Legendary Artifact

History in Blood

Created and held by Lilith (Lily) Weider.
An annotated copy of History in Blood: The Quest for Life Eternal, with extra pages sewn in on the back in order to expand upon its research.

Spiraling runic shapes lift from the pages of History in Blood and surround the user's hands and arms. As soon as fingers are laid upon the flesh of a willing participant, it begins to roil and split. Runes are written across the target's skin, similar in nature to a particular cursed witch. The target can feel something crawling about their body, a coldness that rustles in the back of their mind, before their form is improved by the ritual.

Generally, these improvements are marked by a wound that never wants to close and must be bandaged. These wounds often take the form of runic symbols, strange and supernatural in origin, though their meanings are esoteric and unknown.

Lilith has spent a great amount of time researching various blood rituals of cultures all around the world. One book in particular has been a fantastic aid in developing her rituals. Fusing occult research and medical science, this copy of History in Blood holds a new appendix on Fleshcrafting, authored by the witch herself.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Living target within arm's reach. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. If you fail or Botch, you receive one Mind Damage and a new Trauma. The target can easily Resist.

You may add one augmentation to your target. Each augmentation counts as a Battle Scar and can have exactly one of the following Effects:

  • Specialized: You receive +3 dice to a particular non-combat, non-Effect Action.
  • Environmental Adaptation: You do not suffer harm from heat, cold, pressure, or lack of oxygen in a particular environment, provided that challenge normally exists in that environment.
  • Implanted Tool: You have access to the functionality of some common Device at all times. The selected Device can be no larger than a backpack.
  • Armor: You have 3 Armor at all times. As always, Armor from multiple sources does not stack.
  • Pouch: Part of your body functions as a hidden pocket. It can hold no more than a backpack.
  • Zippy: Your Free Movement is increased by 15 feet.
  • Maws and Claws: Your unarmed attacks do +3 Weapon Damage instead of -1.

By transplanting a body part from an Alien being, you can grant an intrinsic Effect from that part to the subject. Its power level should be limited to one Gift Point or less.

Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see Bloody Fleshcrafting.

  • The systems for any Powers or Effects granted by splicing from other creatures are subject to Playgroup Leader approval and may be adjusted from their NPC counterparts.
  • When narrating disturbing content, be cognizant of your group's tone and accommodating to those who would like to "fast forward" through the description.
  • Remember: A Contractor’s Body rating is reduced by 1 for each Battle Scar after their fourth.
  • You may not augment targets with pouches or implanted devices that are larger than they are.
  • Targets without Body ratings may have a maximum of 4 augmentations.
  • Example environments for adaptation: space, all saltwater, all fresh water, all water under 50 feet deep, all water deeper than 50 feet, the jungle, radioactive areas, a specific alien world, etc.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

An extra chapter has been sewn into this book that cannot be found in other copies of History in Blood. It’s handwritten pages detail the origins and capabilities of vampires from countless cultures around the world, from the Romanian Dracula, to the Chinese Jiangshi, to the Indian Pishacha.

By performing a short ritual detailed at the end of the extra chapter, an occultist can imbue themselves with a potent, albeit short-lived, expansion of their natural senses not unlike the capabilities of many nightwalkers. After being fed a measure of blood, the skin around the practitioner’s eyes will stain red, only to fade back to its normal coloration after a few moments.

Whenever these senses are being tapped into, the practitioner’s irises will turn blood red, and will eventually stain the space around their eyes with extended use. Their vision will be tinted with a deep blue whenever detecting electricity and heat, with creature’s circulatory and nervous systems lighting up with red and silver respectively.

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must use up 1 Liter of Blood in order to activate this Effect.

Your senses are enhanced in the following way. Lasts for three hours.

  • Smell: Your nose is highly sensitive and can differentiate between scents the way a dog can, as well as recognize things you have smelled before.
  • Electroreception: You may detect electromagnetic fields, electric currents, and even neurological activity in a 50 foot radius from yourself at all times. When detecting neurological activity, you learn nothing but the creature's rough size.
  • Thermal: You are able to "see" heat signatures within your line of sight.
  • Sight: You can see things that are normally invisible to the naked eye, such as fingerprints and bacteria.

Any senses which have been heightened cannot be overloaded. Battle Scars you receive cannot affect these senses.

  • Examples of overloading a sense include: an explosion causing temporary deafness, a bright light causing blindness, a sedative causing numbness, etc.
  • When you are within 50 feet of range, your electroreception sense is sufficient for aiming.
  • Your thermal vision allows you to judge temperatures of surfaces fairly accurately as long as they are within livable temperatures.
  • Your microscopic vision requires a close look at a very small, specific area to use. It does not grant increased distance vision, it simply provides a higher resolution, allowing you to see finer and finer detail.
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Community Artifacts

Public Defender

Created and held by Loyabard.
A fancy tie in dark green and grey pattern with small golden script interlaced.

