Revision as of 09:03, 3 April 2010

Quendalon's Hearthstones

When a player purchases the Manse background, Hearthstones must follow. Below are a number of new Hearthstones I've designed for my campaign.

• back to HearthStones

Air

Smoke-Shifter Gem</b>

<b>Manse •
Trigger: Concentration (Simple)

This Hearthstone is a dull bluish-gray in color. When the bearer touches the stone with her left hand and concentrates upon a mass of smoke, she may reshape the smoke as she wishes. Affected smoke will hold its new shape without dissipating for so long as the bearer concentrates, and can move at walking speed. Shaped smoke retains its normal color and billowing texture, and can’t be mistaken for solid objects under most circumstances.

Savant’s Lens</b>

<b>Manse ••
Trigger: Concentration (Simple)

This stone appears as a transparent lens of the clearest, lightest blue. When the bearer looks through the stone, it translates all mundane writings and symbols into Old Realm script. Ciphers and codes appear in Old Realm script but remain encoded.

Unseen Stone</b>

<b>Manse ••
Trigger: None, constant

This oval Hearthstone is smooth and clear as glass. Once set into a properly harmonized artifact, both the stone and its setting become totally invisible. If set into a thrown weapon or a melee weapon other than a brawling aid, the weapon’s invisible nature allows its bearer to make a surprise attack while in plain view; treat this as an attack from ambush. Whether or not the ambush succeeds, attempts to dodge, parry or disarm an invisible weapon are at +1 difficulty for the duration of combat.

Pretender’s Stone</b>

<b>Manse •••
Trigger: None, constant

Silvery specks gleam in the heart of this smoky jewel. Its bearer may utter the most barefaced lies with casual ease; she adds three additional dice to all Charisma and Manipulation rolls that involve tricking or deceiving others.

Stone of Emerald Glory</b>

<b>Manse ••••
Trigger: None, constant

This green orb glows with a pure inner brilliance. The bearer of the stone is constantly under the effects of Terrestrial Countermagic. All spells of the Terrestrial Circle directed at her are torn asunder. This does not disrupt spells that are already in effect.

Whirlwind-of-Shards Stone</b>

<b>Manse ••••
Trigger: Concentration (Simple)

Hundreds of irregular facets cover this spiky gray jewel. By concentrating, the bearer may cause loose objects in the vicinity to rise up and spin around her in a whirlwind of flying debris. The bearer rolls Essence + Conviction when she activates the stone to determine the intensity of the cloud of debris. Each round, the whirlwind inflicts bashing damage equal to the number of successes on anyone who comes within or remains within three yards of the bearer; this may be soaked normally with armor and Stamina. A cloud containing hard or sharp objects, like large stones or knives, inflicts lethal damage instead. If used in a closed environment with few or no loose objects, the stone’s power is reduced or annulled, at the Storyteller’s discretion.

The bearer need only concentrate to activate the power; once active, the cloud of debris continues to whirl until the bearer chooses to end it. However, she may only move at half of her normal movement rate. If she moves any faster, the cloud collapses.

Jewel of Clear Skies</b>

<b>Manse •••••
Trigger: Concentration (Simple)

This lenticular stone shades from cloudy white at the edges to a pale blue center. The bearer may disperse clouds and storms at will, clearing the sky of all weather phenomena, and may maintain this effect for so long as she concentrates. It takes at least one minute to clear the sky, though it may be done more slowly if desired. Clouds thus dispersed do not return until new weather patterns bring them forth again.

Earth

Stone of Ghost-Lines</b>

<b>Manse ••
Trigger: Drawing a line with the stone’s setting

This round Hearthstone is a dull grayish-white, marbled with green and black veins. When its setting is used to scratch a line upon the ground, that line is just as effective in blocking ghosts as a line of salt or germinated grain. These lines may be incorporated into stronger occult wards against ghosts, adding 3 dice to the occultist’s dice pool. (Rules for warding against ghosts are found on page 150 of Exalted: the Abyssals.)

Thousand-League Stone</b>

<b>Manse •••
Trigger: None, constant

This stone has the dusty blue-white color of distant mountains. Physical exertion no longer fatigues the bearer; she still needs sleep, but she may run or fight for hours on end without tiring. Mechanically, the bearer automatically succeeds on all fatigue checks.

