Wormverse Powers

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Wormverse Powers

Parahumans

Parahumans get their powers either by "triggering" naturally in a traumatic event, or by purchasing them from Cauldron with money and favors.

These categories have yet to be balanced or playtested, but are some general parameters for power creation. Spending 1 point per level gives upgrades the specifics of your power in some way, such as with damage, range, etc; taking a flaw relating to that section of your power gives you points in return for you to spend elsewhere; and spending 1 additional point on a category makes your power able to be upgraded at some point in the future. You can gain or spend points on other self-created restrictions or bonuses as well ,with more points awarded or spent for how often it is expected to happen (with Storyteller approval). This is generally used as modifiers for the character's powers only working/not working at all in specific situations, or working better or working worse in other conditions.

Examples: Your super-speed effectively gives you traction in any situation, you have to hold your breath in order to stop time, your lazer-eyes make you effectively blind when you aren't firing, you only have so many charges per day, etc.

Power Classifications

The jargon commonly used to describe powers will be used here, such as how powers are classified. This is being used in order to give both vague and specific power ideas that you can use. Click on the links for more info.

Blaster: Is a ranged, offensive threat.

Breaker: Can shift into another state.

Brute: Has enhanced strength or durability.

Changer: Can alter their form or appearance.

Master: Can control others or create minions.

Mover: Has a power enhancing mobility.

Shaker: Has a power with an area of effect.

Stranger: Focuses on stealth or infiltration.

Striker: Has a power that is melee-ranged or touch-based.

Thinker: Focuses on information gathering.

Tinker: Can create or alter devices with futuristic technology.

Trump: Can manipulate powers in some capacity.

Parahuman Merits & Flaws ( Homebrew )

Adjustable Damage (1-5 Point Merit): You can add damage types and pull your punches, but default to your most potent damage type available in stressful situations.

Focus (1-5 Point Flaw): One of your Powers requires a focus. More points = how specific the focus is.

I Can't Turn It Off (1-6 Point Flaw): Oops. Your Powers didn't come with a shut-off switch. You got an AOE of fire and death, move super-speed, or suck the life out of people? Yeah, well now it's a curse. You have to get fire-and-death-proof couches, everyone talks in slo-mo, and you accidentally hospitalized the last person you tried to kiss. 1 point per point minimum that you can't turn off. For example: your maximum effect of your AOE may be a 30 foot range that deals 5 points of Leathal damage, but you may only have a problem of constantly dealing 1 die of stun damage to anyone unlucky enough to get within 3 feet of you (like somebody getting too close to an oven). Every 1 point is 1 point that you cannot turn off for all aspects of your power. So for an AOE power, a 1 point Flaw is 1 point of Range, Damage, and Damage Type that you cannot turn off.

Iron Will (5 Point Merit): You have a tremendous ability to either resist outside attempts to Master you, or you are unusually resistant to Thinker abilities.

There are four categories of Master powers able to be used as your Iron Will specialty: Mental Manipulation, Emotional Manipulation, Body Manipulation, and Echo.

Mental Manipulation - Normally they are able to alter memories, program if-then compulsions, or alter what is considered to be logical or normal, etc.

Emotional Manipulation - Normally they are able to alter how you feel about others, make you into a logic-only automaton by destroying your emotions, or force you to become generally sad, angry, etc.

Body Manipulation - Normally they are able to control some aspect of your physical body without your consent, such as force you to say certain things, force you to sneeze, or cause your limbs to twitch or move against your will, etc.

Echo - Normally they are able to create a copy of you, revive you after death as one of their servants, or capture your "essence" while you live (possibly killing you), etc.



There are four categories of Thinker powers able to be used as your Iron Will specialty: Chronocognition, Clairvoyance, Analysis / Inference, and Extrasensory.

Chronocognition - Normally they are able to perceive forwards in time (precognition), backwards in time (postcognition), etc.

Clairvoyance - Normally they are able to locate objects in space, have area-limited omniscience, etc.

Analysis / Inference - Normally they are able to know more about a situation than they should know (alternate realities, appraisal, etc.), understand your body's physical limitations, comprehend your body's chemical composition at a glance, etc.

Extrasensory - Normally they are able to see heat, sense danger, locate life, perceive blood / bones, etc. Note: abnormal biology (such as case 53s) are not covered by this as this is supernatural abilities as opposed to physical ones. Tinker constructs (mechanical, bio, or otherwise) will be given a chance die.



