TranspositionBox

The Transposition Box

Artifact •••• for a pair. (A single one is worthless.)

Transposition boxes always come in pairs. In appearance, they are small puzzle boxes, cubes about 6 inches to a side, with elaborate tracing and patterns. Materials vary, but the tracery must be of starmetal or its equivalent.

Solving the puzzle requires 20 successes on an extended Intelligence + Lore roll. When solved, the box turns itself inside out. As it does so, it changes places with the companion box, usually taking the solver with it. Only those who have Essence Pools can solve a Transposition Box.

A pair of Transposition Boxes can only operate in one Realm, decided when they are crafted. Realms are defined as Creation, Yu-Shan, the Underworld, Malfeas, Autochthonia, the Wyld, and sanctums. Understandably, very few boxes are made to travel Yu-Shan, and none have been made for sanctums (as very very few sanctums are big enough to justify it).

Each Intelligence + Lore roll usually takes an hour. However, Essence users can channel Essence into the box at a rate of one mote per success. This reduces time per roll to about five minutes.

-- JesseLowe

Comments

This is at least level 4. Teleportation is not something that comes lower than level 4, in my eyes. In fact, I would personally make it 5 since mortals can use it.
I like the idea, though; it's cool. What if you've solved the box before? Does it help you solve it again later, or does it completely rearrange its own pattern so it's a new puzzle every time?
~ Shataina

I tossed this up on RPG.net before posting it here, and consensus there was that it's definitely not level 5, for a couple of reasons:

1. There are a couple of spells and spirit Charms that allow instantaneous or near-instantaneous transport.

2. The user has no way of knowing where the box's mate is.

It might be level four, but seems to have less immediate utility than some of the other level four artifacts... I'll have to ponder a bit more and run it through some of the artifact creation systems.

As for solving it again, it rearranges itself to adjust for the changes in the Loom of Fate since the last time someone solved it. So no, no bonuses from previous solutions. -- JesseLowe

1. Mortals can't use spells or spirit Charms, and 2. the user can make reasonably sure that they know where the box's mate is. I just don't see #2 as enough of a drawback, particularly since that drawback also means that the artifact has an effectively unlimited range within a given realm. Also, I don't think spirit Charms are meant to be used as bases for comparison for Artifacts, Exalted Charms are (in fact this is explicitly stated in "Savant and Sorcerer"), and I'm pretty sure that an Exalted Charm that allowed teleportation would be pretty insanely high-level. We do have an example of a teleportation artifact -- that cloak from "Caste Book: Night" -- and it's level 4, with a much more limited range, can only be used by Essence-users and costs an awful lot more Essence to boot. The only disadvantage this artifact has over that cloak is the fact that it takes so long to use, but I just don't think that's enough of a disadvantage to balance everything else out. And thanks for the answer; that's cool. Maybe it should be starmetal?
~ Shataina
PS: I'm not saying that if this artifact is raised to level 5 it won't be underpowered -- it will be. I think you should either add another drawback and make it level 4, or power it up a bit and make it level 5. I still maintain that it's way above 3, though.

I'm not arguing either side, I just point out that the only actual teleportation spell currently around and commonly used is celestial circle, and costs a fairly large chunk of essence.
-- Darloth

All right, I ran the numbers through the Savant & Sorcerer system (and made a few modifications to the item itself). Here they are:

• Power: ••••• Overwhelming (It can cross Creation in a moment, barring start-up time)
• Use: ••• Limited (However, it can only take one person or a small item, and it can't be used very quickly. Further, it can only be used by Essence-users.)
• Game Impact: ••• Some (Game impact could vary a lot: As a method of quick travel, it's unparalleled, provided the other box is at or near where you want to go. Aside from that... it depends on the creativity of the players. (Cop-out, I know...))
• Script Immunity: • None (Default, I guess, for a non-campaign-specific item)

• Essence Drawback X (Actually, it's a bit more efficient than that, requiring no Essence but a lot of time to activate. Should this raise its level?)
• Component Drawback ••• 4 components (actually 6, but hey... Each box must be made of jade from each of the five directions: White from the Blessed Isle, blue from the North, green from the East, red from the South, black from the West. Further, the tracery must be of starmetal, to connect the box to its mate and to the Loom of Fate. Boxes designed to work in the Underworld or Autocthnonia will have similar requirements.)
• Notoriety Drawback •• Known (The boxes are mentioned in several First Age texts, and are eagerly sought by the Sidereals, who well know their capabilities.)
• Maintenance Drawback X (No maintenance needed.)

Adding it up ((Levels - Drawbacks over 5)/4), we get an Artifact level of 3 per box. Add a dot to make a pair (since a single one is useless) for Artifact ••••.

-- JesseLowe

1. Travel time might be instantenous or near it, but in actual play, it is not. With the box, it is impossible to go "Oh no, the Mask of Winter is here! I need to get away NOW!" Rather, you need to solve the puzzle first and that takes a long time. Given that you can't do anything else significant while solving the puzzle, in effect that is the travel time. Assuming a competent, educated person with Intelligence of 3 and Lore of 3, said person will able to travel to the box's companion in 7 hours without spending essence, or in one hour 45 minutes by spending 20 motes. This is really fast, but is hardly instantenous.
2. I'm not sure why having a pair is considered Artifact 4. If you have one, you have access to the other. If for some reason this access is not available, either because the mate is located in an extremely hostile location (e.g., bottom of sea), or another Realm, or destroyed, then in effect you have a pretty, but otherwise mundane, puzzle box. In other words, if there is only one box, then it's effectively useless and is a Resource, not Artifact.
3. You need to define what happens if the solving process is interrupted. If the box resets and people have to start over, it needs to say so. If the box stays partially solved and you get to keep your accumulated successes so far, it needs to say so. Incidentally, if it's the later option, then it's possible to stop just shy of the final step. At which point the "I need to get away from here NOW!" becomes a possibility and the box does indeed offer instantenous transportation.

Food for thought. - TonyC

Looks good to me. How come you decided to make it only usable by Essence-users?
~ Shataina
PS: I would personally include all sanctums as part of Yu-Shan, but that's just me, and this works too.