Iteration on City Dark proto-system, with big thanks to E. Steiner for the inspiration to revisit the previous proto-system, and "Disco Elysium" for creating a cool detective game without combat, something that previously was a fate of only some visual novels; additional thanks to "Esoteric Enterprises" by Emmy Allen for the grievous wounds effects and the idea of player's doppelganger (which I'll like forever) and GLoG by Arnold Kemp for very versatile magic dice system.
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Game for one or two players who play the partner detective(s) of City Dark Police Department
(City Dark is kind of noir, not-exactly-Earth, not-exactly-current-times and somewhat occult; it is also entirely possible that the Detective(s) could be private detectives in case if playing for law enforcement is a step too far for players to stomach)
The Detective has three stats (Professionalism, Physique and Phantasm) which are measured from 1 to 6 dots, with 2 being human average. The Detective starts with 1 dot in each stat and has 7 dots to distribute between them.
Each stat can be rolled under (the usual way) or over (in counter way) on 1d6.
For example, with Physique 4, the successful roll under would be 1 to 3, and successful roll over would be 5 or 6. When the roll is exact on the stat (4, in this example) a player might sacrifice something to put themselves into a disadvantage or suffer some detriment for a success, or only have a weakened, partial effect, depending on the situation.
Occasionally, if the circumstances are noticeably harsh or benevolent, the roll is made as 2d6. If the circumstances are benevolent to the Detective, they use the best roll out of two (roll with advantage), and if they are noticeably harsher, the worst roll out of two (roll with disadvantage).
Each stat is also connected to anti-stat (Neurosis, Burnout and Stain), which starts at zero by default, potentially grows up during the story and maximizes at 6, signifying an incoming unavoidable collapse. Before such collapse each anti-stat is somewhat useful, and, should it wished to be so, out of 7 starting dots any number of dots can be consigned into anti-stats just as they are into stats to signify that Detective lives with a permanent malfunction of their own self to a such degree it became an irremovable part of their identity. Anti-stats are always rolled under.
Professionalism reflects Detective’s by-the-book approach, the authority they represent, the composure that each detective should aim to strive for, the knowledge of laws and procedures, how well they made themselves to fit the suit. High Professionalism (4+) feeds into reputation and respect the fellow cops have for the Detective; even if the Detective is doing unsavoury deeds, as long as they remain well-hidden with no witnesses willing or capable to speak about them, such high reputation is not going to be affected.
Rolling over Professionalism happens when The Detective is trying to approach the situation with anything but the by-the-book approach. Empathy, break-and-entry instead of waiting for search warrant, interrogation with hard glove, dramatics, shadowy deeds – everything but stone-faced stoicism and paperwork demands to use the stat as a counter.
Being a known maverick might have its advantage, but certainly not among the Detective’s colleagues.
anti-stat Neurosis counts the days until mental collapse. It grows in small leaps every time the Detective returns to the scene without a new reason to investigate, every time they re-interrogate without having new leads, every time they have their witness silenced or evidence stolen; it grows in bigger bounds when the Detective is reprimanded by the Commissioner, mocked by press or encounters gruesome scenes. Before the collapse Neurosis keeps the Detective on edge, helping with fight-of-flight responses and paranoid, over-vigilant alertness to their surroundings, with gut feeling of the danger; mechanically it definitely helps to react in situations of surprise or ambush.
Physique show off how close or far the Detective is to perfection of physical shape and capabilities. Powerful Physique (4+) makes people somewhat feel on edge, subconsciously challenged by such specimen of fitness and flesh, irrelevant if Detective’s face is lantern-jawed, or scarred, or angelically perfect. Rolling under Physique is required for feats of endurance, hand-and-eye coordination or athletics, and, in many appropriate cases, bodily intimidation or suavity.
But if the one’s own shape is too strong, they cannot help but stand out and apart, to be too full of themselves with no place for anything or anybody else. Rolling over Physique is required for remaining unnoticeable, unassuming, nonthreatening to both the people and the city itself, so it might speak through the sole of boots, to let the Detective hear its beat, to notice its not-on-any-maps ways.
anti-stat Burnout measures the physical abuse the Detective causes to themselves. Sleep deprivation, long hours, dangerous activities, even junk food and alcohol (the usual casualties of the job) all contribute into this heap as well as getting into fist-fights, catching up a flu, eating too many doughnuts, or taking any drugs.
Before the body cannot take it any longer, Burnout keeps the Detective accustomed to wear and tear, capable to function, although in half-way only, when tired, or hungry, or in pain. Before the final feather breaks the camel’s back Burnout gives its due to vices and makes drugs and alcohol more effective and enticing the more Detective indulges in such.
