Kinetic Modifier
The Kinetic Modifier
Applies to: Humans using any Harmonic Tradition
Lore
Humans don't have a Tradition. They have a problem.
Every other lineage's relationship with the Axioms is a product of long cultural and biological development. Elves had centuries to refine Temporal Harmonics. Dwarves spent millennia in contact with the material layer. The Halfling probability field is subconscious enough to be nearly involuntary. Gnomes built hardware to carry the load their nervous systems couldn't sustain alone.
Humans arrived at Harmonics in decades, not centuries. The result is an approach to the Axioms characterized by the same property that defines Human culture generally: high burn rate, high output, high failure risk.
When a Human channels a Harmonic Tradition, they are not resonating with the Axioms; they are briefly overriding them. The Spark is not a clean signal; it is a surge. This produces spectacular results when it works and spectacular failures when it doesn't.
Mechanics
When a Human character uses a Harmonic Tradition, the following modifier applies to every roll:
The Kinetic Die: Add +1D to the dice pool. This die is the Kinetic Die; it is rolled separately from the rest of the pool and follows Wild Die rules (6 = Explosion: reroll the Kinetic Die and add the result; 1 = Implosion: remove one success AND trigger a Kinetic Effect). The standard Wild Die in the pool remains active and functions normally alongside the Kinetic Die.
The Kinetic Die represents raw Axiomatic burn: the Human draws more power than their Tradition normally produces, but the additional energy is volatile and uncontrolled at the edges.
On Kinetic Explosion (Kinetic Die shows 6): The additional power produces an enhanced result. In addition to the reroll, the GM applies one of the following (GM's choice based on Tradition and situation):
- The effect's duration extends by one step
- The effect's range extends by one Band
- A secondary consequence of the Tradition occurs without being targeted (an Archive read picks up unexpected additional history; a Nudge creates a secondary coincidence nearby; a Song-Smithing produces an unrequested bonus property)
- Damage or healing effects gain +1D
On Kinetic Implosion (Kinetic Die shows 1): The surge misfires. Remove one success from the total, and apply a Kinetic Effect immediately, regardless of whether the roll succeeds or fails:
| Tradition Used | Kinetic Effect on Implosion |
|---|---|
| Temporal Harmonics | The practitioner ages visibly by one subjective day, not harmful, but distinctly noticeable to observers; Hair and nails grow, a bruise from hours ago reappears |
| Tectonic Harmonics | A nearby surface cracks, cosmetic but audible; a window hairlines, a floor tile fractures, a pipe pings |
| Technomancy | The practitioner's own electronics immediately reboot and take 1 round to become functional |
| Marginal Harmonics | The probability surge is audible to any Marginal Harmonics practitioner within Far range, they know someone just burned a Nudge nearby |
Double Implosion (both Wild Die and Kinetic Die show 1): If both implode in the same roll, Backlash triggers immediately regardless of Friction state, at Moderate severity. This represents a complete harmonic failure, the Spark consumed more of the Axiom layer than the practitioner could safely channel.
Design Notes
The Kinetic Modifier creates Human Harmonic characters who are:
- More powerful in peak moments (the +1D and Explosion outcomes)
- More volatile (two dice that can implode per roll instead of one)
- More physically expressive in their failures (Kinetic Effects that manifest in the world rather than as dice penalties)
Humans who access Harmonics are not inferior practitioners; they have access to the same Tradition depth as any other lineage. They are differently dangerous. A Human Plane-Runner can push deeper into a network than most Gnomes would attempt. A Human Song-Smith can produce a Tectonic effect that would take a Dwarf three rolls to achieve. The cost is that they are burning through Axiomatic energy like a short circuit rather than a calibrated current.
The Stim-Pack (Kinetic Focus)
A chemical/Harmonic hybrid injector. The chemical component is a proprietary NVS formulation that temporarily increases metabolic processing rate. The Harmonic component inscribes a brief Temporal buffer around the practitioner's central nervous system, not enough to grant Elven longevity, but enough to prevent the neural damage that an unprotected Kinetic surge would cause.
Mechanical Effect: Grants +2D to any single Harmonic Tradition roll and may be used once per roll as a Free Action before rolling. However, the Kinetic Die is still active, the Stim-Pack increases power but does not reduce volatility. Additionally, while the Stim-Pack's effect is active (the scene), the practitioner's Adrenaline Surge Lineage Perk (if applicable) may be used as a Minor Action rather than a Primary Action.
Availability: Commercially available from NVS-affiliated suppliers. Widely used in Human Rapid-Response Merc units. The medical community has serious concerns about long-term neural integrity for regular users. The NVS's official position is that this is a matter of personal choice.