You receive three extra dice to resist attempts to manipulate your mind, and may spend a Willpower point to shake off the direct mental control. This Merit works only against direct mental control, not emotional manipulation; Gifts that induce frenzy still have the usual chance to succeed, for instance. Characters will Willpower scores below 6 cannot take this Merit.



Power Bonus (2-10 Point Merit): Most of the time, Powers have one use, and that's it. Yours come with some neat little tricks attached though. For example, you leave a trail of darkness when you move that obscures enemy vision, cause a deafening boom every time you fire you lasers, or your AOE that destroys the terrain is now a fog that slowly saps at peoples' Willpower. The benefit of having this Merit is that it is a cheaper way to build a power that has multiple effects, but the tradeoff is that this secondary ability is always active so long as the first ability is active. Add 1 more point to this add-on power in order to be able to between running either just the main power or both at will (the secondary power can only be activated so long as the first is also activated). Build these effects with Damage and Damage type. They share all of the Range, Duration, and other effects of the parent power, but now are a simultaneous secondary form of attack.

Power Tells (1-10 Point Flaw): Your Powers are more blatant than would otherwise be expected. If you are a Master for example, then your minions' eyes may glow when controlling them. Or if you are a Mover, you might sound like you're dragging your nails along a chalkboard every time you fly. 1 point is awarded for every sense that this effects, and an additional point is awarded if this manifestation happens as before your power is activated (giving an easy tell for your enemies to look for). Remember, this is a Flaw, not a Merit. If you want an additional side-effect that is beneficial, see the Power Bonus Merit.

Physical Mutation (1-6 Point Flaw): Yay! You have Powers! Unfortunately, you also look the part. And although you can have a high appearance rating, it may be seen as alien and strange to some observers. The higher your rating, the harder it is to hide these features. The Body Part List is what the point descriptions will be reffering to when it says that nearby parts (a +1 and -1) are affected. If you wish for some randomization, feel free to roll 1-15 on the Body Part List, though this may or may not be necessary, at Storyteller discretion. At 1 point, the visibility of the change is a negligible, easily hidden change. This can include spots on the skin can be covered up with makeup, spines on the head that can be covered with a hat or longer hair, etc. 2 points is a moderate change. This is be hideable, but not easily - and may require time to cover up, expense, or cover-up may only be possible with very heavy clothing (and thus be circumstantial). This may include skin that’s purple from head to toe, fish-like fins at places where bone is close to skin, horns, etc. 3 points is a moderate change, as described previously, with negligible changes to adjacent body parts (+1 and -1 on the body part list). 4 points is a severe change. This is not hideable without the combination of time, expense, and some distance from people. This may include grotesque hunchback, crustacean-like plating on body, a perpetually glowing body, etc. It is very possible that the functionality of the body changes, typically horizontally (gain some lose some) or for the worse. 5 points is a severe change, as described previously, with moderate changes to adjacent body parts (+1 and -1 on the body part list). And with 6 points the mutations are not hideable, as these changes are noticeable from 1 city block away without difficulty. These body parts may well be alien in nature (such as tentacles, forearms arms three times the usual length with claws in place of hands), assume a permanent breaker state, or more. Loss of normal human functioning is likely, depending on the parts in question (you may be unable to speak, require different diet, etc).
Body Part List
1: Brain.
2: Hair.
3: Eye.
4: Nose.
5: Ear.
6: Mouth.
7: Head.
8: Shoulder.
9: Skin.
10: Torso.
11: Hand.
12: Arm.
13: Extra Limb (Tail, Wings, etc.).
14: Leg.
15: Foot.

Accuracy ( Homebrew )

Accuracy is your measure of finite control over your powers. It lets you decide the specifics of how it manifests or lets you pre-program your powers for example.

Points	Accuracy
0	No control.
1	Very sloppy, but present control.
2	Poor control.
3	Moderate control.
4	Fair control.
5	Expert control.
6	Supernatural control.

Blaster - Positive

Homing: Your beams or projectiles can now turn to follow and continually track your foes. They trying to dodge your shots? Use this to hit them anyways.

Pre-Programmed: Want to do some if-then statements for your lazers? No problem. Just say move 20 feet, turn left, go up 3 feet, and boom! You've just assassinated someone from around the corner.

Blaster - Negative

Misfire: Not my fault! Every now and then your power just up and says that it doesn't want to play well with others. It's not your fault that you shot that guy, or the other three people! You're just trying to wrestle a damn wet eel every time you use your powers.

Railroaded: Sure, you can launch anything you touch at 60 miles per hour. But only on these arbitrary, invisible, constantly shifting lines. It's a little hard to find the right way sometimes. The more you have in this the less of these lines there are, and therefore the harder it is for you to launch your projectiles in a desired direction.

