[HoE] A cool new edge (long)

[ElGuappo1@aol.com]

This is a little something i whipped up for people who want to give thier 
characters something special but dont want to make him a pure Arcane 
bakground character.

Here it is feel free to use it and tell me what you think.

Mysterious Background (5 point Edge)

	By some luck of fate your character was not quite ordinary as a 
child.  He was born with some power that made him special and gave him a 
little edge on the competition.  You may only take the Mysterious background 
once, also you may not take it if you already have a Mysterious Past.  Roll 
on the Table bellow.

1.Relic: Have the Marshal Chose a relic for your character.
2.Sixth Sense: You have a little voice inside that tells you when your butt 
is in danger.  Have the Marshal make a secret Onerous (7) Cognition check.  
+2 if the character is suspicious.  -2 If really distracted.
3.Latent Psyker: Your character was born with the potential to be a Psyker 
but with Armageddon and all nobody got around to training you.  Pick one 
Psyker power at level one, you can improve it at double the cost in Bounty 
Points.*
4.Latent Junker: You have always thought there was a ghost in the machine, 
thanks to the reckoning you were right.  You were born with the ability to 
communicate with tech spirits at a basic level.  You get 1 free level of 
science/occult engineering and pick one tool trick represents your character 
arcane heritage.*
5.Radiation Immunity: You know what they say "What doesn't kill you, makes 
you stronger."  In your case that's true.  After having been around radiation 
so long that you have built up a natural immunity to it.   
6.Beginning Huckster: Someone in your family was fortunate enough to have a 
copy of Hoyle's good book lying around.  Being the Smart person you are you 
managed to decipher some of the hidden codes to become a hexslinger.  You 
start with one level of Academia: Occult and gets to pick one hex at level 
one.*
7.Bastich: You're a bastard, literally.  But it's not all bad they say 
children born out of wedlock have the power to see the unseen.  You can spend 
your fate chips to gain special powers.
		White: hero can find an inanimate object he is looking for 
within 10'.
Red: can find someone or something that's actively trying to hide from him.  
Lasts for five minutes.
Blue: lets you see invisible or those that can supernaturally blend in with 
their surroundings.  Lasts ten minutes.
8.Blue Veil: When you were born part of your momma's insides were rapped 
around your head.  This is said to give the baby the power of foresight.
White: your character can never be surprised as long he has one white fate 
chip.  If you ever fail a surprise check just toss in the chip and grin like 
a gator, you automatically pass.
Red: Only one red chip can be spent per session.  When you spend one the 
Marshal must describe a vision your character has in a dream.  Inside the 
vision is an enigmatic clue that might help your hero survive the next 
encounter.
Blue: Same as red but when a blue chip is spent the vision is much more 
powerful.
9.Born on All Hallows Eve: They say that the king of Halloween favors the 
children born on his feast day with a greater understanding of the arcane 
world.
NOTE: only people with an Arcane Background or a Latent Ability may use the 
Blue function of this power.
White: Your character can sense magical or other supernatural energy within 
50 ft.  (This includes Rad-Mage powers)
Red: You can sense magic as above and have some idea to its purpose.
Blue: When your character goes to use an arcane power, he can spend a Blue 
chip to re-roll a failed roll.
10.Born on Christmas: Your character was also born with a supernatural 
knowledge of sorts.  Those who are born on Christmas are particularly 
resistant to the supernatural.  People who are born on Christmas may only 
take the Arcane Background: Templar.
White: Against any type of damage causing effect, a white chip provides one 
point of armor.  Against a resisted spell effect, the character adds +2 to 
his roll.
Red: As above but give 2 points of armor and +4 to rolls.  A red chip is not 
cumulative with a white chip.
Blue: Spending a blue fat chip automatically allows the character to cause a 
spell effect to fizzle.  The caster still has to spend the strain and make 
the rolls but the effect is negated.
 11.Born Under a Blood Red Moon: The red moon learned in the sky the night 
your character was born.  Because of this he has a wild and feral side.  You 
automatically get the all thumbs hindrance.  The following powers will work 
on one large animal, a half dozen small animals or one dozen smaller 
critters.  The powers will not work on creatures of the Reckoners.
White: you can get some idea of what a critter within 10 ft is thinking or 
