HearthstoneRelay/Genesis
Genesis
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Origin Egg (Darloth)
Solar Aspected Manse • Trigger: Creation
This hearthstone looks for all the world like a large bird's egg. However, when it is attuned and active (set into something) then it fades to translucency, and a bright, golden spark can be seek pulsing softly in the centre, where an embryo would be if it were a real egg. Once per story, the holder of the Egg can cause it to hatch into a novel idea. This is represented by three automatic successes to all rolls regarding creating one thing for a specific purpose. The successes are in total, not applied to each roll in an extended roll (such as in a craft-roll sequence) but apply to all rolls involved, and so would apply both to planning and execution phases of a craft project.
However, things created with the aid of these successes will never be -quite- the same as other objects for the same purpose, and will incorporate new ideas and things never tried before. It is impossible to use these successes to exactly duplicate something already in existence, although making something else that serves the same purpose is possible. After the Egg has been used, it solidifies again to an opaque, egg-like stone until such time has passed that it has another idea to contribute.
Pearl of the Auspicious Font - FourWillowsWeeping
- Water Aspect
- Manse ••
- Trigger: Constant
This milky, translucent jewel provides a 4-die bonus to the first roll the bearer makes to accomplish some goal. For additional rolls, the bonus persists, but it decreases by 1 die each time.
For the purposes of this gem, the entire duration of a fight is a task that seeks to accomplish some single goal, regardless of the length and complexity of that fight. Similarly, any other goal it serves is of approximately the same magnitude; it is a task where lives are on the line.
Wombstone (Resplendence)
Wood Aspected Manse ••• Trigger: Pregnancy
This hearthstone has an organic appearance and texture. It seems to be a semi-opaque, smooth membrane criss-crossed by fine blood vessels. Inside is a pinkish liquid. The stone feels soft, warm and seems to be slowly pulsating.
If a woman is attuned to the Wombstone when she is impregnated, she may choose to carry the child in the Hearthstone, which functions just like her own womb. The child can be seen growing in the stone’s warm safety during the course of the pregnancy, but the stone itself does not grow. The mother has the same connection it as if she was carrying it herself, and she remains in normal physical condition until the pregnancy has run its full course. She will instinctively know the time of birth a week in advance. When the time comes, the child is transferred to the mother’s body over a full day, after which it is born naturally. The birth can be delayed at will for up to a lunar month, but any longer will kill the unborn child.
During the pregnancy, the mother must be constantly attuned to the Hearthstone, or the child dies. The same happens if the originated Manse is damaged or destroyed. Otherwise, it is perfectly safe from all outside harm. The mother can transfer the child to her own body over the course of a day, by voluntarily releasing attunement. Furthermore, feeding on pure Essence increases the likelihood that the child will be of non-mortal blood. Dragon-Blooded mothers have an increased chance of siring a child that will later Exalt (increase the likelihood of exaltation by one as per Exalted: The Dragon-Blooded p. 282). Couplings between mortals and spirits result in stronger god-bloods (round the parents' Essence ratings up, instead of down, for determining Inheritance). At the very least, the child is almost guaranteed to become an exceptional mortal.
Ready-Path Jewel (LeumasWhite)
Sidereal Aspected Manse •••• Trigger: Childbirth
This smooth, rounded silver stone looks reassuring to hold, but carries a faint vibration that is both worrying and exciting. When used, it can ensure the future of a child, granting them great fortune and happiness in their life… or possibly more. If a pregnant woman places the attuned stone on her belly and spends a point of Willpower, it will sink into her skin and disappear, leaving no trace behind. In her womb, the stone merges with her growing child, calling to itself the weave of destiny and binding a powerful fate about the unborn infant.
When the child is born, roll a die. On a success, the child receives Destiny 2; on a failure, Destiny 1. If two successes are rolled, the child receives Destiny 4. However, if a botch is rolled, the unfortunate babe receives Dark Fate 2; the stone sends out discordant echoes through the Loom, jarring the child’s fate loose from its path.