Breaker - Positive

Quick Swap: You can reflexively switch part of your body in and out of your Breaker state at will. Trying to dodge by just making your arm become incorporeal? This is the way. Do you glow in your Breaker state and just want to give somebody an epileptic seizure as they look into your eyes? Well that's messed up, but here's how you do it.

Breaker - Negative

Missing Anatomy: Yeah, you don't exactly have fingers while in your other form, so fine-manipulation is difficult while in it. This could be because you literally turn into jelly or a puddle or something, but the more you take in this flaw the less things you have to finely manipulate with. Like your arms. Or legs. Or even any discernible body shape.

Changer - Positive

Canvas Of The Mind: You the shape-shifting type of Changer? This is how close to an idea your form can become. At 1 point, you basically just have the correct skin color. At 3 points, you could maybe pass as a cousin or relative and have a fairly similar voice. At 5 points, only details you didn't know about the person would affect you, such as a birthmark that you've never seen, a hidden scar, or incorrect blood sugar levels. At 6, you are absolutely indistinguishable for all intents and purposes. You could go ahead and take a lower rating and just sit in front of the mirror for hours changing more and more until you get it right, but it won't be facial-recognition program levels of perfect.

Changer - Negative

Missing Anatomy: Yeah, you don't exactly have fingers while in your other form, so fine-manipulation is difficult while in it. This could be because you literally turn into jelly or a puddle or something, but the more you take in this flaw the less things you have to finely manipulate with. Like your arms. Or legs. Or even any discernible body shape.

Uncanny Valley: What do they mean you look creepy as fuck?! You look just like a regular person! Maybe when you change just a little bit of that life in most peoples' eyes isn't there, or maybe you just have that natural predatory gait. Whatever it is, it keeps blowing your cover. This is cow many bonus dice others get to noticing that you're actually someone pretending to be someone else.

Master - Positive

Puppeteer: You the type of Master that can control their minions? This is how well you can handle them while you're being their rolling around in their skin. At 1 point they're all jerky and moved like they're made of rust, whereas at 5 points you can move them as natively as you can your own body. At 6 points, you can pull a little more out of them than even they can.

I See You: Wanna be a creeper? The more points you have in this, the more aware of your minions you are. At 1 point, you simply can feel that they are alive. Add more points to get more accurate status information from them, such as their health, their emotional state, etc. At 6 points you have an entire sensory suite constantly feeding in from all of your minions at once.

Master - Negative

Wild Thangs: Yeah, it's a little hard to control your minions sometimes. They may be easily provoked and have a temper of their own, or they could just be really distracted by shiny things. The more points you put in this, the harder it is to control your minions in certain situations.

Mover - Positive

Flight Control: This is how well can can control your movement while going super-speed or flying. Want to just unguidedly coast in a general direction, or do you want to turn on a dime despite going mach 3? Well, this is how it's done.

Mover - Negative

Railroaded: Sure, you can move fast. But only on these arbitrary, invisible, constantly shifting lines. It's a little hard to find the right way sometimes. The more you have in this the less of these lines there are, and therefore the harder it is for you to move in a desired direction.

Shaker - Positive

No Friendly Fire: You the type that makes the room suddenly explode and fill with fire and pain? Well now your team-mates won't be so pissed when you do it while they're in range. Each point in this is one individual or 3x3 square that you can designate as immune to your AOE. At 6 points, this number is unlimited.

Stranger - Positive

Hard To Notice: This is the exact measure of how hard it is for others to notice you. So if you have invisibility, this is how see-through you are. Being quiet your thing? Add more points to go from being as quiet as a mouse to as silent as a shadow.

Stranger - Negative

Rerouted: The cost of one of their senses not being able to sense you? The other senses get more noticeable. So if you turn invisible? The sounds you make might get louder, or the body heat you generate might resemble a furnace.

Augmentation ( Homebrew )

Points	Augmentation
0	No augmentations.
1	1 point of augmentations.
2	2 points of augmentations.
3	3 points of augmentations.
4	4 points of augmentations.
5	5 points of augmentations.
6	A potentially unlimited number of augmentations, but they are now limited by a fuel source (which must either be purchased separately, or is entirely environmental and situational).

Battery ( Homebrew )

Points	Battery
0	No "charges" that can be spent later.
1	10 points of charges that can be saved up and spent at will.
2	20 points of charges that can be saved up and spent at will.
3	40 points of charges that can be saved up and spent at will.
4	80 points of charges that can be saved up and spent at will.
5	160 points of charges that can be saved up and spent at will.
6	An unlimited cap to potential energy or mass stores.

