Jai/BoD

The Bow of Dusk & The Obisidian Quiver | Level 5 | Status: Done

The Bow of Dusk is an ancient weapon created in the Underworld, now wielded on the face of Creation by those who would defy Heaven. The frame is made from the hollow, pale-white bones of an aquatic behemoth, which slumbers still in the depths of the Sea of Shadows. It is suffused with dark strands of Soulsteel and decorated with a screaming Soulsteel skull set in the center of the frame. The Bow is strung with a stiff thread of death-tainted Moonsilver that becomes taut and flexible after attunement.

• The Bow can only use arrows produced by the Obsidian Quiver (although arrows made by charms or sorcery will work fine), and Obisidan Quiver arrows can only be fired from the Bow. If the archer should attempt to use normal arrows, they will burst into flame and turn to ashes in his hands.

Attacks made with arrows from the Quiver can only be dodged, blocked with shields or weapons of a magical nature, or through the use of charms and spells. Armor is not affected. The projectiles will alter course and direction on the fly in order to hit the most vulnerable spot on the target, ergo targets automatically subtract a number of dice equal to the archer’s Essence rating from their dodge or parry pool for each arrow fired in a turn. Successful attacks – attacks which do at least 1 health level of damage - made with the Bow of Dusk cause the targets to reduce their number of successes in combat for the remainder of the scene by 1, any subsequent successful attacks are cumulative. For e.g. if Mirthless Smile attacked Panther and was successful, Panther’s number of successes for any action in combat throughout the remainder of the scene is reduced by 1. If Mirthless Smile’s next attack on Panther was also successful, Panther’s number of successes for any action in combat throughout the remainder of the scene is reduced by 2 and so on…

The Obsidian Quiver is made from the cured skin of a dead fetich, the projectiles produced by the Quiver are arrows of calcified Essence. They have a glossy, raven-black coloration with pale white feathers on the ends. When fired from a lighted area or during the day: four small, screaming skulls of icy-blue flame hover around the head of the arrow as it streaks through the air. If fired from darkness or at night: the arrows appear as normal but pulse when touched as if with a terrible hunger. Obsidian Quiver arrows add a damage bonus of +2 against beings touched by death (Zombies, Ghosts, Abyssals etc), and +4 against the living and beings of the Wyld (Fair Folk, mutations, and creatures of the Wyld etc). The arrows affect incorporeal beings as if they were materialized.

Arrows lost or damaged will be replaced with new ones at a rate of the archer’s Essence rating per 4 turns. The Quiver contains a total of 15 arrows. All fired arrows dissipate a minute after reaching their target, due to their unique Essence-derived nature. By spending 5 motes the archer can change the type of arrows (Target, Frog Crotch etc) that the Obsidian Quiver creates. This is a free action, but he must spend 5 motes each time he does, the desired arrows are created instantly.

If the archer slays an opponent with the Bow, he may choose to enact 1 of 2 rituals, he may choose one of the following;

Thy Breath is Not Thy Own – The archer chants a requiem to ease the recently slain into the dark embrace of the nether, and in doing so, transfers some of the deceased’s former sustenance his way; after all, what is life to the dead? The archer must choose between regaining Essence or Health levels. He may gain up to his - Essence score x 2 - in motes at a rate of 2 motes per turn. Or he may gain a number of health levels up to his Essence score at a rate of 1L or 1B per turn. This ritual can only be enacted once per scene.

The Dead Can Dance – If a being with a Permanent Essence rating lower or equal to the archers’ is slain by the Bow of Dusk, he may be raised instantly as an undead ally that the archer can control for the duration of the scene. The Abyssal murmurs a benediction for his Malfean liege, the power of his unholy faith personifying the dead limbs and legs of the deceased in mockery of the living. The archer may raise up to his Essence rating in undead per turn. He also must spend 2 motes of Essence per undead raised. *The type of undead created depends upon the following, if the one slain in life had an Essence rating of; 1 – Raised as a Zombie, 2 – Raised as a Hungry Ghost, 3 – Raised as a War Ghost, 4+ - ST discretion (keep in mind, that it’s generally considered difficult/impressive to kill beings with an Essence rating of 4 or higher, so the rewards should be adequately powerful enough to satisfy the PC). All undead have the same stats as presented in the canonical texts - with the exception of unique STJai/BoD/PC creations. At the end of the scene, all undead allies silently drop to the ground, or the archer may choose to have them banished with some appropriate cinematic flair of his choosing.

Attunement cost: For Abyssals and Infernals it’s 6 motes for the Bow, 4 motes for the Quiver. For Celestial Exalted, it’s 8 motes for the bow, 6 motes for the Quiver. Terrestrial Exalted cannot wield this weapon as it is saturated with death essence, and by nature of their Exaltation they are too attuned to Creation.

Stats (The Bow of Dusk): Accuracy +4, Damage +6, Rate 2, Range 500
Req: Strength 3.

Comments

• OLD COMMENTS ARE HERE.

It'd be cool if there was some actual penalty for using normal (ie: Non-Quiver) arrows with the bow. Like maybe as soon as they are strung they turn into poisonous snakes and attack the Archer, or once fired they will inevitably twist in the air and strike the bowman... - nikink

Lol, nikink, you scare me. That seems a bit extreme, but something more along the lines of, "the arrow he drew suddenly snaps, bursts into flame or turns to ash in his hands..." etc sounds like it would work... - Jai

Yeah, but, where's the fun in that??? ;-) Seriously, it'll take one arrow shot to convince the Archer it's a bad idea, and if they can't dodge or survive one hit from an arrow they shot, they aren't worthy of handling the bow... in fact if they die from that one arrowshot, their soul(s) are sucked screaming into oblivion as a sacrifice to the Malfeans while the body remains as a zombified guardian of the bow (or even better, goes on a Zombi rampage with the bow, killing indiscriminately until hacked into bits...)... B-) Nikink

Nikink...put down the crackpipe please, thanks. Lol, but your statements have given me an idea for a Flaw... >8] Hrm... - Jai

Awww, c'mon... how else are they gonna learn they can only use arrows from the quiver (or charm created ones)? Spoilsport! ;-) Nikink