Legendary Artifact

The book of grimm

Created and held by Evana Thorn.
A lether bound book with ivy styled engraving on the cover

By writing in the book with fresh ink, your words come alive at the command once upon a time, literally jumping off the page and taking form before you.

Exert your Mind and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: saying the "words once appon a time" and writing in the book. Select a target within arm's reach. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted. Choose an illusion to generate, which can be no larger than a person.

The chosen illusion is generated at your target, and it will remain in place for the next minute or you choose to end it. It can be perceived by people through their taste, touch, hearing, smell, and sight. The illusion cannot be used as an attack. You cannot make an exact replica of an existing Animate being or Object.

Anyone who struggles against the illusion hard enough to break a window or who would be damaged by the illusion (or who would be able to perceive it significantly through a sense it cannot fool) realizes it is an illusion, and the entire effect will be ended for all targets.

The illusion is not fixed to the initial target, and may move about at a maximum speed 30 feet per Round. It may have moving parts and engage in simple, predetermined movements but cannot perform anything complex or interactive unless you maintain Concentration and “puppeteer” it.

Any illusion made to disguise an Object as a different Object with a similar size and shape last a minimum of one day and can only be broken by a scientific analysis, investigative Effects, or witnessing the object being used in an inconsistent way.

Anyone who touches this Artifact will notice it warping their mind and may drop it. If they choose to hold or use it, they immediately receive the following Trauma: Natural storyteller; you must roll self control when you reveal information to others to not exaggerate, and make it more interesting. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.

  • while you can use an illusion to obscure something smaller, you cannot make anything directly invisible (you can’t make a tank look like a regular baseball, but you can hide it in an illusion of a giant baseball).
  • You may only puppeteer a single illusion at once.
  • 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.

with the scrach of the pen a Dragons' breath, Wolf's fangs, insects sting, and a Roc's talons. A thousand tales and a thousand ways for monsters to kill you. Ink can take a thousand forms and meny bring about death.

Spend an Action. Select a target within 300 feet. This Effect cannot be used unless A illusion must be in range of target. Roll Charisma + Occult Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling to Dodge or Defend as a Reaction, Difficulty 6.

If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 4.

You may use this Effect to Defend against any melee, projectile, or firearm Attacks within range or Clash against any Attack targeted at you. Using it to Defend deals no Damage but does not cost Exertion.

This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 1.

  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.
  • Your target must be within line of Effect. There must be no substantial obstructions between you and your target.

In response to the call for aid, the Rusalka speaks in an unknown tongue with an almost songlike voice. The words written in the book form a detailed summary of all targets in range. The words shift and change to give updated information.

A Rusalka is a Female water spirit. Often associated with young women, who either committed suicide by drowning due to an unhappy marriage or who were violently drowned against their will (especially after becoming pregnant with unwanted children).

Exert your Mind and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: asking the illusionary Rusalka "oh mother to be tell me what lost children you see" while writng the response in the book of Grim. This Effect cannot be used unless A illusionary Rusalka must be present. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted. 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.

You automatically detect all lycanthropes, Undead, Demons, and Mythical Beasts and Fay within 300 feet of you for the next hour. This includes any who come within range during the duration. You have a sense of how many valid targets are nearby, as well as their distance and direction.

  • This Effect does not satisfy the line of sight targeting requirement for other Effects.
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Community Artifacts

The Seal of Nephthys

Created by Jules, looted by Leon Vanderblight.
A large golden ring set with a Black Opal, clearly ancient. It throbs with inky darkness when in use. It has a 6 point Battery that must be used to fuel it's powers

While Jules bears the Seal of Nephthys, the Goddess herself protects him, until such a time as he has avenged his family & returned the stolen artifacts of the Goddess. When Jules would be harmed one can see slender arms composed of shadows that ward off the attack. Even ethereal attacks can be thwarted by the Embrace of Darkness. When employing his Defensive Curl this effect is even more pronounced, with the wings of the Goddess enfolding him completely in a display of otherworldly power.

