ArtifactRelay/NOISE

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Bring on the NOISE!!!11!eleven

Torc of the Commander - Tiffa

Necklace
Artifact •
Commitment: 2 motes (varies)

There are few things more important for a commanding officer than to make himself heard, loud and clear, especially the larger the army he controls. The Torc of the Commander was designed exactly for this purpose. When wearing it, the user's voice gains incredible strength. His whispers sound like his normal voice, his normal voice sounds like yells, and his yells could wake the dead themselves.

The Torc also adds +1 to Presence rolls to intimidation and barking orders when the commander is dealing with his soldiers. Few soldiers want to discuss with a yelling officer after all and would rather move quickly to do their tasks. Also, anybody that stands within 10 feet of the user when he yells must make a Stamina+Endurance roll, diff 1, or be stunned by the sound.

However, the Torc also gives a -1 penalty to Stealth. Even if he keeps quiet, his very breath tends to sound fairly loudly.

Often shaped like a torc or a collar, these artifacts are usually made of Jade as they don't behave any different in the other magical materials, but Orihalcum, Moonsilver, and Soulsteel torcs exist (Starmetal is usually too rare and valuable to use on these).

Discrete Toad - FourWillowsWeeping

Trinket
Artifact ••
Commitment: 2 motes

This granite toad has the resilience of the Five Magical Materials. It fits into the Hearthstone socket of a weapon, improving that weapon's Accuracy, Defence, and Damage bonuses by 1. Whenever the user attacks with this weapon, the toad releases a Stentorian croak, which causes the weapon to vibrate wildly. Because of this vibration, the weapon is especially difficult to parry; a parry against it requires the defender to expend 2 units of Rate, as if he had defended twice. The croak is low-pitched, and the sound carries a long distance.

Cup of Voices - FlowsLikeBits

Cup
Artifact •••
Commitment: 5 motes

This cup is normaly black or blue jade, although all the 5MM can be used. It is a simple cup in form, lacking even a handle or base. The cup is covered with smooth waves, and curving textures wrapping around it, on both the inside and the outside. Sounds nearby will seem to echo in the cup for a little while after they cease, although this usually is not very noticable. It can be be used for liquid, although that is not it's primary purpose. The Cup of Voices can be used in three ways.

If the wielder speaks into the bottem of the cup, their voice comes out the open side magnified immensly. This effect is directional. This adds 3 successes to a Stamina+Endurance Roll to make oneself heard. Non-deaf beings within 10 feet infront of this must make a Stamina+Endurance roll (standard difficulty) or be deafened for 3 rounds. (-3 dice to sound based Perception rolls)

Listening at the base end of the cup adds one die to Perception + Awarness rolls for sound, although this effect is directional. If the cup is placed against a solid object,it reduces penalties for listening through the object by one, in addition to the bonus die.

By speaking into the cup end, the wielder can produce a focused beam of sound. This can be used to communicate with someone up to 300 yards away, specificly, words spoken into the cup form into a beam that can be directed at a target and can only be heard by that target. Beyond this range, Perception+Awareness rolls are required for the reciever. Focusing the beam on a specific person is a Dex+(Thrown,Archery,Occult,Performance) roll. This is subject to cover and enviromental modifiers(wind may diffuse the sound) in the same manner as an arrow/thrown attack. It is also compatibly with charms that reduce or negate such modifiers. If successfully, the sound can only be overheard by people who can intercept the line sight between speaker and target. Other than that, listerers very near the destination(within a yard) may be able to overhear, at base difficlty 5.

Alternativly, yelling into the cup end produces a focused, damaging beam of sound, similar to the spell Thunder Wolfs Howl. This is a ranged attack, with a single ranged increment of 50 yards(magical material bonuses may increase this range), a rate equal to the weilders Stamina and +0 accuracy. The attack roll is as per the previous effect. It may be dodged, but not parried. It causes a number of dice of bashing damage equal to a Stamina+Endurance roll+extra successes on the attack roll. This damage is soakable only by the targets natural soak. Undead and inanimate objects halve their soak against this attack. This attack has a rate equal to the wielders Stamina. This is compatibly with archer and thrown charms, but these do not bypass the attacks rate. (The weilder must actually yell into the cup each time).

These cups may be made of the different magical materials. These affect the third mode(ranged version) as though it were a powerbow.(Yes, this can increase the rate). The effects on the first two modes are listed below.

  • Orichalum: sound from this cup is crystal clear and perfect. This gives an additional success with the first mode and reduces penalties by an additonal -1 with the second mode.
  • Moonsilver: Sound from this cup is changed. When speaking through the cup, add 1 dice to attempts to disquise the voice or sound like someone else.
  • Starmetal:The cup may be used to roll dice in a game of chance. This is louder than normal, and somewhat annoying. However, it may be used to make a lucky roll, similar to the Luck Merit. This works at most once per story.
  • Jade: Reduce enviromental penalties to be heard by -1. Additionaly, the sound will travel clearly through water.
  • Soulsteel: Sound from this cup is mingled with the screams of the damned! Those within 10 feet must succede at a valor roll or run in fear for 3 turns.

