Esoteries

Masters can reshape the world around, through channeling the forces chaos, employing alchemical substances, devices, or other means. Most Esoteries must be activated, which requires that you have a free hand and spend 1 or more Intellect points. If no Intellect point cost is given for an Esotery, it functions continuously without needing to be activated. Some Esoteries specify a duration, but you can always end one of your own Esoteries anytime you wish.

Hedge Magic (1 Intellect Point)
You can perform small tricks: temporarily change the color or basic appearance of a small object, cause small objects to float through the air, clean a small area, mend a broken object, prepare (but not create) food, and so on. You can’t use hedge magic to harm another creature or object. Action.

Onslaught (1 Intellect Point)
You attack a foe using energies that assail either his physical form or his mind. In either case, you must be able to see your target. If the attack is physical, you emit a short-range ray of force that inflicts 4 points of damage. If the attack is mental, you focus your mental energy to blast the thought processes of another creature within short range. This mindslice inflicts 2 points of Intellect damage (and thus ignores Armor). Some creatures without minds (such as automatons) might be immune to mindslice. Action.

Push (2 Intellect Point)
You push a creature or object an immediate distance in any direction you wish. You must be able to see the target, which must be your size or smaller, must not be affixed to anything, and must be within short range. The push is quick, and the force is too crude to be manipulated. For example, you can’t use this esotery to pull a lever or even close a door. Action.

Scan (2 Intellect Point)
You scan an area equal in size to a 10-foot (3-meter) cube, including all objects or creatures within that area. The area must be within short range. Scanning a creature or object always reveals its level (a measure of how powerful, dangerous, or difficult it is). You also learn whatever facts the GM feels are pertinent about the matter and energy in that area. For example, you might learn that the wooden box contains a device of metal and synth. You might learn that the glass cylinder is full of poisonous gas, and that its metal stand has an electrical field running through it that connects to a metal mesh in the floor. You might learn that the creature standing before you is a mammal with a small brain. However, this esotery doesn’t tell you what the information means. Thus, in the first example, you don’t know what the metal and synth device does. In the second, you don’t know if stepping on the floor causes the cylinder to release the gas. In the third, you might suspect that the creature is not very intelligent, but scans, like looks, can be deceiving. Many materials and energy fields prevent or resist scanning. Action.

Ward
You have a shield of energy around you at all times that helps deflect attacks. You gain +1 to Armor. Enabler.

Closed Mind
You are trained in Intellect defense tasks and have +2 to Armor against damage that selectively targets your Intellect Pool (that normally ignores Armor). Enabler.

Levitate Creature (2+ Intellect Points)
You can temporarily bend the fundamental force of gravity on a creature or object (no larger than yourself) that is within long range. The target’s level can be no more than 2 above your tier. On a successful attack, an affected target floats an immediate distance over the ground for one round. A levitating target hovers just above the ground, able to take actions, but unable to gain purchase through physical contact. Each round after the initial attack, you can attempt to keep the target aloft by spending 1 additional Intellect point and succeeding at a difficulty 2 Intellect task. If your concentration lapses, the target drops back to the ground. You can’t directly move a levitating object with this revision, but strong winds, a hearty push by someone else, or other forces can move the target. Action to initiate.

Premonition (2 Intellect Points)
Despite appearances, reality is quantum and noncausal, which means a careful observer can discover information leaks. You learn one random fact from a person or location that is pertinent to a topic you designate. Alternatively, you can choose to learn a creature’s level; however, if you do so, you cannot learn anything else about it later with this Esotery. Action.

Shatter (2 Intellect Points)
You interrupt the fundamental force holding normal matter together for a moment, creating the detonation of an object you choose within long range. The object must be a small, mundane item composed of homogeneous matter (such as a clay cup, an iron ingot, a stone, and so on). The object explodes in an immediate radius, attacking all creatures and objects in the area for 1 point of damage. Because this is an area attack, adding Effort to increase your damage works differently than it does for single-target attacks: for each level of Effort applied to increase the damage, add 2 points of damage to each target. If you increase the damage through Effort, even if you fail your attack roll, all targets in the area still take 1 point of damage. Action.

Aggression (2 Intellect Points)
You reach into the mind of a character and unlock his more primitive instincts. Choose one character within short range. That character has an asset on Might-based attack rolls. The effect lasts for one minute. Action to initiate.

