Ambisinister/GeomanticPauldrons
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Geomantic Pauldrons
Artifact Level ~ 2
Commitment ~ 6 motes
The Geomantic Pauldrons are part of a series of artifacts designed by the Lunar artisan Cloud Piercing Gaze. Gaze believed that artifacts should be versatile and capable of at least some degree of adaptation. With this in mind, he designed a number of devices which drew their power from the dragon lines of creation, and by changing which lines were tapped, different effects could be produced.
All Geomantic Pauldrons take the form of unadorned plate armor fitted across the shoulders, upper back, and upper chest. There is a hearthstone setting in the right shoulder plate. In their default state, Geomantic Pauldrons allow the character to soak environmental damage with their full stamina and reduce the difficulty of resistance rolls to lessen the damage by 1. Their true power is revealed when a hearthstone is inset. When this happens the entire piece gains a filigree or inlay of the magical material associated with the stone’s tenor, and generally generates some sort of iconic design unique to the inset stone. The Pauldrons Have an additional benefit based on the stone:
- Earth- Add the Hearthstone’s rating to all of the character’s soaks. Treat this as natural soak.
- Air- Apply an internal environmental penalty equal to the hearthstone’s rating to all ranged attacks against the character.
- Water- Add the hearthstone’s rating to all attempts to escape personal restraints
- Fire- Apply an internal environmental penalty equal to the hearthstone’s rating to all social attacks against the character.
- Wood- Add the hearthstone’s rating to all resistance rolls to avoid poison or disease.
- Sidereal- Apply an internal environmental penalty equal to the hearthstone’s rating to all awareness and investigation rolls targeting the character.
- Lunar- Subtract the hearthstone’s rating from all environmental penalties affecting the character
- Solar- Add the hearthstone’s rating to the character’s hardness and as a factor when calculating MDV.
- Abyssal- Identical to Solar.
While inset into Geomantic Pauldrons, the hearthstone does not provide its special effect and allows its user to only respire its rating in motes an hour as opposed to twice that value.
While the specific magical material of the Pauldrons does not provide additional effects to the wearer, should the material match the hearthstone’s tenor, treat the hearthstone’s rating as if it were one higher.
It is rumored that a level 3 version exists which would allow the bearer to continue to receive his hearthstone’s effects but which reduces the hearthstone’s respiration rate to half its rating.
