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Artifacts/IkselamFiveDot

2012-04-06T16:10:33Z

Artiamus: editting the italics

= [[Ikselam]]'s Level Five Artifacts =

* back to[[Artifacts/Ikselam]]'s artifacts.
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Compass of the Heart's True Desire
Artifact •••••
Starmetal compass
Commitment: 4 (starmetal)

The Compass of the Heart's True Desire was constructed by a First-Age Sidereal magus who, despite his great power and learning, found that true contentment consistently eluded him. It took him one hundred years to gather the components needed to construct the Compass, and another century to forge it. Once it was completed, he immediately set out alone, on a voyage into the uttermost North. He was never heard from again. Years later, a group of Solar adventurers found his derelict airship drifting among the flying icebergs of the Northern Wyld, from which they retrieved the Compass and many other potent artifacts.

Once a character commits 4 motes to this elegant starmetal compass, its needle infallibly points toward the place, person, or thing which will lead to his or her complete happiness. If at any time the Compass becomes deattuned, the character can never again use it, in this life or any other.
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[#[[MuteRequiem]]]
Mute Requiem 
Artifact •••••
Soulsteel grand daiklave
Speed -3 Accuracy +3 Damage +11L Defense +0 (including material bonus)
Speed +10 Accuracy +2 Damage +12L Defense -1 Rate 3 ([[PowerCombat]], excluding material bonus)
Commitment: 8 (soulsteel), plus hearthstone

This soulsteel grand daiklave is an ultimate weapon created by the [[Ikselam/Pharaoh|Pharaoh Who Dreams of Unbroken Silence]]. It is currently wielded by Hollow Elegy, a powerful Abyssal Exalted in the Pharaoh's service. Both daiklave and deathknight have been known for less than a year, but their infamy has already spread far and wide, and many heroes have been struck down by the frigid black blade and its eerily silent wielder.

The Mute Requiem has the same specifications as a normal grand daiklave. Its surface is matte-black, rimed with delicate traceries of frost. Unlike most soulsteel weapons, it absorbs sound rather than emitting it. A sphere of total silence, twenty yards in radius, extends from the blade at all times. Within this zone, the air is totally still; vibrations of any kind are completely muffled, and even the fiercest of winds are snuffed out instantly as they reach the perimeter. No sound made outside the sphere can penetrate into it, and nothing inside the sphere produces sound of any kind. This extends to sounds and vibrations transmitted through the earth or other materials (taut strings and the like), and even magical spells or Charms. The penalty for fighting blind doubles within the sphere of silence, and Charms or other abilities which work by sensing or producing sound or air movement will not function.

Sound is not the only thing absorbed by the daiklave. To a being with the ability to sense Essence flows, the Mute Requiem is surrounded by a huge whirlpool of Essence, spiralling into the black blade and vanishing like water down a drain. Anyone within the zone of silence will feel this effect, as the very life-force is drawn out of their bodies. Characters lose one mote from their Essence pools for each turn spent inside the zone (peripheral goes first), and suffer +1 to the difficulty of all actions as numbing lethargy spreads through their limbs. In addition, any being with an Essence score reduces it by one while they are within twenty yards of Mute Requiem. This is a true reduction, and affects the victim's Essence pool, their ability to use and withstand Charms, and anything else for which the permanent Essence score is used.

Curiously, the Mute Requiem seems to affect death Essence even more strongly; ghosts and the undead lose two motes per turn, take all actions at +2 difficulty, and lose two points of permanent Essence while inside the area of effect. These increased penalties do not apply to Abyssal Exalted, although Deathlords are affected.

If Mute Requiem reduces a character's Essence to zero or below, that character immediately begins losing points of Stamina at a rate of one per turn. When their Stamina reaches zero, they die, their soul completely consumed by the frigid blade. The only way to stop the Stamina drain is to move outside the zone of silence; lost Stamina dots return at the rate of one per turn as long as the character's Essence is above zero. If Essence has been reduced to zero, Stamina loss will continue at a slower rate: one point per day rather than per turn.

Essence dots lost to Mute Requiem are harder to reclaim. They do not immediately reappear after exiting the sword's sphere of influence; rather, victims may roll their remaining permanent Essence once each day (starting the day after they exited the zone of silence), keeping a running tally of the successes. Willpower and/or Virtues may be used on this roll as normal. Raising one's Essence back to its normal level requires a number of successes equal to twice the character's normal Essence score. Thus, raising Essence from one back to two would require four successes, while regaining one's fifth dot would require a total of ten successes. On a botch, the Essence reduction becomes permanent and may only be remedied through the expenditure of experience points.

None of the penalties detailed above apply to the Mute Requiem's wielder, except for the silence effect.

Mute Requiem drains motes from a target on a successful hit, just as a normal soulsteel weapon does. All such motes are consumed by the blade. Anyone killed by Mute Requiem will not leave a ghost behind. Spirits and ghosts killed by it are permanently dead.

The daiklave has settings for four hearthstones, but only three of them provide any benefit to the wielder. The fourth feeds Essence directly into the daiklave. Mute Requiem will immediately become dormant if no hearthstones are connected to it. In this state, it is no more than a large, unwieldy chunk of what appears to be wrought iron.

Mute Requiem requires a commitment of 8 motes.
----

Scarab of Unparalleled Health
Artifact •••••
Orichalcum scarab
Commitment: 8 (orichalcum)

The Solar physician Jora Sen-Sera was renowned throughout Creation for his knowledge of medicine and the many different scarab-shaped artifacts he created, all of them designed to promote good health. The Scarab of Unparalleled Health was his greatest invention, created for his only child, Juna Sai-Sera. When the girl was born, she was sickly and weak; Jora's diagnosis revealed that she had less than a year to live. Both he and his wife, the Lunar Exalted Perspicacious Owl, were desperate to save the child, and immediately turned their tremendous wisdom and learning to finding a method to extend the infant's life.

Finally, after twelve months of intensive research and construction, Jora was forced to test a prototype artifact on his daughter, who was at death's door. Happily, the Scarab of Unparalleled Health proved even more effective than he had hoped, and Juna became completely healthy overnight. As the years passed, she grew up into a vivacious, intelligent woman, eventually Exalting into the Waxing Moon Caste and bringing much honor and happiness to her parents with her numerous deeds of bravery and kindness.

