03.01.04 Rd6 Special Abilities: Ex-Abilities
Extraordinary Abilities (Ex-Abilities) do not directly impact the mechanics of the game. These abilities simply allow an species to do things others can not. A bird-like species can use their wings to glide through the air. Other species can see in the dark. Aquatic species can breathe both water and air with no penalties.
Some abilities require a Very Easy Willpower Test. When this is rolled, only a Critical failure is a failure. Anything else rolled is considered at least one Success, even if the total is less than 6.
Ex-Abilities (1-Point)
Extra Body Part
The character has an extra limb or organ. If external, these may be secondary arms or legs, a tail, or some more exotic bodily addition, such as fins, tentacles, or antennae. If internal, the parts are organs such as extra eyes, hearts, or mysterious glands.
Additionally, except in cases where the character has an Enhancement or another Special Ability that uses this one this one (for example, Extra Body Part: Tail and Natural Weapon: Tail), the extra part has minimal functional (+1 to some Skill or other Ability Test – must be specified). A character may buy multiples of this Special Ability, to represent multiple additional organs or limbs.
Hyper-movement
The character is extremely fast, adding +1 to his base Move rate, which in turn affects all other types of movements. This can be taken multiple times to increase movement more.
Immunity
The character is highly resistant to disease and poisons and receives a +1D to Stamina: Resist checks when determining whether he has contracted an illness or suffering from ingested poisons. A character may not have this ability more than once for a specific substance or additional substances.
Youthful Appearance
The character looks much younger than he actually is and receives a +1D to Tests of Persuasion for purposes of charm or con, as well as Disguise attempts that involve posing as someone youthful. In general, characters should not look more than 10 to 20 years younger than they are, regardless of the number of ranks, though gamemaster discretion and common sense should rule here. This can be chosen multiples times to increase the bonuses.
Ex-Abilities (2-Points)
Ambidextrous
The character is equally adept with her right or left hand (assuming bilateral symmetry). He may perform an action with each hand in the same round (with multi-action penalty) and gains a +1 to each skill Test total. The actions must involve the hands. Each action must require only one hand. If the character performs only one hand-related action in a round, she does not get the bonus. Some skills that characters could employ with either hand include Fighting, Thievery: lockpicking, Ranged Weapons, Athletics: throwing, Athletics: lifting, Craft/Repair: Artist, and Forgery.
Attack Resistance
With a Very Easy Willpower roll, the character is highly resistant to a certain type of attack. He gains +1D per success to his damage resistance total against this type of attack.
Energy Attacks: Resistant to blasts of heat, fire, electricity, radiation, light, cold, and so on, but not the ability to survive in extremes of such environments.
Extranormal Attack: Resistant to damage from any Extranormal based (such as Magic or Psionics) attack.
Mental Attacks: Resistant to mental harm from any source. It does not provide protection against interaction attempts.
Non-enchanted Weapons: Resistant to physical damage from non-enchanted weapons, but not from poisons, energy, or similar materials.
Climbing Claws
The species has climbing claws which are used for climbing only. They add +1D to his Athletics: climbing skill while use the claws.
Elasticity
The character can stretch, elongate, and compress his body, allowing him to expand his height or become so narrow he can pass through keyholes, cracks, or any other opening he could normally see through. The character makes an Agility Test. The ability takes one round or more (GM’s judgement) to slip through small openings, depending on their depth. The character gains +1D per Success of the Agility Test, in Contortion, Dodge, or Sleight of Hand totals, in addition to Disguise attempts he performs on himself.
Fear
The character, with a Willpower Test, can provoke fear in those who can see or hear him. He gains a +1D per Success to all Intimidation totals and attackers gain a +1 per Success against those Attacking the character. The willpower or Presence difficulty to resist a Fear attack is 2.
Invisibility
With a Very Easy Willpower Test (minimum 1 Success), the character can become transparent. This adds 1D per Success to the character’s Dodge and Stealth Test totals, as well as +1 per Success to the difficulties of all Search. Investigation, and Attack Totals against the character that the invisible character is not actively trying to defeat.
Additionally, no character may take an action to spot the character unless the gamemaster feels there is sufficient provocation, such as brushing against others or removing something in a crowded area.