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

You have 6 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack.

You may spend an Action or Reaction and Exert your Mind to double your Armor rating for one Round.

Your Armor cannot be destroyed, and it always provides a minimum of 2 Armor regardless of any Armor penetration. It cannot be circumvented with Called Shots.

Those that bear the blessing of Nephthys, Goddess of Darkness, may defy the will of Geb, God of the Earth, running or walking up vertical surfaces or even sitting comfortably on the ceiling. This blessing remains in effect at all times, provided they bear the Seal of Nephthys as a conduit for the Goddess powers & remain in good standing with her; blasphemers may find this power fails them when they need it most...

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

You may move easily and without a roll in any of the following situations.

  • Spider Climber: You are able to climb on and cling to any surface without regard for the ordinary rules of gravity. You climb at your normal movespeed.
  • Surface Skimmer: You are able to move across the top of any bodies of water, ice, or other surfaces where others might sink with no penalty to your movement speed.

  • This Effect not provide any inherent protection from dangerous surfaces such as acid, lava, etc, so be careful!

The Gods of Ancient Egypt are renowned for their treasures. By holding or touching an item with one hand & making mystic passes with the hand bearing the Seal of Nephthys, Jules may invoke the Goddess to learn who values it, where it has recently been, & the presence of magical influence.

Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Select a target Object within arm's reach. At the end of your investigation, roll Dexterity + Thievery at Difficulty 6.

You learn all the following information about your target:

  • Determine if this target is Alien in origin or whether it has any Alien energy or outside influences. You receive information about the type of energy, including the name of the relevant Source pool or equivalent.
  • You receive visions, allowing you to discern where this object has recently been.
  • You receive whispers telling you who has used this object recently.
  • You learn the object's intended function and how to use it for its intended purpose, though not necessarily the ability to do so.
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome.

After you finish activating this Effect, you cannot move quicker than a walk (max 15 feet per Round) for one minute and suffer a -1 dice penalty for an hour. Exhaustion’s penalty and duration stacks with multiple activations.

  • Exhaustion penalties and duration stack. If you activate this Effect or another Effect with Exhaustion, your penalty will worsen, and the duration is increased by one hour.
  • 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 Black Opal on the ring bleeds darkness, engulfing items that then vanish, stored away safely in the Divine realm of the Goddess.

Spend a Quick Action. This Effect cannot be used unless both you & the target are completely within shadow.

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 any targets in your stash, each no larger than something which could fit inside a briefcase (15 liters), and you may store up to 7 things at a time.

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

Animate targets may Resist being stashed.

  • "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.

The ring visibly throbs with power in darkness, washing away pain & fatigue from the bearer.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are completely in shadow and you are wearing this Artifact.

Your Stress from Injuries and Mind Damage is reduced to 0.

While Incapacitated, you may Exert your Mind to take a single action.

Stress from Injuries acts as a dice bonus instead of penalty.

Any dice penalty from being stunned, diseased, cold, hot, dizzy, sick, distracted, or similar circumstances is reduced to zero. Does not affect penalties from Effects you activated.

From the ashes of despair a God appears before you. Anubis has returned to deal death and destruction in the name of the Goddess. The bearer of the ring transforms into a God like figure and is able to cause wanton destruction around him.

Expend a point of Battery and spend a Quick Action. This Effect cannot be used unless you are fully within shadow.

You transform into Jackal-Headed Monster for 30 minutes. You have access to all of your Powers while you are Jackal-Headed Monster, and you can use your equipment. The Injuries and Battle Scars of your Alternate Form and your true form are tracked separately.

While transformed, your Attributes are the same. Your Stress is reduced by 2.

Your alternate form is its own deadly weapon. Unarmed attacks made in your alternate form deal +3 Weapon Damage (instead of the typical -2).

