Adept power

Magical demographics

Forbidden Arcana, pp. 102–105

For every 10,000 people, there are typically:

80 unaware “sparks”

20 Aware “sparks”

12 physical adepts

10 full mages

 8 conjurers

 8 sorcerers

 4 apprentices

 4 enchanters

 4 explorers

The Aware

Forbidden Arcana, p. 49

(Priority D; Magic 3, One rating 4 magical skill)

While most “sparks” have so little magic that they’re not worth consideration, one type, the aware, are. The aware have astral perception as their lone magical ability, a truly minor ability that nonetheless sets them higher than the truly mundane. The aware have been known for ages as readers of auras, palms, or other forms of psychometry, but simply being able to see magical activity is power enough to serve them as researchers, observing the magic used by others and taking note. The largest place for them, by far, is in the world of security, serving in personal security details to ensure no magic is used to influence negotiations, to keep an eye out for spiritual intrusion, or to direct security details against enchanted intruders. Several have found a place as musicians as well, as being able to read the emotional state of a crowd and adjusting their performance to it is a significant asset.

Qualities

Qualities that require a particular Adept Power are listed under said power.

Apt Pupil

Forbidden Arcana, p. 31

Cost

5 Karma

Prerequisites

Arcana 6 and Knowledge: Magical Theory 4

All that studying has finally paid off. All of the magical training times for a character with this quality are reduced by 25 percent.

Barehanded Adept

Forbidden Arcana, p. 33

Type

[Buddhism]

Cost

10 Karma

Prerequisites

Must be an Adept and have Unarmed Combat 6

This quality allows an adept to cast a number of touch spells equal to their (Magic attribute / 2); a new touch spell is granted as the character’s Magic attribute rises high enough after acquiring this quality. An adept with this quality does not actually have to use their hands to cast a spell, but their bare skin must make contact with the target of the spell (or the target’s clothing). A barehanded adept uses their Unarmed Combat skill in place of the Spellcasting skill and must still make the normal unarmed attack required to target a touch spell. Drain is double what it normally would be and is resisted with Body + Willpower. The maximum Force of any spell cast with this ability is (Magic / 3), rounded up.

Animal Familiar

Forbidden Arcana, p. 31

Cost

5 Karma

Prerequisite

Animal Handling 5

Using this quality can make a non-Awakened animal follow the same rules as an animal bonded via Attune Animal, though this bond cannot be broken except by death (type and cost of animal allowed is up to the gamemaster). If a familiar dies, the quality must be purchased again if the character wants a familiar. Characters may only have one familiar at a time. The character and animal share a limited Sense Link (Street Grimoire, p. 198). They are connected emotionally and the character can issue commands mentally to the animal, but no other senses are shared. If the familiar is within (character’s Magic × 50) meters of the character, the character knows where the familiar is. Adepts with a familiar can reduce the Karma cost of the Way of the Beast by 3.

Sprawl Tamer

Forbidden Arcana, p. 41

Cost

10 Karma

Prerequisite

Animal Handling 6

The Sprawl Tamer is a magical beast master of the urban jungle. The number of tricks (Howling Shadows, p. 184) a critter is capable of learning is increased to twice the critter’s Logic. Domesticated critters (Howling Shadows, p. 186) that a Sprawl Tamer trains have the number of tricks they can learn increased to triple their Logic. Additionally, the Sprawl Tamer is always opposed by the critter’s Willpower × 2 when asserting dominance, regardless of the type of critter. Lastly, the threshold for training any type of critter is reduced by 1.

Powers

Adrenaline Boost

Core Rulebook, p. 308

Cost

.25 PP per level

Activation

Free Action

This power lets you accomplish more in one Combat Turn. You get +2 to your Initiative Score for the current Combat Turn for every level of this power you have. At the beginning of the next turn after the Adrenaline Boost, you take Drain equal to the number of levels you have in this power.

Analytics

Street Grimoire, p. 169

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Animal Empathy

Street Grimoire, p. 169

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Astral Perception

Core Rulebook, p. 309

Cost

1 PP

Activation

Simple Action

This power allows you to bridge the gap between the physical and astral realms and see into the astral plane. Since you’re dual-natured while you’re using astral perception, you can attack astral forms when you use this power. Follow all the normal rules for astral perception (SR5, p. 312).

Astral Bouncer

Forbidden Arcana, p. 32

Cost

10 Karma

Prerequisite

Assensing 4 (Aura Reading)

A character with this quality has astral sight that is so keen that they’ve developed new ways of sizing up everyone they meet. Along with the normal results, every two net hits on an Assensing skill test can also be used to reveal one of the following about a living being: all positive qualities, all negative qualities, physical attribute ratings, mental attribute ratings, initiate grade, an initiate power, an adept power, or Edge rating.