The invisibility covers the character’s basic clothes only – not any gear he’s carrying, or anything he picks up. Also, remember that the character is transparent when invisible – he can’t hide things behind his back.
Natural Camouflage
The the character gets +1D to Stealth in his natural terrain. This advantage is negated when the the character is not in this terrain.
Prehensile Tail
The the character has a prehensile tails and can use it as an extra limb at +1D to his Agility.
Vibration Sense
The character is attuned to movements and vibrations and can sense approaching objects in contact with the ground up to 60 meters away. Using this ability requires a Very Easy Perception roll.
Ex-Abilities (3-Points)
Animal Control
This gives the character the ability to control one particular species of animal, bird, or insect. The character gets a +1D bonus to her Animal Handling total for that species. He must generate an animal handling versus the Presence or Willpower of the animal (more than one animal can be targeted, although this is a multi-action). If the character gets a high enough success (gamemaster’s decision), the animal is controlled for a number of minutes equal to the Animal Handling skill successes x 10.
A controlled animal serves its master faithfully, even sacrificing itself on her behalf. The Special Ability has a range of sight or voice. The character may gain one more species for each rank.
Note: A swarm of insects counts as one animal, as does a school of small fish. Any creature with a Intellect die code of less than 2D could be considered an animal, unless the gamemaster says otherwise (for example, a horse would be animal, but a zombie with a Intellect of 1D would not).
Armor-Defeating Attack
When a character with natural weapons (the character’s fists, claws, teeth, etc.) attacks someone protected by armor, this ability negates the Armor Value. To determine the amount, the character must make a Very Easy Willpower Test (Don’t critically fail) The Armor Defeat value is equal to 1D per success (minimum 1D).
The character must specify how the attack negates the armor: an acidic mist slips through any openings, enchanted claws reach directly to the flesh, etc. There should be at least one type of armor that is unaffected by this.
Atmospheric Tolerance
The character can breathe one form of atmosphere (gas or liquid) that would normally be lethal by human standards. This can be purchased for different versions of atmospheres.
Confusion
With a Very Easy Willpower Test, the character can hamper the thoughts of those he comes into physical contact with at will. As a multi-action with a Fighting attack (Free action of the character chooses to forgo physical damage of the Fighting attack), he may perform an opposed Willpower with the target. If the opposed roll succeeds, the target is confused for a number of rounds per Success difference.
Darkness
With a Very Easy Willpower Test, the character can project a field of darkness around himself, adding +1 per Success to the Difficulty of any sight-based skill totals. The field extends in a half-sphere around the character with a radius equal to one meter per Success. The field can be maintained for a maximum of one minute per Success before dispersing.
Danger Sense
The character can sense danger. He is never surprised. Rather, he and his attacker must determine initiative as normal. Even if the attacker still goes before the character does, any combat modifier from the surprise is reduced by 2.
Enhanced Sense
One of the character’s five senses is heightened to abnormal levels. The bonus to the skill total received depends on the sense:
- Sight is +1
- Hearing is +2
- Touch, Taste, and Smell are +3
The bonus is per rank and applies to all skills related to the sense. To have multiple enhanced senses, this Special Ability must be taken at least once for each sense.
Environmental Tolerance
The character can endure extreme environments and suffers no ill effects from them.
Glider Wings
The character can fly by drifting with air currents, provided there is sufficient wind. Characters with this Special Ability need the Flying skill to control their passage. This allows a character in normal gravity and normal atmosphere to avoid Fall Damage as well as Glide a distance equal to his Movement times 2, given sufficient height to start the glide (GM’s discretion).
Infrared Vision
The character can see in the infrared spectrum, giving him the ability to see in complete darkness if there are heat sources to navigate by.
Iron Will
The character is highly resistant to all interaction attempts and mental attacks. The character gains a +2D to all Willpower Test rolls and +1 to all difficulties of any such attempts against this character.
Large
The character is one size category larger than Medium (Large). Scale modifiers apply from a Large perspective.
Longevity
The character lives longer than the average Human. Often, this Special Ability has a Flaw attached that governs what the character must do to maintain his life. The character should gain peripheral bonuses during game play because of his longer outlook. A character may not have this ability more than once.
Natural Magick
The character can use a magic spell as a natural ability. An example of this would be a character who can dispel magic by his nature, rather than through the use of a counter-magic spell.