Your alternate form renders you unable to speak any human language and incapable of fine object manipulation. You can only hold or grasp objects in a crude, clumsy way.

  • Reminder: Weapon Damage from multiple sources does not stack. Instead, the highest value is used.
  • Attribute bonuses from multiple sources do not stack. Instead the highest bonus is used.

Jules has taken a Sacred Oath to the Goddess of mourning,darkness, the dead, protection, magic, health, embalming, & beer. Until the day he can return all her stolen artifacts, she sustains his life - causing even the most grievous wounds to heal in days.

Jules must be wearing her sacred ring, the Seal of Nephthys, for her healing power to flow, & then only when fully obscured by shadow.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are completely in shadow and you are wearing this Artifact.

Any Injury you receive heals quickly, reducing its Severity by one level every 10 minutes. Any Injuries you receive while this Effect is active automatically count as a successful Proper Stabilization and do not deteriorate further. Any Battle Scars caused by such an Injury will heal with the Injury.

You may Exert your Mind and spend an Action to reduce the Severity of one of your Injuries by 2. Does not affect Injuries suffered as an activation cost for Effects.

By invoking the Goddess of Darkness in a short ritual, Jules can draw the shadows to him, rendering him unseen & unheard. He must be wearing the Seal of Nephthys & must invoke her secret names, not known to any living mortal for this power to function. If he steps into the shadows he now can disapear much easier.

You gain the following benefits as long as you are completely within shadow and you are wearing this Artifact.

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

  • Arcane: You are partially obscured from being noticed by all senses, natural and supernatural. All attempts to notice you are rolled at -3 dice.
  • Sight:You are completely obscured from sight. All attempts to detect you via sight fail. Attempts via other senses where sight would assist are rolled at -2 dice.

While this Effect is active, any Effect that would obscure you 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.

You may turn this Effect on and off at will during its duration.

  • You may only switch this Effect on or off once per Round on your initiative as a Free Action.

The Divine voice of the Goddess may be channeled by the bearer of the seal, provided they stand within her house of shadows. The ring visibly throbs & pulsates with power as this occurs.

Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action. Select a Sapient being, human, or Dead target within 50 feet. Dead targets must have died within the past week, and you must have their remains in your possession. This Effect cannot be used unless both you & the target are completely in shadow.

The target can communicate in your language for the next hour.

  • The target of "human" refers to any target that speaks a human language.
  • 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.

Ruyi Jingu Bang

Created and held by Wu Zhuang.

A long red staff with large golden ends on each side.

This Artifact can be used as a thrusting sword. It is roughly the same size as a thrusting sword and just as difficult to conceal.

Attack by rolling Dexterity + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +4 Weapon Damage.

You also gain the following effects:

  • This melee weapon may extend for a single attack up to 50 feet away. Retracting back into its usable size is a Quick Action.
  • Mjolnir: You may call your weapon back to your hand as a Quick Action if it is within 50 feet of you. Can only be used on melee weapon that you have wielded in the past hour.

  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used.

Voodoo fetish

Created by Molly Pathor, looted by Carter Train.
...

Made from the splinters of a reapers scythe, wrapped in human leather, and imbued with dark magic, The voodoo fetish can use the threads of emotions that tie the dead to the living, calling their souls back to speak with you.

Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action. Select a Dead target within 50 feet. For dead targets, you must possess their something the target cared about..

The target can communicate in your language for the next hour.

  • 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.

Robe of Astronothama

Created and held by Gillian Sun.
A garment consisting of white robes that can cover the whole body. It seems to glisten and shed shining dust when the stars are out.

The robe has a silky smooth texture that almost feels divine, and covers the body from head to toe (it has a hood). Whenever the user is moving at speeds beyond their normal movement, they create an afterimage in their wake of colors reminiscent of stars-- blues, reds, whites, yellows, etc.

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

You can run at three times your normal movement speed.