Damage ( Homebrew )

Points	Damage
0	No damage is done whatsoever.
1	1 point of damage is dealt.
2	2 points of damage are dealt.
3	3 points of damage are dealt.
4	4 points of damage are dealt.
5	5 points of damage are dealt.
6	A potentially unlimited amount of damage is dealt, but is now limited by a fuel source (which must be purchased separately, or is entirely environmental and situational).

Damage Type - Emotional ( Homebrew )

Points	Damage Type - Emotional
0	Non-damaging. Your power does not damage others in the least.
1	Fairly resistible. The damage you deal can be overcome by rolling Willpower at difficulty 4.
2	Moderately resistible. The damage you deal can be overcome by rolling Willpower at difficulty 6.
3	Difficult to resist. The damage you deal can be overcome by rolling Willpower at difficulty 8.
4	Nearly irresistible. The damage you deal can be overcome by rolling Willpower at difficulty 10.
5	Irresistible. The damage you deal cannot be ignored or resisted.
6	Permanent damage. You don't just drain their current Willpower points, you force them to expend permanent Willpower points once those are gone.

Damage Type - Physical ( Homebrew )

Points	Damage Type - Physical
0	Non-damaging. Your power does not damage others in the least.
1	Stun damage. Your damage is strictly non-lethal, and is only capable of knocking an opponent unconscious.
2	Bashing / Bruising damage. Your powers leave bruises and marks. This normally leaves combatants unconscious, but if you go overboard you may accidentally wind up delivering a lethal blow.
3	Lethal damage. Your power cuts, slices, lacerates, or just hits really hard. It is designed to kill, and can and will leave your opponent bleeding out if they aren't given medical attention.
4	Aggravated damage. Your power does damage that is practically irreversible unless other powers of healing are involved. It disintegrates, burns at extreme temperatures, converts affected body parts into ice, etc. Sure it'll keep your opponents down, but the injury is extremely deadly and nearly impossible to heal from.
5	Festering. The damage that you deal at first is just the tip of the iceberg. However much damage you dealt at first is applied again the next turn at -1 its original value. This continues until the value reaches 0.
6	Deletion. The damage that you deal actively resists all attempts to heal it. Every time someone wants to heal from one of your wounds, they must overcome the amount of damage dealt in the initial attack as if it were armor.

Duration ( Homebrew )

Points	Duration
0	Near-instant (1 turn / 3 seconds).
1	1 minute (20 turns).
2	1 scene (1 hour).
3	1 day.
4	1 week.
5	1 month.
6	1 year if taken as a negative, or an unlimited duration if taken as a positive.

Changer - Positive

War Form: For the type of Changer that only turns into one other form, this is how fast you can switch back and forth (you are assumed to be able to maintain both forms indefinitely unless you take Duration as a negative, and then you can only hold your other form for so long).

Keep It Together: For the type of Changer that has a variable form, this is how long you can hold your improvised form.

Changer - Negative

Can't Keep It Together: For the type of Changer that only turns into one other form, this limits how long you can hold your improvised form. The higher this is, the less time that you can maintain the alternate form.

Stranger - Positive

Wear And Tear: How long you can stay invisible.

The Wayback Machine: How far back their memory of you is deleted upon going invisible. (Memory is assumed to immediately recover once your invisibility wears off. Stack duration on top again in order for this effect to linger after turning off invisibility.)

Instinct ( Homebrew )

Some aspect of your power is automated and can run on background processes, and leaves your subconscious able to do amazing things with it.

Points	Instinct
0	No bonus dice.
1	1 bonus die.
2	2 bonus dice.
3	3 bonus dice.
4	4 bonus dice.
5	5 bonus dice.
6	What you do is now considered to be entirely subconscious and is basically considered to succeed automatically unless there is an ability present that directly counters it.

Changer - Positive

Evolution [Pre-requisite: Can only be as high as your Versatility rating]: You can now tell your body, "I want an organ that lets me vomit lava," and it will get to work. The points are always distributed between how impressive you want the changes, and how fast you want it done. So at 6, although it will take half an hour to an hour, you could have a biological organ that fires lasers. Your evolved organ will begin to re-assimilate after you stop concentrating on keeping said organ, or if this ability is given another task. Stack Number on top of this one for how many evolved organs you can maintain at any given time, stack Duration on top for how long the evolved organs last without you actively willing them to stay, and stack Battery on top for a "save file" of biological adaptations and weapons that you can instantaneously turn on or off.

