HearthStones/IkselamSidereal
Contents
Ikselam's Sidereal Hearthstones
The Five Maidens rule over fate, secrets, travel and scrying.
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Level 1
Birthstone
Manse • Trigger: Your birthday.
In its raw state, this oblong stone is colorless and transparent. When attuned, its color changes, so that it appears to be a mineral associated with the time of year in which the bearer was born. On the bearer's birthday, it begins glowing brightly, spinning off tiny motes of light as it releases the good fortune it has collected over the past year.
From dawn on her birthday, until dawn the next day, the character will enjoy phenomenal good luck. The target number of all her rolls decreases by 1, and she cannot botch; all rolls receive a single extra success. In addition, she is guaranteed to experience one happy, beneficial, and completely unexpected event.
Gem of No Mind
Manse • Trigger: Meditation.
This blue orb looks like a window onto a cloudless sky of infinite depth. When attuned, it allows its bearer to achieve a state of transcendent calm, cleansing his mind of all thought and care.
To use the stone's power, the character must meditate for at least an hour. When he finishes meditating, he will be just as refreshed as though he had gotten a full night's sleep. Any penalties he may be suffering due to fatigue are erased, and he regains temporary Willpower just as though he had slept the night -- although no matter how many times he meditates, he can only roll to regain Willpower once per day.
While meditating, the character cannot be targeted by mind- and emotion-affecting powers; he is also invisible to anything which senses the presence of thought. However, he is also unaware of the world around him, and cannot defend himself againt physical attack. If he is physically injured or disturbed, he may choose to end the trance prematurely, although this causes him to forfeit all of its benefits.
Gemstone of the Efficacious Scrounge
Manse • Trigger: None.
When held at the proper angle, this light gray stone displays a marking which resembles the symbol of Mercury. When attuned, it infallibly guides the wearer to stray coins, discarded clothing, meager but edible food scraps, and the like. It never finds anything of quality or value, but will provide enough for a resourceful vagrant to survive on. It typically doesn't work very well outside of urban environments.
Mirror of the Heavens
Manse • Trigger: None.
This lenticular stone is a deep blue, almost black. When attuned, it lights up with a million tiny pinpricks of light, which faithfully reproduce the current positions of the stars and Maidens. The stone's display can be used for any purpose which would normally require observation of the night sky, such as astrology or navigation; however, any rolls for such things suffer a +1 difficulty modifier, since the starmap is so tiny.
The Mirror of the Heavens functions equally well during both day and nighttime.
Level 2
Gem of Cryptic Guidance
Manse •• Trigger: Asking advice.
This black globe makes sloshing noises when shaken, giving the impression that it is filled with liquid. When attuned, it becomes an imprecise scrying device. Once per day, its bearer can ask the hearthstone a single yes-or-no question. He then gives the gem a firm shake; within a few seconds, small green words, written in the bearer's native language, will fade into view inside the stone. They spell out a short answer to the question, which is always accurate. However, the answer is not always terribly helpful; if the patterns of destiny surrounding a given situation are unclear, the gem will more often than not give a noncommital response.
The Gem of Cryptic Guidance works by parsing the weave of fate in the immediate area, which means that it is generally confident about mundane matters, uncertain on those involving Essence-wielders, and completely baffled by those regarding things outside fate. Mechanically, when it is used, roll a single die. If the number shown is greater than the Essence score of the most powerful being who has a hand in the situation, the gem provides a decisive answer. If less than or equal to, it provides a noncommittal answer. If forces from outside fate are involved, the gem is always noncommittal.
If asked questions about the general structure of fate, such as, "Is this person the target of an astrological effect?" or, "Does it look like forces outside fate are affecting this situation?" the Gem will almost always provide a decisive answer.
Loyal Companion Gem
Manse •• Trigger: Concentration (Reflexive).
This clear, faintly teal-colored orb has a hole running through its center. When attuned, it allows its owner to call it, along with any artifact it is mounted on, to his hand as a reflexive action. This power operates over any distance, but will fail if the hearthstone has become deattuned. In order to carry an artifact along with it, the gem must actually be in a hearthstone mount.
Stone of Rumors
Manse •• Trigger: Concentration (Simple, extended action).
This pearly, egg-shaped hearthstone seems to whisper softly to itself. When attuned, it allows the bearer to magically know the "word on the street" concerning a particular subject. The character holds the topic she wishes to investigate in her mind, and enters a light trance which lasts for approximately half an hour. During that time, she will hear voices whispering the current rumors regarding her object of inquiry. The more widespread the rumor, the louder and clearer it will be to her.
The Stone of Rumors searches the entire world, but it ranks by popularity, not veracity. If ten thousand people are spreading a false rumor, they will almost completely drown out the five hundred people who are telling the truth.
Level 3
Anchor Stone
Manse ••• Trigger: Concentration (Simple).
This flat, hexagonal hearthstone is colored a bright citrine yellow. When attuned, it allows its owner to magically whisk himself back to the stone's Manse. The character must stare intently into the stone, sacrificing his dice action for the turn; after a few seconds, he will experience a feeling of intense vertigo, and find himself standing in the hearthroom of the stone's Manse. All his personal effects are transported along with him, except for the stone, which remains behind. The stone remains attuned for 24 hours after popping out of its socket. At any point during this time, the character may instantly jump from the Manse' hearth to the stone's location.
If the stone's bearer wishes, up to four other people can travel back to the Manse with him. In order for this to work, they must all look into the stone as intently as he does, sacrificing their dice actions. Transporting more than one person places great strain on the hearthstone; it disappears Elsewhere as soon as they arrive. After a month, it magically reappears in its Manse when no one is looking.