Spirit-Grounding Stone</b>

<b>Manse ••••
Trigger: None, constant

This Hearthstone is a sphere of glossy black rock streaked with feathery gray swirls. It forces all dematerialized ghosts and spirits that come within ten yards of it to spend Essence to materialize. No spirit may dematerialize while it remains within the stone’s sphere of influence. A spirit may make a Willpower roll to avoid this forced materialization. If a spirit makes the roll successfully, or if it lacks sufficient Essence to materialize, it remains immaterial, but it may not enter the stone's sphere of influence for so long as it remains in its immaterial state.

The effects of the Spirit-Grounding Stone extend to the Manse from which it formed. No spirit may enter the Manse in an immaterial state, and any spirit attempting to do so must make a Willpower roll, as above.

Wyld-Walker Stone</b>

<b>Manse ••••
Trigger: None, constant

This stone’s many facets gleam like polished steel. Its bearer cannot be warped or mutated by the Wyld, nor by the twisting effects of an uncapped Demesne. Her possessions are likewise immune to alteration. Note that the stone provides no defense against indirect Wyld effects - its bearer can still be assailed by giant carnivorous lilacs or sucked into the sky.

Sphere of Order</b>

<b>Manse •••••
Trigger: None, constant

This Hearthstone appears as a perfect orb of white jade the size of a child’s fist. The Wyld cannot intrude upon this stone’s environment; everything within ten feet of the stone is as stable as the heart of the Blessed Isle, even in a Wyld storm or the pure chaos outside the bounds of Creation. This conveys no long-term stability to the area, however, and the Wyld will flow back into an area once the stone moves elsewhere. The entirety of the Demesne from which the Hearthstone springs shares this quality.

Fire

Firefly Gem</b>

<b>Manse •
Trigger: Concentration (Simple)

This milky orb holds a flickering green-gold light at its heart. By concentrating, the bearer may loose the light from the stone, sending it aloft to move about at her whim. The light is as bright as a candle flame and moves up to 60 yards per round. Whenever the bearer stops concentrating, the light winks out and reappears in the heart of the stone.

Gem of Melody</b>

<b>Manse •
Trigger: Playing or composing music

This honey-colored Hearthstone grants vibrancy and passion to its bearer’s music. She adds two dice to all of her Performance rolls to compose or perform music. If the bearer sets the stone into an attuned musical instrument made of one of the Five Magical Materials, she adds a third bonus die to Performance rolls that involve playing that instrument.

Stone of the Forge</b>

<b>Manse ••
Trigger: None, constant

This black, sooty jewel pulses with heat, and is unaccountably heavy. Its bearer gains an intuitive sense regarding the working of metal, giving her three additional dice on any Crafts roll involving metalwork. If the gem’s setting is used in the metalworking process, the bearer gains an additional die.

Stone of the Gentle Protector</b>

<b>Manse ••
Trigger: None, constant

This rounded Hearthstone is a deep, opaque blue, vividly speckled with red and gold, and feels warm to the touch. The fires of heroism swell in the bearer’s heart, granting a bonus of one dot to her Compassion and Valor scores.

Gemstone of Exorcism</b>

<b>Manse •••
Trigger: None, constant

A vein of gold runs through this reddish-orange stone. Ghosts cannot possess anyone touching the stone or its setting. This renders the bearer immune to possession, and allows her to exorcise ghosts from others with a touch of the stone. If the bearer wields a weapon set with this stone, she need merely penetrate the target’s armor soak to exorcise a ghost from the target; natural soak has no effect, and no damage need be inflicted. If set into armor, the stone expels the ghost from any possessed opponent that successfully holds, clinches or strikes the wearer with an unarmed attack

Gemstone of Retribution</b>

<b>Manse ••••
Trigger: Being wounded in combat

Black veins run through this translucent red stone. When an attack successfully inflicts damage on the bearer, she may retaliate with an immediate counterattack if she is aware of the attacker’s location and has an appropriate weapon to hand. The counterattack uses the bearer’s full Dexterity + (appropriate attribute) dice pool, with additional dice equal to the number of health levels lost to the original attack. The bearer may use this power a number of times per day equal to her Valor.

Water

Driftwood Stone</b>

<b>Manse •
Trigger: None, constant

This translucent sea-green stone contains hundreds of tiny bubbles. The stone’s setting does not sink in water, but instead drifts to the surface along with anything attached to it. The stone can support up to five hundred pounds of weight before being dragged down into the depths.

Duck-Feather Gem </b>

<b>Manse •
Trigger: None, constant

This oval Hearthstone is a pale gray, smudged with black at its narrower ends, and is light and slick to the touch. Water rolls right off the character and her clothes and possessions, permitting her to walk through a thunderstorm or wade across a stream without getting wet. Note that the character doesn’t gain the ability to breathe water.