Phantasm awakens the capability to the supernatural. Nobody really knows what it is (the intangible part of a brain? the homunculus of one’s soul? the representation of pure willpower? the bloodline curse? the crack in the psyche? divine blessing?) but if one thing is certain it is that through Phantasm the Detective is capable of working magic. Strong Phantasm (4+) occasionally takes a will of its own, and shows the Detective general presence of supernatural as an intangible scent that translates in the brain into colours that have no names or shape in earthy languages.
Each dot of Phantasm after basic 1st dot lets Detective to start with one spell of their choosing (see below for the list).
To roll under Phantasm is to initiate the cast of a spell (although for each spell to successfully work more effort might be required; see ‘Spells’ below).
But affinity to supernatural works both ways, as magic clings to magic, as the cracks grow, as little imp in one’s soul takes more and more place in it – one cannot leave themselves open to such forces and remain unchanged. Rolling over Phantasm is required to withstand any supernatural influences, to cling to the world of understandable logic, to remain in the borders of acceptable sanity, to avoid the bindings of fate.
Anti-stat Stain (which was called sin barely two generations ago, but no longer in our enlightened times) counts time until the loss of control over one’s own magic. Stain grows from mishaps in spells and sometimes automatically from casting certain ones, from supernatural defilement (voluntarily or not), from partaking into essence of supernatural creatures, from abandoning human ways of living, and, strangely enough, from eating people (especially quickly if they are still alive but eating dead bodies rapidly grows Stain as well).
But until that final moment when supernatural starts bleeding out unable to be contained any longer by mere human shape, it eases both making and resisting of supernatural, and occasionally the arcane bleeds into the Detective with dream-like echoes of world occluded and unknown to the rest of the people.
Healing anti-stats
Anti-stats don’t become permanent at once. When initially anti-stat grows it is temporary, and it only becomes permanent if nothing is done to alleviate it in a week. As long as the anti-stat doesn’t accumulate to 6 at once (this causing a breakdown), the Detective can ease them out by taking better care of themselves, usually in a rate of one dot per week.
• Neurosis is healed by taking a vacation, doing boring paperwork, psychotherapy, getting earned accolades and admiration (not necessary for a police job, any would do), spending time with friends or family if one has any, seriously pursuing hobbies, participating in something for a good of the world (volunteering in soup kitchen, supporting woman’s right to vote or going to a peace walks). Alternatively, drugs, sex, alcohol and magical means will offer a quick fix, although these will backfire on a longer run.
• Burnout is healed by rest, better work/life balance, fitness regime, hospital stay, sanatoriums, health(ier) food, mountaineering, fishing or swimming, physiotherapy or regularly going to gym. Alternatively, drugs, sex, alcohol and magical means will offer a quick fix, although these will backfire on a longer run.
• Stain is healed with full abstinence to supernatural. Don’t go near it, do not get affected by it, obviously don’t work it. Be as blind to it and as natural as possible. Avoid even carnival fortune-tellers. Go to science fair, or a church, or a extremely boring meetings. Try not to get sweared at or cursed at too much, it helps. Alternatively, drugs, sex, alcohol and magical means will offer a quick fix, although these will backfire on a longer run.
Background
(choose or 1d6 roll one)
The Detective has been the cop for long enough that whatever they were doing in the past no longer contributes much to the current day.
01. Academia. Whatever they studied in Tellurian Polyscience University is no longer important – the life retained only bits and pieces of specific trivia and maybe some jokes understandable only to selected few. They did, however, retained one of the two things from their university years, either:
• a capability to do a good research quicker (important in the city when the best archive is in paper and microfilm), and maintained membership (mostly out of nostalgia, if nothing else) in both Stocks’ Reference Library and City Archives; one might be surprised of how much academia these days feed into or from cityworks.
or
• a couple of fraternity buddies who didn’t abandoned their ivory towers for an underpaid police work and became promising young professors in their respective fields. They will consult on matters of their field (whatever this field is) should the Detective needs it, for free and for old times sake, but will be extremely reluctant to endanger their tenure with even a whiff of something unsavoury or dangerous, and will become suddenly a bit unavailable if the Detective imposes on them too much (although – give them something they are interested in or famous for, and they will certainly find more time).
