Difference between revisions of "Falcon/FloatawayCharm"

Revision as of 15:58, 13 April 2007

Floataway Charm

Artifact •\\ Small Talisman\\ Commitment: None

Although technically a mere charm that can be created even by mortal sorcerers, floataways are so exceptionally rare that they qualify as minor artefacts, and are unlikely to be found outside the possession of Exalts, gods, and other beings of power.

To make a floataway, an occultist must first create a walkaway in the usual method (page 336 of the Exalted rulebook). The walkaway must then be blessed by an Air-Aspected Immaculate at a specific series of twelve temples across the Realm. Quite apart from the difficulty of discovering the correct sequence (Intelligence + Occult, difficulty 7 to suddenly 'come up with the answer') and the physical problems of crossing the Realm, the key problem comes in getting a priest of an aniconic religion to bless your 'lucky charm'.

However, once the twelfth blessing has been enacted, your walkaway becomes a floataway. It still functions as a walkaway, with the additional effect that the next time a fall would end in your death, you are brought to a gentle stop about one inch above the ground (or any dangerous protrusions) and your floataway charm crumbles as the power of the blessing consumes it.

While the charm protects you from falling damage, it does nothing to make the surface you are falling towards any less hostile. A one-inch fall onto spikes may sting, but won't kill you. A one-inch fall into deep water may still endanger your life if you're wearing heavy armour, and a one-inch fall into a vat of acid is just as unpleasant as a twenty foot drop into one.

But anyway, who the hell keeps a vat of acid around? I mean, what do you do with it? Once it's there, it's just high-maintenance dungeon decoration. You'd be better off with a fountain - at least you can drink from a fountain, or poison it if you're nefarious enough, or (for the really nefarious) poison it with something you're immune to. And a fountain is less likely to be turned against you at a critical moment. Or maybe some kind of floral arrangement... hey, with the application of ikebana you could create an auspicious arrangement of flowers that makes the entire dungeon come alive with light and the scent of petunias! Or something.

Comments

Looks pretty neat! However, the difficulty involved in making the floataway looks like terrible overkill. It's not like what it does is really all that impressive, and this is Exalted, where cool magical stuff happens all the time. The cost/benefit ratio seems too low for anyone to ever bother making one, ever ever. - Quendalon

Falcon - It's true. On the other hand, 1. Not everything people do is worth the effort they put it, and 2. Some people will do it anyway. I see most people who own a floataway seeing it as a curiosity, at best. On the other hand, these things are a lot easier for dragon-blooded to create than anyone else - they have easy access to the Realm, and are much more likely to be able to persuade Immaculates to bless the things. Hell, the average Dynast is probably related to enough Air-Aspected Immaculates to get a hefty chunk of the way there, and if all else fails, there are always socialise charms...

Or, looked at another way, a dragon-blood who is on the move across the Realm may just create one 'in his spare time'. I mean, so long as the blessings are done in the right order, it's not a big deal if you have to wait ten years between each one. You just get them done as the opportunities present themselves. Or you can make a few arrangements and have one of your mortal servants tote the things across the Blessed Isle. Etc.

Also, nothing says that you can only make one at a time. if you were going to make one it would be nearly as easy to make several.