feeling.
Red: spending a red chip will calm the critter.  It will not attack unless 
provoked or it has some other more important reason.
Blue: you can ask the critter a simple question.  If it can help and it 
doesn't have some more immediate and pressing need, it will.  If it doesn't 
know how to help, it'll at least give you a kind look before it eats you.
12.Breech Birth: You just didn't come out right.  You were born showing off 
the continental divide.  On the plus side your are said to have been born 
with the power to heal.
White: the healer can remove five points of his own or a companion's Wind in 
one action just by touching.
Red: your hero's gift allows him to speed up natural healing.  Whenever he 
spends a red chip anyone about to make a natural healing roll automatically 
succeeds.
Blue: healing wounds an hour after they were received usually lets a sawbones 
remove one level of wounds per area.  If your character makes his medicine 
roll, he heals two levels of wounds.
13.Child of the Cat: you've heard the tale that cats sneak into children's 
beds and steal their breaths?  Truth is, some do.  But if the child is lucky 
the cat leaves something in its place.  Reduce your Wind by four points but 
you gain the powers listed below.
White: your character automatically lands on his feet after a fall.  In 
addition your character can fall up to ten yards and take no damage.
Red: You can see in the darkness as long is there is some light.  The range 
is the same as your normal vision and lasts for ten minutes.
Blue: Whenever you spend a blue fate chip you automatically negate all the 
damage you have taken in one round.  As you can probably guess you can only 
use this power nine times, so use it wisely cat boy.
14. Child of the Raven: A raven perched over your window when you were born.  
This omen is said to show that the child the power of psychometry.   Whenever 
he touches a non-living thing and concentrates really hard he receives a 
vision or feelings about the things past.  But the visions are not always 
pleasant ones.  Anytime the character feels the pain of another person dying 
have him make a hard (9) vigor roll.  If he fails he takes 3d6-wind damage, 
his vigor is permanently reduced by one step and the character suffers a 
heart attack.  The type of fate chip spent determines how far back the 
character can see.  
White: a day
Red: a year
Blue: centuries
15. Earth Bond: The Sioux say a person with an earth bond is chosen by the 
nature spirits to protect the physical world.  They offer gifts to help the 
chosen in his task.  Should your character fail to protect nature the spirits 
can revoke his power.  The only way to get it back is to go on a quest chosen 
by the spirits.  Note: These powers do not work in cities.
White: gain +2 to Climbing, Survival and Tracking rolls and +4 to sneak 
rolls.  You must spend 1 chip for each roll.
Red: given a few hours and a few acres of wilderness your character can find 
enough roots and herbs to make a magical poultice.  These allow a character 
with the Medicine: general skill to heal wounds that would normally take the 
surgery concentration.
Blue: your hero can actually talk to animals, and they even talk back.  No 
one else can understand them but the hero, thought.  You can ask simple 
questions but can not order them.  She might convince them to do her a favor 
though.  This lasts for one encounter with an animal, up to one day long.
16. Seventh Son/Daughter: Your character is fated for greatness.  Your hero 
has the unique ability to control Fate.  Anytime someone spends a Fate Chip 
in his presence (usually within sight), you can discard a like-colored chip 
to stop its effect.
17. The Tempest: Some people can learn to coax a spirit into working for them 
to get a magical effect.  There are, however, a certain amount of people who 
are born with that power within them.  These people are known as Tempest's.  
Most never live to see adult hood but there are a few, usually ones who's 
powers don't manifest until later in life, that live long enough to use that 
power.  Have the player pick one Hex.  This is the power they are born with, 
they cannot learn other hexes and use this internal power to fuel them, only 
the hex picked during character creation.
White: hex works as if you'd drawn a pair.
Red: hex works as if you'd drawn a pair of Jacks
Blue: hex works as if you'd drawn two pairs.
Legend: Marshals call.
NOTE: anytime your character uses her tempest power draw a card from the 
deck.  If you get a joker, your character has lost control of her power and 
the Marshal chooses what happens.  The effect is usually bad, but if you draw 
the black joker the effect will be worse.
