Aspect Codex
Volatile Manipulation
Volatile Manipulation is an imported aspect from the Jericha Aspect Data sheet. Its full lore and named powers can be expanded here as the canon text is added.
What This Aspect Does
Volatile Manipulation defines a character's supernatural focus, training profile, resource model, and power family. This page is structured so each separate power can become its own linked entry instead of being buried inside a character sheet.
Power Links
Volatile Spark
Ignite a small unstable reaction in one creature, object, or surface within range. Make a ranged power attack. On a hit, the target takes 1d8 fire, acid, thunder, or force damage, and an unattended Tiny flammable or fragile object may pop, crack, smoke, or burst.
Unstable Ground
Make a 5-ft. square of ground, dust, gravel, grease, loose stone, ash, or spilled liquid unstable. The area becomes difficult terrain. The first creature that enters or starts there must make a DEX save or fall prone, ending the instability.
Grease
Slick volatile grease covers a 10-ft. square centered within range, creating difficult terrain. When the grease appears and when a creature enters for the first time on a turn, it must make a DEX save or fall prone. The grease may ignite if exposed to flame, ending the effect and dealing 2d6 fire damage in the square.
Pressure Pop
Build pressure inside one object, container, weapon, armor seam, shield, bottle, barrel, or creature’s space within range. The target must make a CON save, taking 2d6 thunder damage and being pushed 5 ft. on a failed save, or half damage only on a success.
Combustible Mark
Mark one creature, object, or 5-ft. square within range as volatile. The first time before the duration ends that the target takes fire, acid, lightning, thunder, or force damage, it takes extra damage equal to your CHA modifier and sheds sparks, fumes, or shrapnel.
Safety Vent
When you or a creature within range takes fire, acid, lightning, thunder, force, or explosion damage, vent the worst of the reaction. Reduce the damage by 1d8 + your CHA modifier. If the target is standing in volatile terrain, it may move 5 ft. without provoking opportunity attacks.
Shrapnel Burst
Detonate debris, grit, glass, bone chips, metal filings, or unstable air in a 10-ft. radius sphere centered within range. Creatures in the area must make a DEX save, taking 3d8 piercing or slashing damage on a failed save, or half on a success.
Flash Fume
Create a sudden flare, smoke puff, sour vapor, or choking fume in a 10-ft. radius sphere within range. The area is lightly obscured. Creatures of your choice in the area must make a CON save or be blinded, coughing, or unable to take reactions until the start of your next turn.
Volatile Object
Touch one Tiny or Small unattended object and make it volatile. The next creature other than you that moves it, strikes it, opens it, or triggers it must make a DEX save, taking 3d8 fire, acid, thunder, or piercing damage on a failed save, or half on a success.
Chain Reaction
When a creature or object within range takes fire, acid, lightning, thunder, force, or explosion damage, jump the reaction to one different target within 10 ft. of it. The second target must make a DEX save, taking 2d8 damage of the triggering type on a failed save, or half on a success.
Concussive Burst
Release a concussive blast from yourself. Creatures of your choice in the emanation must make a STR save, taking 4d8 thunder or force damage and being pushed 10 ft. and knocked prone on a failed save, or half damage only on a success.
Delayed Pop
Place a delayed volatile charge on a surface, object, door, container, weapon, or 5-ft. square within range. Choose a simple trigger such as touch, opening, impact, command word, or time delay. When triggered, creatures within 10 ft. make a DEX save, taking 4d8 chosen volatile damage on a failed save, or half on a success.
Unstable Armor
Volatile force crawls across your skin and gear. For the duration, you gain temporary hit points equal to 3d8 + your CHA modifier. While any remain, a creature that hits you with a melee attack takes thunder, acid, or fire damage equal to your CHA modifier.
Volatile Leap
Ride a controlled detonation. You jump up to 30 ft. without provoking opportunity attacks. Creatures within 5 ft. of your starting point must make a DEX save or take 2d8 thunder or fire damage. You take no damage from your own launch.
Detonation Field
Make a 20-ft. radius area within range volatile. The area is difficult terrain. The first time each turn a creature in the area takes damage, moves more than 10 ft., falls prone, or hits a surface, it must make a DEX save, taking 4d8 fire, thunder, or force damage on a failed save.
