HearthstoneRelay/Instinct

The thirty-second theme is Instinct

Both beneath and above learning, instinct guides us were our intellect cannot - but sometimes leads us astray.

Hearthstone</b> by Author

<b>? Aspect, Manse •
Trigger: 

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Tiger-Eye Agate </b> by John Biles

<b>Wood Aspect, Manse •
Trigger:  Concentration

Animals can sense when other animals are hostile, or aroused, or otherwise emotionally engaged by their sense of smell. While the user concentrates, this hearthstone enables the user to tap into that usually suppressed set of instincts within himself. It grants 3 bonus dice to sense peoples' emotional state.

Drop of Honey Crystal by willows

Fire Manse ••

Trigger: Willpower

This amber crystal is irregularly faceted; its urface is slightly yielding, and it's possible to push small objects into it; they come out coated in a distinctive, smoky-flavored honey. This is not the true gift of the stone, however. When using a Charm with the Emotion keyword, the Exalt may spend an additional Willpower to create a supernatural emotion, the Hunger Outside Creation. This is the gnawing, mindless action of the unshaped; beings gripped by this emotion may use their actions only to devour, or to attack something in the interest of making it more easily devoured. Any unnatural influence overrides this effect.

Star of Stars

Sidereal Aspect, Manse •••
Trigger: Willpower

This hearthstone appears as a fist-sized sphere that perfectly matches a clear night sky, so much so that it appears invisible when held up to such. Though the stars will remain as bright as ever, the stone will shift colour to that of one of the Five Maidens once a goal is stated.

When used, the character may dedicate herself (via a point of Willpower, reflexively spent) to a stated goal, which must fall under the influence of one of the astrological colleges. So long as she remains committed to this, the character gains a Destiny of 3 (with this goal as the target), plus she and everyone she meets gain an Intimacy and a one-die bonus towards helping this goal come about (though only the character realizes it). This Intimacy may not be eroded, but fades as soon as the stone is no longer present.

However, as long as the stone is in use, the character’s Essence is effectively 1 when she is targeted by astrological effects that fall under the chosen college, so long as those effects do not conflict with her destiny. Thus, a strategist devoted to winning a war with her masterful tactics may find herself engrossed in planning such (The Quiver), while a slave owner who wishes only to gather a large harem may find himself overly-occupied with keeping them satisfied (The Lovers).

Unblinking Opal</b> by IanPrice

<b>Lunar Aspect, Manse ••••
Trigger: Passive.

The Manse for this stone is old; it was constructed during the Primordial War as the fortress for a Lunar general and his army. Thus, its geomancy was designed for war. While attuned, this stone protects its bearer from surprise and grants automatic success on any Valor or Conviction rolls (this does not apply to channeling these virtues). This normally beneficial effect has two strong downsides. First, it requires the user to spend willpower to suppress Valor and Conviction any time it would be necessary to fail a roll of one of those traits to act unfettered by them. Second, the unblinking awareness of this stone does not allow its bearer to sleep, and does not do anything to offset the detremental mental effects of extended wakefulness. Physical fatigue can be avoided with simple rest, and the lack of concentration will not cut into combat effectiveness due to the surprise protection from this stone, but after 72 hours or so the hallucinations engendered by lack of dreaming sleep will take hold and completely cripple an Exalt who does not put this stone aside to get some sleep.

Prodigy Orb</b> by DeathBySurfeit

<b>Solar Aspect, Manse •••••
Trigger: Passive / Anima+Willpower.

This otherwise perfectly transparent sphere of crystal bends the light passing through it in strange ways, conjuring idealised views of what lies beyond; should its bearer's anima flare, a myriad of reflected strands of light erupt from the gem in a phantasmal haze of coloured radiance. When set into a hearthstone socket, the Prodigy Orb grants its bearer a natural affinity for all things - complex legal documentation, shipbuilding and occult symbology all seem as natural and effortless as breathing. With age, this natural finesse improves further to unparalleled excellence in all fields. The bearer of this Hearthstone may always opt to roll Attribute + Essence in place of Attribute + Ability for all Ability rolls. If the bearer's anima banner is manifest, they may spend a point of Willpower to count all the Essence dice rolled this way as automatic successes.

Comments =

Thank you. I'm so glad to see the relays picking up again, after a block of themes that I didn't know what to do with! I'll post something soon. - willows

Oh, um, thanks! It's always good to hear that someone appreciates your long, hard hours of deliberation over which theme would be most inspiring...DeathBySurfeit

I'd briefly forgotten how much your hearthstones rock. willows, I wub you...DeathBySurfeit

^^ Thanks! I really like how easy the keywords make it to interface things with each other. Now, what to do about those other stalled relays? - willows

Half-assed submission (I was thinking star instinct, or something, dunno), but maybe it'll generate some interest. Looks pretty poor after willows', though... that one's nice. - LeumasWhite

Can you explain the last paragraph a bit more? I'm confused what it means. For example, would a Sidereal want to use it on himself to make his astrology effect difficulty lower? Is the effective Essence of 1 considered a benefit, in that you can have only one effect stacked upon you? - GreenLantern, wanting to know why...

It's kind of a negative or positive thing, depending on whether you're being targeted with helpful or unhelpful astrology. Low essence means it's easier to put astrological effects on you, but you have fewer at once. My fuzzy justification was "the stars want things to go smoothly", and essence-users create snarls in the tapestry, from what I remember. It's mostly there so that STs can whack players who abuse the stone with unpleasant destinies. - LeumasWhite

IanPrice, does the Unblinking Opal grant an automatic success on Valor and Conviction rolls, or automatic success regardless of difficulty? I've added a fifth stone to the relay (can't stop inspiration), but given that I chose the last theme I thought it best if someone else selected this one - if no-one wants to do this, however, I'll sub in another idea...DeathBySurfeit

My feeling is, the latter. However, some people may feel that's too strong for their games, so I'll leave the wording ambiguous up there. - IanPrice