Distortion (2 Intellect Points)
You modify how a willing creature reflects light for one minute. Choose a creature within short range. The target rapidly shifts between its normal appearance and a blot of darkness. The target has an asset on Speed defense rolls until the effect wears off. Action to initiate.

Erase Memories (3 Intellect Points)
You reach into a creature’s mind to make it forget. Choose one creature within immediate range and make an Intellect roll. On a success, you erase up to the last five minutes of the creature’s memory. The creature forgets what it experienced during that time. Action.

Far Step (2 Intellect Points)
You leap through the air and land some distance away. You can jump up, down, or across to anywhere you choose within long range if you have a clear and unobstructed path to that location. You land safely. Action.

Machine Interface (2 Intellect Points)
The difficulty of discerning the level, function, and activation of powered numenera devices that you touch is decreased by one step for one minute. Enabler.

Mental Link (1+ Intellect Point)
You open a pathway to another creature’s mind via a light touch, which allows you to transmit thoughts and images to each other. In other words, you can communicate with each other without having to speak. The mental link remains regardless of distance and lasts for one hour. Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty of this esotery, you can apply Effort to extend the duration by one hour for each level of Effort. Action to initiate.

Resonance Field (1 Intellect Point)
Faint lines in a color you choose form a tracery over your entire body and emit faint light. The effect lasts for one minute. Whenever a creature within immediate range makes an attack against you, the pattern energizes to block the attack. You can make an Intellect defense roll in place of the defense roll you would normally make. If you do so and you get a minor effect, the creature attacking you takes 1 point of damage. If you get a major effect, the creature attacking you takes 4 points of damage. Action to initiate.

Sculpt Flesh (2 Intellect Points)
You cause a willing creature’s fingers to lengthen into claws and her teeth to grow into fangs by sculpting her flesh. The effect lasts for ten minutes. The damage dealt by the target’s unarmed strikes increases to 4 points. Action.

Adaptation (2+ Intellect Points)
You adapt to a hostile environment for 28 hours. As a result, you can breathe safely, the temperature doesn’t kill you (though it might be extremely uncomfortable or debilitating), crushing gravity doesn’t incapacitate or harm you (though, again, you might be seriously hindered), and so on. In extreme environments, the GM might increase the cost of activating this esotery to a maximum cost of 10 Intellect points. Roughly speaking, the cost should equal the amount of damage you would sustain in a given round. For example, if you enter a hostile environment that would normally deal 6 points of damage per round, using Adaptation to avoid that damage costs 6 points. You can protect other creatures in addition to yourself, but each additional creature costs you the same number of Intellect points as it costs to protect you. Thus, if it costs 6 points to protect yourself, it costs 12 more to protect two other people. This esotery never protects against quick, instantaneous threats, like an attack with a weapon or a sudden explosion of fire. Action to initiate.

Flash (4 Intellect Points)
You create an explosion of energy at a point within close range, affecting an area up to immediate range from that point. You must be able to see the location where you intend to center the explosion. The blast inflicts 2 points of damage to all creatures or objects within the area. Because this is an area attack, adding Effort to increase your damage works differently than it does for single-target attacks: if you apply a level of Effort to increase the damage, add 2 points of damage for each target, and even if you fail your attack roll, all targets in the area still take 1 point of damage. Action.

Hover (2 Intellect Points)
You float slowly into the air. If you concentrate, you can control your movement to remain motionless in the air, or float up to a short distance as your action, but no more; otherwise, you drift with the wind or with any momentum you have gained. This effect lasts for up to ten minutes. Action to initiate.

Mind Reading (4 Intellect Points)
You can read the surface thoughts of a creature within short range of you, even if the target doesn’t want you to. You must be able to see the target. Once you have established contact, you can read the target’s thoughts for up to one minute. If you or the target move out of range, the connection is broken. Action to initiate.

Stasis (3 Intellect Points)
You surround a foe of your size or smaller with scintillating energy, keeping it from moving or acting for one minute, as if frozen solid. You must be able to see the target, and it must be within short range. While in stasis, the target is impervious to harm, cannot be moved, and is immune to all effects. Action.

Cutting Light (2 Intellect Points)
You emit a thin beam of energized light from your hand in immediate range. This inflicts 5 points of damage to a single foe. It is even more effective when used against immobile, nonliving targets. It slices up to 1 foot (0.3 m) of any material that is level 6 or less. The material can be up to 1 foot thick. Action.

