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AntiVehicleRocket's Abyssal Craft Wackiness

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Efficacious Prayer Shaping</b>

 <b>Cost: 5 motes
 Duration: One act of crafting
 Type: Simple
 Minimum Craft: 4
 Minimum Lore: 2
 Minimum Essence: 3
 Prerequisite Charms: None

Mortals sometimes speak of fragile objects being "held together by prayer"; with her knowledge of the corpse-elements, a skilled Abyssal Exalt may make this figure of speech come true, as she uses her keen skill and the prayers of the Underworld to reinforce an object she repairs or builds. A deathknight using Efficacious Prayer Shaping effectively uses prayer as a material, reducing the material requirements of her crafts; she may repair even a sundered object without adding new material as long as at least a fifth of its original material remains. If Efficacious Prayer Shaping is used on an object that the deathknight is creating, it reduces her need for materials similarly.

An object built or repaired with Efficacious Prayer Shaping is as strong as a normal object of its type but appears fragile, shattered, or eerily flimsy; though the Essence-reinforced prayer gives the object full utility and strength, it does not create an illusion of material where there is none. The effects of this Charm are permanent and do not require Essence commitment, but the object can still be broken as normal. Efficacious Prayer Shaping can only be used on objects made of mundane materials; it cannot affect flesh, either living or undead, or items of the Five Magical Materials.

Bitter Dust Remembrance Crafting

 Cost: 4 motes
 Duration: One act of crafting
 Type: Simple
 Minimum Craft: 3
 Minimum Lore: 1
 Minimum Essence: 2
 Prerequisite Charms: None

The corpse-element of dust is a powerful omen of Oblivion, associated as it is with world-weariness and decay. With this Charm, an Abyssal Exalt wise in the ways of the corpse-elements can imbue the Essence of dust into the items she crafts, giving the item the power of bitterness of this certain oblivion.

The deathknight's player makes an Essence + Craft roll, difficulty 3, when the Bitter Dust Remembrance Crafting is invoked. If successful, the object she is crafting will be exceptional, although she need not expend any more time or materials than she would for a mundane object of that type. The deathknight may choose which traits the object's exceptional nature increases, but they should be reminiscent of the anger of dust at its own oblivion; weapons will generally improve damage, for example. Overwhelming success on the Essence + Craft roll may produce even keener objects, at the Storyteller's discretion.

Bitter Dust Remembrance Crafting may only be used on objects crafted from mundane materials. It cannot be used on flesh, either living or undead, or on items of the Five Magical Materials.

Blood Puissance Augmentation

 Cost: 2+ motes, 1+ Health Level
 Duration: Instant
 Type: Simple
 Minimum Craft: 3
 Minimum Lore: 2
 Minimum Essence: 2
 Prerequisite Charms: None

Blood is an element of life-in-death, and a deathknight wise to its ways can use the power of Oblivion that resides in her own blood to augment the skills over her zombie troops. She charges her power in her blood, then slashes a wound open from which her power can flow into its undead recipient. Each invocation of the Blood Puissance Augmentation can only be used on a single corporeal undead creature, which must be within melee range of the Abyssal. (This Charm provides no benefit to ghosts, even manifested ones, although the Essence-infused blood is succulent to them and may be useful as a reward or bribe.) A common zombie or other human-sized undead being requires only one Health Level's worth of blood; larger undead beings may require more blood, at the Storyteller's discretion.

For every two motes spent on Blood Puissance Augmentation, the Abyssal may choose to add one dot to one of the undead creature's Physical Attributes, add two dots to one of its Abilities, or give it one additional -2 Health Level. A single zombie may not gain more Health Levels or dots in any one Attribute or Ability than the deathknight's permanent Essence rating. Additionally, undead augmented by this Charm are never treated as extras. The effects of the Blood Puissance Augmentation lasts for a number of days equal to the Abyssal's permanent Essence rating; a zombie cannot have more than one invocation of this Charm active at once, even if it is invoked by different Abyssals, but it can be refreshed after it runs out if the Abyssal wishes.

Keen Pyre-Flame Forging

 Cost: 10+ motes, 1 Willpower
 Duration: Special
 Type: Simple
 Minimum Craft: 5
 Minimum Lore: 3
 Minimum Essence: 3
 Prerequisite Charms: None

One of the most powerful of the corpse-elements for Abyssal crafters, pyre-flame can be commanded by those wise in its ways to allow the quick production of fine blades and other implements. With an invocation of the Keen Pyre-Flame Forging, the deathknight can will his forges to burn with leaping pyre-flame fueled by his own Essence. To work with this flame is difficult and dangerous, but with its power a deathknight blacksmith can swiftly arm a zombie horde or equip an expeditionary force.

