HearthstoneRelay/Ick
The sixth theme is "Ick!"
Maggot Gem (Ikselam)
Wood Aspect Manse •
This slimy, pallid stone looks much like a fat, pulsating grub with no head or legs. When attuned, it guarantees the sterility of its bearer's wounds in a most revolting manner. Any of the character's wounds which become infected quickly begin swarming with maggots. Just like the maggots used by certain surgeons, these larvae devour dead and diseased tissue, leaving healthy flesh intact. They remain in the wound until it heals; they can be removed, but more will quickly appear to replace them.
Mechanically, the character's wounds never become infected (although he still rolls for infection; the maggots only appear if he fails). Until the wounds heal, he suffers a dice penalty on any social roll which would, in the Storyteller's judgment, be negatively impacted by looking disgusting. The penalty is equal to the the penalty inflicted by his worst wound, plus one; it is unaffected by powers which negate wound penalties. (For example, a character who was injured at the -0 level would take a 1-die penalty, while one who had wounds at the -2 level would lose 3 dice from social rolls.)
Circumspect Gourd (FourWillowsWeeping)
Wood Aspect Manse ••
This orange stone is vaguely fruit-shaped and marked with irregular creamy stripes. The bearer of this stone can cut this stone open and eat several bites of the soft, fibrous flesh inside. Each bite causes him to grow smaller, until he is the size of a fly, and standing inside the fruit. Its two halves close around him, and the stone's sides seal shut. It remains in this state until the next dawn, when the stone bursts in a mess of fermenting, overripe flesh. It scatters embryonic homunculi everywhere, as well as a red sphere and the shrunken bearer. He must eat a meal of mortal food to regain his normal size, and the red sphere expands to the Gourd's ordinary size by sunset.
Still-Born Cherub Stone (Resplendence)
Abyssal Aspect Manse •••
Little good can be expected to come from a Hearthstone that takes the shape of a petrified skeletal fetus. Indeed, the stone kills any child the bearer sires in the womb of its mother, but it continues to grow quickly on the stone's dark Essence that feeds and warps its little dead body. Worse yet, the ghost of the unborn child is fettered to the undead fetus. Late one night about a month after the conception, a skeletal, pale mockery of a child is fully deformed, and claws and bites its way out through its mother's body. Since this is fatal for a mortal mother, the wailing, gore-drenched Cherub usually finds itself bitterly lonely. It immediately and unfailingly seeks out its father. Very few survive the hardships of Creation or the Underworld for very long, though.
Alternatively, if the bearer of the Hearthstone is female, she will give birth to a Still-Born Cherub herself if she is attuned during conception. The Cherub claws its way out through her body as usual, but the pains are no worse than regular birth pains, and the wounds close within a scene and leave no marks.
- Still-Born Cherub
- Image: Half fetus, half young child, all undead monstrosity. Most are skeletal and thin, but some are bloated. Most are human-shaped and only vaguely deformed, but some are grossly warped -- one Abyssal's pet undead daughter is little more than a child's head on six spidery legs resembling large, bony and clawed fingers. All Cherubs have small, sharp teeth and claws, deathly pale skin and dark eyes. They usually bear an uncanny resemblance to their Abyssal parent.
- Personality: Still-Born Cherubs desperately seek out their parents first of all -- either their Abyssal one or the mortal, if she should rise as a ghost after dying horribly from giving birth to it. In the company of a parent they are cruelly mischievous, often found tormenting small creatures and suckling their blood. Their existence is almost pure torment though, and they are forever filled with a child's fear and nightmares. With discipline, they can become obedient to their parent, but they never develop any intelligence beyond that of a small child, except maybe an instinctual understanding of existence in the Underworld.
- Notes: Outside the Underworld or a Shadowland, Cherubs quickly wither and die. Sunlight scalds them like boiling water. They are fully physical undead. If the body is killed, the ghost is usually so euphoric over the release from its tormented existance that it succumbs to the comforting embrace of Lethe.
- Atributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2, Charisma 1, Manipulation 1, Appearance 0, Perception 3, Intelligence 1, Wits 2
- Abilities: Athletics 1, Brawl 1, Dodge 1, Stealth 1
- Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 1, Temperance 1, Valor 2
- Willpower: 3
- Essence: 1
- Base Initiative: 5
- Attacks: Bite (Speed 2, Acc 4, Dam 2L, Def 2), Claw (Speed 5, Acc 5, Dam 1L, Def 5)
- Dodge Pool: 4
- Soak: 2B/1L
- Health Levels: -0, -1, -2, -4, Inc
- Notes: +1 difficulty to hit due to their small size, but halved movement rate unless provided with special means of motion by deformities, such as spider legs or wings.
Blood-Ring Wardstone (Quendalon)
Abyssal Aspect Manse ••••
Scarlet veins lance through this mottled, straw-colored jewel. Once the stone is attuned, traces of blood appear in the bearer’s urine and sexual fluids. The bearer may spend five motes of Essence and one lethal health level to urinate a circle of blood upon the ground. This circle, whose radius may not exceed the bearer’s Stamina in yards, holds great occult power. Animals and mortals shy away from it; any living creature other than the bearer must make a Valor roll or spend a point of temporary Willpower to force themselves to cross the circle. Crossing the circle causes its power to ground itself around the intruder in a web of crimson lightning, inflicting a number of dice of unsoakable aggravated damage equal to the bearer’s Essence. The power of the circle fades after twelve hours or when touched by direct sunlight.
Eye of the Dreamspider (haren)
Lunar Aspect Manse •••••
This black multi-faceted gem reflects all those other than it's bearer in images of fear and terror. When attuned, the bearer's mouth can become filled with a toxic saliva. When kissing another, they can release this toxin and begin to feed. The other person starts to become horribly twisted as their mind, body, and soul is devoured by the holder. The victim suffers an unsoakable aggravated damage every turn of continuous kissing and the bearer may heal a health level for every one the victim looses. The victim can do nothing more than moan if they do not make a willpower roll at a difficulty of half the holder's permanent Essence (rounded down). Should the victim be forced to incapacitated, they fall to the ground as a living dessicated mummy. As soon as they heal up enough to move, they begin to serve the bearer, lost in eternal dreams. They are little more than a puppet, as without the bearer's direction, they sit in blissful ignorance of all the world. A victim's appearance never returns to normal, as they are a husk empty of all but their dreams.
Comments
Ah, now these look like fun. Maggot Gem: shouldn't this give a bonus to social rolls that might benefit from looking disgusting, like intimidation rolls or interactions with rotting undead? - Quendalon
- Rhetorical question: Do rotting Abyssals get bonuses for looking gross? _Ikselam
Exactly what is the intended point of the Circumspect Gourd, if I may ask? Resplendence
- You can hide in it. - willows
I'm not sure if my Still-Born Cherub Stone is worthy of being level three... Resplendence
- And I'm not sure if my Blood-Ring Wardstone is worthy of being level four, but you bumped it with your level three! Curses! :) - Quendalon
There can be more than one thing per level, guys. _Ikselam
- Any thoughts on what levels those two stones should be at, Roger? - Quendalon
- I'm not sure if the Cherubs are useful enough for the level of the stone, that's the problem. Except for the icky factor they're mostly annoying, aren't they? Like the undead baby of Peter Jackson's Braindead / Dead Alive. :) Resplendence
- The aggravated damage definitely makes the Blood-Ring a level 4. I think the Stillborn Cherub thingie should count as a low-level Familiar. It should possibly only be able to survive if it touches the stone, or visits its Manse, at certain intervals. Something should definitely happen to it if the stone becomes deattuned. _Ikselam
Wow ... that Cherub stone is possibly the most horrible thing I've ever seen or heard of for this setting. Really, really awesome work on your part, Resplendence.
Does the Wardstone inflict levels or dice? I'd recommend dice, personally.
~ Shataina
- Dice, of course. Good call. - Quendalon
- back to CrunchRelay.
- back to HearthStones.
