Knacks

Bastard

The character’s a bastard. Not just the mean and ornery kind, but the kind born out of wedlock. It is said that a child born out of wedlock can see the unseen. Seems there’s some truth to that, at least in this character’s case.

White: The hero can find an inanimate object he’s looking for within 10 yards.

Red: A red chip lets your hero spot someone or something that is actively hiding from him or others through natural means (such as sneakin’). This benefit lasts 5 minutes. 

Blue: This lets your hero see “invisible” critters, or those that supernaturally blend in with their surroundings. This effect lasts 10 minutes.

Legend: A Legend chip works the same as a blue but the effect lasts an entire day.

Blue Veil

Your character was born with a “blue veil”—a purplish bit of his momma’s insides—wrapped tight around his noggin. The old-timers say this gives a child the gift of foresight.

White: Your character cannot be surprised as long as he has at least one white chip in his possession. If you ever happen to fail a surprise check, just chuck the chip into the pot and grin like a possum. You automatically make the check, even if you went bust.

Red, Blue, Legend: Only one of each color chip may be spent per game session. When it is, the Marshal must describe a vision or dream of some sort to you. Hidden within the vision is an enigmatic clue that might help your hero survive the upcoming struggle. The clarity and insight of the vision increases with the type of chip spent.

Born on All Hallow’s Eve

They say Mr. Unlucky, the King of Halloween, favors those born on his day of mischief. His gift to these rascals is

a greater understanding of the arcane world. Your character has an innate “sense” about matters of the arcane or

supernatural.

Note: You can only use the blue and Legend chip function of this knack if your character has the arcane background Edge and is a mad scientist or a huckster.

White: Your character can sense magic or arcane energy within 50 yards.

Red: Your character can sense magic as above, and also has some idea as to its purpose or inclination.

Blue: Whenever your huckster or mad scientist draws a hand to cast a hex or design a gizmo, you may discard any one card of your choice and draw another. You can spend multiple chips on the draw, but you can’t discard a black Joker.

Legend: Your character gets the highest possible raise on his draw, a royal flush. Relax and watch the fireworks, partner. You’ve earned this one.

Born on Christmas

A babe born on Christmas is particularly resistant to arcane effects powered by evil spirits. If your character takes this knack and has the arcane background Edge, she may only be a blessed or a shaman. The knack has no effect on shamanic or blessed powers. It works on the tainted magic of hexes, weird gizmos, and black magic.

Your character can use this knack even if she isn’t aware she’s a target of some foul magic She cannot, however, use the knack against a magic-using character who isn’t using an arcane effect directly on the heroine. If your buffalo gal sees a huckster cast a hex on himself or someone else, for instance, there’s nothing she can do about it.

White: Against any type of damage- causing magic, a white chip provides 1 point of Armor. Against a resisted spell effect, the character gets to add +4 to his roll.

Red: As above, but it gives 2 points of Armor and adds +4 to your heroine’s resistance roll (if there is one). A red chip is not cumulative with a white. 

Blue: A blue chip forces a backfire of some sort. Hucksters roll on the Backlash Table, mad scientists suffer a malfunction, and cultists get spanked by their dark masters for their incompetence. If the effect is caused by a creature’s special ability with no “backfire” results, the spell simply doesn’t affect your heroine. 

Legend: When a tainted supernatural spell or power affects your character, spend a Legend chip to make him immune to all the powers of the creature who cast it for the rest of the scene. A vampire could not charm the hero, for instance, but it could still bite her on the neck since that isn’t a supernatural power.

Born Under a Blood-Red Moon

The blood-red moon leered down upon your birth. The wolves howled. The bobcats wailed. Nature went blood simple the night you were born. Your heroine has a wild and feral side. She can’t work anything more complicated than a pistol and must take the All Thumbs Hindrance, but animals think she’s Mother Nature herself.

All the effects below work on a single large animal (such as a wolf or a bear), a half dozen or less small animals (beavers), or a pack of about a dozen smaller varmints (rats). It does not work on creatures created by the Reckoning (including jackalopes, Maze dragons, and the like), so don’t get any foolish notions.

White: You can get some idea what a critter within 10 feet is thinking or feeling.

Red: Spending a red chip calms nature’s little beasties. The critters won’t attack unless provoked or they have some more important concern (such as being worried the rest of the posse will harm their young). Move carefully, because upsetting the animal in some way negates the chip. And remember, happy wolves eat people too.

Blue: The critter becomes a temporary companion. It stays by your character’s side and fights for her until a scene or violent encounter has ended.