The Scarab of Unparalleled Health is a large orichalcum scarab, roughly the size of an average woman's palm. Its legs are each tipped with inch-long needles. When activated with the commitment of 8 motes and placed on a person's sternum, the scarab's belly immediately sinks through the skin and melds with the breastbone, anchoring itself securely to the wearer. The needles then plunge into the wearer's body, piercing into the aorta and five auspicious essence centers.

At this point, the scarab's effects begin to be felt. The first needle begins introducing tiny golden motes into the wearer's bloodstream, while the other five bring the essence flows of her body into harmony. The motes quickly circulate throughout her veins, and allow the scarab to instantaneously diagnose any illness or injury she may suffer. The scarab can then command the motes to move to the place they are most needed and begin repairing the damage and stimulating the wearer's body to heal with the maximum possible efficiency. The essence-balancing effect aids in this, as well as granting significant protection against disease, poisoning, and various harmful energies.

In game terms, the scarab's wearer heals lethal and bashing damage at ten times the normal rate, and aggravated damage at twice the normal rate; these multipliers apply in full to magical effects which erase damage, but not to those which simply convert damage of type to another (so a Lunar with Wound-Knitting Power would heal 10L per turn instead of 1L, but could not use Mother's Touch to convert 10L to 10B for only 3 motes). She also becomes totally immune to disease, up to and including the Great Contagion, and receives three automatic successes on any roll to resist poison. The duration of any poison-inflicted dice pool penalty is also halved.

The scarab also fortifies the character's body, insuring that she remains in good condition. While wearing the scarab, none of the character's Physical Attributes can be permanently reduced below two. If she normally has a ranking below two, the scarab increases it to two. Furthermore, the essence-balancing effect also increases the difficulty of any attempt to drain the wearer's essence, or magically reduce her Attributes, by +1.

Finally, some of the scarab's powers can be briefly conferred upon others. If a character drinks a small amount of the wearer's blood, the golden motes will enter his own bloodstream and retain their curative effects as long as his skin is touching hers. Characters receiving this treatment heal lethal and bashing damage at five times the normal rate (again, this muliplier applies to magic healing), and receive a single automatic success on any roll to resist poison or disease.

Wearing the Scarab of Unparalleled health is permanent; it cannot be removed without killing the wearer, and if the eight motes powering it ever become decommitted, the golden motes will swiftly accumulate in the heart, clogging it up and killing her within minutes. The person to whom the scarab is attuned need not be the one who wears it; transferring attunement from one person to another will not cause the wearer to die.
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[#[[KeeningEdge]]]
Transcendent Glory of Dawn, the Keening Edge
Artifact •••••
Orichalcum and glass daiklave
Speed +5 Accuracy +3 Damage +7L Defense +3 (excluding material bonus)
Speed +9 Accuracy +3 Damage +9L Defense +3 Rate 5 ([[PowerCombat]], excluding material bonus)
Commitment: 5, orichalcum

This elegant, straight-bladed daiklave is fashioned out of orichalcum and adamant glass; slim and delicate in design, it is substantially less bulky than most daiklaves, though not much shorter. The razor-sharp crystal edge is faceted like an chipped-obsidian blade, scintillating with rainbows when the light strikes it.

Transcendent Glory of the Dawn was forged as a weapon against the Fair Folk. The blade emits a constant hum, just on the edge of hearing; when it is held ready for conflict, it begins to sing in a forgotten Old Realm dialect. The achingly beautiful melody perfectly accentuates the weapon's movements, plotting out the course of the battle even as its loveliness breaks the hearts of all who hear it. All creatures within earshot take a dice penalty to all actions equal to their Compassion + 2. Fair Folk double this penalty, and must fail a reflexive Compassion check each turn in order to act; otherwise, they stand transfixed by the song's beauty, completely unable to act, or indeed to perceive anything besides the beautiful sound. Beings who have no sense of hearing, or no emotions, do not suffer this penalty, nor do the wielder's allies.

The rhythm of the song follows the flow of battle. A skilled wielder can take advantage of this fact, synchronizing her movements to the melody. Doing so imposes a dice penalty equal to the wielder's Performance (plus any specialties relating to dance) upon attacks made against her, as the sword's song guides her smoothly out of harm's way. This penalty does not apply to undodgeable attacks.

Transcendent Glory of the Dawn possesses a mind and soul of its own, and is a god among swords. When mortal weapons behold it, they immediately abase themselves. The first time Transcendent Glory of the Dawn is drawn in a scene, all nonmagical bladed weapons within sight of it automatically drop from their weilders' hands, just as if they had been the targets of successful disarm attempts. They can be retrieved as normal, but will shatter if they come into contact with the daiklave -- mortal blades would rather sacrifice themselves than risk harming its beauty. Even magical edged weapons respect Transcendent Glory of the Dawn; the difficulty of any attack made against it (and by extension, its wielder) is increased by the number of dots by which the artifact's rating falls short of 5. For example, a regular 2-dot daiklave would suffer a +3 difficulty penalty (5-2=3). These powers apply to bladed weapons only.

Unfortunately, Transcendent Glory of the Dawn has suffered great tragedy. During the Usurpation, it could not protect its mistress from the Dragon-Blooded's onslaught, and spent centuries locked up in an underground tomb stewing in its grief and sense of failed duty. It is now consumed with grief and anger, which only the touch of the one who bears its original owner's Exaltation can assuage.

If wielded by the Solar Exalted who is the reincarnation of its First Age mistress, the daiklave has all the powers listed above. However, if wielded by anyone else, it becomes greatly distraught, filled with fear and anger and desiring only to return to its rightful owner's hand. Its song becomes a keening wail of woe and rage, which strikes fear into all who hear it.

In this state, the sword's song becomes sad and terrifying. Its mechanical effects remain the same; its song of suffering is still beautiful, though it is an angry, frightening beauty. As long as it is fully attuned, its wielder can prevent the song from affecting his allies. If he is not fully attuned (i.e., is not receiving the orichalcum material bonus), the song affects everyone except him. The sword will also continue to sing at the top of its voice even when sheathed, unless special measures (very heavy wrappings, special wards, etc.) are taken to silence it.

The song still plots out the course of battle, but in a different way; when separated from its mistress, Transcendent Glory of the Dawn wishes for nothing but to hurl itself into combat, drowning its sorrow in blood. Any attempts to defend against attacks made with it suffer a penalty equal to its wielder's Performance, if he follows the song's urging. This replaces the normal defensive power.

