Mysteries Stunts

Artifacts

✪ Artificer [Mysteries]

The character is capable of using Mysteries to improve artifacts (mystic gadgets, essentially) in the same fashion that Technology does, albeit on radically different principles (see Gadgets and Gizmos). “Devices” worked on in this fashion will be clearly arcane in appearance and will work on principles that may make no sense to logical men. You may include some advances that are not available to “normal” Technology.
This sort of work requires an arcane workshop in the same way that engineering requires a regular workshop (see Workspaces).

✪ Alchemist [Mysteries]

Requires Artificer

As an alchemist, your character is able to create potions, unguents, transmogrification salves, impossible chemicals. While a part of Mysteries, alchemy also embraces some of the principles of Science, and thus allows Mysteries to substitute for Science in the realms of chemistry and some elements of physics. Alchemy also allows for the creation of new artifacts in the form of potions, which can create effects that allow the alchemist to make “attacks” through them using her Mysteries skill, usually over an extended timeframe. Finally, the Alchemist stunt allows the creation of processes that transform substances from one to the other (such as lead into gold); when relevant, this means the alchemist can spend a fate point to use her Mysteries skill in place of Resources, provided she can find a buyer for her transformed goods.

✪ Personal Artifact [Mysteries]

An artifact is a magical item or device that does… something. As far as game rules go, it is identical in function to a gadget, though you may have some broader leeway to describe what it can do, given that it’s based on magic instead of technology. Certain unusual upgrades may be incorporated into the design as well.
This stunt may be taken multiple times, but multiple Artifacts may not be combined the way Personal Gadgets can be.

✪ Rare Artifact [Mysteries]

You may introduce an artifact that you design on-the-fly, in a fashion similar to the Universal Gadget stunt.
Because this is an artifact, however, a few differences exist. The artifact gets three improvements, same as a Personal Artifact, instead of only two improvements, the way a Universal Gadget does. Furthermore, this stunt may be taken multiple times and, unlike a Personal Artifact, may combine those improvements into a single, more potent artifact.
There is, however, a downside…
All Rare Artifacts inevitably have origins shrouded in darkness and mystery. In order to introduce such an artifact into play, the character must take on a temporary aspect which vaguely, colorfully references the secret (and unknown) past of the artifact. The GM may then incorporate its dark past into the storyline, hitting the character with compels as appropriate.
If the player’s uninterested in having his impromptu artifact misbehaving on occasion, he may spend a fate point to avoid the temporary aspect’s placement. And that might just be a good idea. .. Beware the sinister secrets of the arcane!

Hypnosis

✪ Mesmerist [Mysteries]

The character is adept at using his Mysteries skill as described under Mesmerism. When helping another character to remember things with hypnosis, the other character’s skills are not limited in any way, and in fact may be complemented by the hypnotist’s Mysteries skill.
Further, rolls with a willing target – even if that target is not actively participating – are always at +2, as if the target was actively participating (running-the-game). Finally, the time it takes to put someone into a trance is reduced by one step, if applicable.

✪ Hypnotic Speech [Mysteries]

Requires Mesmerist

When interacting with others socially, you are able to weave the patterns and methods of mesmerism into your words, potentially putting someone you’re talking to into a partial trance – even without them realizing.
Provided you have had several minutes of calm conversation with another character as a preamble, you may start using your Mysteries skill instead of Socialize or Deceit. You may not make such a substitution if the conversation becomes strongly charged with emotion or if other distractions surface to break the air of calm. This stunt works even when dealing with an unwilling subject (in part because it simply allows you to substitute Mysteries for the perfectly normal functions of Socialize and Deceit).

✪ Mind’s Shadow [Mysteries]

Requires Mesmerist

Whenever you have someone in a full trance, you may plant false memories, or remove existing memories. The partial trance resulting from the Hypnotic Speech stunt does not count – this must be a full trance, which is usually only possible with a willing target. Unwilling trances resulting from the Enthrall stunt do, however, count.
To use this ability, for each memory to be planted or removed, roll your Mysteries skill. The result indicates the difficulty for someone to recognize the memories as missing or false, as well as the difficulty – for the subject or another mesmerist – to penetrate the shadow you have lain over their mind.

✪ Enthrall [Mysteries]

Requires Mind’s Shadow and Hypnotic Speech

You are able to place even unwilling subjects into a hypnotic trance by using Mysteries as an out-and-out attack.
This works best with a restrained subject, but so long as a target can hear the sound of your voice, you have a chance to begin your workings upon him. Targets who are not restrained or forced to be a captive audience defend with their Resolve at +2, though a full defense action does not help them further.
You may approach this mental assault in one of two ways – either as a maneuver, placing a temporary aspect that will only last the scene, or as an attack that inflicts composure stress.
Maneuvers will be short-lived, but may be easier and more useful for immediate effects. If you’re looking to lay on something more profound, you must attack for stress instead.
If you inflict enough stress to indicate a consequence, concession, or taken out result, the results must “play along” with the goals of your hypnotic attack. Such results still can’t force a character to do something completely contrary to his nature, but there should still be a lot of latitude in terms of what sorts of compulsions you can place in the mind of your victim.
It’s easy to use this stunt improperly… and if you do, people are in the right to label you as a villain.

