Forges Flesh

Description

Some people in this world are famous for their ability to build, refurbish or invent machines. You are not one of those. Metal means little to you but living organic matter means all the more.

Through genetic enhancements passed down from your ancestors, strange numenera devices, or psychic powers, you have command over the living matter that few people ever witnessed. You are either known as a great healer or a consort of demons, depending on how you play out your abilities. Under your hands and constant gaze flesh reforms or breaks away, forming new limbs, healing disfigurements or creating strange, bizarre and alien shapes.

You likely wear wide clothing with many pockets or straps to hold your equipment. You prefer organic matter, like cloth or leather over metal.

Many Fleshforgers are Nanos who delve into the healing arts or into the manipulation of living creatures or appear as great healers. Glaives sometimes make use of this focus too, since most of the Forgers abilities have their uses for combat (or thereafter) as well. Jacks, like always, can chose this focus to augment their already widespread abilities.

Details

Connection:

Choose another PC. For whatever reason, the biology of this character responds strangely to your powers. While it is easy to manipulate others, the structure of his flesh eludes you. It almost seems like he has control over his own cells more than you ever could. You may not alter him in any way unless he permits you to and with an Intellect Task of the same level you took, he can dispel your alterations on other creatures. Maybe he is your nemesis. Maybe you want to see him dead or maybe you study him. Or he is the result of a manipulation gone wrong. Either way, you are for better or worse companions, maybe friends, on your journey through the Ninth World.

Esotery Effects:

Biological Esoteries: Whenever possible, Esoteries take the form of something biological. Onslaught for example shoots thorns out or your hands or claws extend from your fingers to strike someone. With the Nanos “Flash” Esotery, flailing tendrils may erupt from the ground etc. This only changes the appearance.

Minor Effect Suggestions:

You speed up the recovery process of an ally or yourself. You immediatly recover 2 Might or Speed points.

Major Effect Suggestions:

You disrupt an enemies organic functions. He loses one level for the next 3 rounds.

Tier 1:

Mend (2 Intellect points): You can try to mend one other creature or character. Wounds heal, severed tendons come together, broken bones reshape. The other character makes an immediate recovery roll for either speed or might. If you apply effort, he gains a bonus of +3 to the roll. Action.

Medicinal Knowledge: You are trained in the healing craft, anatomy and the use of poison. Enabler.

Tier 2:

Flesh Manipulation (3 Intellect points): You reshape parts of the body of one person withing immediate range. Either he gains an asset in specific tasks tailored to the manipulation or all difficulties are moved one step to his detriment. This manipulation holds 1 minute. With Effort, you can make it last 28 hours. Action.

Ex: You want to climb over a wall, so you turn your hands into claws.
Ex: A level 3 bandit attacks you, so to defend yourself, you fuse his hand into a lump. He attacks or defends as level 2 now, due to the change.

Biosage: You are trained in all biological numenera. If you are already trained in numenera, you are now specialized in all things biological within the numenera. Enabler.

Tier 3:

Brute Strength (5 Intellect points): Muscles grow under your will. A creature within immediate range gains +3 Might, +1 Might Edge and an asset in all Might Actions for 5 rounds. Effort increases the duration to 10 Minutes. Action.

Quicksilver Swiftness (5 Intellect points): You improve the coordination and the reflexes of a target. It gains +3 Speed, +1 Speed Edge and an asset in all Speed Actions for 5 rounds. Effort increases the duration to 10 Minutes. Action.

Tier 4:

Minor Shapeshift (5 Intellect points): You can change your appearance or that of any other person in superficial ways. While his mass and overall height remains constant, hair or eye colour, features, skin tone etc. are completely under your control. This lasts 28 hours. Effort increases the duration to 28 days. Action. Ex: You could make an ugly character appear beautiful or vice versa or hide from your enemies with a new face.

Tier 5:

Immortality: The secret of everlasting life is open to you. You keep your powers operating on a constant low level, renewing your cells and destroying diseases. You are immune to aging, diseases and have an asset resisting poison. Enabler.

Tier 6:

Flesh Forging (12 Intellect points) You are a god of organic matter. Like wax it forms under your hands. You can alter any organic being you encounter completely, including yourself. You make claws into arms, fingers into tendrils and all living stuff into whatever your heart and mind desire.

You can alter a creature in a way that changes its level by a maximum of 2 for 28 hours. You can make creatures out of plants and some creatures into plants. Fusing organic beings together. If a creature is moved to level 0, it immediately dies if you wish so. Action.

Changing a character in this way yields the following results:

• He loses or gains advantages up to the worth of 12 XP:
• Stat Pool +/- 4 = 4XP
• Effort +/- 1 = 4XP
• Edge +/- 1 = 4XP

(See Corebook pg. 112)

Even if you are able to create unspeakable monsters, it does not mean you have control over them. Many of your kind fell prey to the hubris that the creatures they created would somehow obey them. They do not. In most cases, the process of reshaping is so traumatic, that the creature goes mad and tries to kill everything in sight. However, there are certainly some pieces of the numenera which prevent this.