In its heartbroken state, the daiklave deeply resents being drawn, and is prone to lash out violently. Only the taste of blood can mitigate this. If any wielder besides its rightful one attempts to sheathe it, he must make a Willpower check at a difficulty of his own Valor, or go berserk as the sword's sorrow and anger overwhelm his senses. This has the same effects as the Solar Charm, Bloodthirsty Sword-Dancer spirit, but without the ability to distinguish friend from foe; the character attacks whoever is nearest him, regardless of who they are. If the sword tastes at least one health level of human blood, or the life blood of a large animal such as a cow, it is momentarily appeased; it can be sheathed with no trouble within the next three turns. If it takes a human life, it can be sheathed at any time in the remainder of the scene.

This artifact has settings for two hearthstones.
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* back to[[Artifacts/Ikselam]]'s artifacts.

=== Comments ===
I am not totally happy with the game effects of the Scarab of Unparalleled Health. Any suggestions as to how I might streamline/improve its powers are welcome. _[[Ikselam]]

Hi again. Remember me? 
Not sure what to do about the Scarab; I'll think about it. 
On Mute Requiem. It's an awesome daiklave, and I'm aware it's a level 5, but the fact that it can kill spirits permanently seems a little extreme. I mean, it already kills / destroys every mortal and ghost that doesn't get out of its range in time, gives everyone a -1 or a -2, etc ... I mean, it even reduces the Essence scores of everyone including Deathlords and gods, sometimes permanently. I think it really does do quite enough without also being able to destroy little gods permanently. Plus, the power seems kind of out of line with the rest of the weapon -- it's nasty against Death Essence, and spirits are the incarnations of Creation-centered, living forces. 
~ [[Shataina]]

It permakills any kind of sentient Essence matrix (e.g., ghosts, gods, elementals, demons) because it's almost literally an extension of the Mouth of the Void (which is the reason it's especially good at consuming death Essence); it's like a black hole as far as Essence is concerned. Heck, ever since I wrote it, I've been thinking of saying that it will permanently destroy Exaltations. _[[Ikselam]]

Yikes! 
Wow, that's pretty hardcore. 
Maybe if you do that you could make it an artifact N/A? Not that I'd personally let any players take it at chargen if it was that powerful anyway, even if they did have 5 Artifact, but it does seem rather more along the lines of N/A than 5 if it's going to be that horrifying. :) 
~ [[Shataina]]

It's a horrifying power, all right, but it's a horrifying power which has no in-game effect. The horrifying powers which do have mechanical effects are pretty badass, but I wouldn't say they're N/A level. The Essence-reducing thing is the only big one (unless you happen to be an Air-Aspected DB, in which case virtually all of your powers stop functioning within the zone of silence), and that can be gotten around pretty easily by just not closing to under 20 yards of the sword. The weapon is a nightmare for close-range fighters, due to all the penalties it slaps on them, but doesn't really do anything to inconvenience ranged attackers.

In my little fantasy world, this drawback is largely compensated for by the fact that Mute Requiem is wielded by an Essence 6 Abyssal (see the [[Ikselam/Pharaoh|Pharaoh]]'s writeup). But in the hands of the average player, I don't think it would be totally overpowering. In certain situations, it would be dramatically more effective than Soul Mirror, but its powers are also less broadly-applicable than Soul Mirror's. _[[Ikselam]]

Sorry, I think I was unclear. I was saying that if you have Mute Requiem revoke Exaltations, maybe then it should be an artifact N/A. 
Also, perhaps I misunderstood the description, but doesn't it say that all beings with an Essence score have 1 taken away (and if this brings it to 0, they start dying)? So, since mortals have an Essence score of 1, doesn't it kill all mortals within its range fairly quickly? And since it subtracts 2 from ghosts and then starts killing them, doesn't it also kill most ghosts? That's a really nasty in-game effect ... 
I'm also a firm believer in making artifacts with the potential to do really powerful things high-level -- thus, since Mute Requiem has the potential to permanently reduce the Essence of say, Mask of Winters, I'd call it level 5 just for that. But that's probably just a difference of opinion. 
~ [[Shataina]]

It doesn't look like it can revoke Exaltations, though it's certainly capable, through repeated encounters, of eroding an Exalted soul away; it's just a strong soul-eating effect. Frightening, and worth Artifact 5.

As for the mook-killing effect, that's what that is. It kills anyone who's not important. It's approximately as nasty as Glorious Carnage Typhoon or that Solar Archery bit. Who gives a {whatever}? 
- [[willows]]

Mortals and beings with Essence 1 aren't always stupid and unimportant, though. Like that magical race in Creatures of the Wyld -- umm, apheliotropes maybe? And it does the same thing to death-aspected creatures with Essence 2. I wouldn't call these things necessarily mere "mooks". 
The description of the artifact doesn't say it can revoke Exaltations, you're right. But Ikselam mentioned that he might decide that it could, so I suggested that if he does decide that it can, then in that case, it should perhaps become N/A. 
~ [[Shataina]]

It wouldn't "revoke" Exaltation, it would just destroy the Exalted soul of anyone it slew (along with all other parts of their soul). So there'd be an empty drawer in Lytek's cabinet, and no one would ever Exalt with that particular spark again; a huge deal in the game world, but not so much from an OOC perspective.

Yes, it's pretty murderous against any Essence 1 creatures (or Essence 2 ghosts) caught within its area of effect. You wouldn't even have to go through the extra step where it consumes the ghosts of people it's killed, since people it kills don't leave ghosts. So swarming its wielder with extras would be even less effective than usual. Not really all that worse than the Crown of Thunder's effects, in my eyes.

I don't think the permanent Essence reduction thing is worth worrying about. The reduction is only permanent on a botched recovery roll, a roll on which Willpower expenditure is explicitly allowed. Only a total nimrod would fail to spend Willpower on this roll, unless he happened to have zero temporary Willpower at the time -- which is very unlikely, since the rolls start the day after you leave the area of effect (meaning you'll probably get to rest and regain wp in the interim, even if you don't do any 2+ stunts or use wacky Charms or whatever to recharge your wp). Even then, it only occurs on a botch, the chances of which are pretty low (especially for high-Essence people like Mask of Winters).
_[[Ikselam]]

(cross-edited with roger) To your first point: No, not always, but it's a convention of the game and a consequence of the system that positions of power and influence flow to Essence-manipulating beings, as a result of their clearly superior abilities! Any exception to this tendency is this: an exception. Its ghost-eating power isn't that scary to me; ghosts have pretty good access to Essence 2, and Abyssals are generally unafraid of them (thay have many beating-on-ghosts abilities); it seems like a natural extension of the weapon's abilities.