Gem of Unassuming Regalia
Manse ••• Trigger: None.
This pentagonal gemstone is a bright, sparkling green, but only people looking directly at it will realize this; as soon as they look away, they will remember the stone as being a dull, drab gray. When attuned, it causes the artifact into which it is set to become completely unremarkable. People will still be able to see it, but they won't perceive it as being out of place, no matter how ostentatious it is. If questioned later, they will be unsure as to whether or not the character was actually carrying the artifact.
This power extends only to the artifact; it does not affect observers' ability to notice the character herself, or any other equipment she may be carrying. Anyone who directly interacts with the artifact will immediately notice its presence, and be able to remember it later, although they may be unsure where it came from unless they fail a Temperance check ("Surely if she'd been carrying it all along, I would have taken note..."). Attacking someone with an obfuscated weapon does not count as a surprise attack.
Gem of Instant Knowledge
Manse ••• Trigger: Concentration (Reflexive).
This opaque green orb looks like it is carved from jade. When attuned, it allows its bearer to temporarily gain skills he doesn't normally have. The character concentrates briefly; for the remainder of the scene, he may act as though he has two dots in an Ability in which he normally has a rating of zero, or gain a single extra dot in an Ability he already possesses (to a maximum of 5).
This power may be used once per day. The bonus dots it grants count as natural for all purposes.
Reconciler's Gem
Manse ••• Trigger: Looking into the stone.
This lenticular hearthstone's mirrored surface has a bluish tint. When attuned, it helps its owner determine how to best redress grievances others have against her. When the bearer looks into the stone and thinks of a particular person, the stone will show her an image of what she should do in order to make that person forgive her for wrongs (real or imagined) she has committed against him. If the person she is thinking of has no grievance against her, the stone will usually show something that he would like her to do for him. It usually takes about a minute for the vision to unfold completely.
The method of reconciliation shown in the gem is guaranteed to be effective, but it is not guaranteed to be comfortable, or even achievable. Particularly implacable foes, or people whom the character has very badly wronged, may only be satisfied by her death, the return of a dead loved one, or the performance of some impossibly onerous task. How forgiving any given character is willing to be is left to the Storyteller's discretion, but should generally be informed by his Nature and Virtues.
Level 4
Jewel of Improbable Escape
Manse •••• Trigger: Concentration (Simple).
This blue, egg-shaped stone is filled with glittering silver motes. If its bearer ever finds herself trapped in any kind of enclosed space, she can activate the Jewel of Improbable Escape through brief concentration. Upon doing this, she will immediately vanish with a soft popping noise and reappear just outside the place from which she escaped. This power has no range limit, but only functions inside buildings, containers, or reasonably enclosed natural features. It could be used to escape from a cave, a dungeon cell, a deep hole, a closed chest, or a cage, but it could not be used to escape from the deck of a sinking ship, a small island in the middle of a sea of lava, or an open-air Wyld zone. If the character is restrained, the jewel still functions, but will take the restraints along for the ride; if she was shackled to the wall of a dungeon, she could poof to outside the cell, and from there to the outside of the prison building, but would be dragging the shackles and chains along with her until she figured out some way to get them off.
Stone of Harmonious Conjunction
Manse •••• Trigger: None.
This lenticular white stone is marked with five sparkling dots, spaced equidistant along its diameter. When attuned, the stone produces no immediate effect of its own beyond increased Essence recovery. However, if it is worn along with other hearthstones, it allows the character to regain Essence from all the stones simultaneously, rather than only one at a time.
If the Stone of Harmonious Conjunction shares an artifact with one or more other hearthstones, all those hearthstones provide their full benefit to the character, essentially counting as a single hearthstone with a Manse rating equal to the sum of their individual ratings. Hearthstones which are not in the same artifact provide a lesser benefit; each stone adds 1 to the Stone of Harmonious Conjunction's effective Manse level when determining Essence recovery rate.
Level 5
Stone of Ten Thousand Doors
Manse ••••• Trigger: Stepping through a door.
This spherical stone appears oily, shimmering with rainbow colors. A person attuned to it can travel in a most curious fashion; any time he steps through a door, he may emerge through any other unlocked door within one hundred yards. This may be used in conjunction with powers that cause doors to unlock themselves. It works on both open and closed doors, but only on doors; it won't work on windows, archways, or the like. The door must also be part of a building; closets are fine, free-standing armoires or carriage doors are not. City gates and other very large doors are still perfectly legal.
Upside-Down Luck Stone
Manse ••••• Trigger: Concentration (Reflexive).
This white, egg-shaped stone bears a blue marking which resembles the symbol of Venus, but no matter the stone's orientation with respect to the viewer, the mark always appears to be inverted. When attuned, the stone allows its bearer to cause her good and bad fortune to switch places. Through outrageous happenstance, failed tasks become successful, and perfectly-executed actions produce disastrous results. A thief might snap off her pick in a lock, only to have the door fall off its hinges when she bangs her head against it in frustration; a perfect dance step might cause the dancer's shoe to become stuck in a crack in the floor, causing her to fall down and hit her head.
Mechanically, all successes on a single roll count as failures, and all failures count as successes. Ones count as two successes, and no successes plus one or more tens indicates a botch. The character may wait until after the roll is made to decide whether or not she wants to activate the stone. This power only affects Attribute + Ability rolls made by the character, and may only be used once per scene.
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