02. Arts. Could be to dodge the draft. Could be because in those younger years there was still something important to say. Whatever it was, it is mostly irrelevant now, isn’t it? The detective’s life is simply not conductive to frivolities of the art… but something still remains. Somewhat that is either:
• memories of theatre, The Mirvain, the smell of curtains, the feeling of makeup grease on the skin, the rustle of fabrics, the hubbub and tense silence of the audience, the blinding sun of stage lights, the applauds. The Detective didn’t forget their flair for stage (or faking of emotions they don’t actually experience), and can, with 4-in-6 chance still put out a decent performance, when the occasion arises.
or
• still something deep within a soul, uneasy, restless, tattered, almost gone, something that wants to scream the colour, and shape, and sound into the void of humanity, into stale routines and ever-present clocks, and cannot find neither time, nor courage, nor right words to break through. Except sometimes it can. Sometimes, rarely even, maybe never. It cannot be forced. But there is some kind of hope.
03. Cultists’ child. Parents were really into occult, and eventually the occult took all of what was them and their, and left the Detective alone to be raised by Allman-fearing aunt Augusta. As a child the Detective was mostly kept in ignorance, away from supernatural, by their parents, who were may be not the best parents in the world, but still good parents enough to care not to put their child into harms way. Still, when all normal, waking life is just a facade for overwhelming pursuit of some strange dreams, it bleeds even into child’s understanding. The Detective either:
• spied, and eavesdropped, and read parents’ notes, and went into the basement even when specifically told not to, unable to stop the pursuit of tantalizing knowledge. The Detective starts with one extra spell.
or
• spied, and eavesdropped, and read parents’ notes, and went into the basement, and abhorred what was there, the things so different, the things that made their parents into somebody else, something else, made them forget about everything at the end, even themselves, until they were not here any longer.
Whatever teachings of aunt Augusta stuck or it is just indelible revulsion of this event, the Detective always resist supernatural as if Phantasm was one dot lower, and feels safer in churches.
04. Medic, sort of. Knowledge of human body and mind is progressing in huge steps in our times, and whatever the Detective studied for is, probably, rapidly outdated in our glorious era of pills and electroshock treatments. Still, the Detective fixed enough broken bones and sewn enough knife wounds to either:
• retained decent skill as if a paramedic. In case of wounds or something like cardiac arrest or a nervous breakdown, be it their own or somebody else’s, they can attempt to treat it, with about 4-in-6 chance of stabilizing the situation until the real medics arrive (but still, call for medics, this isn’t a miracle, just a temporary patch). The Detective keeps a small first aid kit on their person almost everywhere they go, out of habit mostly.
or
• got into little details and particularities of human body, and eventually into newfangled area of forensics. While eventually life changed course to land them into the detective seat, they worked with coroner office and still retain, if out of habit, their forensics permits, and thus can do (both legally and with their own hands) a decent diagnosis, autopsy, samples collection all without waiting for official coroner team to arrive, and can, with 4-in-6 chance, notice incongruities in the forensics reports at glance.
05. Military. Did a tour (got drafted? volunteered?) Four years in cold barracks on northern border with Ligeya, both boredom and tension interrupted by short-lived skirmishes that got eventually blamed on some anarchists for a sake of peace between the nations. It was mostly drills, marching in steps, endless polishing of anything metal, hazing and bad food. It all went either of two ways, either:
• got to shoot a gun. Killed somebody (one? five? it was dark) who were bagged as Ligeian anarchists and whose faces only comes back in certain bad dreams (those probably not even the real faces of those Detective killed, it was dark after all, and after the fact, when the bodies got dragged into mass grave, who could tell which were the ones with which bullets in them?) All sins of murder are absolved to the soldier on duty, regardless. The Detective is a good shot with guns and can shift their shooting results (see below) up or down the Harm ladder, by their Physique number, causing either lighter or harsher wounds. They also have unlicensed and untraceable handgun pilfered from their tour times. It is of Ligeian make, so bullets hard to come by but there is still about two dozens left. One for each hour, almost.
or
• didn’t get to shoot a gun, not in any real way at least, not at people. Drove trucks a lot instead, and let me tell you, Ligeian roads are one of the worst in the world, so after this kind of work even notorious City’s traffic looks like a child’s play. Retained a certain knack to kick a stubborn car into an engine/tire/trunk for a ride (it is going to jam after, but for this one ride the car will do what is demanded).
06. Streets. Streets bear all kinds of people, literally and figuratively, but to most they are just means to the end, a transition route from one building to another, the place that isn’t a shelter, a time to lose, and travel to endure. What streets were to the Detective was different, and it was either:
• a shelter, as there was no other. Sure, they might have had a house with somebody in it, but the streets were safer. But this kind of life requires some very particular skills to stay well. However the life turned out later the Detective retained the ability to chase (or avoid chases) on foot, treating their Physique for this as if one dot higher. In addition, a once-learned knack of pick-pocketing unaware people makes for great party trick even in detective’s life, so they kept their fingers in good shape for that, if nothing else.
or
• learnt people that travelled the streets and events that tend to happen to them on said streets, away from the walls of their secure, safe houses. It might be starting from a gig as paperbuggy, from going the same routes every same day and tossing newspapers in the same very way to see vastly different reactions from each door, to interest in the people and what they are doing themselves. There was a gig as a journalist, even if it was mostly car crashes, domestic blowouts, and catching drunk celebrities on camera (not to say most of police work is any different). But some knack of interviewing people and gut feeling (working about 4-in-6 times) of when people try to bullshit or hide something, remains.