I agree with Ikselam that abilities with no in-game effect shouldn't be figured into an artifact's cost, regardless of how frightening they are in the setting. - [[willows]]

I don't really have a problem with the Essence-1-being-killing-effect, honestly. I mean, it's a level 5, it should do things like that. I was just citing it because Ikselam said that Mute Requiem doesn't have any "big" powers except for the Essence-reducing one. Obviously, though, the question of whether almost automatically killing all Essence-1 beings in a 20-yard radius is a "big" power is just another matter of opinion. (Lots of those today ... :) 
I wouldn't say that destroying an Essence permanently has "no in-game effect", considering that you could make Solars extinct after maybe 10 years of jihad if you had a powerful full Circle and your Deathlord's armies at your back. But I do get your point. 
Many thanks to both of you, especially Ikselam, for answering my questions and having patience. :) 
~ [[Shataina]]

you could make Solars extinct after maybe 10 years of jihad 
Well, yeah. If you read my writeup of the Deathlord associated with this item, it should be pretty clear that he intends to do something along these lines. Although since he's outgrown the "Enemy of All Who Live" stage, and is well into the "Enemy of All Which Exists" one, he probably wouldn't stop with just Solars.
_[[Ikselam]]

I've heard that some games handle PC death by having the same shard reincarnated to create the player's new character. Mute Requiem would put some hurting on that approach. - [[Quendalon]]

A spiffy effect would be to have the shard flee in terror as the Exalt in question is brought down to essence 0. Flying off to save itself, and only having it re-incarnate in someone after a long time of nurturing up in Yu-Shan. And as a fun Side effect in game, have the player that receives the new shard have nightmares about the previous bearer's death, and no other dreams of a past life. -[[EndlessChase]]

Re: Scarab effects
I'm not quite up on my Medicine-fu, but I'll take a shot at a suggestion or two. As a disclaimer, I'm unsure if you want to streamline/improve the mechanics or the "effect" so I'll offer a bit of both.

I realize this might be a bit of a cop out, but you might consider mimicking/adapting Wound-Knitting Power or other health charms to fit the Scarab's effects. (You could have it heal "X"L/"Y"B a round or some such). I like the idea of accelerated healing, but stackable 10x Normal Rate seems slightly underpowered for Level Five. Perhaps you could have the Scarab gradually convert health levels from agg. to lethal to bashing, set a rate and a limit (say, the Scarab converts the only worst damage in the system before moving on to lesser injuries), and then have it insta-heal a number of health levels per period (probably a round or a minute) once all damage has been reduced to Bashing. Then again, that might be to complicated. Another option along this line might somehow involve the 8 golden motes in the body. Maybe the can temporarily be "used" to insta-heal a health level and their use returns after a certain period of time.

If you're looking for less mechanics (which I doubt, but I'm hedging my bets here), perhaps the Scarab prevents limbs from being fully severed, as thin golden insectoid legs slowly drag the lost appendage back into place. Or maybe the Scarab glows or hums as its bearer suffers damage. It'd be neat if the user's blood was speckled with gold, or if miniscule orichalcum filigree floated upon its surface or somesuch. - [[EJGRgunner]]

You might want to clarify whether the distraught singing sword -always- sings in its scabbard, or only if the wielder isn't fully attuned. To me at least the wording could indicate either. 
--[[Darloth]]

Unless you happen to be its rightful owner, it sings all the time. Even full attunement won't make it shut up; it just lets you choose who is targeted by the mechanical effects of the song. If you want it to be quiet, you need special wards, heavy wrappings, and so forth. _[[Ikselam]]

So you could carry Mute Requiem in one hand and Trascendent Glory in the other? :P -[[LiOfOrchid]]

Well, MR is a grand daiklave, so probably not. And several of TG's powers wouldn't work, while its disadvantage would still apply. _[[Ikselam]]

I just want to say that I think Transcendent Glory of Dawn really, really rocks -[[Fade]]

Artifacts/TheMyriadOfShades

2012-04-06T15:54:26Z

Artiamus: fixed the italics not closing correctly.

=== Weapons ===
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Talon of the Violet Maiden<tt>\\
Artifact •••••\\

Sword\\
Spd. +6, Acc. +2, Dam. +9L, Def. +0, Min. Dex 3, Str 3, MA 4(including material bonus)\\
Commitment: 10 (starmetal)</tt>

Description: Legend has it that when Saturn created the Violet Bier of Sorrows Style for her Chosen, she demonstrated for them the techniques using this blade and then bequeathed it to the most dedicated of her Chosen to the path of Endings. Not even the Sidereals remember if the tale is true, and indeed, the blade is older than any living Exalt. It currently has no master, its last weilder having died some half a century ago, but Black Ice Shadow has his eye on it.

At first glance, it appears to be a slender, extra long starmetal daiklaive. Closer inspection reveals something much different. Beyond the already considerable occult runes etched into most magical weapons, the blade bears all five Scriptures of the House of Endings in perfect Old Realm script, each overlapping and intercrossing with the others. When attuned to an Exalt, the scripts flare with purple essence as the Exalt's anima flares. The blade is largely starmetal, but its rainbow shimmer is entirely violet-- the other Maidens have no purview over the blade, and this is reflected in its unique Fate. The handle is ashwood, but the wood is near unbreakable and the craftsmanship so perfect that no smith alive today could have possibly made the blade. Though not near the size of a grand daiklaive, the Talon is too long to be weilded one-handed-- it MUST be held with two hands.

(This is a very specific, very famous (among Sidereals and savants), much sought-after weapon. The ST is advised to employ it with care, and the weilder should be aware that without the approval of the Sidereals as a whole, his weilding the weapon is a personal affront to the Sidereals, especially the Chosen of Endings, and ESPECIALLY practicioners of the Violet Bier of Sorrows Style.)