  • Any Encumbrance penalty to your movement still applies, but you do not suffer from any sort of exhaustion.
  • Damage from a collision depends on your speed at the time, as well as what you hit. GM's discretion, but generally moving faster than a car on the freeway and hitting a dense, solid object like a wall or a tree should be lethal. Mundane armor will not apply, but any supernatural forms of protection will.

Asphyxia’s Cannister

Created and held by Asphyxia (Vitus Occhipinti).
A large metal chemical cannister attatched with a long cord and spray nozzle.

Using whatever horrid chemical mix Asphyxia is holding within the cannister, he sprays it upon a target.

Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend an Action. Select a Living target within 45 feet. You must use up Chemical fuel in order to activate this Effect. Roll Intellect + Medicine Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling to Dodge or Defend as a Reaction, Difficulty 6.

If the Contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 4.

Any Injury inflicted is considered unstabilized even if its Severity is less than 4. The equipment and roll required to Stabilize it is treated as though it is a minimum of Severity 6.

The target suffers a -3 dice penalty for the next hour or until the Injury is healed. This dice penalty does not stack multiple times on the same target.

If the target suffers an Injury from this Effect, they will receive at least a Minor Battle Scar regardless of its Severity. When this Effect causes a Battle Scar, you may select which one of the appropriate level.

  • 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.

Stock Legendary Artifacts

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.

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.

The Skeleton Key

At first glance, this appears to be a standard, modern house key made of ivory. A close observer might compliment its skull-shaped head or usual material. No one would suspect it to be one of the Thief's most prized possessions: The Skeleton Key.

Spend an Action.

You may lock, unlock, and/or open any number of doors, containers, knots, or locks within arm's reach of you. Cannot be used on Alien technology.

If you successfully operate a lock, you may choose to destroy it, rendering it inoperable.

  • Operating some locking mechanisms through this Effect may have a secondary effect, such as a turn-key ignition on an older or cheaper car causing it to start or stop. Note that the locking mechanism itself must satisfy the standard targeting requirements (including line of sight), not just the vehicle.
  • Any mechanism that requires a key, keycard, key fob, or combination may be considered locked, at the GM's discretion. This Effect may be used on doors and containers secured with control panels or other electronic locks, but not computer security systems at large.
  • 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 Bug-out Bag

No hiker would bat an eye if they saw someone wearing this 80 liter backpacking pack in the backcountry. Those who look closer find it's made of a curious mix of modern materials and what appears to be rawhide stitching.

This Artifact holds 5 times what it normally could inside of it. Objects stored inside are weightless.

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.

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

  • A container of holding cannot be placed inside another created by the same Gift.
  • There is no cost to use this container.

This Artifact cannot be broken. If this Artifact is lost and in no one else’s possession, it finds its way back to its true owner during the next Downtime.

By default, the creator of this Artifact is its true owner. The true owner may formally bequeath this Artifact onto another person within arm’s reach, after which they are its true owner. If the true owner dies or is destroyed, their ownership ends. If this Artifact has no true owner, anyone may spend one day attuning to it to become its true owner.

This Artifact's true owner 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.

Lightning Bracers

A pair of bronze bracelets that glow with golden energy.

This Artifact produces ephemeral projectiles that can be used as a javelin.

Attack by rolling Brawn + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +3 Weapon Damage.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Chain Lightning: You may Exert your Mind to perform a chain lightning attack. If your attack succeeds, All targets within 5 feet of your primary target take full Damage. The Damage can “jump” up to 5 times. Each target can be hit only once.
  • Magic Quiver: Instead of throwing this Artifact, it is an object that produces an endless supply of temporary throwable objects. For example, bracers that allow you to throw ethereal javelins, or a sack of throwing rocks that doesn’t shrink when you withdraw one.

  • If there is not enough free space to expand the object, it cannot be expanded. You cannot expand this Object as an attack.
  • Created projectiles last only until they strike their target and cannot be shared or stockpiled.
  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used.