Paramnesia: Shticks


- Shtick: The Zealot
  - Shtick Levels
  - Zeal
  - The Prayer Action
  - Patron
  - Abets
  - Prayers
- Shtick: The Mistwalker
  - Shtick Levels
  - Magics of the Mist
  - Forms


Shtick: The Zealot

You are a follower of, or are in service to a powerful entity. Often, these are immortal rulers
(kings, lords, and judges) of a land or territory, but can also be spirits or powerful monsters.

You gain the feature or feature type as specified for each shtick level in the leveling list.

Shtick Levels

    Level Gained Feature(s)               Prayers   Abets
  ------- ----------------------------- --------- -------
        1 Zeal, Prayer Action, Patron           1       1
        2                                       2 
        3                                       3       2
        4                                       4 
        5                                       5       3
        6                                       6 
        7                                       7       4

Zeal

You gain a new stat representing your patron’s favor, and your passion for them. This stat is called
“Zeal”.

If your character has been in service to their patron before the start of the game, then your favor
starts equal to 10 times your shtick level. If you are newly in service to your patron, then your
favor will start at zero.

You gain more zeal as you complete abets for your patron.

The Prayer Action

You gain access to the following special action, which can be used to attempt to summon the power of
your patron.

- Resources: All normal resources count. You gain +1 resource per 10 points of zeal that you have.
- Difficulty: The prayer that you are trying to invoke will have a difficulty associated with it.
- Outcome: On a success, you invoke the prayer and it’s mechanic. On a failure, nothing happens.

Patron

Choose a patron from the options below, or work with your GM to create a new one.

Your patron will have tenets that your character is expected to follow. Failing to follow a tenet
will subtract 5 from your zeal score.

Your patron will also come with an extra ability that you gain access to.

Patron: Takhauat

You follow Takhauat, spirit of the learned and skilled. Takhauat was once one of the immortals, but
was cursed to become a spirit and wander the lands. Her people, the rook, still follow her to this
day and are some of the most skilled crafters and scholars around.

You gain +1 zeal resource to all prayers whenever you are in a place with the rook’s pendant.

Your patron has the following tenets:

- KNOWLEDGE: You must seek to learn and understand, ignorance is a plight that cannot be tolerated.
- TEACHING: You must teach those that ask.
- PASSIVISM: You must not shed blood except in self defense.

Aura: Clarity

At the start of every scene, any teammates standing nearby to you gain +2 focus.

Patron: Yud

You serve Yud, immortal judge of Arcadia. Yud is strict and demanding, but just and fair in his
execution of the laws of Arcadia. Yud rules with Ash, who plans and governs much of the artisanry
and engineering of Arcadia.

You gain +1 zeal resource while in the land of Arcadia.

Your patron has the following tenets:

- JUSTICE: Those who have done wrong must be punished accordingly.
- PIETY: As a chosen representative, you must abstain from the pleasures of the flesh.
- STABILITY: Chaos must be kept away from our people.

Companion: Taresh

You have been accompanied by a taresh, the stone guardians of arcadia. Your taresh has the following
mechanics:

- They will assist you in anything that falls within the teachings of Arcadia.
- In a conflict, your taresh will take their action immidiately after yours.
- Your taresh has a number of resources equal to your zeal resources on all actions.
- Your taresh has no focus, vitality, experiences, or shticks.
- Your taresh has 30 NPC style health.

Patron: Nidintu

You follow Nidintu, lord of the underbelly of Sanala. Nidintu is a sly and clever immortal, with
feline features and cunning leadership. They find all trickery and challenges worthwhile, and seek
to bolster those who will give them stories for ages to come.

You gain +1 zeal resource while doing anything shady.

Your patron has the following tenets:

- CLEVERNESS: Have your wits about you, do not fumble from ignorance.
- CLAN: Protect your fellows, guard your kin.
- SPORT: Seek new challenges, attempt greater antics.

Aura: Team Synergy

You and any of your teammates who are standing nearby can reroll 1s when taking the helping action.

Patron: Qaderi

You are a notary, a messanger of the lady of the well, the wishmaker, Qaderi. She is best unknown, a
huant in the night, known only to the most desperate or most dedicated. Her act is simple: Her
notaries go out and find those in need of some change. Those seeking help offer, or are offered,
some kind of exchange for what they seek. Qaderi will accept or deny, and the fates will shift to
what they need, as long as those contracted follow their end of the bargain.