System: The Talon embodies the spirit of the Violet Bier of Sorrows, to the exclusion of all else. The fate of the blade, and its attuned weilder, cannot be affected by astrology conducted through any of the other 4 Houses, but it attracts the fate of Endings like no other-- ALL rolls for astrology within the House of endings are at -4 difficulty when affecting the blade or its attuned weilder.

The blade represents the philosophy of the Violet Bier of Sorrows Style. When used by an Exalt as an MA weapon with the style, the sword gains an Accuracy bonus equal to the number of wounds the target is currently suffering.

No mere mortal fate can stand against the blade's unerring desire for the end. A normal weapon used to parry the blade subtracts successes as normal, then shatters. An exceptional weapon loses a point from its damage rating-- when the damage is reduced to zero, the weapon still shatters. Mortal armor fares better-- it provides half its normal soak. Magical items are not affected.

For 10 motes, 1 Willpower, plus 1 health level per turn, the final power of blade may be activated. The weilder becomes a whirling dervish of release, beyond life and death, only ending. He ignores all wound penalties, and receives a free reflexive attack against all targets that come within his reach. The attack receives a number of automatic attack and damage successes equal to the target's current wound penalty. Ranged attacks with a physical component are simply batted out of the air (requires a diff. 4 Dex.+[[MeleeArtifacts/MA]] roll). The Exalt does NOT heal by ANY means while in this trance. This works much like the Hurricane Combat Method at the top of the Air Dragon Style, except its duration is unlimited (at least, until the Exalt runs out of health levels and dies), and indeed, the Hurricane Combat Method was developed through careful observation and emulation of this ability.
----

Trident of the Soul's Depths<tt>\\
Artifact •••\\
Trident (polearm)\\
Spd. +4, Acc. +2, Dam. +4L, Def. +3, Min. Str 2(not including material bonus)\\
Commitment: 6 (jade)</tt>

Description: Though it can take the form of any conventional weapon, the trident is the weapon symbolizing the waters, and so it is the form this artifact normally takes. Favored by certain members of the Wyld Hunt, this weapon was conceived in the current age and is almost exclusively seen in the Realm.

The trident requires the heart of a man who has never loved, and water from the depths of the northwestern oceans. Black jade is alloyed with coral in the construction of the trident's head.

System: The Trident disrupts essence flows. Unlike soulsteel, which consumes essence, the black jade in the trident sets the essence aflow and draws on it to guide its movement, making the weapon a deadly implement against essence users.

Whenever the trident successfully strikes an opponent under an ongoing essence effect (usually a Charm of longer than instant duration, such as Strength of Stone Technique, Lightning Stroke Style, or Increasing Strength Excercise-- the strike need not do damage, though it must roll at least one die) or any spirit, ghost or demon, the weilder and the target make an opposed Essence roll. If the weilder wins, the essence effect is dispersed and he gains a number of points equal to the number of motes committed to the essence effect to distribute among the weapon's statistics for the rest of the scene. No individual statistic can be raised by more than the weilder's Essence.
----

=== Armor ===

----
Earthshaking Carapace of the Ram<tt>\\
Artifact ••••\\
First Age Military Armor\\
16L/14B soak, mob. -4, fat. 2(no material bonus)\\
Commitment: 12 (jade) (+Lvl. 2 Hearthstone)
(note: this was written before Outcastes-- if it's too close to the canon Earth armor, I'll rewrite it)</tt>

Description: A First Age Terrestrial military armor for both sieges and siege defense, this armor was never common-- only a few were ever needed in a single battle, and they tended to take massive damage. They were used extensively to root out hiding Solars during the Usurpation, and only the designs survived those battles-- the armors were destroyed down to their last number, essential in wearing down the mighty Anathema.

Today, Lookshy has painstakingly rebuilt several of these armors over the centuries, and the Realm is known to have a pair, reserved for the defense of the Imperial Manse.

The armor is huge, 3 yards tall and a yard across in the chest. White jade-alloyed steel and other occult metals double and triple-sheet the wearer entirely. The helment is adorned with a pair of authentic great ram's horns, alloyed with the same jade-steel mix.

System: The armor grants a soak of 16L/14B, with a mobility penalty of 4 and a fatigue penalties of 2. Attacks with a raw damage beneath 10L/12B are ignored outright.

The armor adds 3 to both Strength and Stamina. This will not boost either Attribute above 8, though it is compatible with Charms that will. Unarmed attacks made using the armor do lethal damage.

The armor renders the wearer immune to all environmental damage such as bonfires, as well as airborn poisons and agents such as sleeping flower grenades (see CB: Night).

The wearer is immune to knockdown, knockback, sweeps, or any other attempt, mundane or magical to make them lose their footing or lift the armor's feet from the earth. By reflexively spending 1 mote when struck, the wearer can force his attacked to roll to resist the knockdown effects his attack would have caused.

At a cost of 2 motes/attack, the wearer can augment the strength of a Melee, hand-to-hand MA (no bows or chakrams), or Brawl attack-- if the attack strikes, the opponent must always roll to resist knockback, at a difficulty of the wearer's augmented Strength.

At a cost of 3 motes, the armor can move from place to place at great speed. The armor moves 40 yards per turn without fatiging the wearer, feet gliding on the ground and tearing large tracks of ground behind it, making tracking trivial. However, it can only travel in a straight line-- to change the direction, the wearer must stop, change direction, and spend more essence to get moving again.

At a cost of 8 motes, the wearer can combine the last two powers in a single attack-- the target must be at least 20 and no more than 40 yards away. The wearer rushes towards the target and strikes with the massive force of intertia and his augmented strength. The attack causes the knockback detailed above, doubles its raw damage before soak, and doubles it again against inanimate objects.

The armor costs 12 motes to attune, but this only provides soak. A level 2 hearthstone of one of the Terrestial elements must be inserted inside the armor to power the other effects and the wearer gains no additional benefits from the stone. This armor is of similar power and origin to the Most Terrifying Armor of the Air Dragon (Aspect Book: Air) and requires similar maintenance: for every 20 hours of use, the armor must spend one hoyr being maintained and refitted by a technician with minimums of Occult 3, Lore 3, and Craft (Dragon Armor) 2. This maintenance requires a workshop, and the tools cost Resources 3 and require a pair of wagons ot carry. Every hour (or fraction thereof) of combat counts as two hours of use.
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Sun's Shining Sigil<tt>\\
Artifact •••\\
Armor (for familiars)\\
4L/4B(no material bonus)\\
Commitment: 4 (orichalcum)</tt>

Description: Artifacts are not only for the Exalted-- they forge them just as often for their animal companions, so that their comparitavely frail allies can follow them into battle. These artifacts come in all shapes and sizes, depending on the size of the animal they're made for-- collars for dogs, bridles for horses, even special-made versions for much larger beasts.

