SolarLore/Ikselam
Ikselam's Lore Charms
I don't remember what prompted me to make up these Charms. Probably the lack of decent Lore Charms (for any Exalted type) played a part; I may also have been thinking about hearthstones in general. It was a long time ago.
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Harmonious Attunement Prana
Cost: 1 mote, 1 willpower Type: Simple Duration: Indefinite Min. Lore: 1 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: none
An Exalt who learns this Charm may attune to a hearthstone without equipment. As long as the mote remains committed, he may benefit from the hearthstone's special powers just as though it were socketed in an artifact. The Exalt must still attune himself to the manse as normal, and the hearthstone must remain within (Essence x 10) yards of his person, or it will become deattuned (although its effects will linger for 24 hours, as normal).
Surging Flow Method
Cost: 1 willpower Type: Reflexive Duration: Instant Min. Lore: 1 Min. Essence: 1 Prereqs: none
The Exalted projects her will into a hearthstone, pulling essence through it much faster than normal. Each use of this power causes her to instantaneously regain twice the hearthstone's rating in motes, but also reduces the stone's level by one (to a minimum of zero, at which point the stone becomes inert and provides no benefits at all). These levels grow back at the rate of one per scene.
Power-Borrowing Technique
Cost: Hearthstone's rating in motes, 1 willpower Type: Simple Duration: One scene Min. Lore: 2 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Harmonious Attunement Prana
This Charm allows an Exalted to use a hearthstone's special powers for a scene, even without being attuned to its Manse. This Charm can allow multiple people to benefit from the same stone at once, but it may only be used once per day on any given stone. The Exalt must handle the hearthstone for at least one minute in order to successfully activate Power-Borrowing Technique. After the Charm's duration expires, the character immediately loses the benefit of the hearthstone's powers; they do not linger for any period of time.
Open Floodgate Technique
Cost: Hearthstone's rating in motes, 1 health level Type: Simple Duration: One scene Min. Lore: 3 Min. Essence: 2 Prereqs: Surging Flow Method
Focusing a burst of essence through his hearthstone, the Exalt sets up a siphon effect which rapidly drains large amounts of power from its Manse. While this Charm is active, he regains the hearthstone's rating in motes every turn for the remainder of the scene. The hearthstone becomes inert for an entire day following the use of this power.
If Surging Flow Method is used on the hearthstone while Open Floodgate Technique is active, Open Floodgate Technique does not continue providing motes based on the stone's rating when the Charm was first activated; the bonus is based upon the stone's current rating at the beginning of each turn.
Friend of the Manse Attitude
Cost: Manse's rating in motes, 1 willpower Type: Simple Duration: One hour Min. Lore: 3 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Power-Borrowing Technique
By handling a Manse's hearthstone and harmonizing herself with the essence flowing through it, the Exalt may attune to a Manse which she has never actually visited. In addition, she may freely attune to any Manse without the consent of its current attunees, although she must still physically visit the Manse if she does not have access to any of its hearthstones.
This Charm may also be used in a Manse to which the character is already attuned. In such a case, she may freely deattune any others who are currently attuned to the Manse, without damaging or altering the Manse's architecture. The attunement fades over the course of the next 24 hours. After the attunement has completely ended, any hearthstones deattuned as a result will quickly dissolve and reform in the Manse. (Note that this "grace period" will give anyone with Friend of the Manse Attitude ample time to simply reattune to the Manse through his hearthstone, arresting the entire process.)
Any use of this Charm requires one hour of relatively peaceful concentration, although uninterrupted meditation is not required. The resulting attunement functions exactly as that achieved through normal methods, and can be broken in the same way.
Flesh Welcomes the Stone
Cost: 5 motes, 1 willpower, 1 health level Type: Simple Duration: One turn Min. Lore: 4 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Power-Borrowing Technique, Open Floodgate Technique
An Exalted with this power can become a living hearthstone amulet. He merely concentrates and presses the stone against his sternum or forehead; when he removes his hands, the hearthstone will have sunk through his skin and bonded with the bone beneath, glowing softly in time with his heartbeat. He is considered attuned to it, with no maintenance cost, until it is removed (which requires a difficulty 3 Medicine check, or the infliction of at least four levels of lethal damage, if he is unwilling). He must still be attuned to the Manse, and can play host to at most two hearthstones: one on the chest, near the heart, and one on the head. Hearthstones implanted in this manner do not sink completely below the skin; they are quite obvious unless concealed beneath clothing.
Soul and Stone Are One
Cost: 1 mote, stone's rating in xp Type: Simple Duration: Permanent Min. Lore: 5 Min. Essence: 3 Prereqs: Friend of the Manse Attitude, Flesh Welcomes the Stone
Opening herself completely to the power of her Manse, the Exalt becomes a living hearthstone. Not only does she reap the benefits of the stone's special powers, but also enjoys an essence regeneration rate of twice what the stone would normally grant. Short of damaging or destroying the Manse, there is no way to strip these powers from her. Should the Manse be damaged, however, she will immediately lose the Charm's benefits and take a number of unsoakable aggravated wound levels equal to the level of the hearthstone she was emulating. Minor architectural alterations are not enough to cause this effect; the Manse must actually suffer non-negligible damage.
As long as the Exalt keeps this Charm active, the Manse will not produce the hearthstone whose power she has internalized; when the Charm is first activated, the existing hearthstone immediately becomes inert. If the Manse normally produces more than one hearthstone, only one may be emulated at a time. The Exalt may attune to only one Manse at a time in this manner.
An Exalted under the effects of this Charm may freely use the Surging Flow Method and Open Floodgate Technique Charms on herself, just as if she were a hearthstone. Soul and Stone Are One does not have any effect upon her ability to attune to and benefit from other Manses and hearthstones. In order to use this power, the Exalt must be attuned to the Manse, and have the desired hearthstone with her.
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Comments
Oy! Wouldn't the ST have to keep coming up with new powers for the hearthstones as they dropped in level as a result of some of these charms? Could potentially be quite a pain. -- DigitalSentience
No, they keep the same special power. The level reduction only affects mote-regeneration, until you reach level zero. Then the stone just stops working altogether. _Ikselam