You gain +1 resource on actions that help you strike a contract.

Your patron has the following tenets:

- LETTER OF THE LAW: Follow things as they are written or told to you. Do not assume you know what
  someone really intended.
- STRICT, BUT FAIR: What has been broken may be repaired, if both parties are willing.
- KEEP OPPORTUNITIES CLOSE: If someone, or something, might serve our goals, stay close to it.

Feature: Contract Maker

You are equipped with the ability to make supernaturally binding contracts between two parties.
These are formed onto clay tablets, which are then magically preserved while still wet and maluble.
Both parties know if the other has not held up their end of the bargain, and both parties know if a
course of action will result in the contract being broken.

You can make contracts between NPCs and Qaderi, but it is up to the GM’s disgression what Qaderi’s
demands are and whether she accepts.

Patron: Attrus

You follow Attrus, lady of the territories of Xora, and the Xoran army. She is a tall and strong
immortal, with feathered wings upon her back and plates of bronze armor over her tunic. Followers of
Attrus are often knights, mercenaries, guards, and hunstman.

Your patron has the following tenets:

- STENGTH: Improve one’s mind and body.
- HONOR: Follow your word, pay back your debts.
- ORDER: If one falters, the rest may falter too.

Aura: Conquering Hand

You and any teammates standing nearby gain +1 resource on all attacks.

Abets

You will gain abets as you level, tasks or deeds from your patron that garner you favor with them.

Abets come in two varieties: Quests and Creeds. Quests are specific tasks that your patron will
assign to you, given to you by your GM and replaced with a similar task once completed. Creeds are
ongoing commands that you may complete as the opportunity arises.

Abet: Shepherd

- Type: Creed
- Reward: +1 Zeal per person.

If you bring someone under your wing, teaching them the tenets of your deity and guiding them, you
gain 1 Zeal. You must follow up with them regularly to guide them on the path, and lose your zeal
from them if they fall away.

Abet: Faithful Elocution

- Type: Creed
- Reward: +5 Zeal for the day.

If you maintain a daily ritual or prayer for at least 1 week, you will gain +5 zeal. If you fail to
do this even just once, you will lose this zeal.

Abet: Heretical Purge

- Type: Quest
- Reward: +10 Zeal per cult.

Your deity will give you the location of a group of heretics, divergents, or otherwise unwanted
grouping of people. These are often cults to old rulers or spirits, but can be anything that goes
against your patron’s teachings. You will be required to purge this within your patron’s guidelines.

Abet: Rival Challenge

- Type: Creed
- Reward: +2 Zeal per win.

Your patron is in direct competition with another faction, and you have been instructed to challenge
them whenever the opportunity arises. This can take the form of a duel, sabotage, public display,
etc. It must be significant and justly deserved. You will gain +5 zeal per successful challenge.

Abet: Rebuild the Sacred

- Type: Quest
- Reward: +10 Zeal per site.

Your patron will task you with rebuilding or rehabilitating a site of sacred importance. You will
gain +10 zeal for every site you successfully reestablish.

Abet: Feed the Hungry

- Type: Creed
- Reward: +1 Zeal per 10 people fed.

Your patron favors charity, and rewards those who help the needy. For every 10 people you feed
charitably, you gain +1 zeal.

Abet: Purge the Corrupted

- Type: Creed
- Reward: +1 Zeal per corrupted dealt with.

Your patron despises the corrupted, such as coagulations of the mist, entities from chaos, and
mutated creatures. For every corrupted entity you slay or cleanse, you gain +1 zeal.

Abet: Holy Execution

- Type: Quest
- Reward: +10 Zeal per target.

Your patron has targets that they wish to have removed. These are often political executions, but
can also be powerful warlords or religious leaders.

Abet: Monster Hunting

- Type: Quest
- Reward: +5 Zeal per monster hunted.

Your patron will instruct you to kill or retrieve specific dangerous monsters. You will gain +5 zeal
per monster you successfully hunt.

Abet: Contain Chaos

- Type: Creed
- Reward: +10 Zeal per chaotic rift contained.