Legend: An animal native to the environment comes to the heroine’s side and becomes her constant companion until its death. It is fiercely loyal to her, and won’t attack her friends if they do not threaten it. The beast is still an animal, but it understands and obeys her commands as if it had been trained to do so from birth.

Breech Birth

A baby born butt-first is said to have the uncanny ability to heal sprains, lumbagos, and other discomforts. Your character has a knack for healing. He can attempt to heal serious and critical wounds even if he has only the

medicine: general Aptitude. No chip is necessary; the kid’s just a natural. Using these powers requires touching

the patient. 

White: Given a full minute and a few minimal supplies, the healer can completely remove a single light wound per chip. Note that this only works on light wounds—it has no effect on greater wounds.

Red: Healing wounds less than an hour after they were received usually lets a sawbones remove one level of wounds per area. If your hero makes his medicine roll, he heals two levels of wounds.

Blue: Your healer is a wonder with others, but he’s downright miraculous when mending his own body. Given ten minutes and some home-brewed poultices or other herbs, the healer can spend a blue chip to completely remove a single wound from his body. 

Legend: If the healer can place his hands upon the body of someone slain in the last minute, she can return them to life. The body must be reasonably intact to accomplish this.

Cat Child

You’ve heard the old wives’ tale that cats sneak into children’s beds and steal their breath? Truth is, some do. But if the child’s lucky, the cat leaves something in its place. A cat stole your character’s breath soon after he was born. Of course, this was no ordinary cat, and it left a little part of itself in you. Reduce your hero’s Wind by 4 if you take this Edge (to a minimum of 4), and gain the powers listed below.

White: Your character automatically lands on his feet after a fall, ready to go. He can safely fall up to 10 yards without taking any damage.

Red: You can see in darkness as long as there’s any light at all (even starlight). This lasts for 10 minutes and extends to the natural limit of your hombre’s vision. 

Blue: Your character’s Nimbleness increases by two steps for one entire scene, increasing his die rolls and Pace accordingly. 

Legend: They say cats have nine lives. Whenever your character is about to die, a Legend chip saves his life. The Marshal must come up with some bizarre circumstance to explain how Fate intervenes to save his life (maybe a fatal fall is broken by a pond, haystack, or snowdrift, for example). Place a tick mark at the top of your character sheet each time this happens. When you reach nine marks, you lose this ability forever. Use your lives wisely, cat-boy.

Child of the Raven

A raven perched on the windowsill when you were born. It didn’t say “nevermore,” but it did give you the ability

to look into the past. Your character has the gift of psychometry. Whenever he touches a nonliving thing (including corpses and the Harrowed) and concentrates, he receives a vision about the thing’s past. The vision is often couched in symbolism or puzzles, so don’t expect it to solve a mystery for you. It might help you turn up an unfound lead, however. The vision is always of the most dramatic event in the thing’s past, up to the time limit imposed by the chip (see below). The most dramatic event in the history of a rock, for example, might be a drop of rain. A blood-soaked rag has a better story to tell. It isn’t pleasant sensing someone else buying the farm. If a child of the raven uses his ability on a corpse, the blood of a corpse, a murder weapon, or other items associated with death, he gets a taste of what it’s like to die. When he does, the character runs the risk of busting his ticker.

The investigator must make a Hard (9) Vigor test. If he passes, everything’s peachy. If he fails, he suffers 3d6 Wind, his Vigor is permanently reduced by one step, and he has a heart attack. Make a second Hard (9) Vigor test. If this one is failed, his last double-eagle buys him a plot in Boot Hill, unless someone makes an Incredible (11) medicine roll within 2d6 rounds. The type of chip spent determines how far back in the target’s past you can go.

White: One day.

Red: One year.

Blue: Centuries.

Legend: Anytime, and the vision is particularly clear.

Earth Bond

The Sioux say a person with an earth bond is chosen by the nature spirits to protect the physical world. They offer precious gifts, but they are ruthless if these gifts are abused. Your character has some mystical bond with Mother Nature. She understands the ways of the wilds and can sometimes use its secrets as well. None of these bonuses apply in towns or cities, while on trains, or in other places where nature has been overshadowed by technology.

White: Your heroine may add +4 to her climbin’, sneak, survival, and trackin’ rolls. The chip can be spent after the roll is made, even if it was already modified by other Fate Chips.

Red: Given a few hours and a few acres of wilderness, your character can find enough herbs and roots to make healing poultices. This allows your hero to make an immediate natural healing roll for each wounded area. Only one such attempt may be made per day. 

Blue: Your heroine can completely disappear in the wilderness. If silent and stock still, she is effectively invisible to all but magical means. Also, for one hour after spending the chip, the character leaves no tracks upon natural surfaces, even in muddy fields. Unnatural surfaces, such as a street covered in paint, show tracks normally.

