Latest revision as of 01:16, 6 April 2010

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Things Contained in Air

Cloud Feast Pearl - Telgar

Wood or Air Aspected

Manse •

Trigger: Constant

A simple cloud-filled pearl that glows softly, the Cloud Feast offers its owner the choice to dine on the very air. As long as the holder of this Hearthstone can breathe, he never hungers and needs no food at all. The need to drink or pass waste is not, however, eliminated. The air supposedly varies its taste based on odor, density, weather and location. Sea air is said to taste almost as bad as the air around a table of men chowing down on beans in Nexus.

Waspcatcher Talisman - TedPro

Air Aspected

Manse ••

Trigger: Combat

Appearing as a rich amber, with tiny flecks of black within it, this talisman provides protection against slings, arrows, and other airborne attacks. Any weapon containing the Hearthstone can be used to parry arrows and other physical ranged attacks without a stunt or a penalty to difficulty. In fact, the weapon seems to move to contain them, giving an extra +2 dice to block such attacks. If the Hearthstone is placed within another setting, that can be use to block parry ranged attacks instead, using Dexterity +2.

Mote Stone - Telgar

Earth Aspected

Manse •••

Trigger: Visual impairment

Before being used for the first time, this Stone appears to be a thumbnail sized blob of brownish feathery crystal. As it is used it slowly grows larger as it attracts and consumes impurities in the air. The stone will naturally attract such air impurities, clearing the sight of its owner of dust, fog, dirt and such physical impurities. Even darkness and bright light are, to an extent, consumed by the stone. Most air-borne toxins and poisons are absorbed by the Mote Stone, reducing all difficulties to resist them by 3 as well. After about 10,000 uses, the stone explodes in a blinding cloud of dust, darkness, water and light. Normally the stone reduces all visual-related penalties by 3. When it explodes, it imposes an 8 dice penalty to sight and forces everyone in range to make a Stamina + Resistance roll or take 3L damage from absorbed toxins. The stone reforms normally after exploding.

Mansion of Descending Clouds - willows

Air Aspected

Manse ••••

Trigger: Concentration

This Hearthstone is a fist-sized ball made of brass bands wrapped round one another. By placing the stone on the ground and committing 10 motes, the bearer can cause the stone to unfold into a fine tracery of brassy wires that outline a house. It draws clouds and storm out of the sky to serve as walls and floor! On a clear day, the inside of the Mansion is a cramped, stuffy ramshackle hut, but as the weather becomes more severe, it becomes increasingly spacious. A lightly cloudy day will provide a comfortable cottage, and an overcast day, a capacious two-story home. In the heaviest lightning-bearing monsoons, the space inside the Mansion is practically cavernous, and fitted with running water and flickering blue lights. When the Mansion is in this state, it is possible to leave it through certain posterns, and find oneself outside the Manse that produces it, Hearthstone in hand.

If left in place for longer than a day, the sky will repopulate itself with clouds, and the Mansion's interior space will continuously fluctuate to reflect the state of the weather outdoors.

Whenever the Mansion is sufficiently sized, it staffs itself with surly air elemental servants; these are loutish and uncouth, poorly-educated and of criminal leaning, but a stern master with a whip and a stray cat can eventually train them into an impressive and capable entourage.

Prism of Gathering Brilliance - Sparrowhawk

Solar Aspected

Manse •••••

Trigger: Concentration (see text)

This hearthstone is an octohedron of pure black crystal. Its sides are completely smooth, yet they reflect no light at all. The reason for its darkness is that it constantly absorbs light, storing it within to be released later.

This stone has a variety of wondrous powers. The first is simple illumination. With a simple mental command, the owner of the stone can cause it to release stored light in a controlled glow. The glow can be as soft as a single candle or as bright as the sun at midday, and can be any color the owner wishes. The prism can provide directed illumination, as well, with only a single surface emitting light.

If the owner uses this light to search for something, the stone provides specialized light that brings out exactly what she is looking for. This reduces the target number of perception-based checks to find or notice something visually by 1. This applies to all who are looking by the light of the prism, not just the owner.

The prism can also give off a bright flash of light to blind the eyes of those who don't suspect it. This ability requires the bearer to use a dice action, and spend 5 motes of essence. Creatures with eyes within 20 yards of the stone who are facing the stone must make a Wits + Dexterity roll, difficulty 4, to cover their eyes or be blinded for the rest of the scene. The target number for this roll is increased by 1 for nocturnal creatures, denizens of the Underworld, or other creatures unused to the unfettered light of the sun. The owner of the stone is immune to this effect.

