is
worn on the head such as a hat or an earring.
 Level 3: You can share your aura sight with someone for one scene by touching them.
While wearing the mask you now have an asset on tasks related to persuasion or oration.
The mask can be shifted into the shape of any worn item.

Clear Mind Circlet: This metal circlet is studded with gems. While wearing it you have an
asset on any task to recall information or resist emotional influence.
 Level 1: You can detect psychic impressions on an object or area. If the echoes were left
by a strong emotion you detect that emotion. If the impression is the result of prolonged
occupancy you get a picture of the person who left that impression. The resistance to
influence now includes psychic illusions.
 Level 2: You detect the presence of living minds within short range, and you can use this
sense to target a being you can't see. You can also communicate telepathically with any
beings of your choice within short range -- you can send, but the recipient(s) can't reply
unless they are also telepathic.
 Level 3: Your telepathy now extends to long range, and any beings you communicate with
can send replies. Your resistance to influence now includes mind control.

Clockwork Pets: This item is a set of six clockwork animals sized to fit in the palm of one's
hand. The clockwork pets understand any words spoken or written to them by their owner but
can only respond in clicks, whirs, and beeps. The pets' intelligence and ability to understand
orders is roughly equal to that of a well-trained dog. Each one is a level 1 creature.
 Level 1: A pet can, over the course of a scene, reshape itself to be optimized for a specific
type of non-combat task (breaking and entering, crafting/repair, sabotage, surveillance,
etc.). The pet becomes trained in that task when working on its own or provides an asset
for that task when assisting you or one of your allies. A pet can transmit the memory of
anything it has seen or heard during the last 24 hours while in contact with you.
 Level 2: A pet can reshape itself as a full-round action and can now optimize itself for
unarmed combat. Two or more pets can combine themselves into a larger composite
creature with a level equal to the number of pets combined -- this counts as reshaping.
 Level 3: A pet can reshape itself to produce a basic magical effect appropriate to its
current form -- a distracting buzz for an insect form, an intimidating howl for a canine form,
darkness generation for a squid form, etc. The effect is more powerful (lasts longer
and/or has greater range) if two or more pets are combined.

Fletcher's Bow: This bow is perfectly comfortable in the user's hand -- it never causes blisters
or splinters -- and the wielder's vision improves to 20/20 while the bow is in hand. Drawing
back the string summons a basic wooden arrow that can be fired immediately, given to an ally,
or stored in the included quiver (up to 12 arrows). These arrows disappear after being fired.
 Level 1: You can see the path that the arrow will take; you have an asset on attack rolls
with the bow. You gain a +1 bonus to perception rolls while the bow is on your person.
 Level 2: You can place any thin, straight item into the quiver or in contact with the bow to
turn it into a single-use magic arrow with qualities appropriate to the object's nature. For
example, you can use a length of vine to create an entangling arrow or an icicle to make a
freezing arrow. Your created arrows are now of higher quality and you can customize
their appearance. The difficulty of perception tasks decreases one step. The quiver now
holds up to 18 arrows, and when you reach for an arrow it automatically gives you the one
10
 you want.
 Level 3: You can perceive the space within short range of the arrow's path as if you were
present there. Arrows created by pulling back the bowstring can be fired as magical force
bolts; they can deal your choice of Speed or Intellect damage. The quiver can now hold
up to 24 arrows.

Flying Dagger: This light weapon can be directed somewhat when thrown -- you have an
asset on attack rolls for throwing it -- and holding the sheath gives you the distance and
direction to the dagger if you can't see it.
 Level 1: You can attack targets around corners or behind obstacles; ignore modifiers for
the target's cover. After throwing the flying dagger you can sense its surroundings out to
immediate range as if you were there.
 Level 2: For 2 Might you can increase the damage of the next successful attack to that of
a medium weapon. For 2 Intellect you can create a pair of illusory duplicates that fly
alongside the dagger and make it harder to dodge or parry; you gain an asset on your
next attack roll. You can apply both effects. You can sense the area within short range of
the dagger after throwing it.
 Level 3: You can create five duplicates of the dagger. For 3 Intellect you gain two assets
on your next attack roll, or for 3 Might the damage of your next hit upgrades to that of a
heavy weapon. You can apply both effects. As an action you can switch places with the
dagger or call it to your hand if it is within long range.

Four Elements Shield: This shield grants extra resistance to elemental attacks (+1 armor) and
can gain a charge of elemental power from successfully blocking an elemental attack. The
shield holds one charge. You can expend that charge to fire an elemental attack (air, earth,
fire, or water) as a light weapon with short range.
 Level 1: The shield now holds up to four charges. You can expend a charge to add an
elemental effect to the shield (i.e. trapping a bubble of breathable air, igniting to deal fire
damage to attackers, repelling water vapor to disperse fog, or "petrifying" it to hang in
mid-air) or spend two charges to increase the elemental attack to a medium weapon or
increase its range to long.
 Level 2: The shield can now use the elements of light and darkness and hold up to 10
charges. Ambient elemental energy gives the shield one charge per hour.
 Level 3: The shield can combine elements to create para-elements (for example, air + fire
= lighting, air + water = ice, or air + earth = dust) and hold up to 20 charges. You can
spend multiple charges to increase the damage and the range of the elemental attack --
for example, for four charges you can fire a heavy weapon attack out to long range.

Grasping Glove: While worn this glove can create an invisible copy of the hand wearing it
within short range. The hand can't move from where it's created, but it can rotate in place
enough to manipulate objects or controls. You don't have to gesture to control the hand, but
you do feel the feedback from any force applied to it.
 Level 1: You can move the hand within immediate range of where it was created, and you
don't suffer any ill effects from using the hand to grasp sharp, hot, or otherwise dangerous
objects. You can feel textures through the projected hand with enough sensitivity to read
normal text as if it were Braille.
 Level 2: You can create up to three invisible hands within long range and move them
around freely within that space. These hands have three times your strength for the
purpose of lifting and carrying.
11
  Level 3: You can create up to eight invisible hands with five times your strength. Anything
touched by these hands counts as being touched by you for the purpose of abilities that
require contact with the target. You can use the location of any of the hands in place of
your actual location for the purpose of calculating range to the target of a ranged attack.

Hedgy Cloak: The hedgy cloak appears to be made of overlapping leaves and vines. While
wearing it you have an asset on stealth tasks while among plants or in natural terrain.
 Level 1: The stealth bonus now extends to magical detection, and you can move stealthily
while maintaining a normal pace.
 Level 2: You reduce the difficulty of tasks to resist magical effects that don't do direct
damage one step, and you can maintain stealth while running. You can grow mundane
(but still alchemically active) plants by planting them on the cloak; it takes about three
days to grow a plant from seed to maturity.
 Level 3: You can now grow magical plants on the cloak. As a full-round action you can
merge the cloak with plant life within short range in order to animate and control those
plants for one scene -- you can't move while using this ability.

Pouch of Plenty: Yeah, it's a pouch. With a spigot on the side. The interior holds enough
bland (but filling and nutritious!) bread and jerky to provide a day's rations for one person
while the spigot dispenses a comparable amount of clean water. The pouch refills every
morning at sunrise.
 Level 1: You can add edible material to the pouch, up to 10x its apparent volume, and it
will remain fresh until removed. Anything that is inedible (or poisoned) will be ejected.
 Level 2: Material from the pouch can be combined into various dishes (which of course
makes it taste better) or drinks. Food added to the pouch is multiplied 3x, but it can't be
removed from the pouch and multiplied by adding it again.
 Level 3: Water from the pouch now acts as an antiseptic, and with repeated applications it
can "wash" away curses. Eating a full meal from the pouch gives you a +2 bonus to your
next recovery roll -- you can do this three times per day.

Snarling Club: This heavy weapon growls when you use an action to whirl it overhead.
Enemies within short range must succeed on an Intellect task or become afflicted with fear
(+1 step to all difficulties until you have been wounded).
 Level 1: The club can now growl when you swing it, even as part of an attack, and a
successful attack on a creature affected by the growl deals +2 damage. The club gains
the ability to speak, though its vocabulary and intelligence are quite limited.
 Level 2: The club growls when you merely raise it in the air; tasks to resist the fear are
modified one step in your favor, and the effect lasts for one scene. You can now use the
growl to incite anger or shock.
 Level 3: Merely having the club on your person creates a passive fear aura; tasks to resist
fear are modified one step in your favor for your enemies within short range. You can
focus the effect on a single target by pointing the club at them; if they fail to resist the fear
they are paralyzed until the end of your next turn. The club develops a full (rather gruff)
personality that sometimes offers you helpful hints about how to attack effectively -- with a
successful Intellect task you gain an asset on your next tactics task.

Sparkflint Ring: As an action you can cause this simple metal ring to shoot out a jet of sparks
to light one campfire, up to three torches, or up to a dozen candles within immediate range.
You must let the ring cool down for at least three rounds before using it again.
12
  Level 1: The range increases to short and you gain a bonus of -2 to fire damage. Your
vision extends into the infrared; you can see heat sources.
 Level 2: For 2 Speed you can shoot a ball of fire as a medium weapon with short range.
Your thermal vision is now sufficiently precise that you can tell what a creature is, in
general terms, by its heat signature -- for example, undead register as humanoid but you
know they're not living humanoids.
 Level 3: You can shape flame within short range and even form it into solid objects. You
are immune to fire damage from non-supernatural sources.

Staff of the Scales: You can control the weight of this wooden staff with a thought. You attack
with it as if it were a light weapon, but it does damage as a medium weapon.
 Level 1: You can wield the weapon telekinetically at up to short range. If you use the staff
to parry a physical blow it stores part of the energy; your next successful attack with the
staff deals +1 damage.
 Level 2: You can increase or decrease the weight of an object touching the staff by a
factor of up to six. You can store up to five charges from parried blows, each of which is
good for +1 damage, and expend any number of them to increase the damage of an
attack with the staff.
 Level 3: You can increase or decrease gravity within short range of the staff by a factor of
up to 10, and you can make this effect selectively ignore you and your allies. You can
expend a stored kinetic charge as a ranged medium weapon with short range.

Star Cap: While this black hat with shiny dots is in your possession you require less sleep;
you need only five hours to benefit from a 10-hour rest. Your dreams also provide hints about
future dangers -- at the beginning of the session, or when you first obtain this item, you can
roll a d20 once. At any point during the session you can replace any one d20 roll made by
you, or a roll made by the GM that targets you, with that pre-roll.
 Level 1: You can restore yourself with a brief meditation session; you gain an extra 10-
minute recovery each day. At the end of this meditation you can make another pre-roll
whether nor not you have used the pre-roll from the artifact's base ability.
 Level 2: You now have more detailed future visions that give you specific warnings.
Whenever you replace a roll with one of your pre-rolls you modify the difficulty of that task
one step in your favor.
 Level 3: You no longer need sleep; you gain the benefit of a 10-hour rest after five hours
of no more than light activity. You make three pre-rolls at session start.

Stinky Cheese Wheel: This potent-smelling wheel of cheese is large and cumbersome -- it
barely fits in your backpack -- and you can forget about hiding from creatures that track by
scent while carrying this. Monsters are attracted to the smell of the cheese; you can lure
them in to be killed, or you can befriend one by feeding it a bite of cheese. There is enough
cheese for 12 bites. A level 1-3 creature will stay with you and fight alongside you for up to a
week if treated well, a level 4-5 creature will stay with you for up to three days, and a level 6-7
creature will stay with you for a day. At the end of that time the monster will leave peacefully if
not provoked. The cheese can't help you befriend level 8+ creatures but it still attracts them.
Monsters can smell the cheese from up to a long distance away.
 Level 1: The mold cultures within the cheese produce more cheese over time; the wheel
regenerates one "bite" every three days.
 Level 2: If you eat a bite of cheese you can communicate with other humanoids despite
any language barrier. Getting them to listen is still on you.
13
  Level 3: The wheel now regenerates one "bite" per day, and the length of time a monster
will remain friendly to you is doubled.

Storm Goat Boots: While wearing these boots your running speed is tripled and the difficulty
of tasks to maintain your balance is reduced one step.
 Level 1: The boots generate thunder and lightning on impact. The distance and height of
your jumps is doubled, and your kicks are medium weapons that deal lightning damage.
 Level 2: You can move a short distance and attack without making an athletics check, or
move a long distance and attack after a successful athletics check. You can stomp the
ground to make a shockwave attack on every creature within immediate range.
 Level 3: You can run on water or up a vertical surface, and your running speed increases
to quintuple. Your kicks are now heavy weapons and the range of your shockwave attack
increases to short.

Sunshield Scarf: While wearing this brightly colored woolen scarf you are immune to heat
injury and hypothermia.
 Level 1: Natural weather can no longer harm you or impede your movement. This
includes immunity to effects like snow blindness or windblown grit but doesn't include
direct damage effects such as lightning or tornado-driven debris.
 Level 2: You reduce the difficulty for resisting unnatural weather effects by one step, and
you have +2 armor protection against damage from any effect that can be classified as
weather. You can predict natural weather up to (your current tier x 2) hours in advance.
 Level 3: You can extend the scarf's protection to allies within short range, and you can
predict natural weather up to (current tier) days in advance. Your emotions influence the
weather somewhat -- for example, your sadness might produce a light rain while your
anger summons peals of thunder.

Sword of the Guide: The tip of this medium weapon vibrates when you point it at something
you would find "interesting" (read: useful, valuable, or dangerous).
 Level 1: While wielding this weapon you become practiced with one-handed swords. You
can attune the vibration to indicate targets that match a single word that you speak aloud.
The detection range is a short distance.
 Level 2: You now gain training in one-handed swords if you don't already have it. You can
attune the vibration with a mental command or image, the detection range increases to a
long distance, and you know the approximate distance to the target.
 Level 3: As an action you can set the sword to fight by itself as if you were holding it. The
sword remains within immediate range of you and makes one attack on a target of your
choosing at the end of every one of your turns for one scene. You can command the
sword to change targets instead of taking part of an action to move.

Traveler's Book: This leather-bound atlas contains basic maps of the playing field as well as
descriptions of its various biomes and notable locations. There are also write-ups of potential
hazards (i.e. unusual weather conditions) and danger ratings for the local flora and fauna.
 Level 1: The information in the book becomes more detailed and automatically updates
every day when new hazards appear. When you consult the book it opens to the exact
page that has the information you need.
 Level 2: The book now contains handwritten margin notes from past contestants or, if no
previous contests have been held in this arena, from the tournament's commentator(s).
Maps automatically update every three days to reflect changes in the terrain or territory
14
 being claimed by contestants.
 Level 3: Updates for new hazards now occur immediately, and maps update every day.
There are now margin notes from multiple contestants, and they are color coded to let
you know how far each one has progressed in the tournament.

Battle Gear (Armor)

If you are not practiced in a kind of armor the modifier to Speed effort increases by +1.
 Light Armor (cloth, leather, padding): +1 armor; +1 to Speed effort costs
 Medium Armor (bulletproof vest, chainmail, thick hide): +2 armor; +2 to Speed effort costs
 Heavy Armor (plate, scale mail): +3 armor; +3 to Speed effort costs
 Shield: grants an asset on defense tasks to parry attacks (2 assets for a tower shield or
riot shield)

Battle Gear (Weapons)

If you are not practiced with a weapon the difficulty of attacking with it increases one step.
 Light Weapon (unarmed; one-handed and/or easily concealable): 2 damage, attack
difficulty -1 step
 Medium Weapon (any weapon that isn't light or heavy): 4 damage
 Heavy Weapon (requires two hands, too big to be concealed): 6 damage

FOCI
Each type of soul graft is expressed as a focus. When comparing the progression to the graft
progression of the CYOA tiers 1 and 2 have a one-to-one correspondence, focus tier 3 is graft
tier 2 upgraded, focus tier 4 is graft tier 3, focus tier 5 is graft tier 4, and focus tier 6 is the
graft's immortality/life extension option plus an upgrade.
Some of the foci below grant a fourth stat pool, the exact nature of which varies according
to the nature of the graft. Unless the focus description specifically states otherwise these
alternate pools can't be used to soak damage; they're only good for activating or expending
Effort on focus abilities. Might, Speed, and Intellect Edge can't reduce expenditures from
alternate pools, but for 4 XP a player may purchase Edge specific to the alternate pool. The
limits for maximum Edge at the character's current tier apply to alternate Edge as well.
Skill training from foci stacks with skill training from descriptors or types; if you receive
training in a skill from two of those sources you become specialized in that skill.
Several foci grant abilities with area effects. Your AoE abilities don't affect you or any
minions under your control. Your allies -- both PCs and NPCs -- have no such protection
unless the ability description gives you that option.
When spending XP on character advancement you may spend 4 XP to purchase one of
the upgrades for your focus -- this counts as purchasing a type ability. You must follow all tier
restrictions when selecting an upgrade.

Metaphysical Languages
Each focus grants knowledge of one of the metaphysical languages at tier 1. In addition to
enabling private conversations with others who know it a metaphysical language provides a
number of benefits and one potential drawback. Learning a metaphysical language other
than the one associated with your focus requires an in-game teacher and costs 4 XP.
 You can communicate with a class of creatures for which the language has affinity;
 For actions made easier by knowing that language apply a modifier of +1 to relevant dice
rolls. This is balanced by a -1 modifier to dice rolls for actions made more difficult by
knowing that language;
15
  You can perform rites (see Rites below);
 You gain a True Name. Your soul inherently resists any direct attack on it -- your True
Name counts as an asset for resisting soul-based attacks and acts as heavy armor
against soul-based damage -- but invoking your True Name gives the invoker two assets
on any attempt to harm or influence you during the current scene. Knowledge of your
True Name also counts as having a link to you for the purpose of sympathetic magic. For
this reason a being's True Name is its most closely guarded secret.

The metaphysical languages, and the creatures with which they have affinity, appear below. It
is worth noting that mortals without soul grafts who manage to learn a metaphysical language
gain all of the same benefits that graftees do, though the downsides tend to be more severe.
Ungrafted mortals are incapable of learning more than one metaphysical language.

Aklo: A language given to early humans for communicating with aliens and eldritch horrors.
Knowing this language makes it harder to resist illusions and effects that erode sanity, but it
also makes one's psyche a difficult and dangerous place for others to poke around in.

Draconian: The language of dragonkin has few words for describing humanoids -- and most
of them are synonymous with "food" -- but it has dozens of words for "treasure" with very
precise shades of meaning. Knowing Draconian makes one better at financial transactions
and appraisal of goods but worse at pleasant social interaction.

Empedoclean: The fundamental elements of creation have a language all their own. Anyone
who knows this language can communicate with plants, elementals, and genii locorum (plural
of genius loci; spirits of places). Because the elements operate on such large scales of time
yet with an intimate connection to the details of space Empedoclean is great at delineating a
space and describing the objects within it but not so good at describing the passage of time or
the timing between events.

Enochian: Believed to be a language created by angels. As the most ancient of languages,

dating back to the multiverse's creation, Enochian has affinity for gods, celestial spirits, and
animae (the spirits of objects). It is impossible to lie while speaking Enochian, and simply
knowing the language makes it harder to lie in any language... but also makes it easier to
detect lies.

Faerie: There are dialects for each of the fairy courts (Seelie and Unseelie) and sub-dialects
for the seasonal courts (Spring and Summer for Seelie, Autumn and Winter for Unseelie), but
the various fae usually have no difficulty understanding each other. Names have power in
any language, but knowing the Faerie language gives them even more. Knowing someone's
name (even if it's not their True Name) makes it easier to harm or influence them... but that
blade cuts both ways. Speakers of Faerie never give their names lightly.

Fortean: The language of weird science is the youngest of the metaphysical languages and
the hardest one for the ancients to learn. Its affinity is for cryptids, sentient constructs, and
the various miracles (and abominations) of science. Knowledge of Fortean clarifies scientific
and pseudo-scientific principles while making information about the natural world harder to
grasp. You can't learn Fortean if you already know Primal.

Infernal: The second oldest of the metaphysical languages is the language of demons and
16
devils. Knowing Infernal makes one more prone to corruption while enhancing one's ability at
negotiation, lying, and writing contracts.

Primal: The language of nature is the fourth oldest of the metaphysical languages (the third is
Empedoclean). Its affinity is for animals and bestial humanoids. Primitive hominids don't
count as bestial humanoids -- they're considered human -- but demihumans and giants do, as
do orcs and their kin. Primal speakers are the supernatural world's best animal handlers, but
simply knowing the language makes it impossible to discuss science and technology in any
but the most rudimentary terms. You can't learn Primal if you already know Fortean.

Proto-Aryan: The oldest human language is the source from which all other human tongues
are derived, so of course its affinity is for humans. When speaking Proto-Aryan any humans
who hear you can understand you in their native languages, and knowing this language lets
you understand any human language spoken in your hearing. Knowing Proto-Aryan makes
you more adept at determining whether a creature is human or used to be and less able to
conceal your own nature from others. People with soul grafts, with one exception, no longer
count as human once they reach tier 5.

Stygian: The language of darkness and death is named for the river Styx. Its affinity is for the
dead and undead, and each type of sapient undead has their own dialect. Knowing Stygian
allows one to interrogate corpses, comprehend the mumbles of zombies, parse the chattering
of skeletons, and hear the voices of ghosts. Knowing how to speak Stygian makes one more
able to discern how dangerous a creature, an object, or a situation is while making one's own
hostile intentions and will to fight (or lack thereof) clear to others.

Rites
A rite is a minor ceremonial magic -- it can produce effects as powerful as spells, but not as
quickly. The ability to perform rites is inherent in knowing a metaphysical language, and the
nature of the language determines what is needed for the rite. Almost all rites require some
amount of chanting. Draconian rites frequently must be performed in the presence of wealth
proportionate to the power of the desired effect, Stygian rites require blood sacrifices or the
trappings of death (i.e. bones, grave goods), Fortean rites use tinkering, scientific meters, or
mathematical formulae, Empedoclean rites must be performed in the presence of a significant
amount of an appropriate element, and so on. Individuals with different soul grafts often differ
in the details of how they perform the same rite.
Rites come in four levels. Learning a rite costs 1 (basic), 2 (intermediate), 3 (advanced), or
4 (master) XP and takes a day of in-game time per level of the rite if the learner has a teacher
or access to recorded instructions. A character who tries to learn a rite without a teacher or
instructions -- or create a new rite -- needs twice as long. If you know a rite you can perform it
using any metaphysical language that you know. A book of common rites, or a scroll with an
uncommon rite, is a frequently awarded bonus item.
Two of the effects that rites can produce are wards and bans. A ward imposes a one-step
difficulty penalty on any action taken against anyone within the area of the ward, while a ban
prevents creatures from entering its area (but they can still cast ranged attacks into it). Wards
and bans don't move with the caster; they remain in the place where they are created. Wards
and bans only affect creatures of the language's affinity.
The following list of rites is not comprehensive, but these are the most common rites. If a
player wishes to purchase a rite that isn't listed here consult the GM as to whether it should
be considered an uncommon rite (and therefore have in-game sources for learning it) or a
17
new rite of the character's creation. Each of the bullet points below denotes a separate rite.

Basic Rites (Full-round action during which the character can do nothing else)
 Suppress a minor curse for one scene;
 Create a light source that illuminates an area with a short range radius for up to one day -
- you can set the light to remain in one place or move with you, another creature, or an
object of your choosing;
 Scan an area with a short range radius for the presence of dimensional portals with an
Intellect task, or conceal a portal that you created (+1 step to detection difficulties);
 Prevent creatures of your language's affinity from attacking you for one scene. The effect
ends if you attack them or a creature controlling them, or if you touch an object that they
are guarding;
 Create a ward with an immediate range radius that lasts for one day or dispel a basic
ward;
 Prepare a campsite with a short range radius complete with fire pit, latrine, and a dry
surface to sleep on;
 Use sign (tracks, shed fur/scales, claw marks, scats, etc.) left by an affinity creature to
identify its exact type and ask the GM three questions about it -- for example, examining a
dragon track might tell you that the creature was a firedrake and let you ask, "How large
was it, how long ago did it pass by here, and what was its state of health at that time?"

Intermediate Rites (15 minutes)

 Break a minor curse, or suppress a major curse for one scene;
 Open a dimensional portal that you didn't create, or seal a portal of your creation (+1 step
to difficulties for others to open it) -- the seal must be reapplied if the portal is opened;
 Bind a being of your affinity into your service for three specific tasks;
 Create a ward with a short range radius that lasts for one day, create a ward with an
immediate range radius that lasts for one week, or dispel an intermediate ward;
 Create a ban with an immediate range radius that lasts for one day or dispel an
intermediate ban;
 Banish a summoned creature, or exorcise a haunting/possessing creature, of level 3-;
 Create a piece of portable mundane gear (other than a weapon or armor) that lasts for the
duration of a single task.

