Latest revision as of 20:24, 21 May 2009

Artifact Rules

Artifacts (* to *****) Effect: Artifacts are items imbued with power to be used by Exalted who have attuned them. To those who
haven't attuned them an artifact is practically useless, to those who have it becomes a source of power. Each
acquisition of this merits provides the character an Artifact imbued with power. Artifacts grant a number of,
points per level, these points can be used to grant bonuses and magical effects, the most common of which is a
one die bonus in a specific area. Other magic effects include reduced attunement,+1 defense,instant readyness
and other effects, more powerful effects become possible by using multiple points.

Drawback: Most artifacts have an attunement cost equal to their merit level. Exalts pay their attunement
cost by committing a number of motes of Essence equal to the attunement cost. Most artifacts can only be attuned
and thus used by one person. Attuning a material not associated with your exalt type doubles the cost, non-exalt
who manage to attune an artifact always pay double to gain material bonus, the item can be used without material
bonus without doubling.

* This level grants 4 artifact points. A weapon that grants +3 damage and grants magical material bonuses,
footwear that adds +4 to speed, a collar of dawn's cleansing light with a hearthstone socket.

** This Level grants 6 artifact points. A magical material weapon that adds 4 damage and can't be found on
your person when you aren't using it. Magical Material Armor that grants an Armor Rating 5/5, -4 to speed and
defense and no strength minimum, before material bonus.

*** This level grants 8 artifacts points. A handgun that gives +2 bonus but never runs out of bullets, a
cloak that makes the wearer immune to most environmental damage and only costs one mote to attune.

**** This level grants 10 artifacts points. A magical material weapon that give a +3 bonus and when used
makes the attack reflexive so the character can still do something else with their action, including attack with
another weapon.

***** This level grants 12 artifact points. Artifacts belonging to this level usually have single potent
effects rather than a multitude of minor powers. Also can take the form of artifact buildings or machines that
have their effect on the rooms activities. Weapons don't so much deal damage as make all flee before them. The
more personal scale tools and weapons available were usually designed with a specific user or charm in mind and
might not be recognized. Such as a shield that lets you store additional perfect defenses that are used for free
later, in addition to those provided by protection of celestial bliss, making a prepared warrior unbeatable
unless they are vastly outmatched otherwise.

Artifact Point Levels

Artifacts can only be used by attuned users, unless Special features are chosen attunement is equal
to artifact level. Even if artifact level is reduced to zero, exalts must still attune, it just
has no cost. Artifacts that need no attunement or allow mortal attunement are special.

Artifacts gain a free bonus to normal durability equal to artifact level. Any artifact with
magical material bonus has normal durability of five.

By charging motes to activate features more power can be gained. If the bonus lasts for a scene when a
mote is spent than it lowers a features value by one, if it costs one mote per one turn use, than it
lowers the features value by two. Additional motes spent at same activation lower the feature level by
one per point spent. While features can be reduced to zero they cannot go below it.

One Point Features
+1 bonus (Note the bonus the object would provide if not an artifact must be paid for from artifact points.
Magical Material bonus, a point must be spend to gain bonus of material
9-again
Hearthstone Socket, every socket costs one point
Reduced Attunement, every point spent on this lowers attunement cost by one.
Reflexive Draw, item may be reflexively readied by attuned user.
Size, if a size increase or decrease from base object is beneficial than every level of size change.
+2 Durability
ignore 2 points of a type of penalty per point of artifact spent, like armor, or off hand penalties.
Stunning, damage inflicted by weapon causes some effect that causes extra penalty until healed.
Mortal Use, if all attunement is reduces away, Mortals can use by committing a willpower point.
Cloaked, Can't be seen without exceptional success or supernatural sense when not in active use.
Cross-Ability, artifact can apply its bonuses to an additional ability.
Battery, artifact may store two motes of Essence per Battery feature, to be used or drained by user.
Communication, either as primary purpose or for diagnostics, artifact can communicate with user.

Two Point Features
8-again
ignores all of a type of penalty, like armor or defense.
No Attunement, if all attunement is reduced than this item may be used with no attunement.
Invisible, when not in use the item can only be seen by perfect or exceptional success with super senses.
Active Cloak, same bonus as cloak but works even when artifact is active.
Self-Control, artifact can control its movements, usually needs self-running or intelligence.

Three Point Features
Rote feature, re-roll all non-successes once on a use.
Self-Running, Artifact in some fashion runs itself without assistance, not necessarily intelligent.
Active Invisibility, grants invisibility even when artifact is active.
Personal Cloak, artifact grant cloak to user as long as they don't draw attention, like combat.
Essence Draining, Artifacts can drain essence from one source, or victim, to another, like user or battery.

Four Point Features
Intelligence, artifact has intelligent control of itself, not self-running or communicative.
Personal Invisibility, grants unvisibility to user as long as they don't draw attention, like combat.
Ultimate Cloaking, user gains cloaking in all circumstances.

Charm-Copies
Copying a charm like effect with an artifact requires paying points equal to double its essence score.
The highest essence effect an artifact may have its artifact level. Only artifacts of the proper magical
material may bear charm effects for a given exalt type. Charm-like effects must pay for being free by
limiting the field of there powers, an amulet can only evoke one emotion, or evoke it only on one target
type, a weapon brings its powers only on itself, not on another weapon. Charm powers are very susceptible
to requiring an activation cost.

Expanded Features
An expanded feature is one that effects more of what an exalt does than a normal feature, such as boosting
all defense, rather than only defense when a weapon is used. This doubles the cost of the feature.

Common Artifacts

* Hearthstone Amulet: These artifacts are often made as gifts or protections for a mortal friend of the
exalt. By equipping it with a hearthstone they can give the mortal a magic power and a small essence pool. As
such these amulets are made for mortal attunement.

** Hearthstone Bracers: This item costs one mote to attune, provides a bonus based on Magical Material, a
hearthstone socket, and +2 defense score. Since the bonus the material provides is wider than other artifacts
it costs double.

Magical Materials

Orichalcum

Melee: +1 bonus

Ranged: + 1 bonus

Armor: +1 to Armor

Tools: +1 bonus

Charms: Solars have charms that allow Orichalcum artifacts to work perfectly in there designed function and boost there durabilities to invulnerability

Moonsilver

Melee: +1 Defense

Ranged: Medium range becomes short range to moonsilver weapons

Armor: reduce penalty by one

Tools: No real bonus, but moonsilver artifact tools can have multiple functions

Charms: Lunars have charms to shapeshift moonsilver artifacts and quickly heal them.

Starmetal

Melee: 9-again ability

Ranged: 9-again ability

Armor: strips an #-again level, including 10-again from any attack

Tools: 9-again ability

Charms: Sidereals have charms to change the fate of their artifacts, letting them be lost and found at convenient times, and have artifacts that serve your purpose even when out of your hands.

Soulsteel

Melee: every level of damage strips a mote of essence from target

Ranged: Gains an extra level of armor piercing quality

Armor: +1 Armor as Soulsteel strip energy from a blow

Tools: + 1 bonus for destructive acts, but if roll is opposed it also reduces opposing roll by one, even in non-destructive acts

Charms: Abyssals can use charms to re-channel essence stolen from weapons and call on horrible powers of tormented souls trapped in their artifacts

Jade

All: +2 to durability

Charms: Each Aspect when having the appropriate color of Jade may invoke charms that turn weapons into fearsome elemental constructs.