Fetch (3 Intellect Points)
You cause an object to disappear and reappear in your hands or somewhere else nearby. Choose one object that can fit inside a 5-foot (1.5-meter) cube and that you can see within long range. The object vanishes and appears in your hands or in an open space anywhere you choose within immediate range. Action.

Force Field (3 Intellect Points)
You create an invisible energy barrier around a creature or object you choose within short range. The force field moves with the creature or object and lasts for ten minutes. The target has +1 to Armor until the effect ends. Action.

Overload Machine (3+ Intellect Points)
You infuse a powered numenera device of less than level 3 with more energy than it can handle. If affected, the device is destroyed (if an oddity, a cypher, or an artifact) or disabled for at least one minute (if a more substantial machine). The GM may rule that the disabling effect lasts until the device is repaired. Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty, you can apply Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to overload a level 5 device (two levels above the normal limit), you must apply two levels of Effort. Smart Masters use the Machine Interface or Scan esotery on a machine to learn its level before trying to overload it. Action.

Retrieve Memories (3 Intellect Points)
You touch the remains of a recently slain creature and restore its mind to life long enough to learn information from it. Touch a dead creature and make an Intellect-based roll. The GM sets the difficulty based on the amount of time that has passed since the creature died. A creature that has been dead for only a few minutes is a difficulty 2 task. A creature that has been dead for an hour is a difficulty 4 task. Finally, a creature that has been dead for a few days is a difficulty 9 task. If you succeed on the task, you awaken the corpse, causing its head to animate and perceive things as if it were alive. This enables communication for about one minute, which is about how long it takes for the creature to realize that it’s dead. The creature is limited to what it knew in life, though it cannot recall minor memories, only big events of importance to it. When the effect ends, or if you fail the roll, the creature’s brain dissolves to mush and cannot be awakened again. Action.

Reveal (2+ Intellect Points)
You adjust a creature’s eyesight so that it can see normally in areas of dim light and darkness. You can affect one willing creature within immediate range for one hour. Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty of this esotery, you can apply Effort to affect more targets, with each level of Effort affecting two additional targets. You must touch additional targets to affect them. Action to initiate.

Shock to the System (3 Intellect Points)
You flood the mind of a target within short range with disturbing images and ideas. Affected targets faint and collapse to the ground, remaining unconscious for two rounds (this is instantly negated if they suffer any damage). GMs will modify the difficulty of the roll to affect a target based on logic — it’s probably easier to make a shopkeeper faint than a rampaging creature, even if they’re both the same level. Action.

Speed Recovery (3 Intellect Points)
You adjust a creature’s normal regenerative ability so that he recovers more quickly. One creature you choose within short range makes a recovery roll without having to spend the time to do so. Action.

Force Shield (2+ Intellect Points)
You call up a field of shielding energy that grants you +1 to Armor for ten minutes. You can increase the Armor bonus by spending Effort. Each additional level of Effort increases the Armor value you gain by 1. Action.

Gate Key (4 Intellect Points)
You can secure (or unlock) a regular door or other object that can be closed or opened, such as a drawer, laptop, satchel, book, window, and so on, even if it can’t normally be locked. You can also lock (or open) gates to other realms. To unlock or lock the target, you must touch it. If the object is locked and you wish to unlock it, succeed at an Intellect task with a difficulty set by the GM (usually equal to the level of the lock or effect holding the object closed). On a success, the target is unlocked. You automatically succeed in locking an object if that is your goal; an object or gate is locked at a level equal to 4 + your tier. Action.

Plasma Arc (2 Intellect Points)
You induce an ionized arc of plasma to leap between two targets that you can see and that are within short range of each other. Both targets must also be within long range of you. You roll an attack for each target separately. If you successfully attack only one target, it takes 4 points of damage from the intense heat. If you successfully attack both targets, each takes 4 points of damage. Effort applied to one attack counts for both, but you must abide by your Effort level limit for each action. Action.

Revise Flesh (3 Intellect Points)
You can revise flesh with your touch in one of two ways. When you touch an impaired or debilitated character, you can choose to move the character up one step on the damage track (for example, a debilitated PC becomes impaired, while an impaired creature becomes hale). Alternatively, you can grant a character a +2 bonus to his recovery roll if you use this ability on the PC during a rest. Action.