The point cost of the ability equals the difficulty of the spell. The chosen spell may not be charged (that is, have a fixed limit to the number of times it can be cast).
The character must adhere to the requirements of the spell, including its gestures, incantations, components, and so on. The casting of the spell is automatic (there is no need to roll a Magic skill to perform it), but the character does need to attempt any targeting skill or skill required by the casting (such as one needed to perform a gesture). If any of these fail, the spell does not work.
The player and the gamemaster need to discuss what spell the character will have, and what the range, duration, and so on will be. It’s suggested that some limitations be placed on the use of this ability to maintain game balance — for instance, a character who can toss fireballs as a natural ability might have to recharge for a certain number
of rounds between doing so.
A character may have this Special Ability once each for different spells.
Night Vision
The character has excellent night vision and can see in darkness with no penalty.
Omnivorous
The character can gain nourishment from any organic substance (though he is not immune to poisons). He can also chew through just about any organic substance with no adverse effects to his teeth or jaws. A character may not have this ability more than once.
Shapeshifting
3 points per shape.
The character can manipulate the shape, color, and overall appearance of her body, though mass and body compositions remain the same. The character must choose a specific creature to emulate, gaining one form for every 3 points invested in this Special Ability. At 9 Points, the gamemaster may allow shifting among one class of creatures (such as birds or furniture) as long as all forms chosen for previous ranks were within the same class.
Mental and Supernatural Attributes (Perception, Presence, Intellect, Willpower and Supernatural attributes) remain unaffected by this Special Ability, but the Attributes Agility, Strength, and Stamina match the new form. Not all skills will be usable in the new form.
Shapeshifting may be done at will, though a Limitation may force it to be triggered by stress or environmental factors. If shifting voluntarily, the character must generate a successful Willpower Test to bring about the change, and a second total to turn back again. Each change takes one full round in which the character may do nothing else. Failure at the check means the transformation does not occur, and the character cannot
try again for at least an hour.
It is highly recommended that the hero comes up with some typical forms and their game characteristics before beginning play. The new form need not exactly resemble a typical version of the emulated creature or object.
Teleportation
With a Very Easy Willpower Test (minimum 1 Success), the character can move instantly to another place up to 10 meters per Success away. The character must see his destination clearly. In combat, this action takes an entire round. The character may take along whatever he can carry.
Ventriloquism
With a Very Easy Willpower Test, the character can throw her voice up to three meters away per Success. If it is part of a Trick attempt, he receives a +2D bonus per Success to Persuasion Tests for purposes of Tricks and Cons.
Ex-Abilities (4-Points)
Accelerated Healing
The character must make a Very Easy Willpower check and gains a +1D per Success to his Stamina for all natural healing attempts, and a Critical Failure is treated as 1, rather than having a negative effect on the die roll.
Blur
The character can appear indistinct to the naked eye or non-enchanted visual aids (binoculars, cameras, etc.). Commonly, a character with this Special Ability will only be spotted out of the corner of the eye. Upon activation, the character must make a Very Easy Willpower check.
This adds +1D per Success to the character’s Dodge and Stealth totals. It also +1 per every 2 successes to difficulties of all Search, Investigation, and attacks against the character that the blurring character is not actively trying to defeat.
On the character’s turn, he may automatically become blurred as a Free action, and remain so until she chooses otherwise. Blurring also makes it difficult for the character to hold a conversation with others.
Intangibility
With a Very Easy Willpower check (minimum 1 Success), the character can reduce his physical density to virtually for one minute per Success. During that time, his Damage Resistance Score against physical and energy attacks is +1D per Success, but his movement rate is halved. An intangible character can pass through solid objects, providing they do not contain wards or other spells of protection designed to repel passage of this nature. He may not pass through energy or electrified barriers.
While intangible, the character cannot carry any object along (including clothing), nor can he attempt any physical attack. It takes a full round for a character to become intangible or solid, during which he can do nothing else. The character must spend at least one minute solid before attempting intangibility again.
Paralyzing Touch
The character can freeze his target with the merest touch. When he makes a Fighting attack, instead of doing damage, he may paralyze his victim with a Willpower Test. The target remains paralyzed until he makes a opposed Willpower roll against character’s total successes. He may attempt to do so once per round; the only other actions he may take are mental-based, Extranormal or Special Ability actions that do not require movement.
