Welcome to a new series we’re starting here on Untoldthegame.com: the Power UP! Series. Each week (or so), we'll pick a Power Card, analyze it and give you some cool tips and pointers for using the card in your game. While it will be primarily GM-focused (as we have lots of Player-oriented articles already), there will still be lots of information that the average Untold player can use as well.

Our intent is to show some cool ways that GM's (and Players too, by default) can incorporate these Power Cards into their Character or Minion builds, use them as treasure or story hooks, or base entire games around! There's literally no end to the cool uses one might find for Untold Power Cards, and we encourage you, the reader, to chime in below with your comments and stories of how you might use the Power in your game!

This week, we'll be examining the very cool "Dormancy" Power Card, from our recently released deck, Powers: Primal Magic! So, let's take at the Power-at-a-glance:

Power-at-a-Glance

Power Name: Dormancy
Initial Level: 4
Double-card? No
Swap Type: Hot
MAG: 12
UP: CLASSIFIED
Boostable? No
Action: Free
Duration: Inherent
Range: Personal
Pre-requisite Powers? Yes, "Mountain's Blessing"
Type: Healing

Dormancy is one of those cards that I've seen Players by-pass time and time again as they are building their Characters. To me, this is one of those universal Powers that I try and include in almost every one of my Character builds. In fact, if this card had no pre-requisite (i.e. "Mountain's Blessing), you could bet your bottom dollar that it would be in every Untold Character I ever made... To me, the ability of being able to slap down a Power Card at any time (i.e. being a Hot Swap card) and not worry about my Character's death is a tremendous benefit, both as a Player and as a GM.

From the GM side of things, this card has an immediate use in keeping my BBEG's (Big Bad Evil Guys) alive, even when the party thinks that they're dead. Sure, it's cliched and it's a trope, but bringing your party's' nemesis back from the grave to harry the heroes again is a trope for a reason, right? IT WORKS! This card is the perfect way to justify that happening! Let your Characters have their moment in the spotlight! Let them take out the foul High-bred commander-turned-rogue, the evil Churl shamaness, the diabolical Klik Roller twisted scientist, or the pesky L'na Twilight serial killer; simply be sure to keep your Swap Buffer high enough to keep "Mountain's Blessing" and "Dormancy" in play and with feigned disgust, flip over that Race Card! Your Players will cheer and give one another high-fives around the table...

...and three weeks later, when their old foil shows up again, you'll have to ask them to pick their jaws up off your carpet!

Another cool GM-related trick that could be based off this card would be to insert it into a Character's deck initially, and have their "introduction" into the campaign would be to "wake up" after their "first death" (or, pick your favorite number here, GM's: third death?) and not remember anything of their former lives! Talk about a cool way to kick off a campaign!

As a Player, this card is golden. Even if your Character has to wait an hour before "rising from the dead" (and not in an icky, undead way, either...). It's the ultimate way to keep your favorite Character living for the next session! But what about the story implications that could go along with this card? Why is it that your Character can rise from the punishment that would normally fell those of his ilk? Maybe he's destined to do something greater at some point in the future? Maybe he can only be killed (truly) by sacrificing himself for another? What special rituals and/or occurrences happened to these folk to make them rise again, time after time? What do these repeated risings do one's psyche? What do you see on the other side? How does that affect you?

As you can see, once it sinks in, a Power Card like "Dormancy" lets you know how very cool Untold really is; providing that awesome "in-game" bonus or mechanic that you want as a Player, yet continually driving the story-telling onus to grow the collective story at the table...

So what are you waiting for? Ya know you want it! Head on over to the Untold Store and snap up a copy of Primal Magic! Or, if you're not ready to buy the whole deck, yet, then become an Untold: Elite Member and you can see "Dormancy" and every other card in Primal Magic in the Primal Magic Card Library! Like always, please let us know how would YOU use this card? Sound off over in the Untold forums!

'Til next time!

Top Secret Super Cool Fact! "Dormancy" was one of the original batch of Powers that were created for Untold. It was originally intended to be a part of the Iconic Character: Toa's original deck, but we changed that along the way and slipped it into Primal Magic instead!