Secrets

✪ Fortuneteller [Mysteries]

The character is unusually adept at predicting the shape of future events. With this stunt, he may make two predictions per session, instead of the usual one.

✪ Herbal Remedies [Mysteries]

You have specialized in non-traditional medicine to such an extent that it is many ways superior to modern medicine – even if most might scoff or not understand.
In the wilderness, you can find medical supplies easily, and may roll Mysteries instead of Survival to find such things; further, you may roll Mysteries instead of Science in order to perform first aid or proper medical care (see Medical Attention). Using this stunt, you face no penalties for using unorthodox “tools”.

✪ Palm Reader [Mysteries]

Using palm reading or other techniques of personal examination (such as phrenology and aura consultation), you may make a single Mysteries roll as if you were using Intuition. This usually only takes a few minutes, so if you can get someone to be willing to be read, it can sometimes yield information faster than a standard Intuition read would.
At the player’s option, this may be combined with a second Mysteries roll to make a fortune-telling prediction, either before or after the palm-reading roll, so long as the player’s not past his per-session limit. Such predictions must focus on the character being read.

✪ Secrets of the Arcane [Mysteries]

The character is respected authority in a specific occult field. Possibilities include ancient mythology, psychic phenomena, cryptozoology, and so on. In the elite circles of that particular field, the character is recognized for his expertise. Even if his skill level is low, it merely means he is towards the bottom of that particular group of the elite.
This stunt is, essentially, the Mysteries parallel of the Academics: Scholar stunt. When the character makes a Mysteries roll pertaining to his general area of expertise, he automatically receives a +1 knowledge bonus. Beyond this, the character should pick a specific area of specialization within that area (like extraterrestrial demonology, or xenomorphic symbology – the more syllables the better). When a Mysteries roll involves that specialization, he gains an additional +1 bonus (for a total +2 to the value of the research effort). Any research efforts involving the specialization take one unit less time.

Spirits

✪ Psychic [Mysteries]

You are open to the strange and paranormal – though sometimes that means letting in the Unpleasant Things from the Darkness and other such nuisances.
Normally, a character may be called upon by the GM to roll Mysteries as a kind of paranormal Alertness skill, to pick up on the surface strangeness in a place. With this stunt, you may deliberately use your Mysteries skill to gain some mystic or terrible insight into the occult “climate” of an area, as if it were Investigation – using a similar time-frame and gaining a similar level of (paranormal) detail.
This also means that you may use Mysteries instead of Alertness when surprised, if the origin of the surprise is in some way supernatural, and can even use Mysteries as your initiative skill when locked in a conflict with otherworldly forces.
Used with this stunt, Mysteries can give you access to information that would normally be impossible to get – though the GM is under no obligation to give you that information in any clear fashion. Muddled riddles and vague intimations are the mode of the day.
There is an additional catch: Using this ability may open you up to an unpleasant psychic attack by the presence or residue of Unnatural Creatures that have touched the area … but at least you’ve learned something.

✪ Spirit Companion [Mysteries]

You have a companion with three advances. This companion is vulnerable to the flux of the spiritual aether, however, and must be summoned into your presence – either pay a fate point to get his immediate manifestation or take roughly a minute to roll Mysteries against a target equal to the companion’s quality as a more gentle summoning.
This companion can never act in physical conflict, but may be visible to others; this may limit what skills he can use with the Skilled advance. He automatically gains the Independent advance as well. The companion will need to take Skilled (Stealth) if he wishes to be undetectable on occasion; otherwise, visible or not, his presence in a location is an immediate call for people to roll Mysteries to notice something amiss.
If you take this stunt a second time (the maximum) you may provide another three advances to your companion. If you have not yet increased the companion’s quality to at least Fair, you must spend one of your advances to do so.

✪ Voices from Beyond [Mysteries]

Requires Psychic

Given time to prepare and perform the ritual, the character may perform a real, functioning séance to try to call out to spirits dead or never living. A Mysteries roll must be made against a difficulty set by the GM, in order to cause a particular spirit to manifest.
Summoned spirits are not under any sort of compulsion to be cooperative, and may have their own agendas, but once summoned, they may speak through the character with others in attendance. At the GM’s option, especially if the summoner gains spin on her Mysteries roll, the spirit may even manifest visibly.
Should the spirit be malicious in any fashion, or wish to escape the summons, the character may use Mysteries or Resolve as his skill of choice when struggling with the spirit.

✪ Words on the Wind [Mysteries]

Requires Psychic

There are patterns to things that are not always obvious, even to the wise.
This character looks in the right places, and hears the right things. Once per session, when he is not otherwise occupied, he may request an omen from the GM, and roll Mysteries against a target of Mediocre. The GM will use the results to guide her decision about how obscure the information gained is. It may be as arcane as a snippet of a riddle, or as mundane as news that a strange shipment is coming into the docks at midnight.

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