Adept Ways Expansion

Adept Way Splat

Some of the new additions to Adept Ways add further identity to the ways and how they affect gameplay, while others are utilitarian.

Artist’s Way

Metamagics

Living Canvas

An adept with this metamagic can treat up to (Initiate Grade) number of Qi Foci as being Force 1 for the purposes of calculating focus addiction and whether an Addiction Test is required. If any part of a qi tattoo was damaged by non-magical damage, it is repaired if the adept heals through magical means.

Artistic Creation

With this metamagic, an adept may create and upgrade tattooed qi foci on their body. Qi foci made with this metamagic are always tattoos and cannot be any other focus type. The adept can conceal them from mundane detection with powers like Melanin Control and Body Sculpt as if they weren’t present. Physical adepts using this metamagic use Artisan + Magic instead of Artificing during the enchanting test. Follow standard focus creation rules otherwise. This metamagic cannot be used to make qi foci for others and these foci cannot be individualized.

Enhancements

Recurring Theme

• Requires: Body Sculpt

Body Sculpt can now be used to mimic any metahuman metatype or metavariant, causing the adept to swell or shrink in accordance to the metatype being mimicked. This does not alter the adept’s attributes or give them additional abilities; dermal plating and horns given by imitating a troll are purely aesthetic and are not durable enough to be used as weapons. Metasapients like pixies or centaurs cannot be imitated. The adept must resist Stun Drain equal to the difference in base Body score between original and target metavariant.

Artisan’s Way

Metamagics

Part of Me

Up to (Initiate Grade) times per day, the adept may treat an item’s Object Resistance as 2 lower for any one test. This technique requires line of sight. This effect does not stack.

Enhancements

Junkyard Tinkerer

• Requires: Analytics

An artisan with this enhancement gains a bonus to any skill tests equal to their Initiate Grade when it comes to repairing equipment.

Athlete’s Way

Metamagics

Supernatural Prowess

Altered to only apply to a single action per use, even when in combat.

Soundstep

As a Simple Action, the adept may move with extreme celerity up to (Magic) meters, appearing to observers as if they disappear only to re-appear at their destination. This movement cannot be intercepted. The adept is difficult to see when moving, but astral perception can see their astral signature connecting the origin and destination point and cameras and Sensors of Rating 4 or higher can see the adept as a blur when they move.

Despite appearing like teleportation, the adept’s body does physically move in a straight line between the two points, is blocked by barriers and requires a movement path the entire way there. Soundstep makes a distinct noise at the beginning and end locations that can be heard with a Perception (Audio) (2) Test. Using Soundstep leaves behind an astral signature. After arriving, the adept resists Drain equal to (Meters travelled / 2).

Enhancements

Windwalk

• Requires: Skate

By spending a Free Action to utilize this metamagic technique, the adept can run seemingly on thin air without falling. The maximum distance they can run in mid-air is equal to their Initiate Grade in meters. If the adept ends their movement in the air, they immediately begin falling and cannot use Windwalk until they find a solid foothold again.

By stressing their ability, the adept can extend this distance further. For every meter they choose to run beyond the safe distance, they must resist 1 point of Drain per meter. If the Drain exceeds their Magic Attribute, the Drain becomes Physical. When the adept can rest their weight on a real, physical load-bearing surface, the distance they can run resets. Using Windwalk leaves behind an astral signature.

Endless Motion

• Requires: Lightning Speed

Once per Combat Turn, the adept may Sprint as a Free Action.

Beast’s Way

Metamagics

Totem Form

Altered to the following: As a Complex Action, the adept shifts into the animal form that matches the animal she is attuned to, with all the abilities of said animal. The adept's physical attributes and limits become those of the animal, but Mental attributes and skills remain the adept's own. In addition, the adept gains (Initiate Grade) number of attribute points to enhance the totem form's Physical Attributes that count as augmented bonuses.

In addition, if the adept has Empowered their attuned animal with the Qi Marked ritual, their totem form gains identical benefits.