Genetic Sampling [Pre-requisite: Can only be as high as your Accuracy rating]: This is how much of a sample of something that you have never seen before (or is in too many pieces to know what it originally was) that you need in order to perfectly replicate it. At 1 point you need to consume all of it in order to get an understanding of it, at 3 points you need about 5 pounds of flesh, at 5 points you need something like visible blood splatter, and at 6 you just need the smallest bit of loving or dead microscopic residue. Combining this ability with Evolution (Instinct) will let you sample and mix-and-match whatever you want as if you were a genetic engineer.

Memory Swipe [Pre-requisite: Can only be as high as your Accuracy rating]: When you consume something's brain, this is how much of its memories you copy. At 1 point you know the person's name and maybe feel their strongest emotional reaction towards certain people or places that you come in contact with (their spouse, their mother, etc.). At 3 points you know how they would react to current scenarios, and maybe a few important memories can be dragged up if something in your environment triggers them. At 5 points you can perfectly emulate them down to the smallest micro-expressions on their body, and effectively have an eidetic memory when it comes to their past. At 6, you also can place hollow dots on your abilities if theirs were higher than yours in any areas. Stack Number on top of this one for how many minds you can maintain at any given time, stack Duration on top for how long the minds remain active in the background without you actively willing them to stay, and stack Battery on top for a "save file" of brains that you can instantaneously turn on or off. Regardless of the potency, this ability does not let you gain things like Thinker or Tinker knowledge.

Master - Positive

Absolute Control [Pre-requisite: Can only be as high as your Accuracy rating]: So you might already be able to make your legion of bugs all move about as naturally as if you were moving your own body, but this is for the level of control that only your subconscious can manage. Want your swarm to all climb on top of each other, arranging each bug in it's perfect place so that it is a 3D replica of you (even down to your hair? Or how about making them making all of their various little scuttles, chirps, and buzzing all go off in perfect timing in order to make it sound like it is speaking? Well that's this one. The higher your rating, the easier it is to do some of the crazier or more subtle maneuvers. At 6, you can control them better than you can control yourself.

Number ( Homebrew )

Points	Number
0	No targets.
1	One target.
2	Two targets (The target and someone immediately near them, or the next person that they interact with).
3	Four targets.
4	Eight targets.
5	Sixteen targets.
6	An unlimited number of targets.

Changer - Positive

Fluid: The number of dots that you can move around on your character sheet within a single turn. Aka: how fast you can go from 5 feet tall to 7, fat to skinny, etc.

Master - Positive

Hive Mind: More = the number of minions that you can simultaneously manually control (stack with Accuracy for how well you can pilot). Max is unlimited

Mob Lord: More = the total number of minions that you can have. 1 : 1 ratio assumes minions with averages in all stats, 1 : 10 ratio assumes minions are about as strong as a healthy child or malnourished adult, 1 : 100 ratio is for something that is a threat in large numbers, but does little damage on its own such as rodents or birds, and a 1 : 1,000 ratio is for something that really can't do much damage at all on its own and is largely just an annoyance unless utilized appropriately such as bugs for example. Alternatively, if you can fold the ratios in on themselves for minions that are stronger than an average human (so instead of summoning two average human strength minions you summon one minion with the strength of two men).

Range - AOE ( Homebrew )

Points	Range - AOE
0	Touch.
1	1 yard.
2	2 yards.
3	4 yards.
4	8 yards.
5	16 yards.
6	32 yards, or only limited by Battery rating (if you have one).

Range - Beam ( Homebrew )

Points	Range - Beam
0	Touch.
1	10 yards.
2	20 yards.
3	40 yards.
4	80 yards.
5	160 yards.
6	320 yards, or only limited by eyesight or some other sense.

Versatility ( Homebrew )

Points	Versatility
0	You power can be used just one way, no special tricks or improvisations available.
1	You have 2 different ways to apply your power.
2	You have 3 different ways to apply your power.
3	You have 4 different ways to apply your power.
4	You have 5 different ways to apply your power.
5	You have 6 different ways to apply your power.
6	The range of possible applications is only limited by your imagination.

Changer - Positive

Formless: More = the further away from your base human form you can shift. 1 is someone that looks mostly similar to you. 6 is any organic creature.

Master - Positive

Multitasking: More = how many minions you can control at once.

It Takes All Kinds: More = you can control different types of minions. Increase to expand your domain to that adjacent to the types of minions that you can already control.

Stranger - Positive

Multi-Spectrum: More = how many senses your invisibility affects.