Acidic Pressure
One creature or object within range begins bubbling with corrosive pressure. The target must make a CON save, taking 5d8 acid damage and losing resistance to acid, fire, or thunder damage until your next turn on a failed save, or half damage only on a success. A failed target repeats the save at the end of each turn.
Controlled Blast
When an explosion, blast, trap, unstable object, fire, acid splash, thunder burst, or volatile power occurs within range, reshape the blast. Choose up to three 5-ft. squares in its area to spare, or add one 5-ft. square adjacent to its area. You may also reduce one target’s damage by 4d8 + your CHA modifier.
Volatile Ammunition
Touch up to three pieces of ammunition, thrown weapons, pebbles, vials, or small devices. For the duration, each becomes volatile. On a hit, it deals its normal damage plus 2d8 fire, acid, thunder, or force damage and splashes one target within 5 ft. for damage equal to your CHA modifier.
Volatility Surge
Your Volatile Manipulation powers ignore resistance to damage from mundane armor, cover, fragile surfaces, common fuels, and ordinary shielding if the target has taken fire, acid, lightning, thunder, or force damage since the start of your last turn.
Volatile Wave
Release a cone of fire, acid foam, thunder pressure, and unstable force. Creatures in the cone must make a DEX save, taking 6d10 fire, acid, thunder, or force damage on a failed save, or half on a success. Objects and terrain in the cone become smoky, slick, cracked, or unstable.
Reaction Cascade
When your volatile damage reduces a creature or object to 0 hit points, breaks an object, triggers a trap, or detonates a marked target, cause a secondary cascade. Creatures within 10 ft. of the target must make a DEX save, taking 5d8 damage of the triggering type on a failed save, or half on a success.
Stabilize the Unstable
Suppress one mundane fire, chemical reaction, unstable machine, explosive, rupturing pressure vessel, collapsing volatile terrain, or hazardous spill you touch. Magical or supernatural volatility requires a CHA check against the effect DC. On success, the reaction becomes inert for 1 hour or safely vents.
Volatile Manipulation Dominion
You can sense volatile substances, pressure buildup, flammable vapors, unstable magic, explosive traps, fragile containers, and reaction chains within 120 ft. Your volatile powers do not accidentally harm unattended mundane gear you are wearing or carrying unless you choose.
Blast Sculptor
When you create or witness an explosion, volatile burst, breath weapon, trap blast, fireball-like effect, or area damage within range, choose up to CHA modifier creatures to automatically succeed on the save and take no damage if they would normally take half on a success.
Pressurized Prison
Trap one Large or smaller creature in a bubble of rising pressure. The target must make a CON save or be restrained. While restrained, it takes 3d10 thunder or force damage at the start of each of its turns and repeats the save at the end of each turn. If it escapes, the bubble bursts harmlessly outward.
Explosive Transference
Move volatility from one target to another. Choose one creature, object, hazard, flame, spill, unstable device, or volatile area within range, then a second target within 30 ft. of it. Move one active volatile mark, hazard, ignition, pressure, or instability from the first target to the second if the new target can physically hold it.
Chain Detonation
Choose up to five volatile marks, objects, hazards, traps, fragile objects, or creatures damaged by your volatile powers within range. Each detonates or ruptures. Creatures within 10 ft. of each chosen target must make a DEX save, taking 7d8 fire, acid, thunder, or force damage on a failed save, or half on a success. A creature can be damaged only once by this use.
Volatile Body
Your body becomes a controlled reaction. For the duration, you resist fire, acid, thunder, and force damage; your movement does not trigger volatile hazards unless you choose; and once per turn when a creature hits you with a melee attack, it takes 3d8 fire, acid, thunder, or force damage.
Rupture Structure
Destabilize one object, wall section, vehicle, bridge, machine, barricade, gate, or 20-ft. cube of structure within range. The target takes 10d10 thunder or force damage. Creatures within 10 ft. of it must make a DEX save or take 5d10 damage from collapse, shrapnel, or shock.
Volatile Sanctuary
Stabilize or weaponize an area up to 100 ft. across. Chosen creatures can move through volatile terrain safely. Hostile creatures treat chosen surfaces as difficult terrain and trigger harmless warning pops when crossing hidden boundaries, granting advantage on Perception checks to notice them.