Astral Infiltrator

Forbidden Arcana, p. 32

Cost

15 Karma

Prerequisites

Astral Combat 5 (Astral Barriers), Initiate Grade 1

Any astral barrier that a character with this quality successfully passes through has its Force lowered by their Initiate Grade. If passing through the barrier lowers the Force to zero, the barrier is disrupted, and the mage who set it up is alerted. A character with this quality can instead choose to leave a barrier at Force 1 if they would normally disrupt the barrier by passing through it. A single character can only reduce the Force of a barrier once, but multiple characters with this quality can combine their efforts to weaken or remove an astral barrier.

Attribute Boost

Core Rulebook, p. 309

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Berserk

Street Grimoire, p. 169

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Berserker’s Rage

Street Grimoire, p. 169

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Blind Fighting

Street Grimoire, p. 169

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Cloak

Street Grimoire, p. 169

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Combat Sense

Core Rulebook, p. 309

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Commanding Voice

Street Grimoire, p. 170

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Cool Resolve

Street Grimoire, p. 169

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Pacifist Adept

Forbidden Arcana, p. 39

Cost

5 Karma

Prerequisites

Pacifist quality (10/15 Karma), Cool Resolve adept power, Notoriety less than 2

Adepts with this quality have dedicated years of training to using the powers granted by their qi to further their pursuit of peaceful conflict resolution. This quality offers special benefits for each level of the Pacifist quality that the adept possesses, but also requires a deeper dedication to their vow of non-violence.

• 10 Karma: Any attacks that would cause Physical damage made by anyone, or at anyone, within a number of meters equal the adept’s Magic Rating has its associated limit reduced by 2. This includes attacks made by anything that lacks an Essence attribute, but not attacks against them. After all, you can’t really kill something if it’s not (debatably) alive. The character also receives an additional +1 to their dice pool and limit for any opposed social skill checks or Knowledge skill checks they make to avoid using violence. Any attacks against the Pacifist Adept or made by the Pacifist reduce the number of 1s needed to glitch by one.
• 15 Karma: Any attempts to cause harm (Physical or Stun damage) performed by anyone, or at any living being, within a number of meters equal the adept’s (Magic Rating × 2) have their limit reduced by 4. This includes attacks made by anything that lacks an Essence attribute, but not attacks against them. The character also receives an additional +3 to their dice pool and limit for any opposed social skill checks or Knowledge skill checks they make to avoid using violence. Any attacks against the Pacifist Adept or made by the Pacifist reduce the number of 1s needed to glitch by three.

Counterstrike

Street Grimoire, p. 170

Cost

1 PP per level

Activation

Interrupt Action (−5 from Initiative Score)

Counterstrike is an extremely potent ability that allows an adept in unarmed combat to redirect an attacker’s energy through a combination of skill, intuition, and magical ability. To employ this power, an adept must first use a successful Block action against an incoming attack and spend their next available action to make a melee combat attack. For the adept’s next melee combat attack test, add a number of dice equal to their levels in Counterstrike and the net hits from the Block. Engaging in any other action before attacking, even Dodge or Full Defense, negates the bonuses gained from this power. This power cannot be combined with the Counterstrike and Opposing Force martial arts techniques (Run & Gun, p. 124 & 139).

Critical Strike

Core Rulebook, p. 309

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Death Dealer

Forbidden Arcana, p. 35

Cost

15 Karma per Level (Maximum 3)

Prerequisite

Critical Strike

OR Spellcasting 4 (Combat Spells)

All Combat spells cast by a character with this quality have their DV increased by 1 per level of this quality. However, channeling even more destructive forces wreaks havoc on the character’s system. The drain code for any affected Combat spells is increased by +1 per level. Adepts with this quality add an additional +1 DV to any attacks made with active skills affected by the Critical Strike power, but they may only purchase the first level of this quality.

Danger Sense

Core Rulebook, p. 309

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Elemental Body

Street Grimoire, p. 170

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Elemental Strike

Street Grimoire, p. 170

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Elemental Weapon

Street Grimoire, p. 170

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Empathic Healing

Street Grimoire, p. 171

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Adept Healer

Forbidden Arcana, p. 31

Cost

10 Karma

Prerequisite

Empathic Healing

An adept with this quality heals significantly more damage per hit when transferring damage from another person with the Empathic Healing power. Additionally, they suffer a slightly lower cost to their own health. When using the Empathic Healing power, each net hit removes 3 boxes of damage from the wounded character and inflicts 2 boxes of damage on the adept.