Pearl of Pure Waters</b>

<b>Manse •
Trigger: Pouring water over the stone

This pale blue pearl shimmers with golden highlights. The stone purifies any water poured over its setting, cleansing it of all natural impurities. Even seawater becomes as drinkable as the sweetest spring water. Note that water must actually be poured over the stone to be affected; simply immersing the stone in a body of water will have no effect.

Sounding Stone</b>

<b>Manse •
Trigger: Touch

Brassy metallic streaks run through this silvery stone. When its bearer wills it, its setting becomes as a musical instrument; she need only brush her fingers across its surface to call forth music, replicating the sounds of any instrument she desires.

Wood

White-Fur Gemstone</b>

<b>Manse •
Trigger: None, constant

This fibrous white stone shines like sunlit snow. When the bearer activates the stone, her hair turns stark white. Within minutes, she grows a thick layer of warm fur all over her body. This fur gives the bearer two additional dice on all Stamina and Resistance rolls to resist cold. When she chooses to deactivate the stone, the fur withdraws into her body within a minute and her hair returns to its normal color.

Leaf-Hair Gem</b>

<b>Manse ••
Trigger: None, constant

The surface of this flat, dark green stone bears the imprint of a leaf. Once the bearer activates the stone, her hair turns to bright green leaves the next time that it is struck by sunlight. Like a plant, she has no need of food. As long as she has water, an hour or more of sunlight each day, and bare earth to sleep on, she need not eat and suffers no penalty from fasting for any length of time. When the bearer deactivates the stone, the leaves revert to hair.

Stone of Five Seasons</b>

<b>Manse ••
Trigger: Touch and concentration (Simple)

This Hearthstone is a mottled green in color. By touching a plant and focusing on one of the five seasons, the bearer forces the plant into a different phase of its growth. Depending on the season chosen, the plant might burst into blossom, put forth nuts or fruit, or shed its leaves as with the coming of winter. The change takes less than a minute to complete. The plant will return to its normal state after a day and a night, shedding any surplus leaves, flowers and fruit in the process. Note that plants affected by the Stone of Five Seasons do not actually age; they do not grow in size, nor do short-lived plants actually die if forced into winter.

Gem of Owner’s Scent</b>

<b>Manse •••
Trigger: None, constant

This speckled pink stone is smooth and warm to the touch. Domesticated animals of all sorts, including horses, hounds and other trained beasts, grant the bearer the same regard as their owner. This does not make the animal any more obedient than normal; it merely acts around the bearer as it normally would around its master. If the animal's owner and the stone's bearer give conflicting commands, they may make a contested Charisma + Survival or Ride roll to determine which one the animal obeys.

Stone of Flower and Fruit </b>

<b>Manse •••
Trigger: Burying and watering the stone

One end of this bulbous white stone bears vivid pink and orange streaks. If this stone and its setting are buried in earth and sprinkled with water, a small bush sprouts overnight. With the first light of morning, the bush bursts into blossom and yields a number of pink-and-orange berries equal to the bearer’s permanent Essence + Compassion. Eating a berry satisfies all hunger and thirst for a full day and heals a single non-aggravated wound. A character may only benefit from one berry per day; eating more berries yields no additional advantages. When night falls or the stone is unearthed, the bush and any remaining berries crumble to dust.

Abyssal

Stone of the Walking Dead</b>

<b>Manse ••••
Trigger: Touch and concentration (Simple)

This irregular, bone-white stone gleams with an unhealthy greenish radiance. The bearer need only touch the gem’s setting to a corpse and concentrate for a turn to have the corpse rise as a walking dead under her control. Such creatures are always extras. This power may be used a number of times per day equal to the bearer’s permanent Essence score.

Lunar

Full-Moon Wyldstone</b>

<b>Manse ••
Trigger: None, constant

This blue-white stone gleams with a pale light. Like the full moon, it has a destabilizing effect when borne to the fringes of the Wyld. The Bordermarches grow as wild and unstable as the Middlemarches, while a Middlemarch area frays into the chaos of the Deep Wyld. The stone’s power affects a 20 yard radius.

Four Magical Materials Stone</b>

<b>Manse •••
Trigger: Concentration (Reflexive)

The many facets of this transparent silvery stone glitter with a rainbow of colors. It has the power to alter the substance of its setting, transforming it into any of the four natural Magical Materials (orichalcum, moonsilver, starmetal, or any of the five colors of jade). The wearer need only concentrate to bring about this transformation. The artifact loses all bonuses derived from its original material, replacing them with whatever bonuses are appropriate to its new composition. Artifact powers inappropriate to the item’s new makeup may be altered or lost, at the Storyteller’s discretion. Returning the artifact to its original state, through either the use of the Hearthstone or its removal, restores all of the artifact’s powers and abilities.