Advanced Rites (1 hour)

 Break a major curse;
 Bind a creature of your affinity for one lunar month;
 Create a ward with a long-range radius that lasts for one day, create a ward with a short
range radius that lasts for one week, create a ward with an immediate range radius that
lasts for one lunar month, or dispel an advanced ward;
 Create a ban with a short range radius that lasts for one day, create a ban with an
immediate range radius that lasts for one week, or dispel an advanced ban;
 Banish a summoned creature, or exorcise a haunting/possessing creature, of level 4-6;
 Desecrate a dryad's sacred grove, destroy a mummy's sarcophagus or funereal offering,
defile/purify a unicorn's blessed glade, exterminate a wasp woman's secondary swarm,
dispel a yeti's snowstorm, or some equivalent feat;
 Seal an extradimensional space (an arachne's home web, a dragon's or kraken's lair, a
minotaur's labyrinth, a mummy's tomb, a nightmare's dreamscape, a phoenix's nest, a
pixie's garden, etc.) for one day, or close a dimensional portal for one week;
18
  Bless an item so that it does the job it was designed for better (i.e. reduces the difficulty
one step) for one day;
 If you have a material link to a creature -- something that came from its body, like a patch
of fur or a shed claw -- or know its True Name you can use one of your focus abilities on it
as if it were present. The material link is consumed at the end of the rite, and each time
that you use the focus ability requires a separate instance of the rite.*

Master Rites (6 hours)

 Bind a creature of your affinity into your service for a year and a day;
 Create a ward with a long-range radius that lasts for one week, create a ward with a short
range radius that lasts for one month, create a permanent ward with an immediate range
radius, or dispel a master ward;
 Create a ban with a long range radius that lasts for one day, create a ban with a short
range radius that lasts for one week, create a ban with an immediate range radius that
lasts for one month, or dispel a master ban;
 Banish a summoned creature, or exorcise a haunting/possessing creature, of level 7+;
 Seal an extradimensional space for one week or destroy a dimensional portal;
 Create a magic item by infusing a creature's essence into an object -- the creature must
be willing or subdued, and the power and abilities of the item vary according to the nature
and power of the creature;
 If you have a material link to a creature (which is consumed at the end of the rite) or know
its True Name you can use your focus abilities on it as if it were present repeatedly for
one scene;*
 If you have a material link to a creature (which is consumed at the beginning of the rite)
you learn its True Name. The target immediately learns what you are doing and the
approximate distance and direction to you. The rite automatically fails if the target is not
on the same plane of existence that you are when the rite ends. Any entity capable of
teaching this rite will demand a high price, and all students are required to sign a contract
-- penned by a devil and written in Enochian -- to never record instructions for the rite in
any medium and to require any students of theirs to sign the same contract. This rite is
rumored to be written in the Codex Arcanum, but no known owner has ever confirmed it.

*Yes, these two rites are very powerful. Do you really think the GM is going to make it easy to
learn them?

BEARS A HORN
The best known version of the unicorn is a defender and a symbol of purity, but it's not the
only version. The bicorn is a defiler and a symbol of impurity, the karkadann is an ambush
predator, and the kirin is a herald of the gods. Your graft can come from any of these.
When you accept this graft your hair and/or eyes become faintly luminous.
Minor Effect Suggestion: A clear path opens up before you; on your next action you can
move a short distance and attack without having to make an athletics check.
Major Effect Suggestion: Your next action is boosted as if you had exerted one level of
Effort. This stacks with any Effort you expend.
Metaphysical Language: Enochian for kirin, Faerie for all others

Tier 1: Horned. You grow a short horn on your forehead -- two if your graft came from a
bicorn, or a small antler if the donor was a kirin or karkadann. You can retract the horn for
one scene at the cost of 1 Intellect. You can use your horn as a light weapon in combat, and
19
not just in melee; you can also shoot it out to short range. When you fire your horn this way it
grows back at the end of your next turn.
While your horn is out (even if you're currently regrowing it) you can detect the presence of
any feeling being within short range -- you know the general distance and direction but can't
pinpoint it enough to target a creature that you can't see. You know the general emotional
state of any being that you detect with this sense. You can also cause your horn to glow as a
simple light source.
Empathetic. You are trained in sensing emotions, reading body language, and detecting
lies.

Tier 2: Healing Light (2-3 Intellect). You can emit soft light from your hands or horn. For 2
Intellect you can heal a creature (who immediately makes a recovery roll) or purify food and
drink. With 3 Intellect and a successful Intellect task you can cure disease, neutralize poison,
or dispel a curse (a bicorn or karkadann can strengthen a disease, generate poison, or place
a minor curse instead).
You can only use this power on a particular subject once per scene, and you must touch
the subject. At tier 4 you can shine Healing Light on a target within immediate range, and at
tier 6 you can use the effect on a given subject three times per scene.

Tier 3: Soul Searcher. You are specialized in sensing emotions, reading body language, and
detecting lies.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Charisma, Dexterity, or Speed.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Swift Hooves. You receive a boost to both running speed and reaction time. Your
running speed doubles, you can move a short distance and attack without making an athletics
check,and you become trained in Speed defense. You can run at top speed for up to an hour
without tiring.
The effect is more powerful at night, especially when you are exposed to starlight. Your
running speed triples instead of doubles, you can move a long distance and attack with a
successful athletics check, and you have an asset on Speed defense rolls. You can run at top
speed without tiring at all as long as starlight shines on you.

Tier 5: Starlight Core (3, 5, or 7 Speed). A core of light develops within your horn. This core
stays with you when you fire your horn, causing it to regrow instantly, and gives you the ability
to create objects of solid light that last for once scene or until you dispel them. You can make
armor, weapons, and simple shapes like tools and furniture. It costs 3 Speed to create an
object smaller than you, 5 Speed to create an object roughly your size, or 7 Speed to create
something up to about three times your size. These shapes have little physical weight, so
armor created this way imposes no Speed penalty... but weapons you create lack heft and so
can never be more than medium weapons regardless of their actual size.
Also for 7 Speed you can create a path of luminous "stepping discs" that allows you to run
on air. The discs vanish as soon as your feet leave them until you reach tier 6; at that point
they linger long enough for your allies to run behind you if you wish.

Tier 6: Heart of Light. If you are killed your body collapses into the core within your horn and
flies off to a safe place -- one of your blessed glades, if you have any (see Lingering Light),
otherwise to the nearest safe place where you can heal in peace. You are immune to poison
and disease, and every night at moonrise you shed up to 10 years of age until you reach your
20
desired age. You can only be permanently killed if your horn is forcibly broken off and all of
your blessed glades -- or your corpse, if you have no blessed glades -- are defiled. A bicorn
requires ritual cleansing instead of defilement.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Emotion Diving (1 Intellect). You get more detail when you sense emotions. You can
ask the GM three questions -- typically how strong the emotion is, where it is directed, or the
most probable cause, but other questions are possible. The GM must answer truthfully
unless the subject has some means of disguising their emotions. Acting on this information
can make it easier to influence someone by playing on their existing feelings.
Empathy Push (2 Intellect). You can "push" an emotion onto a being with an Intellect task.
If you succeed the target feels an emotion of your choosing until something happens to make
them feel something else. This can impose penalties on any action that isn't in keeping with
that emotion.
Greater Range. You can fire your horn or sense emotional presences out to long range.
Horn Beacon (2-3 Intellect). You can sense the location of your discarded horns. You
can will any or all of your discarded horns to crumble to dust with a thought. For 2 Intellect
you can sense the emotions of creatures within range of your severed horn as if they were
within range of you. For 3 Intellect you can hear sounds made within short range of the horn
as if you were present.
At tier 4 you can use a discarded horn as a kind of alarm; you can set it to alert you when a
presence moves within range of it. This costs 2 Intellect when you set the alarm. You must
be within short range of the horn to set the alarm.
Burning Light (2 or 3 Speed). You cause your horn to glow with holy light for one scene.
Your horn becomes a medium weapon against those of evil intent. If you are a karkadann or
a bicorn your horn glows with unholy light instead, and you get the damage bonus against
beings of good intent. At tier 6 you can fire laser-like blasts of light as a heavy ranged
weapon for 3 Speed. (tier 2)
Cleric Halo (3 Intellect). You generate a passive aura of healing with immediate range.
You and all allies within range can take an additional 10-minute recovery during the scene
while this effect is active. At tier 6 you also grant an extra one action recovery. (tier 2)
Lingering Light (3, 5, or 7 Intellect). The effects of your light linger in an area after you
leave -- at the very least the area never gets darker than a moonlit night, and if you have
Cleric Halo or Pax Aura that effect is active there as well. The duration is up to one day (3
Intellect), one week (5 Intellect), or one month (7 Intellect; must be tier 4+). At tier 5 you can
bless a number of locations up to your current tier so that your light lingers there for as long
as you live. Each location can have up to a long range radius. (tier 2)
Pax Aura. You constantly emit a low-level psychic field that generates feelings of peace.
Anyone within short range of you, whether or not you are aware of them, finds it one step
more difficult to attack you. If your graft comes from a bicorn or karkadann you can make this
a Fear Aura instead. This power has no effect on beings that are truly emotionless. For 4
Intellect you can instill this power into one of your discarded horns. (tier 4)
Speed Boost (4 Speed; +1 per person you take with you). You momentarily increase
your speed to supersonic levels. You effectively teleport to a point that you can see within
long range, but you must have an unobstructed path to the target point. At tier 6 you can use
this ability as true teleportation and can jump to the location of one of your discarded horns or
a blessed glade regardless of range as long as it is on the same plane of existence. (tier 4)
Star Trails (5 Speed). During the scene while this power is active you leave a trail of
21
sparks every time you run (move at least short range during a turn; using Speed Boost counts)
and generate one Star Charge. As an action on a subsequent turn you can fire any number
of Star Charges at a single target. On a hit each Star Charge deals an amount of Might or
Speed damage (your choice) equal to your current tier. At tier 6 you can imbue the Star Trails
with limited intelligence; they can follow simple orders or choose their own targets based on
opportunity or tactical reversals. (tier 4)

BOUNDS
It might not seem like the essence of a rabbit offers much in the way of power, but when that
rabbit is a jackalope there is power aplenty. Variations of this graft include other paranormal
lagomorphs like the al mi'raj and the wolpertinger.
This graft gifts you with a pair of short antlers -- or, in the case of the mi'raj, a small horn --
on your head.
Minor Effect Suggestion: You catch a lucky break; you have an asset on your next action.
Major Effect Suggestion: The vibration from your footfall pushes your target back an
immediate distance and knocks them down.
Metaphysical Language: Primal

Tier 1: Bunny Hop. Your running speed, jumping height, and jumping distance are tripled and
your kicks count as medium weapons. You can move a short distance and attack without
making an athletics check, and with a successful athletics check you can attack after moving
a long distance.
But First They Must Catch You. You are trained in athletics, initiative tasks, and Speed
defense.

Tier 2: Rabbit's Foot. You generate a passive aura of good luck for yourself. Once per
scene you may re-roll any one d20 roll, or cause someone else to re-roll a check that was
made against you, and take the result that is more favorable to you.

Tier 3: Briar Patch. You are specialized in athletics, initiative tasks, and Speed defense.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Accuracy, Dexterity, or Speed.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: A Thousand Enemies (2 Intellect to activate; 3+ Speed to distort). You are acutely
aware of being watched. While this sense is active you know immediately if any creature is
actively observing you and what sense they are using to do it. You can, if you choose, create
a sensory distortion that imposes a one-step difficulty modifier in your favor on any attempt to
detect or track you with that sense for the rest of the scene. If you distort multiple senses
each one after the first has a cumulative +1 to the cost -- 4 for the second sense, 5 for the
third, etc. Extensions to normal senses (i.e. ultrasonic hearing or infrared vision) count as
separate senses for this purpose. It costs +2 Speed to distort a sense that you don't have.

Tier 5: Rabbit from a Hat (4 Speed per instance). You can multiply like rabbits. You create
a hornless duplicate of yourself that is a level 3 creature within short range. A duplicate lasts
for up to a day, can use any of your type abilities plus your focus powers up to tier 4, and can
use any items that are soul-bound to you The clones gain copies of all of your clothing and
mundane gear but not your magical or ultra-tech gear. You can have up to 12 active copies at
a time. As a movement action you can switch places with one of your clones, and you can
communicate with them telepathically. The duplicates follow your orders without question...
22
they're you, after all, so they always act in what you believe to be your best interests.
At tier 6 you can create duplicates within long range. You can use Storyteller to assign
duplicates specific roles within the current story, and the duplicates will gain an asset on any
task related to fulfilling their roles.

Tier 6: Down the Rabbit Hole. You gain the timelessness and resilience of Wonderland; you
no longer age, and the March Hare's tolerance for strange concoctions makes you immune to
being poisoned by anything you eat or drink. If you are killed you instantly use Rabbit from a
Hat at no cost to create 12 duplicates which run off in different directions. The first one to
reach a safe place grows a pair of antlers and becomes the real you at full health. If you have
Quick Port duplicates created by this ability can teleport long range once to affect an escape.
If there is no safe place within the range that your duplicates could flee to within one day
the duplicates don't appear until there is. If you are killed in an extradimensional space the
duplicates appear within long range of the last spot you occupied on the prime plane. Your
duplicates can't create duplicates if they are killed, so killing them all before any reach safety
will truly kill you.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Groundsense. While your feet are in contact with the ground you can sense vibrations
like footfalls within short range with a successful Intellect task.
Horn Charge (1 Speed). When you charge at least a short distance toward a target you
create a shockwave that upgrades the weapon value of your attack one step (light to medium;
medium to heavy; heavy gains a +2 damage bonus).
Power Kick (1-3 Speed). Your kick deals extra damage equal to the amount of Speed you
spend to activate this effect, and the target is knocked back an immediate distance.
Rebounder (1 Speed). You are adept at kicking off of obstacles to rapidly maneuver. You
have an asset on your next athletics check. You can also use this ability to gain a bonus of -5
to falling damage as long as you land on your feet.
Focused Fortune (4 Speed). You can focus your luck aura into a specific endeavor at the
cost of losing it for anything else. Choose a type of roll -- Speed defense, melee attacks,
athletics checks, etc. For one scene you can roll two dice for the chosen type of check and
take the higher result. You can't use Rabbit's Foot during the scene while this is in effect, nor
can you use Focused Fortune if you have already used Rabbit's Foot this scene. (tier 2)
Intuitions (3 Intellect). You have random lucky insights into events around you. When
you activate Intuitions you make three d20 rolls. At any time during the scene you may
replace a d20 roll made by you or the GM with one of those pre-rolls. (tier 2)
Edit Out (+3 Speed). When you use A Thousand Enemies to hide yourself you don't just
create a distortion, you "edit" yourself out of that sense altogether; any attempt to detect you
with that sense during the current scene automatically fails. You can also fine-tune the effect
to only affect certain aspects of you or what you are wearing or carrying -- for example, to
hide your concealed weapons from a pat-down search or conceal the presence of your magic
from aura sight. (tier 4)
Heartfelt Mimicry (3 Intellect). When you create a distortion with A Thousand Enemies
you can plant an illusion for the affected sense. You can choose the general theme of the
illusion, but the observer's mind provides the details. For example, if you choose the theme of
"a loved one" the observer sees one of their loved ones. The danger of this ability is that
multiple observers might all see something different when looking at you. (tier 4)
Quick Port (5 Speed). You can "leap" through space to teleport a short distance. At tier 6
23
you can teleport a long distance. (tier 4)
Storyteller (5 Intellect). You become genre savvy. Upon activating this effect you may
ask the GM what type of story the current scene is, what your role is in it, who the antagonist
is (assuming it isn't you), and what the most beneficial and troublesome (to you) tropes in play
are. Acting on this information gives you two assets on one task during the current scene or
one asset each on two tasks. (tier 5)

DRINKS BLOOD
Your soul has been infused with the blood of a vampire. You gain a measure of the predator's
power as well as a touch of its hunger.
When you take this graft your skin grows pale, your eyes turn red, and you grow a pair of
retractable fangs.
Minor Effect Suggestion: The primal fear of the predator shakes your opponent's
confidence; the creature suffers a one-step difficulty penalty on its next action.
Major Effect Suggestion: A wound that you inflict continues to bleed; the target takes 1
ambient Might damage per turn for a number of turns equal to your current tier (minimum 2).
Metaphysical Language: Stygian

Tier 1: Night Eyes. You reduce darkness-based visibility penalties one step.
Vampirism. You gain the ability to feed on blood. Your bite is a light weapon, and you are
trained in its use. In order to bite a creature you must usually grapple or be grappled by it.
Might damage that you inflict by drinking blood fills up your Blood pool. As an action you can
spend one or more points from your Blood pool to gain one of the following benefits.
 Provide sustenance equal to a full day's worth of food and water;
 Make a recovery roll;
 Gain an asset on a single task involving Might defense, Speed defense, feats of strength,
or fast movement;
 Fuel one of your focus abilities that normally requires expenditure from one of your stat
pools;
 Exert Effort on one of your focus abilities;
 If another vampire feeds on you the damage can reduce your Blood pool instead of your
Might pool.
If your Blood pool is reduced to zero you must succeed on a level 4 Intellect task to avoid
being maddened by hunger. If you fail you will attack the nearest living creature that has
blood and attempt to feed. The maximum charges in your Blood pool equals your highest stat
pool plus your current tier +1 for every upgrade you have.

Tier 2: Blood Boost (2 Might, Speed, or Intellect). You can boost your abilities by drawing
energy from blood -- either your own or someone else's. For one scene you double your
lifting/carrying capacity and gain a +1 bonus to melee damage (Might), gain an asset on
Speed defense tasks (Speed), or gain an asset on tests of sensory perception (Intellect). You
can have multiple boosts active at a time, but it takes a separate action to apply each.

Tier 3: Vampiric Resistance. You are trained in Might defense, Speed defense, and Intellect
defense.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Charisma, Speed, or Strength.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Creatures of the Night (4 Might). You can assume three different animal shapes --
24
bats, cats, rats, snakes, and wolves are the most common. Your stats remain the same in
any form, but you gain some kind of boost appropriate to the animal's abilities. For example,
in bat form you can fly and echolocate while in cat form you can run faster, climb better, and
have claws. Changing form takes a full round during which you can't do anything else, and
you remain in the altered form until you choose to change back or until you are killed. You
appear to mundane senses to be an ordinary animal while in this form, but effects that allow a
viewer to see your mind and/or aura will reveal you to be anything but.
A side benefit of Creatures of the Night is that it can make Blood Boost cheaper to use.
Any boost that is in keeping with the abilities of the animal shape costs only 1 pool point to
activate instead of 2. For example, boosting your strength while in wolf form is cheaper, as is
boosting your speed while in cat or rat form.
Another side effect of changing form is that the change itself tries to undo any damage that
you have sustained. You make a recovery roll immediately after you change. Pool points that
you regain this way can't be used to heal Intellect damage.

Tier 5: Blood Magic (3-6 Blood). You can draw on the mystical power of blood to work your
magic. When you spend points from your Blood pool to perform a rite you can perform a
basic rite as a normal action, an intermediate rite as a full round action, an advanced rite in 15
minutes, or a master rite in one hour. The cost is equal to the level of the rite +2.

Tier 6: Blood Reign. You become a true vampire. As an undead you don't need to breathe,
and the only sustenance that you require -- indeed, that you can tolerate -- is blood. You no
longer age, and any wound that doesn't kill you will eventually heal as long as you remain fed.
The only diseases and poisons that can affect you are magical ones that attack the blood,
and you are resistant even to those. Even if your body is hacked to pieces or dissolved in
acid the power of your blood will gradually rebuild it. You can only be permanently destroyed
by fire or by cutting off your head, and even the latter might not take if the head and body are
buried together.
With the loss of your humanity you take on the banes of the vampire. You can be held at
bay by a holy symbol brandished by someone who truly believes in its power. Even worse,
you are severely weakened by sunlight. While under direct sunlight you have a penalty of +1
step to all difficulties and you can't make recovery rolls. A stake through the heart won't kill
you, but it will leave you paralyzed and helpless until the stake is removed.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Blood Shaper (1-6 Might). You can create functional objects with no moving parts out of
blood. Spending 1 Might is enough to create a light weapon or simple hand tool while 3 Might
can create a shield or a piece of furniture. Basic objects are too fragile to be used more than
once in combat. Spending +1 Might creates an object robust enough to withstand rough use
for one scene, while +2 Might creates an object as durable as its mundane counterparts and
+3 Might makes the object indestructible by mundane means. The most you can spend on a
single object is a number of pool points equal to your current tier.
Crimson Rush (1 Speed). You can move up to a short distance and attack without an
athletics check. At tier 3 you can move a long distance and attack with a successful athletics
check.
Distant Draw (2 Intellect). You can draw blood from a target at immediate range as long
as you can see skin. Metaphysical defenses can disrupt this effect.
Feedback (2 or 3 Intellect). You can reverse the blood drain to infuse a target with your
25
blood. You must succeed on an Intellect task at the target's level. A target affected this way
becomes friendlier to you (2 Intellect) or is momentarily stunned and can't act until the end of
your next turn (3 Intellect).
Duration Increase. Blood Boost now lasts for up to six hours. If you end the effect before
three hours have elapsed you can recoup half the total activation cost and add it to your
Blood pool. (tier 2)
Esoteric Boosts (2 Might, Speed, or Intellect). You can use Blood Boost for more
powerful enhancements. You can boost your ability to resist damage, thereby gaining an
asset on Might defense tests (Might), gain the ability to move a long distance and attack
(Speed), or gain an asset on tests to resist metaphysical/psychic damage or mind control
(Intellect). All of these are separate enhancements from those normally available from Blood
Boost. (tier 2)
Sacrificial Rage (2 Might + 2 Speed). You consume some of your own blood to enter a
berserk rage that greatly increases your strength and speed for one scene. While under this
effect you gain a +2 bonus to melee damage, and all Might and Speed tasks are reduced one
step in difficulty. This comes at the cost of all Intellect tasks being increased two steps in
difficulty, and you are weakened and exhausted when the rage ends. You cannot use your
Blood pool to fuel this ability. (tier 2)
Chimera of Forms. You can gain additional animal forms by drinking the blood of an
animal whose form you wish to learn. You can have up to a dozen forms learned, and you
can swap out existing forms for new ones. You can also spend Might to combine traits from
multiple animals, thereby gaining the benefits of each. This costs 4 Might +2 per additional
animal included. Taking a normal beast form now requires just a single action. (tier 4)
Crimson Blood Mist (5 Speed). You can assume the form of a reddish mist that can
spread out over up to a short range radius. You can drain blood from any living creature that
is within your mist, and in this form most physical attacks can't harm you. You are vulnerable
to fire and magic, however. You remain in this form until you are killed, you use an action to
revert to humanoid form, or the next sunrise. (tier 4)
Thrall Maker (2-6 Might). After draining a target of blood -- that is, killing it via blood drain
-- you can raise it as a vampiric thrall. This grants the subject a lesser version of your
Vampirism ability; the thrall can drink blood, but it doesn't gain a Blood pool and all blood that
it feeds on instead comes to you. A thrall's level as a creature is equal to the Might that you
spend to create it, and you can spend Might up to your current tier or the creature's level
when alive, whichever is lower. Thralls last until they are destroyed. (tier 4)

FEEDS ON LIGHTNING
The essence of a creature like Frankenstein's monster has been implanted into your soul.
Your life force is augmented with artificial life distilled from the waters of creation (alchemy)
and purified in the fire of heaven (lightning).
When you take this graft your skin takes on a sickly greenish cast and suture marks appear
at various points on your body. You also have a pair of bolts protruding from your neck.
Minor Effect Suggestion: A flash of lightning answers the lightning in your blood to
provide a timely distraction; the difficulty of your next action is modified one-step in your favor.
Major Effect Suggestion: The heavenly fire that courses through your form lashes out at
your foe and paralyzes their body until the end of your next turn.
Metaphysical Language: Fortean

Tier 1: Brute Strength. You are trained in feats of strength and Might defense, and the
amount of weight that you can lift or carry is doubled.
26
 Strange Alchemy. Your body generates a special liquid in your bloodstream; its presence
fuels your enhanced strength and durability. You can extract some of the liquid by inflicting 1
Might damage on yourself per dose. A creature other than you that ingests the base liquid
gains an asset on feats of strength and Might defense tasks for one hour. You can also mix
this liquid with other ingredients to create different effects. The exact effect varies with the
ingredient(s) used. You can determine roughly what a mixture will do by smelling it and
succeeding on an Intellect (Alchemy) check at a GM-determined difficulty -- typically the
difficulty increases in proportion to the number of ingredients, but a greater number of
ingredients allows for more powerful or esoteric effects.

Tier 2: Patchwork Body. Your alchemically altered body now repairs itself at an accelerated
rate. You gain additional recovery rolls at the 10 minute and 1 hour intervals. With medical
care you can reattach a severed limb even if you have to sew it back on yourself. Fortunately
you become trained in sewing just for this purpose. This vitality also gives you training in
resisting pain and fatigue.
This healing ability is complete but often messy. Healed wounds may be accompanied by
adornments like scars, bone screws, or new suture marks.

Tier 3: Prodigious Strength. You become specialized in feats of strength and Might defense.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Intelligence, Resilience, or Strength.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Modern Prometheus (2 or 3 Might). Your body generates and stores electricity over
time; the more you exert yourself the more charge you accumulate. You can release your
stored energy as a stunning charge (target has +1 step to all difficulties until the end of your
next turn, 2 Might) or a bolt of lightning (medium weapon, 3 Might) at up to short range.

Tier 5: Piecemeal (3 Intellect). You can control your body parts even when they are
detached from you. You can maintain control over a detached limb out to short range, and
you can perceive through a detached sense organ from up to extreme range away. Your
healing rate is also accelerated; you gain an additional 1 action recovery. The latter ability
doesn't cost points from your Intellect pool.
Grafting one of your detached parts onto another creature grants you a measure of control
over it; you have an asset on any attempt to command, persuade, or intimidate a creature that
has one of your grafted parts. If you have the Foreign Graft upgrade you can detach a part
that you have in storage rather than one you are currently using.
School of Experience. You become trained in any two skills chosen from alchemy,
intimidation, or medicine. You can forgo one choice to become specialized in sewing.

