HearthStones/IkselamSolar
Ikselam's Solar Hearthstones
The Unconquered Sun's domain includes light, leadership, and virtuous conduct.
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Level 1
Gem of Binding Judgment
Manse • Trigger: Judgment.
These pale yellow discs always form in groups of five. If each one is attuned to a different person, they grant the power to pass magically-enforced judgment.
Mechanically, a sentence enforced by Gems of Binding Judgment is identical to an oath sanctified by an Eclipse Caste with Essence 5. The target need not agree to it, but he must be able to understand it, and it must consist of a single, simple clause. It cannot force the target to physically injure himself, and it must be related to some wrong he has (allegedly) committed.
This power power only functions if all five bearers, and the target, are in the stones' Manse at the time judgment is passed. In addition, all five gem bearers must agree on the terms of the sentence.
The stones can enforce up to five sentences at a time; when a judgment is passed, one of the stones will begin glowing with a soft, golden light. If that stone is destroyed, the geas will be undone; simply deattuning it is not enough. If all five bearers agree, they can commute a sentence, freeing up one of the stones. Stones also become free if the target dies, or satisfies the usual conditions for discharging an Eclipse oath. A target may be affected by multiple sentences at the same time, but can only ever be judged once for any specific crime by stones from the same Manse.
Gem of Brotherhood</b>
<b>Manse • Trigger: Various.
These wedge-shaped golden hearthstones always form in groups of five; they fit together to make a circle, like slices of pie. When attuned, they gain a number of useful powers dependent on how many different people hold them; their full powers are only unlocked if they are carried by a full Circle of five.
The powers granted by the gems are listed below, along with the number of people who must be carrying gems in order for the powers to work.
- 2+: The gem's bearer can, with brief concentration, get a rough sense of another bearer's location and emotional state.
- 3+: The gems' bearers can use the them to communicate with one another. With brief concentration (a Simple action), a character can send a telepathic message to one or several other gem-bearers. The gem belonging to a recipient of the message will shine brightly, in a hue reflective of the sender's Aspect.
- 4+: The bearer of a gem can hurry to the side of one of her comrades. After one full turn of concentration, during which she can take no other action, her body dissolves into a bolt of light reflective of her Aspect, which shoots up into the sky and descends beside the target an instant later. Using this power causes the gem to shine brightly for a full scene, after which it crumbles to dust (and reforms at its Manse as normal).
- All 5: If the entire Circle joins hands, they can instantly teleport themselves and a single guest back to the gems' Manse. Their bodies dissolve into bolts of colored light reflective of their Aspects, which arc up into the sky and back down into the Manse' hearthroom. If they wish to bring someone along with them, he must be standing inside the circle when the power activates. It takes a full turn to achieve the focus necessary to activate this power, during which no other actions may be taken. After it has been used, all five gems burn brightly for a full scene, and crumble to dust afterward. Gems destroyed in such a way reform at the Manse as normal.
The Lion's Heart
Manse • Trigger: None.
This smooth golden orb displays a white sunburst pattern if it is held at the correct angle. When attuned, it grants its owner a stronger connection to her passions. The character receives a single automatic success on any Virtue roll. This includes rolls to see if she can resist acting in accordance with a Virtue, as well as any roll for which she spent a Willpower to add a Virtue's rating to her dice pool.
Sunning Stone
Manse • Trigger: None.
This dark amber lens is cool to the touch. When attuned, it protects its bearer's skin from the adverse effects of the sun's rays. A character wearing a Sunning Stone becomes completely immune to the heat of the sun; even on the hottest day, he won't sweat more than normal, and he need never fear heatstroke or exhaustion brought on by exposure to bright sunlight. He gains no immunity to heat from other sources. In addition, he will never tan, no matter how pale his skin may be.
When used by a character with the Flaw, Sun-Seared, the Sunning Stone reduces the severity of the Flaw by one step, in place of its normal benefits.
Level 2
Greasemonkey Gem
Manse •• Trigger: None.
