HearthstoneRelay/HiddenNatures
The Forty-Ninth Theme Is Hidden Natures
- Unassuming Pebble Darloth
- Earth Manse 1
- Trigger: Constant
The Unassuming Pebble does not look like a hearthstone at all, and without the ability to sense or (better) directly see the flows of essence, it's just another pebble by the side of the road.
This visage matches its powers well. Any artifact it is socketed into will appear as a mundane example of its type. Daiklaves will appear as merely large and somewhat unbalanced looking swords, magical ships will appear to be made of standard construction, and magnificently attired robes will transmute into mundane and rather unfashionable clothing. One of the possible downsides of this are that the effects cannot be turned off, and it is nearly impossible to convince someone that your unwieldy looking sword is truly a dangerous daiklave - even unsocketing the stone ("why does this fool have a pebble stuck to his sword anyway?") does not cause the effect to fade until several hours have passed.
Occasionally, there are artifacts that already look mundane or could be mistaken for simple jewellery, or in other cases, a hearthstone socket can be built into mundane equipment to allow someone to gain the benefits of a hearthstone. In this case, since the usual power cannot affect the item, the stone turns its powers onto the owner. While it cannot truly mask the glory of the Exalted all by itself, it can make them more banal, less interesting, and coincidentally harder to track or notice. The bearer loses one appearance (to a minimum of 2, and those with appearance 0-1 gain one, to a maximum of 2) but increases the difficulty by one on all rolls to track them in any terrain, or notice them as out of place, including piercing disguises. However, it has no effect on stealth.
- Grey Block Of Inscrutability Han'ya
- Earth Manse 2
- Trigger: Constant
The Grey Block Of Inscrutability is aptly named. It is a roughly cubic block with sides two finger-joints long, of a dull light gray color, with a soft but unyielding feel. It adds one to the difficulty of all rolls to discern the bearer's Intimacies or Motivation, and increases the bearer's MDV by one against mundane attacks to determine her emotional state. It also adds one to the difficulty of all rolls to determine its purpose (not, however, to recognize it if one knows of the hearthstone's existence). It also adds one to the difficulty of rolls to determine the Nature of its bearer, if it is born by a god, demon, or elemental.
- The Unseen Ruby (Weapon) Veet
- Fire Manse 3
- Trigger: Thought
For many of the chosen carrying around gigantic weapons made of wondrous material that can instantly give away their nature is slightly inconvenient. This stone is one of the many ways some have worked out to get around that problem. The stone shaped like a large princes cut ruby actually is a weapon, each of these stones is designed to change into a specific two dot artifact weapon when the holder who has committed the appropriate amount of essence to the stone wills it. These weapons are made of the same ruby that the stone is made of and have the magic material bonuses of red jade (as outlined in Oadenols Codex) at no extra attunement costs but they cannot have a socket for a hearthstone. Single dot artifact weapons that are meant to use in pairs such as short daiklaves or baneclaws can be produced in pairs by these stones.
The ruby version of this stone only creates weapons that use the melee ability to wield. There is an air aspected sapphire type that creates thrown weapons with blue jade bonuses, a wood aspected emerald type that creates archery weapons with green jade bonuses and a water aspected onyx type that can create martial arts weapons with black jade bonuses.
- The Gem of False Life Paincake
- Abyssal
- Trigger: Sunrise in Creation
This stone is polished jet, smooth and shot through with sickly grey marbling. It has grown in a field of lies lovingly cultivated in the Underworld with dark geomancy framing the petals of many a falsehood into the warm, pulsing stone you see. If unsocketed, it appears to be the color of honey, pure and sweet. When placed in a Hearthstone setting, it becomes the black-grey foulness it actually is. Other than this indicator, there is no trace left of any underworld heritage; Ghost blooded appear as god-blooded to casual observers, and it takes a difficult Occult roll not to confuse the caste marks of an Abyssal with the corresponding Solar mark. The benefits are manifold; grave trappings become regular clothing, Soulsteel appears as unidentifiable but still decidedly magical metal, their underworld necromancy and charms even share a slight buffering, becoming less terrifying and more plain in appearance. (Raising zombies, for example, does not tear screaming holes in the world or involve huge vortexes of black energy. It is still raising the dead, however.) Usage of this stone provides Abyssal exalts with unpleasant side-effects; if they do not indulge in (ST discretion) foul acts or acts appropriate to their masters' wishes the stone itself begins to fail at the most inopportune moments, and they begin to accumulate Resonance.
- Gem of Hidden Talents Veet
- Air Manse 5
- Trigger: Ability Check
This cloudy multicolored glass shard appears to be a broken piece of a larger work of art. Holders of this stone are known for being people of unexpected talent and beginners luck. Whenever making a roll on an ability in which the holder has no dots they may spend one point of temporary willpower to apply four automatic successes to the roll.
Comments
I'm a little worried this might be too powerful for a level 1... It's mostly narrative in scope, since it doesn't -strictly- do anything. If you're decked out in the 5MM, it's not going to help to make one or two of them mundane, and likewise, mundane armour or swords are still armour or swords, so it won't get you in anywhere that you couldn't usually sneak a sword into. For that, there's a sidereal stone somewhere else at a higher level that just makes everyone not -notice- the thing it's socketed into... This, though, I don't know. If someone else has a good idea for a level 1 stone, feel free to shunt this up to 2. Otherwise, hope you like it!
-- Darloth
My stone may be too mighty as well. And Darloth, why does a stone that makes you harder to notice add successes to rolls to find you? - Han'ya
Because I are stoopid... That should read LOSES one success, or something equivalent. Ahrm. *fixes* Thanks Han'ya!
-- Darloth
I'm interested in opinions on weather or not my stone is under or over powered. It's been a favorite of mine since I wrote it up because I believe two charm purchases is too much to make a weapon be able to disappear. Darloth, Your stone doesn't seem too powerful to me at all in fact when I wrote up a similar lunar stone I gave it the ability to make the weapon an unassuming piece of jewelry as well. Of course that's just my opinion and it may be wrong. - Veet
I believe I may've just gone partially brain dead. =P I am going to bed, if this stone sucks feel free to pull it. I may do so myself, I can't think very well at the moment, and if someone has a better 4-dot suggestion, by all means bump mine off. Paincake
OK I'm tired of looking at this relay and want to see more so here is a level 5. The new theme shall be........ Our Furry Friends.......Interpret as you will. - Veet