New-Moon Wyldstone </b>

<b>Manse ••••
Trigger: None, constant

This velvety black stone seems to shine when viewed out of the corner of one’s eye. Like the new moon, it has a stabilizing effect when borne to the fringes of the Wyld. The Middlemarches grow calm enough to resemble the Bordermarches, while a Bordermarch area becomes as stable and safe as any land within the borders of Creation. The stone’s power affects a 20 yard radius.

Stone of the Maw</b>

<b>Manse •••••
Trigger: Eating things

This pointed gray stone resembles a shark’s tooth. Its bearer gains the power to eat any inanimate matter short of the Five Magical Materials. She can chew through wood, bone, stone or metal as if it were no harder than stringy meat or stale bread. Nothing she eats can harm her, even the worst of poisons, and she derives a modicum of nourishment from even the most inedible substances.

If the bearer attempts to bite an opponent, her bite attack ignores the soak of mundane armor. The bite is Spd –3, Acc +0, Dam +3L, Def –2. If she already has a bite attack from some other source, such as a Lunar Charm or Deadly Beastman Transformation, the attack gains +3L damage.

Sidereal

Calendar Crystal</b>

<b>Manse •
Trigger: Concentration (Reflexive)

The bearer of this faceted blue stone needs neither clock nor calendar. With but a thought, she may know the exact time of day, as well as the day and the month. The stone’s power only fails during the five days of Calibration.

Solar

Sunhawk's Eye</b>

<b>Manse •
Trigger: None, constant

This translucent stone fades from a brilliant gold at its center to a deep, warm brown at the edges. Bright light cannot impair the wearer's vision. A character bearing this Hearthstone may stare directly at the Sun's light without harm, and is similarly immune to magics that use light to cause blindness.

Gift of Radiance Stone</b>

<b>Manse ••
Trigger: Touch and concentration (Simple)

This hard yellow stone gleams with an inner light. With but a touch, the bearer may cause any inanimate object to glow as brightly as a torch for the rest of the scene. When used on large objects, no more than a square foot of the object may be set aglow at a time.

Ghost-Candle Gemstone</b>

<b>Manse •••
Trigger: None, constant

This pale, oval stone glows faintly from within, like the wax of a lit candle. The stone makes visible all ghosts that come within ten feet of it. In addition, the stone’s setting is solid to ghosts. If the stone is set in a weapon, that weapon may be used to attack dematerialized ghosts. If set into armor, that armor provides its full soak against ghostly attacks that normally ignore armor.

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Comments

These are terrific. I am very appreciative of anyone who comes up with more interesting hearthstones, as they're one of the more overlooked varieties of artifact. Nice stuff! -- DaveFayram

I've always enjoyed making up new magical toys for whatever game I'm currently interested in. I'm glad you enjoyed these. Don't worry, there are more Hearthstones a-brewin'! - Q

You're getting to the point where it might be worthwhile to start thinking about splitting this up into a number of subpages, either by aspect (like I did) or level.
_Ikselam

It's getting there, but we're not quite there yet. I'll want to add enough stones that each individual page will have enough on it to be worth looking at; a Hearthstone page with just one stone is a bit of an embarrassment. - Quendalon

These are great. I'm so impressed with your creativity.
I do have two questions / possible balance considerations, though ...
Spirit-Grounding Stone. This seems a tad powerful, even for a level 4. I'd feel a little more comfortable with it if it had some sort of Essence limitation on the spirits that could be controlled -- say, a spirit that can be Grounded using the hearthstone must have an Essence equal to or lower than the bearer's Essence. Basically, I just don't think a 2-Essence Dragon-Blood should be able to Ground Taru-Han, Goddess of Death and Rebirth, no matter what kind of hearthstone he has. Or, say, the Unconquered Sun.
Four Magical Materials Stone. This also seems rather powerful, especially for a level 2. Using this hearthstone, you could put a hearthstone setting in a gigantic chunk of jade and convert it straight to starmetal. Considering: (a) you can buy jade artifacts on the open market in Nexus, and (b) starmetal is so rare that Sidereals, whose backgrounds are disgusting, only get 1-for-1 for artifact levels ... I think this power is a bit much.
~ Shataina