A thin tie in dark green and blue coloring with flecks of golden thread interwoven through the fabric. The gold is actually tiny script that enumerates multiple famous legal cases that are used as precedent in the defense of attacked parties and those wronged by inequity.

When harm comes toward the wearer from an attack that isn't legally sanctioned the tie comes to life and the script projects outward a glowing golden bubble that absorbs the incoming attacks and renders them helpless on the ground.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.

You have 4, which reduces incoming damage from all sources of physical attack except attacks legal to make in the situation under US law. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. Called Shots may circumvent your Armor, depending on its coverage.

Your Armor’s rating is increased by 2. If you do something that Damages, restricts, or otherwise directly, negatively affects another being, your Armor’s rating is decreased by 3 for one minute. This penalty does not stack with itself.

  • This Effect’s Armor rating cannot be increased by any other Effects.

The Iceman Cometh

Created and held by Nikki.
1988 White Pearloid Ibanez Iceman

Upon his death in a mage prison, Nikki's consciousness was transferred to his Ibanez Iceman.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.

You are permanently transformed into this Artifact.

You can perceive your surroundings as normal, and you may control the functioning of the object you have transformed into (for example, opening your doors if you are a car).

If you are broken, you cannot take any Actions until you are repaired.

If anyone wields, equips, wears, or uses you while you are transformed, you may take physical actions using their body. Your Action comes directly before theirs in Initiative, and all rolls are made with your stats. You may opt to utilize your Action to "help" your host, allowing them to use your dice pool for their chosen Action.

You can use any Powers that do not require movement on your own. You must be wielded or equipped to use other Powers. You cannot use Artifacts or Consumables, but if you have transformed into a Legendary Artifact, you may use the other Effects attached to it.

Your passive Powers affect anyone who wields you.

  • While being wielded, any Action that would cause self-harm to your host requires a contested Mind roll.
  • If a character is inside of you when you revert to your original form, you take a Severity-5 Injury when they burst from your innards as you shrink.
  • You cannot move in any way the object wouldn't normally be able to move. If you are a feather duster, you cannot float around, etc.

Trifold Frame

Created by Bryan Bosch, given to Leon Vanderblight.
A marvel of artistic ingenuity, providing the function of an impossibly flexible, additional arm. It can be quickly equipped and removed through a series of clasps that attach themselves to the user's torso. The exterior is crafted from a reinforced, tensile layer of carbon fiber resistant to wear and damage. Golden circuitry runs along the surface of the arm, branching into intricate fractal patterns. Its internals consist of a complex suspension system supported by wiring and origami folds in the three primary joints, as well as a series of advanced, technological components. On the back of the hand is a signature written in cursive gold, reading "bb."

After attaching the frame to their torso, the user must activate and sync the arm's internal operative systems with the neurological activity responsible for their own limbs-- requiring extensive input from the mind, voice, and body. The golden circuitry running across the chassis ripple with energy during this process. While in use, its origami folds are able to stretch, bend, and morph to fit the user's desired movements.
The calibration sequence to connect the arm requires the user to move around their joints (shoulders, elbows, and wrists) and read aloud a pangram (ex: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog").

The systems powering and controlling the arm are an intricate mix of various power sources all synchronizing together. Specifically, they are the culmination of its creator taking influence from his peers, a spatial mage and technomancer, to achieve the final result of a fully functional additional limb.
These include arm's handcrafted, moving folds (of which three are responsible for the core joint movement of a shoulder/elbow/wrist), the golden circuits that connect to the user's mind (branching into a sprawling, fractal pattern across the arm and acting as a signal booster/receiver for all the energy), and the internal technological programming (which are carefully integrated to run with the rest of the arm's systems).
The use of a pangram enables the internal systems to more easily find specific parts of the brain to connect to and the movement of the joints calibrate the arm's motions as well.
The arm's three primary folds, alongside the three sources of power (magic, technology, and clockwork-level crafting), serve as a double entendre inspiring the gift's final name.

Expend a point of Battery and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: activating and calibrating the arms with the user. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.

You gain an additional limb that functions as a standard human arm and hand. Lasts two hours.

Each additional limb you posses can take one Quick Action per Round without incurring a -2 dice penalty to your main Action. Any Battle Scars that affect or remove your additional limb will heal in a single week.

Your appendage is capable of bending and squishing in normally-impossible ways. It may fit through any gap that is not water-tight and retain its functionality.

Your extra appendage can stretch to reach an additional 30 feet.

Your extra appendage is not connected to your nervous or circulatory systems, and you will not take damage if it is hit by an attack or destroyed.