Tier 6: It's Alive! You can completely rebuild your body if so much as a toe or finger remains.
You no longer age, and while disease and poison can still affect you -- you still count as a
living creature -- they can no longer kill you. You can drown or suffocate, but if you do you will
revive when you can breathe normally again. You are immune to lightning damage as well as
non-damaging effects of electricity such as being tased. Burning (in fire or acid), being
disintegrated by powerful energies, or direct destruction of your psyche or life force are the
only things that can permanently kill you.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
27
 Acid and Base (1 Might). You can make the liquid in your body into a powerful acid or a
healing gel. As an acid the liquid is a light weapon usable at immediate range that destroys
armor. As a healing gel one dose grants a +2 bonus to recovery rolls for one hour.
Alchemical Insight (1 Intellect). You can predict the effects of a mixture before you
combine the ingredients. You must succeed on the same check as for Strange Alchemy.
Expanded Generation. Your Strange Alchemy now produces three doses per 1 self-
inflicted Might damage.
Potency Boost (2 Might). Your mixtures produce stronger effects. Examples include your
Acid and Base increasing to a medium weapon (acid) or +4 recovery roll bonus (healing gel).
The GM is the final arbiter of how a particular mixture improves, but generally the effects
increase by one step.
Improved Rebuild. Your Patchwork Body evolves beyond making repairs to making
improvements. You can add points to your Might or Speed pools whenever you have the XP
to do so without having to wait through downtime.
At tier 5 you can use your Patchwork Body ability to heal a creature that you treat. (tier 2)
Needle and Thread (2 Might). You can extend needle-tipped threads from your suture
marks. These can act as tools to perform surgery or as a light weapon usable at immediate
range. At tier 6 the needles become a medium weapon.
At tier 5 the threads become wires that can conduct electricity. Immediately after striking a
target with Needle and Thread you can inflict electrical damage with Modern Prometheus.
(tier 2)
Lightning Field (4 or 6 Might). You can surround yourself with a field of static electricity.
For 4 Might this is a light weapon that automatically inflicts damage on anyone who touches
you (either directly or with a conductive implement). For 6 Might the energy becomes a force
field providing 4 points of protection that stacks with worn armor for one scene. (tier 4)
Overcharge (4 Might, 4 Speed, or 4 Intellect). You can use your stored energy to
supercharge your muscles, your nervous system, or even your mind. By spending Might you
gain an asset to Might defense and feats of strength. By spending Speed you gain an asset
to Speed defense and can move a short distance and attack without making an athletics
check. By spending Intellect you gain an asset on Intellect defense and tasks involving
alchemy or medicine. You can only have one of these bonuses in place at a time. The effect
lasts for one scene or until you end it. At tier 6 you may have two bonuses active. (tier 4)
Substance Control (3 Might). You can alter the base liquid in your system into any
mixture that you have created before. The alteration lasts for one scene. (tier 4)
Foreign Graft (5 Might). You can surgically add foreign tissues to your body and gain
their functions with a successful Intellect (Medicine) check. For example, cat's eyes would
allow you to see in the dark while swapping a squid's tentacle for an arm would give you
bonuses to grappling. The Might cost is only for adding an organ; once added it can be kept
in internal storage (you're now bigger on the inside) and swapped in as needed. Swapping
one organ from storage requires a full-round action during which you can do nothing else.
You can have up to eight grafts, 10 if you are trained in Medicine or 12 if you are specialized
in Medicine. (tier 5)

FLOWS LIKE WATER

The most unusual donor for a soul graft is a creature that has only the most rudimentary
vestige of a soul. Slimes might look like harmless blobs of gel, but they are in fact voracious
predators. They -- and, by extension, you -- are easy to underestimate.
A slime grafts gives your skin an eerily smooth appearance as if it's made of plastic. Your
skin also gains a sheen of color appropriate to the particular type of slime that your graft came
28
from -- yellowish for an ochre jelly, grayish for a gray ooze, bluish for a gelatinous cube, etc.
Minor Effect Suggestion: Liquid splashes from you onto your enemy's feet, and slipping
in it imposes a +1 step difficulty penalty on their next action.
Major Effect Suggestion: Your strike destroys one of your enemy's weapons or pieces of
armor.
Metaphysical Language: Empedoclean

Tier 1: Bouncy. Your elastic form bounces back from impacts and is extra springy. Your
jumping distance and height are doubled, and you take -2 damage from falls and kinetic
energy-based attacks. At tier 4 this increases to -4. This stacks with protection from other
sources. You take half damage (round down) from corrosives.
Flex Appeal. You are trained in athletics, contortion, and Speed defense.

Tier 2: Fountain (2 Might, Speed, or Intellect). You can expel a stream of liquid from your
body, and the effect varies according to what stat pool you use to activate the ability. The
stream has short range. If you use Might the stream is a corrosive (acid, alkali, or enzyme;
light weapon). If you use Speed the liquid imposes some kind of penalty like confusion,
hallucinations, or sleep. If you use Intellect the liquid has a medicinal effect like removing a
non-damage deleterious effect or granting the target a recovery roll. Successfully using the
effect usually requires a Speed task, but formulating a medicine requires Intellect instead.

Tier 3: Flex Maniac. You are specialized in athletics, contortion, and Speed defense.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Accuracy, Dexterity, or Resilience.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Omnivore. You partake of slimes' ability to digest anything organic. You can eat
anything you can get your mouth around... and with the elasticity of your jaws, you can get
your mouth around anything that isn't bigger than your head. As a side effect of this ability
you become immune to acid damage and can no longer be poisoned or catch a disease from
anything that you eat.
You gain a special pool of energy called a Viscosity pool. You can use Viscosity to fuel or
apply Effort to your focus abilities. Spending 1 Viscosity gives you sustenance equal to a
day's worth of food and water, and you can increase the damage from one of your melee
attacks by spending 1 Viscosity per +1 damage. Every 5 kg. of mass that you eat adds +1 to
your Viscosity pool. Your maximum Viscosity equals your Speed score plus your current tier
+1 per upgrade you possess.
Rip-stop. Your gelatinous body fills in lacerations almost as quickly as they're made. You
are immune to non-magical slashing damage, and against magical slashing damage you still
get the protection from Bouncy.

Tier 5: Slime Core. Your heart becomes a crystalline core surrounded by an amorphous
mass of protoplasm. You can now engulf things to eat them, which means you can consume
anything that you can grapple. You can alter your appearance to seem fully human. The
most powerful ability of your Slime Core is the ability to replenish your Might, Speed, and
Intellect pools using points from your Viscosity pool; 2 Viscosity = 1 Might, Speed, or Intellect.
As you are now essentially a unicellular creature you are immune to disease, including
magical diseases.

Tier 6: Reincarnated as a Slime. Your altered biology no longer ages, and you are resistant
29
to non-magical toxins. If you are killed your body compresses down to your Slime Core and
burrows into the ground to absorb enough nutrients and water to rebuild your body. You still
require oxygen, but you can extract it from water or from matter you consume as easily as
from air. You will eventually recover from any wound as long as your core exists. The only
way to kill you for good is to burn your Slime Core -- in fire, not in acid -- and dispose of the
ashes in a way that prevents them from making contact with water or soil.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Bigger Jiggler (1 Might). You can activate this ability reflexively in response to being
struck. Your damage reduction for kinetic attacks increases to -4 (-6 at tier 4), and any
damage that you negate this way is reflected back at your attacker.
Kinetic Store. When you reduce kinetic damage you can store half the negated damage.
You gain a Viscosity pool when you take this upgrade, otherwise you don't get it until tier 4.
Any damage you store goes into your Viscosity pool.
Sticky Slick (2 Speed). You can increase or decrease the friction of your outer surface.
You can use this to cling to walls or to slide rapidly across the ground -- you can move a short
distance and attack without making an athletics check. Whichever effect you use remains
active for one scene or until you activate the other one.
Stretch Body (2 Speed). You can elongate your limbs or compress your entire body. You
can strike a target anywhere within immediate range without moving. As a full-round action,
during which you can do nothing else, you can force your body through any barrier that isn't
watertight. This ability remains active for one scene.
Effect Guidance (+2 Might, Speed, or Intellect). You can now fine tune the effects of
Fountain. You can secrete an acid that dissolves armor without damaging flesh, create a
hallucinogen that induces illusions of a specific character, formulate a vaccine against a
particular disease, and so on. Work with the GM to determine the game effects of what you
want to do. (tier 2)
Mass Shift (2-6 Might). You can convert your energy into additional mass. For 2 Speed
you can elongate a limb enough to reach a target at short range without moving. You can
increase the size and density of a limb to make it a weapon (medium for 3 Speed, heavy for 4
Speed). For 6 Speed you can roughly double your size, thereby gaining a +2 bonus to melee
damage and quadruple your lifting and carrying capacity. (tier 2)
Remote Puddles. You know the exact location of any puddle of liquid left within short
range by your Fountain ability. You can see, hear, or smell through a puddle, and you can
direct it to move toward a target that you can see. You essentially get a second attack with
that liquid without spending more pool points. At tier 6 you can sense through a puddle within
long range of you. (tier 2)
Conceptual Consumption (4 Intellect). You can use Omnivore to consume concepts
(such as emotions or luck) or magical effects. The stronger the concept or magic the more
"nourishment" you derive from it (GM's discretion). You can use this to achieve a variety of
effects such as ending a rage by eating the berserker's anger or digesting a dimensional
portal. At tier 6 your ability to consume magic gives you an asset on rolls to resist spells that
are directed at you. (tier 4)
Substance Synthesis (3 Intellect). You use your own digestive tract as an alchemy lab.
You can synthesize any chemical or potion that you know how to create by swallowing the
ingredients, processing them for an hour, and vomiting the results back up. At tier 6 you can
turn your body into any substance that you synthesize. (tier 4)
Chaos Boost (+4 Might, Speed, or Intellect). Your Fountain now has magical effects --
30
your acid can dissolve dimensional portals, your hallucinogen can produce fully interactive
illusions, your potions can cure curses, and more. As with Effect Guidance this requires
working with the GM. (tier 5)

GRANTS WISHES
Grafting the essence of the legendary jinn to your soul grants you phenomenal cosmic
power... and restricts you to itty-bitty living space.
When you take on this graft your hair takes on the appearance of smoke or flame (for ifrit),
mist (for marids and jann), or a dust devil (for dao).
Minor Effect Suggestion: A small item from on your opponent's person -- a light weapon,
a piece of jewelry, a cypher, etc. -- appears in your hand.
Major Effect Suggestion: You vanish in a puff of smoke and reappear up to a short
distance away.
Metaphysical Language: Infernal

Tier 1: Smoky Form (1 Speed). You can render yourself and whatever you are wearing or
carrying as light as air. You can levitate at up to your running speed up to a short distance
from the ground for one scene. If you activate this ability just before going to sleep you can
levitate while sleeping; you remained anchored above the bed.
Wind Step. You are trained in athletics, initiative tasks, and Speed defense.

Tier 2: Inner Fire (1-3 Speed). You can generate fire and use it as a ranged weapon; for 1
Speed it is a light weapon, for 2 Speed it is a medium weapon, and for 3 Speed it is a heavy
weapon. You can fire at targets out to short range. When you reach tier 4 you can hit targets
out to long range.

Tier 3: Wind Dancer. You are specialized in athletics, initiative tasks, and Speed defense.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Charisma, Dexterity, or Speed.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. Smoke, dust, and airborne ash no longer block your sight.
You are also immune to inhaled toxins, and tear gas has no effect on you.
Smoke Screen (3 Speed). You call up a cloud of smoke and ash that lasts for one scene
or until dispelled. The cloud has an immediate range radius and blocks line of sight into, out
of, or through it. A Smoke Screen stays in the spot within short range where you summon it.
When you reach tier 6 the Smoke Screen can have a short range radius and appear at a spot
within long range. You can maintain a number of Smoke Screens equal to your current tier.

Tier 5: You Wish. You bind yourself to a small object -- lamps and rings are traditional, but it
can be almost any non-magical item small enough to be held in one hand. Your bonded item
-- called a vessel -- accumulates energy over time that you can use to grant wishes, and the
more time passes between wishes the bigger the wish can be . A few hour's worth of energy
could levitate a small object for several hours or repair a damaged vehicle while a week's
worth can fully heal a person who is near death or conjure a stack of gold bars. A month's
energy can induce agelessness -- but not immortality -- in a living being, and a year's worth
can expand a minor wish to work on a global scale (i.e. fixing it so that nobody in the world
catches a particular strain of the flu for a year). Your vessel has a month's worth of energy
when you first bond to it.
The most important limitation of this power is that you can't make wishes on your own;
31
someone else must wish, though they can wish as you tell them to, and they must be
touching your vessel as they do.
Your vessel can't be destroyed while you are bonded to it. If it is lost or stolen you can
break the bond by spending 24 hours or 8 Intellect bonding to a new vessel... and you'll want
to do this, as someone who is in possession of your vessel has an asset on any action taken
against you. It also counts as a material link for the purpose of sympathetic magic. The good
news is that any wish energy accumulated in the old vessel drains into the new one at the
rate of one week's worth per hour. Your bond with the old vessel isn't fully broken until the old
vessel is completely drained.

Tier 6: Timeless. When you reach this tier you not only stop aging, but in a puff of smoke you
can change your apparent age to anywhere between birth and the age you were when you
took the graft (or 30, if you were younger than that). You are immune to disease and poison
and no longer need water or food, but you must still breathe. If you die your body dissolves
into smoke and retreats into your vessel. A month's worth of wish energy resurrects you at full
health. Permanently killing you requires destroying your vessel, which can only be done while
you are dead and then only if the vessel currently contains no wish energy.
Anyone who is in control of your vessel when you resurrect can demand three services of
you. For each of these services that you can fulfill without using any wish energy you gain a
week's worth of wish energy -- more if the service was particularly difficult to fulfill.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Auto-Twister (2 or 4 Speed). You surround yourself with a vortex that deflects projectiles.
For 2 Speed you have -1 step to the difficulty to avoid projectile-based attacks. For 4 Speed
you can reflect a projectile attack that misses you back at the attacker. The twister lasts for
one scene.
Dry Wind (2+ Intellect). You summon a burning sandstorm that dehydrates and scours
those caught in it. For one scene the Dry Wind does 1 ambient damage per 2 Intellect spent
on it to every corporeal creature within immediate range of you. The effect lasts for one
scene. At tier 3 you can spend 1 Intellect to exclude an ally from the effect or extend the
effect out to short range, and at tier 5 you can do both.
Misty Shape (3 Speed). Your body becomes even smokier. You can forgo your next
action to allow a physical attack to pass through you, or your can use your movement to pass
up to an immediate distance through any barrier that isn't airtight.
Updraft (+1 Speed). You no longer have a limit on how high you can fly and you can carry
a load up to three times your weight.
Compressed Flame (+2 Speed). You can pack more energy into a ball of Inner Fire so
that it explodes on impact. The explosion affects everything within immediate range of the
impact point. (tier 2)
Programmed Spheres (2 Intellect). You can set an Inner Fire to go off as if with a timed
fuse or when a trigger condition is met, or you can cause the fire to follow a predetermined
path after being launched (for example, to fire around a corner). You can use this effect as
part of activating Inner Fire or in advance to enhance your next use of that ability. (tier 2)
Disrupting Gale (3 Intellect). You dismiss any wind that you have summoned (i.e. with
Auto-Twister or Dry Wind) to "blow away" a manifested magical effect within short range. This
ends the target effect automatically if no other creature is maintaining or directing it, but it
requires a contested Intellect task if another creature is actively controlling the effect. You can
reactivate the wind normally on a subsequent turn. (tier 4)
32
 Hiding in Smoke (2 Speed per turn). You turn yourself into smoke and hide within one of
your Smoke Screens. You are invisible to normal sight and intangible while using this power,
but you are still vulnerable to mental and magical attacks and you show up just fine to senses
that detect heat. You can use other powers while Hiding in Smoke as long as you continue to
pay the activation cost. (tier 4)
Moving Dervishes (+2-3 Speed). Your Smoke Screen can move up to a short distance
during your turn. You can move one Smoke Screen as part of your own movement or forgo
your movement to move two of them. For 3 Intellect you can cause a cloud to move along a
preset path or center it on yourself or another creature. (tier 4)
Odd Effect (2 Might, Speed, or Intellect). You can cause your flames to do things other
than burn -- they can cause confusion, inflame emotions, deal cold damage, induce paralysis,
or a variety of other effects. You spend Might for physical damage, Speed for physical effects
that don't inflict direct damage, or Intellect for mental/emotional effects. (tier 5)

HAUNTS
Your soul has been grafted with the essence of a disembodied spirit. The phantom graft
imbues you with a number of the powers of the incorporeal undead.
After taking this graft your hair stirs in a wind that the living can't feel, and your form
appears faded (hazy, translucent, or with muted colors) in direct sunlight.
Minor Effect Suggestion: A creature you are fighting momentarily loses sight of you; until
the end of your next turn your Speed defense tasks against attacks from that creature have
their difficulty reduced one step.
Major Effect Suggestion: You pass through an enemy's body and afflict them with the
chill of the grave. The target loses its next action.
Metaphysical Language: Stygian

Tier 1: Night Stalker. You are trained in stealth, evading magical detection, and Speed
defense.
Shadow Sight. You can see without penalty in anything short of total darkness.

Tier 2: Ethereal. You can momentarily render yourself and whatever you are wearing
intangible. You can pass through walls or other obstacles without penalty. If you end your
turn inside an obstacle you are ejected into the nearest open space and sustain 1 Might
damage.
The ability to let attacks phase through you grants a measure of protection. If you are
struck by an attack you can spend points from your Speed pool up to your current tier to
negate an equal amount of damage.

Tier 3: Darkstrider. You are now specialized in stealth, evading magical detection, and
Speed defense.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Accuracy, Dexterity, or Speed.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Ghostlight (1-3 Speed). You can create spectral white flames as a light (1 Speed),
medium (2 Speed), or heavy (3 Speed) ranged weapon that deals Intellect damage at up to
short range. The Ghostlight burns souls rather than bodies; a creature killed by it can't be
resurrected by means that require recalling the soul to the body. You are trained in the use of
this weapon. At tier 6 you can shoot Ghostlight out to long range.

33
Tier 5: Astral Body (2 Intellect). You capable of true astral projection. Your soul can travel
up to extreme range from your body -- which is completely helpless while unoccupied. Your
astral form is undetectable by physical senses; only supernatural means of detection can find
you. You can interact normally with incorporeal objects and beings (for example, your astral
form can touch ghosts), and with great effort you can affect physical objects that are small
enough for your physical form to lift with one hand. Physical barriers are no obstacle to your
Astral Body; only magical wards and other metaphysical barriers can bar your way. You can
remain in astral form until dehydration or some other condition kills your physical body.
Astral Sight. You can see ghosts and disembodied minds as well as effects like magical
wards and psychic auras.

Tier 6: Spectral. You are now more ghost than human. You no longer require food, water, air,
or sleep, and you are immune to disease and poison as well as the ravages of time. If your
body is destroyed you can infuse matter in your vicinity with your astral energy to recreate it.
Because you are now a ghost you can be warded against or even exorcised like one. The
right rituals, and even the fervent prayers of the truly righteous, can banish you from an area.
You are also vulnerable to attack by incorporeal entities even when you are in corporeal form.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Distracting Shadows (1 Speed). You cause shadows that you can see within short range
to move in ways that draw the eye. You have an asset on tasks to cause a distraction.
Shadow Glide. You can "skate" on shadows -- as long as you are in darkness or there are
shadows present you can move stealthily at full speed. This ability doesn't work while you are
in direct sunlight.
True Invisibility (4 Speed). You can wrap shadows around your body to hide yourself
from sight. While in darkness you are invisible to the entire electromagnetic spectrum if you
succeed on a Speed task at the highest level present among the creatures you wish to hide
from. This effect lasts for one scene or until you do something to draw attention to yourself
(i.e. speak out loud or make an attack).
Umbral Touch (1-3 Speed). Your shadowy touch chills your target. For the rest of the
scene your touch deals Speed damage equal to the Speed you spend to activate it in addition
to any damage dealt by your melee attacks.
Astral Shunt (1 Speed). You can rapidly phase out of and back into existence to move
quickly. You can teleport up to short range and still attack. (tier 2)
Phantom Flight (1 Speed). You can fly at up to twice your running speed for one scene.
(tier 2)
Spread Intangibility (1 Speed per subject). You can use Ethereal to bring a large object
or another creature with you. (tier 2)
Cloud Perceptions (3 Intellect). A creature you are not directly interacting with forgets
you if you succeed on an Intellect task at the creature's level. (tier 4)
Agnitic Acupuncture (+2 Intellect). You can fine-tune your Ghostlight to burn individual
aspects of the target's soul; you can target specific emotions, skills, or even personality traits.
The effects last until the Intellect damage has been fully healed. (tier 4)
Empowering Flame (2 Intellect). You can charge an object with Ghostlight to give it a
spiritual presence for one scene. Weapons empowered in this way can inflict Intellect
damage instead of Might damage, while physical armor so empowered can protect against
attacks to the mind or soul. (tier 4)

34
HOARDS GOLD
You gain a measure of the power of the dragonkin.
Accepting this graft gives you a unique pattern of scales on your face and arms. The color
and sheen offer a hint as to your precise draconic affiliation.
Minor Effect Suggestion: The target drops something valuable that you immediately
snatch up to add to your hoard.
Major Effect Suggestion: The target becomes vulnerable to the element that you are
associated with; your elemental attacks on that target deal +3 damage and ignore armor until
the end of your next turn.
Metaphysical Language: Draconian

Tier 1: Drake Scales (2 Might). You can alter your entire skin into scales for one scene. You
gain +1 protection that stacks with any worn armor. When you reach tier 3 the protection
bonus increases to +2, and at tier 5 the protection bonus increases to +3.
Elemental Affinity. You have an affinity for one element -- acid, cold, death/shadow, fire,
light/holy, lightning, poison, and sound/thunder are the most common choices, but the GM
might approve others. You take half damage (round down) from your affiliated element.
When you reach tier 5 you become immune to damage from your element.

Tier 2: Breath Weapon (2-7 Might). You can emit a blast of your affiliated element as a light
ranged weapon. For 4 Might it is a medium ranged weapon, and for 6 Might it is a heavy
weapon. The normal range is short, but you can spend +1 Might to be able to attack targets
at long range.

Tier 3: Calamity. You become trained in the use of your Breath Weapon and in Might defense.
If you have the Dracoflesh upgrade you become specialized in Might defense.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Accuracy, Resilience, or Strength.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Dragon's Greed. If you are within short range of unclaimed valuables worth at least
$10,000.00 or claimed valuables worth at least $50,000.00 Drake Scales and Extra Features
last as long as you remain in range and until the end of the scene after you leave unless you
end it earlier. You gain a +1 bonus to melee and Breath Weapon damage while the
transformation lasts. You immediately know when you are within range of wealth that would
enable this ability if you take a moment to pay attention (note to GM: the character knows as
soon as the player bothers to ask).
You also gain training in thievery (i.e. picking locks, picking pockets, and cracking safes).

Tier 5: Dragon Runes (4-7 Intellect). You can inscribe Draconian runes to produce magical
effects. When you perform a rite you can spend Intellect equal to the level of the rite +3 to
store the effect in a scroll. As an action you can read the scroll out loud to unleash its effect.
The rite isn't considered completed until you read the scroll. You can prepare a number of
scrolls equal to your Intellect score.
Dragon's Lair. You establish a lair where you can keep your hoard. Any treasure in your
lair counts as being on your person for your ability to access it. Your lair has only the security
measures that you are able to arrange during downtime. At first the location is known only to
you, but others can learn it if you tell them or if they track you there. You are instantly alerted
if anyone enters your lair.

35
Tier 6: Dragonheart. Your human heart is replaced with the heart of a dragon. You no longer
age, you are resistant to poison, and you are immune to any disease that isn't magical. You
can enter hibernation to survive extended periods of deprivation -- up to (your Might score)
days without air, or (Might score) years without food and water. If you die your body goes up
in an explosion of your affinity element -- treat this as a heavy ranged attack on everything
within short range. You reappear in your lair asleep on your hoard, and you remain in torpor
until you're fully healed. You can only be permanently killed if you have no lair and no hoard.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Dracoflesh. The amount of weight that you can lift or carry doubles, and you become
trained in Might defense.
Old Bones (+1 Might). You can transform your bones in addition to transforming your skin.
When you activate Drake Scales the protection value increases to +2 (+3 at tier 3, +4 at tier 5).
Reflective Scales (+2 Might). While Drake Scales is active half (round down) of any
damage you sustain -- that is, damage that is not blocked by your defenses -- is reflected
back at the attacker.
Spirit Scales. Your scales provide a measure of protection from magic. You have a -1
step difficulty reduction to resist magical attacks and effects. If Drake Scales is active the
bonus to protection applies to non-physical damage as well.
Breath Control (+1 or more Might). You can shape your breath into spheres, cones,
curved streams, etc. You can spend +1 Might per additional target or +1 Might per ally in the
line of fire/area of effect that you wish to ignore. (tier 2)
Related Effects (2-3 Intellect). Your next use of your Breath Weapon has an effect that is
related to your affiliated element. For example, your fire breath instead creates smoke, light
breath blinds instead of damaging the target, poison breath induces nausea, and so on. Any
alternate effects, and the game mechanics that represent them, are subject to GM approval.
You can use this ability instead of taking a movement action. For 2 Intellect you produce the
alternate effect instead of the base effect. For 3 Intellect you produce both effects. (tier 2)
Extra Features (1+ Might). For each 1 Might you spend you gain an additional Draconian
feature or one scene. Claws, horns, or a tail provide you with weapons (light melee; medium
melee if you spend 2 Might) while wings allow you to fly at twice your running speed. Other
features might be possible with the GM's approval. (tier 4)
Golden Sacrifice. You can sacrifice a piece of your treasure to gain a boost in power for
up to 30 minutes. A sacrifice worth at least $5,000.00 gives you an asset on a specific type of
task (Might defense, Breath Weapon attacks, investigation checks, etc.), or you can regain
one point to your Might or Intellect pool per $2,000.00 worth of sacrificed wealth. (tier 4)
Treasure Magnet. You are trained in appraisal, and you can detect the presence of
valuables within long range with an Intellect task. The difficulty is proportional to how well
hidden -- and how well guarded -- the treasure is. (tier 4)
Power Word [Element] (3 Intellect). You speak a Draconian word to cause your Breath
Weapon to manifest at up to long range without passing through the intervening space.
Attacking from an unpredictable this way gives you an asset on your next Breath Weapon
attack. (tier 5)

HUNTS BY MOONLIGHT
Even a man who is pure at heart -- or you -- can become a beast when the moon is in the sky.
And with a soul graft from a were-creature, you can transform at any time. Most who take this
graft become werewolves, but some have affinity for other beasts that is often derived from
36
their ancestry. People of European or Native American extraction are sometimes werebears;
weretigers generally come from India, Pakistan, or the Far East; children of the African
diaspora might be werelions or werehyenas; wereleopards can come from Africa or the
Middle East; people of Polynesian descent may become weresharks; and wereboars can
come from all over Europe, Africa, or Asia.
When you accept the curse of lycanthropy your eyes become like those of your affinity
beast. You also gain some bestial mannerisms.
Minor Effect Suggestion: A swipe across your opponent's face momentarily blinds them;
their next attack has a two-step difficulty modifier in your favor.
Major Effect Suggestion: You hamstring the target; its speed is halved, and it has +1 step
difficulty to athletics checks for running and jumping, for the rest of the scene.
Metaphysical Language: Primal

Tier 1: Bestial Paws (3 Might). You can shift your arms into animal-like forelimbs for one
scene. Your hands become medium weapons, and the thick hide or fur on your forearms
gives you the benefit of wielding a shield when you use them to block attacks.
Wild Side. You are trained in athletics, wilderness survival, and your choice of Might or
Speed defense.