When this Charm is first invoked, the deathknight must spend 10 motes and a Willpower point to call the fires of the pyre-flame to life. These flames will burn for one day; if the deathknight wants to maintain their burning, he must pay five motes per day thereafter, and he may only call the flames for at most a number of days equal to his permanent Essence rating. While the flame burns, though, the pyre-flame lends the crafting process remarkable quickness. The Abyssal's crafting speed is remarkably increased; if making weapons, he can produce two exceptional weapons or ten normal-quality ones in a day's work, and he can make an equivalent number of other objects and implements as is appropriate, at the Storyteller's digression. (Note that the "forge" need not be a literal blacksmith's forge, but the craft used with this Charm must be one which requires fire or heat; particularly clever deathknights might theoretically use the spiritual power of pyre-flame to stunt creative interpretations of Keen Pyre-Flame Forging, though.) Additionally, the power of the flame provides bonus dice to all Craft checks made during the Charm's duration equal to the Abyssal's permanent Essence rating. However, if the deathknight ever botches a Craft check made under the effects of this Charm, he immediately takes unsoakable levels of lethal damage equal to his permanent Essence rating.

Keen Pyre-Flame Forging can only augment the crafting of items made from mundane materials. It cannot augment construction of artifacts or other use of the Five Magical Materials in crafting.

Blossoming Bone Interweaving

 Cost: 1, 2, 3 or 6 motes per point of soak
 Duration: Instant
 Type: Simple
 Minimum Craft: 4
 Minimum Lore: 2
 Minimum Essence: 2
 Prerequisite Charms: None

Bone is a corpse-element of twisted growth and solidity in death, and an Abyssal Exalt wise in its ways can use it to reinforce her creations, using her Essence to spread growing bone through an object to increase its durability. Items augmented by this Charm usually show their reinforcement in shining ivory lattices of bone, sometimes even flowering into ivory rosettes on the object's surfaces; most deathknights appreciate this macabre beauty, but some take cares to make the bone latticing invisible in the final product.

When invoking this Charm, the deathknight makes an Essence + Craft roll. The difficulty is 1 if the deathknight is personally crafting the item to which she applies the Blossoming Bone Interweaving; if she attempts to use it on an already-finished object, the difficulty increases, to 3 if the object is of her construction and 5 if it is not. If this roll is successful, the Blossoming Bone Interweaving takes stable root in the object, the swiftly-growing bone superstructure reinforcing the object's weak points. If it is a failure, nothing will happen, or the bone lattice will be stunted and provide no benefit; on a botch, the object itself might be damaged or destroyed. If the Blossoming Bone Interweaving is successful, the object will increase its soak. For an object that will not experience the rigors of combat, each point of bashing soak costs 1 mote and each point of lethal soak costs 2 motes. For armor, weapons, and other objects that will be subject to rough conditions, the cost is 3 motes per point of bashing soak and 6 motes per point of lethal soak, since the bone structures must be made much more sturdy. (Blossoming Bone Interweaving does enhance a suit of armor's soak rating, as the increased durability of the armor in turn protects the wearer, but it also adds a -1 mobility penalty and 1 to Fatigue difficulty for each 2B/2L soak added, as the armor gets heavier and more ornate.) The effects of this Charm are permanent and require no Essence commitment.

Blossoming Bone Interweaving is an insidious process and requires the Essence-powered bone to be able to grow through the object it will reinforce. As such, it will not function on any superhard, invulnerable material, including the Five Magical Materials.

OOC Notes

Yeah, this is some strangeness. The origins of these Charms is pretty mundane, though; I like the idea of corpse-elements and think more should be done with them, and I think the existing Abyssal Craft tree is sorely lacking for characters who can be so Craft-focused. Thus, the two ideas came together a little explosively.

I'd like to eventually assemble these Charms into something resembling an actual tree; my idea right now is to build a unifying prerequisite (Corpse-Elemental Crafting Initiation), and then eventually have it branch into advanced Craft techniques based on combinations of the corpse-elements, but the effects for the prerequisite and the advanced Charms really aren't there yet. I shall endeavor to work them out.

This is my first custom Charm tree, so I'm still tinkering with mechanical balance. These Charms have a fairly wide-ranging power scale for being at the same prerequisite depth, but I can deal with that; I'm more worried about whether some of these are two good or not good enough. (Blossoming Bone Interweaving is a particular worry; I don't want to make it too easy for Abyssals to be making super-armor, but I do want it to be useful. I'm pondering charging a Willpower cost, but that doesn't seem a reasonable balancer given that it would just slow a crafter down.) I'd certainly appreciate power feedback and help getting these refined. -- AntiVehicleRocket

Comments

Umm, just one. While I think the idea of dust as an element is fitting, technically, it isn't a death element in the canon. The counterpart would be jade, which I think is for the spiritual aspects of it. Perhaps it's an irony... among the living, jade is the weakest of the Five Magical Materials, and it's true power and respect is only found in death. But interesting. Not sure I agree with where you put all of them in the tree but definately has alot of cool potential. Keep it up! - haren

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