Your Extra Appendage counts as an object and can be hacked or targeted by any Powers that affect objects or machines. Injuries to your Extra Appendage cannot be healed by Powers that affect living things but may be repaired during Downtime.

  • You may stretch or retract your limbs once per Round on your Initiative.

Object Lesson

Created by Guy Webber, given to Bryan Bosch.
A simple Damascus steel ring. The image of a folded paper crane is etched into the patterned metal. Inside, it’s inlaid with fractal knot patterns made of electrum wire. An engraving in tiny font along the edge reads “Be Patient, Be Decisive, Dream.”

The initial design was the most complicated part, really. Once an object has been embedded with the complex fractal knot pattern, made of otherwise ordinary electrum wire, Guy suffuses the wire with extra-dimensional energies. Getting the right energies, and getting them to stick, can take some doing. The wire then guides the magic, which responds readily to a simple flex of intent.
When called upon, space twists into a fractal knot that expands from the wire, distorting perceptions of the object and surrounding space. As if it had always been there, one object is replaced by another, and space returns to its natural state.
No complicated on-the-fly calculations necessary.

With help from a 5-hour Energy value pack, a crash course in CAD software, and a local CNC machine, Guy was able to design the first functioning prototype, a proof of concept for one of his more outlandish ideas.

Space is locally expanded in an additional dimension, an otherwise unnoticeable effect that creates a kind of pocket space, perfect for storing items. The magic is limited in its functionality, and the spatial membrane is somewhat stubborn, so withdrawing an item requires an anchor. By pulling on the desired item and anchor at the same time, the magic can cause them to switch places with minimal strain.

Spend a Quick Action.

You may withdraw an item from your stash, or add an item that is within arm’s reach to your stash. You may only stash targets which are in your possession, grappled, or otherwise controlled by you.

You may store Objects in your stash, each no larger than something which could fit inside a briefcase (15 liters), and you may store up to 3 things at a time.

You may choose to equip any equipment you withdraw at no additional cost.

Whenever you withdraw an Object from your Stash, you must immediately Stash another object to replace it. You may only stash objects you are attuned to. Attuning an object requires one minute of physical contact.

  • "Equip" refers to drawing a gun, putting on a piece of armor, etc.
  • Containers which hold multiple things may count as a single item so long as the things within are generally packaged together. For instance, you may stash a clip full of bullets, a medical kit full of medical supplies, or a box of crackers, but you cannot stash a backpack full of miscellaneous equipment.
  • You may only attempt to store Objects which are free-standing and disconnected from other things. The use of this Effect will not allow you to sever any connections holding an Object in place.
  • The Maximum Object Size parameter is intended to roughly capture the weight / size restriction of items and isn’t intended to restrict shape. GM discretion is advised. A human being is level 4 in the Maximum Object Size parameter.

Gladinfernum

Created and held by Percival of Roringdale.

An extravagant longsword decorated with jewels, recovered from being embedded in a rock underneath a lack in the depths of Hell. The weapon has worked its way into the core being of the user, and is a font of power.

This Artifact can be used as a Sword/Axe. It is roughly the same size as a Sword/Axe and just as difficult to conceal.

Attack by rolling Brawn + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal 1 Weapon Damage +3 Bonus Damage. The target's fully effective

You also gain the following effects:

  • Dismember: If one of your attacks causes a Battle Scar, you may choose for it to be some form of dismemberment, depending on the Severity of the Injury you caused.
  • Shredder: If you successfully hit your target, the value of any armor they are wearing is reduced by 2. This penalty lasts until the armor is repaired.

The sword reappears within the sheath, seeming to materialize out of thin air.

This Artifact cannot be broken.

If this Artifact is lost and in no one’s possession, it finds its way back to its creator during the next Downtime.

This Artifact's creator is always aware of the direction and distance to this Artifact.

  • "Cannot be broken" means that damage cannot render the Artifact's Effects unusable, nor can it cease to be used for its primary mundane purpose, if it has one.

Stock Legendary Artifacts

The Coffin

"The Coffin" is a black, alligator-skin briefcase made to look like its namesake. The interior is coated in red, quilted leather. It is quite a bit larger on the inside, appearing to stretch backwards like a dark passageway.

This Artifact holds 5 times what it normally could inside of it. Objects stored inside are weightless. Unless you are storing something commonly found in coffins, this Artifact behaves as its mundane counterpart. This Effect cannot be used unless you are storing something commonly found in coffins.

Living things can be stored in this Artifact. They will have access to anything else inside and may attempt to break free, damaging or destroying the Artifact in the process.

If this Artifact is destroyed, things inside may get out, and it will cease to function until it is repaired.

