The Way of Artifacts. The orb to the right appears made of some manner of stone or metal, and is ornately carved with runes. It gives a feeling of ancient power which demands respect. Touching this orb, the storyteller should inquire as to what the characters feelings, wishes and desires are. If they do not specify a particular type of artifact or a desired effect, an attempt should be made to work with any other indications, but at this point it is somewhat arbitrary. The cost of an artifact is four times the rating of the desired artifact. X: this sign indicates a variable rank (number of dots.) It may be any value appropriate, with the effect of each dot used in place of the X specified in the artifacts description. Weapons use notation: x/+y. Difficulty x to use, str+y damage. Normal Melee Weapons Table Sap 4/+0 Club 4/+1 Knife 4/+1 Katana 5/+2 Foil 5/+3 Saber 6/+4 Broadsword 6/+5 Armor notation: x/+y/+z. Adds y soak dice and has a dex penalty of +z to the difficulty of any body movement roll. x is the class of the armor, on the table below, which includes the base ratings for normal armor of that type. Normal Armor 1/+1/+0: reinforced clothing. 2/+2/+0: armor T-shirt, leather tunic. 3/+3/+1: vest, hardened leather. 4/+4/+1: flack jacket, chain mail. 5/+6/+2: full suit, plate mail. X Generic Weapon: Using a normal weapon as a base, assign a minus one to the difficulty or an additional +1 to damage for each dot of X. X Generic Armor: For each dot in X, either move the armor up one class, which starts at zero, up one rank, or, if you are createing armor over five dots, add one to the soak bonus. X Generic Enhancer. A specified attribute or ability gains +X while in use, abilities gain +3 for every two dots, instead of +2. X Living Armor: On Command, this suit of living armor will wrap itself around it's user, at that time conferring it's benefits. Living Armor regenerates it's own wounds given time. When creating it, the total dots of powers below should equal X, any power below may be taken more than once, but this is redundant for some. * Enhance: +1 to a physical attribute. * Eyes: If the character's alertness is less than five, it is treated as five, otherwise it gains +1. ** Hyper-Swords: The armor has swords on it's elbows which do str+3 damage, dex+brawl to hit. Repeated takings of this feature add +3 damage. ** Chitinous Hide: The armor provides exceptionally protection, adding +3 to your soak roll for each taking of this feature. ** Spiked Hide: Any brawl attack against you which succeeds by only one success causes the person to take their own strength in damage, in addition to damaging you. Each repeated taking of this feature increases the number of successes by one which someone must hit you with to avoid taking damage. ** Small laser: a small laser appears in your forehead, or on a wrist, etc.. Roll dex+body lasers (a special talent, dex+ one half of firearms, rounded up, may be used instead of this skill.) It does four dice of damage if the hit is successful. You may only activate such a laser once each round, (unless you are using Tempus or simmilar time warping powers to get your extra actions) but you may take multiples of this power to allow you consecutive shots on extra actions. *** Gravity Control: A small metal orb at your waist gives you the ability to fly at will. ***** Gravity Cannon: By spending one round charging, you may make a dex+body lasers roll the next round to fire a powerful gravity cannon. It does eight dice of damage if the hit is successful. ***** Regeneration: The armor regenerates you at a rate of one health level per hour, as long as some part of it or you remains. 10* Hyper Blaster: (ten dot item) By dislodging and opening up the armor's chest plates, you reveal two large lasers. You must spend one round opening and one round charging to fire on the third. This releases a huge swath of destruction, with both a wide width (which does not increase appreciably with distance), and long range stretching off into the distance, doing 30 dice of damage to anything that it hits. It may be avoided by succeeding in a dodge roll at diff. 9, or by getting out of the way when one see the chest open. X Temporal Hourglass: When turned upside down from it's original state, the world around the bearer speed rapidly by, at a rate of X+1 rounds to the holders one. When turned back the other way, the holder experiences X+1 rounds to everyone else's one. X is recommended to be only one in most cases. * Firesand: A small bag of sand. This sand has an incredible amount of friction, and feels extremely hot when it rolls or is rubbed. May cause damage. * Valor Sword: a 6/+5 broadsword. It gains one level and a minus one to difficulty each time it's owner proves extraordinary valor. It loses one of these levels (and it's associated bonus) each time it's wielder shows cowardice. * Pendant of the Erie Eye: A small, round, pendant, made out of stone but looking unnervingly like a real eyeball. The wearer gains a supernatural sense of approaching danger, at the responsibility of the storyteller to provide. * Crown of Transgression: A golden crown with a single emerald in it. Upon close inpection, an hourglass is inscribed on the back of the gem. The wearer experiences time as if under the effect of a level five Transgress, (see Tempus Aspect Warp) they age at a rate 10,000 times less than normal. * Astral Clothing: This pile of cloth, upon aquisition, takes on whatever shape and coloration the owner desires. It heals all damge to it automatically, except for magical attacks targeted against it. It is completely fire and