Damage to the stone’s Manse during this period will kill the child, and likely have unpleasant, if minor, effects on the mother’s fate. In addition, the stone takes a decade to reform once its effects have run, instead of the normal month.
Fetus Skull - FourWillowsWeeping
- Abyssal Aspect
- Manse •••••
- Trigger: Crushing
This Hearthstone looks like a gelatinous, semitranslucent skull of a baby, not yet fully-developed. It is exceedingly easy to crush, requiring only a difficulty 2 Strength + Athletics roll. However, its geometry and its regions of cartilaginous material require that this crushing be done at some leisure; the process takes about half a minute of uninterrupted squishing.
When Fetus Skull is crushed, every immature being with Essence no greater than 1 that the user can perceive suffers levels of aggravated damage equal to the user's Essence + Conviction if they fail a Stamina + Resistance test at a difficulty of the user's Essence; on success, the damage is lethal.
Comments
Apologies to all mothers out there for my Wombstone. I'm sure pregnancy can nine months of amazing natural wonders. Maybe it's inspired by my mother's tales of how she suffered with me, how heavy I was, how she vomited profousely, etc, I don't know. Resplendence
- The Wombstone I wrote up a while back, which does almost exactly the same thing as yours, was only level 2. The "you don't have to be pregnant" power, while extremely useful in real life, will only be marginally useful in most games. _Ikselam
- I'm not sure why you wanted to credit this one to me, so I switched it back to your name. - amused Moxiane
- Sorry, I copied your Wiki code from another Hearthstone and forgot your nick. :P - Moxiane D'oh! Resplendence
- Heh ... I was just about to ask about that. Also, shouldn't the first stone on the Relay be level 1? Was that intended to be level 1? (Man ... I want one ... Exalted chicks get all the breaks, dude .... Although I guess she does still have to go through the whole childbirth part.) Oh yeah, and what happens if the mother is injured in a way that directly interferes with her womb's functioning (e.g. takes a stab wound)? Considering the mystical connection between the mother's womb and the Hearthstone, it seems like something (even if it's very minor) should happen, but maybe not. Furthermore, I think you should define how much higher the chance is that a child carried in the Stone will later Exalt Dragon-Blooded (since there is a table for it and all). And what happens if the mother wants to take the child back into her body long before the birth? And does the stone grow to the size of the child while it's gestating?
~ Shataina
- Heh ... I was just about to ask about that. Also, shouldn't the first stone on the Relay be level 1? Was that intended to be level 1? (Man ... I want one ... Exalted chicks get all the breaks, dude .... Although I guess she does still have to go through the whole childbirth part.) Oh yeah, and what happens if the mother is injured in a way that directly interferes with her womb's functioning (e.g. takes a stab wound)? Considering the mystical connection between the mother's womb and the Hearthstone, it seems like something (even if it's very minor) should happen, but maybe not. Furthermore, I think you should define how much higher the chance is that a child carried in the Stone will later Exalt Dragon-Blooded (since there is a table for it and all). And what happens if the mother wants to take the child back into her body long before the birth? And does the stone grow to the size of the child while it's gestating?
- I don't see why this relay has to go in a specific order when few of the other relays do it. There's no hierarchy here like with Charms, so I'll go as with spells, where we don't have to start with Terrestial level and work our way up. A good crunch idea should go straight in and not have to wait for others, don't you think?
You bring up good points about the Hearthstone. It protects the child at all times, so any damage to the mother doesn't matter as long as she doesn't deattune or is unable to give birth. It wasn't supposed to grow bigger. That would be grotesque. :P Resplendence
- I don't see why this relay has to go in a specific order when few of the other relays do it. There's no hierarchy here like with Charms, so I'll go as with spells, where we don't have to start with Terrestial level and work our way up. A good crunch idea should go straight in and not have to wait for others, don't you think?
- I personally don't really care one way or another whether the Relays go in order, although I do generally think that structure is a good idea on projects like this. However, as the Lexicon has shown us, overstructuring them can mean death for them. Who started this one? I'd think that they should be consulted. As for the Hearthstone, I think it's fine now, although I also think it's a little weak and that for a level 3 you should also get childbirth out of it. I'd say the mother definitely has to be there when the child comes out of the stone, though.