In any case, the collars are made of soft fabric (must be silk or cotton or another fabric NOT taken from animals) treated in the sun every day consecutively for a lunar month-- even one day of rain will ruin the process, forcing the construction to start anew. A drop of mixed blood taken willingly from 2 dear friends must spot the fabric each day before the sun sets. Orichalcum alloyed with a fairly "soft" metal forms the metallic accents to the collar/bridle/whatever.

After the artifact's forging, the user himself must present it to an animal, who must take it willingly, and the userscommits essence to the artifact himself.

System: This artifact may only be used on a familiar, or other trusted animal companion whose loyalty was gained by trust and compassion, or at least trickery and bribery. An animal cowed by brute force may not benefit from this artifact.

This artifact costs 4 motes to attune, taken from the pool of the character who placed the artifact on the animal. Non-Solars pay double attunement cost.

The animal and the character gain, if the animal is not already a high-level familiar, a preternatual sense of one another's location within 500 yards. The character can summon the animal with a wordless mental command, out to the same distance, and unless restrained or recently mistreated by the character, the animal will come.

The animal comes to embody the ideals of the Solar Exalted-- a gains one dot in all physical attributes, Intelligence, and Wits. It gains 4L/4B in soak that is treated as natural. If its Valor was beneath 3, it is raised to 3.

As a final resort, if the animal is faced with a killing blow (if, after damage is rolled, the animal would be reduced to incapacitated or below in lethal/aggravated damage), the user can spend 15 mote and a Willpower. The damage from that one blow will be completely negated, but the artifact will instantly shatter beyond all repair.
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=== Gear ===

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Boots of the Blissful Wanderer<tt>\\
Artifact •••\\
Boots\\
Commitment: 4 (starmetal)</tt>

Description: The stories of the greatest journies are of trials, quests continuously distracting a traveler from his ultimate goal, challenges to overcome, all only climaxing at the end, when the traveler finally reaches his goal. Each of these stories, intentionally or no, honors Mercury and increases her influence in the world.

The story of the original pair of these boots starts, as many do, with Venus interfering in her sisters' affairs. Bored, and looking to draw Mercury into a harmless fight, Venus gifted a Chosen of Journeys, then Mercury's favorite for his many epic travels, with these boots, claiming they would assist him in his quests. The Sidereal, who's name has since been forgotten, thanked her (as one always thanks a Celestine for her gift) and wore the boots whenever he went traveling. He always completed his travels without accident, and the Golden Barque came to value him, for he always completed his goal promptly, unlike his peers (who always ended up on some magnificient side quest, as Celestials tend to do). But his legend, the great stories of his adventures, faded from memory and Mercury came to be absolutely bored with her former champion.

Her retaliation against Venus is an entirely different story. But the boots live on, and have been replicated several times since. Several Sidereals wear them to this day.

System: The boots are the boots of a road spirit, cleaned with salt water and buckles of blue and yellow starmetal added.

Whenever traveling alone or with a number of extra beings no greater than his Essence, the bearer can be assured that great and epic tasks (other than the one at his destination) will not fall upon him, nor will he be bothered by lesser tasks. Anyone with a Willpower equal to or less than his Essence simply will not bother him-- guards at tollbooths will let him through without incident or even asking for a bribe, bandits will look the other way, malevolent spirits will seek easier play. Anyone with a Willpower greater than his Essence rolls their Willpower at a difficulty of one-half his Essence (rounded up)-- on a failure, they suffer the same effects. The wearer must be on his way to a known physical location of some sort for this power to take effect.

Those affected will not initiate contact with the wearer-- if he initiates contact, they will treat him as they normally would. In addition, the wearer treats all terrain as a well-paved road for the purposes of travel, as long as he remains on an established path of some sort (a well-known game trail counts, the trail of a criminal does not). Nor does weather slow him-- he ignores movement penalties for inclement weather as long as he keeps moving steadily towards his destination, though he may still be forced to take shelter if it gets too cold or to take a rest if it gets too hot.

The boots cost 4 motes to attune. Non-Sidereals must pay double to attune the boots, but gain no extra benefit for doing so.
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Spirit-Focusing Regalia<tt>\\
Artifact ••••\\
Tiara, Gauntlets, Bracers\\
Commitment: 10 (any material, may not be attuned out-of-type, no 5MM bonus)</tt>

Description: These artifacts take the form of a pair of gauntlets, bracers, and a tiara. The garments are nearly pure magical material, with a small amount of extremely pure steel mixed in. They're extremely obvious, and serve to channel and focus the power of an hero's very Exalted soul-- the artifact is entirely unusuable by any other sort of being.

These artifacts once saw healthy use by the Solars of the First Age, and several Solar tombs contain sets of them. Very few Lunar sets remain, and Raksi has been seen with one. The amount of starmetal required means that only one or two Sidereal sets have ever been forged, and their whereabouts are secrets even among the Sidereals. The Terrestrials of the Realm are somewhat fond of them, and many have been made. Outcaste Terrestrials, especially those in Lookshy, far prefer elemental lens.

System : Other than the very high amount of magical material required (requires twice the normal amount needed for a lvl. 3 artifact), the steel used for the alloy must be forged from metals taken from the Imperial mountain itself. The forge used to create the artifact is composed largely of heatproof hardwood from the endless forest citadels of the farthest east, and the regalia must be cooled in water taken from the ocean beds of the West. The centerpiece of the tiara is a perfect sapphire.

Wearing the Spirit-Focusing Regalia precludes the use of any other form of bracers, gloves/gauntlets, or tiara. The wearer doubles his permanent Essence for all purposes except learning new Charms, increasing Abilities, and calculating his Essence pool. He rolls the modified score for Essence dice rolls, and draws on the score for the purposes of of Charms like Firey Arrow Attack and resisting certain other Charm effects.