This metallic egg-shaped gem is covered in a thin layer of black grease that can never be fully cleaned off. When attuned, it gives its wearer an intuitive understanding of how mechanical devices and artifacts work. Mechanically, the character gains a three-die bonus to any rolls involving figuring out how devices are supposed to work, designing new ones, or repairing broken ones. It does not give any bonuses to constructing things from scratch.
Sunspark Gem
Manse •• Trigger: Pointing and concentrating (Simple).
This spherical white gem flickers constantly with a bright, internal light. When its bearer points his finger and concentrates, it allows him to discharge a brightly-shining mote of light that travels for up to a hundred yards before bursting in a brilliant flare of white and yellow sparks. The explosion produces bright light, but no heat.
The gem's power is most commonly employed to send signals or illuminate dark areas, but it can also be used to blind attackers. The flare is easy to see coming, however, giving most people more than enough time to shield their eyes. Anyone within ten yards of the explosion must make a Wits + Awareness test. Success means that they have looked away in time and experience no ill effects. If they fail, they are blinded for the remainder of the turn. On a botch, they are blinded for the remainder of the scene.
Thrifty Merchant's Stone
Manse •• Trigger: Appraising merchandise.
This multifaceted stone looks much like a chunk of pyrite, but shines much more brightly. It allows its wearer to instantaneously assess the fair market value of any material item placed before him. This assessment is totally objective; it does not take into account the local economic climate (although sweeping economic change across a vast portion of Creation would influence the estimate), or any sentimental value the item may have to a few specific people (although if an item has great historical value, it will be factored into the assessment).
Level 3
Promise Stone
Manse ••• Trigger: Making a promise.
This shiny, snow-white sphere is cool to the touch. When attuned, it causes its owner's word to become her bond. When the character makes a serious promise to someone else, any Willpower she spends on actions directly related to fulfilling it provide two automatic successes instead of one. If she breaks the promise (purposefully or not), she immediately loses this benefit, and cannot regain any Willpower at all for the following week.
Only one promise may be made at a time, and it must be accepted by the person to whom it is made. If the character takes more than a year to fulfill the promise, or is purposefully dilatory in pursuing it, it counts as having been broken. The Storyteller is the final arbiter of whether or not a character is wilfully procrastinating.
Level 4
The Eagle's Eye
Manse •••• Trigger: None.
A bright yellow mote of light twinkles in the heart of this amber orb. It grants its bearer unsurpassed vision; anything within a hundred miles can be seen just as clearly as if it were a yard away. This magic sight obeys normal line-of-sight restrictions; it can't look through walls, mountains, or other obstacles. It does not allow the character to see invisible things, or to ignore environmental conditions that would normally impair his vision (such as darkness, fog, smoke, and so forth).
Stone of Bodily Perfection
Manse •••• Trigger: None.
This crystalline sphere is flawlessly clear, and never becomes dirty or smudged. When attuned, it lends some of its perfection of form to its bearer's body. Her muscles firm up, her skin becomes smoother, her heart beats stronger, and her posture becomes more confident. Mechanically, the character adds one die to all Strength, Dexterity, Stamina, and Appearance rolls (the Appearance bonus does not apply if the character has a natural Appearance score of zero). The bonus die stacks with bonus dice from other sources, and does not count toward dice-pool caps, but is not considered to be part of the character's natural Ability score.
While under the stone's influence, the character not only feels and looks better; she also finds it easier to benefit from physical exercise. She receives a one-point discount whenever raising her Physical Attributes or Appearance with experience, but only if the Stone of Bodily Perfection remains attuned for the entire training period.
Level 5
Infallible Sanctuary Stone
Manse ••••• Trigger: Concentration (Simple).
When unattuned, this crystalline sphere is opaque and slightly rough to the touch, like frosted glass. Once attuned, it becomes crystal clear and smooth, and offers its wearer an infallible safe haven. All she need do is concentrate and touch the stone, and she will vanish into it. Any belongings she is carrying will travel along with her.
Upon activating this power, the character will find herself in a small, cozy room furnished in whatever manner she finds most pleasing. The room has no windows or doors, and does not contain any supplies or useful devices, although it is comfortably furnished. The furniture cannot be removed from the room. Supplies can be left in it, and will be there when the character next arrives. If the stone is broken or becomes deattuned, anything inside the sanctuary is lost and can only be retrieved through powerful magic.