Tier 2: Call of the Wild (3+ Might). You unleash a bestial noise -- a wolf's howl, a tiger's roar,
etc. -- that can stun foes or worse. Roll a Might task for each enemy within short range. On a
failure that creature is demoralized and has a one-step penalty on all tasks until the end of
your next turn. On a major effect the creature is also knocked down.
Call of the Wild normally takes an action. If you use a full-round action every turn you can
maintain the effect for the initial turn plus one turn per extra point of Might that you spend --
creatures that are affected continue to be affected for as long as you maintain the effect, and
even those who successfully resisted must try to resist again on subsequent turns. You can
keep the effect going about as long as you can hold your breath.
Hunter's Eyes: You reduce darkness-related visibility penalties one step. This increases
to two steps at tier 4.

Tier 3: Wild Kingdom. You are specialized in athletics and wilderness survival. Between
Might and Speed defense you can choose either to become specialized in the one you chose
for Wild Side or trained in the one you didn't choose before.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Resilience, Speed, or Strength.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Moon Sign (3 Speed). A mark representing one of the phases of the Moon appears
on your body for one scene. You gain power based on which phase you invoke.
 Full Moon: Your melee attacks deal +2 damage.
 New Moon: You have an asset on stealth and athletics checks.
 Waning Moon: You gain a +2 bonus to recovery rolls.
 Waxing Moon: You have an asset on initiative and Speed defense rolls.

Tier 5: War Form. You assume the form of a humanoid beast. While in this form you are
treated as wearing medium armor with no penalties, you have an asset on unarmed combat
checks, your unarmed strikes are heavy weapons, and you have near-perfect night vision
(ignore darkness penalties for anything short of total darkness). The War Form also heals
quickly; you can take one extra one-action, 10-minute, and 1-hour recovery roll.
37
Tier 6: Primal Beast. You are now nearly unkillable. You can use the extra recovery rolls
from War Form even when you are not transformed, and you are immune to non-magical
diseases and toxins and to the ravages of time. If you are killed you will reappear on the
following midnight in a nearby area that is lit by moonlight. You will be locked in War Form
and in a crazed feral state for the duration of the current phase of the Moon unless magic is
used to calm you. The only way to kill you and make sure you stay dead is to deal the fatal
blow with a weapon that is made of or coated with pure silver -- silver compounds, including
silver oxide tarnish, negate the effect.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Bare Arms (+1 Might). Your arms become stronger and more bestial; your lifting and
carrying capacity is doubled, and you have a bonus of +1 to melee damage.
Crescent Slash (1 Speed). Your next unarmed attack can affect a target at up to short
range away.
Footpads (2 Speed). You transform your feet into a bestial form for one scene. Your
running speed and jumping distance are doubled, and you can move a short distance and
attack without making an athletics check. With a successful athletics check you can move a
long distance and attack.
Razornail. The size and power of your claws or fangs increases; they become armor-
piercing (-1 protection; at tier 6 this increases to -2).
Sharp Sense (1 Intellect). You transform your sensory organs, which can make
significant changes to your face; you have a one-step difficulty reduction to sensory
perception checks for the scene.
Blast Echo (+2 Might). You can focus Call of the Wild on a single creature. In addition to
its normal effects it is a light ranged weapon with short range. At tier 4 it becomes a medium
ranged weapon. (tier 2)
Maddening Noise (2 Intellect). Your Call of the Wild erodes the sanity of enemies who
hear it. With a successful Intellect task you cause the targets to behave erratically -- moving
at random, attacking allies, and so forth -- for as long as you maintain Call of the Wild. The
GM determines the exact effect; at the very least it will impose a penalty on task rolls. (tier 2)
Pure Note (+1 Might). You focus Call of the Wild on an object to call out a single note at
the target's resonant frequency. Your voice becomes a heavy ranged weapon against that
target. If you switch targets you must spend at least one turn listening before you can use
Pure Note on a different object. (tier 2)
Celestial Sphere (2 Intellect). Your next use of Moon Sign places the sign of a heavenly
body other than the Moon. You gain an asset on one type of skill check appropriate to the
traits associated with that body -- athletics for Mercury, persuasion for Venus, melee combat
for Mars, ranged combat for Sagittarius, social deception for Gemini, etc. (tier 4)
Zenith. The bonus from your Moon Sign doubles if the sign you invoke matches the
current moon phase -- one asset becomes two, or a +2 bonus becomes +4. If you use this in
conjunction (heh!) with Celestial Sphere the bonus increases to two assets if the planet
invoked is currently visible in the sky or the Moon is currently in that constellation. (tier 4)

IS ONLY HUMAN
Instead of receiving a soul graft your soul has been elevated to the peak of human potential.
It's up to you to realize that potential.
Taking this graft doesn't so much change your appearance as optimize it; you get slightly
38
taller, fitter, and better looking, but are otherwise still just you.
Minor Effect Suggestion: Your authority as a creation in God's image protects you; the
next attempt to attack you suffers a one-step difficulty penalty.
Major Effect Suggestion: Your guardian angel is looking out for you. One time before the
end of the scene if you are subject to an effect that would reduce one of your stat pools to
zero the damage from that effect is negated.
Metaphysical Language: Proto-Aryan

Tier 1: Cogito Ergo Sum. Your sense of self, physicality, and ability to focus are enhanced.
You are trained in athletics, endurance, mental focus, resisting pain, tactics, and Intellect
Defense. You also become a lucid dreamer.

Tier 2: Sixth Sense (2 Intellect). You can focus on the idea of an object or creature to gain a
sense of where to find it. If you think about a general category (i.e. drinkable water, gold ore,
concealed weapons, dogs) you learn the approximate distance and direction to any instance
within long range. If you focus on a specific creature or object you sense the distance and
direction out to a number of kilometers equal to your Intellect score. In either case you can
pinpoint the location within immediate range. Sixth Sense remains active for one scene.
If you activate Sixth Sense without an enemy in mind it heightens your sense of being
watched; you know immediately if you are being observed by a being within long range.

Tier 3: Where Skill Meets Persistence. You are specialized in athletics, endurance, mental
focus, tactics, resisting pain, and Intellect Defense.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift of your choice.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Mind Over Body (5 Intellect). Your soul -- you ki -- infuses your body and allows you
to exert yourself at near superhuman levels for one scene. Your lifting and carrying capacity,
running speed, and jumping distance double, and you can move a short distance and attack
without making an athletics check. You gain an asset on Might and Speed defense tasks, and
you can hold your breath for a number of minutes equal to your Might score.
A side effect of this ability grants you a measure of instinctive skill even when the primary
effect isn't active. You gain training in unarmed combat and become practiced with all armor
and weapons.

Tier 5: Collective Unconscious. You are linked to the collective core of all humanity. If you
focus on a particular area of human learning while you meditate you can extract enough
knowledge to gain training in an appropriate skill, upgrade training to specialization, or gain
fluency in a language. This skill normally lasts for one day, but if you have the XP to pay for
learning a skill you can retain it permanently. You can justify learning any skill or language
known by humans this way; you basically have all of humanity as your teacher.
Human Ingenuity. You can tap into humanity's nature as tool users to make even better
tools; given sufficient time you can make both magical and ultra-tech gear. You can make a
cypher if you have adequate raw materials and one hour of workshop time per level of the
cypher. With the same requirement for raw materials you can make an artifact given one
week of downtime per level of the artifact. A side effect of this ability allows you to safely
carry one extra cypher.

Tier 6: World Enough and Time. Your physical evolution has reached a point where you are
39
almost on par with immortals. You are resistant to most diseases and toxins, and you are
immune to those that were created by humans. Your rate of aging slows to a tenth of normal,
and you can shed one year of age per six hours of meditation. While meditating you have a
+2 bonus to recovery rolls. Your need for food and water is halved, and while meditating you
can survive without breathing for a number of hours equal to your Might score.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Enhanced Presence (1 Intellect). Your presence pushes others to submit to or listen to
you. You have an asset on your next attempt at command or intimidation.
Meditation. You can improve your mental faculties by spending an hour in meditation. At
any time during the 12 hours after you meditate you can re-roll a d20 roll for any mental skill
or Intellect defense task. You can use this ability up to three times and can't use it again until
you finish a 10-hour rest.
Mighty Will (2 Intellect). You steel your will against outside influences. For the rest of the
scene you have an asset on Intellect defense tasks.
Physical Boost (3 Intellect). Your mental focus enhances your body. Choose strength,
endurance, or agility. Tasks that depend on the quality you choose have a bonus of +2 to the
die roll. The other two have +1. This bonus remains in place for one scene.
All Are Prey (+2 Intellect). You can use Sixth Sense to focus on multiple types of targets.
You can detect a number of target types up to your current tier. At tier 6 any nonhuman
sapient that you kill counts as human for the purpose of accessing Collective Unconscious.
(tier 2)
Auto-Activation. Sixth Sense automatically activates when you are under attack or when
you enter the presence of your last chosen enemy. (tier 2)
Weak Point Sight (+3 Intellect). Sixth Sense shows you the vulnerable areas on your
target and gives you some idea of how force should be applied and how much. With a
successful Intellect task you can bypass the target's armor, gain a +2 damage bonus, or gain
an asset on tasks to overcome the target's defense (Might, Speed, or Intellect). At tier 6 this
ability also allows you to detect lies. (tier 2)
Manifest Will (1-6 Intellect). Your will manifests as a shield or burst of translucent energy.
With a shield you gain protection equal to light (3 Intellect), medium (4 Intellect), or heavy (5
Intellect) armor that stacks with any armor worn for one scene. Your blast acts as a light (1
Intellect), medium (2 Intellect), or heavy (3 Intellect) ranged weapon with short range. For +1
Intellect you can extend the range to long. (tier 4)
Mental Mountain. You have near-perfect memory and accelerated neural processing
speed. You have two assets on any task to recall information, and you can learn skills and
languages in half the normal time. With a successful Intellect (mental focus) task you can
take a second action during your turn, but the bonus action must be purely mental. (tier 4)
Physical Peak. Your physical abilities are now boosted beyond your former limits. You
gain 5 pool points to divide between Might and Speed (each must receive at least one point)
and training in three physical skills of your choice -- you may use this bonus to upgrade
training in existing skills to specialization. Physical Boost now activates with no action on
your part when you make an initiative check. (tier 4)

IS PART MACHINE
You have been implanted with microscopic machines, and the nanites take over more of your
body as you progress in this focus. Eventually you will become a mere husk of the human
you once were... hopefully the power is worth it.
40
 The nanites within you form circuitry patterns on your skin; they are usually visible only
from up close or when they glow.
Minor Effect Suggestion: You take control of a piece of technological gear on the target's
person for one round; you can deactivate it, or you can activate it with a target of your choice.
Major Effect Suggestion: A piece of non-magical gear (other than a cypher or artifact) on
your target's person is destroyed.
Metaphysical Language: Fortean

Tier 1: Nanite Cloud (1 per turn to destroy; 5 per minute to reshape). You create a cloud
of nanites with a short range radius. They can break down matter within range to destroy it
(light weapon) or reshape it (counts as wielding appropriate tools but works twice as fast). If
your nanites are lost or destroyed you generate more when you take a rest. You are aware of
any corporeal object or creature within your Nanite Cloud even if you can't see it.
Tech Savvy. You are trained in computers, electronics, and mechanics.

Tier 2: Digital Mind. Your graft creates processing nodes within your brain. Your speed and
clarity of thought improves, and you have a heads-up display in your vision that helps you
process any information that you are aware of. You have an asset on hacking, initiative,
tactics, and perception tasks. You can use Binary machine language as easily as you can
human speech.
On the Air. You can send and receive radio signals. Signals to and from machines that
you create are encrypted, and breaking the code requires a hacking task. You can broadcast
to the horizon when you first gain this ability. At tier 4 you can take advantage of any booster
stations present to send and receive broadcasts over the horizon, and at tier 6 you can use
satellite communications to extend your range all over the world.

Tier 3: Tech Mastery. You are specialized in computers, electronics, and mechanics.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Accuracy, Intelligence, or Resilience.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Nanoforge (+3 Intellect). You create more nanites and can replenish them faster.
After an effect that burns out your Nanite Cloud you can reactivate it with a full-round action,
and your cloud is now a medium weapon (heavy with Atomic Speed) when used to destroy
matter. Reshaping matter occurs at 5x the speed of normal tool use (10x with Atomic Speed).
When you gain this ability you also gain an internal reservoir where you can store matter
that your nanites have broken down. The reservoir is an extradimensional space, and you
can store up to (your current tier) times your body mass in it. You can use this stored matter
to craft objects or, as an action, instantly replenish your Nanite Cloud .

Tier 5: Machine Conversion. Much of your body is now biomechanical, and you have a
special chip in the center of your chest that takes over many of your autonomic functions.
You now have conscious control over your heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing rate, body
temperature, perspiration, and blink reflex. This gives you an asset on any task for which
being able to choose your vital signs would be useful (i.e. beating a polygraph).
Your part machine body is immune to non-magical diseases and toxins and resistant to the
magical ones, and as long as you have stored matter in your reservoir you don't need to eat,
drink, or breathe.

Tier 6: Perpetual Motion. Your biomechanical form now repairs itself with even greater
41
facility; you have a +2 bonus to recovery rolls, and you will eventually heal from any wound,
including a fatal one. Your mind disperses into your surroundings as a program running on
matter that you temporarily convert into computronium while your body is being rebuilt. You
can only be permanently killed via complete and instant disintegration; you will eventually
repair yourself from anything slower or less thorough.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Atomic Speed (+2 Intellect). Your Nanite Cloud works much faster. When destroying
matter it is now a medium weapon, and when reshaping matter it works 5x as fast as normal
tool use.
Controller Node (4 Intellect). You can create a computer node that can be programmed
with simple instructions -- with this node you create a smaller cloud of nanites as a level 2
creature that persists for a number of days equal to your tier. The Controller Node will follow
a command until the task is complete, you tell it to stop, or the effect expires.
Crackle Field (2 Intellect). Your Nanite Cloud builds up a charge of static electricity and
discharges it as a taser-like shock that ignores conductive armor (medium weapon, heavy
weapon if Atomic Speed is active, to every target within short range). The effect deals Speed
damage but cannot reduce the target's Speed pool to zero. Crackle Fields burns out most of
your nanites, so you can't use Nanite Cloud or any abilities based on it for at least three turns
after using this ability.
Dermal Mesh (1-3 Intellect). You spread nanites throughout your skin, thereby gaining
protection equal to the amount of Intellect you spend to activate this power. The protection
lasts for one scene and stacks with other armor.
Duplicates (5 Intellect). You create a duplicate of your Nanite Cloud, and you can have
up to five of these Duplicates active at a time. Any ability that you would normally use through
your Nanite Cloud can be used through one of the Duplicates instead without damaging or
losing your main cloud. Duplicates can be controlled while they are within long range of you...
but with a Controller Node range is no longer an issue. Duplicates burn out after one scene.
At tier 4 Duplicates last for up to a day, and at tier 6 they last until destroyed.
Motion App (2 Intellect). You can create programs on the fly that optimize your body's
motion for the current situation. You gain an asset on athletics checks for one scene, and at
tier 4 you also gain an asset on Speed defense checks. (tier 2)
Overclock (3 Speed). You drastically increase your processing speed for a few seconds.
You can take a second action during the current turn, but the bonus action must be purely
mental. At tier 6 the extra physical action can be physical. (tier 2)
Ray Scan. Your vision now extends into the ultraviolet, infrared, and microwave/radio
ranges. You can also sense magnetic fields. At tier 6 you can reshape nearby matter into
sensor nodes -- as long as you are within radio range you can shift your awareness to the
node and sense from its location as if you were there, but you are blind and deaf at your
body's location. (tier 2)
Energy Furnace (2, 3, or 5 Intellect). You can break down stored matter into energy and
discharge it. For 2 Intellect you can power a vehicle or a large device for one hour as long as
you or your Nanite Cloud is in contact with it -- small devices like flashlights can be powered
indefinitely with no expenditure of Intellect. For 3 Intellect you can fire a blast of energy as a
medium weapon out to long range, and for 5 Intellect it's a heavy weapon. You can discharge
energy in the form of heat, light, electricity, plasma, or microwaves. At tier 6 you can use this
ability to fire magical energy that does Speed or Intellect damage. (tier 4)
Programmatic Matter (+5 Intellect). You fine-tune your ability to reshape matter. You can
42
now create nano-components that allow for things like shape-changing parts. You can also
make computronium, solid matter that has molecular-scale computer processing built in. With
this ability you can create things like a suit of armor that folds down to a belt or a ring with all
the functions of a cellular phone. Work with the GM to determine what your creations can do.
Products of Programmatic Matter are ultra-tech and therefore can't be deactivated by effects
that dispel magic. At tier 6 you can use this ability on your own body to change your size and
shape or to shift your limbs into weapons. (tier 4)

LURKS IN THE DEEP

The grafting process releases the kraken... into your soul. You become a creature of the
ocean depths. Some recipients of this graft take their essence from Scylla instead of the
kraken, but the abilities and level of menace are the same.
Taking this graft causes your scalp hair -- and your beard, if you have one -- to be replaced
with tentacles.
Minor Effect Suggestion: Your strike infuses your target with the chill of the deep; your
foe can't voluntarily move from its current location before the end of your next turn.
Major Effect Suggestion: You force seawater into your opponent's lungs; the target takes
3 Might damage that bypasses armor and even fully sealed environment gear.
Metaphysical Language: Aklo

Tier 1: Dangerous When Wet. You are adapted to the cold and pressure of the deeps, you
can breathe water, and moving through water doesn't reduce your speed. Resisting liquid-
based poisons is one step less difficult for you, and you ignore visibility penalties for seeing
through water. While you are at least knee-deep in water your lifting and carrying capacity
are quadrupled and you deal +2 melee damage.
The Life Aquatic. You are trained in swimming, grappling, and Might defense.

Tier 2: Tentacle (2 Might). You can transform one of your limbs into a tentacle for one scene.
You can attack a target at immediate range without moving, and using the tentacle gives you
an asset on grappling and climbing checks. Unarmed strikes with the tentacle count as using
a medium weapon.

Tier 3: Marine Life. You are specialized in swimming, grappling, and Might defense. You
also become a lucid dreamer.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Accuracy, Resilience, or Strength.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Atlantean Runes (3-5 Intellect). With an hour of work you can carve a rune into a
stone to imbue it with minor magic; you can make runes of Might, Speed, or Intellect. Instead
of moving during your turn you can activate a rune stone to gain an asset on your next action
that is associated with that rune -- for example, an Intellect defense check if you activated a
runestone of Intellect. You can carry a number of rune stones equal to the number of cyphers
that you can carry, more than that and they interfere with each other, but they don't count
against the number of cyphers on your person. You can also pass rune stones to your allies.
Using a common stone (3 Intellect) creates a one-use item, while using a semiprecious
stone (4 Intellect) creates a rune stone that can be used three times. A precious rune stone
(5 Intellect) remains active for the rest of the scene and applies to all actions that use the
associated pool. You gain the ability to make precious rune stones at tier 5. A used rune
stone crumbles to dust.
43
Tier 5: Dreamtide (5 or 7 Intellect). The dark and twisted seascapes of your dreams leak out
into the waking world. You can impose environmental hazards -- either in dream form or in
actuality -- from the deep ocean on an area out to short range in radius (long range at tier 6) --
you can impose crushing pressures at the top of the mountain, drop the temperature to sub-
freezing in the middle of a desert, or cause your enemies to drown on dry land. If the hazard
is an intrusive dream your enemies suffer a +1 step penalty on all actions. If you bring actual
hazards partly into reality your enemies also take 2 damage per turn while they remain in the
affected area. This is ambient damage, so it bypasses armor, and you can choose whether it
goes against Might, Speed, or Intellect. Having Dreamtide active counts as being submerged
in seawater for the purpose of Dangerous When Wet and Inky Murk. The Dreamtide flows for
one scene, until you end it, or until you are knocked out or killed.
You can establish a lair during downtime where these effects persist as long as you remain
alive. You can place your lair in a cave on land, in a lake, or in some other location that can
act as a discreet gateway to the deeps. Your lair is a portal that allows you to access a point
in the ocean. You can only have one lair, but you can link it to up to ten different locations in
the abyss.

Tier 6: Strange Aeons. You become immune to poison, cold, pressure, and the ravages of
time, and you are resistant to disease. If you are killed your body retreats into your lair while
it repairs itself. You can only permanently die if your lair is destroyed, or your access to it cut
off, before destroying your body. Your lair can only be destroyed from the inside.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Current Maker (2 Might). You can cause water currents to move around you. You gain
an asset on your next Speed defense or initiative check.
Dampness (2 Intellect). You summon a coating of water onto your body. For the rest of
the scene you benefit from half of the strength and damage bonus you get from Dangerous
When Wet. At tier 4 you get the full bonus.
Inky Murk (2+ Intellect). You squirt a cloud of ink that blocks line of sight into, out of, or
through the affected area, but you can see through the cloud just fine. The cloud has a radius
of immediate range and lasts for one turn for every 2 Intellect you spend on it. The ink cloud
doesn't move with you. At tier 5 you can use this ability in air, and the radius expands to short
range in water.
Water Radar (2 Intellect). You can sense vibrations in water. You detect the presence of
any solid object or corporeal creature within immediate range precisely enough to fight it even
if you can't see it. This expands to short range when you reach tier 4 and long range at tier 6.
Multi-Tentacles (+1-2 Might). You can transform two limbs at once, and you can split a
transformed limb into 2-3 smaller and weaker tentacles. This gives you additional "hands"
with which to hold objects or weapons or makes it easier to have a hand free for some other
task. It costs +1 Might to transform two limbs or to split one limb, +2 Might to transform two
limbs and split them. (tier 2)
Vicious Poison (1-3 Might). You coat your tentacles in poison. For each 1 Might that you
spend your next successful tentacle strike deals 1 Speed damage in addition to the normal
Might damage. At tier 6 you can create a poisonous atmosphere within immediate range; all
creatures other than you within that area take 1 Might damage per turn unless they don't need
to breathe, are immune to poison, or are wearing fully sealed environment gear. At tier 4 the
effect extends out to short range. (tier 2)
44
 Dark Whispers (+2 Intellect). You learn to modify runes so that a rune stone provides two
assets instead of one. (tier 4)
Deep Pressure (4 Might). You impose a feeling of the pressure of the deep ocean on
every enemy within immediate range; they suffer a penalty of +1 step to the difficulty of all
actions. At tier 6 the radius expands to short range. (tier 4)
Water Carver (1 or 3 Might). You can project a jet of high-pressure water to carve runes.
You can now make a rune stone in as little as 10 minutes (1 Might). You can also use the jet
as a medium ranged weapon with short range (3 Might), and the effect is armor-piercing --
armor protection is -1. (tier 4)
Great Tentacle (5 Intellect). You summon a large tentacle, a level 4 creature, from a
nearby body of water (Dreamtide counts if you summon dreams into actuality). The tentacle
can't move from the body of water from which you summon it, but it is smart enough to obey
simple commands and will even take initiative to defend itself or you. (tier 5)

REANIMATES
Your soul has been grafted with the essence of a powerful zombie lord. As you progress in
this focus you gradually become undead. You draw strength from death -- especially from
someone else's.
When you take this graft you skin becomes pale and waxy and your eyes glaze over as if
with cataracts.
Minor Effect Suggestion: Your scent of the grave distracts a nearby foe (-1 level to
Speed or Intellect defense tasks).
Major Effect Suggestion: Your odor nauseates all opponents within immediate range;
they suffer a one-step difficulty penalty in your favor on all actions for this round.
Metaphysical Language: Stygian

Tier 1: Tireless Strength. You are trained in feats of strength, endurance tasks, and resisting
pain. You can lift or carry twice as much weight as could a normal human your size.
Vigor Mortis. You no longer need to eat or drink, though doing so can help you heal faster
-- you have +2 to recovery rolls if you have eaten a full meal of uncooked dead flesh within
the last six hours -- and you can hold your breath for a number of minutes equal to your Might
score. This has the disadvantage of blunting your sense of smell -- smell perception tasks
have their difficulty increased by one step -- but at least you can no longer be distracted by
strong smells.

