Difference between revisions of "The Book Of Air/Celestial Artifacts"

Revision as of 21:01, 13 June 2006

SOLAR ARTIFACTS

ARMATURE OF SURPASSING MIGHT
Artifact 4
Armature of 5MM
Commitment: 10

Only a handful of these First-Age training devices remain, and most of them are in the hands of Gold-Faction Sidereals. Consisting of a humanoid armature, with a set of manacles for the arms and legs, these incredibly heavy assemblies (made of the appropriate Magical Material for the Exalt in training) are specially made to restrict both the motion of ones' body and the flows of ones' Essence, increasing effort, concentrating power, and halving either XP costs OR training time to raise Traits (ST's descretion).

For the first quarter of training time, increase the difficulty of all physical actions by +2; modify this to +1 by the second quarter, after which the Exalt has "gotten used" to operating with this handicap. The trainee must still pay extra motes to power Charms until the Armature is taken off, however (ST's descretion just how much).

When the pupil is ready, the coach releases the Armature with a Key (which needn't be a literal key; passwords are acceptable). Once the Armature unclasps and crashes to the ground, the Exalt feels a rush of power flooding thru him, activating his Anima Banner as though he had spent 16+ motes of Essence (yelling loudly at this point is considered required for maximum dramatic effect!).

Traits that can be increased by this method are: Essence, Combos, Attributes, Combat Abilities

Traits that cannot be increased are: Virtues, Backgrounds, Charms, non-Combat Abilities

THUNDERCRACKER
Artifact: 3 Whip made from one of the 5MM
Commitment: 5
Speed: +5 Accuracy: +2 Damage: +3L Def: -1 Minimums: Dex 4, Melee 3

Using a technique lost since the 1st Age, fine strands of one of the 5MM (typically Orichalcum or Moonsilver) are elaborately treated and braided together to form this weapon, which resembles, but cannot be mistaken for, a whip. Between 5-10 yards long, an attuned Thundercracker grants the standard MM bonuses and can be lenghtened or shortened at will. In addition to the standard uses of a whip, the Thundercracker can also be used as a fighting chain (Castebook: Night, pg. 76), and, when not in use, can even be coiled around the torso of the owner to act as light body armor (Soak: 6/5). Thundercrackers, which are exceedingly rare, carry a setting for a single Hearthstone on their pommels.

ABYSSAL ARTIFACTS

THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS (Level 3):
Glove with Hearthstone
Commitment: 5

This Abyssal Artifact is a long glove that reaches past the elbow, with a Hearthstone set into the palm or the back of the hand. The user peels off the glove and channels Essence into it, causing it to reshape itself into a large bird-like creature (determined by the type of glove: a Dusk general may have a leather glove that transforms into a raiton, while a Moonshadow courtesan may wear a lacy velvet glove which becomes a shiny raven). The Hearthstone becomes the bird's single left eye, transmitting everything the bird sees back to the one attuned to it. The bird possesses standard stats of one of its kind, +3 wherever the creator desires.

LUNAR ARTIFACTS

TWIN BONES OF DISCORD
Artifact: 3
Moonsilver Nunchaku
(PC) Speed +15 Accuracy +3 Damage +4B Defense +4 Rate 5 (Clinch Enhancer)
Requires: Dex 3, MA 4; Commitment: 4

This Lunar Artifact appears to be a simple pair of nunchaku, elegantly-crafted from Moonsilver, bound by a single cord. Like all Moonsilver weapons, they adapt to accomodate the changing size of the one attuned to them, but they also count as one the few Martial Arts weapons exclusively for Lunar use. They serve as Clinch Enhancers and can be used to parry hand-to-hand lethal attacks (with the cord) or ranged attacks (with the sticks). Additionally, the moonsilver-threaded cord can stretch on command to a distance of (Yards=Perm Essence), enabling the martial artist to surprise or restrain an opponent, use them as a whip, or even as a climbing aid.

SIDEREAL ARTIFACTS

BLESSED HAND OF THE MAIDENS
Artifact: 1
Starmetal Hand Bracelet
Commitment: 2

An ornate hand-bracelet crafted of Starmetal, this Artifact guides its Sidereal owner's hand toward making the most immediately fortunate, tho its longterm use is increasingly unreliable. It may give +3 to pick the right card in a card game, but only +1 to defeat the strategy of a master Gateway player.