Barrier (3+ Intellect Points)
You create an opaque, stationary barrier of solid energy within immediate range. The barrier is 10 feet by 10 feet (3 m by 3 m) and of negligible thickness. It is a level 2 barrier and lasts for ten minutes. It can be placed anywhere it fits, whether against a solid object (including the ground) or floating in the air. Each level of Effort you apply strengthens the barrier by one level. For example, applying two levels of Effort creates a level 4 barrier. Action.

Countermeasure (4 Intellect Points)
You immediately end one ongoing numenera effect (such as an effect created by an esotery) within immediate range. Alternatively, you can use this as a defense action to cancel any incoming esotery targeted at you, or you can cancel any numenera device or the effect of any numenera device for 1d6 rounds. You must touch the effect or device to cancel it. Action.

Energy Protection (3+ Intellect Points)
Choose a discrete type of energy that you have experience with (such as heat, sonic, electricity, and so on). You gain +10 to Armor against damage from that type of energy for ten minutes. Alternatively, you gain +1 to Armor against damage from that energy for 28 hours. You must be familiar with the type of energy; for example, if you have no experience with a certain kind of extra-dimensional energy, you can’t protect against it. Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty of this esotery, you can apply Effort to protect more targets, with each level of Effort affecting up to two additional targets. You must touch additional targets to protect them. Action to initiate.

Sensor (4 Intellect Points)
You create an immobile, invisible sensor within immediate range that lasts for 28 hours. At any time during that duration, you can concentrate to see, hear, and smell through the sensor, no matter how far you move from it. The sensor doesn’t grant you sensory capabilities beyond the norm. Action to create; action to check.

Targeting Eye
You are trained in any physical ranged attack that is an esotery or comes from a numenera device. For example, you are trained when using an Onslaught force blast because it’s a physical attack, but not when using an Onslaught mindslice because it’s a mental attack. Enabler.

Force at Distance (4+ Intellect Points)
You temporarily bend the fundamental law of gravity around a creature or object (up to twice your mass) within short range. The target’s level can be no more than 2 above your tier. On a successful attack, an affected target is caught in your telekinetic grip, and you can move the creature up to a short distance in any direction each round that you retain your hold. A creature in your telekinetic grip can take actions, but it can’t move under its own power. Each round after the initial attack, you can attempt to keep your grip on the target by spending 2 additional Intellect points and succeeding at a difficulty 2 Intellect task. If your concentration lapses, the target drops back to the ground.

Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty, you can apply Effort to increase the amount of mass you can affect. Each level of Effort allows you to affect a creature or object twice as massive as before. For example, applying one level of Effort would affect a creature four times as massive as you, two levels of Effort would affect a creature eight times as massive, three levels can affect a creature sixteen times as massive, and so on. Action to initiate.

Psychic Precision
You are trained in any mental revision or mental ability that comes from a cypher, an artifact, or your focus. For example, you are trained when using Mind Reading because it’s a mental ability, but not when using Plasma Arc. Enabler.

Accelerate (4+ Intellect Points)
You imbue a creature with vitality and energy, allowing it to act more quickly. One willing creature you choose within immediate range accelerates for one minute. The creature has an asset for initiative tasks and Speed defense rolls. Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty of this esotery, you can apply Effort to affect more targets, with each level of Effort affecting one additional target. You must touch additional targets to accelerate them. Action to initiate.

Disassemble (4 Intellect Points)
You cause an object to rapidly dismantle into ten pieces of equal weight. You must be able to see the object, the object must be your size or smaller, and the object cannot be worn or carried by another creature. The pieces gently fall to the ground around the place where the object stood. Action.

Fabricate Minion (4 Intellect Points)
You fashion a machinelike minion from raw materials around you. The minion can look like whatever you choose, though the materials you use to create it may limit its appearance. You may assemble the minion anywhere within immediate range. The minion is a level 3 creature of your size or smaller and accompanies you and follows your instructions. As a level 3 creature, it has a target number of 9 and a health of 9, and it inflicts 3 points of damage. The minion moves by walking. A minion remains in your service for one hour or until it is dead. Action to initiate.

