Artifacts/Low

Here's a rather large collection of cheap and/or common artifacts for those folks who seek utility over flash and flare.

Low Level Artifacts

Fang Dagger (Artifact 1) These daggers, crafted from the fangs and tusks of great beasts, were but a curiosity in the First Age, an interesting decoration or weapon for a mortal retainer, little more. Once the Lunar Society dispersed into the Wyld and became the Silver Pact their true value was seen by young Lunars and their beastman followers.

System- It costs 2 motes to attune a Fang Dagger, and once attuned the blade becomes light and well balanced in the hands of it’s wielder, becoming an extension of his body, allowing him to treat any attack with the knife as an unarmed attack for the purpose of Charms and Martial Arts attacks. Also, on a successful attack the wielder may spend 1 mote of Essence to add half his/her Essence, rounded up, to the attack’s raw damage.

Speed +2 Accuracy +2 Damage +3L Defense –3 Rate 5

Ring of Tongues (Artifact 1) These rings, ranging from the extravagant to the humble in appearance, were once given to mortal diplomats and messengers by their Exalted masters. Each ring grants the owner perfect fluency and literacy in a single language, set by the creator of the ring, who must speak the language as fluently as a native and be literate in it’s form of writing, if one exists. Old Realm is the most common language imbued into such rings, but rumors abound of rings enchanted with ancient tongues lost to men now, such as the speech of the Dragon Kings.

Farsight Monocle (Artifact 1) This tinted, tubular monocle give the wearer extraordinary powers of vision, removing all penalties due to glare and shadow. Add two dice to all ranged attacks and Perception rolls involving long distance vision.

Assassin’s Veil (Artifact 2) This filmy black veil, attached to a thin black chain worn like a crown, mutes every sound made by its wearer, blanketing his movements with the silence of the dead. While wearing the veil a clever thief could run across a floor covered in silver bells without making a sound. Add two dice to all Stealth rolls and negate any penalties due to noisy surfaces and sounds made by the wearer.

Window Lens (Artifact 1) This ten inch disk, made of enchanted adamant and traced with blue jade edges, is every spy’s dream and every unfaithful spouse’s nightmare. By placing the disk against a wall and feeding it 2 motes, the user may see through, as though the disk were a small window through the wall. The window provides no illumination in dark rooms and transfers no sound, but provides a crystal clear image of whatever lies beyond the wall. The disk may me moved along the wall to provide a better point of view, so long as contact is maintained. If the disk at any time is completely removed from the wall it must be reactivated. The window will not work on magically warded walls.

Transport Jars (Artifact 1) These small, paired jars, usually no bigger than a large wine jug, are perfect for moving small items vast distances. Once an item has been placed in one of the pair the user may spend 10 motes to instantly transport it’s contents into the other jar, no matter how far away. The jars are limited in what they can transport, however. No living thing more complicated than live herbs and grasses may be sent, nor may any enchanted object, as the Essence interferes with the transmission of the object. If one jar ever leaves Creation, whether it enters the Underworld, Yu-Shan, the Wyld or Malfeas, its companion jar will lie dormant until its return.

Winged Knives (Artifact 2 per 5) These ornate throwing knives, forged from one of the Five Magical Materials in the form of small birds of prey, are a true terror to any who have beheld them in combat. Once thrown the knives spread their wings and actually fly to their target, removing any penalties for cover and incurring a two die penalty on all Dodge rolls. It costs 5 motes to attune a brace of five knives, and the wearer may spend an additional mote per knife during combat to recall the knife to his side at the end of the turn. The knives use the same stats as throwing knives and convey a Magical Material bonus.

Fortune’s Seeds (Artifact 1) These coins, stamped from green jade with the characters for fortune and prosperity, are a merchant’s best friend. Anyone who possesses a coin adds two dice to Bureaucracy rolls involving trade and bartering. Should the coin be invested in a venture, it will return in the first profit of that venture. Should the venture be destined to fail, the coin will be mysteriously absent from the merchant’s purse, giving the wise warning of a bad investment. The extremely greedy never profit from trying to collect these coins, as anyone who gathers more than two together suffers a terrible setback, botching an important roll at the worst possible moment, usually leading to financial ruin. If a coin is given freely to a worthy recipient, the giver immediately regains all temporary Willpower and comes to feel a great contentment, reducing the difficulty for all Virtue rolls by one for the rest of the scene.

Jade Manacles (Artifact 2) These heavy chains, forged of white jade, are some of the most feared tools of the Wyld Hunt. When the heavy collar and manacles are locked onto an Essence user and the white jade spike driven into the earth, that creature’s Essence is effectively “grounded”, flowing into the Earth at a rate of five motes per hour until the creature’s Essence pool is completely empty. So long as the spike remains grounded, the prisoner may not regain Essence in any way, even from attunement to a manse. These chains are rarely used, as the Anathema are far too dangerous to be imprisoned for long, but on occasion one is captured and forced to divulge its secrets before a tribunal of elder Immaculates.

Compass of the Maidens (Artifact 2) This small device, little more than an ornate trinket box mounted with a small starmetal compass needle, is the ally of anyone searching for someone. By placing a hair or some other physical object deeply linked to the target, such as a cherished wedding band or a child’s lost tooth, in the box and spending 5 motes a user can cause the needle to point in the direction of that person. The compass does not work on beings outside fate or Sidereal Exalted.

Plowshare Swords (Artifact 2) These strange weapons, short chopping swords made from old plowshares cold hammered into blades, are the bane of the Fair Folk. Enchanted with the cold logic and dower banality inherent to such mundane materials, these humble blades can cause even the mightiest Fae noble to fear. Any wound inflicted by a plowshare sword on a Fair One inflicts aggravated damage as cold iron. All wound penalties for a Fae victim are doubled, as the cold poison of banality seeps into the Wyld One’s being. Any Fair Folk wounded with the blade must succeed in a Valor check or flee for a number of turns equal to their current wound penalty. Most plowshare swords are chopping swords or short swords.

