Difference between revisions of "Artifacts/TelgarArtifact4"

Revision as of 03:28, 9 May 2007

Level 4

Mjolnir's Grasp

Built around a meticulously crafted clockwork disc of Yellow Jade, Mjolnir's Grasp is a powerful fighting gauntlet designed to be used as a weapon in and of itself rather then as a brawling aid. The gauntlet forms a heavy casing of matte-finished, blue-hued steel that reaches to just below the wearer's elbow. Formed of multiple flexible plates of metal linked together by an internal mesh of Orichalcum-wrapped glass tubules, Mjolnir's Grasp creates potent electrical effects by focusing Essence through the Yellow Jade disc.

When a successful strike is made against an opponent, the Grasp sends a cascade of lightning coursing through it's victim. For the remainder of the scene the victim suffers a -1 penalty on all physical rolls. Further strikes are cumulative up to a maximum of -10 dice.

Mjolnir's Grasp is at its peak when storms rage. The Yellow Jade disc is able to absorb as well as discharge energy. In inclimate weather suitable to the creation of lightning, the wielder may expend motes of Essence to attract a bolt of lightning to his grip. No more then 10 motes can be spent. For every mote used in this way, the character rolls 1 die, success indicating that lightning has been drawn to the Grip.

Once harnessed the lightning bolts can be released either by direct contact or at range. Releasing a lightning bolt by direct contact imposes a penalty to all the victim's physical actions equal to the number of successes on the attraction roll. This can stack with the normal penalties created by the first power. A lightning bolt released at range allows the wielder to make a Lightning Strike attack, as described below.

The lightning-capturing powers can not be used more then twice in a scene.

Mjolnir's Grasp : Damage +5L | Acc 4 | Defense 4 | Speed 10 | Rate 5 | Committment 6

Lightning Strike : Damage 20L P | Acc 25 | Defense 0 | Speed 20 | Rate 1 |

Whimsical Creation

A strange ornament the Whimsical Creation is a heavy bracelet linked with fine chain to four rings, worn on the left hand. The bracelet itself is forged of solid Orichalcum, the links of Starmetal and the rings of Moonsilver, inset with small bits of the Five Colors of Jade on each. By committing 10 motes of Essence, to the Creation a sorceress gains 30 peripheral motes for the purpose of casting spells. Also, all Spell or Charm-based calculations treat her Essence score as if it were one higher. This higher Essence does not add motes to her pools, allow for higher trait maximums or help meet Charm requirements. The motes provided by the Whimsical Creation regenerate at the normal rate, which can not be increased by Manses or any other method. While wearing this artifact the sorceress is able to cast spells one turn faster then normal and is immune to casting disruption.

Ranger Utility Suit

The standard armor of a division of Exalted Rangers and Enforcers from the First Age, these suits are windfalls to whomever discovers one. Currently, only a handful of examples are known to exist, most in the hands of the Realm and the Bronze Faction. Lose-fitting material resembling leather covers the entire body, while a breather mask and visor cover the head.

The suit seals entirely, keeping the wearer at a constant, comfortable temperature and preventing her from being tracked by smell. When the suit does not have to divert Essence to maintaining its effects over a moving body, it can wrap the wearer in a cocoon of Essence and dematerialize him. When standing still and now using the Essence-reclimation powers of the suit, the wearer is immaterial and invisible. He can only be detected by magical means which percieve immaterial spirits and even those effects are at +3 difficulty to locate him.

By recycling the Wood and Water Essence of the wearer, the suits can provide unlimited nutrition in the form of a bland, tasteless white paste and purified water from tubes in the head gear. Expending 1 mote provides enough water or food for a day. Similar Essence-control systems allow for the wearer to recycle his Air and Fire Essence, keeping him at elemental balance and preventing all environmental damage. The Air recycling system also permits him to breathe in toxic gasses or underwater. Conserving Earth Essence lets the wearer climb on vertical surfaces as he applies conserved attraction force.

The constant flow of Essence into and out of the suit provides a useful side effect in that any disturbance of the recycling fields provides warning to the wearer, providing fool-proof defense from non-magical surprise attacks or ambushes.