Fire and Ice (4 Intellect Points)
You cause a target within short range to become either very hot or very cold (your choice). If affected, the target suffers 3 points of ambient damage (ignores Armor) each round for up to three rounds, although a new roll is required each round to affect the target. Action to initiate.

Fling (4 Intellect Points)
Choose a creature or object that is about your size or smaller and within short range. You violently launch it a short distance in any direction you choose. This is an Intellect attack that deals 4 points of damage. Action.

Implant Suggestion (4 Intellect Points)
You implant a suggestion in the mind of a creature within immediate range. Describe a course of activity to the creature and the conditions under which the creature will perform it. The course of activity must be within the creature’s capabilities, and the conditions under which it would perform the activity must be something that directly affects the creature or occurs in its immediate environment. Then make an Intellect attack against that creature. If you succeed, you implant the suggestion, and if the conditions occur within the next 28 hours, the creature does as you suggest. If you attempt to implant a suggestion that would jeopardize the creature’s life, livelihood, loved ones, or property, the difficulty of the task is increased by two steps. Action.

Mutation Enhancement (3 Intellect Points)
You touch a mutant (which may be yourself) and enhance her mutation, if applicable. For the next ten minutes, any time the mutant uses her power(s), she can choose one of the following enhancements: Action.
 * All difficulties involved are reduced by one step.
 * Range is increased by one category.
 * Damaged inflicted is increased by 2 points.

Invisibility (4 Intellect Points)
You become invisible for ten minutes. While invisible, you are specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. This effect ends if you do something to reveal your presence or position—attacking, performing an esotery, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on. If this occurs, you can regain the remaining invisibility effect by taking an action to focus on hiding your position. Action to initiate or reinitiate.

Mind Control (6+ Intellect Points)
You control the actions of another creature you touch. This effect lasts for ten minutes. The target must be level 2 or lower. Once you have established control, you maintain mental contact with the target and sense what it senses. You can allow it to act freely or override its control on a case-by-case basis. Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty, you can apply Effort to increase the maximum level of the target. Thus, to control the mind of a level 5 target (three levels above the normal limit), you must apply three levels of Effort. Smart nanos use the Scan esotery on a creature to learn its level before trying to control its mind. When the Mind Control esotery ends, the creature doesn’t remember being controlled or anything it did while under your command. Action to initiate.

Regeneration (6 Intellect Points)
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 esotery. Points are regenerated at a rate of 1 point each round. You must maintain contact with the target the whole time. In no case can this raise a Pool higher than its maximum. Action.

Slay (6 Intellect Points)
You gather disrupting energy in your fingertip and touch a creature. If the target is an NPC or a creature of level 3 or lower, it dies. If the target is a PC of any tier, he moves down one step on the damage track. Action.

Reshape (5 Intellect Points)
You reshape matter within short range in an area no larger than a 5-foot (.5 m) cube. If you spend only one action on this esotery, the changes you make are crude at best. If you spend at least ten minutes and succeed at an appropriate crafting task (with a difficulty at least one step higher than normal, due to the circumstances), you can make complex changes to the material. You can’t change the nature of the material, only its shape. Thus, you can make a hole in a wall or floor, or you can seal one up. You can fashion a rudimentary sword from a large piece of iron. You can break or repair a chain. With multiple uses of this esotery, you could bring about large changes, making a bridge, a wall, or a similar structure. Action.

Invisibility (4 Intellect Points)
You become invisible for ten minutes. While invisible, you are specialized in stealth and Speed defense tasks. This effect ends if you do something to reveal your presence or position—attacking, performing an esotery, using an ability, moving a large object, and so on. If this occurs, you can regain the remaining invisibility effect by taking an action to focus on hiding your position. Action to initiate or reinitiate.

Gate Exit (9 Intellect Points)
You create one end of a translation gate. The gate exit does not connect to anything unless you earlier created a different gate exit within another recursion, in which case that exit and the new one connect, creating a translation gate. Unconnected gate exits last for about a month or until destroyed. After two gate exits link up to form a translation gate, the gate lasts for about a year or until destroyed. (Like all objects, translation gates have levels that speak to their ability to withstand harm. The translation gate exit you create with this ability is level 5.) You can create a permanent translation gate by using this revision every day for seven days on either exit of a connected translation gate. One hour to initiate.