Enhanced Accuracy

Core Rulebook, p. 309

Cost

.25 PP per level

A weapon in your hands becomes an extension of your body. When you buy this power, choose a Combat Skill (Pistols, Clubs, Heavy Weapons, etc.). When you use the skill, add 1 to the Accuracy of the weapon you’re using. This power cannot be used with Unarmed Combat, but it can be purchased multiple times with a different skill each time.

Enhanced Perception

Core Rulebook, p. 309

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Facial Sculpt

Street Grimoire, p. 171

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Flexibility

Street Grimoire, p. 171

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Freefall

Street Grimoire, p. 171

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Hang Time

Street Grimoire, p. 171

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Improved Ability

Core Rulebook, p. 309

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Improved Physical Attribute

Core Rulebook, p. 309

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Improved Potential

Core Rulebook, p. 309

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Improved Reflexes

Core Rulebook, p. 310

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Improved Sense

Core Rulebook, p. 310

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Inertia Strike

Street Grimoire, p. 172

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Killing Hands

Core Rulebook, p. 310

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Spirit Hunter

Forbidden Arcana, p. 40

Cost

20 Karma per Level (Maximum 3)

Prerequisites

Killing Hands

OR Banishing 4

OR Astral Combat 4 (Spirits); see description

A character with this quality has the ability to prevent spirits from using their powers for a short period of time. Any time a character with this quality successfully uses the Banishing skill to remove a favor that a spirit owes, damages a spirit in astral combat, or damages a spirit with the Killing Hands power, that spirit cannot use any of its powers for two Combat Turns per level of the quality. Characters may purchase another level of this quality at skill rank 8 and skill rank 12. Adepts with the Killing Hands power may receive the higher levels of this quality if they raise their Astral Combat skill to skill rank 6 and then skill rank 8.

Kinesics

Core Rulebook, p. 310

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Kinesics Mastery

Street Grimoire, p. 172

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Light Body

Core Rulebook, p. 310

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Linguistics

Street Grimoire, p. 172

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Magic Sense

Street Grimoire, p. 172

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Melanin Control

Street Grimoire, p. 172

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Metabolic Control

Street Grimoire, p. 172

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Missile Mastery

Street Grimoire, p. 172

Cost

1 PP

In the hands of an adept with Missile Mastery, everyday items such as bottles, credsticks, tools, empty clips, flashlights, cooking utensils, and so on can be turned into deadly weapons. Such improvised weapons have a Damage Value of (STR)P with an Accuracy of 3. The adept can also declare whether these weapons do Physical or Stun damage. Additionally, adepts with this ability have a greater affinity for throwing weapons. For ranged attacks with non-explosive throwing weapons, the adept gains +1 die and adds +1 to the weapon’s Damage Value.

Missile Parry

Core Rulebook, p. 310

Cost

.25 PP per level

Activation

Interrupt Action (−5 from Initiative Score)

You can catch slow-moving projectiles such as arrows, thrown knives, grenades, or shuriken out of the air. When using this power, add +1 die per level to your defense pool against the attacker’s ranged attack test. If you generate net hits, you pluck the missile out of the air. You need to have at least one empty hand to use Missile Party.

Missile Deflector

Forbidden Arcana, p. 38

Cost

10 Karma

Prerequisites

Missile Parry (1) and Counterstrike

Adepts with this quality may use the Counterstrike adept power as an interrupt action to immediately throw an object that they have successfully caught using the Missile Parry power. The adept can target anyone or any area within their normal throwing range.

Motion Sense

Street Grimoire, p. 172

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Mystic Armor

Core Rulebook, p. 310

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Natural Immunity

Core Rulebook, p. 311

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Nerve Strike

Street Grimoire, p. 173

Cost

1 PP

By targeting various nerve clusters in their opponent’s body, an adept with this ability can disable or subdue on opponent without causing physical injury or death. To use this power, the adept must first declare their intention to employ it and then make a normal melee attack. If successful, the adept may choose to reduce their opponent’s Agility or Reaction (attacker’s choice) by 1 per net hit instead of inflicting Physical or Stun damage. If the targeted attribute reaches 0, the target is rendered paralyzed. An attacker must choose only one attribute to target per attack. The target regains lost attribute points with rest: 1 hour of rest recovers 1 lost point.

Nerve Strike works best on metahumans but can also be used against critters. A critter’s nerve clusters are more difficult to target, so two net hits are required to lower the targeted critter’s attribute by 1; all other normal rules apply. Targets without a functioning nervous system, such as spirits, drones, and so on, are unaffected by this power.