Horn of Summons (Artifact 1) These ornate horns, usually carved from great ram’s horns or elk antler, are one of the tools that help hold the Silver Pact together. By committing a single mote to the horn, any number of beings may attune to the horn, allowing them all to hear the horn sound, no matter how far away they are at the time. The horns are often used by Lunar packs separated by vast distances to call on allies in times of need. To sound the horn requires the Exalt to spend 5 motes and blow the horn for a full three turns. All the motes previously committed to the horn immediately flee to their originators, carrying the sound of the horn in their wake.

Mason’s Friend (Artifact 1) This elaborately carved white jade hammer is used primarily by the masons of the Realm to shape the building stones used in their great civic projects. Usable by mortals, who must commit one Willpower rather than 4 Essence, these hammers add two dice to any Strength roll involving breaking or shaping stone and two dots to any Craft roll relating to stone. They use the stats of regular hammers in combat, but do double damage to any creature or automaton actually made of stone.

Dragon Scales (Artifact 1) These ornate jade amulets are common in the Realm and in Lookshy, where they are commonly given to young Dragon-Blooded as gifts and symbols of authority. The amulet adds +2B/ +2L to its owner’s soak and cost two motes to attune. By spending an additional two motes the owner may activate an additional power dependant on the type of jade used to make the amulet:

Air The amulet grows cool to the touch, lowering the temperature around the owner to a comfortable level and reducing any penalties due to heat by 2.

Earth The amulet causes the owner’s skin to further harden, adding an additional +1B/+1L soak.

Fire The amulet grows hot and may be touched to any flammable material to start a small fire.

Water The owner may breath as easily in water as on land and doubles his swimming speed.

Wood The owner heals bashing damage at double his normal rate for the rest of the scene.

Healer’s Blanket (Artifact 1) These blankets, made especially for use in field hospitals and hostels for the sick in Lookshy, are woven from the softest wool and enchanted to keep the sick and injured comfortable, warm and calm. Anyone placed beneath a healer’s blanket immediately reduces their wound penalties to –1 and may rest in relative peace and calm. The blanket’s occupant will remain warm and comfortable, untroubled by pain or dreams. In game terms the blanket reduces the difficulty to treat a wounded or ill patient by two. If this would reduce the difficulty below one, instead halve the time it would take the patient to heal.

Ghost Arrows (Artifact 1 per ten) These arrows, made specifically for ghost hunters and city guards who patrol the haunted sections of Chiaroscuro, are made with baked salt arrowheads, enchanted to hold their edge and cut like steel. Ghost arrows are capable of injuring even incorporeal ghosts and the walking dead so commonly inhabited by nemissaries. The arrows use standard broad head stats and deal aggravated damage to spirits of the dead, including corpses inhabited by nemissaries.

Death’s Eye Lens (Artifact 1) This darkened lens of engraved obsidian allows a wearer to see into the Underworld, giving ghost hunters and necromancers a window into the lands of the dead. To attune the lens a mortal user must smear the lens in his own blood and roll Perception +Occult, though Essence users may commit a single mote and need not roll to attune. If used to track a hungry ghost on this side of the Shroud, the lens adds two dice to all Perception rolls involved in tracking or spotting the creature.

Flare Amulet (Artifact 1) Useful for effecting a quick escape this crystal amulet can emit a brilliant flash, blinding all those in a twenty foot radius of the user for (6 – Perception) turns. This gives the possessor of the amulet automatic Initiative for the first turn. To use the amulet the user must poor five motes of essence into it and be prepared for the flash.

Sanguine Veil (Artifact 1) This simple red veil, made of silk the color of blood and decorated with small red stones mined from the depths of the Labyrinth, is the tool of any Abyssal who would feed undetected. By pouring a single mote into the veil and biting the victim through it, the Abyssal may feed as normal, but will leave no mark. The victim will feel an almost sexual rush when the Abyssal bites however, causing mortals to roll Willpower to avoid addiction to the sensation.

Smith’s Blessing (Artifact 1) This simple amulet, made from the heart of an anvil, gives any metal worker an intuitive understanding of the strengths and flaws of his work, adding two dice to any Craft roll involving evaluating or creating metal work. Any tools and raw materials used while wearing the amulet count as being one level of quality higher, as well.

Stone Soup Pot (Artifact 1) These unobtrusive cookpots, usually battered and dented by wear, are any traveler’s best friend. By adding water and a few stones to the pot, placing it on the fire and investing 2 motes of essence or one willpower, the user causes the pot to boil the stones and water down into a filling, if rather bland, porridge that may feed up to four people.

Truthseeker (Artifact 2) This small square of black fur, used commonly by Northern witches in service to their village elders, is one of the most terrifying things a guilty criminal will ever experience. By investing the square with five motes of essence and breathing on it in her cupped hands, the witch may cause the fur to form into a small black rat with shining red eyes. After the seeker has been awakened, it is allowed to draw a single drop of blood from the accused. If at any time during the questioning the accused should tell a deliberate lie, the seeker will disappear for a moment, only to reappear from the liars mouth in a spray of blood. This effect is painful in the extreme, though it does no actual damage. The liar must now roll Willpower at a difficulty of (9 – Conviction) to lie again, though he will suffer the effect mentioned above just the same upon uttering the lie and adds one to the difficulty of his next roll to lie. These penalties are cumulative and should the difficulty ever reach 8 the accused collapses from the pain and may be questioned no further.