Harm and wounds
Combat is highly lethal. There are no hit points. There are no hearts. If the weapon connects it is matter of luck how much damage it does.
When somebody uses something to harm the other person that isn’t fully at their mercy (as it is in most of the skirmishes and combats), 1d12 is rolled on each attempt. Some especially effective weapons can add various bonuses to the roll; some ineffective ones (such as most of peoples’ fists, can deduct from it); some specialized weapons (both lethal and non-lethal) might use a slightly different size of the die (down to 1d6 or up to 1d20). Cover or armour can add various penalties to the roll and being very exposed to add to it.
1d12 roll, Harm ladder.
(note: most of this is taken from Esoteric Enterprises, and adapted to this system)
on 1 to 4 there is a miss, a scrape or somesuch negligent brush with death. Some bruises, maybe light concussion. Nothing a few days of rest and over the counter treatment can’t heal.
on
5 – impact on the leg. With one leg the person is reduced to hopping about or relying on crutches, and obviously cannot run. If both go, they are on the floor unable to get about at all and can only slowly crawl. The Detective might be able to fix this with a successful medicine roll, (1-in-6 chance if they aren’t trained for that). A broken leg will need a week to heal up in a hospital.
6 – impact on the arm, this arm cannot be used for anything at all. Anything that requires the use of two hands has disadvantage; if both go then everything that requires the use of one hand has a disadvantage and anything requires the use of both hands is impossible. Same requirements and chances to treat/heal as a leg above.
7 – severe wound to the torso, but nothing important is damaged, although there might be a lot of blood. Any physical activity is with disadvantage due to pain. Immediate treatment is required to staunch the bleeding (external or internal), and to be in a hospital within an hour to get it properly treated. Recovery time is about three weeks.
8 – a deep wound to the torso, and the blood as fountaining everywhere; probably an important artery is cut or a stomach is punctured. Needs immediate proper medical treatment or dead in a few minutes from bloodloss; needs to be in a hospital in half an hour to receive a proper medical help. If stabilized, needs at least six weeks in hospital to heal; cumulative 1-in-6 chance to permanently lose 1 dot Physique after the hospital stay (if falls to 0 the person died while in recovery from the complications).
9 – a horrible wound ruins the leg completely. Maybe it’s severed, maybe it’s hanging by sinews, or maybe it’s just a mess. With one leg, the person reduced to hopping about or relying on crutches; they can’t run. If both legs go, the person is only a floor unable to get about at all except some slow crawling. The wounds are so severe that they require an immediate medical attention, or the person will be dead in a few minutes from bloodloss. If treated in hospital, there is only 3-in-6 chance that the leg will be saved, even if the leg is saved there is still 1-in-6 chance that the person remains permanently lame.
10 – a particularly horrible wound gets rid of one arm entirely. Again, maybe it’s severed, maybe it’s hanging by sinews, or maybe it’s just a mess. This arm can’t be use for anything. Anything that requires the use of two hands has disadvantage. The wounds are so severe that they require an immediate medical attention, or the person will be dead in a few minutes from bloodloss. If treated in hospital, there is only 3-in-6 chance that the arm will be saved and even if the arm is saved there is still 1-in-6 chance the arm will suffer permanent damage.
11 – wound to a head or heart but somehow survives for a moment, blood gushing out of ears and mouth. Bleeding out and will be dead in a few minutes if not stabilized; needs to be in a hospital in ten minutes and immediately treated. Roll Burnout to stay conscious for each action.
The person will need brain surgery and rehabilitative therapy to recover. After the treatment the brain trauma gives 1) memory problems 2) problems with everything involving fine motorics, such as writing 3) violent mood swings 4) full loss of Phantasm, 5) half-blindness 6) synesthesia.
12-13 – whoever gets is going to die, almost right now. A bullet tears their throat wide open, a blade pieces the lung. They are Dead Man Walking. They can do one last action per point of Physique and then they die.
14-15 – whoever gets it is instantly dead, they don’t even have a chance to say anything. Blown to pieces, decapitated, skull smashed to bits, whatever.
16+ not only they are dead, but there’s not even enough left to properly bury. It is more a chunky salsa than a human body.