Ranger Suit : Soak (9/9)| Hardness 5 | Fatigue 0 | Mobility 0 | Commitment 4

War Bell

A rare and arcane weapon, the War Bell is about the size of a man's head and is decorated with musical symbols noting the various tones it can reach. When struck, the appropriate symbols glow brilliant gold. The War Bell has three primary functions, all controlled by the striker of the bell and how many times the bell is struck in succession. The War Bell, when rung once, makes a normal attack against everyone within 10 yards. This attack uses the owner's Dexterity + Performance as its base pool. When rung twice, the War Bell attacks demons and fae, filling their ears with a pure tone that causes them to writhe in agony. Such creatures take aggravated damage from this attack. When rung three times, the War Bell's tones take hold of its foes provided it does more damage then their Temperance. For a number of turns equal to the extra damage successes rolled, they are under the control of the bell's player.

The War Bell is rung quickly, two rings or three being in such quick succession that the effects of one or two rings do not take place. So ringing the War Bell three times is a single action, but ringing it once three times in a row is three actions. It should also be noted that the effect of three rings on demons and fae does normal, not aggravated damage, in its attempt to control them and is an attack that simply has extra effects.

War Bells: Damage 10L (piercing) | Accuracy 5 | Defense 0 | Rate 1 | Speed 7 | Committment 7

Vengeful Reflectory

Small and plain, this simple mirror is one of the most potent defensive artifacts ever created. It's reflective surface appears to show slightly blurred images with a glowing cornoa around each item reflected. In reality the mirror is shwoing the essence of the objects, not the objects themselves. Humans and other intelligent beings do not have reflections in the Reflectory. When used to successfully parry an attack (without the use of perfect defense charms), the Reflectory will return the attack exactly as it was directed at the defender. The reflected attack has the same dice pool, charm enhancements and other bonuses as the original. It does not count as a counterattack, it is treated as a normal attack. The Reflectory can not, in fact, reflect counterattacks provided by Charms back due to a trick in the magic that creates them.

Vengeful Reflectory: Damage 2L | Accuracy 0 | Defense 5 | Rate 3 | Speed 2 | Committment 6

Sun, Moon and Stars Shield

A complicated defensive artifact made for a Sidereal by his Solar wife; most often seen as a large circular shield formed of seven overlapping discs of the Magical Materials. All the disks have outer rings made of White Jade and Blue Jade and a center of either Moonsilver, Starmetal or Orichalcum. The largest disk's center is forged of Orichalcum and bears a sunburst, the smaller disks bear symbols of the Maidens or Luna and have centers forged from the appropriate metal. When combined together into a single shield they offer unparalleled protection but require the use of one hand and can protect only the owner of the Shield. For less restricted defense the Moon and Stars can float off by themselves, setting up a defensive perimeter around the bearer. Each disk can move to parry any incoming attack but no more then one disc can intercept a single attack. The discs can also be directed to defend allies within 10 yards of the bearer. The Sun Shield can not fly and remains as a normal shield while the others are detached.

• • Sun, Moon and Stars Shield (Unified): Counts as 100% cover, removing 7 successes from all ranged attacks and 5 from all hand-to-hand attacks.
  • Sun Shield : Use normal Orichalcum Thunderbolt Shield Stats.
  • Moon Shield : Defense 10 | 10 health levels to disable (rolled).
  • Star Shield : Defense 8 | 8 health levels to disable (rolled).

Grim Reminder

Forged from the remains of a First Age Solar and the cursed Soulsteel sarcophagus used to prison the demonic spirit inhabiting his former corpse, the Grim Reminder earned its name well. The dark taint of the Soulsteel and the dark soul of the corpse from which it was crafted have left their mark on the weapon.

The bones of the ancient Exalt form the framework of the gauntlet that extends halfway up its wearer’s forearm, layered over the polished black Soulsteel. It draws power from the darkness in the soul of who ever dons it, adding 1 to all its statistics when the bearer’s Limit rating is above 5 and 2 when they are in a Limit Break.

The Grim Reminder itself is not vastly damaging, though it is covered in vicious spines from the Soulsteel sarcophagus. Instead of causing damage itself, the Reminder enhances the muscular strength and power of its owner. The stats for the Grim Reminder are added to whatever unarmed attack the wearer is currently making, despite covering only the right hand.