Rapid Processing (6 Intellect Points)
You or a target you touch experiences a higher level of mental and physical reaction time for about a minute. During that period, the target modifies all Speed tasks by one step to its benefit, including Speed defense rolls. In addition, the target can take one extra action at any time before the revision’s duration expires. Action.

Warp World (5 Intellect Points)
You tug on the fundamental laws of the recursion to create a zone of distraction and confusion around a creature you can see within long range for one minute. All attacks against the target are modified by one step to the attacker’s benefit, and all attacks made by the target are modified by one step to its detriment. If the target attempts an attack and fails, it automatically hits one of the target’s allies if an ally is in range of that attack.

Construction (4 Intellect Points)
You build a structure from nonliving materials drawn from your environment within long range. When the structure appears, it draws up rocks, dirt, scrap metal, and anything else around you to become what you wish it to become. You might create a bridge across a chasm or a shelter where you and your companions can rest. The structure can have any shape you choose and can be big enough to accommodate up to one hundred people. If you create a building, you may divide the interior into as many chambers as you like, though each chamber must have at least one opening. You may also mold the interiors to create rudimentary furniture, such as tables, chairs, and platforms. When you use Construction, it takes ten minutes for the structure to finish taking shape. A structure you create lasts for 28 hours and then collapses into rubble. Action to initiate.

Exile (5 Intellect Points)
You send a target that you touch hurtling into another random dimension or universe, where it remains for ten minutes. You have no idea what happens to the target while it’s gone, but at the end of ten minutes, it returns to the precise spot it left. Action.

Ignition (4 Intellect Points)
You cause a creature or flammable object you choose within short range to catch fire. You must be able to see the target to affect it. This is an Intellect attack. On a success, the target takes 6 points of damage (ambient damage) per round until the flames are extinguished, which a creature can do by dousing itself in water, rolling around on the ground, or smothering the flames. Usually, putting out the flames takes an action. Action to initiate.

Matter Cloud (5 Intellect Points)
Pebbles, dirt, sand, and debris rise into the air around you to form a swirling cloud. The cloud extends out to immediate range and moves with you. The cloud remains around you for one minute. When it ends, all the materials fall to the ground around you. The cloud makes it harder for other creatures to attack you. You have an asset on all Speed defense rolls until the effect ends. In addition, while the cloud is around you, you can use an action to whip the material so that it abrades everything within immediate range. Each creature and object in the area takes 1 point of damage. Action to initiate.

Open (4 Intellect Points)
You tear apart the defenses of a creature within long range. Any energy-based defenses (such as a force field or a Ward esotery) it has are negated for 1d6 + 1 rounds. If the creature has no energy defenses, its Armor is reduced by 2 for one minute. If it has no energy-based defenses or Armor, the difficulty of all attacks made against the creature is modified by one step to its detriment for one minute. Action.

Projection (4 Intellect Points)
You project an image of yourself to any location you have seen or previously visited. Distance does not matter as long as the location is on the same world as you. The projection copies your appearance, movements, and any sounds you make for the next ten minutes. Anyone present at the location can see and hear you as if you were there. However, you do not perceive through your projection. Action to initiate.

Wormhole (6 Intellect Points)
You create a doorway through time and space. The shortcut manifests as a hole in reality large enough to accommodate you and creatures of your size or smaller. One side of the doorway appears anywhere within immediate range, and the other side opens at a spot you choose anywhere within long range. Any character or object moving into one side exits from the other. The door remains open for one minute or until you use an action to close it. Action to initiate.

Absorb Energy (7 Intellect Points)
You touch an object and absorb its energy. If you touch a cypher, you render it useless. If you touch an artifact, roll on the artifact’s depletion. If you touch another kind of powered machine or device, the GM determines whether its power is fully drained. In any case, you absorb energy from the object touched and regain 1d10 Intellect points. If this would give you more Intellect than your Pool’s maximum, the extra points are lost, and you must make a Might defense roll. The difficulty of the roll is equal to the number of points over your maximum you absorbed. If you fail the roll, you take 5 points of damage and are unable to act for one round. You can use this esotery as a defense action when you’re the target of an incoming esotery. Doing so cancels the incoming esotery, and you absorb the energy as if it were a device. Action.

Dust to Dust (7 Intellect Points)
You disintegrate one nonliving object that is smaller than you and whose level is less than or equal to your tier. You must touch the object to affect it. If the GM feels it appropriate to the circumstances, you can disintegrate a portion of an object (the total volume of which is smaller than you) rather than the entire thing. Action.