When scanned or investigated without opening, the contents of this container appear normal and unremarkable.

On a Downtime, you may change this Artifact from one type of container to another. Maximum once per Downtime.

If anyone other than you opens the container, it appears empty. Others can still destroy it to get at the contents.

  • You cannot change the container's type if you are not in possession of it.
  • A container of holding cannot be placed inside another created by the same Gift.
  • There is no cost to use this container.

Wipe Memory

Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within within arm's reach. All Sapient targets within 20 feet are affected. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is looking directly into the device with uncovered eyes. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.

If the contested Outcome is positive, the most recent 1 hour from your target’s memory is either replaced with new memories or forgotten entirely. This is recorded as a Condition. The level of detail and completeness of the alteration depends on your Outcome. If you fail, the target realizes that you are attempting to alter their memories.

The period is chosen either by time (i.e. “last Friday night”) or by reference to a specific event (i.e. “when the murder occurred”).

  • You do not gain mind-reading through this effect, so your ability to alter their memory is limited by your knowledge of what they might know.
  • The target's roll to realize their memories have been altered can be made a maximum of one time per day.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

The Scepter of Ang-Kapal

Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and spend one minute. Select a Dead target within arm's reach with at least half its skeletal structure remaining. You must make a Trauma roll when you use this Effect. Its Difficulty cannot be reduced by any means. If you fail or Botch, you receive one Mind Damage and a new Trauma.

Your target rises as an Animate being. The raised creature is totally mindless, with no memory of its past life or hint of its old personality. They cannot communicate. They will follow any command you speak.

The creature lasts for eight hours or until it dies again. It is revived at full health. Any Injuries it had in life are not accounted for when determining its penalties or progression towards re-death, though they may affect its ability to perform certain actions at GM's discretion.

Raised creatures have their Abilities set to the same that they were in life. Their Charisma and Intellect are set to 1, but their Dexterity, Brawn and Perception are the same as they had in life. A raised creature cannot use any Effects.

Destroying one of your zombies requires a called shot to the head or heart. All other Injuries zombies suffer result in Battle Scars only, limiting their mobility and effectiveness in other ways.

Your revived targets deal 2 Weapon Damage with their unarmed attacks.

If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.

  • The called shot requires 4 Outcome dealing 4+ Damage or 6 Outcome dealing 2+ Damage.
  • The sacrificial Injury received from activating this Effect cannot be prevented by any means or healed before 1 day has passed. It is shared with all Effects that use sacrifice. This Injury does not requires Stabilization or cause Battle Scars when it becomes Severe.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

Cloak

You gain the following benefits as long as you are not at all wet and you are wearing this Artifact.

You and everything you are carrying is obscured in one of the following manners. You may Spend an Action to change the way in which you're concealed.

  • Hearing: You are completely obscured from hearing. You produce no sounds while this Effect is active. All attempts to detect you via hearing fail. Attempts via other senses where hearing would assist are rolled at -2 dice.
  • Sight:You are partially obscured from being noticed by sight. All attempts to detect you using sight are rolled at a -3 dice penalty, and all attempts to detect you where sight would assist are rolled at -1 penalty. Anyone who detects you cannot determine any visual details about you beyond your general shape.

While this Effect is active, any Effect that would obscure you or your equipment specifically from other, additional senses fails automatically.

If someone discovers you, this Effect will not help you hide from them for the next minute. This Effect does not end early when you activate an obvious Effect, attack, or receive an Injury.

  • GMs should use their discretion when determining the exact impacts of this Effect, particularly in conjunction with environmental factors. Standing still against a complex background may render you impossible to detect, and footprints in snow may make it easy. A chance to detect you is not guaranteed.

Umbrella Identification

This Artifact can change its appearance. When not transformed, it is roughly the same size as a passport but can be collapsed into a wallet and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.

Spend a Quick Action to activate. This Artifact changes its appearance into a chosen Object. This lasts until you decide to end the Effect, which may be done as a Free Action.

The new object's appearance can mimic specific items (such as a particular painting, a certain person’s ID, etc), but must be of a similar size and weight to this Artifact.

The new appearance is illusory; it will hold up to scrutiny, but its composition is not altered and it gains no new functionality. Any attempt to use it for a function which it cannot perform (for instance, making bread look like a knife and then trying to stab someone) will cause the illusion to fail or allow a Perception check to see through the illusion, at the GM's discretion.

When used as identification and scanned, the scanner will act appropriately and bring up appropriate generic information. Further searches for the identity in the computer will turn up no results. This will not open security doors on its own.

  • If there is not enough free space to expand the object, it cannot be expanded. You cannot expand this Object as an attack.
  • Changing the Artifact’s appearance does not allow you to conceal its Alien nature while any of its other Effects are in use.