Across the land are rifts, tears in reality to the world of chaos and corruption. While very few are
equipped to close these, containing and quarantining them is half the battle, and you are rewarded
+10 zeal for doing so.

Abet: Messenger

- Type: Quest
- Reward: +10 Zeal per message delivered.

Your patron sends you as an avatar, a messenger with news, offers, or to negotiate with another
faction. You gain +10 zeal for every delivered message.

Abet: Dealmaker

- Type: Creed
- Reward: +10 zeal per deal made

Your patron finds you an apt negotiator, and tasks you with seeking agreements with others that will
benefit them. You gain +10 zeal for every deal you make in your patron’s favor.

Prayers

You will gain prayers as you level, representing different calls that you can make to your patron’s
aid. These are magical in nature, and the more aid your need, the harder it is to summon that power.

Prayer: Vigorous Energy

- Difficulty: 1+ Hit
- Scope: Action
- Cost: None

Choose a creature within line of sight, and roll a prayer action. They heal 10 vitality per hit.
This does not affect their max vitality.

Prayer: Blessings of Health

- Difficulty: 3 Hits
- Scope: Day
- Cost: None

Choose a creature within line of sight, and roll a prayer action. On a success, they temporarily
gain +20 maximum vitality for the day.

Prayer: Blessing of Speed

- Difficulty: 4 Hits
- Scope: Scene
- Cost: None

Choose a creature within line of sight, and roll a prayer action. On a success, they can take an
additional action on their turn for the rest of the scene. This does not stack.

Prayer: Easing of Pain

- Difficulty: 2 Hits
- Scope: None
- Cost: None

Touch a creature, and roll a prayer action. On a succes, 1 wound of theirs becomes less severe. This
also stabalizes all of their wounds.

Prayer: Anointing of Invulnerability

- Difficulty: 5 Hits
- Scope: Scene
- Cost: None

Choose a creature within line of sight, and roll a prayer action. On a succes, they cannot gain
wounds until the end of the scene, though other harm may come to them.

Prayer: Restoration

- Difficulty: 5 Hits
- Scope: None
- Cost: 50p Materials

Spend a scene anointing a creature and burning insense. Then, roll a prayer action. On a succes, the
creature is fully restored, with all wounds gone, negative effects purged, and vitality restored to
it’s max.

Prayer: Breath of Life

- Difficulty: 6 Hits
- Scope: None
- Cost: None

You may attempt to bring a body back from the dead.

First, restore the body using the restoration prayer. Then, you must attempt to call back the breath
into the body before it begins to decay again. Spend a scene in remembrance of the soul, ruminating
on it’s life and connections. Then, roll a prayer action. Using tokens and memories of the deceased
can count as resources for this.

If you are successful, the dead will rise, albeit with 10 stress.

Prayer: Surge

- Difficulty: 1+ Hits
- Scope: Action
- Cost: None

Whenever you attack, you may add +1 to the difficulty to deal out an additional light wound on that
attack. You may also stack this, dealing another damage per difficulty added.

Prayer: Awesome Presence

- Difficulty: 1+ Hits
- Scope: Round
- Cost: None

You may attempt to frighten your enemies. Roll a prayer action with no set difficulty. Any NPCs with
a social score below the number of hits you rolled gain the stunned effect.

Prayer: Invigorating Chant

- Difficulty: 1+ Hits
- Scope: None
- Cost: 1 Focus

Roll a prayer action. On a success, you regain 5 vitality.

You may choose to make the prayer more powerful, at the cost of additional difficulty. For each
additional point of difficulty on your prayer action, you heal 5 more vitality.

Prayer: Holy Weapon

- Difficulty: 3 Hits
- Scope: Quest
- Cost: 25p Materials + 1 Scene

You spend a scene imbuing a weapon with holy energy, using up 25 pieces of oils and incense. Then,
roll a prayer action. On a succes, this weapon has +1 resource for the remainder of your quest.

For clarity, you can put profficiency points into this prayer.


Shtick: The Mistwalker

The dark mists exist as a force in the world, neither quite natural nor supernatural. Being the
remnants of something much too old to remember itself, it has a will and an intelligence, but being
spread across the land renders it broken and muted.