Catastrophic Mixture
Create a brutal volatile reaction in a 30-ft. radius sphere within range. Creatures in the area must make a DEX save, taking 10d10 fire, acid, thunder, or force damage and being knocked prone on a failed save, or half damage only on a success. The area becomes unstable difficult terrain for 1 minute.
Volatile Immunity
You have resistance to fire, acid, thunder, and force damage from explosions, volatile reactions, collapsing pressure, and your own Volatile Manipulation powers. You automatically succeed on saves against volatile hazards of Tier 4 or lower.
Delayed Cataclysm
Prepare a powerful delayed reaction in a structure, battlefield, vehicle, machine, vault, road, or object no larger than a 60-ft. cube. Choose a trigger. When triggered, creatures in the area must make a DEX save, taking 8d10 fire, acid, thunder, or force damage on a failed save, or half on a success. The effect is obvious to careful inspection unless hidden with an appropriate check.
Nullify Reaction
When an explosion, spell-like blast, trap detonation, unstable machine failure, firestorm, acid rupture, or chain reaction occurs within range, attempt to collapse it safely. Make a CHA check against the effect DC. On success, cancel the explosion or reduce its damage by 8d10 + your CHA modifier and remove one rider such as prone, push, fire, fumes, or shrapnel.
Sovereign Volatility
Your Volatile Manipulation powers ignore resistance to fire, acid, thunder, or force damage from mundane armor, cover, and nonmagical shielding. Effects below Tier 9 cannot accidentally trigger your volatile marks, traps, or delayed reactions unless you choose.
Chain Reaction Cataclysm
Everything unstable answers at once. Creatures of your choice in the emanation must make a DEX save, taking 16d10 fire, acid, thunder, or force damage and being knocked prone and pushed 20 ft. on a failed save, or half damage only on a success. Volatile terrain and marked objects in the area detonate harmlessly or destructively as you choose.
Pressure Collapse
Choose one creature, object, machine, or structure section within range and turn it into a pressure fault. The target must make a CON save, taking 10d10 thunder or force damage and becoming restrained by pressure on a failed save, or half damage only on a success. On later turns, you may use an action to repeat the damage against the restrained target.
Arsenal of Sparks
Prepare up to twelve harmless-looking objects, marks, stones, vials, coins, tools, or weapons as stable volatile anchors. During the duration, you may trigger one anchor you can perceive as a bonus action, causing a 10-ft. burst that deals 6d8 chosen volatile damage on a failed DEX save, or half on a success.
Avatar of Volatility
Become a living controlled reaction. For the duration, you resist fire, acid, thunder, force, and lightning damage; your Volatile Manipulation powers deal or prevent an extra 4d10 once per turn; and once per round when you move at least 10 ft., you may leave one 5-ft. volatile square behind.
World-Ending Reaction
Trigger a catastrophic reaction across the battlefield. Creatures of your choice in the emanation must make a DEX save, taking 18d10 fire, acid, thunder, or force damage and becoming stunned until the start of your next turn on a failed save, or half damage only on a success. Structures and unstable hazards may rupture at the GM’s discretion.
Volatile World
Make a region dangerously reactive or impossibly stable. Roads spark under armies, siege engines misfire, tunnels become pressure traps, or an entire city is protected from accidental ignition. This is story-scale and affects travel, warfare, machines, supply lines, morale, and terrain, but does not directly deal combat damage unless triggered by scenes.
Omniblast
Declare a mythic volatile reaction tied to a city, engine, battlefield, volcano, alchemical vault, siege, storm, mine, or sealed god-heart. Define its principle with the GM: the blast that ends a war, the city that cannot burn, the vault that detonates only for the guilty, or the chain reaction that opens a mountain. It can be opposed only by Tier 10 volatile magic, divine intervention, perfect stabilization, or a story condition set when declared.
Characters With This Aspect
Greasetooth
Greasetooth
Greasetooth is a goblin volatile manipulator and serial killer aligned with Evil, the post-Centrum ideological opposite to Lawful. In Point Pringle, he commands or influences goblin bombers, suicide attackers, junk constructs, and bomb-making cells using old Emrysian temple sites and unstable void-tech. He personally killed Tono, PP5’s partner, and remains central to the Maine-variant/Evil network led by Enemy. To some citizens he is a monster; to others, the Lawful’s treatment of unregistered goblins makes the conflict more morally tangled than simple extermination.
Ignition
Kess Boltar
Imported character from the Character Data sheet.