If you read the text of the 4MM Stone more carefully, you'll see that when the stone is removed, the artifact reverts to its original material.
I have mixed feelings about the Spirit-Grounding Stone. On the one hand, I'm unconcerned about its perfection, since forcing a major god to materialize is likely to make that god mad at you, which has the strong potential to really ruin your day. On the other hand, I think there are some special cases it needs to address: namely, what happens when you kill a god's corporeal body within the area of effect, and what happens if the god doesn't have enough motes to materialize. I think I'd also give some mechanism for resisting the effect, probably something pretty harsh like "spend 1 willpower to resist effects for a single turn."
_Ikselam

Oh, I see. <blush> I can't believe I missed that. I have no problems with the Four Magical Materials Stone if the material reverts after the hearthstone is removed ... well ... maybe it should be one level higher ... I don't know ... it can convert an entire grand daiklave to starmetal ... hmm.
~ Shataina

Another thing about the 4MM Stone just occurred to me. From the flavor text, I'm assuming that transmuting an artifact literally alters it, thus forcing you to treat it as an item of the wrong MM if you transmute it to something other than your splat's favored MM. Whether or not I'm right, I think this issue should be explicitly addressed in the description.
_Ikselam

Thanks for covering this for me, Ikselam.  :) On the Spirit-Grounding Stone, it's not so effective as an offensive weapon insofar as you can't turn it on and off without popping the stone in and out of its socket. Good call on the gray areas though. I'd actually planned that it materializes spirits without mote cost, but that might cause its own set of balance problems. The resistance mechanic seems fine.
For the 4MM stone... hmm. I'll have to re-examine the rules for items of non-favored materials. Any thoughts? - Quendalon

Keep in mind that if it Materializes things without mote cost, you can have Octavian, Demon of the Second Circle, Materialize right next to the bearer with his full Essence pool rather than his full Essence pool minus 110. That's, umm ... 55 uses of Uncanny Prowess. <grin> I do love the extreme cases.
Or if it only works on spirits, then you can have Ahlat Materialize in the same fashion without losing 60 motes.
And you can have them leave the area of effect, dematerialize for free, and then wander back in if they want to Materialize.
Anyway, regardless, I'm not so sure a mere hearthstone should be capable of forcing the Unconquered Sun to Materialize, but I guess dealing with Him afterwards would probably kill everything and destroy the hearthstone anyway. ;)
~ Shataina

Well, here's an idea on the Spirit-Grounding Stone: make it force them to use their Essence to materialize, but only if they want to stay in the radius. If they don't want to materialize or don't have the Essence to do so, then they just get "pushed" away from the grounding zone. Thoughts? - Nanaki

Sounds good! - Quendalon

So, about the 4MM stone... if you are attuned to the thingy and it and you match, and then you turn your thingy into something you don't match, what happens? This will happen from time to time, you know. Imagine being a sidereal and needing that extra range that orichalcum gives, for that one, necessary shot. Do you have to reattune to your thiny, or do you simply spend the essence and the stone takes care of the attunement time? Or are you magically attuned on the cheap? - Seraph

Stone of Emerald Glory -- what does this do about spells like Disguise of the New Face, which aren't really directed at the bearer so much as use him? I think it should only work on the most direct possible effects like Flying Guillotine, personally.
~ Shataina
PS: I like the solution to the Spirit-Grounding Stone, although I'm still not sure it should be able to affect really powerful gods. But it's definitely way better now.

The SoEG is just a low-grade version of the Gem of Sapphire and Emerald, and so the same questions should apply. I may have been sloppy in copying over the language of the original stone, but it's intended to function in an identical manner. - Quendalon

Oh. Where's the Gem of Sapphire and Emerald from? It sounds familiar but I can't remember it.
~ Shataina

It's from the core book.  :) -q

AHH! That'll show me. I was just commenting to someone how long it had been since I read the core the other day. I should make flash cards.
~ Shataina

Unless you're using a house rule, the Sun-In-Shadow stone does... ahh... very little, unfortunately. Forgive me if I am wrong (and have been all this time) but I'm fairly sure that creation HearthStones work just fine in the underworld. They may not work in the labyrinth, I can't remember if it's explicitly stated, but they work fine just pottering around stygia, visiting the ancestors in An-Teng, etc. Admittedly, the full essence regen is useful, but I don't think it's worth rating 5.
-- Darloth

Just to reassure you, I was bored enough to go through Abyssals and try to find out. Damn Exalted books and their vagueness. While it would make sense that Creation HearthStones stopped working once you entered the Underworld, just as Underworld HearthStones stop working in Creation, it doesn't specify. - Trithne

I believe that you guys are correct, and that Creation Hearthstones function normally in the Underworld. Deleting the now-useless stone. - Quendalon