The mist causes much danger and destruction when left on it’s own. Bodies rise from the dead, shadow
creatures form, dark notions and ideas whisper into the ears of gods and kings.

Yet some have managed to tame the mist. Listening to it, learning the forms it can take and how they
can be used to influence it’s actions. These are the mistwalkers, those who entangle themselves with
the mist to wield it’s power and drive it as a force in the world. They walk the line between life
and death, a struggle to maintain control over themselves and the mist alike.

You are one such mistwalker, and your journey has just begun.

You gain the feature or feature type as specified for each shtick level in the leveling list.

Shtick Levels

    Level Gained Feature(s)      Form Points
  ------- -------------------- -------------
        1 Magics of the Mist               2
        2                                  4
        3                                  6
        4                                  8
        5                                 10
        6                                 12
        7                                 14

Magics of the Mist

You have learned to command the mist, as explained in the sections that follow.

Shards of the Mistmaker

You gain a special item, known as a shard, which billows mist and radiates it’s energy. Most believe
that these are pieces of the mistmaker, whatever being originated the mist. Your shard is held in a
censer, outfitted with shutters to contain the mist when needed. You use this as a continuous source
of the mist and it’s influence.

Forms of the Mist

As you level, you learn how to communicate your intentions to the mist through forms, representing
conceptual ideas that the mist understands. When you gain a form point, you may choose to either
level an existing form, or to learn a new one.

Special Action: Command The Mist

To command the mist, complete the following special action.

First, chose one of the mist forms that you have access to. Then, your character will take a deep
breath and speak to the mist through their censer (or other source of the mist), lending some of
their breath to the mist and entangling themselves with it. As your breath and words reach the
shard, it will billow out mist into the form you communicate to it.

When you create a form, you lend an amount of vitality to it, as stated in the form’s description.
You may regain this vitality if you spend an action (no roll) to dispell the form and draw back the
mist. You must be within line of sight to do so.

If the form takes damage, you will gain stress equal to the wound that would have been dealt.

If you become incapacitated while you have any forms active, those forms will lose their influence
from you and become hostile to everything in the vicinity.

Forms

Form: Puppeteer

- Cost: 40
- Size: 1m

The mist transforms into a hand with twisting strings leading out from its fingertips.

1st Level: Attach Strings

Roll an attack against a humanoid creature. If the creature is dead, you automatically succeed. On a
success, it becomes your puppet. You may only have one puppet attached to this form at a time.

If your puppet is aware, it can use it’s action to fight against your control on it’s turn. When it
does this, make a defense roll to maintain control.

Damage to your puppet is separate from damage to the puppeteer form.

You can release your puppet at any time, no action required.

You may spend your action to possess the form of your puppet. While possessing it, you perceive
through it’s senses and not your own. You may act as it and use any of it’s equipment.

You can leave this possessed state at any time, no action required.

2nd Level: Misty Empowerment

Your puppet is empowered by it’s connection with the mist, and all actions while possessing it gain
+1 resource.

3rd Level: No Strings

Once attached to a puppet, your puppeteer becomes invisible.

4th Level: Cheap Cast

The cost of this form is halved.

5th Level: Imbued Control

Once a creature becomes attached to your puppeteer, it’s mind is quelled and it cannot fight against
it.

Form: Third Eye

- Cost: 30
- Size: 5cm

The mist binds itself to your mind, giving you a third eye and supernatural abilities.

1st Level: Visions

For no action, you may gain a light stress to give yourself an additional resource on all checks for
the current scene, as you sift through visions of potential outcomes.

The more stress you take with this ability, the more blackened and engorged the veins around your
neck and head become.

2nd Level: Telepathy

For no action, you may communicate mentally to anyone within line of sight. They will hear your
speech as whispers in their ear.

Whenever you speak to someone using this ability, they can reply to you mentally, no action needed.

3rd Level: Telekinesis

You may spend your action to pickup and move objects, with the difficulty based on the object’s
size, as described below:

- Smaller than a loaf of bread: No roll.
- Smaller than a dog: 1 hit.
- Smaller than a fridge: 2 hits.
- Smaller than a car: 3 hits.
- Smaller than a building: 4 hits.

