Home > Kestrel > New Advantages, Knacks & Knack Effects
Matushka blessed two of Kestrel's crew members with this power, which can be purchased by other Heroes who perform similar acts of epic courage on behalf of some great power. Three times per Act, the Gifted Hero can spend a Drama Die to instantly heal a Dramatic Wound or neutralize a poison, even Ten Second Beetle venom. (NPCs need not spend Drama Dice, but are likewise limited to three healings per Act.) Gashes, bruises and broken bones restore themselves in a single Phase of miraculous regeneration. This is not, it should be noted, a subtle power. Anyone watching the Hero use the Healing Gift will instantly recognize its use, even if they don't know what it is.
This power allows the character to control and animate rope (defined as any spiral-woven strands of fiber). These can be used to manipulate a ship's rigging or simply to grab objects. The ropes have a Brawn equal to the Hero's Resolve and a Finesse equal to the character's Wits, using the same Knack ranks when relevant. This power requires the use of both hands, meaning the Hero cannot hold on to anything (like the aforementioned rigging or any weaponry), and cannot use this power to escape bindings. The character can also tie an individual sorcery effect into a literal knot with a successful Resolve check, TN 10 * the Rank of the sorcery Knack desired for the knot. Effects that require Adept-level power must be bound with a minimum Rank of 4, and Mastery-level powers must be bound with a minimum Rank of 5. Any additional costs are paid by the original sorcerer, who must be willing. If the Rope Mage fails the Resolve check, the donating sorcerer does not have to pay any costs, but the Rope Mage must make an immediate Wits check with the same TN or lose their Advantage for the rest of the Scene. This does not affect successfully knotted effects, however.
Example 1: Glamour
Example 2: El Fuego Adentro
Example 3: Laerdom
By expending a Drama Die (Glamour mages can spend a Glamour Die), a character can literally create wings of fire from their back. These wings can grow up to 20 feet each (a 40 foot wingspan at full extension), their length being completely under the control of the character, with a minimum of two feet each. Each wing is a one die fire for each ten cumulative feet of length, with a maximum of four dice of flame when attacked by both wings at full extension. They can allow the character to fly, but this costs a second Drama Die. In a chase, Wings of Flame allow the Hero to move with the speed of a high-quality horse. The effect can be deactivated at any time, but lasts no longer than a Scene. Direct attacks with Wings of Flame cannot be made non-lethal, though they can be used for Tagging or other indirect forms of embarrassment without harming the target. To hit a target with Wings of Flame requires the character to either purchase a unique Knack, Attack (Wings), or make the attempt unskilled.
With Firestarting 6, the character no longer needs flint or tinder -- any friction will do, even a snap of the fingers. However, this still costs one Flesh Wound, and if there is no fuel available, the sorcerer must immediately pay the Fuel cost in Flesh Wounds to keep the fire burning, then continue paying it per the standard rules until the fire is released (and thus extinguished).
Dire Sword allows the Hero to create a blade of pure flame, costing two Flesh Wounds for each die of fire used to create the weapon. This cost can be reduced by the Fuel Knack. The Dire Sword then does that much damage with each strike, using Attack (Fencing) or (Heavy Weapon) to strike. A Dire Sword can be made solid or intangible on creation, but once chosen its state cannot be changed, and must be released to create a new Dire Sword if one is desired.
A solid Dire Sword can be parried and its damage is reduced by Dracheneisen, but it can also be used to parry and has the form of the actual weapon being modeled, albeit as an especially large version. Also, the sword will not start fires. A solid Dire Sword has a maximum damage equal to the weapon type being modeled, but 'leftover' fire dice are added to its unkept damage dice; e.g. a rapier made from a four die fire does 4k2 damage plus the character's Brawn.
An intangible Dire Sword does its full damage, and it cannot be parried by other swords or defended against by Dracheneisen. In like manner, the intangible Sword cannot parry. It is five feet long for each die of damage it does, and ignites any flammable objects the sorcerer hits -- whether by accident or on purpose. Regardless of which form of Dire Sword the sorcerer creates, the Flesh Wounds spent do not heal until the weapon is released, even upon taking a Dramatic Wound.
The character can dip their hands in fire and, by spending two Flesh Wounds for each Rank of Brawn desired (with a maximum of the Rank in this Knack), can create a pair of claw-like talons similar to those found on the Firebird, albeit the size of the sorcerer's own hands. This cost can be reduced by the Fuel Knack. Once created, these hands can be used to hold, carry, or otherwise manipulate objects at the same distance the Hero can control any flame, as per the Range Knack. As with other solid flame creations, the Hands do not burn what they hold, though people gripped by them (unless resistant to heat) will find them uncomfortably warm. They do not do any special amount of damage, attacking as normal hands, though they can hold weapons. All armed attacks are made with a -1k0 penalty until the sorcerer reaches Rank 4 in the Knack. All other actions are taken normally, using the Hands' Brawn and the Hero's own Finesse, though the Hands count as a fire for purposes of the maximum number of flames they can control with Concentrate. When dispelled, the Talons dissipate harmlessly.
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