Tier 2: Carrion Flies (2 Might). You call forth a cloud of flying stinging insects that surrounds
you out to immediate range. You immediately become aware of anything that touches the
swarm, and you can use them to feel your way if you can't see. In lieu of taking a movement
action you can command the swarm to attack a creature within range, and each successful
attack deals 1 Might damage to the target.

Tier 3: Undying Strength. You are now specialized in feats of strength, endurance tasks,
and resisting pain. You can now lift or carry three times as much weight as could a normal
human your size.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Accuracy, Resilience, or Strength.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Breathless. You no longer need to breathe, and you are immune to inhaled toxins and
effects that work through your sense of smell. The downside is that you can no longer smell
45
anything.
Feed on Death. Whenever a living creature dies within short range of you you can absorb
the energy of its fading life force to boost your own vitality. You regain points to your pools as
if you had made a recovery roll with the creature's level as the result -- your bonus from Vigor
Mortis doesn't apply unless you killed the creature and have consumed some of its flesh. The
first time you use this ability during a scene is free. Each subsequent use costs a cumulative
+2 Might -- 2 Might for the second use, 4 Might for the third, and so on.

Tier 5: Army of Darkness (4 Might). You can raise a corpse within short range as an undead
(specifically, a ghast) that lasts for a number of weeks equal to your Might score. Each such
undead is a level 2 creature (+1 level for each upgrade that you have from among Ambient
Decay, Necrotic Swarm, and Queen Units) that follows your commands without question. You
can perceive through the senses of any undead that you create. Your undead minions can
follow only the simplest commands -- they're not terribly bright -- but their near-mindlessness
makes them immune to illusions, psychic attacks, and mind-altering affects. You can issue a
command to your minions in place of taking a movement action, and they will continue to
follow it until the task is complete, you command them to do something else, or they are
destroyed. You can raise up to 12 undead minions
Death Dealer. You are trained in necrotic attacks including using Ambient Decay, Carrion
Flies, Grave Breath, and Necrotic Burst.

Tier 6: Deathless. You are now fully undead. You can no longer be killed by age, poison, or
disease, and you are immune to necrotic damage. You will eventually heal from any wound
that doesn't completely destroy your physical form. Even if your body is destroyed you can
transfer your consciousness into the body of any undead you have raised, and you can
gradually transform that body into a copy of your original one if you so choose.
As a zombie lord you are saddled with a zombie's vulnerabilities. A deathblow dealt by a
shot to the head is permanent. The dark energies that animate you cease to flow if your
mouth is filled with salt and sewn shut -- if you are killed while in this state, or if you are
destroyed by fire, you don't play dead... you stay dead.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Carrion Eater. Your recovery bonus from Vigor Mortis increases to +4.
Freak Strength (1 Might). You have an asset on rolls for feats of strength and a +2 bonus
to melee damage for one minute.
Grave Breath. You exhale a noxious cloud that nauseates up to three adjacent targets
within immediate range. Each target increases all difficulties by one step -- or your difficulty to
affect the target decreases one step -- until the end of your next turn.
Life Sense. You sense the location of all living organic animals (including humanoids)
within short range with enough accuracy to attack them even if you can't see them. For 1
Intellect you can tell, in general terms, what sort of creature each target is. Lifeforms as small
as individual insects don't register on this sense, but insect swarms do.
Stamina Increase. Your endurance increases greatly. An effort that you could normally
keep up for mere minutes can now be sustained for hours with no ill effect, and you suffer no
penalty for going without sleep for up to (your Might score) days.
Growing Swarm (2 Might). Your insects can now lay eggs that hatch in 1-2 days, but the
new insects only live for a few days. The swarm grants you an asset on melee attacks while
it lasts. (tier 2)
46
 Necrotic Swarm. The insects in your swarm are larger and their stings more vicious; the
swarm's attacks now deal 2 Might damage. (tier 2)
Queen Units (3 Intellect). You can create a larger insect that can direct smaller swarms
even while separated from you. A swarm commanded by a queen is a level 1 creature -- level
2 if you have Growing Swarm or Necrotic Swarm, level 3 if you have both -- that can follow
simple commands and travel up to long range from you. (tier 2)
Ambient Decay (3 or 5 Might). You create a field of enervating energy that lasts for a
number of hours equal to your Might score. Any living organic creature within the field has the
difficulties for all tasks increased one step, or reduce your difficulties for affecting it one step
(this stacks with Grave Breath). A living creature also takes 2 Might damage upon entering
the field, and if you succeed on a Might task at the creature's level -1 (-2 if it is under the
effect of Grave Breath) it takes 1 Might damage. You can make this attack against a number
of targets up to your Intellect score. Any undead within the field have +1 to their level.
For 2 Might the field extends out to immediate range. For 5 Might it goes out to short
range. (tier 5)
Necrotic Burst (1 Might). You can fire a blast of necrotic energy as a medium ranged
weapon. (tier 5)

REEKS OF BRIMSTONE
Imps are the weakest members of demonkind. As agents of chaos they are happy to lend
portions of their souls to grant power -- and a penchant for mischief -- to mortals.
When you accept this graft (sucker!) you acquire a faint aroma of sulfur.
Minor Effect Suggestion: Your odor intensifies briefly to provide a distraction; your target
suffers a one-step difficulty penalty on their next action.
Major Effect Suggestion: You give the enemy a hotfoot; they take 3 Speed damage in
addition to the other effects of your action.
Metaphysical Language: Infernal

Tier 1: Devil's Advocate. You are trained in lying, contract law, and Intellect defense.
Devil's Luck (1 or 3 Speed). You can fire bolts of misfortune. With a successful Speed
task you impose a minor misfortune on your target. For 1 Speed the target either suffers a
one-step difficulty penalty to their next action or rolls two dice and takes the result that is more
favorable to you. For 3 Speed you impose both penalties.

Tier 2: Speak of the Devil (2 Intellect). With a successful Intellect task you can use your
speech as a light ranged weapon that deals Intellect damage to any non-demonic entity that
can hear you. This usually means short range, but the effect works over phone lines and
broadcast media. Only your live voice carries the effect; recordings are safe.
Devil in the Dark. You reduce visibility penalties due to darkness one step.

Tier 3: Devil's Due. You are specialized in lying, contract law, and Intellect defense.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Charisma, Dexterity, or Intelligence.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Deal with the Devil (4 Intellect). When you prepare a written contract you can set an
illusion to cover the words. Once every party involved signs of their own free will the actual
terms of the contract become binding regardless of what the signatories thought it said. The
illusion lasts until up to a minute after all parties have signed. It is possible to see through the
illusion with a contested Intellect task. You can store the contract in an extradimensional
47
space and retrieve it at will.
Devil Take the Hindmost (3, 5, or 7 Speed). You can open a portal to a hellish dimension
to unleash hellfire. For 3 Speed this is a medium ranged weapon with short range. For 5
Speed it is a heavy ranged weapon. For +2 Speed you can increase the range to long.

Tier 5: Devil in the Details (4+ Intellect). You are now able to interact with the "higher
angles" of the world. You can perform feats such as stepping around a corner to appear
around a corner at the opposite end of the hallway (teleport a short distance), conceal a
broadsword in your pocket, or hide yourself completely behind the pole of a traffic sign. Even
without activating this ability you can see dimensional anomalies and active magical fields
with a successful Intellect task. Other effects might be possible; work with the GM to
determine what game effects they might have. A general rule is that more powerful effects, or
those that include more people/encompass a greater area, cost more pool points to activate.

Tier 6: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. You become a true infernal, an ageless being
who is immune to disease and poison. You no longer need to eat or drink, but you can if you
wish. Destroying your physical form banishes you to the hell dimension from which you draw
your hellfire, but you can be summoned back via a ritual that requires the summoner to know
your True Name. Destroying you permanently is impossible, but writing your True Name in
blood and destroying it while within your hellscape banishes you from the material plane for
all eternity. The fact that neither mundane fire nor hellfire can burn paper while in a hellscape
is not commonly known.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Dire Bomb (+2 Speed). A bolt from Devil's Luck explodes on impact to affect all creatures
within immediate range.
Ill Blast (2 Intellect). Your bolts can cause feelings of illness instead of bad luck. The
discomfort of the symptoms imposes a one-step distraction penalty for the rest of the scene.
There is no actual illness, so immunity to disease offers no protection from this effect.
Instigator (+2 Speed). You can fine-tune Devil's Luck to cause your choice of misfortune.
If your attack succeeds you can declare a specific effect such as breaking an important piece
of gear, injury to a limb, an attack missing you and hitting one of the attacker's allies, and so
on. The effect that you declare must be within the range of things that could happen without
your intervention; you're not creating new possibilities, just realizing one that favors you.
Trap Hex (2 Intellect). You can set Devil's Luck as a sort of mine with a delayed fuse.
You can either push a bolt of misfortune into an object so that the effect "detonates" when
anyone handles or activates the item, or attach delayed misfortune to a person that goes off
when a trigger condition is met.
Burning Echoes (+3 Intellect). Speak of the Devil now works through a recording one
time. (tier 2)
Vile Whispers (+2 Intellect). You can focus Speak of the Devil to affect a single target
within long range. (tier 2)
Hell Tunnel (5 Speed). You can create an anchor of infernal energy that lasts for up to 24
hours (one week when you reach tier 6). While the anchor is active you can open a gate at
your current location to create a portal back to the location of the anchor. The portal closes at
the end of the next round after you pass through it. This costs -1 Speed if there is flame on
the anchor side of the portal. You pay the activation cost when you set the anchor and again
when you open the gate. (tier 4)
48
 Serend-imp-ity. You can use Devil's Luck to grant good luck (one-step difficulty bonus or
roll two dice and take the more favorable result) or Ill Blast to grant feelings of well-being
(remove a distraction penalty). (tier 4)
Summon Glyph (6 Intellect). You can reach into your hellscape and pull out the essence
of another imp to place in a prepared body -- usually an animal or doll. The imps are level 3
creatures, and you can summon up to four at a time. They are inclined to help you, but it
would be wise to remember that they are agents of chaos; they aren't actually loyal to you,
and they most definitely won't follow orders without a contract. An imp is banished from the
world if its body is destroyed. (tier 4)
Infernal Script (+5 Intellect). You can now infuse Speak of the Devil into writing; the
effect triggers on the first person to read it. If you also use Vile Whispers you can set the
effect to trigger when a specific person reads it, or you can use Trap Hex to set a trigger
condition. (tier 5)

RIDES FEAR
Your soul now carries the essence of a harbinger of fear. The most common variant is from
the nightmares, the horses that carry dreams of terror, but your graft might have instead come
a dread rider like a dullahan.
When you accept this graft your skin, especially your face, seems to always be in shadow
and your eyes glow red.
Minor Effect Suggestion: Your foe gets a sudden feeling of danger coming from another
direction and takes their eyes off you; you have a one-step distraction bonus on your next
action against that target. You must use this bonus before the end of your next turn.
Major Effect Suggestion: Your enemy is paralyzed with fear; they are unable to act at all
before the end of your next turn.
Metaphysical Language: Infernal

Tier 1: Black Fog (2 Intellect). You generate a black cloud with a short range radius for one
scene. All creatures within the cloud except you (or others with this graft) have their line of
sight into, out of, or within the fog blocked and suffer a one-step distraction penalty on all
actions due to fear and apprehension. The Black Fog is centered on you and moves with you.
At tier 3 the cloud doesn't have be centered on you but still moves with you. At tier 5 the
cloud expands to a long range radius.
Black Rider. You are trained in intimidation, stealth, and Intellect defense, and you
become a lucid dreamer.

Tier 2: Nightmare's Hooves (2 Might). Your legs and feet are imbued with the power of the
nightmare. Your running speed and jumping distance are doubled, and you can move a short
distance and attack without making an athletics check. You can also run across hostile terrain
(i.e. broken glass or hot coals) with no harm, and you subtract your current tier from falling
damage as long as you land on your feet. This remains in effect for one scene.

Tier 3: Harbinger of Fear. You are specialized in intimidation, stealth, and Intellect defense,
and you become trained in dream manipulation.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Charisma, Dexterity, or Speed.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Monster from the Id (5 Intellect). With a successful Intellect task you can reach into
the mind of a creature under the effect of Black Fog and draw out a physical manifestation of
49
its fears. This creates a creature or hazard with a level equal to the target's level or tier.
You have no control over the form a Monster from the Id takes -- that is entirely dictated by
the target's fears -- nor do you have any control over it beyond a manifested creature having
the creature it was drawn from as its primary target and not attacking you unless you attack it.
At tier 6 a Monster from the Id won't attack your allies unless attacked by them. The monster
remains until Black Fog ends or the creature it is drawn from dies or flees.

Tier 5: Realm of Fear (6 Speed). You can turn your Black Fog into a portal to the realm of
dreams. While in this realm anything that a creature is wearing or carrying vanishes until re-
entering the waking world, but lucid dreamers can shape dream stuff into copies of their
waking world gear that have the same functions. The dream world runs on belief rather than
logic, so effects that depend on waking world science don't always work unless the person
making the attempt truly believes that they should... which usually means having a real
understanding of the underlying science. Magic works just fine here. When you leave the
dream you re-enter the waking world at the same place where you left it with the exceptions
noted below.
You can use this ability to enter a specific person's dreamscape while they sleep if you are
in their presence, if they have issued you an invitation within the last 24 hours, or if you know
their True Name. While in someone's dreamscape you have an asset on any attempt to
analyze or alter their psyche -- it is possible to attack the dreamer's fears and personality
traits directly here. The danger of being in a dreamscape is that the dreamer's subconscious
mind will resist tampering, often by using a more powerful version of Monster from the Id to
create guardians... and the closer you get to the dreamer's core personality the more powerful
and/or numerous those guardians become. If you manage to kill the core personality in the
dream realm the dreamer either dies or falls into an unrecoverable coma in the waking world.
If you "die" in the dream realm you are ejected from the dream, and all of your injuries except
the one that "killed" you carry over to your waking form. You can exit a dreamscape at the
sleeper's physical location even if you didn't enter from there.
With a day of effort you can turn your own dreamscape into a lair with a long range radius.
When you sleep your body enters the dream realm for safekeeping, and you can also store
treasures here. Once you have fortified your dreamscape this way the effects of Black Fog
and any upgrades you have among Clouded Steps, Grasping Gasps, Id-iation, and Spillover
are always active here. If you leave the dream realm from your lair you can re-enter the
waking world at the location of any bed you have slept in within the last week -- that is, the
geographic location where you slept, not the physical location of the bed.

Tier 6: Endless Terror. You are as timeless as fear itself. You no longer age, diseases and
toxins no longer harm you, and you are immune to psychic damage. When you make a
recovery roll within your dreamscape you can roll two dice and take the higher result. If you
die your soul retreats to your realm while you construct a new body... which becomes more
nightmarish every time you do this. The only way to destroy you permanently is to kill you in
close combat while within your dreamscape.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Energize. You draw energy from others' fear. You gain a pool of energy called a Fear pool.
You gain one point to your Fear pool for each being affected by your Black Fog -- this is a
one-time gain when you activate the Black Fog or when a new creature enters it. If you
successfully intimidate a creature without the help of Black Fog you gain 1 Fear, or 2 Fear if
50
the creature flees. Killing a creature within your Black Fog gives you Fear points equal to the
creature's level/tier +1 for each of the victim's allies that witnessed the death. Your maximum
Fear pool is your Intellect plus your current tier +1 per upgrade you have. You can use Fear
points to activate any of your focus abilities or to apply Effort.
Faint Terrors (1 Speed). You can make your Black Fog nearly transparent; it is difficult to
see during daylight and all but invisible in the dark. The fog no longer blocks line of sight
when used this way, but your enemies might not know that you're using it.
Grasping Gasps (1 Might). Your Black Fog physically restricts the breath of creatures
other than you within it; feats of athleticism or endurance suffer a +1-step difficulty penalty.
This has no effect on creatures that don't need to breathe.
Spillover (+1 Intellect). Creatures that breathe in your Black Fog exhale a lesser version
of it which expands the borders of the cloud. You can center the Black Fog on a creature
within it other than you and have the cloud move with them. You can switch the center of the
cloud to a different creature or to yourself in lieu of taking a movement action.
Clouded Steps (2 Speed). You treat your Black Fog as solid ground. You can set it over
water or even over a chasm and safely run across it. (tier 2)
Flint Hooves (3 Speed). Your feet and lower legs are covered in flames and/or your
footfalls and kicks strike sparks. In addition to looking really cool this adds fire damage to
your kicks equal to half your current tier, round down, for the rest of the scene. (tier 2)
Heavy Tread (3 or 5 Might). The impact of your foot releases strong vibrations. Your
kicks are medium (3 Might) or heavy (tier 4+; 5 Might) weapons for one scene. (tier 2)
Bugbear Chimera (3 Might). You can store a number of forms for Monster from the Id
equal to your current tier and summon those creatures or hazards at a later date. If you are
already at your maximum storing a new form erases one of the previous ones. (tier 4)
Eyes in the Dark (2 Intellect). You manifest one or more pairs of glowing red eyes
anywhere within your Black Fog. Perception checks and ranged attacks that you make can
originate from the location of any set of Eyes in the Dark that you currently have active. You
can have a number of sets of Eyes in the Dark up to your current tier. (tier 4)
Id-iation (+3 Intellect). You can use Monster from the Id to draw out a manifestation of
your own fears; the character has no control over what form this takes, but the player does.
In addition to acting in your best interests -- while not necessarily being under your control --
the manifestation grants you an asset on tests to resist fear. (tier 4)

RISES FROM THE ASHES

Your soul bears a spark from the eternal flame of the phoenix or one of its kin (feng, firebird,
hinotori, etc.). Both literal and metaphorical fire are yours to command.
When you take this graft reddish or golden feathers appear in your hair or perhaps replace
it completely.
Minor Effect Suggestion: Something on the target's person catches fire; they must drop
a weapon or other item.
Major Effect Suggestion: Your fire is hot enough to burn the soul; the target takes 3
Intellect damage in addition to any other effects of your action.
Metaphysical Language: Empedoclean

Tier 1: Searing Gaze. You gain the firebird's keen senses; you can see in the dark, and you
can detect micro-expressions on people's faces and subtle shifts in body language. You are
trained in perception tasks that depend on sight and hearing and in reading body language
and facial expressions, and you reduce darkness penalties one step.

51
Tier 2: Smoldering Voice (2 or 4 Intellect, +1 per target excluded). You can infuse magical
energy into your voice to enchant those who hear you. For 2 Intellect the effect extends out
to immediate range. For 4 Intellect it extends to short range. You can spend 1 Intellect per
target within that area that you don't wish to affect.
Make an Intellect check for each target. If you succeed your magic takes effect for one
scene unless something interrupts the effect. The first three effects you learn are sounds of
sleep, pain (target suffers a one-step distraction penalty), and healing (target has +2 to
recovery rolls). You can learn more sounds through experimentation; each one costs 2 XP.
Voice Training. You become trained in your choice of oratory or singing.

Tier 3: Smoky Eyes. You are now specialized in perception tasks that depend on sight and
hearing and in reading body language and facial expressions, and you reduce darkness
penalties two steps.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Dexterity, Resilience, or Speed.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Aerie: During downtime you can establish a safe place to rest and store treasures.
The nest itself is an extradimensional space with a short range radius, but the entrance must
be in normal space -- a room in a house, the door to a storage closet, a mountain peak, etc.
You can only make one nest, but you can prepare multiple entrances in different locations. It
takes about a week to prepare a nest and a day to prepare each entrance after the first. You
can enter or leave the nest through any of your prepared entrances.
Wings of Fire (2-3 Speed). You can extend fiery wings from your arms or shoulders. For
3 Speed you can fly at your normal running speed for up to 15 minutes, and you can release
needles of fire from your wings as a medium ranged weapon (2 Speed per shot).

Tier 5: Purifying Flame (6 Intellect). You can engulf a target with white flames that purify it
instead of simply burning. This can have a variety of effects including but not limited to curing
disease, removing poisons and pathogens from food and drink, restoring a withered limb,
improving the quality of an item, or reverting a finished item to raw materials. State your
intended effect, and the GM will tell you whether or not it is possible. Then roll an Intellect
task and, if successful, spend the pool points to achieve the desired effect.
As part of gaining this power you become trained in a skill of your choice that would aid in
purifying certain targets. Training in medicine helps with treating creatures, training in a craft
skill helps with improving or breaking down crafted items, and so on.

Tier 6: Rise. You are now as immortal as the phoenix itself. Every morning when you wake a
wave of flame burns all disease and toxins from your system, and your rate of aging is halved.
If you die you explode in a wave of flame (heavy weapon that attacks everything within short
range of you) and teleport away. You rematerialize in your nest at full health with your age
reverted to the cusp of physical adulthood (12-15 years) with your memories intact.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Heated Glare (1 Intellect). You can ignite a flammable object -- creating flame equal to a
match or a lighter -- by staring intently at a single point. This is a full-round action during
which you can do nothing else.
Mage Sight. You can see magical energy as if it is another part of the light spectrum. You
can see active magical effects, traces of residual energy where magic was recently used, and
52
the magical fields surrounding enchanted items or places of power.
Prediction Vision (2 Intellect). You can see into the immediate potential future. Instead
of taking a movement action you can peer a few seconds ahead. Name one creature or
object as your target. You may ask the GM what the target's most likely action is or what will
most likely happen to it next turn. The GM is obligated to answer truthfully, but the actions of
other characters can change the target's action.
World-Song (1 Intellect). You can focus your attention to listen to a faint melody that
relates to your current location and the creatures within it. The music gives an indication of
the current conditions -- for example, ominous music indicates danger while a slow, soulful
saxophone solo suggests that things are about to take a sexy turn. Yes, you hear rousing
battle music during a combat scene. The World-Song plays for the rest of the scene whether
you want it to or not.
Dancing Elements (2, 3, or 4 Intellect). You can use your voice to control wind and fire.
At first you can only cause them to move (2 Intellect), but that's enough for dramatic effect or
basic utility. As you gain higher tiers in this focus you learn how to use the elements to attack
(medium melee weapon or light ranged weapon; 3 Intellect) or form them into hazards (lasts
for one scene; 4 Intellect). (tier 2)
Echoing Songs (+2 Intellect). You can use Smoldering Voice out to long range. (tier 2)
Fly Through Flame (4 Speed). You can teleport to a location within short range that you
can see. You can teleport to a point within long range, and don't require line of sight, if you
know of a fire at that location. (tier 4)
Sweeping Fire (+1 Speed per additional target). You can attack multiple targets when
you shoot flame needles from your wings. (tier 4)
True Nature (4 Intellect). Designate a creature or object that you can see as your target
and make an Intellect check. If you succeed you receive a short description of what the target
is (as opposed to what it appears to be). If the target is a creature you also learn its current
emotional state. If the target is an object you learn who owns it. (tier 4)
Life and Death (8 Intellect; optional 5 Might). Your healing sound can bring someone
back from the brink of death; the target removes one affliction and moves one space up on
the damage track (for NPCs/creatures, restores 8 health or up to full, whichever is less). If
you use a sound of ending instead the target moves one space down on the damage track
(for NPCs/creatures, halves current health, round down), but this option costs you 5 Might
which cannot be reduced with Edge in addition to the Intellect cost. You can only use this
ability on a particular target once per scene. At tier 6 you can use this ability to revive
someone who died no longer ago than the previous scene; this has the same Might cost as
the sound of ending. (tier 5)

SLEEPS BENEATH THE SAND

You have bound up your lot with one of the ancient sorcerer-kings of old, one of the legendary
mummies. You aren't fully bandaged yet, but as you progress in this focus you become more
wrapped up in its trappings.
As a host to this graft you have dry, sallow skin and bags under your eyes. You also have
lengths of linen bandage wrapped around each forearm, and as you progress in this focus the
bandages expand to cover more of you. You can wear clothing over the bandages.
Minor Effect Suggestion: Your curse triggers a nearby trap or other environmental
hazard. This deals 2 Speed damage, which counts as ambient damage.
Major Effect Suggestion: Your curse causes the target's action to rebound on itself. Until
the end of your next turn the target takes Intellect damage equal to the amount of damage it
deals to you or your allies. For an area effect attack the damage does not combine; the
53
creature takes Intellect damage equal to the highest damage it deals.
Metaphysical Language: Stygian

Tier 1: Burial Shroud (1 Might). When you activate this ability the bandages around your
arms partly unwind and can be wielded like tentacles or whips (light weapons) out to short
range for one scene.
Scholar of Antiquity. You are trained in history, Intellect defense, and traps (avoiding,
detecting, and creating them). You know the language of the people who created your graft
donor's mummification ritual -- Kemetic for Egyptian mummies, Quechua for Andean
mummies, Igorot for Kabayan mummies, and so on.

Tier 2: Shifting Sands (3 or 5 Intellect). You summon a small cloud of golden sand around
yourself; the cloud is centered on you and moves with you. You can sense anything within
the cloud as if you are touching it (which doesn't help with things you can't touch), and you
can drive the sand like a sandstorm to scour your targets (light weapon). For 3 Intellect the
cloud has an immediate range radius, short range for 5 Intellect.