The Soulsteel used to construct the item was heavily enchanted to restrain and drain spiritual beings. Because of this, the Reminder can attack immaterial spirits normally, and its owner can sense their location without other aid. The Reminder also applies the normal Soulsteel magical material bonus without harmonization. For every 5 motes stolen by the Reminder, 1 temporary willpower is siphoned away as well. These willpower points are not, under any circumstances, diverted to the user. Harmonizing with the Reminder further enhances the Soulsteel’s power, directing all stolen motes into the pools of the owner.

The Reminder feeds the fires of evil within its owner, adding one automatic success to every Limit roll made while the weapon is attuned.

Grim Reminder : Damage +3L | Acc +3 | Defense +4 | Speed +3 | Rate 5 | Committment 6

Midnight Armor of the Bellicose Mage

Forged of purest Black Jade and set with a filigree of Starmetal, the Midnight Armor is a potent tool in any sorceror's arsenal. Used extensivly by battle casters among the Dragon-Blooded of the Shogunate and the Sidereals of the Bronze Faction, this Armor provides near ultimate protection for sorcerors in combat.

The power of the armor lays mainly in its unique settings of Starmetal which take the form of fan like filigree in the helment, across the chest and scrolling over the back. This net of conductive material is enchanted to absorb raw, unfocused Essence. The brilliant flare of wasted power formed while casting Sorcery can be harnessed by the enchanted metalwork. Doing so removes the telltale flare of casting a spell. In addition, all the powers are so fine-tuned and intuitive that their activation does not interrupt casting and is considered a reflexive action.

For every turn of exposure to spell-shaping, the armor can redirect as many motes as the minimum Essence of the spell's circle to its wearer. Emerald Spell shaping thus yields 3 motes per turn, Sapphire gives 4 and Adamant provides 5 motes.

Should the sorceror come under attack while spell-casting, he may opt to redirect the Essence back into his armor and reinforce it. Every mote so directed gives two points of soak which last for a single turn. If this option is used, all regained motes must be used to provide soak. Without all the motes being directed one way or another, the suit's enchantments will overload, causing an unsoakable health level of lethal damage to the owner.

While casting a spell the Midnight Armor automatically encases its wearer in a protective field of Essence, adding Hardness equal to twice the Essence of the spell's circle. This is 6 for Emerald, 8 for Sapphire and 10 for Adamant. This Hardness stacks with all other sources of Hardness.

By expending 5 motes of Essence from the suit's own reserves the wearer can protect his spells with a webwork of disruptive power, increasing the cost of any Countermagic turned against his spells by 5 motes. This effect applies only to the spell he is currently casting.

Midnight Armor : Soak (10/10) | Hardness 6 | Fatigue 2 | Mobility 2 | Commitment 7

Curve of the Umbra

Made of darkest ebony and black ash, Curve of the Umbra has all the power of the edge between shadows and light. Its very rim is chased with purest Orichalcum, giving the Powerbow the appearance of a line of light just emerging from behind the darkness. Shadows form and flicker in the space between the bow’s body and the string, making it hard to tell if the bow is pulled or not.

In battle, the shafts of the Curve fly straight and true, but never from the same location twice. As each arrow leaves the bow, it becomes nothing more then shadow and travels through Elsewhere briefly, emerging at another location between 5 and 20 yards distant, from which point it moves to strike its target. This makes it impossible to track the archer by means of his arrows. Because they lack physical substance, the arrows do not remain behind as evidence of the archer’s presence. Only his foes remain behind as mute testimony to his skill.

The shadowy powers of the Curve also lend themselves to stealth and unseen movement. The anima flare of an Exalt wielding the bow is reduced by one level as the bow takes the light into itself, storing it in the Orichalcum to keep the gold shining clearly. This light-drinking power also adds 2 dice to all Stealth rolls. The bow lends a certain fluidity to its owner when in its element, all movement rates in the shadows are doubled. It should be noted that this ability only functions in shadow, not darkness. There must be at least enough light present in the general area to read by for shadows to exist.

Beyond stealth and trickery, the Curve has two last powers. When its owner is threatened, the Curve responds with a shadow of the attack dealt. Any attack is met with a free, reflexive counterattack with a pool of half the offending attack’s accuracy. Damage is calculated normally for such counterattacks.