Chakra Interrupter

Forbidden Arcana, p. 33

Cost

10 Karma

Prerequisites

Nerve Strike and Assensing 4 (Aura Reading)

OR Unarmed Combat 6 (Martial Art), Dim Mak Technique, and Assensing 4 (Aura Reading)

When striking nerves, arteries, and pressure points, the character doesn’t just disable limbs; they block the ability to control and channel mana. The attacker must have previously assensed the target and gotten at least 2 net hits to use this ability. Along with the normal effects of Nerve Strike or called shots to an arm or leg, a character with this quality may temporarily reduce the Magic attribute of a target by 1 for every two net hits on their melee attack. The defending character’s Magic attribute is reduced for a number of Combat Turns equal to the melee skill rank of the attacking character. Using this ability without the Nerve Strike power requires a Called Shot (Specific Location) targeting either an arm or a leg.

Nimble Fingers

Street Grimoire, p. 173

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Pain Relief

Street Grimoire, p. 173

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Pain Resistance

Core Rulebook, p. 311

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Penetrating Strike

Street Grimoire, p. 173

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Plague Cloud

Street Grimoire, p. 173

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Rapid Draw

Street Grimoire, p. 173

Cost

.5 PP

No longer limited to pistols, the Rapid Draw power can be used by the adept to rapidly and more easily employ a variety of weapons in combat. Any weapon that is properly holstered can be quick-drawn; this includes blades, pistols, and throwing weapons. To use this ability, the adept makes a standard quick draw test (SR5, p. 165) but the threshold for this test is decreased by 1; this is cumulative with the use of a quick-draw holster. Also, with this power, a Quick Draw action is considered a Free Action.

For the purposes of this power, larger weapons such as SMGs, shotguns, or assault rifles attached to slings and/or held in front of the adept at the “low ready” position are also considered holstered and can be quickdrawn as such.

Rapid Healing

Core Rulebook, p. 311

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Revenant Adept

Forbidden Arcana, p. 40

Cost

5 Karma

Prerequisite

Rapid Healing

An adept with this quality may use the Regeneration power up to four times a year. When activated, the power functions until all injuries are healed. The adept must then wait until the next equinox/solstice event (or thirty days, whichever is longer) before they may use the Regeneration power again.

Riposte

Street Grimoire, p. 174

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Skate

Street Grimoire, p. 174

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Smashing Blow

Street Grimoire, p. 174

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Spell Resistance

Core Rulebook, p. 311

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Spirit Claw

Street Grimoire, p. 174

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Spirit Ram

Street Grimoire, p. 174

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Stillness

Street Grimoire, p. 174

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Sustenance

Street Grimoire, p. 174

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Temperature Tolerance

Street Grimoire, p. 175

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Three-Dimensional Memory

Street Grimoire, p. 175

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Toxic Strike

Street Grimoire, p. 176

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Traceless Walk

Core Rulebook, p. 311

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

Voice Control

Core Rulebook, p. 311

Cost

.5 PP per level

You get an amazing level of control over the properties of your voice. You can change your voice’s pitch, modulation and tone at will, as well as increase your volume. You can mask your voice and imitate sounds within the normal range of metahuman vocalization (no infrasound or ultrasound) and mimic the voices of others. If you use this trick to fool a person or a voice recognition system, make an Opposed Test using your Impersonation + Charisma [Mental] against the voice recognition system’s Rating x 2, or against the Perception + Intuition of characters the adept is attempting to fool, adding the level of this power as a bonus to your dice pool. You can also adjust your voice to generate positive social effects, giving you +1 per level to your Social limit.

Wall Running

Core Rulebook, p. 311

Cost

.5 PP per level

Activation

Simple Action

You can run up sheer walls or other vertical surfaces a limited distance. Make a Running + Strength [Magic] Test, with hits indicating the number of meters you may climb up in an action phase. If you want to run up longer distances, you’ll need steps, ledges, or somewhere you can stop and then use this power again. If you want to run across a vertical surface instead of up it, you can do so by combining this power with a Sprint action (SR5, p. 162). At the end of your movement, you fall off the wall, whether you made it as far as you wanted or not.

Ways

The Artisan’s Way

Street Grimoire, p. 176

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

The Artist’s Way

Street Grimoire, p. 176

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

The Athlete’s Way

Street Grimoire, p. 176

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

The Beast’s Way

Street Grimoire, p. 176

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

The Burnout’s Way

Street Grimoire, p. 177

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

The Invisible Way

Street Grimoire, p. 177

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

The Magician’s Way

Street Grimoire, p. 178

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

The Speaker’s Way

Street Grimoire, p. 178

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

The Spiritual Way

Street Grimoire, p. 178

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—

The Warrior’s Way

Street Grimoire, p. 178

Cost

PP per level

Activation

—