Legion Harkening Prism - Wohksworth

Clockwork-cased crystal
Artifact ••••
Commitment: 15 motes

The Legion Harkening Prism is a narrow device, standing two meters, starmetal and orichalcum gears and supports binding a jagged, brilliant crystal running the length of the devide--a tear from Elemental Dragon of Air. There is a Hearthstone mount on the base which must be occupied in order to employ the Prism. Despite appearances the device is very rugged and very nearly intuitive; a simple Int+Crafts (Clockwork) or +Occult check will ready the device for use or transport in 15-successes rounds.

A critical component is missing for the device, obfuscating its original purpose, but the vagabonds of the Second Age have found employ for it in military scrying and subversion. Once activated (a simple Int+Crafts (Clockwork) or +Occult check), the Prism can be trained on some location up to (Hearthstone level) miles away; it ignores barriers and Essence-enhanced defenses activated by creatures of Essence less than the Committed character's Essence or the Hearthstone level, whichever is greater. Interesting events within the scried region are projected outwards onto some nearby surface as they occur; any region with more than a few interesting things occuring rapidly becomes difficult to track in real time without Essence-enhanced senses. Luckily, scryings are stored within the crystal and may be accessed later (a simple Wits+Occult check) until Essence is uncommitted.

The Prism's second effect becomes rapidly apparent after activation. The mechanics of the scrying do not capture events in full fidelity; errant visual and aural noise refract to the regions that have been observed. The device itself is not immune to this static; finding pertinent data in the noise becomes increasingly difficult:

  • After sixteen turns of scrying, flickers of light and whispers of sound refract; viewing data in real time requires a simple Wits+Awareness check, and the difficulty of the roll to review increases to 2.
  • Eight turns further (24 total) invites recursed snippets of conversation over a fog of noise, and flickers of familiar shapes interposing real space. Difficulties to watch or review become 3.
  • Four turns later (28 total), apparitions roam the region in spurts, moving hither-thither, over a ubiquitous howl of wind and speech. Difficulties affected become 5.
  • After 30 turns, figures become clear; easily identifiable but undeniably an echo. Rooms may become crowded with figures, bodies of light crowding, crossing form. Sound howls; it is more noise than speech now, with an overpowering C-note crossing the cacophony. Recovering records from this point on is impossible (the device will record no more), but a suitably difficult roll might still reveal visions from the crystal. The benefit now lies in confusion: the device will run for up to 100 turns before the recursion loop forces it to shut down; during this time a group could infiltrate the scanned region through force or stealth and meet ragged resistence, assuming they themselves could traverse the din.

Screaming Skulls of Woe - Scrollreader

Soulsteel and Crystal Skulls
Artifact •••••
Commitment: 20 motes

This set of four crystal and soulsteel skulls, each the size of a normal skull, is the most advanced automaton construction effort of the Second Age, though none among the living have seen it. Each skull is intelligent, and can converse in any language, but this is the least of their purposes. When attuned at a cost of five motes each, the skulls come to life, as they rise into the air, and hover around their owner. The skulls each add a bonus of 3 dice to any performance or linguistics effect which is harmful or threatening, as their dread speech echoes and harmonizes with the wearers words and song or dance. Their owner is immune to any and all sound based attacks, as the skulls scream their fury back at the sound, negating and overwheming it. This is a perfect effect, and protects from such diverse effects as Lion's Roar, Thunder-Wolf's Howl, and the like. The skulls also subtract three dice (each) from all attempts to use words or performance by those the abyssal opposes. Their mocking laughter steals the fire from the words of an angry zenith, and their susurrus of hatred impairs the dance of Defense of Shining Joy with equal malice. The last power of the skulls is activated when their owner spends 1 mote for each skull, and they sceam with the voice of the Void, affecting all you can hear them. This attack slays mortals instantly, and even magical creatures must roll their WP + essence in an opposed roll with the number of screamign skulls + their awareness. Failing this roll means they become stunned for a number of rounds equal to the essence of the owner. This counts for ghosts as exposure to the Whispers of the Void, which any slain mortals must immediately resist against. Ghosts formed in this manner who succub, become tied to the skulls as fetters, forsaking all other fetters. The skulls because of their size and speed, have a difficulty of 5 to hit, and dodge every attacks in a round with a pool equal to their owners essence. Once struck, a skull falls to the ground, inactive for the rest of the scene.


Comments

- LOUDNESS! Artifacts that just SCREAM! Nothing that makes -silence-... that's a different thing ^_^ - Tiffa

Working on the next theme now. How does something like "Unconventional Artifact Weapons" sound? There's so many cool weapons. It's a shame most things are daiklaves. Artifact knives, and fighting gauntlets, artifact nets! Some nifty combat focused stuff would bbe nice, I think. Comments? - Scrollreader

Pretty nice. If nothing else, it looks really cool. -FlowsLikeBits, likes the theme idea also
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