Legend: The character can call upon the spirits of nature to return to an area flooded with fear, temporarily riding it of its vile influence. Plants return to life, birds return, and the sun (or moon) shines a little brighter. Make a Spirit roll. The Fear Level is 0 for one hour for every success and raise the hero achieves. (Don’t worry if you don’t know what a “Fear Level” is, the Marshal does!) This negates the guts penalties as well as certain special powers the forces of darkness get for the ambient fear. 

Seventh Son/Daughter

Your character is fated for greatness. Her legend will loom large in the Weird West. Your hombre 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 effects. A pricey but valuable power, amigo. 

Legend: If your character dies and there’s enough left of him, he automatically comes back Harrowed.

Thrash Doctors 3

A thrash doctor’s healing powers do not work instantly; the cure takes effect in a day or two. 

White Chip: The character can improve a subject’s ability to heal himself—a natural healing roll automatically succeeds (the character can’t use this on himself, unfortunately). 

Red Chip: This allows the character to cure any minor illness or disease, like a cold, flu, or most fevers. 

Blue Chip: The hero can cure more serious illnesses, including restoring up to 10 points of Wind or one Wound Level lost to disease or injury. 

Tempest 5

By now, you’ve probably figured out there’s safer places to stand than beside a huckster who’s dealing himself a hand. But a huckster is as peaceful as a sheep compared to one of the poor souls born with the power of the tempest. Assuming they somehow manage to survive to adulthood, it’s only a matter of time before some sort of Hell drops down on their heads. Folks call them “tempests,” because a storm is the only way to describe them: fierce and uncontrolled. Most die long before the average kid finishes his first growth spurt. Others are

luckier, and their power doesn’t screw up their lives until their early teens. As if pimples and growing pains weren’t enough, uncontrolled magic makes adolescence a really awkward age. A few tempests, usually those who manifest

their power at an older age, come out intact after the first few months. With a little luck they live long enough to get a bit of control over their abilities, sometimes enough to even call on their power at will. Eventually, the tempest’s power catches her off-guard. If this happens in the town square at noon, she’ll likely end up in a noose by sundown.

She can bring down Hellfire, tame beasts, heal wounds, or melt into the shadows, just like a huckster. While one of Hoyle’s cardsharps stares down manitous to power his hexes, a tempest calls her power from within. The only problem is, that kind of power is hard to control, and if she’s not careful, one day it’ll put her six feet down.

It gets worse. There’s a chance the tempest’s power might fire itself off when she least expects it and usually at the worst possible time—during a gunfight or in a crowded courtroom, for example. If you decide to make a tempest character, look through all the hexes available to hucksters and choose one. But make sure you decide carefully, because your hero only gets one. The hex becomes an innate ability of your character. She can call on it as long as she has Fate Chips to spend to activate it. The power of the effect, just like with all knacks, depends on the color

of the chip she spends. Since your hero’s not dealing with manitous, she doesn’t have to worry about backlash.

Relieved? Well, don’t get too comfortable. Any time she uses her ability, draw one card from a complete deck.

If you get a Joker, she’s lost control of her power, and the Marshal chooses what happens. The exact effect is up to him, but black Jokers usually mean worse effects than red ones. Just to add a little more complication to her

life, any time a tempest fails a surprise roll her power goes off, just as if she’d spent her lowest chip on it. If she doesn’t have any chips, it works like she’s spent a white chip on it. Again, the Marshal decides the effect of it, but it’s more likely to work for her in this case. Oh, and since your hero’s already up the creek, she doesn’t

have to draw from the deck in these circumstances and she doesn’t actually lose any chips.

When choosing the tempest’s ability, know that Two Pairs is the best hand they can normally manage, so pay attention to the minimum hand necessary. If you’ve got a Legend Chip, though, you can spend this to get yourself

a higher hand in special circumstances. When and how you can do this is up to your Marshal. Any effects, such as range or duration, which are based on hex level use the tempest’s Coordination in the Trait associated with the

hex. The color of the Fate Chip spent determines the hand drawn for purposes of the hex’s effect.

Power of the Tempest

White: The hex works as if you’d drawn a Pair.

Red: The hex works as if you’d drawn a Pair of Jacks. 

Blue: The hex works as if you’d drawn Two Pairs.

Legend : Marshal’s call.

Wandering Soul

The character’s a born wanderer. Not one to be tied down, the character seeks to travel and constantly wants to see what lies just beyond the horizon. Wandering souls struggle to ever put down roots, but they certainly get to see a great, great many things. 