Tier 3: Wisdom of the Ages. You are specialized in history, Intellect defense, and traps.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Charisma, Intelligence, or Resilience.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Mummy's Curse (6 Intellect). You apply a wasting curse using your touch (Shifting
Sands counts) and a successful Intellect task. The target takes 1 damage to each of their stat
pools when the curse is first applied and at the end of each hour thereafter until they complete
a 10-hour rest. Any healing the target receives before the curse expires is halved (round
down). Mummy's Curse doesn't count as active magic for the purpose of abilities that dispel
magic; it can only be removed by you or by an effect that specifically breaks curses.

Tier 5: Pyramid Power. You summon a stone building, your tomb, to your location. The tomb
covers an area with roughly a long range radius and is at least partly underground -- the tomb
is an extradimensional space (and thus bigger on the inside), so this causes no disruption to
the location. Summoning the tomb requires three consecutive full-round actions during which
you can do nothing else.
Anyone who enters the tomb without your permission falls under your Mummy's Curse until
the end of their next 10-hour rest after they leave, and you are aware of other beings within
your tomb as if they were within the area of your Shifting Sands even if you're not in the tomb
at that time. While within your tomb your bandages cover your entire body and grant you +3
protection (this stacks with any armor worn). Your tomb contains a number of traps equal to
your current tier, at least one of which is in your burial chamber. You decide what kinds of
traps are present and where they are located, and you can change the nature and locations of
the traps once a week with an act of will. You also learn a master rite that lets you create
lesser mummies (level 4 creatures), and you can have up to a dozen. At least half of your
lesser mummies must remain in your tomb at all times.
Your burial chamber lies at the center of the tomb, and your sarcophagus is located here.
You have +4 to all recovery rolls while resting in your sarcophagus. The sarcophagus can't
be destroyed while you live. The burial chamber also contains your funereal offerings. Each
offering must be made for you by hand by an ordinary mortal using purely mundane means.
You can have any number of funereal offerings, but it's up to you (using appropriate roleplay)
to obtain them.
54
Tier 6: Coming Forth by Day. You are now a true undead. You no longer age, nor do you
need food, water, or air (though you can eat and drink if you wish). Disease and poison, even
if magical, no longer affect you. You still need sleep, but you can remain active for up to a
year without rest and make up the difference afterward by spending that same amount of time
sleeping. Your appearance remains that which you had when you took the graft.
If you are killed your body reappears in your sarcophagus, where you sleep until you are
fully healed -- you only get one recovery roll per day while you are "dead." Killing you so that
you stay dead requires cremating your body and destroying your sarcophagus after ruining all
of your funereal offerings without otherwise moving them; as an advanced rite this takes one
hour and must be performed separately for each offering.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Binding Cuff (+1 Might). You have an asset on grappling checks when using your
bandages.
Edged Cloth (+2 Might). You sharpen the edges of your bandages to make them more
effective weapons; they are now medium weapons.
Healing Band (2 Intellect). You can wrap your bandages around someone's wounds
(including your own) and grant an extra one-action recovery roll. You can use this ability once
per scene per subject.
Hydra Weave (+3 Might). You split your bandages so that they form 12 extra limbs (six
per arm) instead of two. This doesn't give you any extra actions, but each limb can hold a
weapon or shield or count as a free hand for actions that require it.
Sandstone Strip (2 Might). You can stiffen your bandages to the consistency of stone.
While a bandage is wrapped around your arm you can use it as a shield.
Ambient Irritant (2 or 4 Intellect). While Shifting Sands is active you can use it to apply a
secondary effect to any targets affected. For 2 Intellect the effect (i.e. confusion, pain, loss of
traction) imposes a one-step difficulty modifier to tasks. For 4 Intellect the effect is major
(blindness, sleep, all other physical attacks become armor-piercing, etc.). (tier 2)
Clumps of Clay (4 Might). While Shifting Sands is active you can compress sand into
clay and fire it as a projectile (heavy weapon) at a target within long range. (tier 2)
Dry Sands (2 Might per turn). Your Shifting Sands become an area of damaging heat
and dryness. Any creature within the cloud must succeed on a Might task or take 1 damage
each to Intellect and Speed. You can keep this going by continuing to spend Might every turn,
and any targets affected must continue to make resistance rolls for as long as you maintain
the effect. (tier 2)
Law Breaker (+2 Intellect). You can declare the law for an area up to long range in radius.
You designate an action that, when performed within the area, inflicts your Mummy's Curse
on the offender. This effect remains in place for up to 24 hours. At tier 5 it remains for up to a
week, and at tier 6 it lasts for a month. (tier 4)
Tithe of Might. A portion of the energy sapped by your curses is channeled to you. For
every 10 damage dealt by your Shifting Sands, Mummy's Curse, or Dry Sands you regain one
point to one of your stat pools. You can place the regained points into the stat pool of your
choice as long as it isn't already full. (tier 4)

SLITHERS
You take on the traits of the naga, the mystical serpent people of the Near East. Most naga
don't live up to their sinister reputation. Whether or not you do is up to you.
55
 Taking this graft gives you a faint pattern of scales on your skin (especially your face, limbs,
and back) and slit-pupilled eyes. As you ascend to higher tiers in this focus you blink less
often until tier 6, at which point you no longer blink at all.
Minor Effect Suggestion: You lock eyes with an opponent and cause them to hesitate
momentarily; the difficulty of the target's next action increases one step.
Major Effect Suggestion: Your gaze completely mesmerizes your opponent; they suffer a
one-step difficulty penalty on attacks against you for the rest of the encounter.
Metaphysical Language: Draconian

Tier 1: Snake Charm (1 Intellect). If you make eye contact with a creature and succeed on
an Intellect check at the target's level you slow the target for as long as you maintain eye
contact. The target must succeed on an athletics check to move an immediate distance. The
effect ends at the end of the target's next turn after you break eye contact.
Subtle as Serpents. You are trained in Intellect defense and two knowledge skills of your
choice.

Tier 2: Spit Venom (2 or 4 Speed). You spit a stream of venom out to immediate range. This
is a light (for 2 Speed) or medium (for 4 Speed) weapon that inflicts Speed damage and
ignores permeable armor. The attack also continues to do damage on subsequent turns --
the damage is -1 per turn until the damage reaches zero.
If you succeed with a called shot to the face the target is blinded in addition to taking
damage. The blindness lasts until the venom is washed from the target's eyes or until the end
of the scene, whichever comes first.

Tier 3: The Way of Serpents. You are now specialized in Intellect defense. You gain training
in two more knowledge skills of your choice, or you can increase the skills you trained at tier 1
to specialization.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Accuracy, Dexterity, or Speed.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Molt (2, 4, or 6 Speed). You can change shape by shedding your "skin." As an action
(2 Speed) you can change your outfit. For 4 Speed you can swap out the gear and weapons
you have on you for gear that you have in storage or reduce your age by a number of months
equal to twice your current tier. As a full round action, during which you can do nothing else,
you can spend 6 Speed to make a recovery roll.
Viper's Ken. You gain training in your choice of two skills chosen from disguise, hypnosis,
intimidation, persuasion, or stealth.

Tier 5: Retroactive (5 Intellect). You can cast your mind and memories up to an hour back
through time. You can easily retrace your steps to review information or find something you
missed, and if you take a different action you might be able to change your fate. You can use
Molt as part of this effect; perhaps a different outfit or a different face will help you succeed.

Tier 6: Ouroboros (5 Intellect). If you are killed you automatically use Retroactive to cast
your soul back through time as far as 24 hours. You can then replay the events leading up to
your death in hope of achieving a better outcome. You can repeat this as many times as
necessary as long as you have the Intellect points to activate the effect.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

56
Upgrades
Expanded Vision. Your arc of vision increases so that you can see above you and to the
sides without moving your eyes or head. You can see creatures coming up on your flanks or
from above without breaking eye contact with a target under your Snake Charm.
Hypnotic Gaze (+1 Intellect). When you use Snake Charm the target becomes dazed
and suggestible instead of slowed. The target's attitude toward you becomes neutral if it
wasn't already better, and difficulties to persuade the target are reduced one step. If you
succeed on an Intellect task at the target's level +1 the target forgets that you hypnotized
them.
Paralysis Eye (+2 Intellect). Your Snake Charm now paralyzes the target.
Shifting Focus (+1-2 Intellect). Your Snake Charm can affect an additional target per +1
Intellect you spend. If you use Hypnotic Gaze or Paralysis Eye you must apply the same
effect to all targets.
Balancer (2 Intellect). You can alter the effect of your next use of Spit Venom. You can
increase the damage +2, have it cause paralysis instead of doing damage if it hits exposed
skin, inflict Might or Intellect damage, or increase the duration (damage is -1 every other turn).
You can only apply one of these effects at a time at first, but at tier 5 you can apply two of
them and at tier 6 you can apply three. (tier 2)
Jet Shot (+2 Speed). You can now pressurize Spit Venom so that it reaches out to short
range. The pressure is high enough that a target at immediate range takes 1 Might damage
from the force of the impact. (tier 2)
State Change (2, 3, or 4 Intellect). You can alter your next use of Spit Venom to modify
how the effect is delivered. For 2 Intellect you spit armor-piercing crystalline needles (armor
protection -1). For 3 Intellect you exhale gas that ignores armor but has to be inhaled
(stopped by fully sealed breathing gear, no effect on creatures that don't breathe). For 4
Intellect you generate a semi-liquid snake that can maneuver to avoid allies in the line of fire
and even follow the target behind cover (damage is reduced as normal). At tier 5 you can
combine one of these effects with one of the effects of Balancer. (tier 2)
Naga Form (+2 Speed). When you shed your "skin" you can gain a second pair of arms,
and your legs merge into a powerful snake tail. You can now swim at your normal walking
speed and hold your breath for a number of minutes equal to your Might score. You have an
asset on grapple checks and on perception checks to detect vibration/footfalls, you can see
infrared radiation (i.e. body heat), and you have additional hands with which to perform
actions or hold items. At tier 5 you can have a third pair of arms, and at tier 6 you gain a
fourth. You remain in Naga Form for up to 24 hours or until you are killed. (tier 4)
Peeling Mask (+1 Speed). When using Molt you can alter one aspect of your appearance
-- ethnicity, sex, height and build, etc. -- but it only takes one shedding to resume your natural
form. The mask remains in place until you remove it or until you are killed. (tier 4)
Petrifier Beam (5 Intellect). You fire a beam from your eyes that encases the target in
stone. The target is restrained and unable to perceive anything outside the stone casing until
the end of the scene unless it succeeds on a Might task to break free. You can use Shifting
Focus to affect additional targets. (tier 4)

SPEAKS FOR THE TREES

You wield the power and beauty of nature itself; you bear the essence of a dryad. That's the
most common variant, at least. You might bear the essence of a hyad (sky nymph), naiad
(river/lake nymph), nereid (ocean nymph), oread (mountain nymph), or psammead (sand
nymph) instead. If your graft comes from one of the other types of nymph you speak for the
Skies, the Waters, the Mountains, or the Sands instead of the Trees.
57
 Accepting this graft accentuates your feminine physical traits (if you are female) or makes
your body more androgynous (if male). Your hair grows leaves and twigs (dryad), turns blue
(naiad or nereid) or white (hyad), takes on a crystalline or metallic luster (oread), or becomes
a curtain of golden dust (psammead).
Minor Effect Suggestion: Beauty and majesty (both nature's and yours) assault your
foe's mind; they take 2 Intellect damage in addition to your action's other effects.
Major Effect Suggestion: The elements rise up to hinder your opponent's actions; your
target suffers a one-step difficulty penalty for the rest of the encounter.
Metaphysical Language: Empedoclean

Tier 1: Natural Beauty. You are trained in wilderness survival, sex appeal, and in swimming
(if a naiad or nereid) or athletics (any other nymph).
The Skin You're In (1 Might). Your skin takes on the appearance of your element -- bark,
cloud, water, stone, or sand -- for one scene. You have the protection of light armor with no
Speed penalty. At tier 3 this increases to medium armor, and at tier 5 it becomes heavy armor.
For hyad grafts you lack armor but instead gain the ability to fly at your walking speed. At tier
3 this increases to your running speed, and at tier 5 it is twice your running speed.
You are also perfectly adapted to survive in the environment of your element -- dryads are
immune to plant-based toxins, naiads and nereids can breathe water, hyads and oreads are
immune to altitude sickness, and psammeads are immune to heat injury. You have an asset
on tasks to resist environmental hazards of your elemental affinity. This aspect of the ability is
constantly active.

Tier 2: Nimbus (2, 4, or 6 Intellect). You create a cloud of your element with an immediate
range radius. This increases to short range for 4 Intellect, and at tier 5 you can increase it to
long range for 6 Intellect. The effect is centered on the place where you summoned it and
remains for one scene or until you dispel it. The cloud can produce an effect associated with
your element. The list below isn't comprehensive, but any other effects must be appropriate
to your element and comparable in power to those listed. You are immune to the effects of
your own Nimbus or that of someone else with the same element.
Regardless of your element you can use the cloud as a screen to hide yourself from sight;
you gain an asset on stealth checks.
 Dryad: allergy, confusion, drowsiness
 Hyad: anosmia, dizziness, shortness of breath
 Naiad/Nereid: chills, choking sensation, heaviness.
 Oread: deafness, exhaustion, vertigo.
 Psammead: blindness, heat exhaustion, loss of direction sense.

Tier 3: Nubile Savage. You are specialized in wilderness survival, sex appeal, and swimming
or athletics.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Charisma, Dexterity, or Speed.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Nature's Voice (2 or 4 Intellect). You can listen to the sounds of nature and interpret
them as a voice that tells you what happened within short range of your current location up to
a day ago (a week, if the setting is associated with your element) with a successful Intellect
task. Nature's Voice also apprises you of current events; you have an asset on alertness and
sensory perception rolls (two assets if in your element) while this power is active. This sense
remains active for one scene.
58
 For 4 Intellect you can make this sense so precise that you can use it in place of sight. If
Nimbus is active you can pinpoint any creature within its range even if you can't see it.
Gaining this ability strengthens your mental discipline; you are trained in Intellect defense.

Tier 5: Sacred Grove. With an hours-long ritual you bind yourself of a specific patch of nature
(a forest, a cloud, a lake or river, a bay or reef, a mountain, an oasis or beach, etc.) with a
long range radius or an equivalent area if not round. You suffer no movement penalties from
natural terrain or environmental effects within this area, natural animals and elementals within
this area won't attack you unless they are under foreign influence or you attack them first, and
you are always aware of the location and condition of your Sacred Grove. While there you
gain one additional recovery roll at the 10-minute and 1-hour intervals. For 3 Might or Intellect
you can teleport to any point within your Sacred Grove from any distance on the same plane
of existence.
The effects of The Skin You're In and Nature's Voice, and the upgrades Might of Nature,
Nature Speed, and Nature Speech (if you have them) are always active at no cost while you
are in your Sacred Grove. You are also immune to any disease or toxin that isn't paranormal
while you are in your Sacred Grove.
You can rearrange the topography of your Sacred Grove with a thought, and you can
change its features to make it more hospitable to creatures that you want there, as long as
you are present. You can also change the area's features to make it more inhospitable to
uninvited guests. You know immediately if anyone else enters your Sacred Grove.

Tier 6: Seed of Eternity (10 Might). You can imbue a small token from your Sacred Grove
with your essence and hide it somewhere else. The token shows up as weakly magical to
senses that detect magic, but it is easily camouflaged within a stronger magical field. You can
have more than one such token (up to half your Intellect score, round down), you know their
locations and conditions just as you do with your Sacred Grove, and can teleport to them the
same way. If you are killed your soul flies to your nearest Seed of Eternity, or your Sacred
Grove if it's closer, and begins restoring your body. If your Sacred Grove was destroyed the
seed blossoms into a new Sacred Grove -- as long as it is in an appropriate location -- once
you are fully healed. You can't be permanently killed as long as your Sacred Grove exists or
you have at least one Seed of Eternity. Having a Seed of Eternity on your person counts as
being in your Sacred Grove.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Might of Nature (2 Might). While The Skin You're In is active you draw on nature's power
to increase your strength. Your lifting/carrying capacity doubles, and you have a +1 bonus to
melee damage. This increases to x3 strength and +2 damage if you are in a natural setting
associated with your element -- forest for dryads, freshwater for naiads, saltwater for nereids,
mountains or hills for oreads, desert or beach for psammeads.
Nature Speed. You become trained in initiative tasks, and while The Skin You're In is
active you can move a short distance and attack without having to make an athletics roll.
With a successful athletics check you can move a long distance and attack.
Nature's Healing. You have a bonus of +1 to all recovery rolls. The bonus increases to
+2 if you are in a natural setting and to +4 if that setting is associated with your element.
Skin Growths (3 Might). You have trained The Skin You're In to grow spikes in the form of
thorns, icicles, salt crystals, rock spurs, or cactus spines. For one scene your transformation
gives you an asset on rolls to escape a grapple or to damage someone you are grappling or
59
is grappling you. For 1 Might you can activate this power for a single turn when you aren't
transformed.
Tendrils (2 Intellect). While The Skin You're In is active you can grow a pair of tentacles
that you can use as manipulative appendages or wield as whips (light melee weapons; can
attack a target in immediate range without moving). You gain a second pair at tier 4 and a
third at tier 6. You can merge two pairs of Tendrils into a single pair to boost their strength
(medium weapons, x2 lifting power), and you gain a further increase by merging three pairs
(heavy weapons, x3 lifting power). The Tendrils look like vines for a dryad or masses of your
element (water, gravel, or sand) for other nymphs.
Directed Motion (2+ Intellect). You can create currents within your Nimbus and control its
motion. For 2 Intellect you can center the cloud on you so that it moves with you, or for 3
Intellect you can center it on someone else. You can also spend 1 Intellect per person you
wish to exempt from the effect. (tier 2)
Growth Cloud (3 Might per instance). While Nimbus is active you can create minions by
animating the elements within the cloud -- you generate minor elementals of your element --
this usually means earth elementals for oreads and psammeads, but a desert psammead or
volcanic oread could summon fire elementals instead. Elementals are level 2 creatures (level
3 when you reach tier 4, level 4 when you reach tier 6) that can follow simple orders and will
last as long as the cloud does. You can have a number of elementals at once equal to your
current tier. (tier 2)
Hallucination (+2-4 Intellect). Your Nimbus can now induce illusory sensory impressions
-- mirages, deceptive echoes, false smells, etc. For 2 Intellect this imposes a one-step
distraction penalty to the actions of anyone other than you and your minions within the cloud.
For 3 Intellect you can use the effect to impose or dampen an emotion of your choosing with a
successful Intellect task. For 4 Intellect you can produce realistic illusions; seeing through
them requires a successful Intellect task. (tier 2)
Nature Speech. While Nature's Voice is active you can communicate with animals or
plants on a basic level; they can answer simple questions for you. A creature native to your
element gains enough of a temporary boost to intelligence to give detailed answers. You can
persuade a creature to help you, or even fight for you, but this should be roleplayed. This is
easier with creatures associated with your element. If you persuade plants to fight for you
they gain enough mobility to do so while within your Nimbus. (tier 4)
Nymph's Blessing. You can bless a single creature with sapience (and mobility, if it's a
plant) and whatever degree of tool use its body can provide. The creature gains +1 to its level,
up to your tier, and is loyal to you. The effect lasts until you dispel it, but you can only have
one blessed creature at a time. A creature that is associated with your element also gains the
ability to command other creatures of its type as well as elementals that you summon. The
blessed creature can command your other minions without any action on your part; you can
give it open-ended orders which it will interpret in what it believes to be your best interests.
(tier 4)

SPRINKLES FAIRY DUST

Your soul now contains the essence of a pixie -- which in this case can refer to any of more
than a dozen types of lesser fae, but their powers and habits are similar.
After taking this graft your ears are pointed and your eyes are slightly luminous.
Minor Effect Suggestion: Your target switches places with you or another person within
immediate range, or your change which way they are facing.
Major Effect Suggestion: Your opponent begins to glow, emit a low hum, and give off a
strong smell; any attempt to detect or track them has an asset for the rest of the scene.
60
 Metaphysical Language: Faerie

Tier 1: Fairy Grace. You are trained in athletics, deception, and Speed defense.
Moonlit Wings (1 Speed). You summon a pair of wings made of solid moonlight for one
scene. During this time you can fly at your running speed or glide on air currents. You can
move fast enough to move a short distance and attack without making an athletics check or
move a long distance and attack with a successful athletics check.

Tier 2: Fairy Glamour (1 Intellect). You can wrap yourself in an illusion that changes your
appearance and even produces appropriate sounds (i.e. changing your voice). The illusion
lasts for one scene, and you can extend the illusion by spending 1 Intellect just before the
effect expires. Seeing through a Fairy Glamour requires a successful Intellect task.
When you gain this ability you become trained in analyzing and remembering visual details.
This comes in handy for crafting illusions. You also become a lucid dreamer; you know when
you are dreaming, and you can exert some control over events in your dreams.

Tier 3: Fairy Poise. You are specialized in athletics, deception, and Speed defense.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Accuracy, Charisma, or Dexterity.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Fae Enchanting (4+ Intellect). You can draw moonlight or sunlight from your wings
and infuse it into an object. This has the effect of enhancing the object so that it does what it
does even better; tasks using the object have -1 step to the difficulty. A weapon might do +1
damage instead, or armor might have +1 protection or -1 Speed penalty instead. For every 4
Intellect you spend the effect lasts for one week, but exposure to the opposite light (exposure
to sunlight if you use moonlight, or vice versa) can shorten this by up to three days. The
duration doubles if you use Fae Enchanting on an object that you made, and at tier 6 you can
spend 16 Intellect to make the effect permanent (10 for an object that you made). You can
grant an object multiple bonuses with multiple applications of this power.
You can choose to enhance qualities other than utility. You can use Fae Enchanting to
make food tastier and more nutritious, make clothes fit (and look!) better, make furniture more
comfortable, and so on. You can also enhance negative qualities (such as making a sweater
itchier or making trash more malodorous). When used this way the effect lasts as long as the
object does.

Tier 5: Fairy Glade. You gain a connection to an otherworldly garden, an extradimensional

space that's roughly long range in radius. Time passes strangely there -- on one occasion
you might spend a few hours in the garden and emerge into the world days later, but the next
time you might spend a week in your garden and come out mere minutes after you left. No
one within the garden ages while there, nor do progressive conditions like disease or poison
get any worse. Staying in the garden long enough might even allow such conditions to heal
naturally. You can rearrange the space or change the weather at will while you are there or
while you are dreaming.
You can enter your garden from wherever you happen to be, but you must exit it as close
as possible to the exact spot you entered from or from a gate. A gate takes the shape of a
circle of mushrooms, an arch made of living plants, a large looking glass, or some other portal
traditionally depicted in fairy tales. You can create any number of gates, and you set the
conditions for activating them (which need not be the same for all of your gates) -- magic
words, a brief ritual, possessing a physical token as a key, etc. Anyone who possesses the
61
key, or accidentally stumbles on it, can enter your garden. You know immediately if anyone
enters your garden, and you learn their identity if it's someone you've met.

Tier 6: Tír na NÓg. The agelessness and suspension of physical deterioration of your Fairy
Glade is with you at all times, and while you are there (or while dreaming) you can change
your apparent age to whatever you please -- this is not an illusion, so effects that penetrate
illusions can't see through it. If you are killed your body falls into your garden to heal. You will
eventually recover from any wound that wasn't inflicted by cold iron -- that is, meteoric iron
that has been worked by human (non-supernatural) hands using only mundane means.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Astral Presence (+2 Speed). You can generate an aura that gives you a boost to both
physical power and emotional presence. While your Moonlit Wings are active you have an
asset on Speed defense and intimidation tasks. If you have Sunlit Wings instead you gain an
asset on Might defense and persuasion tasks.
Dazzling Flare (3 Speed). While your Moonlit Wings are active you can create a flash of
light that blinds anyone with short range who fails a Speed defense task.
Moondust (2 Intellect). You can sprinkle dust from your wings that causes one of two
effects for one scene. With Moonlit Wings you cause one creature to either levitate or glow --
a levitating target can be carried in flight but has a harder time maneuvering on the grown (+1
step difficulty to Speed defense tasks) while a glowing target can't become invisible for the
duration of the effect and has +2 steps to the difficulty of stealth tasks. With Sunlit wings you
burn the target (light ranged weapon) or cause uncontrollable laughter (+1 step difficulty to
any task that requires precision or concentration).
Sun-Blest. As a full-round action, during which you can do nothing else except remain
airborne if you are flying, you convert your Moonlit Wings into Sunlit Wings. This allows you
to use the alternate effects of wing-based powers and upgrades.
Convincing Look. Your illusions are more convincing; any Intellect task to see through
your Fairy Glamour has the difficulty increased one step. (tier 2)
Extended Illusions (+2, +4, or +6 Intellect). You can project illusions outward from your
skin. You can set a Fairy Glamour within immediate (+2 Intellect), short (+4 Intellect) or, at tier
6, long (+6 Intellect) range. (tier 2)
Physical Substance (+3 Intellect). Your Fairy Glamour now creates illusory texture; the
illusion feels like what it looks like. (tier 2)
New Capacity (+4 Intellect). In addition to enhancing an item's existing qualities with Fae
Enchanting you can infuse it with new qualities that are related to its function -- for example,
making a cup that purifies whatever liquid it holds, an arrow that can turn corners to pursue a
target, or hand soap that washes away impure thoughts. Work with the GM to determine the
exact effects. (tier 4)
Shrink Shroud (4 Speed). As a full-round action you can shrink yourself down to roughly
hummingbird size for one scene. The difficulty of Speed defense tasks decreases one step
while the difficulty for feats of strength increases one step. (tier 4)
Unfading Light. Exposure to opposing light no longer causes your Fae Enchantments to
fade, and you can make the effect permanent for only 12 Intellect. (tier 4)

STINGS
Perhaps the rarest of all the soul grafts is that of the wasp woman, an unholy hybrid of human
and vespid. Despite being related to insects the wasp woman's mating habits are more akin
62
to those of the black widow... and yet most of her victims die happy. The only major variant of
this graft comes from a bee instead of a wasp but isn't much safer to engage with.
When you take this graft -- or rather, it takes you -- you develop a faint pattern of black and
yellow stripes on your skin.
Minor Effect Suggestion: Your buzzing distracts your opponent and imposes a one-step
difficulty in your favor for your next action.
Major Effect Suggestion: Your venom induces partial paralysis in your victim; the creature
is unable to move more than an immediate distance (except perhaps via teleportation) and
suffers a one-step difficulty penalty on Speed defense tasks for the rest of the encounter.
Metaphysical Language: Aklo

Tier 1: Honeyed Words. You are trained in persuasion, seduction, and Speed defense.
Stingers (1 Speed). You can extend a foot-long stinger from each of your wrists. The size
of the Stingers combined with their pain-inducing venom makes them medium weapons. You
can extend one or both Stingers as a single movement action. Extending or retracting your
Stingers causes no pain, and it only hurts a little if they get broken off. A lost stinger grows
back when you make your next recovery roll.

