Contracts of Industry

SECOND SHIFT (•)

Athletes often speak of a getting an unexpected burst of energy in the midst of what they thought was exhaustion. With this clause, a changeling may call upon perseverance itself to alleviate the symptoms of burnout.
Cost: 1 Glamour
Dice Pool: Resolve + Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The changeling is working on a task and will run out of time if they cannot remain working, or the changeling is a member of the Golem kith.
Dramatic Failure: The character feels the weight of exhaustion fall across his shoulders, which imposes a -1 penalty to all actions for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The character feels no more energetic than he did before invoking the clause.
Success: All penalties from wounds, disease, poisoning, fatigue, starvation, and dehydration disappear, and no new penalties accumulate until the next sunrise or sunset. The subject feels as energized as if he had just risen from a full night’s sleep and eaten a hearty breakfast. The benefit applies only to the individual who invokes this Clause.
Exceptional Success: In addition to feeling like he just ate a large breakfast, he also feels like he drank a pot of coffee: he gains one point of Speed for a scene, and +1 to all physical actions which involve moving quickly.

Suggested Modifiers

+3 –
+2 – The character has been performing the same task for more than half the time he’s been awake.
+1 –
-1 – The task is something the character does not enjoy doing.
-2 –
-3 –

UNTIRING FOCUS (••)

While working on a lengthy task, the character’s mental and physical acuity remain as sharp as when they first began their endeavor.
Cost: 2 Glamour
Dice Pool: Composure + Wyrd
Action: Extended
Catch: The character smashes a lens or magnifying glass of some sort.
Dramatic Failure: The character loses the 10-again quality on all extended actions for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The clause fails to activate.
Success: The character gains the 9-again quality on any extended action where each roll represents at least 10 minutes of thought or effort.
Exceptional Success: As above, but the character gains the 8-again quality instead.

Suggested Modifiers

+3 -
+2 -
+1 – The action is a solitary pursuit.
-1 -
-2 –
-3 – The task requires constant attention and adaptation to a changing environment (such as directing air traffic, supervising children, or professional racing).

TALOS’ RESOLUTION (•••)

Like the bronze giant who guarded the ancient isle of Crete, the character who invokes this clause becomes impervious to being turned from his purpose.
Cost: 2 Glamour
Dice Pool: Resolve + Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The character drinks a thimbleful of motor oil, which may require a Resolve roll to accomplish, and perhaps a Stamina roll to prevent vomiting.
Dramatic Failure: The character becomes more susceptible to distraction; newly-fascinating sounds, sights, and sensations impose a -1 penalty on all actions requiring more than a moment’s attention (i.e., all non-Instant actions, including Instant Contested actions) for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The character’s Resolve remains the same as before.
Success: The character gains a temporary point of Resolve, plus an additional temporary point of Resolve for every two successes thereafter (to a maximum of three).
Exceptional Success: For each point of Resolve gained on the activation roll, the player receives a bonus point of temporary Willpower. Unspent bonus Willpower vanishes along with the temporary Resolve at the end of the scene.

Suggested Modifiers

+3 – The character is wearing a uniform or a badge of office.
+2 -
+1 -
-1 -
-2 – The character’s clothing and/or appearance are in a state of disarray.
-3 -

ÆGIS OF MIGHT (••••)

Through a combination of physical might and sheer, damnable stubbornness, the character actually compels harmful forces to turn aside from her.
Cost: 3 Glamour
Dice Pool: Strength + Wyrd
Action: Instant
Catch: The character bites a bullet.
Dramatic Failure: The character’s energy is sapped, reducing their Defense by one point for the rest of the scene.
Failure: The character does not gain any armor.
Success: For each success on the activation roll, the character gains a point of temporary armor, which defends against bashing, lethal, and aggravated damage, and lasts for the rest of the scene.
Exceptional Success: The armor also gains the quality “bulletproof” (see World of Darkness rulebook, pg. 166)

Suggested Modifiers

+3 – The character fights multiple opponents while her allies escape, regroup, or dress wounds.
+2 –
+1 – The character plans to act alone, or to be separated from her allies for the duration of the clause.
-1 –
-2 –
-3 –

REPROGRAMMING (•••••)

After meditating for a time, the character enters a fugue state in which her entire world is reduced to a single point: her objective. All other concerns (family, friends, and even physical pain) are left at the wayside.
Cost: 3 Glamour + 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: Computers + Wyrd
Action: Extended (each roll represents 10 minutes, trying to accrue 5 successes)
Catch: The character listens to a radio which is transmitting static while they meditate.
Dramatic Failure: The character sinks so deeply into her meditative state that she is unable to wake for a full hour. At the end of this time, the clause does not trigger, and she must attempt to re-enter a meditative state (see World of Darkness rulebook, pg. 51).
Failure: The character wakes from the meditative state, and the clause does not activate.
Success: The character enters a meditative state, and begins to literally reprogram her mind, creating subroutines which allow her to completely shut out all distractions while pursuing a stated goal. When she awakens, the character relentlessly pursues her objectives, to the exclusion of all else. While in this state, the character is in fugue, and gains no experience from battles won or goals accomplished. (After all, if she can’t remember what she did, then she cannot possibly learn from it.) However, she also disregards any penalties from pain, injury, exhaustion, dehydration, starvation, fear or other similar situational modifiers. The character also disregards all Derangements, and some mental or social Flaws (at the Storyteller’s discretion).

While this clause is active, the character is immune to all forms of mind-control or mental suggestion (but not illusions and sense-affecting magics; this immunity applies only against attempts to directly influence the character’s thoughts or feelings, such as with the Fleeting court-contracts).

Additionally, the character gains a +3 bonus to all actions directly related to accomplishing their stated goal, and takes a -3 to any action not directly related to accomplishing their stated goal.

The character may set up “breakpoints”, which will allow her consciousness to resurface if they are met (e.g., “when character is at half-health”, or “if the alarms go off”, or “when the sun rises”). The character may set a number of these breakpoints equal to her Wyrd score. Once these breakpoints are triggered, the character awakens from her fugue state, and she must re-enter a meditative state in order to invoke this clause again.

Once this clause is activated, the character cannot deviate from her new programming until 1) her goal is accomplished, 2) a breakpoint is triggered, or 3) the character is dead.

Exceptional Success: In addition to the effects described above, the character’s grim, emotionless determination is clearly visible to all who see her. Anyone who would stop her, or stand between the character and her goal, takes a -2 penalty from fear as they gaze into the cold, unblinking abyss of her eyes.

Suggested Modifiers

+3 -
+2 -
+1 – The character meditates while listening to the soft hum of electronic equipment.
-1 – The character meditates in a natural setting, such as a forest or park.
-2 –
-3 -

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Contracts of Industry

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