Knowing the Unknown (6 Intellect Points)
Tapping into the datasphere, you can ask the GM one question and get a general answer. The GM assigns a level to the question, so the more obscure the answer, the more difficult the task. Generally, knowledge that you could find by looking somewhere other than your current location is level 1, and obscure knowledge of the past is level 7. Gaining knowledge of the future is impossible. Action.

Teleportation (6+ Intellect Points)
You instantaneously transmit yourself to any location that you have seen or been to, no matter the distance, as long as it is on Earth (or whatever world you’re currently on). Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty, you can apply Effort to bring other people with you, with each level of Effort affecting up to three additional targets. You must touch any additional targets. Action.

True Senses
You can see in complete darkness up to 50 feet (15 m) as if it were dim light. You recognize holograms, disguises, optical illusions, sound mimicry, and other such tricks (for all senses) for what they are. Enabler.

Draw From Fiction (7 Intellect Points)
You produce, as if from thin air, a level 5 creature of a kind you have previously encountered in a recursion that you have visited. The creature you name appears through a transitory inapposite gate and remains for one minute. The creature is drawn back to its home recursion when the revision ends. The creature acts as you direct. It appears through an inapposite gate, and at the GM’s discretion, it may face difficulties according to the rules of the location you draw it into, such as suffering a step penalty to some or all tasks it attempts. As a level 5 creature, it has a target number of 15 and a health of 15, and it inflicts 5 points of damage. Action.

Exile (7 Intellect Points)
You send another creature you can see within long range to the recursion of its origin or (if the creature is not native to a recursion) to one you’ve previously visited. The target must be level 5 or lower, and you must succeed on an attack. If successful, the creature is exiled through a transitory inapposite gate. If the creature resists, all its actions are modified by two steps to its detriment for one minute. Exiled creatures can’t return to the recursion you exiled them from under their own power for seven days (even if they have the ability to move between recursions or if they find a gate). Action.

Force Focus (6 Intellect Points + 2 Might Points)
You exchange your current focus for the focus you possessed in an alternate recursion (or connected prime) for up to one hour. Doing so is a transgression of reality and the rules of translation, which means that it saps both your Intellect Pool and your Might Pool. While you retain the forced focus, your appearance is a hybrid of your current appearance and what you look like in the recursion or prime whose focus you are borrowing. You can use your current focus while the forced focus is active. Action to initiate.

Boost Physicality (6 Intellect Points)
You touch another creature. That creature gains one of the following enhancements of its choice, which lasts for ten minutes: Action.
 * Training in all Might tasks and Speed tasks
 * +2 Edge in Might and Speed
 * 4 additional points of damage

Concussion (7 Intellect Points)
You cause a pulse of concussive force to explode out from a point you choose within long range. The pulse extends out in all directions, up to short range. Everything within the pulse’s area takes 5 points of damage. Even if you fail the attack roll, targets in the area take 1 point of damage. Action.

Create (7 Intellect Points)
You create something from nothing. You can create any item you choose that would ordinarily have a difficulty of 5 or less (see the Crafting Items table, page 107 of the corebook). Once created, the item lasts for a number of hours equal to 6 minus the difficulty to create the item. Thus, if you create a glowglobe (difficulty 5), it would last for one hour. Action.

Divide Your Mind (7 Intellect Points)
You split your consciousness into two parts. For one minute, you can take two actions on each of your turns, but only one of them can be to use an esotery. Action.

Fast Travel (7 Intellect Points)
You warp time and space so that you and up to ten other creatures within immediate distance travel overland at ten times the normal rate for up to eight hours. At this speed, most dangerous encounters or regions of rough terrain are ignored, though the GM may declare exceptions. Outright barriers still present a problem. Action to initiate.

Stimulate (6 Intellect Points)
Touch a target. The difficulty of the next action it takes is decreased by three steps. Action.

Ursurp Cypher
Choose one cypher that you carry. The cypher must have an effect that is not instantaneous. You destroy the cypher and gain its power, which functions for you continuously. You can choose a cypher when you gain this ability, or you can wait and make the choice later. However, once you usurp a cypher’s power, you cannot later switch to a different cypher — the esotery works only once. Action to initiate.