Tier 2: What's the Buzz (2, 4, or 6 Intellect). You can emit buzzing noises with a variety of
effects. With a successful Intellect task you can induce dizziness, nausea, fear, confusion,
arousal, or sleep. Other effects might be possible with the GM's permission. Most effects will
either give you a bonus to perform certain actions against the target or impose a penalty on
the target to perform certain actions, though the sleep buzz of course lulls the target to sleep.
For 2 Intellect you focus the sound on a single target within short range, for 4 Intellect you
affect every creature within immediate range, and for 6 Intellect you affect every creature
within short range.
At tier 4 you can subvocalize your buzzing to make it inaudible beyond immediate range,
but the range of your effects remains unchanged. At tier 6 you can shift frequencies to make
your buzzes infrasonic or ultrasonic.

Tier 3: Voice of the Garden. You are specialized in persuasion, seduction, and Speed
defense.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Accuracy, Charisma, or Speed.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Hive-Minded. You can communicate simple concepts with insects. For most species
this only lets you glean information from them, but you can actually negotiate with wasps and
bees and even convince them to help you. A swarm is a creature of level 1-3 depending on
its size.
Honey Trap. You can secrete a thick, honey-like liquid from your hands. You can use it as
either a healing draught (+2 to the drinker's next recovery roll) or form it into wax with which
you can make small objects with no moving parts. The wax can have a consistency ranging
from stretchy rubber to high-impact plastic. A handful of honey provides enough nutrition for a
full mean for one human-sized creature.

Tier 5: Swarm Heart (7 Speed). Your body can explode into a swarm of large wasps/bees, or
you can release a handful of them while remaining in humanoid form. You control all of these
insects and can direct them individually, though dividing your attention too much can result in
distraction penalties. The individual insects are too small to be easily targeted; attacks on the
63
swarm suffer a two-step difficulty penalty in your favor unless they are area effect attacks.
Non-area effect physical attacks also suffer a penalty of -3 to damage. The downside is that
you can't benefit from armor in this form, nor can you use any weapons or gear other than
what is granted by your focus. Gear that you wear or carry vanishes into an extradimensional
space when you assume swarm form (but it re-materializes if you are killed). Once activated
Swarm Heart remains in effect until you take a full-round action to resume human form.
The greatest advantage of Swarm Heart is that it makes you extremely difficult to kill. If
even one insect from your swarm survives you will eventually make a full recovery.

Tier 6: Each Shining Hour. Your Swarm Heart becomes a fully functional colony; there is a
queen, and the bees or wasps can reproduce while you are in swarm form or the queen is out
of your body. Given time (expressed as a cost of 3 XP) you can create a secondary swarm
that is a level 4 creature under your control, and for 2 XP you can assimilate a lesser swarm
into your colony. All of these combine to form a single supercolony, and all of it is you. You
can switch your awareness between your main body and any of your subsidiary swarms. The
lives of the individual insects are irrelevant; as long as the colony persists you cannot die.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Jet Spray (2 Speed). You can spray venom from your Stingers out to short range; treat
this as a light ranged weapon.
Needle Blitz (3 Speed). You give yourself a temporary boost in speed. Until the end of
your next turn you can move a short distance and attack without making an athletics check or
move a long distance and attack with a successful athletics check. You also have an asset on
Speed defense tasks.
Rip and Tear. Your Stingers are serrated or barbed and vibrate slightly to increase their
cutting power; they are now heavy weapons.
Spikeracles (+1 Speed). You can manifest Stingers from other parts of your body --
elbows, knees, feet, etc. They will damage clothing and armor that hasn't been modified to
accommodate them.
Sting Shot (3 Speed). You can launch your Stingers out to short range.
Echolocator (2 Intellect). You emit a low-pitched buzz that echoes and gives you a
mental map of the area. You detect anything solid within short range. This sense can't detect
colors, but it does give you basic information about an object's texture and density (soft or
hard, smooth or rough, solid or hollow) as well as details about its size and shape. You are
definitely capable of blind fighting during the scene Echolocator remains in effect. At tier 6
you gain a complete echolocation map of the area within short range of any insect from your
Swarm Heart. (tier 2)
HFCQC (High Frequency Close Quarters Combat; 5 Speed). During the scene while
this ability is active you channel vibrations through your body to increase the power of your
strikes; your melee attacks deal +1 damage and are armor-piercing (-1 protection). (tier 2)
Hover Hum(3 Speed). You generate a special buzz that allows you to levitate up to short
range above the ground. If you rise above head height you are limited to walking speed, but
hovering no more than a step or two above the ground lets you double your running speed.
The effect remains active for one scene. At tier 6 you can levitate objects or creatures other
than yourself. (tier 2)
Nitro Jelly (3+ Intellect). You can create explosive wax/jelly that detonates on impact or
when you emit a triggering buzz from up to long range away. For 2 Intellect the explosion
encompasses everything within immediate range, and for 5 Intellect it reaches out to short
64
range. The explosion deals damage equal to the amount of additional Intellect you spend. At
tier 6 you can place this effect into one of the insects from your Swarm Heart. (tier 4)
Sugar Rush (3 Speed). Consuming your honey grants a burst of energy and speed. The
party who consumes the honey has an asset on Speed defense and athletics tasks until the
end of their next turn. At tier 6 if you use this ability on yourself while in swarm form you move
so quickly that you blur to near invisibility; you gain two assets instead of one. (tier 4)

WALKS THE LABYRINTH (minotaur)

By accepting the Minotaur into your being you become an avatar of primal rage that can only
be contained by the most clever artifice.
Taking this graft gives you a significant increase in muscle mass and a pair of horns that
get bigger as you ascend to higher tiers in this focus.
Minor Effect Suggestion: A creature opposing you becomes momentarily lost; it moves
an immediate distance in a direction that improves your relative field position.
Major Effect Suggestion: Your opponent is knocked down and disarmed.
Metaphysical Language: Primal

Tier 1: Bull's Power. You are trained in Might defense and Speed defense. The amount of
weight that you can lift or carry is doubled.
Juggernaut. You gain a +1 bonus to melee damage when you move at least an immediate
distance in a straight line towards your opponent, and any attempt to resist having your
movement stopped, slowed, or deflected has -1 step to the difficulty. When you reach tier 3
the bonuses increase to +2 damage and -2 difficulty steps to resist forced movement.

Tier 2: Maze Walker (1 Speed). You have a sixth sense that maps out the space around you.
You can sense the space around you, even if you can't see it, out to short range. You can
sense walls and obstacles automatically, but small or fast-moving objects are harder to
perceive. With an Intellect task you can detect unseen opponents with this sense. This
sense lasts for one scene. When you reach tier 4 the map extends out to long range, and at
tier 6 it goes out to extreme range.
As part of this ability you become specialized in navigating indoor and subterranean
environments.

Tier 3: Bull's Supremacy. You are specialized in Might defense and Speed defense. The
bonus to the amount of weight that you can lift or carry increases to triple.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Accuracy, Resilience, or Strength.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Call Fog (3 or 5 Might; optional +1 modifier). You summon a mist that extends out
to short range centered on your current position. You can move the mist around as an action.
Creatures within the mist, other than you and your allies, have difficulties for finding their way
and for perceiving sights, sounds, and smells increased one step. You can spend 5 Might to
make the mist thicker, which increases the penalty to two steps. At tier 6 the radius increases
to long range. The fog lasts for one scene.
You can spend +1 Might to make the fog particularly moist and cloying. Candles, lanterns,
and torches within the fog are extinguished unless they are magical.

Tier 5: Daedulus's Folly. You gain a lair in the form of an extradimensional maze. The maze
has one entrance to start, and you can spend a few hours building another entrance in your
65
current location. Traveling through your maze allows you to travel long distances and even
across dimensions. Your Maze Walker ability is always active while you are in your lair.
While standing outside an entrance to your lair you can teleport yourself and anyone
nearby into a random point inside the maze. While inside the maze you can expel anyone
inside through the nearest entrance. The maze covers an area that is long range in radius.
You can place resources inside the maze as you choose -- growing bioluminescent fungus as
a light source or placing edible plants to feed food animals for yourself or for your guard
animals, etc. Your lair includes several safe places for you to sleep, and you can add traps if
you like.
Your damage bonus for Juggernaut increases to +4.

Tier 6: Labyrinthine. You become immune to disease and to non-magical poisons, and you
are resistant to magical poisons. For every night you spend sleeping in your maze you will
shed a year of age until you reach your prime. If you are killed you will wake up a few days
later inside your lair, but your sense of direction will be scrambled and your control of the
maze will be disrupted. You must make your way to one of the entrances to return yourself to
full power. You cannot be killed permanently while your maze exists, and simply sealing the
all the entrances doesn't destroy the maze.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Bulk Up. You are trained in athletics and feats of strength. This becomes specialization
when you reach tier 3. The amount of weight you can lift/carry is tripled (quadrupled at tier 3).
Insta-Celeration. You can instantly accelerate to your full speed. You have an asset on
initiative rolls.
Lingering Boost (1 Might). Your bonus to damage from Juggernaut continues to apply for
one full round after you stop moving.
Shockwave (2, 4, or 6 Speed). Charging into battle generates a shock wave that blunts
attacks against you. If you move at least an immediate distance in a straight line toward an
opponent you have protection 2 that stacks with worn armor. If you stop suddenly in front of
the opponent you can launch the Shockwave at them as a light weapon (medium weapon for
4 Speed, heavy weapon for 6 Speed), but you forfeit the protection if you do so.
Sure-Hoofed (2 Speed). Your improved traction and sense of balance give you an asset
on rolls involving running and jumping for one scene. (tier 2)
Dynamic Mapping (+1 Speed). You retain mental maps generated by Maze Walker for up
to a day. The map updates accordingly, even if you aren't present, if anything in the area
changes (for example, if a door is opened or closed or a piece of furniture is moved. You
can't sense creatures moving through the area if you are not there. At tier 6 this ability is
always active on your lair. (tier 2)
Mental Labeling (+1 Speed). Your mapping sense becomes more precise. Objects in the
mapped area that persist or recur gain labels that tell you in general terms what they are (i.e.
"sofa," "big boulder," or "enemy soldier"). Objects that you fail to detect are not labeled. If
you also have Dynamic Mapping the labels update when the map does ("broken sofa," "pile of
rubble," "dead soldier," etc.). At tier 6 this ability is always active within your lair, and the
labels include the names of creatures you know and important information about objects
whose nature you understand (such as, "unloaded gun"). (tier 2)
Shifting Landmarks (+3 Might). Your Call Fog doesn't merely obscure the terrain, it
makes changes. You can shift obstacles, change the footing, and even change the locations
of doors. The penalty for navigating through the area of the fog also applies to attempts to
66
maneuver through it. If you apply the modifier to extinguish light sources it now affects
magical light sources. At tier 6 this ability activates on your lair for free. (tier 4)
Vertigo Fog (+3 or +5 Might). Creatures within your Call Fog area other than you and
your allies become disoriented (+1 step to all difficulties) if you succeed on a Might task at the
creature's level; roll separately for each target. For +5 Might you have -1 step to the difficulty
of the Might task. At tier 6 this ability is always active on your lair. (tier 4)
Fast Travel (6 Speed). If you have a mental map of a location you can travel toward it or
through it at high speed. If you are moving toward the area your overland travel rate is tripled.
If you are moving through the mapped area distances are reduced one step (extreme range
to long, long range to short, etc.). At tier 6 you can teleport from one entrance to your lair to
any other. (tier 5)

WEARS FEATHERS AND SCALES

Great Kukulkan has graciously allowed you a measure of his power. You bear the essence of
the Feathered Serpent.
Upon taking this graft you gain a scattering of scales on your face and arms and feathers in
your hair... and you should be grateful to be so marked by Quetzalcoatl.
Minor Effect Suggestion: A flash of light or gust of wind throws off your enemy's aim; the
next attack on you has its difficulty modified one step in your favor.
Major Effect Suggestion: Spilling your foe's blood reveals his weaknesses to you; you
gain an asset on attacks versus that target for the rest of the encounter.
Metaphysical Language: Enochian

Tier 1: Empowered Lungs (1 Speed). Your lungs hold massive amounts of air and can expel
it with great force. You can hold your breath for a number of minutes equal to your Intellect
score, and you can breathe out hard enough to use your exhales as a light ranged weapon.
Herald of the Sun. You are trained in visual perception and resisting pain, and you can
see spirits and ghosts even if they aren't manifested.

Tier 2: Spirit Wings (2 Speed). You manifest a cloak of spectral feathers along your arms for
one scene. While the feathers are present you can fly at twice your running speed (you don't
have to flap your arms).
The spiritual nature of the feathers has a disruptive effect on spirits; your melee attacks can
affect spiritual beings, including nature spirits and ghosts, even if they're not manifested.

Tier 3: Sun Savant. You are specialized in visual perception and resisting pain. You gain
training in Intellect defense if you don't already have it or specialization if you do.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Charisma, Intelligence, or Speed.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Looking Daggers (3+ Speed). You manifest a brace of obsidian daggers. They are
only light weapons, but they are armor-piercing (-1 protection) and can affect spiritual beings.
You are trained in using these daggers as melee or thrown weapons, and you have an asset
on any attack against a being that has blood (the daggers thirst for blood and seek it out).
Each dagger disappears after being thrown or after making a successful melee attack. You
create a number of daggers equal to the amount of Speed that you spend before reductions
from Edge.

Tier 5: Wind Rider (6 Speed). You can merge your body with the wind to become intangible.
67
You can't handle solid objects or make physical attacks in this state, but neither can non-
magical physical attacks harm you. You can also pass through any barrier that isn't airtight.
You can still attack with your Empowered Lungs in this state. You can safely maintain this
state for a number of minutes equal to your Intellect score; more than that and you risk losing
yourself in the wind. If that that happens you will wake up in solid form within a few days...
you just won't know where you are or how you got there.
You can make a special attack while Wind Rider is active; you can force yourself into a
target's lungs with a successful Speed task opposed by the target's Might check. If you win
you do damage equal to your tier that bypasses the target's armor, and you deal the same
damage again when you leave. You must solidify immediately after using this attack and can't
use Wind Rider again for at least three rounds. This attack doesn't work on creatures that
don't need to breathe.

Tier 6: Blood of the Sun. You now partake of the vitality of the sky gods. You no longer age,
and you are immune to disease and poison as long as you spend at least an hour a day
exposed to natural sunlight. If you die your body dissolves into the wind and reforms in a safe
place that gets plenty of sunlight a few days later -- you make your daily recovery rolls, and
your body reforms once you've recovered enough to be fully healed. Permanently killing you
requires that you be killed with an obsidian weapon during a solar eclipse.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Air Supply. You can endlessly recycle the air in your lungs; technically you no longer need
to breathe.
Balloon Lung. Storing air within your body makes you more buoyant. Your jumping
distances are doubled, and you take -3 damage from falls.
Cleansing Breath (2 Intellect). Your breath cleans away dirt and corruption; you can blow
away a mess or contamination within immediate range with a single action. With a successful
Intellect task you can even blow away an active magical effect like a ward or a curse; the
difficulty varies according to the caster's power.
Sky Edge (+2 Speed). You sharpen your exhale into a blade of air. Your breath becomes
a medium ranged weapon.
Pinion Blade (+2 Speed). Your Spirit Wings have physical as well as spiritual potency;
unarmed strikes using your wings count as wielding a medium weapon. (tier 2)
Scale Shell (4 Intellect). You create a sphere of scales around yourself. While wrapped
in this shell you have heavy armor against attacks that deal Might or Intellect damage, but you
cannot move. The shell remains in place until you dispel it or your take enough damage to
reduce one of your pools to zero. You can see out of the Scale Shell, but other beings can't
see into it without using magic. (tier 2)
Tempest Whistle (3 Intellect). By whistling at the sky and succeeding on an Intellect task
you can change the weather. Creating a weather effect that is within the norm for the place
and season is easy (i.e. a snowstorm in the Midwestern U.S. in November), while creating
unseasonable weather or weather outside the norm for that place -- for example, a snowstorm
in July in the U.S. or torrential rains in the desert -- is much harder. The altered weather
covers an extreme range radius and lasts for one scene, longer if the weather is plausible for
that place and season. (tier 2)
Zephyr Tail (+2 Speed). You manifest a spectral feathery tail that boosts your speed. In
the air your flight speed is increased to triple your running speed. On the ground you can
move a short distance and attack without making an athletics check (tier 2)
68
 Black Artifice (+1-3 Speed or 3-5 Intellect). You can use Looking Daggers to create
obsidian objects other than daggers; you can make larger weapons, armor, or tools. These
objects share the daggers' bloodthirsty nature; they either grant an asset on attacks on
targets that have blood or will provide a counterattack against an attacker who has blood.
Work with the GM to determine a creation's precise game effects. (tier 4)
Ritual Sacrifice. You gain knowledge of several rites, all of which require the shedding of
blood, as well as the Nahuatl language. You learn the basic and intermediate rites at tier 4,
the advanced rites at tier 5, and the master rite at tier 6. (tier 4)
 Betrayer's Brand (advanced): You tattoo the subject with a mark of censure drawn with
ink mixed with your blood. Any action that they take against you or your interests has the
difficulty increased one step. The penalty remains until the skin bearing the tattoo is
flayed from the recipient's body.
 Call the Sun (intermediate): You sprinkle droplets of blood (your own or that of a sacrifice)
around an area with a long range radius to illuminate that area with true sunlight. The
effect lasts for up to a day or until you end it.
 Consecration (advanced): You sprinkle droplets of blood (your own or that of a sacrifice)
around an area with a long range radius to dedicate the space as a sanctuary for one
lunar month. While in this area you have an asset on any action taken to defend yourself,
your allies, the area itself, or its contents.
 For Your Eyes Only (intermediate): You mix your blood into ink to write a message that
only the intended recipient(s) can read.
 Ritual of Life (master): You sacrifice one human -- either a healthy adult or an exceptional
child -- to restore the youth and health of another.
 Words of the Dead (basic): After cutting yourself you can converse with any ghosts in the
area... if you can convince them to talk to you.

WEAVES WEBS
One who takes this focus partakes of the nature of Arachne, the mother of all spiders. You
learn not only to spin literal webs but also the strands of fate.
When you accept this graft you grow a second pair of eyes slightly outside and above your
original pair.
Minor Effect Suggestion: Your webs tangle your foe. The target is unable to move from
its current location until the end of your next turn.
Major Effect Suggestion: Fate intervenes on your behalf; you gain two assets on your
next action.
Metaphysical Language: Enochian

Tier 1: Parkour. You are trained in athletics, weaving, and Speed defense.
Wall-crawler. You gain the ability to stick to surfaces like a spider can. You also lose your
instinctive fear of heights and any tendency toward vertigo.

Tier 2: Spinnerets (1+ Speed). You can spin ropes, globs, or nets of webbing, and you can
make the webs sticky except for you and whatever you are wearing or carrying if you choose.
Spending 1 Speed lets you produce 10 meters of line, a glob large enough to foul a weapon,
or a net large enough to entangle a human-sized target. You can spend additional Speed to
spin longer lines or larger nets or globs.
When you gain this ability you become trained in your choice of nets, whips, or lassos.

Tier 3: Hardcore Parkour. You are specialized in athletics, weaving, and Speed defense.
69
 Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Charisma, Dexterity, or Intelligence.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Dark Web (+3 Speed). You can weave darkness into your webs as long as there are
shadows present or you are working in darkness, and you can weave these enhanced webs
into other objects. This gives your webs an astral presence so that they can do things like
stick to ghosts, detect temporal anomalies, or ensnare spells. Weaving your Dark Web into
armor can extend its protection to Intellect damage. Other effects are possible with the GM's
permission. Bright light weakens these webs, but the more darkness is woven into the webs
the more light they can withstand.
As part of this ability you can weave an extradimensional space with a long range radius as
your home web. This requires about a day of downtime. In an hour or two you can weave an
entrance to your home web in any place that is sufficiently dark. You can have only one home
web, but you can make as many entrances as you take the time for. Entrances don't have to
all be on the same plane of existence, and you can enter or leave your web through any of
them. You know immediately if anyone else enters your home web even if you aren't there.

Tier 5: Threads of Fate (4-14 Intellect). By succeeding on an Intellect task you can see the
"threads of destiny" that run through the world. The further into the future you look and the
less personally relevant to you the subject is the less specific and more cryptic the visions are
-- a vision of an assassin who will attack you within the next five minutes is quite clear and
detailed, while a vision about next month's stock prices will be hazy and couched in metaphor.
For 10 Intellect you can see events from the next scene. For 8 Intellect you can see up to 24
hours into the future. For 6 Intellect you can see up to a week into the future, and for 4
Intellect you can see up to a month in advance. Anything past that is too indistinct to derive
any useful meaning.
Certain upgrades greatly enhance this ability.
 With Fine Detail your visions are less cryptic.
 Shadow Enchanting lets you weave shadows into the threads of fate tied to specific
people, places, or objects so as to temporarily make them harder to affect with powers
that predict the future or manipulate fate.
 Thread Editing allows you to retroactively twist fate to undo an event that has already
happened (4 Intellect for the current scene, 6 for the previous scene, 8 for yesterday, 10
for the preceding week, 12 for last month, 14 for last year but only if you also have Thread
Sense) with a successful Intellect task; the further into the past you reach the harder it is
to make changes.
 Thread Guidance allows you to nudge fate toward a desired outcome; the difficulty
increases according to how different the desired outcome is from the prediction.
 With Thread Sense you can, for 2 Intellect, get useful (but not necessarily specific or clear)
visions from up to a year into the future.

Tier 6: Chosen of Clotho. Your connection to the strands of fate makes you immune to aging
and twists probability so that you always survive disease or poisoning if not avoid it altogether.
You can instinctively use Threads of Fate plus Thread Editing (even if you don't have Thread
Editing) at no cost to undo an attack or accident that killed you. Fate will exact the price from
you later in the form of a disfiguring wound, the loss of an important possession, a damaged
relationship, a tarnished reputation, mental aberration, or some other mishap. You can only
be permanently killed by someone who is fated to do so... but the cost of dying too many
temporary deaths might be the appointment of a chosen one who is destined to take you
70
down for good.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Bio-Magnet (1 Speed). You can extend the force that allows you to stick to walls to pull
yourself to a surface that's just out of reach or to pull a small object into your hands.
Body Strength. Your strength and flexibility increase enough that you can carry up to two
other people while walking on walls or jumpng across alleys.
Ghost Limbs (1-4 Speed). You can create spectral copies of each of your limbs (1 Speed
per limb, and only one copy per limb). You can use these copies just like your normal limbs --
extra arms gives you more hands for holding objects, while extra legs help you resist forced
movement or to climb.
Perspectives. Your senses become keener, and sudden motion doesn't blur your vision.
You are trained in perception.
Thread Editing (3+ Intellect). While you are spinning or touching one of your threads you
can edit its properties -- you can make it more elastic, coat it with an irritant, add sharp edges,
etc. The GM is the final arbiter of what effects you can add and what game mechanics apply.
(tier 2)
Thread Guidance (+1 Speed). You can change the direction of threads after you spin
them; any task for snaring something or someone with your webs has the difficulty reduced by
one step. (tier 2)
Thread Sense (2 Intellect). You know the location of anything that comes into contact
with any of your threads that you are touching. This sense lasts as long as you remain in
contact with the thread or whatever web it is part of up to one day. (tier 2)
Fine Detail (4 or 6 Intellect). You can weave complex shapes, including mechanisms with
moving parts, out of your webbing. For 6 Intellect you can use Dark Web to create a level 2
shadow creature that can follow simple commands. Mechanisms created via this ability last
until destroyed by damage or natural wear and tear. Creatures created this way last for up to
one day, but you can create as many as you have the pool points to create. (tier 4)
Gravity Shift (3 Speed). You can shift the direction in which gravity pulls for the duration
of a single task. You can give yourself or another creature within short range an asset on
climbing checks. (tier 4)
Shadow Enchanting (6 Intellect). You can weave magical effects into existing objects --
weaving shadows into a garment to grant a bonus to stealth, reinforcing a suit of armor to
make it's wearer harder to hit, enchanting a cloak to protect the wearer from heat, creating a
weapon that temporarily blinds the target on a hit, and so on. The GM has the final say, but
any effect that you add to an object must be somehow related to shadows. (tier 4)

WIELDS ICE AND SNOW

The essence of the yeti chills your heart and fills you with the strength of a mountain.
When you take this graft all of your hair turns white.
Minor Effect Suggestion: A cold wind deflects an attack away from you; you gain an
asset on your next defense roll.
Major Effect Suggestion: Your enemy freezes in place and is unable to move or act until
the end of your next turn.
Metaphysical Language: Fortean

Tier 1: Hirsute. Your hair grows longer and thicker, and it adapts to regulate your body
temperature. You are treated as wearing appropriate protective clothing for whatever weather
71
you are exposed to, and you have light armor against temperature-based damage. This
innate armor stacks with any armor you are wearing.
Mountaineer. You are trained in climbing, mountain survival, and unarmed combat.

