This is a Hexslinger hex.
Trait: Cognition
Hand: Pair
Duration:1 round
Range: Self
Despite what some people think, what you don't know can
definitely hurt you. With Duck N' Dodge, a hexslinger gains
a little insight towards the dangers headed their way in the future,
and can then do something about it.
Once successfully cast, Duck N' Dodge allows a hexslinger to draw an extra action card, which can be used to dodge an attack. This card may not be used for any other purpose besides avoiding attacks, and cannot be sleeved. Every two hands above the minimum nets the hexslinger an extra dodge card. Once the hex's duration ends, all extra cards are lost.
Trait: Smarts
Hand: Pair
Speed: 1
Duration: 1 round/Hex level
Range:10 yards/hex level
This hex creates an inky black circle in the caster's hand, that when placed on a surface, creates a hole right through it! The "hole" can be any size upto 2 feet across and 2 feet deep, plus an extra foot across and 2 feet deep for every hand above the minimum.
Only one opening is created, so this spell won't make a hole through something, only into it. Also, the opening created is opaque and soundproof. You can't see into or out of it, or hear sounds on one side from the other. Finally, anything in the hole when it's duration ends is automatically ejected from it.
Anchor
Trait: Knowledge
Hand: 2 Pair
Speed: 2 days
Duration: Varies
Range: Touch
What's a huckster to do when he needs a magical doodad, but can't
make make a Talisman, and an Ace in the Hole doesn't have enough
kick? He busts out with an Anchor, that's what he does! (dagnabit!)
The hex Anchor allows a huckster to give an everyday object arcane
powers, anchoring the power of a hex into it. The process isn't
easy, though, and things can go wrong...
Anchoring a hex to an object is a two step process. The first step of the process imbues the item used with power from the Hunting Grounds. This takes two days, during which the huckster plays a magical game of solitaire, just like the hex Talisman. Once the game has been played out, the huckster makes his aptitude test for Anchor, but if he succeeds, the marshal, not the player, draws the cards. If the resulting hand meets the minimum, note the hand, and proceed to step two.
Right now, you're asking yourself, "Why does the marshall draw the cards?" The answer is, "To hide jokers from the huckster!" If a joker pops up in the draw, something went wrong during the casting, and the the anchor has a taint. The taint is left up to the marshall, but don't tell the huckster anything. (surprises are fun...)
Once the first step is completed, the second step is relatively easy. The huckster simply chooses a hex to bond to the item, and casts it like normal. If he succeeds, the item absorbs the power of the hex. Note this hand too. (trust me, they're important.)
Making an anchor is a long and tiring process, but the results are worth it. Simply by making a Fair (5) spirit roll, anyone holding the object can cast the hex stored within it. Don't draw any cards; use the hand the huckster got when casting the hex. There are two catches though. One, the person holding the object has to realize what they've got. A hard (9) occult roll does the job, and hucksters can tell automatically. Two, the hand that powers the hex cannot be higher than the hand the huckster got for Anchor. If it is, drop it down.
Draw a card each time the anchor is used, and every 24 hours after the anchor is made. If the card is red, nothing happens. If the card is black, though, drop the hand that powers the anchor by one. Once the hand drops below the mimimum for the hex, the anchor's powers end. Jokers, as usual, do weird things. The red one increases the power of the hex, for that casting, to a royal flush. The black one destroys the object, and the person using it takes backlash.
Stackin' the
Deck
Trait: Smarts
Hand: Two Pair
Speed: 10 Minutes
Duration: 1 day/hex level or special
"Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat."--
Jakob McCoy, Huckster
Evil has a funny way of breaking the rules. Just when you
think you've got it beat, it uses some sneaky underhanded trick
(like biting your head off in the dark) to pull ahead. With this
hex, a wily huckster can bend the rules to his favor. When Stackin'
the Deck is successfully cast it gives a huckster "cheat
cards" which he can add to any hex he casts. The huckster
gets to pull one card out of a complete 54-card deck, plus an
additional cards for every two hands above the minimum. Note the
cards the huckster pulls. Whenever the huckster casts a hex, he
may choose to add one of his "cheat cards" to his hand.
Obviously, with the right cards this can give any hex a shot in
the arm. However, there are a couple of catches. First, a huckster
can't cast Stackin' while he has cheat cards left. Second,
drawing the black joker for a cheat card causes the hex to automatically
fail. Red jokers are wild cards.
Life is tough in the Weird West, especially for a Huckster.
With everyone and their uncle looking for Huckster blood, these
folks can really use all the help they can get. Some hucksters
get this help from a very unlikely source; the very manitou they
steal their power from!
For some reason unknown to the huckster, there is a particular
manitou that follows him around constantly. This spirit is ever
ready to play a hand of poker, and will cut the huckster some
slack for the privilege.
Why? Who the hell knows? They are insane after all...
Anyway, the manitou's help boils down to this: a huckster with
a 3 pt dark ally doesn't suffer backlash if they draw the red
joker, regardless of his skill in the hex he's casting; treat
it like a wild card.
For 5 pts, the manitou really likes the huckster. It provides
the backlash protection of a 3 pt dark ally, and more. By spending
chips before drawing, a huckster can improve his odds of a good
hand. Spending any color chip nets the huckster an extra card
with which to build his hand. Only one chip may be spent per hex.
As great as a dark ally seems, having a manitou constantly hovering about you is not without it's cost. People can sense the manitou's evil presence hanging over the huckster and avoid him. Treat the huckster as though he has the harrowed hindrance Aura O' Death at level 2 for the 3 pt ally and level 4 for the 5 pointer.
Since the introduction of Hexslinger hexes to the Weird West,
normal hexes have become kind of outdated. Hexslinger hexes can
do everything a normal hex can, but without the annoyance of cards
appearing in your hands! A number of hucksters have realized this,
and have begun converting normal hexes into Hexslinger hexes.
To get this Edge, your huckster needs to know at least one hexslinger
hex. Each time you purchase this edge, choose a hex your huckster
knows. That hex is now a hexslinger hex, and cards don't appear
in her hands when she casts it.
Converting a hex into a hexslinger hex during the course of a
campaign is fairly simple. The spellcaster spends two bounty (instead
of the five for a new hex), spends two weeks working on it, then
makes a trial run. The TN for this run (if you use the fast method)
is 5 instead of 7.
Got any comments, suggestions, ideas? Send em' to me at Smilingbandit2@yahoo.com!
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