242 - The Disguise Kit

Artifact: The Disguise Kit

Power: Significant.

Description: A child's toy disguise kit, it comes in a white plastic carry case with a yellow carry handle and clasps. Emblazoned on one side is a silhouette of the famous Groucho Marx moustache/glasses combo. Inside are a number of mostly gaudy disguise props: a small, synthetic wig that’s more yellow than blonde, some crumbly chin putty (it’s still alright if you add a little water), three pairs of obnoxious lensless spectacles, etc. There are also some terribly lifelike pieces, like rubber ears and glass eyes. A fake nose with burst veins and a gross amount of nostril hair.

The case has a number of grooves and depressions where items have been removed and not put back. There’s also a small mirror and, weirdly, a little wooden egg timer, the kind like an hourglass. It has its own groove in the case but no other explanation for it's intended use.

Effect: Everybody gets one shot with the kit, flip the egg-timer and you’ve got three minutes. Try it again and the sand refuses to budge, like it’s gotten wet and fused together in one end. No one's tried laying the timer on its side part way through so there's no telling if it pauses the clock, forfeits your turn or anything else. While it’s running you can pull your face apart, just like a Mr. Potato head. No one else’s, only yours.

Even for somebody prepared this is likely to cause Violence and/or Unnatural checks, anything from rank 2 for yanking off an eyebrow to rank 7 for removing both your eyes. It’s painless and requires very little force. You can also take any pieces someone has left in the kit (those eyeballs aren’t glass and the ears/nose aren’t rubber) and attach them by holding them in place and pressing firmly. Make sure it’s lined up right or you'll look like a Picasso. Anything you take off and place in the kit is preserved.

Once the timer runs out your new face is what you’ve got to live with, there’s no do overs. Scattered to the wind the individual parts of the kit are harmless and inert, it might be for the best if someone did that.