In addition, whenever under the effect of an Charm effect (Sense Destroying Technique, Limb-Immobolizing Method, etc.), the wearer may spend a Willpower to roll his modified Essence score in a contested roll against the Essence of the one who caused the effect. If he wins, he breaks free of the effect. This effort is reflexive and can be attempted before the user's initative, but like aborting to a defense, it consumes his action for the turn.

This artifact costs 10 motes to attune. Only Exalted can attune to the Spirit-Focusing Regalia. Even the Exalted must attune to Regalia of their own native Magical Material-- they cannot spend double the cost to attune to a different material. The Spirit-Focusing Regalia has no hearthstone settings.
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Titan's Girdle<tt>\\
Artifact ••\\
Belt\\
Commitment: 4 (no 5MM or bonus, attuneable by all)</tt>

Description: Many among the Exalted are paragons of strength, building great bridges with their bare hands and tearing down castle walls with mighty arms. For as long as the Exalted have been making magical artifacts, they have been using them to enhance their natural strength.

The recipe for the Titan's Girdle is as ancient as the Exalted themselves and is well-known to any maker of magical items-- by neccesity of its forging process, however, it can only be made by the Exalted or another essence-chaneller.

The Titan's Girdle is a massive belt primarily made of the sinews of 10 untamed bull yeddim, bound together with wolf spider's silk. The skin of the belt is most special ingridient, however-- it is made from leather taken from the hide of a sacrificial bull. The bull must be sacrificed (to what, does not matter) and its remains left in the ashes of the fire for a week. Then, what little remains must be gathered and made into an inferior leather. During the actual process of making the artifact, however, the essence channeled into the Girdle turns the leather into a fine, soft, golden-brown consistentcy.

Lunars are especially fond of these artifacts-- without near the access to forged weapons as their civilized opponents, many Lunars find that sweeping or knocking their opponents aside with a massive tree trunk or giant boulder is especially effective against the organized soldiers of Creation.

System: The Titan's Girdle adds 2 to its bearer's Strength, which counts against the max for Strength-increasing Charms, but counts as natural for the second effect of the artifact, which is to triple the bearer's Str.+Ath. pool solely for the purposes of lifting and breaking objects.

This artifact is not normally obvious as supernatural, although it is a large belt of the type used to assist in heavy lifting. Anyone with a formal education in artifact construction, however (this will include most Heptagram graduates, Sidereals, and those tutored by the No Moons, and anyone with Lore 4+), will strongly suspect its magical nature, and the magical nature of its wearer.
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Cloak of Radiant Majesty<tt>\\
Artifact •••\\
Cloak\\
Commitment: 6 (material varies)</tt>

Description: The orichalcum version of this cloak was once favored among most of the Solars of the Old Realm. The cloak is woven from the silk of worms that live in fallen trees in the Far East, a single powdered ruby, and is interwoven with orichalcum made from gold that once formed a crown that sat of a righteous king's head.

The moonsilver version, the Mantle of the Hidden Face, sadly no longer sees much use, though the elder No Moons still know how to weave it: it is woven from the silk of worms that live in fallen trees in the Far East, a crushed sapphire never before exposed to non-wintery conditions, the blood of a litter of unborn kittens whose mother has never been domesticated or helped by human hands (extracting said blood requires an Int.+Medicine roll at diff. 4, assuming proper equipment, and the process kills both cat and kittens), interwoven with moonsilver prepared according to Lunar ritual.

The Jade version, the Eloquent Dragon's Robes, remains in heavy use among many Dragon-Blooded diplomats, often in conjuction with Jade Collars of Cleansing Light: it is woven from the silk of worms that live in fallen trees in the Far East, any precious jewel worked into existence by the Mountain Folk, a lock of a loyal bodyguard's hair that must be at least a foot long, interwoven with red and white jade not taken from their sources more than a year before the creation of the artifact.

The starmetal version, the Cloak of Jupiter's Eye, still sees much use among the Sidereal's agents: it is woven from the silk of worms that live in fallen trees in the Far East, a single powdered ruby mixed with the charred remains of the left eyes of seven well-traveled diplomats, interwoven with starmetal that fell from the sky and was forged on nights when Jupiter was prominent in the sky.

Finally, the soulsteel version, the Robes of the Noble Tyrant, is coming into heavy use among the frightful Midnight and Moonshadow agents of the Deathlords, though mostly on their missions in the Underworld. It is woven from the silk of worms that live in fallen trees in the Far East, a virgin nobleman's dying breath, and a single powdered ruby interwoven with soulsteel that has never seen the light of the sun or moon.

System: The bearer suffers no social penalties for his identity. All of his words and arguments will be considered, without any disadvantage because of a lack of station or loyalties, and gains +2 dice to all rolls involving social attributes. There is a single hearthstone setting in the neck clasp. The artifact requires a committment of 6 motes. The cloak gains an additional bonus based on its Magical Material:

Orichalcum: the bearer gains an additional +3 dice to all social (leadership and the like included) rolls when dealing with anyone not a Celestial Exalted.

Moonsilver: all attemps to discern the motives or feelings of the wearer, other than those the wearer willingly puts forth, are at +2 difficulty

Jade: the bearer gains 1L/2B soak and all attacks against him are at +1 diff. due to the cloak moving of its own accord to protect the bearer.

Starmetal: the bearer gains an additional +2 to discern the general motivation of anyone interacting with the bearer (hostile, lustful, etc.), and is aware of the presence, if not the location, of anyone within speaking distace.

Soulsteel: the bearer may command any non-sorcerously compelled dead or undead within his line of sight with an Essence rating less than his own. Many ghosts will resent this power over them, but most will refrain from seeking revenge due to the power of the cloak and the Deathlords.
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=== Non-Gear ===

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World-Affirming Melody Box<tt>\\
Artifact ••••\\
Music Box\\
Commitment: varies (jade, out-of-type does not pay extra)</tt>

Description: This music box is made of white jade taken from the Imperial Mountain, black jade, and the vocal cords of herbivores whose family groups can't have left sight of the Imperial Mountain for five generations (as well as the normal materials needed for construction of a music box). It must be forged during daylight, never during Calibration, and on the Blessed Isle. The vocal cords form the box's musical strings-- the white jade forms the exterior and the black jade is contained in the heart of the music box, touching yet not interfering with any of the vocal cords.

