BujiArtifacts/VipersVenom
Concept
Well I have a player that feels the seven-section-staff is the sweetest thing since sliced bread. Now let's be honest, if we were coordinated enough we would want one too. So I decided to create this artifact for him and place it in a hidden tomb for him and the other players to discover. They currently are in the process of finding it, so we'll see.
Description
The Viper's Venom is a seven-section-staff. It is five feet long when fully extended. The shafts of the staff are made from highly polised Black Ash. Set within the Black Ash are Green Jade runes running throughout all five sections of the weapon. Each end is capped in Moonsilver and linked together with the same metal. The Viper's Venom gives off a slight burning odor that some would describe as burnt ozone. When charged with Essence the Jade runes will glow brilliantly and give the weapon an eerie glow. This sickly green glow radiates from the weapon and seems to drip off of it as if the light were affected by gravity. When this weapon is weilded the trails of the light linger in the air momentarily and then sink to the ground as they fade.
Viper's Venom</b>
Artifact <b>•••</b>
Black Ash, Jade and Moonsilver seven-section-staff
Speed +6 Accuracy +1 Damage +3L Defense +4 Rate 3
Requires: Dexterity <b>••••</b>, MA <b>••••</b>; Commitment: 5/10 (Jade)
This weapon has many attributes to it and is reflected in the Essence cost accordingly. Once attuned the weapon grants you the above bonuses to weilding it, if the character harmonizes with the weapon (commit proper Essence to grant Magical Material bonus) then it takes on a whole new dimension.
After committing 5 Essence to the weapon the user is granted the weapon stats listed above (including Jade bonus) and also has the extra ability to inflict poison damage to armored opponents. To inflict the extra damage the player uses any extra successes rolled to hit and converts them into dice for the poison attack. The target must make a Stamina + Resistance roll versus a difficulty 5 + extra successes rolled for the poison hit.
If the target successfully resists the poison attack then they are only left with a red welt in the shape of a rune from the staff, it will look as if the target had been branded and they will feel a severe sting. If the target fails to resist the poison they also suffer the mark and then suffer 1L damage for that turn and 4L soakable damage for the next (10 - Stamina) turns. If the target is successfully poisoned again, the target must resist the poison or suffer a -1 dot in Dexterity. The paraylsis lasts for (30 - Stamina + Resistance + Essence) turns. If the target's Dexterity is ever reduced to 0 they are paraylized until the duration of the poison.
By fully attuning to the Viper's Venom the character has access to its full arsenal. The Moonsilver in the weapon grants it a life of its own. The character may spend 5 motes of Essence to have the sections of the staff fuse into a five foot tall staff. The staff resembles the seven-section-staff except for the crown of the staff is capped with a cobra's head. The chains of the staff flow about the staff and outline all of the runes set in the Black Ash. The other option is to have the Viper's Venom come to life. The staff becomes a true viper with familiar stats and abilities. The viper is black with green diamonds running down its back. The underbelly and eyes are pure silver and its fangs are made from Green Jade.
As a final defense, anytime the viper is grabbed (in snake or staff form) the character can spend 1 mote of Essence to strike the target with a poison attack. The snake will do this reflexively to defend itself drawing from the Exalt attuned to it to fuel its Essence cost. This may turn out to be a bad thing if the viper draws too much Essence from the character causing them to glow.
<b>Storyteller background:
Here is how I saw the item so you understand the results. It has a power level of 3 (weapon stat upgrades of 6 points), a game influence of 2 (it will make a good difference), Usefulness of 3 (they have no Dawn caste), Script Immunity of 3 (they have no Dawn caste and he has a huge snake fetish), Essence drawback of 2 (radiates Essence and uses more than it should), Component drawback of 2 (Jade and Moonsilver), Notoriety of 1 (obscure texts written about it, not well known). Then adding in the bonuses for the Magical Materials and poison effects I bumped it up to a rating 3.