~ Shataina
- I personally don't really care one way or another whether the Relays go in order, although I do generally think that structure is a good idea on projects like this. However, as the Lexicon has shown us, overstructuring them can mean death for them. Who started this one? I'd think that they should be consulted. As for the Hearthstone, I think it's fine now, although I also think it's a little weak and that for a level 3 you should also get childbirth out of it. I'd say the mother definitely has to be there when the child comes out of the stone, though.
- If someone complains a lot, I'll stop with my dangerous revolutionary ideas about order here. I'd rather lower the Hearthstone a level and keep it the way it is. Do you think that would work? Resplendence
- I started this one (was worried it was going to kill the Relay, the way my themes often seem to). Although I think that you're supposed to do them in order, I don't think it was ever an actual rule, more tradition. As to the stone itself, I think it's neat, and the three-dot-ness of it comes more from IMO, the effect it has on the child than the fact that the mother only has to go through labour. - contemplative Moxiane
- I'm not denying that it's relatively powerful; it's just that the rating of a Background object comes from more than just power. I wouldn't feel comfortable charging my players three dots for something that only allows them to play normally through a pregnancy (which I wouldn't inflict on them without permission anyway) and raises the chances by a very small amount that the child (whose supernatural status almost certainly isn't even going to be relevant unless you're playing an exceptionally long-term / generational game) will be supernatural. Honestly, even if it also gives childbirth straight from the stone I'd take it down a level, not because I think it's weak but because I think (from a meta-perspective) it's basically irrelevant. However, since this is more of an ST opinion that won't be relevant for everyone, I'm satisfied with just noting my opinion down here. :)
~ Shataina
- I'm not denying that it's relatively powerful; it's just that the rating of a Background object comes from more than just power. I wouldn't feel comfortable charging my players three dots for something that only allows them to play normally through a pregnancy (which I wouldn't inflict on them without permission anyway) and raises the chances by a very small amount that the child (whose supernatural status almost certainly isn't even going to be relevant unless you're playing an exceptionally long-term / generational game) will be supernatural. Honestly, even if it also gives childbirth straight from the stone I'd take it down a level, not because I think it's weak but because I think (from a meta-perspective) it's basically irrelevant. However, since this is more of an ST opinion that won't be relevant for everyone, I'm satisfied with just noting my opinion down here. :)
- How far do these go, and should we maybe not be using this many? Anyway, I agree... if it were a background, I'd probably let you take it as 2pts of backgrounds, but I agree that the power in a setting-only context (ignoring the game-ness) is good for a manse 3, and the essence regen it gains is also about right at 3. So, as always, GM fiat if you want to give a discount on buying 'near-useless' stones. Hey, maybe you could take a 1bp flaw that means your manse produces a stone which is not good for much or very often at all (once per campaign type of thing). That would let you justify it as manse 3, get good essence regen, but not have a useful power. How about that?
-- Darloth
- How far do these go, and should we maybe not be using this many? Anyway, I agree... if it were a background, I'd probably let you take it as 2pts of backgrounds, but I agree that the power in a setting-only context (ignoring the game-ness) is good for a manse 3, and the essence regen it gains is also about right at 3. So, as always, GM fiat if you want to give a discount on buying 'near-useless' stones. Hey, maybe you could take a 1bp flaw that means your manse produces a stone which is not good for much or very often at all (once per campaign type of thing). That would let you justify it as manse 3, get good essence regen, but not have a useful power. How about that?
- I don't know... Imagine you're a Dynastic Dragonblood with this Hearthstone. How much do you think you'd be able to get if you made attunement/use of this Hearthstone available to other Dynasts who are incredibly rich, politically powerful, and obsessed with having Dragonblooded children? Depending upon the type of game, it may be well worth three points of Backgrounds. - szilard
- You're absolutely right, and that's a very good point. I guess this just goes to show that trying to universally-balance metaplot effects like these is essentially impossible.