[There is also a similar scale for environmental hazards (electricity, burns, toxins, cold) but it is too long to re-write from Esoteric Enterprises (from where the above table is mostly re-purposed; they are similar in severity but deal damage to overall system (cardiac and respiratory for electricity, senses and skin for burns, rotting from inside for toxic, just shutting down for cold]
Health recovery
With any wound it takes weeks to months in a hospital, and possible long-term therapy and/or prosthesis to compensate for the loss of limbs. Alternatively, magic helps, although it is always two-edged sword, if one that its convenience is easy to get used to in short term and for long term injuries it is difficult to find anybody willing to admit they known how to do such works.
Supernatural powers
Invoking the supernatural requires successful Phantasm roll to break the reality and let the unknown to pass through, taking shape as defined by the spell. If Phantasm roll fails nothing bad or good happens, although it still counts as working of magic.
The Detective then treats each of their dots in Phantasm as a 1d6 die (for example, with 4 in Phantasm they have 4d6 dice in total) and decides how many of these dice they commit to the this particular spell (minimum 1 die and maximum 6 dice, although use of Stain might exceed this limit). Then they roll these dice, trying to get a summary number to beat up the required threshold number (TN, 4 to 20) for the spell to successfully go on. The sum number of the rolled dice is referred as [sum] and the amount of rolled dice is referred as [dice] where it is important. The more dice are committed to the spell the stronger the effect (for example, the spells that target non-specific people affects additional person per [die] committed, while the duration is often measured in [sum]);
The bad things on the second roll happen when such roll results in doubles, triples or quads (in rare cases of quintiplicate treat them as double + triplicate and in rarest races of sixtiplicate treat it as a double and quad simultaneously). The spell might fail or succeed spectacularly but regardless of the result the Detective acquires a dot of temporary Stain on any double or worse. If doubles are rolled it is known as a mishap, if triples are rolled it is known as backlash and if quads are rolled a doom. If more than three dooms are accumulated during the Detective occult career, the Detective is a subject to the Damocles sword of occult disaster: the reality around them starts to break and something really bad happens unavoidably.
Mishaps (rolling doubles, get 1 Stain)
1 and 1 – stunned for at short moment by inner shock and distortion; should that happens in a stressful situation the Detective's next roll comes at disadvantage.
2 and 2 – the Phantasm is temporarily warped by seeping energies. Until the next dawn treat Phantasm as if 1 dot lower for any purpose of doing (but not resisting) magic.
3 and 3 – dust and rust and subtle decay follow the Detective until next dawn. New shiny things tarnish, reliably working things might jam, soot and dirt gets on papers, their clothes smell as if worn two weeks straight and so on.
4 and 4 – the Detective's mind occludes, making him unable to understand or use any written word or commonly used symbols (such as stop signs or any logo) until they are able to have a night sleep.
5 and 5 – the Detective major veins around the heart, the wrists, the neck and everywhere they come close to surface of the skin visibly darken. This was know as 'witchmark' in superstitious times of the past, and it is still called this name even now.
6 and 6 – Phantasm gets loose temporarily. Lose a knowledge of a random spell until the next dawn.
Backlashes (rolling triples, get 1 Stain)
1 and 1 and 1 – supernatural pressure builds inside. Treat as 1d8 Harm roll.
2 and 2 and 2 – the Phantasm fails to withstand the occluded powers, and the unknown starts to seep into them and through them into the Detective. If the Detective are ever in absolute darkness and away from people they start bleeding dark-purple blood immediately as if wounded as the unknown coils around their soul and changes them. For each survived 22 mishap after the first, the Detective suffers a permanent change to their psyche, soul or the body [-> severance table in process].
3 and 3 and 3 - all things that live in the cracks, all insects and vermin, all abandoned, unwanted or forgotten creeps up from the surroundings. The Detective is followed by the spontaneous appearances of garbage everywhere they go for a day.
4 and 4 and 4 - as occult touches them the Detective feels compelled to follow some kind of ritual for three days every time when they do a certain mundane activity such as going to sleep, eating, dressing up, cooking, reading newspapers, getting a smoke, driving a car or paying for groceries. The ritual is haphazard and can be chalked up on a mere eccentricity, but it establishes a pattern to which the Detective returns to every time the similar mishap happens.
5 and 5 and 5 – arcane, usually unnoticeable and subtle, makes itself prominently known to the observers through the halo of dripping honeyed blood, rusty iron, blue flame, inky flowing writings, burnished gold, mosaic-like void or unknown flowers that surrounds the Detective.
6 and 6 and 6 - tethers of the soul get loose and the Phantasm goes free for the day. The Detective loses the ability to do the works for this time, as their mind is invaded by cracked kaleidoscope of phantasmagorical nonsense, causing a huge headache and impeding their ability to focus.