The stone can also suck light out of the air around it. This can be used to aid in Stealth rolls to avoid being seen by dimming the light in the area, or to create an area of total blackness. The owner simply spends 5 motes to activate this ability, which grants her control over the light level within 15 yards for the rest of the scene. Until the end of the scene, she can raise it to normal level, or drop it into total darkness with a thought. This power is of particular use to those who can function without sight.

Finally, the bearer of the prism can channel the light of the heavens to banish unholy beings. This works like the blinding burst power, but costs 10 motes and 1 Willpower to use, and has an additional effect. Demons, Abyssal Exalted, and other denizens of the Underworld or Malfeas within 20 yards of the stone must make an immediate Stamina + Resistance roll with a difficulty equal to the bearer's Essence or take a number of unsoakable dice of aggravated damage equal to the bearer's Essence. This is the stone's greatest power, and it expends all the power in the hearthstone, destroying it instantly. The hearthstone reforms normally at its Manse over the course of the next month.

Comments

Does the Waspcatcher Talisman confer any benefits to non-weapon Artifacts? - Quendalon

I like the idea of it giving a parry bonus to a necklace or boots. -Ben-San

I agree. I think you should be able to roll Dex + Essence (+2 from stone) to block ranged attacks with anything containing this stone... possibly any other ability your ST lets you away with as well. (Socialize = Block with a flick of your hair ornament... or would that be presence?)
-- Darloth

Blocking with non-weapons sounds cool - I added a kind of mellow version. No using your Performance to block with your jade harp or anything, just a straight Dex check. :) -TedPro

Um, what's Performance got to do with it? You can already parry arrows with papers and hairpins or whatever with a stunt, and it's easy to parry arrows with your hands with even the simplest Charms. This is Exalted... there's no need to limit things based on "realism" or "verisimilitude." - Quendalon

Does the Cloud Feast Pearl's power really merit level three? I am unsure. What does everyone else think?
--BrilliantRain

Iskelam also thought it was too weak and Mote Stone too strong. So, I swapped em. Boosted Mote Stone to level 3-ishness as well. - Telgar

That makes sense, but I'd say that at level 3, the mote stone shouldn't shatter. --TedPro

I really like the Mansion of Descending Clouds, I have to say. Good job!
-- Darloth

My entry might seem strange, until you think of it for a moment. Light passes through the air to reach our eyes. Think of shafts of light, passing between tree branches at noon, highlighting dust and pollen floating on the breeze. If everyone else thinks it isn't in theme, I'll just remove the entry to somewhere else.

In terms of power, I fear that it may be a bit much. I wanted a high-level stone with many low-level powers; going for versatility rather than raw power. That last power might push it over the edge, though. I'm not even sure the limitation brings it into line. Ideally, the "recharge time" for the stone would be variable based on if its left in a bright place to absorb light, or kept in a box under your bed. I can't figure out a "recharge rule" that doesn't take a whole lot of text, though. And this is already a really wordy write-up. Nevertheless, I like it just for the coolness factor. (The most important thing in Exalted.) - Sparrowhawk

Actually, for a level 5 hearthstone, I think the costs of the effects are actually far too -high-. I agree, there are a lot, but the last power is in my opinion not particularly overpowered... 4 or 5 unsoakable dice of damage is bad, but it has just cost someone a willpower. Perhaps halve the costs, and I think it would be appropriate, but that's just me. It also seems to be a stone you'd want in an amulet rather than in anything major, as it'd be a pain to use if half of it were sunk into some giant sword or something.
-- Darloth might prefer some sort of dot-based recharge/power use system, if one could be made simply, but suspects it unfortunately won't happen.

I think it looks pretty darn good. If it's absorbing sunlight, I'm not sure it should cost so many motes to use the powers. But it's a cool stone. My question for Sparrowhawk is, what's the next Relay theme? -TedPro

As for the new theme, I'll decide soon; either later today or early tomorrow. In the meantime, would someone do me the favor of archiving this? I don't know how. - Sparrowhawk

There, found a simple fix. Now the power does aggravated damage, and the difficulty to resist is higher, but it causes the stone to explode. - Sparrowhawk