Note: Characters who are heavily armored or covered will be harder to hit. The gamemaster needs to decide how much skin is exposed and adjust the attack difficulty accordingly. A character may not have this ability more than once.
Transmutation
4 points per form.
The character can alter his molecular mark-up to something else, while retaining his form (such as turning to a stone-man). Characters with this ability may only shift into one specific substance, which the player must specify when his character gets the Special Ability. Generally, this substance gives the character distinct advantages – this is determined by spending an 4 points on Special Abilities in one ability related to the particular substance (ie. 4 points of Natural Armor for Stone). Natural Armor, Hardiness, and Environmental Resistance are common ones.
Ex-Abilities (5-Points)
Life Drain
This ability allows the character to drain Attribute points (pips) from his target or cause damage. The character must choose one set of Attributes to target, either physical (Agility, Strength, Stamina), mental (Intellect, Perception, Presence), or Wounds.
For example, most vampires drink blood, and thus lower Stamina, while succubi target the soul and so weaken Willpower. The player must specify in what manner the character drains these attributes (biting a vein, hypnosis, and so.) It should involve some sort of successful attack result (either physical or mental).
When the character wishes to employ Life Drain, he makes an Attack on his target using the relevant skill. For every Success the character makes, the character drains one pip off each of the target’s relevant attributes or causes 1D damage per Success. (Remember that there are three pips in each die.)
If any of the target’s attributes ever go to zero or the character reaches the Dead Wound level, the target dies. If the target survives, she regains one attribute point (to each attribute affected) every hour after the attack.
For each attribute pip the character drains, he may add one pip to any attribute in his chosen category. He would get one Wound for each Wound drained. Life Drained attributes and unused Wounds disappear at a rate of one pip or point per hour.
A character may have multiple versions of this ability.
Ex-Abilities (6-Points)
Flight
The character can fly, either by nature or by virtue of having wings. The character’s flying rate equals his base Move times 2. This can be increased by a Very Easy Strength Test. Multiply the movement total by the number of Success. The Flying skill is required to maneuver
Ex-Abilities (7-Points)
Immortality
The character is immortal, though he will grow older, at a decreased pace compared to the rest of her species. If he is reduced to max wounds, he doesn’t die. He will not go unconscious or bleed to death (as mortally wounded characters do), but he will not heal without psionic or magical aid or the Accelerated Healing Special Ability – his arms could be blown off, her abdomen eviscerated, or whatever.
He may perform only the most minimal of physical actions, such as squirming, and some actions may be impossible. He may rely on his Agility for initiative purposes only.
There should be one particular set of circumstances whereby the character will die forever. These sets of circumstances should not be too unusual – killed directly by magic, drowned, decapitated, and so on are all good examples. A character may not have this ability more than once.
Ex-Abilities (8-Points)
Possession, Limited
With a Very Easy Willpower Test, the character can possess the body of a living creature or a corpse. The character must make contact with the target in order to possess it. This may involve a Fighting check for unwilling targets. Possessing a corpse doesn’t require a roll, but it does take an action.
Possessing a living being involves making an opposed Willpower check by the possessor versus the target. Exceeding (but not equaling) the target’s Test means the target has been possessed.
To gather knowledge about his host body’s life, the possessing character must generate a successful Investigation total against the target’s Intellect roll as a Free Action. Information the possessor gains depends upon the level of success achieved. 1 success gets basic information (target’s name, age, address); 2 success gets more personal information (target’s job, financial status, any current schedule); 3 successes gets more in-depth personal information (identities and backgrounds of family, friends, lovers), etc.
With Limited Possession, the character does not gain control of the new form. Instead, he must use Persuasion or Persuasion (intimidation), or other applicable skills to convince his host to do what he wishes.
Exiting a host body is commonly a simple action. As long as the possessing character exits before the host dies, he simply moves on to his own or another form. Killing a possessing spirit usually involves taking it completely by surprise with a killing blow to the host form or using a spell to force it to remain in the body until it can be slain.
Ex-Abilities (10-Points)
Possession, Full
The character can possess the body of a living creature or a corpse. This works in the same way as Limited Possession, save that the possessing character gains her new form’s physical attributes (Agility, Stamina, Strength), retains her own mental attributes, and gains complete control over the new form.