The ‘strain’ of Other who still conceal themselves for fear of being rejected by their own kind, Gifted are humans who are not entirely normal, and therefore torn; should they announce their abilities or keep themselves hidden? Though they lack the abilities that make the therianthropes and vampires obvious threats, their psychic or elemental powers could make them hunted or targeted by their own kind, and that, ultimately, is what makes them hesitate.
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Gifted, unlike the true supernaturals, are incapable of sensing one another unless, obviously, they have telepathy. They cannot detect one another in any way, and the only way to detect them, even for Others with heightened senses, is to see them ‘using’ or to have them tell you personally.
Gifted are born with their abilities, and like the therianthropes, come into them around puberty, for whatever reason; perhaps a traumatising experience or shocking set of circumstances sets off their power for the first time. It varies. One or both of the parents will have had the child’s power before them, with only rare exceptions; the Gifted adult passes their semi-supernatural genes onto the Gifted child. If both parents are Gifted, the more powerful ability will pass to the child; no Gifted human has more than one power. They never have, and as such, never will.
If and when a Gifted human is turned or sired by a therianthrope or a vampire, their powers ‘die’; they fade away and cease to be. Simply put, the abilities of the Other that changed them overwhelm them and shut them down, without exception.
Gifted humans do not have ‘magic’. What they have are powers that can be categorised as either Psychic or Elemental. The psychic powers consist of telepathy (the ability to read thoughts, change thoughts, adjust impressions or at a stretch, sense actions), empathy (the ability to read, project or manipulate emotions) and telekinesis (the ability to move objects with the mind). Elementals possess one of three powers respectively: aerokinesis (the ability to manipulate the air, whether to create gusts, small cyclones or lift objects from the ground), pyrokinesis (the ability to manipulate fire, whether to create it, shift its shape, size and direction or put them out from a distance using gestures) or hydrokinesis (the ability to manipulate water, whether to change its direction, shape and size, adjust its temperature or create bubbles that rain cannot penetrate). Aerokinesis stands alone in that it cannot be automatically cancelled out by one of the other powers. Pyrokinesis and hydrokinesis, however, do cancel one another out; water will always cancel out fire. Fire, however, does feed on oxygen, so aerokinesis can come into play there. It’s never been properly tested. Not yet, anyway.
Necromancy and mediumship are extremely rare; Gifted humans with these combined abilities (the only strain categorised as a combination of Psychic and Elemental) are so rare, in fact, that other Gifted don’t even believe those who say they can see ghosts or communicate with the dead. Therianthropes and vampires, as well, have difficulty believing this can be done, which is bizarre given they were both urban legends and the things of nightmares for centuries. (This power, as it is, is exceedingly limited, and may only be played with my permission. No exceptions.)
Gifted are not actually as common, or commonly known anyway, as Others with more obvious supernatural powers. Either they’ve fled to more rural areas to keep from being discovered, or they really are low in numbers, no one’s really sure. (Gifted characters will be limited depending on how many other characters are wandering around at the time; currently, each player may have two Gifted humans each, so long as they have a balance of other characters.)
STRENGTHS: The Gifted human’s strength is completely related to their physical condition; they do not get any supernatural perks in terms of speed or healing etc. The listed strength of the Gifted human is only ever what their genetic power gives them.
WEAKNESSES: All Gifted are completely mortal, as humans have always been. The only way they can become immortal is to be turned by a therianthrope or sired by a vampire, but when that happens, they lose the very power that makes them Gifted.
Killing a Gifted is easy enough; they are completely mortal, so they can be killed in any number of ways, natural or otherwise. Cancer, blood loss, getting hit by a bus; the possibilities are frighteningly endless.
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