Tier 2: Frostfall (2 Might). You can fire a blast of frost from your hands; treat this as a light
ranged weapon with short range. Anything hit by this attack is coated with a layer of ice that
makes it more difficult to hold onto (for objects) or dangerously slick to move across (for
surfaces) -- this generally imposes a one-step penalty to relevant difficulties. The ice melts in
temperatures above freezing just as normal ice would.

Tier 3: Strength of the Mountain. You become specialized in climbing, mountain survival,
and unarmed combat.
Power Shift. You gain one power shift for Accuracy, Resilience, or Strength.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Tier 4: Cold Drinker. You draw in cold, which raises the ambient temperature and fills a
reserve called your Cold pool. Your Cold pool charges at a rate proportionate to how cold it is
(see the table below). Your maximum Cold pool is equal to your Might score plus your current
tier +1 for every upgrade you have. You can use points from your Cold pool to activate your
focus powers or to apply Effort on focus abilities.
Once you develop this ability you become immune to cold damage, and you suffer no
visibility penalties from windblown ice and snow.

Ambient Temperature Cold charge/turn

Hot (Summer day) ¼
Temperate (Spring day) ½
Cool (Fall day) 1
Frigid (Winter day) 2
Icy (sub-freezing) 3

Tier 5: Blizzard (7 Might). You can create a snowstorm centered on you. The storm starts
out covering a short range radius and expands to long range over the course of an hour. Six
hours after that the radius expands to extreme range. Spending a full day within the storm's
borders binds it to you for one week -- a bound storm moves with you. If you spend a month
within the borders of the storm you can permanently fix it in place. If you have Snowmen you
can leave one at the center of the storm and it counts as you being present in the storm. It
might be possible to dispel one of your permanent storms using other magic.
While the storm rages you can sense the terrain within the storm's area and any changes
that occur. You also know if any living or undead creature enters the storm's area. You know
where snow is currently falling within the affected area, and you can teleport to any of those
places by spending 5 Might, immediately after which the snowfall will stop for an hour.
An active snowstorm is highly dangerous; the visibility penalties combined with the ambient
damage caused by the frigid temperature mean that any creature less cold-resistant than a
yeti is at a huge disadvantage when traveling through, let along fighting in, such an area.

Tier 6: Cryogenesis. If you are killed you are resurrected within the following week at the
center of one of your permanent storms. If you have no permanent storms established you

72
are resurrected at the site of the nearest snowstorm to the place where you died after at least
a month. The storm where you resurrect ceases until a month after you return to full health.
The only way to destroy you permanently is to burn your body while you have no permanent
storms active.
Upgrade. You may select one of the upgrades for your graft.

Upgrades
Energy Absorption. Your hair has a greater ability to diffuse energy. Your Hirsute form
now acts as medium armor against temperature-based damage and kinetic attacks.
Fine Control (1 Intellect). Your control over your hair becomes so great that you can use
it for crude manipulation of small objects. You can write a note, push buttons on a device, or
pass an item from one pocket to another using only your hair. Yetis have been known to use
this ability as sign language among themselves.
Gigantism. You grow in size to seven feet or more. You become trained in feats of
endurance and Might defense.
Man-Ape. Your arms and hands become more bestial. Your unarmed attacks are treated
as light weapons, and the amount of weight you can lift or carry is doubled.
Whisker Sense. Your hair lets you perceive the air currents around you. You can detect
objects and creatures within immediate range even if you can't see them by succeeding on an
Intellect (Perception) task.
Deep Freeze (+1 Might). Your Frostfall becomes a medium weapon. (tier 2)
Grand Sculptor (+2 Might). You can shape the ice generated by Frostfall to best effect.
The penalty imposed by the ice layer rises to two steps, and the ice takes longer to melt. You
can form simple objects, including tools, weapons, and armor, out of ice. (tier 2)
Forms of Winter (6 Might). As a full-round action you can take on either of a pair of icy
forms. The first is a being of cold, hard ice -- treat this as heavy armor plus an asset to Might
defense. The other form is a flurry of sharp-edged snow -- in this form you are immune to
physical attacks that wouldn't harm snow or wind (magical, psychic, or life force attacks can
still affect you), but you can't hold physical objects. The razor-edged ice suspended in this
form acts as a medium weapon. Either transformation lasts for one scene, until you use an
action to end it, or you are killed. (tier 4)
Ice Sentinel (4 Might). When you activate this ability and remain motionless you can drop
the temperature within immediate range of you to near-freezing (Frigid for the purpose of Cold
Drinker). The radius expands out to short range at the end of the following turn and to long
range at the end of two turns after that. Any creature within the affected area takes 2 ambient
damage (1 Might, 1 Speed) per turn unless it has protection from freezing temperatures. The
effect ends when you move, and the radius contracts one step per turn after that. When the
radius reaches zero the temperature normalizes. (tier 4)
Snowmen (5 Intellect). You can make a snowman and imbue it with limited sentience.
The snowman becomes a level 2 creature (level 3 if you have Deep Freeze or Grand Sculptor,
level 4 if you have both) that can follow simple commands. It can also reshape it's body in
useful ways -- for example, forming itself into a stepladder or changing its hands into medium
weapons to do battle. A snowman is treated as having light armor. You can have up to six
Snowmen (nine if you have Gigantism) at a time. They last indefinitely while in freezing
temperatures even if you aren't present, but they don't melt while within short range of you
unless subjected to heat damage. Snowmen are of course immune to cold damage. (tier 5)

73
Creating New Foci
At some point, either to add some variety to the campaign or to increase the replay value,
GMs or players might want to add some additional soul graft options. The ones provided are
merely scratching the surface of the depth of paranormal creatures, after all, so there's ample
room for additional foci. These guidelines are provided to keep any new foci balanced with
the existing ones. Compare the abilities given in other foci to get an idea of how powerful
focus abilities should be at each level.
The first step is to choose a theme for the focus... specifically, which supernatural creature
it represents. The traditional powers and quirks attributed to the creature are the guide for
what sort of powers the focus offers. Assign the metaphysical language based on which one
has affinity for that creature type -- eldritch horrors know Aklo, undead know Stygian, cryptids
and abominations of science know Fortean, and so on.
Choose two stat pools for the focus, one primary and one secondary. Most focus abilities
that cost pool points to activate should draw from the primary pool with the rest drawing from
the secondary pool. The more powerful the ability the more pool points it costs to activate.

Tier 1: This tier offers two abilities. The first is training in three skills or two skills and one of
the defenses (Might, Speed, or Intellect). The second is a minor paranormal ability -- either
one of slight power with a variety of applications or one of moderate power with a single use.

Tier 2: The character gains 1-2 minor abilities here. If it is only one ability it should be slightly
more powerful or versatile than the tier 1 ability. If it is two abilities they should both be on par
with the tier 1 power, possibly with one slightly weaker.

Tier 3: At this tier a character gains specialization in the skills/defense trained at tier 1, one of
the upgrades for the graft, and a power shift. Select the three categories of power shift most
appropriate to the abilities typically associated with this type of creature; a character with this
graft gains one of them at tier 3.

Tier 4: Focus abilities at this level should be of moderate power -- somewhat more powerful
than the tier 2 ability with a bit more versatility, roughly equal power with a lot more versatility,
or something of significant power with few uses. Alternately this tier can offer two abilities on
par with a singular tier 2 ability.

Tier 5: At this level a character should gain a truly potent ability -- an ability with major power
but limited uses or one of moderate power with a lot of versatility.

Tier 6: The final tier of the focus offers one of the upgrades for the graft as well as a suite of
life extension features up to an including immortality. The description should also include the
method for permanently killing someone who has this type of immortality.

Upgrades: The graft should offer a total of ten upgrades; five at tier 1, three at tier 2, and two
at tier 4. If one of the upgrades is especially powerful tier 1 should unlock only four upgrades
and one can be moved to tier 5. See the existing write-ups for examples of how powerful
upgrades should be at each tier.

74
Some Suggested Inspirations for New Foci (three for each metaphysical language)
Aklo: Deep One, Grey, Nightgaunt

Draconian: Echidna, Hydra, Sea Serpent

Empedoclean: Charybdis, Knocker, Thunderbird

Enochian: Deva, Ophan, Titan

Faerie: Kitsune, Mermaid, Satyr

Fortean: Gremlin, Mothman, Super Soldier

Infernal: Rakshasha, Succuba, Wendigo

Primal: Giant, Goblin, Sasquatch

Stygian: Doppelgänger, Lich, Poltergeist

75
 ADVERSARIES
The contestants are by no means the only creatures in the tournament area; there are also
beasts, constructs, and monsters about. Some of these creatures are resources, many of
them are dangerous, and more than a few are both. Any creature from the various Cypher
System sourcebooks could appear in a Soul Graft Battle Royale, but the creatures on the
table below are especially appropriate.

Creature Source Page Creature Source Page

Bambiraptor Predation 135 Mi-go Cypher System Corebook 303
Blob The Strange Bestiary 22 Mirror Gaunt The Strange Bestiary 85
Catastrophe Cloud The Strange Bestiary 27 Murder The Strange Bestiary 88
Chimera Cypher System Corebook 278 Mystereon The Strange Bestiary 89
Common Animals Predation 123 Nightgaunt The Strange Bestiary 96
Cyber Sorcerer The Strange Bestiary 35 Nuppepo Cypher System Corebook 306
Cyclops The Strange Bestiary 36 Octopus Sapien The Strange Bestiary 101
Deep One Cypher System Corebook 281 Ogre Cypher System Corebook 307
Deinonychus Cypher System Corebook 282 Orc Cypher System Corebook 308
Djinni Cypher System Corebook 286 Phoenix The Strange Bestiary 105
Dragon Cypher System Corebook 287 Posthuman The Strange Bestiary 107
Elder Thing The Strange Bestiary 47 Psychic Remnant The Strange Bestiary 109
Elemental The Strange Bestiary 48-49 Pterodactyl The Strange Bestiary 110
Faerie The Strange Bestiary 52 Questing Beast The Strange Bestiary 111
Fallen Angel Cypher System Corebook 292 Reanimated The Strange Bestiary 113
Ghost Cypher System Corebook 293 Scormel The Strange Bestiary 118
Ghoul Cypher System Corebook 294 Scrap Drone Cypher System Corebook 312
Giant Rat Cypher System Corebook 296 Serpent Person The Strange Bestiary 120
Giant Snake Cypher System Corebook 296 Skeleton Cypher System Corebook 314
Giant Spider Cypher System Corebook 297 Soul Eater The Strange Bestiary 125
Goblin Cypher System Corebook 297 Statue, Animate Cypher System Corebook 316
Golem Cypher System Corebook 298 Tyrannosaurus Cypher System Corebook 322
Gorgon The Strange Bestiary 63 Vampire Cypher System Corebook 323
Griffon The Strange Bestiary 65 Vampire Lord Cypher System Corebook 325
Hollow Knight The Strange Bestiary 68 Veridial The Strange Bestiary 135
Iron Bull The Strange Bestiary 72 Wardroid Cypher System Corebook 327
Kaiju Cypher System Corebook 300 Wendigo The Strange Bestiary 140
Killer Robot The Strange Bestiary 74 Werewolf Cypher System Corebook 329
Mad Creation The Strange Bestiary 77 White Ape The Strange Bestiary 142
Mechadrone The Strange Bestiary 82 Witch Cypher System Corebook 330
Mechanical Soldier Cypher System Corebook 302 Zombie Cypher System Corebook 333

76
Minions
Several of the campaign-specific foci allow characters to create or acquire minions. Minion
creatures can be simulated using creatures from the list above but may require adjustments.
Use the following guidelines to adjust creatures to minions of different levels than the official
write-ups.

Level: Use the adjusted level to compute any target numbers for tasks involving these
creatures. Groups of creatures can combine their efforts to act at a higher level; a small
group is +1 level while a large group is +2. For small creatures (cat size or below) a small
group is 5-10 and a large group is 11-20. For medium creatures (up to about human size) a
small group is 3-5 and a large group is 6-10. For large creatures (horse size and above) a
small group is 2-3 and a large group is 4-5. For numbers greater than large group size use
multiple groups -- for example, 30 small animals make up three small groups rather than one
oversized large group.
Health: -3 Health for each level lower than the official write-up (minimum 3); +3 Health for
each level higher.
Damage Inflicted: -1 per level lower than the write-up (minimum 1), +1 per level higher.
Special Traits: Add any abilities granted to minions by the character focus that aren't
present in the official write-up.
Loot: Every creature will drop some kind of loot -- the creature will be guarding a source of
food and water, it will be carrying salvageable equipment, or its body will yield a bonus item.
Non-sapient creatures below level 4 typically don't have cyphers unless they are magical or
(bio)mechanical in nature. Artifacts only appear in the hands of contestants or as prized
possessions of sapient groups.

The minions granted by certain foci are easily represented using the write-ups listed below
with the adjustments provided.

Bounds (Duplicates): Common Animals (small mammal), level 3

Drinks Blood (Vampiric Thralls): Vampire, level 2-6

Is Part Machine (Nanite Cloud): Catastrophe Cloud, level 2

Reanimates (Ghast): Zombie, level 2-5

Reeks of Brimstone (Lesser Imps): Djinni, level 3

Rides Fear (Monster from the Id): varies; Chimera, Ghoul, Giant Snake, Giant Spider, Mad
Creation, and Mechadrone are especially appropriate, level = level or tier of target creature.

Sleeps Beneath the Sand (Lesser Mummies): Hollow Knight, level 4; armed with sword, spear,
or bow; has no steed, +1 armor.

Speaks for the Trees/Mountains/Sands/Skies/Waters (Blessed Animal): Common Animals,

level +1; (Elemental): Air Elemental for hyads, Dust Elemental for psammeads, Earth
Elemental for oreads, Thorn Elemental for dryads, or Water Elemental for naiads and nereids,
level 2-4. An air elemental attacks with a gust of wind and is immune to damage from solid
77
objects but is vulnerable to sonic attacks. A dust elemental attacks with a blast of sand and is
immune to damage from solid objects but is vulnerable to electricity. A water elemental
attacks with a stream of water or crashing wave and is immune to corrosives but is vulnerable
to fire.

Stings (Vespid Swarm): Catastrophe Cloud, level 1-3; a target damaged by the sting suffers a
one-step difficulty penalty for tasks involving movement (wasps) or endurance (bees).

Wields Ice and Snow (Snowman): Golem, level 2-4; a Snowman can spend a full-round action
to manifest claws of ice that deal +1 damage, and it has 2 points of armor versus ambient
damage that isn't heat-based. All damage dealt by a Snowman is treated as cold damage.
Snowmen are immune to cold but their armor doesn't work against heat damage. Snowmen
suffer no visibility penalties from glare or windblown snow. Speed defense is -1 level, but
there is no penalty for moving across ice or snow.

A minion or group of minions might also be awarded as a prize. The one example from the
original CYOA uses the following stats.

Bodyguard Doll: Use the stats for Doctor Dread (Cypher System core rulebook, p. 318) but
increase to level 9.

One of the most commonly encountered creatures will of course be the other contestants.
Use the stats below to represent soul-grafted NPC contenders.

Contestant (Level 1-8)

There's no need to write up every NPC in the contest, only the ones the PCs will have to
fight. The later in the contest it is the higher the level of contestants remaining. A contestant
of level 7-8 is a former champion.
Motive: To win... or at least survive
Environment: Anywhere within the arena
Health: (Level x 3) + 6
Damage Inflicted: 2, 4, or 6 with mundane weapons; +1-3 with access to enchanted or
ultratech weapons.
Armor: 1-3 from mundane armor; +1-2 with access to enchanted or ultratech armor.
Movement: short; long with an appropriate focus or mount
Modifications: Every contestant has abilities, and possibly minions, from their soul graft.
Combat: Contestants assume that the PCs intend to kill them and will fight accordingly. Any
armor they have they will be wearing. Any weapons they have they will use, though powerful
cyphers might be reserved for when they're needed. Most contestants will attempt escape if
the fight is going against them. Contestants will employ tactics that play into the strengths of
their grafts, and a former champion who is confronted within their lair will have a number of
aces up their sleeve. In a team tournament contestants will typically be encountered in teams,
and even in individual matches they might form alliances of convenience.
Interaction: Contestants can be negotiated with, but often only to the extent that they are
willing to surrender or accept a surrender. Some will offer or be vulnerable to taunts, others
can be intimidated, and some might be open to temporary alliances.
Loot: A defeated contestant carries 1-3 cyphers and (level ÷ 2, round up) artifacts. At level 3+
there might also be several bonus items. If the contestant's focus allows them to make
enchanted or ultratech items there will be at least one.
78
 LET THE GAMES BEGIN
Soulwars isn't meant to be a long-running campaign; it's more like a palate cleanser between
campaigns. The tournament itself is a blood sport version of competition shows like The
Voice or The Biggest Loser with an audience that spans multiple realities. The idea is to get
the PCs to tier 6 as quickly as possible and have them fight through the final round to
determine who is the winner and who is dead. The campaign is over when there is a single
survivor or single surviving team.

This book won't go into painstaking detail about how to run a Soulwars campaign -- each
gaming group should work that out for themselves -- but here are some suggestions for
making Soulwars work.

Pick Your Poison

The first step is to decide what kind of tournament to run. Will it be an individual match or a
team tournament? One winner per prize or last one standing? It is recommended that the
first playthrough be a team/one winner per prize match to minimize conflict between PCs.

An individual/last one standing match can be fun, but there is a lot of potential for bad blood...
especially if any PCs are eliminated in the early rounds. This option works best for groups
that can don't let conflict between characters become conflict between players. PC-versus-
PC conflict is unavoidable in an individual match, so this option should only be selected if all
of the players are okay with it.

In addition to whether it's an individual or team match the group should decide whether they
want a tournament that is exclusively combat-focused or one that includes a fair amount of
puzzle solving. Team matches tend to have a mixture of fights and puzzles, while individual
matches are often one battle after another.

The GM should also decide on the details of the arena -- how big it is, the terrain (and what
keeps the contestants from leaving), whether or not there are any structures, the weather, and
what sorts of lifeforms are present.

Let the players decide whether or not the match features prize flags. Even if it does PCs don't
have to "flag up" unless they want to.

Who's Who
For team matches it's a good idea for the PCs to have a mix of skills and abilities. All of the
types should be present (if there are enough players), and the characters should preferably all
have different descriptors. No two player characters should have the same focus, but if there
are duplicates they should be different variants -- for example, one who Speaks for the Trees
and another who Speaks for the Mountains.

For individual tournaments the viewers prefer matches between contestants of similar ability.
In the most combat-heavy tournaments all of the competitors are trained combatants with
some survival skills, while contests that focus on puzzle solving feature contestants of similar
intelligence and educational levels.

79
It's a good idea for the GM to prepare a full list of contestants with their names, descriptors,
types, foci, and prize selections. There should be at least five NPC competitors for each PC.
The ones the PCs will actually have to fight should be fleshed out in the most detail. The rest
will be killed by other NPCs or fall victim to the arena's various hazards. If possible there
should be at least one NPC contestant for each focus that none of the PCs chose.

In addition to the NPC competitors the GM should choose a few early game encounters (NPC
humanoids or monsters). There should be enough of these encounters for the PCs to make
their kill counts without having to fight all of the NPC contestants -- the GM can add extra
creature fights to fill in the gaps. Late game combats should focus on other contestants, but
the final round can be against a single boss monster or a horde of lesser monsters for a team
match. For an individual tournament the final round should be against another contestant.

Where It’s At
Several of the foci provided -- and perhaps some GM- or player-created foci -- allow access to
extradimensional spaces. There might also be uncommon rites that grant the ability to enter
or leave such spaces. A complete cosmology for a multidimensional campaign would take up
a much bigger document than this all on its own, but here is a simplified cosmology for the
major planes found in the campaign and examples of sub-planes for each.

Aether: The Aether, or Ethereal Plane, is where the fires of Creation still burn. It is the realm
of quintessence and the seat of the primum mobile. The Aether is home to the many celestial
realms (Heaven, Shangri-la, the Elysian Fields, etc.) and the elemental planes.
Associated Metaphysical Languages: Empedoclean, Enochian

Astral: The Astral Plane is a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. It is the
source of both dreams and nightmares that every mind visits while asleep, and it’s possible
for a waking mind to touch the Astral during an especially potent daydream or a full-blown
psychotic break. The various astral sub-planes are individual mindscapes or the domains of
powerful conceptual beings such as the Outer Gods, the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, or the
Queen of Hearts.
Associated Metaphysical Languages: Aklo, Faerie

Liminal: The Liminal isn’t one vast plane but uncountable trillions of smaller ones. It is a
collection of demiplanes, most of which can be accessed directly from at least one other but
all of which are connected to at least one location in the Materium (see next entry). Magic
works strangely here if at all. Liminal realms can be as small as personal pocket dimensions
or as large as minor planes like Fluidic Space, the Upside-down, or the Microverse.
Associated Metaphysical Languages: Fortean

Materium: The Materium is the entirety of all of the myriad worlds of the multiverse. Every
alien planet and alternate Earth is part of the Material Plane. The sub-planes of hyperspace
and subspace, which touch most of those planets, are also part of the Material Plane.
Associated Metaphysical Languages: Proto-Aryan

Primordial: There is no civilization beyond the tribal level on the Primordial Plane, and no
technology more advanced than Steam Age tech works here. The land consists of vast
expanses of unspoiled wilderness. There is a demiplane for every biome and every cohort of
animal and plant species -- and not just terrestrial animals, plants, and biomes.
80
Associated Metaphysical Languages: Draconian, Primal

Underworld: The Abyssal Plane is associated with death and corruption. Here one can find
sub-planes populated by departed souls (i.e. Tartarus and Valhalla) or by demons and devils.
There is no food for corporeal beings in the Underworld except what travelers bring with them
or what the inhabitants lure there… which might include travelers.
Associated Metaphysical Languages: Infernal, Stygian

Breaking Bad
Getting the PCs to tier 6 in time for the final round requires that the GM be generous in giving
out XP. There must be multiple opportunities for PCs to earn XP every session, and the GM
should probably award more than usual for typical in-game activities. The GM might award
bonus XP for fighting other contestants while fighting monsters is worth standard XP. There
should also be XP awards for solving puzzles; the harder the puzzle the more XP solving it is
worth. Finding ways to survive or bypass environmental hazards counts as puzzle solving.
Every encounter should also include at least one GM intrusion.

In the original CYOA the tournament lasts for 28 days. If each game session covers two days
that's 14 sessions, and the PCs should be tier 6 by the end of session 13. At 16 XP to go up
each tier, with five tiers to ascend plus some additional XP for extras like rites, that's a bare
minimum of 7 XP per session.

If a player is absent for a session their character should be awarded the minimum of 7 XP
anyway so they keep up with the group. In exchange for this boon the GM has permission to
use the absent player's character as an NPC for the session. GMs take note: it's bad form to
kill someone's character while they're not at the table.

The Process of Elimination

In a battle to the death someone is going to die... and there's no guarantee that someone
won't be a player character. If a player character dies, especially in the early rounds, there
are a few ways of keeping that player engaged in the game.

New Kids on the Block: If a PC dies, no problem; one of the NPCs can get promoted. The
player simply takes one of the NPCs as their new PC. If the new PC is the party that killed
the old PC that justifies the new character getting loot from the old one. This option works
best for individual matches.

That's the Spirit: In a world with paranormal entities dead doesn't necessarily mean dead; a
deceased PC can haunt the other PCs as a ghost. They can't do much in the corporeal world
-- they're not solid, after all -- but they can see what's happening and advise or heckle as the
mood strikes them. A ghostly PC can even act as a scout or a diversion for their surviving
teammates.

The Man Behind the Curtain: Once a player no longer has a player character to portray they
can portray non-player characters instead. An eliminated player can assist the GM by taking
control of NPC contestants, sapient residents of the arena, or monsters. Assuming the role of
tournament announcers or celebrity guests is also a possibility.

81
Let's Do It Again
The best thing about Soulwars? The replay value. Even if you've played it once you can play
it again with a different group of PCs, a different arena, and different hazards for a whole new
game experience. Hopefully there will be a different GM as well.

Any PCs that survived previous iterations (or perhaps ghosts of those who didn't survive) can
make appearances as boss monsters or guest commentators. A winner who took the venue
as their prize might even be the host if the new contest takes place in their venue. Arenas
rarely get reused unless the owner is a former champion who is acting as host or final boss.

The rules for creating new foci exist for enhancing replay value; if the GM and players are
willing to put in the work it's possible to have a subsequent playthrough that features none of
the foci that appeared in the last iteration. In-universe the Is Only Human focus is the only
one that is offered in every single tournament.

The list of prizes will have to be updated for a replay; of the prizes listed in the CYOA only the
mystery box, soul grafter, treasure chest, and venue options are available for every tourney,
and the mystery box will have different contents every time. Only the GM should know what's
in the mystery box before it's opened, but a trusting GM might allow the players to create the
other prizes.

82