The adept needs a successful Arcana + Magic [Mental] (2) Test to Shift back into their metahuman form. The threshold for this test is increased by (weeks in Totem Form - 1). Totem form subsumes augmentations similar to the Shapechange spell, but tattooed foci adjust with the form and remain functional, as do all other foci that can physically fit on the new form.

Enhancements

Instinctive Rage

• Requires: Berserk

Activating the Berserk adept power is a Free Action. This applies to Berserker Rage as well.

Burnout Way

• Changes: Burnout’s Way no longer may be used to grandfather previous metamagics into a new Way. If the adept changes Ways, they lose any bonuses gained from previous Ways. In addition, there is no longer a requirement to change Adept Ways after progressing in power.

Metamagics

Cybernetic Haze

Activating this metamagic technique is a Complex Action and creates an aura of astral hazing around the adept. The rating of the astral hazing is equal to the Essence the adept has lost to augmentations, rounded down (maximum 5) and has a radius of (6 - Essence) Meters.

The adept is partially attuned to this astral haze and doesn’t take penalties to non-magical Skill Tests even if they are enhanced by magic, but any foci in the area of effect including the adept’s own are reduced in Force normally. Cyberzombies and other Burnout’s Way adepts are always partially attuned to Cybernetic Haze, regardless of source. Possession of this metamagic renders the adept immune to a cyberzombie’s astral hazing.

Cybernetic Haze leaves behind an astral signature, but it is unreadable to be that of the adept themselves. An Arcana (3) Test will reveal it to be the result of this technique. Cybernetic Haze can be sustained for up to (Magic) Combat Turns, after which Physical Drain must be resisted equal to the number of turns the haze was active (minimum 2). Ending it prematurely is a Free Action.

Enhancements

Hot Qi

Now functions as following: Hot Qi may be used to activate a qi focus to gain ranks in an adept power that exceeds the adept’s Magic Attribute, but doing so inflicts 1 unresisted Physical Drain. If the power has an innate limit in Rating, it cannot be bypassed.

Invisible Way

Metamagics

Fisher’s Method

When using suppressed one-handed firearms, one-handed melee/natural weapons, the adept gains a bonus to DV on their first attack against a completely unaware target equal to their Initiate Grade. If the target gets a Defense Test against the attack, Fisher’s Method doesn’t apply. Firearms must use subsonic ammunition on top of being suppressed to gain this benefit.

Enhancements

Dampening Field

• Requires: Traceless Walk

An adept with this enhancement finds his weapons quieter and harder to detect. Attempts to detect the sound of silent/suppressed weapons held by the adept suffer a dice pool penalty equal to the adept’s Initiate Grade. The threshold for Perception tests to detect suppressed firearms as well as silent melee (like knives) and ranged weapons (such as bows) have their threshold increased by 4, typically to 6 assuming no other modifications. This applies to Sensor Tests as well.

Living Nobody

• Requires: Facial Sculpt

Memory Tests to recall any details about the adept’s appearance have to succeed at a threshold of (ranks in Facial Sculpt power) to give any useful information. Attempts to consciously memorize the adept’s physical appearance and characteristics suffer a penalty equal to his Initiate Grade.

Vicious Lunge

• Requires: Improved Grapple

After successfully subduing an opponent, the adept may immediately after subdual perform one of the three options tied to maintaining a grapple freely without spending an additional action. This effect only occurs once per grapple. The target cannot take any actions before Vicious Lunge resolves. If opting to do damage, this damage benefits from Fisher’s Method unless using a garrote.

Magician’s Way

For the most part, Magician’s Way is very solid already for its intended role: metamagics and magical arts. Due to effectively having all the arts and metamagics accessible, Magician’s Way is unchanged.

Speaker’s Way

For the most part, Speaker’s Way is very solid already for its intended role: social finesse. For this reason, Speaker’s Way gains only a slight combat utility.

Enhancements

Mocking Retort

• Requires: Authoritative Tone

Whenever the adept dodges an attack, the attacker loses 1 Initiative per rank of Authoritative Tone the adept possesses (max 3).

