Overview

Nanos are sometimes called mages, wizards, sorcerers, or witches by the people of the Ninth World. Nano-sorcerer is also a common term, with their abilities referred to as nanosorcery. Some claim to be the representatives of gods or other supernatural agencies. Whatever they’re called, Nanos master the mysteries of the past to the degree that they seem to perform miracles. They tap into the numenera to alter reality or learn things that they couldn’t otherwise know. The term “Nano” is derived from the nanotechnology that is omnipresent throughout the Ninth World (whether anyone realizes it or not). Sometimes people call these invisible, numinous particles that infuse the landscape nano-spirits. Sometimes these spirits take on a devastating manifestation called the iron wind and move through the air in clouds, which can be far more dangerous than any conventional storm. In truth, nanites are literally everywhere.
Nanos wield their power in the form of what they call esoteries, although some prefer to call them spells, enchantments, or charms. Nanos are proficient with other devices as well, and sometimes their powers are actually the subtle use of such items hidden upon their person. All Nanos call forth their power in slightly different ways. Typically, Nanos are intelligent, learned, and insightful. Most of the time, they devote themselves to the numenera and other esoterica rather than to purely physical pursuits. As a result, they’re often well versed in the artifacts and leftovers of the previous worlds.

Nanos in Society

Frequently, common folks fear Nanos or look upon them with suspicion. It’s easy to be afraid of a brute with an axe, but when it comes to someone who wields invisible powers—magic, for lack of a better term—too much is unknown. A Nano’s strange abilities are unsettling even to the bravest souls unless they have a modicum of knowledge about the numenera. That said, not everyone is frightened of or intimidated by Nanos. There are other people and creatures that have capabilities far beyond the understanding of normal folks—things that even Nanos might not understand. Things that even Nanos might fear.
Like the wizards of fables, some Nanos dwell in solitude to study and conduct odd experiments, while others gather in schools and teach those with potential to use their abilities. They enjoy time in the company of people with similar predilections and interests. Not every Nano is a frail bookworm, however—that’s just the stereotype placed upon them by society. Sometimes, people view Nanos as representatives of the powers that be: gods, demons, or spirits. That’s not too surprising considering that they affect the world around them in ways that most people can’t fathom. What’s more surprising is that some Nanos believe this to be true as well. They call themselves priests or shamans and treat their esoteries more like rituals, prayers, or invocations. When these Nanos gather, they do so in temples, but just as often one of them lives alone amid a flock of the faithful. Some of these loner Nanos don’t call themselves priests; they call themselves gods.

Nanos in the Group

Typically, a Nano is the party member who keeps to the back of the group, as far from the danger as possible. Compared to their comrades, Nanos are often a bit fragile and less well protected against threats. In addition, most of their abilities work best at range.
As useful and impressive as Nanos’ offensive powers can be, their knowledge is often most valuable to a group. When the party comes upon mysterious devices, weird creatures, or other aspects of the numenera, the Nano is usually the one who knows how to identify or deal with the finds. They can scavenge for new cyphers or figure out how to use artifacts from the past. Many Nanos possess other valuable knowledge in areas such as geography, botany, medicine, and more.

Nanos and the Numenera

All Nanos know a fair bit about the numenera. In many ways, it’s their lifeblood. When a group finds a broken vehicle, an inactive automaton, or an ancient machine, the Nano steps up and searches it for useful devices.
Almost any numenera item would be welcome, but generally, Nanos are most interested in ranged weapons, protective devices other than armor, and devices that have interesting utility effects—using magnetism, creating force fields, healing wounds, reshaping flesh, creating or destroying matter, and so on. This is true of cyphers as well as artifacts.

Advanced Nanos

As Nanos gain more experience, they typically learn new and more powerful esoteries. They begin their careers by making personal shields and blasting foes with energy, but eventually, they can fly through the air, disintegrate matter, teleport vast distances, and control the weather.