stain resistant, although it offers absolutly no protection of any sort to it's owner, expcet against the heat or cold of the climate. Unlike normal clothing, Astral Clothing remains with you whenever you undergo any form of transformation, thus allowing you to stay decent at all times. * Ring of Chaos: The wearer of the Ring of Choas is affected with the bane of Ignis Aspect Chaos at three levels higher than they posses it, at level three if they did not have Ignis Aspect Choas at all before. They may also activate the level one power, Chaos Surge, as if they had it. *X Sword of the Tides: A [6-A]/+[4+(X-A)] sword, with A set a the beginning of each of your turns to a number between 0 and X. It has a small spade inscribed on it. *X Great Defender: A 6/+4 sword with -X difficulty to all parry rolls. ** Amulet of the Knowing Eye: A small, flat gold amulet carved in with a simplified likeness on an eye on one side. The wearer has greatly heightened senses, resulting in -2 difficulty to perception rolls. ** Lenses of Clarity: A pair of eyeglasses which give the wearer perfect eyesight and the ability to see through all manner of illusions. ** Cloak of Invisibility: Makes the wearer invisible when the cloak is tightly wrapped around them. Any action which protrudes from the cloak cancels the effect. May be detected on per+alertness, diff. 9 *** Charm of Summoning: This small, neck warn pendant take whatever form the owner desires. If given into the keeping of another person, that person need only speak the owners name and wish upon the charm to bring that person their immediately. The summons must be obeyed, but the summoned person may delay it a few minutes to take care of 'compromising situations.' *** Forge Sword: This is a hollow 6/+4 broadsword. On careful examination, one notices a small plug near the base of the blade, which opens up the hollow interior. If the sword if filled with firesand (one dot artifact, see above), it gains +5 to damage from the intense heat created by moving it around. A single grain of the sand may fall out when opened the first time as a clue. It has a small heart inscribed on it. Knowledge of how to combine the two parts should only be gained through role playing. *** Sword of the Four Winds: A 5/+2 katana with a small club inscribed on it. If the wielder makes only attack actions during their turn, they gain an extra action, which may only be used to attack. *** Mask of Falsehoods: The wearer of this mask may appear as any other person to the eyes and ears. They will even appear to have different body dimensions, but this change will not be apparent to the touch. The person being copied must be known in some way. *** Staff of flame: A long, ornately carved staff with a ruby orb at the end, and a heart carved in the bottom. The bearer may cast any Ignis Aspect Elemental effect at the additional cost of one positive karma per level of the power being used. *** Cane of Tides: Made from a gnarled old piece of driftwood, this cane has an spade inscribed on it. The bearer may cast any Aqua Aspect Elemental effect at the additional cost of one karma per level of the power being used. *** Branch of Many Stones: A long branch almost untouched except for a series of small stones inset into it, and a diamond inscribed. The bearer may cast any Terra Aspect Elemental effect at the additional cost of one karma per level of the power being used. *** Wand of Wind: A simple looking magicians wand with an club inscribed in the base. The bearer may cast any Caelum Aspect Elemental effect at the additional cost of one karma per level of the power being used. **** Ring of Invisibility: An improvement over the Cloak of Invisibility, this ring never has it's protection compromised by how tightly it is grasped. **** Pendant of the Void: This gold pendant is shaped like a flat disk. The back is smooth and solid. In the mirror-like front, however, one sees a swirling vortex going off into an extra-dimensional void. Any magic effect cast in the presense of the pendant is automaticly opposed by a five die Counter-Magic, (Aqua Aspect Mind) as is any enchantment as it enters the pendant's presense. ***** Tome of Incantations: The holder of this powerful tome may enact a ritual to use any power from the nine schools of magic at an increased cost. They must spend one round per level of the ritual chanting and such, expending one point of positive karma for each round spent doing this. When this is complete they may activate the power as if they had it themselves as long as they remain concentration. performing any other action not related the spell breaks their concentration. ***** The Book of the Dead: Any character opening this book loses on point of positive karma and becomes infused with a random soul from an Armageddon past. These souls are those of the Fallen, who betrayed their cause and joined the other side, and thus may not rest until they have assisted their true cause. The character changes to all traits of the soul, except willpower, health, and karma. Pre-made character sheets are the easiest way of doing this. The spirit leaves in a day or when dismissed at will. ***** Thunder Sword: A large 6/+5 broadsword with a small diamond inscribed upon it. If driven into the ground, all foes of the wielder are knocked to the ground. ***** Sword of Etherial Darkness: A 6/0 sword made of pure shadow. It has no effect on normal things, but it does ten dice of damage to good aligned things ***** Sword of Shining Light: A 6/0 sword made of pure light. It has no effect on normal things, but it does ten dice of damage to good aligned things.