White: The hero always knows the direction to travel to get to where they are going.  No specific instructions, but a vague sense that the location they are traveling to is “over that-a way”.  This doesn’t reveal hidden secrets or undiscovered locations.  It just keeps the hero on the right heading.

Red: A red chip lets your hero travel safely.  Spending a red chip means the hero does not have to make checks against travel mishaps.  No horse throws a shoe.  No train breaks down. No minor hindrances crop up incidentally.  The only worries the hero has is direct interventions of Fate.

Blue: A blue chip lets your hero travel faster than expected.   Spend a chip and roll and easy (3) Vigor check.  Each success and raise knocks 10% off of travel time up to 50%.  The effect isn’t noticeably supernatural.  The character just seems to make good time, find shortcuts, and have trains, ships, or coaches get good weather and travel.

Legend: A Legend chip lets the hero and their companions travel for free.  Maybe they have a friend who lets them hop a box car, or they win tickets on an inaugural transAtlantic voyage.  Whatever the means the hero doesn’t have to pay a dime to get where they are going. 

Medium 5 

Heroes with this knack have an open line to the spirit world. They can contact the denizens of the Hunting Grounds for information and guidance. Whenever your hero uses this power, the Marshal should draw a card, but not show it to you. On a Deuce, the spirits can’t help you. On a Joker, they mislead your character. On any other result, the power functions as described. 

White: The medium can ask the spirits a single question which can be answered either “yes” or “no.” 

Red: The medium can contact the soul of a single deceased person. The medium can then question this spirit for up to ten minutes. The soul does not know anything which it did not know before it died, and it does not have to answer the medium. 

Blue: As above, but the medium can question the spirit for up to thirty minutes. In addition, the medium can force a hostile spirit to answer her questions. Whenever the soul refuses to answer, roll a contest of Spirit. If the medium wins, the spirit must answer the question truthfully. However, the spirit does not have to volunteer any information it was not specifically asked for.

Brush with Death 2

This character suffered a great illness or injury that brought her very close to death. Unlike other birth-based knacks, a character can have this knack in combination with another knack. However, a character can’t have this

knack if she is, in fact, dead. That was just too close a brush.

White: While on a vision quest or in the Hunting Grounds, the hero may summon any ancestor spirit the character knows by name. The spirit speaks with the character for the duration of their vision quest.

Red: At any time, the hero can summon any ancestor spirit the character knows by name. The spirit is visible to only this character and stays in contact for up to the character’s Spirit die type in hours.

Blue: The character may “mark” another character or extra. If this marked character should die, the hero can make contact with the dead character’s spirit at any time by spending a white chip.

Difficult Labor 5

You were so slow to come into the world, the medicine men gave you and your mother extra protection. You’re still wrapped in powerful medicine. This knack works just like Born on Christmas.

Dream Birth 5

Your character’s mother was visited by her guardian spirit shortly before his birth and was brought to the Hunting Grounds for a short time. While they were there, your hero met his guardian spirit (meaning he has to have the

guardian spirit Edge) as well as other spirits who promised to help after he was born. This knack works just like Born on All Hallow’s Eve, except for the blue-chip effect which would normally be useless. 

Blue: You may spend a blue chip to change your character’s guardian spirit. The new spirit is the same size as the old one and has as many Appeasement points stored in it as before. Everything changes to the new spirit: the guardian spirit’s favored medicine, its special abilities, and its restrictions. As long as your character’s current guardian spirit is not his original type, he may not store any additional Appeasement points in it. The next time you use a blue chip on this knack, it must be to revert your native’s guardian spirit back to its original form.

Nightmare Birth 5

Your hero’s mother was visited by manitous in the Hunting Grounds (before he was born) and they were both exposed to the horrors of the Deadlands for a short period of time. Evil medicines have clung to the character ever since, and evil spirits have watched over him from the Hunting Grounds. 

The Raven Cult has probably tracked this character down as a result of his connection with the darker side of things. How he reacts to them when they approach him could very well determine the length of the remainder of his cursed life.

White: Discard a white chip and spend as many Appeasement points as are being used by another Indian to cancel out your opponent’s Appeasement points. 

Red: Spend a red chip to temporarily increase the Fear Level of an area (the size of which is determined by the Chief) by +1 for an hour. 

Blue: Physically enter the Deadlands region of the Hunting Grounds. This is a soul-searing event and requires an Incredible (11) faith roll. On a failure, the character loses 1 point from her Spirit Coordination. If all dice are lost, Spirit drops by a die type instead. On a successful roll, though, the visitor may freely speak with any of the dark spirits that inhabit the Deadlands, without fighting them as normal.