Dooms (rolling quadruples; get 1 Stain and count how many times)
1 and 1 and 1 and 1 – spell painfully escapes; the Detective starts to bleed out as a part of their skin peels off, slides away and vanishes into the ether to end who knows where, leaving them partially flayed. The Detective no longer can cast this spell until they find a way either to recover their skin or learn the spell again in some other way. Get a point of Burnout.
2 and 2 and 2 and 2 - the occult sears itself into the Detective’s Phantasm. They automatically pass any future rolls to cast this particular spell, but doing so deals as much damage to the Detective as a potential bullet (roll harm on 1d12 as usual). Get an additional point of Stain.
3 and 3 and 3 and 3 – the reality in this area degrades; while it becomes easier by 3 points to cast any spell while there, nothing will ever go right or properly, as if the land itself became warped. No child will raised normally, no marriage will last, no crop grow, no industry flourish, no knowledge to be preserved. Get additional point of Neurosis as the trail of cracks follow the Detective for some time.
4 and 4 and 4 and 4 - as the occult intertwines itself deeper with the Detective, their dreams stop being their own, and they are too tired to fully recover. All anti-stats take as twice as long to recover, unless they compensate the predicament with pills, drugs or some other such supplements.
5 and 5 and 5 and 5 - though usually subtle or unnoticeable the occult lets itself be prominently known, breaking into reality as a supernatural occurrence; people vomit paint and bleed rust, veins and architecture both form unusual patterns, information degrades turning all writing illegible and all photography with bizarre faces.
6 and 6 and 6 and 6 - tethers of the soul breaks and the Phantasm goes free, taking on independent existence as a small, grotesque creature. Phantasm knows all the Detective’s spells, and while it is still has some friendly affinity to the Detective (at least initially) it is now an independent being, and has to be bargained with, placated or served, so it would cast the works on the Detective behalf. The Familiar (as Phantasm is now known) is small enough, mobile enough and smart enough to scuttle away in case of the danger but it still can be killed; in this case all magic the Detective knows is permanently lost and they suffer immediate crisis similar to cardiac arrest.
Using Stain
The Detective can use their Stain dots for casting. The Stain die counts as two dice per die used (which can go past the usual 6 limit) and any result of 1-3 counted as 4 in a [sum], although it is taken as rolled to determine possible double and triples for backlash and doom. Using even one Stain die always gives 1 dot of temporary Stain as the magic backfeeds the magic.
Occult works that might be known to Detective (and their Threshold Numbers)
Bullet-eater: TN 4
Affects only the Detective. This spells stays active for [sum] minutes for each cast.
Easiest spell to cast but hardest to live through.
Makes Phantasm to eat bullets, or other life-threatening wounds to the cost to itself. If any life-threatening result is rolled in a fight (5 or higher), at the discretion of the Detective the Phantasm can instead ‘eat’ it, resulting in miss/graze wound, preventing potential death. Phantasm can ‘eat’ the [dice] wound in such manner during the duration and if it ‘ate’ any of the wounds, it is diminished by one dot permanently after the spell is over; this dot recovers in a year and a day.
City-veins: TN 6
1 person in contact per [die] and/or one extra district per [die]
Move extraordinary swiftly along existing public transit: entering one subway station and exiting from another, touching a bus stop and appearing near another one within next district (or however many the Detective risks to clear). It only works for municipal transport, not railways or airports, but major hospitals, police stations, municipal buildings, banks and newspapers all usually have a bus stop within quick walking distance.
Ghost-step: TN 6
Despite the name it doesn’t turn the Detective into a ghost, it just makes them as light as one; in all other respects they keep exhibiting a usual solidity. For a next [sum] minutes the Detective can walk over any surface, be it a water, or raw concrete, or dust, without leaving any footprints. It doesn’t really allow to float or move between walls but the Detective can more easily lift themselves by the arms, or squeeze through barely-open doors without disturbing them further. Their steps are hushed but not fully silent (so they will be heard in a complete silence, for example), and a very strong wind can blow them off the course somewhat.
Healing whispers: TN 8
Most desired spell, which is why it is wise not to let too many others know that one is capable of it: there are enough occult bounty-hunters who target healers to sell their heart to highest bidder, as such heart is strongly rumoured to prolong one’s life and there are enough rich assholes who don’t mind the little post-effects of immortality.
Heals wounds, quickly and efficiently, diminishing the wound down to [sum] severity.
Doesn’t heal long-term illness or injuries.