18. Telepath: your character may not be a powerful psyker but she was born 
with the ability to read minds.  She can pick up stray thoughts, read 
emotions, and probe minds.  Every time your character wishes to use this 
power she most role her Cognition + Spirit against the correct number on the 
chart below.  One thing you should know is that it is easier to read the 
thoughts of someone you know, the less you know a person the harder it is for 
you to read their thoughts.  Also if the person is not willing and trying to 
keep you out (they can make and opposed Cognition + Vigor roll target number 
9 to try and keep you out.  For every raise they get your difficulty goes up 
by one level.
Foolproof (3): Can pick up stray thoughts, sense people around her (10 ft 
plus 10 more for every raise), can sense basic emotions off one person.
Fair (5): Can read the thoughts of a willing subject, can sense simple 
messages to a friend (you must know the person you are sending the message 
to, range is 10ft +10ft per raise)
Onerous (7): Can search a crowd for one person, can send either 1 long 
message to one person or a simple message to several people (range is as 
above and can send a message to a base of two people with one additional per 
raise.  You still must know the people you are sending the message to)
Hard (9): Can read the thoughts of an unwilling subject or a complete 
stranger, can open her mind and search a large area for a person she is 
familiar with (this involves the telepath going into a deep meditation state 
and opening her mind.  She must know the person well i. e. a close friend, a 
family member, or a party member.  Range is one mile + one mile per raise.  
The mediation last for ten minutes)
Incredible (11): can form a telepathic bond with a close friend that lets the 
telepath constantly feel the person and their emotions as long as they are 
within one mile of each other, simple messages can also be sent back and 
forth between the link.  If the person the telepath is linked to is ever 
killed the telepath must make a hard (9) vigor roll, if the roll fails the 
telepath suffers mental backlash from the persons death.  She takes 3d6-wind 
damage and suffers a heart attack.  If the character survives her powers will 
be weekend by the experience, all difficulties go up one level.  Powers that 
required an incredible (11) or higher roll become beyond the power of the 
telepath.
Satan's lacing up his Ice skates (15): if the character succeeds in this 
check he can actually rewrite or erase part of a person's memory.  You can 
affect one minute of memory + one minute per raise.  Target can make a Vigor 
+ Cognition Check to resist, whoever has the most successes wins.
NOTE: When rolling a check that involves two traits roll both die types.  Say 
your Cognition is 4d12 and your sprit is 2d10 you roll both die types against 
the TN.
19. Spirit Speaker: Your character can speak with the spirits like the speak 
with animals ability.  He can ask them simple questions and try to persuade 
them to do favors for him.  Also the character can enter a deep meditation 
and enter the hunting grounds to seek out a spirit.  The trance lasts for one 
hour.
20. Champion of good: Just as the Reckoners are the embodiment of evil, some 
people say that there are spirits out there that are the embodiment of good.  
They are out there and they have picked your sorry soul to help them.  Your 
character automatically gets the Law of the West, Oath (5) (fight the 
Reckoners), and Obligation (5) (protect the innocent) hindrance.  Instead of 
getting the points for them the hero gains the following powers.
Immunity to Fear: your character could go into a deadland walk up to a 
Hangin' Judge and say "What the hell you lookin' at ugly?"
Normal Damage to Fear Mongers: So you say the icky thing attacking the city 
can only be stopped by the bullet of a real lawman strait through the left 
eye?  Well you don't need that, all your hero's attacks to normal damage to 
any fear monger or other creature of the Reckoners.
Aura of Hope: your hero gives off an aura of leadership and confidence that 
makes him a natural leader and strikes fear in the heart of those who serve 
evil.  The mere presence of your character automatically drops the fear level 
of the area he is at by one, except for deadlands, the fear there is so thick 
that not even your sparkling personality can put a dent in it.  It also gives 
you +4 to all your rolls to try and persuade people.
NOTE: With great power comes great responsibility.  If your character ever 
ignores the cry of the innocent or willing kills the innocent his powers are 
automatically taken away, only by taking on a great quest to cause severe 
damage to the Reckoners can the hero even try to hope to regain his lost 
powers.  

John Swift