Ambisinister/ClockworkConveyance
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The Clockwork Conveyance
Artifact Level ~ 4
Commitment ~ 5-20 motes
This device gets its name from its only known application. It was created as an alternate means of travel by the incredibly paranoid Twilight artisan, Erghizhiel Ten. Erg, as he was known by both his detractors and supporters, had a healthy distrust for any animal larger than he was. Likewise, he did not trust any device he did not make or design himself. He needed a means of transit that was flexible enough to foil the plans of the people trying to kill him (and in his later days, with the Curse at full maturity, he was convinced that a lot of people trying kill him), so he created the Clockwork Conveyance.
The Conveyance takes the form a textured cube measuring two feet on a side. Closer inspection shows that the cube appears to be made of thousands of gears, cogs, springs, levers, wheels, and rods, ranging from as big as a man's head to the size of his fingernail, all compressed tightly together as if placed in a compactor. All the parts appear to be made of a dull, rough metal that shares an appearance with oxidized iron. Closer inspection will reveal that each piece has a tiny old realm inscription on it. The only other notable feature is a hearthstone socket set into the center of one of its faces. The device is incredibly un-intuitive and any attemts to discern it function simply by experimenting with it start at a base difficulty of 10.
In order for the Conveyance to function it must be set on an unliving object, have an amount of essence comitted to it based on the object's size, and have a command word spoken. (The command word is the old realm word for 'barbarian', Erg's favorite nickname for his least-favorite brother-in-law. So he wouldn't forget Erg inscribed it on the surface of the Conveyance. He also inscribed thousands of other words as a security feature. Once someone figures out the command word is actually on the device, they can begin an extended stamina + linguistics roll, rolling once a day, to accumulate 35 successes to figure out what it is.) Once this is done the device explodes in a buzzing, frenetic cloud of parts which consumes whatever it was set upon. In a number of rounds(or ticks in 2E) equal to the committed motes, when the artifiact finishes its frenzied activity, it becomes readily apparent that it has infused its target with hundreds of clockwork articulations. The object is now capable of locomotion and will do its best to obey any commands spoken by its attuned user. It is fairly intelligent (Intelligence 2) and capable of figuring things out on its own, although it has little intiative. The actual tasks it is capable of are limited by whatever its host form happens to be. The only way Erghizhiel ever used it was to animate wagons to ride around in, but this by no means defines what it is capable of. Anything from a corpse to a warstrider is fair game for the device.
Irregardless of its host, the Conveyance will always manifest with a number of functions: It is always capable of speech. It will always have a functional, accurate clock located somewhere on its frame. It will likewise possess a compass. If it does not possess any limbs it will provide itself with two articulated arms. If the host lacks suitable parts for movement it will manifest with legs, wheels, or some other other means of locomotion. It always adds 15 to the object's bashing and lethal soaks. It always adds 10 to the object's health levels. It always has a hearthstone socket. It is always capable of repairing one of its own health levels a day. The actual statistics of any given manifestation are up to the storyteller's discretion based upon whatever the host is.
In terms of power, it takes a committment of five motes to power something smaller than an adult human. Man sized objects require ten motes. Large objects, such as wagons, require fifteen. Huge objects, such as warstriders, require twenty. The hearthstone socket is present to provide an alternate means of power, with a hearstone providing a mote discount equal to twice its manse's rating. If this lowers the cost to zero then the hearthstone is providing all the power the device needs.
All it takes is a repetition of the command word by the attuned user to return the conveyance to its dormant state. The host always takes damage in this situation, usually in the form of half of its health levels being lost.