Flame, dear flame: TN 8
Relatively simple but rather obvious spell. Shoots sort of [dice] flame arrows from the Detective fingers, each striking with [sum] intensity of harm, although it might be resisted with Phantasm; for each caster the flame arrows take upon a specific signature shape, be it hearts, flowers, bullets, skulls or such, although it doesn’t affect anything else. Range of arrows about ~30 feet per [die] committed. Mundane bullets are usually more reliable but FDF is not triggered by metal detectors.
Face-thief: TN 10
Take an appearance of others whom the Detective has in their power or could observe while unnoticed for at least half hour. The other has to be unconscious, sleeping or within day dead for the spell to work, and the faked appearance melts away as soon as the target regains consciousness, of after [sum] minutes. Aside of the face the spells perfectly mimics height, build, skin tone, voice, minor mannerisms and gait but not clothes or equipment.
Mark of omen: TN 10
Spell that best cast on sunrise as it lasts until the midnight only. It creates a small heavy coin of blackened metal, with unrecognizable, most probably nonsensical heraldry and writing. The profile of the person on a coin depicts somebody who might cause the Detective harm or trouble during this day, or wishes them ill, or deceives them. The coin is worn out so the face is not very readable but if the Detective is to meet this person, the coin will chill down noticeably.
The coin is immediately lost if it leaves the Detective possession. If the coin is cold in the vicinity of the omen, the Detective might touch the coin to break it and to inflict [die] penalty on the source of possible troubles which would come into effect at the most malicious way during next [sum] minutes.
Shadow garrote: TN 12
Touch somebody’s shadow or be in the same area of shadows/darkness with them, and tug on the darkness, and make a motion of tying of a knot, and their own shadow will suffocate them. On a first knot the target barely falls unconscious as if suddenly fainting. On a second knot shadows drink greedily enough that they’d also forget the last couple of minutes before they fainted. On a third knot they die as shadows consume their life. Each knot can be resisted with Phantasm over-roll to succeed; the successful resist will not negate the previous knot effect but will prevent the further progress of them. If the target dies, the Detective gets a dot of Stain. Only those who know this spell intimately will know how to distinguish its effect on autopsy report from a usual brain aneurysm.
This spell can affect [dice] targets simultaneously or one target [die] times quicker. The Detective needs to know quite well where the targets are, although they don’t have to directly see them as long as other conditions (they are touching their shadows while making the knots in one way or another) are satisfied.
Warding lock: TN 12
This is a magic that, paradoxically, wards off the magic. For the [sum] minutes the Detective and [dice] people (in case if the spell is shared) can resist magical influences with their full Phantasm by rolling under instead of over. If the spell is not shared, the Detective can expand the duration for [sum] minutes per each [dice] committed.
Bystanders: TN 14
Invokes a [sum] number of nondescript, mundane, middle-class-looking people into reality either immediately near the Detective or at some nearby distance away. They behave just as normal people usually do and thread the most general, often patriotic-slogan line if prompted, except being unusually nonchalant at the signs of violence, supernatural or suffering. Their names and appearances are completely unremarkable, and, in some cases, interchangeable.
They will linger around for [dice] hours and exhibit whatever general, normal public behaviour Detective would desire of them (gossiping about nothing (default behaviour), waiting in a line, milling around, observing a show, making a righteous mob) but they can be directed to do pretty much anything that normal people can do, which they will obey because it is certainly a good and proper idea. Each of Bystanders will dissipate entirely if harmed by anything but a grazing blow but otherwise they are fully corporeal. If necessary, they will give a testimony as specifically required by Detective, and some rudimentary paper trail will spouts in a reality to support their existence for a month, although, conveniently, they will always be out of city if required later. If Bystanders manage to kill somebody the Detective gets a point of Stain for each person killed this way.
Principles for sale: TN 14
Innocuous spell, almost friendly. It will last for [sum] minutes, during which the Detective can ask anybody they wish what it would take them to commit a certain action (for example, how much money they need to be paid to forge a death certificate); people mostly think in terms of money although rarely they have more extravagant price. The Detective can ask up to [dice] questions like that during the duration. People won’t tell anybody about these questions or even think less of you for asking it, but, unless they actually commit the action they are paid for, they also cannot be blackmailed for it.
Butterfly dream: TN 16
The Detective can free their Phantasm in a shape of a small blue (but surprisingly weather-resilient) butterfly and direct it up to about [dice] miles away for [sum] minutes (butterfly flies about as fast as a paperbug on a bicycle). While in this state Detective’s body is completely helpless as their mind wanders off somewhere and they are not aware of anything happening to it (unless the body dies). While butterfly dreaming the Detective can perceive anything in their vicinity as if they were here, and cast magic as if they were here as well. If butterfly is crushed, the Detective gets a point of Stain and a harm roll with 1d8 instead of usual 1d12.
