Difference between revisions of "HearthstoneRelay/Justice"

Latest revision as of 20:48, 8 June 2010

= The tenth theme is Justice.

Tiny Screamer (Ikselam)
Air Aspected
Manse •
Trigger: Theft.

Each of these pure white globes is marked with what appears to be a pair of sculpted lips. When attuned, a Tiny Screamer will issue a warning whenever someone tries to take the artifact in which it is set. If someone not attuned to the artifact touches it, the stone's "mouth" will open, and, true to its name, begin issuing earsplitting screams. Exactly how far the sound carries depends on the situation; the level of sound produced is equivalent to that of an adult human screaming at the top of his lungs. The stone will continue howling until the "thief" is no longer touching the artifact.

Tiny Screamers sound just like screaming people; they even pause now and again to draw breath. Each one has a slightly different voice, although ones which all come from the same Manse will usually all sound like the same gender.

Stone of Righteousness (szilard)
Solar Aspected
Manse ••
Trigger: Channelling Conviction

Stones of Righteousness are multifaceted gems that are nearly perfectly transparent. When exposed to the light of the Sun or a Solar's anima, however, they blaze with a golden light. It is said that an Exalt with a mission and one of the Stones of Righteousness is unstoppable in pursuit of his goal. When a character with a Stone of Righteousness channels Wilpower through his Conviction in the pursuit of a goal he considers to be just, he gains a number of dice equal to twice his Conviction rather than his conviction alone. Moreover, if this roll is successful, then the character is not limited to channelling his Conviction to once per story per dot of Conviction, and may spend Willpower to do so at twice the normal effectiveness as long as he possesses the Stone, only channels his Conviction in pursuit of goals he considers just, and does not fail a roll in which he channels his Conviction.

Reconciler's Gem (Ikselam)
Sidereal Aspected
Manse •••
Trigger: Looking into the stone.

This lenticular hearthstone's mirrored surface has a bluish tint. When attuned, it helps its owner determine how to best redress grievances others have against her. When the bearer looks into the stone and thinks of a particular person, the stone will show her an image of what she should do in order to make that person forgive her for wrongs (real or imagined) she has committed against him. If the person she is thinking of has no grievance against her, the stone will usually show something that he would like her to do for him. It usually takes about a minute for the vision to unfold completely.

The method of reconciliation shown in the gem is guaranteed to be effective, but it is not guaranteed to be comfortable, or even achievable. Particularly implacable foes, or people whom the character has very badly wronged, may only be satisfied by her death, the return of a dead loved one, or the performance of some impossibly onerous task. How forgiving any given character is willing to be is left to the Storyteller's discretion, but should generally be informed by his Nature and Virtues.

Eye-for-an-Eye Eye (FourWillowsWeeping)
Lunar Aspected
Manse ••••
Trigger: Vengeance

The Eye-for-an-Eye Eye looks like a green-irised eyeball regardless of what direction it is viewed from. Breaking the stone open reveals that it is in fact a highly reflective crystal with a black pearl embedded in its centre. It is this pearl that is the true Hearthstone; the crystal that condenses around it is a result of ambient Essence precipitating onto the stone, which is suffused with a spiritual coldness. Whenever the stone's bearer takes action to hurt (this does not necessarily mean physically injure) an individual that has done him irreparable harm, he gains a number of extra dice determined by the severity of the offence. Multiple offences are cumulative, to a maximum of twice the bearer's Valor in dice. The severity of offences for a particular stone follows, but these vary from stone to stone:

• Changing something irreversibly, leaving it undamaged but diminished in the bearer's eyes

•• Destroying a valued possession

••• Killing the bearer (this is only applicable to ghosts), disabling the bearer, subverting a valued possession

•••• Killing or maiming a loved one, torturing the bearer

••••• Disabling or torturing a loved one

Unfortunately, the Eye grants the same blessing to anyone that the bearer does irreparable harm to (not just those that the bearer extracts vengeange from), following the same hierarchy of sins. Prolonged use of the Eye-for-an-Eye Eye tends to cause ever-escalating wars of emotional violence.

Gem of Zenith's Final Appeal (TedPro)
Solar Aspected
Manse •••••
Trigger: Judgement

In the first age, the Gem of Zenith's Final Appeal was used by the Solar Dynasty to enforce their rule throughout Creation. A perfect sphere of bright yellow amber with a tiny sun in the middle, this Hearthstone always radiates light. The bearer asserts arbitrative authority in any society, mortal or divine. During any deliberation where innocence, fairness, or punishment is in question, the bearer is magically granted to right to make the final decision in the eyes of all participants. Thus, the bearer could sentence a pickpocket to death during a trial, pardon a Sidereal during an audit, inform a team of bandits that they'll let a prisoner free, overrule a Guild taxation contract, or declare someone Anathema in the eyes of the Wild Hunt. All those present will comply with the ruling, even if they do not agree, unless they make a Willpower check with a difficulty of the bearer's Conviction.

For this stone to work, there must be a society of some kind in which to operate, and there must be a debate of fairness or punishment. The bearer couldn't command an army to turn away, or order a man's death unless he was already being judged for something. Similarly, the bearer couldn't make a decision for a single person, an animal, or a magical spell. The bearer must pronounce their ruling in a clear, loud manner (this may require a Charisma+Presence roll to get everyone to hear) and must be understood by the listeners.

Comments

Just a thought, but what if the thief tries to steal the artifact without touching it, or not touching it for long? Such as carrying it in a box? Should the stone perhaps scream until the owner's hands touch the artifact again? ~EndlessChase

Re: the channeling of Virtues - I thought that the limit per story was equal to the number of dots in the Virtue, and not just once? - Moxiane

erg. yeah. that's what I get for writing charms before coffee. fixed. -szilard

Eye-for-an-Eye should have a limit on how long the vengeance bonus lasts. If it lasts until the offender dies, it's not a power I think is appropriate for any level of hearthstone. _Ikselam wrote a similar stone for Grieving.

Huh. I should really pay closer attention to this relay, I suppose. I'd have posted something different if I had. I think that the liitation working on this gem is the term "irreversible"; it gets very hard to impose such things on the protectorate of Exalted. But I think you're right that there needs to be a harder mechanical limit; I'll think about it some more. - willows

I think the benefit just needs to explicitly terminate at some point. A permanent bonus versus anyone who wrongs you is... broken. _Ikselam

This being a stone of justice, it probably ought to terminate once the imbalance has been corrected. What if it only aided the stone's bearer in attempts to irreparably harm the offender, and ceases to function for a particular offence once it has been repaid through an offence of a similar level (as per the chart included)? - szilard

That's essentially the same criterion I used in my version of this stone, so I of course think it's a pretty good idea. _Ikselam

I added a slightly different kind of proviso, to make this stone a little more different from yours. - willows

That's a very elegant stone there. I'm not sure it's a level 4, though; the power strikes me as 3-neighborhood. - willows

How about we have my 4 and your 3 trade places, then. I think the revenger stone you've written up here is powerful enough to merit level 4 -- pragmatically, I don't think the limitation will really come into play that much. Most players (and a lot of characters) will just use their big bonus pool to kill the one who wronged them; the limiting proviso will never come into play. _Ikselam

Good idea. It is done! - w

I'd really like to try to complete this, but I don't have enough familiarity with Wiki code to create a new theme, page, etc. - TedPro

Put up your stone and leave a "PS: next theme is.." and I or someone else will archive and make the new page, if you like. --dissolvegirl

Thank you! Done. The next theme is: Emptiness --TedPro

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