Once you have picked up an object, you may attack with it on the same turn.

4th Level: Cheap Cast

The cost of this form is halved.

5th Level: Aura of Portance

Everyone on your team that is within line of sight gains +1 resource on all actions.

Form: Vascular

- Cost: 40
- Size: 2m

The mist takes on the form of a giant heart with tendril like veins and arteries coming off of it.

1st Level: Transference

You can spend an action to have the form plumb into the lungs of up to two creatures. If either
creature is unwilling, you must make an attack to plumb into it.

A plumbed in creature can use its action to attempt to rip the mist off of itself. You must make a
defense roll to maintain connection to the creature.

While plumbed into another creature, you can use an action to pump vitality from one to another. You
can pump up to 20 vitality per action.

2nd Level: Overheal

When transferring vitality from one creature to another, you can overheal them beyond their maximum
vitality. When you do this, they gain light stress for every 10 vitality over their maximum that
they heal, but they ignore any negative effects from all stress until after their overheal is worn
off.

While a creature is overhealed, their veins are darkened and bulging, and they can feel a headache
from the increased blood pressure.

3rd Level: Improved Flow

If you cast this form for a cost of 50, you can pump up to 40 vitality per action with your
transference action.

4th Level: Cheap Cast

The cost of this form is halved.

5th Level: Splintering Source

You can have up to 4 creatures plumbed into this form at once.

Form: Mirage

- Cost: 30
- Size: 3m

The mist forms into a blurred construction, an illusion of your design and memory.

1st Level: Illusion

You may transfer a memory, imagining, or other thought from your being to the mist, and it will do
it’s best to reconstruct it, albeit silent and in black and white due to the monochrome nature of
the mist. When you do this, you lend 10 additional vitality to the mist, and cannot recall the
memory within your own mind. You gain the vitality back when you revoke the thought back into your
own mind as an action, or when you dispell the form.

2nd Level: Parasitic Memory

As an action, you can make an attack against another creature. If you succeed, you can remove one
thought or memory and place it within the mirage. This will default to the most prominent surface
level thought, but can be selectively chosen if you are aware of another thought or the creature is
aware and willing.

3rd Level: Misty Colors

You gain enough control over the mirage to give it color.

4th Level: Cheap Cast

The cost of this form is halved.

5th Level: Lifelike

The mirage gains sound, and can react to external stimulus according to the mist’s interpretation of
your initial thoughts.

Form: Render

- Cost: 50
- Size: 1m

The mist transforms into a weapon of your choosing, which you or another character can wield. This
weapon can be melee or ranged.

1st Level: Blood Soak

While wielding this form, your maximum focus is increased by 2.

For every wound you inflict with this form, you gain 1 focus.

You may also choose to draw your own blood as an action, draining 10 vitality and netting you 2
focus.

The more damage you deal with this form, the more blood begins to drip and ooze from it’s edge.

2nd Level: Dark Strike

Before you roll, you may spend a focus (no action) to increase the damage of this form for your
current attack. This causes the wound level to increase in severity on a succesful attack.

3rd Level: Quickened Strike

Whenever you use your action to attack, you may make a second attack on the same turn.

4th Level: Cheap Cast

The cost of this form is halved.

5th Level: Shifting Form

You may shift the weapon of the form once per turn, no action required.

Form: Shadow

- Cost: 30
- Size: 2m

The mist takes the form of a shadowy, humanoid creature that acts on your behalf.

1st Level: Shadow Companion

The mist form acts as it’s own creature, which you roll for. It takes it’s actions immediately after
you do, and acts on behalf of whatever state of mind you were in when you imbued the mist with your
energy to create it. It has access to all the normal action types, and any experiences that you do.

2nd Level: Piece of Yourself

You can imbue your shadow with +1 resource on all rolls for an additional 10 stamina each.

3rd Level: Shadow Possession

Your shadow can make an attack against another creature. If it succeeds, it crawls into the other
creature and possesses them. While possessing, it gains access to all of their equipment and
physical abilities.

4th Level: Cheap Cast

The cost of this form is halved.

5th Level: Doppelganger

Your shadow can use any abilities that you are able to. These work the same as if you had used them,
but from your shadow’s location, on your shadow’s turn, and with any resources you have access to.