Dead Man’s walk: TN 16
Affects only the Detective. Work of desperation.
This spell is to be cast as a last resort, as it works even after the Detective died. Those who know that spell retain the ability to linger for a while longer and while their body is dead, their Phantasm still can invoke this power before the next sunset although they only have three attempts to succeed.
If the spell is successfully cast the Detective makes their own dead body move until the next sunrise, for just this one night, to finish their business. Their body is still dead, and although they feel no pain a broken arm is a broken arm; they cannot be healed back to life but can be fixed in a matter similar to a broken puppet until they blown to smithereens. They cannot suffer from Neurosis, Burnout or Stain, and don’t suffer from backlashes or dooms.
Once the sun fully rises over the horizon, they are entirely and fully dead.
Lumen Lux: TN 18
Blinding invisible light haloes the figure of the Detective and up to [dice] people of their choosing, if they chose any. This is very prominent magic that cannot be obscured or hidden through the most of the means to those who know how to look, although most of the common people will notice little.
While in a halo state, the Detective perceives any lie or deception flawlessly. More than that, nobody can wish them or act upon them with any ill intend for [sum] minutes. If people weren’t not already hostile before the spell was cast, they will follow the Detective every non-suicidal command, unless it goes against their nature or principles (in which case they can resist with Phantasm), as their minds are filled with nothing but blinding light that makes everything Detective does to look like a communion with sacred power. Affected people feel important, smart, fulfilled, needed, capable and right as they follow all Detective commands, although this feeling doesn’t last after the light is gone.
Causes 1 Stain upon cast.
Misfortune: TN 18
Simple in nature, practical as a curse but potentially catastrophic in effect.
Makes people affected by misfortune for a day; total [dice] amount can be used to affect more people or extend the duration by more days; the people has to be in the near vicinity of the Detective when the spell is cast but later as long as they are within the city for a duration they can be still affected. The Detective has [sum] number that he can allocate at whim as a penalty to any roll the affected person(s) attempt. If no specific malice is choreographed, the affected people suffer from the worst kind of mundane nonlethal unluck for the duration of the spell.
Causes 1 Stain upon a cast.
Alter Ego: TN 20
Be alone for a moment and find a reflective surface – a mirror in a restroom, a blade of a knife, dark glass of strong coffee in a mug – any will do as long as the Detective can clearly see their own eyes in it.
Lets the doppelganger out, to inhabit Detective’s own skin for [dice] hours. The doppelganger shares the memory with the Detective and their general goals and principles but might have entirely opposite methods as they have an entirely opposite stats (i.e. if Physique is 2 for the Detective the Doppelganger has 5 in it) and a completely different backstory. Neurosis, Burnout, and Stain remain the same. The Detective outward mannerisms, habits and haircut change very slightly, just enough for people who know the Detective really well to sense that something is off but certainly not enough to cause any real concern among the colleagues, unless the doppelganger lets completely lose. Only mirrors might betray the exchange as doppelganger’s eyes reflect yellow in them.
Doppelganger has one unique ability (1d12: 1 - detachable eye, ear or a hand, 2 - causes shadows to deepen, extinguishes weak light, 3 - can bleed a venom from a finger at wish, 4 - blindsense, like a bat, 5 - shrouds themselves into fear, 6 - can gullet storage a few items up to the size of backpack, 7 - unnatural strength, 8 - causes any complex machinery they touch to jam, 9 - wallcrawling, pray nobody sees it, 10 - slips from the memory, unless did something drastic, 11 - doesn’t bleed out, 12 - immune to fire, electricity and acid) which they can invoke with successful TN 7 roll which gets cumulatively TN +1 harder with each successful invocation while a spell is active (then resets).
The Detective is very not recommended to fall asleep while in this state. Causes 1 Stain upon cast and 1 more Stain if the doppelganger intentionally kills anybody (regardless of the number of kills).
Whisper in the dark: TN 20
Be in the city but in the places where it cracks and malfunctions, be in the shadows with view on the lights, be near people but alone. Toss a silver coin and a drop of your own blood into any crack and wait, and the Whisperer will come, as a noise first, as a figure later, as anything from a golem made out of trash to a refined gentlemen with no face. Ask of it a question or a service: to the Whisperer it makes no difference as what is a question but not a service of an answer?
Does Detective want more spells? The easy answer to their dilemma? The solution to their pain? Anything is possible.
The Whisperer then tell the Detective the price they are capable of paying. If the Detective agrees to pay it, the price is paid and the the service is provided or the question is answered truthfully.
This spells results in two dots of Stain: one of casting the spell and one for talking to the Whisperer.
