[FOCI]
We Are All Mad Here
Death eternally walks the labyrinth of the Heartwood, touching those who pass by, but few notice this ever-changing figure. You, however, are intimate with Death in all their many forms. Perhaps you are both drawn to and frightened of them. Perhaps you've spent too much time in their company, and have become infatuated with them. Perhaps you've lost friends and loved ones to their dark embrace. Whatever your feelings about Death, you've made a deal with them, one you hope will bring you the closure that you seek.
Characters who Made a Deal With Death may have done so in order to stave off death eternally, gaining healing abilities for themselves or others. Alternatively, they may be obsessed with the idea of death, and wish to learn how to wield it with precision and focus.
As a servant of the gods, you can call up blessings in their name. This blessing depends on the god's general demeanor and area of influence. Choose two of the abilities described below
Death/Darkness (2 Intellect points). A target you choose within short range withers, suffering 3 points of damage. Action.
Protection/Silence (3 Intellect points). You create a quiet bubble of protection around you to an immediate radius for one minute. The bubble moves with you. All defense rolls for you and all creatures you designate within the bubble are eased, and no noise, regardless of its origin, sounds louder than a normal speaking voice. Action to initiate.
You enjoy uncanny luck as if something was watching over you and keeping you from harm. When you would otherwise descend a step on the damage track, make an Intellect defense roll versus the difficulty set by the level of the foe or effect. If you succeed, you do not descend that step. If the step was because you fell to 0 points in a Pool, you are still at 0 points; you just don't suffer the negative effects of being impaired or debilitated. If you would otherwise descend the final step on the damage track to death, a successful defense roll keeps you at 1 point in one Pool, and you remain debilitated.
When you would descend a step on the damage track, you can attempt a Might task to resist, with a difficulty equal to the level of the foe or effect that harmed you. If successful, you don't descend the step and you regain 1 point in any Pool that is bereft of points. You can't use this ability again until after your next ten-hour rest.
or
You know how to kill quickly. When you hit with a melee or ranged attack, you deal 4 additional points of damage. You can't make this attack in two consecutive rounds.
You restore points to a target’s Might or Speed Pool in one of two ways: either the chosen Pool regains up to 6 points, or it is restored to a total value of 12. You make this decision when you initiate this ability. Points are regenerated at a rate of 1 point each round. You must remain within immediate range of the target the whole time, either touching them or conversing with them. In no case can this raise a Pool higher than its maximum.
You can choose to reroll any defense task you make but never more than once per round.
Choose a target (a single individual creature that you can see). You are trained in all tasks involving fighting that creature. When you successfully attack that target, you inflict +5 damage, or +7 damage if the creature is engaging someone else instead of you. You can duel only one creature at a time. A duel lasts up to one minute, or until you break it off
Action to initiate.
or
When you would normally be dead, you instead remain conscious and active for one more round plus one additional round each time you succeed on a difficulty 5 Might task. During these rounds, you are debilitated. If you do not receive healing or otherwise gain points in a Pool during your final round(s) of activity, you are subject to the effects of Not Dead Yet.
GM Intrusions: Death is fickle and so are their promises. Abilities fail unexpectedly. A foe has made a similar deal with Death.