Should the archer wish, he can make a normal attack that targets his opponent’s shadow instead of his body. This adds 1 difficulty to the roll, but has an advantageous effect. Attacks against shadows can not be soaked, only dodged or parried. They drain 1 mote for each health level dealt to the shadow and if the shadow is killed, the target will never again cast as shadow unless powerful magic interferes to grow a new shadow. The lack of a shadow indicates a certain loss of Essence-structure, making it harder to capture and contain Essence then normal. Anyone without a Shadow regains motes at a rate 2 slower then normal. Stunts do not suffer this penalty.

Curve of the Umbra : Accuracy 5 | Damage +5L | Rate 4 | Range 400 | Commitment 8

Eternal Flame of Beauty

The Flame of Beauty was once the personal armor of a Twilight Caste savant and socialite from the height of the First Age and was thought lost when the temple housing her grave was destroyed in the Usurption. The Flame of Beauty enhances its wearer's physical attributes by reshaping the body into a more perfect form, adding 2 dots of Appearance when worn. The armor also bears enchantments to fuel self-confidence and improve grace. These enchantments make it impossible to botch or fail social rolls, a botch or failure is a single success.

Because the Twilight who built the Flame was decidedly Vain, the Red Jade and Orichalcum tiles of the armor can reshape themselves into a gown that offers the perfect compliment to its wearer's current appearance. When transformed into a gown by the committment of 5 additional motes the Flame adds an extra +1 to Appearance and grants a 3 dice bonus to all Socialize and Performance rolls. Because of the gown's light and morphable structure it can be layered over or under light armors for added protection.

The final precaution built into the Flame is one to protect the wearer from unfriendly magics. The armor doubles its wearer's Essence for the purposes of determining if she can be the target of non-beneficial effects.

Eternal Flame of Beauty : Soak 10/10 | Hardness 8 | Fatigue 0 | Mobility -0 | Committment 6 motes

Moonless Maiden's Eye

Named for a demoness who snatched young girls from in front of their mirrors when Luna turned her face from the world, the Moonless Maiden's Eye is a small mirror made of polished Starmetal and Moonsilver. The mirror's handle is made from one of the demoness's polished arm bones so many consider the Artifact to be an infernally tainted device. This has not stopped it from being a much sought after item since the First Age. Anyone holding the Moonless Maiden's Eye can describe the owner, appearance or location of a another reflective surface in Old Realm and gaze into the Artifact. If the surface has been described in enough detail then the Moonless Maiden's Eye will show to the holder whatever could be seen from the point of view of the described surface. Awareness Charms and other sensory magics work normally through the Maiden's Eye, but only sight is transmitted, it is impossible to listen or smell anything through the mirror.

Harmless Seperation

Despite its name, the Harmless Seperation was a widely feared weapon during the First Age and the Shogunate. After the fall of the Seven Tigers, one of whom was in posession of the blade, the item was lost to the great joy of many who feared it in the Empress's hand. In appearance, the blade is startlingly mundane. It is a simple dagger of flawless obsidian treated to near-transparency and sharp enough to slice diamonds. The handle is made from the shell of a stomach-bottle bug plated onto Green Jade while the obsidian blade is etched with Old Realm runes traced in Starmetal.

Because of the enchantments laid heavily upon the blade Harmless Seperation is unable to draw blood or do damage to any living thing. It cuts without harm, even able to sever the head of a man and leave him alive, able to both speak and walk about.

When used in combat, Harmless Seperation ignores armor-based soak. It's damage is rolled normally but not applied. If it deals enough damage to remove a limb or kill, it may be used to seperate a body part from the target. That body part, and the body, remain unharmed and fully animate. The process is fairly painful and rarely used for any good end.

Restoring parts severed with the blade is a difficult process requiring Charms, Spells or Artifacts capable of regenerating limbs. The Gem of Incomparable Wellness and Lunar Regeneration Gifts are not effective against the seperation because no health levels are lost and all parts of a dismembered victim are completely healthy. The parts must be rejoined and healing magics applied to restore unity.

Harmless Seperation uses the stat-line of a Short Daiklave and commits for 7 motes.

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