Nano Tiers

FIRST-TIER NANO

First-tier Nanos have the following abilities:
Effort: Your Effort is 1.
Genius: You have an Intellect Edge of 1, a Might Edge of 0, and a Speed Edge of 0.
Expert Cypher Use: You can bear three cyphers at a time.
Weapons: You can use light weapons without penalty. You have an inability with medium weapons and heavy weapons; your attacks with medium and heavy weapons are hindered.
Skills: You are trained in understanding numenera.
Starting Equipment: You start with clothing, one weapon, a book about the numenera, three cyphers (chosen for you by the GM), one oddity (chosen for you by the GM), and 4 shins (coins). Before selecting your weapons, armor, and other gear, you might want to wait until after you’ve chosen your esoteries, descriptor, and focus.
Default Starting Cyphers and Oddity: Your GM may provide you with starting cyphers and an oddity. Otherwise, you begin with the following.

• Cyphers: gravity-nullifying spray, telepathy implant, teleporter
• Oddity: Metallic jar that maintains the temperature of liquid inside indefinitely

Esoteries: You can tap into the numenera to reshape the world around you. Similar in appearance to the way a fabled wizard might seem to cast spells, these expressions of your knowledge are called esoteries. People who are not Nanos sometimes call them spells or charms. 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. Choose two of the esoteries described below. You can’t choose the same esotery more than once unless its description says otherwise.

• 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 their physical form or their 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 your mindslice. Action.
• Push (2 Intellect points): 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 points): You scan an area equal in size to a 10-foot (3 m) 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.

SECOND-TIER NANO

Second-tier Nanos have the following abilities:
Esoteries: Choose one of the following esoteries (or an esotery from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your first-tier esoteries with a different first-tier esotery.

• 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; 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.

THIRD-TIER NANO

Third-tier Nanos have the following abilities:
Adept Cypher Use: You can bear four cyphers at a time.
**Esoteries: Choose one of the following esoteries (or an esotery from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier esoteries with a different esotery from the same lower tier.

• 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.
• Countermeasures (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 extradimensional energy, you can’t protect against it. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to protect more targets; each level of Effort used in this way affects 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.

FOURTH-TIER NANO

Fourth-tier Nanos have the following abilities:
Esoteries: Choose one of the following esoteries (or an esotery from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier esoteries with a different esotery from the same lower tier.

• 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 one minute. 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. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to increase the maximum level of the target or increase the duration by one minute. Thus, to control the mind of a level 5 target (three levels above the normal limit) or control a target for four minutes (three levels above the normal duration), 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.
• Reshape (5 Intellect points): You reshape matter within short range in an area no larger than a 5-foot (1.5 m) cube. If you use 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 (which is hindered, 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.
• 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, they move down one step on the damage track. Action.

FIFTH-TIER NANO

Fifth-tier Nanos have the following abilities:
Master Cypher Use: You can bear five cyphers at a time.
Esoteries: Choose one of the following esoteries (or an esotery from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier esoteries with a different esotery from the same lower tier.

• Mastery in Armor: The cost reduction from your Trained in Armor ability improves. You now reduce the Speed Effort cost for wearing armor by an additional 1. Enabler.
• 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 for 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 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). In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to bring other people with you; each level of Effort used in this way affects 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.

SIXTH-TIER NANO

Sixth-tier Nanos have the following abilities:
Esoteries: Choose one of the following esoteries (or an esotery from a lower tier) to add to your repertoire. In addition, you can replace one of your lower-tier esoteries with a different esotery from the same lower tier.

• 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 (300 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.
• Move Mountains (9 Intellect points): You exert a tremendous amount of physical force within 250 feet (75 m) of you. You can push up to 10 tons (9 t) of material up to 50 feet (15 m). This force can collapse buildings, redirect small rivers, or perform other dramatic effects. Action.
• 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 the level of difficulty to reach the destination. In addition to the normal options for using Effort, you can choose to use Effort to bring other people with you; each level of Effort used in this way affects up to three additional targets. You must touch any additional targets. Action.
• Usurp 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.