~ Shataina
- You're absolutely right, and that's a very good point. I guess this just goes to show that trying to universally-balance metaplot effects like these is essentially impossible.
May I suggest that the stronger-god-blood effect be +0.5 inheritance? Ie:, instead of taking the average and rounding down, take the average and round up the parent's essences. This is a minor effect, but can still produce noticable differences, and fits nicely as a side-effect. Of course, it could always be +1 after the average if you wanted that...
-- Darloth
- I'll go with the rounding up of Inheritance. I think that'll make it a nice level 3 Hearthstone. Resplendence
I would be slightly more comfortable with the Origin Egg if it didn't give successes ... dice maybe? I like the idea, though.
~ Shataina
- Since it's just once per story, successes instead of dice is better IMO. Resplendence
- That's why I made it successes. I tried to make it a powerful level 1, but with some weird and sometimes very very annoying disadvantages, and a long recharge. It would be closer to level 2 without the disadvantages, and probably level 3 without the recharge time, at least in my opinion of it's power.
-- Darloth
- That's why I made it successes. I tried to make it a powerful level 1, but with some weird and sometimes very very annoying disadvantages, and a long recharge. It would be closer to level 2 without the disadvantages, and probably level 3 without the recharge time, at least in my opinion of it's power.
- Going back over it ... yeah, I agree with you. I've grown progressively more uncomfortable with "number per story" limiters because people are constantly criticizing them whenever I make something up, but I realize that this is more of an internalization of other peoples' standards and an attempt to create universally-balanced objects (not always necessary or even a good idea, really) ... anyway, that's what led to my original reaction.
~ Shataina
- Going back over it ... yeah, I agree with you. I've grown progressively more uncomfortable with "number per story" limiters because people are constantly criticizing them whenever I make something up, but I realize that this is more of an internalization of other peoples' standards and an attempt to create universally-balanced objects (not always necessary or even a good idea, really) ... anyway, that's what led to my original reaction.
New stone; I get the feeling this one has wandered from the theme a bit, as my ideas often do. Was originally supposed to mean the beginning of an interesting life. Then again, it is *checks clock* 2am. Oy. - LeumasWhite
- I think it would be very cool if there could be ways to influence general "themes" of the child's big fate ... i.e. their astonishing destiny is going to have to do with "romance", "revenge", "selflessness", "mercy", etc. Maybe it could be influenced by, say, the alignment of the stars when the Hearthstone is utilized?
~ Shataina
- I agree, it seems to me closer to a theme of Pregnancy or something than Genesis, but it's interesting all the same.
-- Darloth
Hey willows, I think your hearthstone could really use a once-per-[time period] limiter.
~ Shataina
- I really, intensely don't like those; they just don't have any sensible function. There isn't any way that you can predict how much RL playtime will contain how much imagined-world playtime, and it's effectiveness in RL playtime, IMO, that needs to be managed. In games like D&D, where "a day" is the basic unit of resource replenishment, it makes more sense, but in Exalted, where resources (Willpower and motes) flow freely in both directions constantly, there is no reason to place such artificial strictures on anything. I clarified the intent of the stone, however. Perhaps it will assuage your fears. - w
- Yeah, it does. I was, as you probably guessed, just worried that players would be saying things like "I'm now working towards the goal of ... convincing this merchant to give me a grapefruit for free! Okay, and now I'm working towards the goal of seducing that hot chick!" etc. A task that has lives depending on it is a suitable enough stricture for me, though, as long as it's rigorously applied.
~ Shataina- Heheh. I never write anything that's not intended to be rigorously applied. - w
- Yeah, it does. I was, as you probably guessed, just worried that players would be saying things like "I'm now working towards the goal of ... convincing this merchant to give me a grapefruit for free! Okay, and now I'm working towards the goal of seducing that hot chick!" etc. A task that has lives depending on it is a suitable enough stricture for me, though, as long as it's rigorously applied.
Weird Hearthstone, that last. Wonderfully gross. I do definitely think it should have a range, though.
~ Shataina
- Oh, huh. I was thinking of one but did not write it in. Fixed. - w