Traverse the Worlds (8+ Intellect Points)
You instantaneously transmit yourself to another planet, dimension, plane, or level of reality. You must know that the destination exists; the GM will decide if you have enough information to confirm its existence and what the level of difficulty might be to reach the destination. Instead of applying Effort to decrease the difficulty, you can apply Effort to bring other people with you, with each level of Effort affecting up to three additional targets. You must touch any additional targets. Action.

Move Mountains (9 Intellect Points)
You exert a tremendous amount of physical force within 250 feet (76 m) of you. You can push up to 10 tons (9.1 t) of material up to 50 feet (15 m). This force can collapse buildings, redirect small rivers, or perform other dramatic effects. Action.

Control Weather (10 Intellect Points)
You change the weather in your general region. If performed indoors, this esotery creates only minor weather effects, such as mist, mild temperature changes, and so on. If performed outside, you can create rain, fog, snow, wind, or any other kind of normal (not overly severe) weather. The change lasts for a natural length of time, so a storm might last for an hour, fog for two or three hours, and snow for a few hours (or for ten minutes if it’s out of season). For the first ten minutes after activating this esotery, you can create more dramatic and specific effects, such as lightning strikes, giant hailstones, twisters, hurricane force winds, and so on. These effects must occur within 1,000 feet (305 m) of your location. You must spend your turn concentrating to create an effect or to maintain it in a new round. These effects inflict 6 points of damage each round. Action.

Drag Through Hell (9 Intellect Points)
You send a creature within immediate range that you can see into one of a number of recursions filled with brimstone, hellfire, and demons. On a successful attack on a target of up to level 7, the target is pulled through a transitory inapposite gate and takes 6 points of damage as it is dragged through the hellish recursion behind some unspeakable monstrosity. If you concentrate, you can attempt to keep the target translocated with a new action and a new attack roll each round. Each round the target remains translocated, it suffers another 6 points of damage. If the target returns before dying (or if the initial attack wasn’t successful at pulling the target into a hellish recursion), all tasks the target attempts on its next turn are modified by two steps to its detriment. Action.

Index Recursion (7 Intellect Points)
You feel a mental tug toward the nearest recursion gate that you don’t already know about. You discern the location of and distance to that gate (translation or inapposite), and you learn enough information regarding the general nature and theme of the recursion it connects with to enter it directly using Translation. Action.

Force Unification (13 Intellect Points)
You briefly align the fundamental forces of existence, creating a point where they merge into a single interaction at a location you can see. This allows you to briefly rewrite one rule of the recursion where you are currently located. The effect can be dramatic, but it is always local and lasts anywhere from one round to a minute, depending on the nature of the change. Possibilities include changing the color of the sky, causing an eclipse, halving (or doubling) gravity, changing the speed of light, and similar effects. The GM will decide if your brief annotation of the laws of existence is reasonable, how long it will last, and what level of difficulty is needed to achieve it. Action.

Earthquake (10 Intellect Points)
You trigger an earthquake centered on a spot you can see within 1,000 feet (305 m). The ground within 250 feet (76 m) of that spot heaves and shakes for five minutes, causing widespread damage to structures and terrain in the area. Buildings made of wood, stone, or brick collapse, walls topple, cliffs crumble, ceilings cave in, some areas of ground rise up, and other areas sink. Characters inside collapsed buildings or beneath a crumbling cliff or falling wall are subject to a crush or a huge crush and may have to dig themselves free, as the GM decides. A crush inflicts 3 points of damage, and a huge crush deals 6 points. Furthermore, the force of the quake is sufficient to knock creatures to the ground and prevent them from standing until the shaking stops. Action to initiate.

Freeze Time (9 Intellect Points)
You cause time to stop flowing everywhere within immediate range for one minute. The effect immediately ends if you leave the area or if you use an action to end it early. The freezing affects everything in the area except you. Affected creatures are frozen in the moment when you used this esotery, and when the effect ends, they resume what they were doing as if no time had passed. Affected creatures and objects are impervious to all damage and cannot be moved or manipulated. You and everything outside the area act normally. Action to initiate.

Relocate (7 Intellect Points)
Choose one creature or object within immediate range. You instantly transport it to a new position within long range that you can see. The new position can be any direction from you, but it cannot be inside a solid object. If you succeed on your roll, the target disappears and reappears in its new position. Action.