NANO BACKGROUND

Nanos can do things that seem like magic to other people, but their powers aren’t based on charms or spellcasting—the explanation is likely far stranger. Choose one of the three options described below as the source of your abilities. It will provide the foundation of your background and give you an idea of how you can improve. The GM can use this information to develop adventures and quests that are specific to your character and play a role in your advancement.

NANO CONNECTION

Roll a d20 or choose from the following list to determine a specific fact about your background that provides a connection to the rest of the world. You can also create your own fact.

NANO PLAYER INTRUSIONS

When playing a Nano, you can spend 1 XP to use one of the following player intrusions, provided the situation is appropriate and the GM agrees.
Advantageous Malfunction: A numenera device that is being used against you malfunctions. It might harm the user or one of their allies for a round, or activate a dramatic and distracting side effect for a few rounds.
Convenient Glimmer: A glimmer provides you with a clear answer or suggests a course of action with regard to an urgent question, problem, or obstacle you’re facing.
Inexplicably Unbroken: An inactive, ruined, or presumed-destroyed device temporarily activates and performs a useful function relevant to the situation. This is enough to buy you some time for a better solution, alleviate a complication that was interfering with your abilities, or just get you one more use out of a depleted cypher or artifact.

NANO EXAMPLE

Shanna wants to create a Nano. She decides to be somewhat well rounded, so she puts 2 of her additional points into each stat Pool, giving her a Might Pool of 9, a Speed Pool of 11, and an Intellect Pool of 14. Her Nano is smart and quick. She has an Intellect Edge of 1, a Might Edge of 0, and a Speed Edge of 0. As a first-tier character, her Effort is 1. She is trained in understanding numenera. As her initial esoteries, she chooses Onslaught and Ward, giving her a strong offense and defense. She can bear three cyphers. The GM gives her a handheld, short-range teleporter, a device that explodes like a fiery bomb, and goggles that let her mentally record everything she sees for one minute. For her weapon, Shanna chooses a knife, which is a light weapon.
For her descriptor, Shanna chooses Graceful, which adds 2 points to her Speed Pool, bringing it to 13. That descriptor means she is trained in balancing and anything requiring careful movements, physical performing arts, and Speed defense tasks. Perhaps she is a dancer. In fact, she begins to develop a backstory that involves graceful, lithe movements that she incorporates into her esotery performance.
For her focus, she chooses Rides the Lightning. This gives her Shock, another offensive power, which she plans on using with the knife if she ever gets into hand-to-hand combat (though she’ll try to avoid that). She also gains Charge, which will come in handy when she finds more numenera artifacts in her explorations. Her esoteries and focus abilities cost Intellect points to activate, so she’s glad to have a lot of points in her Intellect Pool. In addition, her Intellect Edge will help reduce those costs. If she uses her Onslaught force blast without applying Effort, it costs her 0 Intellect points and deals 4 points of damage. Likewise, using her Shock ability without applying Effort costs 0 Intellect points. Her Intellect Edge will allow her to save points to devote toward applying Effort for other purposes, perhaps to boost the accuracy of her Onslaught or Shock abilities.

NANO: NEW ESOTERIES

Nanos can add these new esoteries into the mix when selecting their esoteries for each tier.

FIRST-TIER NANO

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.

SECOND-TIER NANO

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 nanos 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 margr, 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.

THIRD-TIER NANO

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:

• All difficulties involved are reduced by one step.
• Range is increased by one category.
• Damaged inflicted is increased by 2 points.

Action.

FOUTH-TIER NANO

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.

FIFTH-TIER NANO

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:

• Training in all Might tasks and Speed tasks
• +2 Edge in Might and Speed
• 4 additional points of damage

Action.
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). 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.

SIXTH-TIER NANO

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.