Close inspection of the attuned stone will reveal that it contains a miniature image of the character's sanctuary. When the character is inside it, she will be able to see a small image of herself inside the stone, looking into the stone, in which is a small image of herself looking into the stone, and so on, ad infinitum.
The character may leave her sanctuary at any time by the same method used to enter it. She always reappears in the exact spot where she vanished (unless that would cause her to appear inside a solid object, in which case she materializes in the closest area large enough to hold her).
The sanctuary is very similar to a spirit's Sanctum, and its security can be breached by the same methods. However, the character herself can never bring other people with her into the sanctuary; it is hers and hers alone.
Jewel of the Immaculate Heart
Manse ••••• Trigger: Concentration (Reflexive) and Willpower expenditure.
This lenticular gem is smooth and unfaceted, but its interior is laced with refractive planes that make it sparkle like a cut diamond. It acts as a focus for the wearer's soul and emotions, allowing her to draw great strength from her Virtues. By concentrating on the stone and expending a Willpower point, the wearer can add her rating in a single Virtue as extra dice to every roll she makes for the remainder of the scene. During this period, she must act in strict accordance with the Virtue being used, and cannot activate other Virtues (though she may activate the Virtue being channelled through the stone, as per the normal rules). When the scene ends, she immediately gains a point of Limit, if applicable. Using the Jewel of the Immaculate Heart's power does not count against a character's per-story limit for Virtue activation.
Stone of Sun's Beneficence
Manse ••••• Trigger: Direct sunlight.
This octagonal gemstone is a bright azure color. When attuned, it allows its bearer to absorb some of the divine power contained in the Unconquered Sun's rays. As long as he is in direct sunlight, the bearer increases his permanent Essence score by one dot. This affects the size of his Essence pool, his ability to use and learn Charms, his resistance to certain magic powers, and all other things Essence is used for. If an effect permanently reduces his Essence score, the bonus dot is consumed first; this causes the stone to become totally inert until it has been returned to its Manse and left there for five consecutive days, after which it regains full functionality.
Gem of True Seeing
Manse ••••• Trigger: None
This clear, octagonal crystal shines from within with a clear, white light. When attuned, it causes its bearer to see all things as they truly are. He becomes completely immune to any and all powers which create visual illusions or rely on visual effects to cloud the mind (such as Snake Form, Majestic Radiant Presence, or Unbreakable Fascination Kata), but this is only the beginning of the stone's power. To his eyes, the Caste Marks, Tells, or Aspect markings of Exalted are always clearly visible. He can discern whether or not a shapeshifter is in its true form, and automatically perceives the Nature and Virtues of anyone he looks upon. He also receives a general sense of their true personalities and emotions, no matter how well they may be hidden.
The stone's power also works on inanimate objects. The character will clearly perceive the true function of any device he looks upon, and the intent behind anything he reads. He can instantly detect whether or not an object is authentic, or a forgery.
The Gem of True Seeing only affects the character's sight; his other senses can be fooled just as easily as before. It does not make the character immune to the Arcane Fate of Sidereal Exalted, although it will allow him to see through Resplendent Destinies.
Stone of Hours
Manse ••••• Trigger: A certain time of day.
The crown jewel of the Court of Hours is a shining sphere whose rippling internal light changes color in time with the passage of the day. When attuned, it allows the bearer to cast her eye across all of Creation during the hour of her birth.
It does not require intense concentration to use the stone; changing its viewpoint is a reflexive action. However, it does not grant the ability to see two places at once, nor the ability to find specific objects, locations, or people. If the bearer is observing a far-away place, and wishes to take physical actions at the same time, she usually suffers the same penalties as acting blind. If she wishes to pin down the location of something, she can rapidly pan her vision across large areas; a Wits + Awareness or Investigation roll may be required to pick out what she is looking for. Charms and other powers which affect the character's vision, help her analyze what she sees, or allow her to track down targets, are all compatible with the Stone of Hours.
The clairvoyance granted by the Stone of Hours only functions during the single hour surrounding the time of the character's birth. At all other times, it only allows her to know exactly what time it is.
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