Spiritual Way

• Changes: Spiritual Way mystic adepts can now access the Invocation and Channeling arts. Both Mystic Adepts and Physical Adepts can access Exorcism. They get +(IG) Dice to Wild Summoning Tests.

Departing Shot

Metamagics

Departing Shot

• Prerequisite: Exorcism

While the technique references firing a weapon, Departing Shot can be performed with both melee and ranged attacks. As a Complex Action, the adept may make a single melee attack or fire a single projectile of their choice. If this connects with a valid spirit target, they may immediately make an Exorcism test as per the metamagic. An attack using the Departing Shot metamagic is always considered magic damage for the purposes of magically gained Immunity to Normal Weapons and/or Regeneration.

Astral Reach

• Prerequisite: Astral Perception or Dual Natured

By stretching his astral form out of his body, the spiritual adept can attain a portion of an astrally projecting magician’s ability. Treat this as astral projection, but the duration for any one projection attempt is limited to Essence + Initiate Grade in Combat Turns. After this, the adept’s astral form is forcibly rebounded back to his body. If something blocks the adept from returning, such as a mana barrier, make the test for astral intersection for each such obstacle. Any failed tests means the adept rebounds but his Stun Condition Monitor is completely filled and he falls unconscious. If the Stun Condition Monitor is already full, his Physical Condition Monitor fills instead. Can be performed (Magic) times per day.

Warrior’s Way

Metamagics

Domain of the Warrior

This metamagic has a new effect: when in combat initiative, the adept’s weapon focus is not affected by background counts. If the focus was turned off by background counts prior to combat, the adept still has to spend a Simple Action to activate it.

Enhancements

One Man Army

• Requires: Improved Ability (any Combat skill)

When splitting dice to attack multiple targets, the adept gains a bonus to each split dice pool equal to their Initiate Grade. The split dice pool cannot be higher than the original dice pool. This only works with attacks enhanced by the Improved Ability adept power, including Barehanded Adept.

Fearsome Mien

• Requires: Kiai

A warrior adept with this enhancement adds their Weapon Focus’ Force to Intimidation Tests.

Clarity of Rage

• Requires: Berserk

The penalties caused by the Berserk power to Mental Attributes are reduced by 1. If using the Berserker Rage power, it imparts only a -1 to Mental Attributes instead of -2.

New Adept Powers

Many of these powers are connected to enhancements in the various adept Ways, but some are standalone. They’ll be linked in relevant spaces.

Lightning Speed

0.5 PP / Rating (Discounted by Athlete’s Way)

As a Free Action, make a Magic + (Power Rating) Test. For (Magic) Combat Turns, the adept adds their hits on the test to all Sprinting tests as successes regardless of the movement skill used (Swimming, Running, Flight). Physical Limit for Sprinting Tests is increased by the Rating of this power. After the power expires, resist Drain equal to twice the power’s Rating.

Improved Grapple

0.5 PP / Rating (Discounted by Warrior’s & Athlete’s Way))

Each Rating of this power adds a +1 dice pool modifier in tests related to Subduing or Clinching.

Mastery Qualities

Flash

• 10 Karma
• Prerequisite: Soundstep & Windwalk

An adept with the prerequisite metamagics can combine them. As a Simple Action, they can use Soundstep to reach any location they would have a straight line to, assuming they jumped or used the Windwalk technique. The adept must resist Drain equal to the number of meters travelled after arriving. If the Adept moves more meters than their Magic score, the Drain is Physical.

Reckless Spellblade

• 3 Karma
• Prerequisite: Character knows ‘Spellblade’ spell

A character with this quality may recklessly cast and attack with a Spellblade in a single Simple Action.

Spellblade Adept

• 10 Karma
• Prerequisite: Adept Spell (Spellblade)

The maximum force of Adept Spell is changed to twice the adept’s magic rating. The spell’s drain is reduced by 2, to a minimum of 2.