Taerinshar/Bramble

Back to Taerinshar

The staff known as Bramble first appears as a relatively mundane quarterstaff but its abilities are far beyond that of a simple stick of wood. The staff is 4.5' long and most of its length appears to be made of ordinary oak with the very ends capped with black jade. Once the user attunes to the staff for a cost of 4m, she gains access to the powerful abilities that the staff offers. The weapon is actually partially alive, having been constructed in the genesis laboratories of Veritas when they were still functioning. When wielded in combat (the staff is short enough to be wielded by those trained in martial arts as well as melee combat), the staff can deal crushing blows with ease and when the owner is threatened, the shape of the staff warps and twists in such a manner to deflect the incoming blow and turn it aside effortlessly. Thorns and knots sprout out of the wood to catch the attack and push it away.

The real power of the staff however is much more subtle and useful to a hidden assassin. For the cost of 1m (paid reflexively), a tiny portion of the staff merges with the owner's body in the form of a thorn. This jade organic thorn assumes the exact colour of the user's fingernail and sits on top of one of the user's index fingers, only detectable with a perception+medicine roll, difficulty users essence. The thorn can last for up to a day before dissipating and is assumed to be a perfected jade hand-needle for stat purposes. In addition to this, the hidden organic factories of the staff can concoct almost any conceivable viral poison and transmit the poison to the needle. The staff currently produces the poisons listed below, but more can be purchased for 1xp with permission of the ST. Due to essence conflicts, only one finger on each hand can be enchanted in such a matter and only lasts for a single attack as the essence of the thorn is injected into the targets system. In addition, using a miscellaneous action it is possible to administer the poison to another surface or substance.

Poisons
Nerve Poison (Low damage but Disables): 2B/action, Tol: 0, Tox: 4L, Penalty: -5
Seeping Poison (Aims to kill): 10L/action, Tol: 0, Tox: 4L, Penalty: -1
Explosive Needle: (Adds +4L to attack, sets things on fire.)
Sleeping Poison: Dmg: 0, Tox 4, Penalty 0. Target falls asleep for 10 minutes or 1 hour

Bramble (includes magical materials bonus) Speed: 5, Acc: +3, Damage +7B, Defence: +5, Rate 2, Range -, Tags: R, M, 2H

Thorn Speed: 4, Acc +1, Damage +1L, Defence -1*, Rate 1, Range -, Tags: P,M

* - Thorns make it difficult to wield Bramble effectively to defend, reducing the users DV by 1 per needle in use due to discomfort.

Comments

This is the first artifact that I've really created. Comments on the power level/usefulness/flaws are most welcome! ~~~~