The simple melody the music box plays is soothing to Earth Aspects and elementals. It stifles all manner of magics within earshot, firming the world to a specified shape and denying essence the power to reshape it. What is not natural to Creation finds itself drawn into the natural tapestry of things.

System: To activate the music box for one day, the user must commit 15 motes to it. Everyone within the user's (Essence times 10) yards of the music box is affected by the tune-- sound-stifling magics serve to cancel this effect, though being deaf does not.

Any and all expenditures of essence within the affected radius cost an extra number of motes equal to the Essence of the music box's activator. This surcharge must be paid BEFORE the essence cost for any other effects can be paid. Also, the Wyld (up to the Middlemarches) retreats back from the affected area, revealing safe, stable Creation beneath. This does not prevent beings of the Wyld from entering the affected area. Finally, any creatures outside of Fate who enter the affected area roll Essence every turn. On any turn in which they fail, they are treated as being within Fate. On a botch, they take the box's activator's Essence in dice of bashing damage that ignores armor.

Any essence spent within the radius perverts the song, throwing it temporarily off key and tempo, making essence use obvious to listeners. The box, though an artifact, is quite fragile-- any strong jolt (read: a successful attack doing any dice of any type of damage after the box's soak of 3L/6B) ruins the alignment of the vocal cords, breaking the music box. The jade remains intact-- new vocal cords can be gathered and the box thus easily repaired, though this takes a clockwork-shop and 2 hours.
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Ambient Essence Alarm<tt>\\
Artifact •••\\
Alarm\\
Commitment: varies (jade, out-of-type does not pay extra)</tt>

Description: Essence users are among the greatest threats in Creation, and so it makes sense that artifacts have been made to counter their powers.

The Ambient Essence Alarm takes the form of a cube of black jade blessed by an air elemental that can be split into eight smaller cubes. Splitting it so reveals that when whole, the center of the cube is actually a smaller cube of white jade invested with the essence contained in an owl's breath-- this cube is split evenly when the larger cube is split into eight pieces, and so each of the eight smaller cubes has a single corner composed of white jade.

The larger cube is invested with essence and then split, and each of the eight smaller cubes is placed in a 3-dimensional area with the white jade corner facing the middle of the area-- the cubes surround a larger cubic area. When an Essence-user passes through this area (the cubes glow slightly when activated, but not enough to be obvious), the web of essence is disrupted and the cubes each sing a short, haunting melody as the essence powering them dissipates. If enough essence has been spent powering them, this effect can even dispell the effects of ongoing essence enchantments on the being who set off the alarm.

Lookshy retains the largest number of these cubes and uses them to guard their armories of First-Age weapons.

System : Up to 3 times the user's essence can be committed to the cube, though it only takes a single mote to activate it. It takes a Wits roll at normal difficulty and several minutes to successfuly align the smaller cubes.

Whenever a being of an Essence greater than 1 passes through the area, the essence is disrupted and the alarm is set off. The cubes lose their committed essence, which becomes available for the user to regain once more-- to re-set the alarm, the cube must be reassembled, reinvested with essence, and then the individuals pieces aligned again.

If the amount of invested essence is greater than the amount committed to ongoing essence effects on the being who sets the alarm off, then all such effects are instantly snuffed out, unless the target can reflexively reactivate the Charms by repaying their essence cost (only possible with Reflexive Charms).

Example: Invincible Sword Princess passes through an active alarm that has 7 motes committed to it. She has Five-Fold Bulwark Stance active. Normally, the Charm would be smothered and ISP rendered vulnerable, however, as the Charm is reflexive, ISP can simply spend 5 motes and maintain the Charm. If she had been using a Simple Stealth Charm that cost less than 7 motes, then the Charm would have been smothered, and ISP rendered visible until she could reactivate the Charm on her initiative.
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Maiden's Fanciful Sitar<tt>\\
Artifact ••\\
Sitar\\
Commitment: 4 (jade, out-of-type does not pay extra)</tt>

Description: Once, long ago during the First Age, Venus sought to return some slight done to her by the Violet Sister, and exchanged a favor with a Solar of the Zenith Caste. This Zenith was a great mover of hearts, and took a mere mortal's sitar, a quite poorly made one at that, and strummed a transcendantly magnificient tune and hummed a song that turned the hearts of the world. His song most affected its desired target, however-- the Maiden of Endings.

Saturn, for the only time in her long existence, fell in love. She pursued the Zenith, but could not catch him for more than a day at a time, for he was as nimble as the king of deer and clever as the queen of foxes. On those days where he was captured and stuck in her company, the world knew not Saturn's embrace, and no matter the season, that day would be one of life and the late summer that drives lovers to to love.

This was not natural, however, and the strength of the Tapestry weaked due to Saturn's neglect. Demons of unprecedented numbers and power entered Creation, and even the Celestial Exalted were forced to expend considerable effort and resources to banish them where they appeared. Finally, at the behest of her Chosen, Jupiter approached her sister and discussed things with her. Sorrowfully, Saturn cut the thread of her own love, and felt that wild affection no longer.

To save her sister embarrassment, Jupiter removed all memory of her dalliance from the world. Feeling remorse over what had happened, Venus took pity and gave the craftmen of the world the first of these humble instruments.

System: The sitar must be made by a master craftsman (min. Craft 4, Lore 2), but with exceedingly poor ingredients. Working with such poor material is difficult, and even if one convinces a master craftsman to work with them, they are at +1 diff. to work with due to their tendancy to not work as planned. The strings of the sitar are an exception-- they are made of green jade, which can only be coaxed into the proper string while in the presence of a singing choir of prepubescent boys in the summertime.

The sitar grants +2 dice to all Performance rolls while it is being played. In addition, it lends itself especially to songs that celebrate life and love. To successfully impress an audience, all songs celebrating life are at a -1 diff. to play, and all songs celebrating love are at a -2 diff. Finally, no young maiden can ignore the player of this sitar. All maidens are compelled to at least listen to one song to give the player a chance to impress her.

The sitar costs 4 motes to attune, and by a quirk of the Venus' recipe, all essence users commit this number of motes to attune to the sitar.
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== Feedback ==

<tt>Questions? Comments? Offers of sexual favors?</tt>

Cool stuff, Titans Girdle seems far to powerful for a level two, though.

Nice stuff, but about the Melody Box, does the user have to pay the surcharge aswell, or not?