Vita thought it was just a cute earring. Then one day, in a moment of panic, it leapt from her ear with a shriek of silver wind, spiraling down her arm like a living gauntlet. The tiny dragon coiled there looked up at her with opalescent eyes, yawned—and fired a blast of glacial magic that shredded a car door in half.
Now, Zephyros is more than a trinket. He’s a partner. A temperamental frost wyrmling, loyal only to Vita, and deeply offended when ignored for too long. He doesn’t talk—yet—but his body language screams sass.
In its dormant state, Zephyros appears as a delicate silver earring shaped like a coiled baby dragon, its tail looping around the lobe and its head perched just above the helix. When activated, he unwinds and expands, wrapping around Vita’s forearm like a living bracer. His scales glint faintly with blue runes, and his tiny wings stretch as he charges a shot. When he fires, the air flashes white-blue, and a burst of frozen breath erupts in a shape of Vita’s choosing—spikes, beams, or swirling frost.
Every shot leaves a whisper of winter in the air.
Zephyros wasn’t made—he was gifted. Or maybe born from something ancient Vita brushed up against one Contract too many. She doesn’t remember when he first appeared, only that she woke up with him snug against her ear and a note in her pocket that said, “He likes you. Feed him starlight.”
Despite his size, Zephyros is imbued with the breath of some long-forgotten storm dragon. His blasts don’t burn—they freeze, crack, and peel armor like dead bark. His form adapts on the fly, shifting his attack shape with a flick of Vita’s wrist. A cannon one second, a railgun the next.
He hates being left alone. If he’s unused for more than a day or two, he sulks—and starts to fade. Vita talks to him like a pet, even when he’s dormant. And when things get serious? He roars, not with fire, but with the howling bite of wind made flesh
This Artifact can be used as a handgun. It is roughly the same size as a handgun but can be collapsed into a dragon earring piercing and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Firearms, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +4 Weapon Damage.
This item is a living thing. When targeted, it counts as a Living Creature in addition to its other target types. If destroyed or abandoned for more than two days, it dies and becomes unusable.
You also gain the following effects:
Whenever the gun is fired, instead of a normal bullet, it shoots out a small blast of greenish-yellow energy that acts as a bullet-like projectile, which when it hits something/someone causes serious harm, regardless of the severity of the hit.
This Artifact can be used as a handgun. It is roughly the same size as a handgun and just as difficult to conceal.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Firearms, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +4 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
You move your hands to your mouth and commune with ice spirits. You whisper promises of souls in the name of Yuki-onna if a moment of power is bestowed upon you. You hold your hands up to the scarf and draw forth an icy shard in the shape of a throwing knife. The Knives cut into the target and also cause a flash freeze of the effected area freezing the skin but still allowing blood to gush.
On the flight back from his first contract Angus dreamt... He dreamt of a frozen wasteland scattered with frozen corpses. A fearsome blizzard scourges the area making it nigh impossible to see further than 10 feet in front of him. the bitter cold cut into his skin forming frost on his fingers, nose, and ears almost immediately. after wondering though the wastes for what felt like an eternity he saw a light flickering against the winds. He trudged through the snow towards the light, fighting with every ounce of his being to not to drop down next to the scattered bodies that he passed. as he got closer to the light the ground consisted more of bodies than the snow below forcing him to crawl over the frozen remains toward his goal. finally reaching the light he fell to his knees in exhaustion seeing, not warmth, but a laughing woman kneeling in front of him. The words said there were lost to howling winds, but a pact was made and as hands were shaken he woke up still in his seat. His palms were wet from thawing and his breath was cold enough to constantly show his breath, in particular his mouth felt jagged and fresh as if he just ate a mint with water. A new scarf was folded neatly in his lap.
This Artifact produces ephemeral projectiles that can be used as a throwing knife. It is roughly the same size as a throwing knife and just as difficult to conceal.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +4 Weapon Damage.
This item is a living thing. When targeted, it counts as a Living Creature in addition to its other target types. If destroyed or abandoned for more than two days, it dies and becomes unusable.
You also gain the following effects:
Delphyrion's spray can releases a rainbow mist that coats this artifact in a translucent, glittery purple substance that's incredibly hard to destroy. It resembles rubber (pliable and flexible) so it allows a full range of motion. As long as this artifact is in your possession, the armour spreads to you as well.
On source material:
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has always been a classic. The shoes Flint Lockwood had seemed to be made of some elastic biopolymer adhesive that stuck to his feet until it wore off a few days later. At first he was pretty disappointed by it, but Delphyrion was interested in how Flint couldn't destroy it at all.
On applications:
It is actually quite useful as sealant for plumbing and other repairs. Actually, Delphyrion derived the substance from Flex Seal, which was used for roofs. Since it would be stationary with this usage, unlike how a person would constantly move around, it takes a while for the spray to wear off. Delphyrion has tested it out on a number of equipment and it has almost always been successful. That is, until he tried using it to fix his glassware. Those kept exploding no matter what they were used for.
On rainbow spray:
It was actually an accident that the spray ended up being rainbow-coloured; they didn't expect it to be anything like the movie, but Delphyrion's very satisfied with it. It just gives the armour a nice sheen, like the psychedelic colours on the surface of an oil spill. Also, it's gay.
On clothing:
Wear your clothes. Literally, this is not an alternative for clothing. This stuff is translucent so chances are that people can actually see what's underneath. If you're really brave (and not afraid of indecency charges) it'd generally look like you're wearing a skintight jumpsuit. Or, like, spray it on top of your clothes.
On the spray can:
It's just a regular spray can with a label on it. Also, Delphyrion's last name is Arcanis. Hence, ArCANis, get it?
Delphyrion's original artifact description:
ArCANis Spray Can - Just a spray can with a colourful label. What's important is Delphyrion's addition to the contents: a rubbery substance that sprays out in a rainbow mist.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You have 4 Armor, which reduces incoming Damage. Armor from multiple sources does not stack. Called Shots may circumvent your Armor, depending on its coverage.
You may spend an Action or Reaction and Exert your Mind to double your Armor rating for one Round.
Any Injury received from Damage that was reduced by this Armor is considered Makeshift Stabilized and will not degrade further, and any Battle Scar caused by them is reduced by 1 level. You may attempt a single Proper Stabilization on such Injuries.
The artifact, a ring of metal, shimmers slightly, spreading a mist that hides the user slowly disappear into nothing as its user rubs the inscription along the artifact. A bit of Elvish from J.R.R. Token, but saying something different.
"Keep me secret, keep me safe"
Vel made this artifact with a ritual pulling on the long history of legends of artifacts of invisibility.
The ring of Gyges is the first, and the one Vel picked the name for
The second is the helm of hades, the source of the mist that powers the effect.
The last, and the most well known, the one ring, and tempered by the other two stories
Vel starts by casting the metal for the base of the artifact, typically a ring. As Vel does so they tell extracts of the story of the ring of Gyges
Vel then lets the ring cool, surrounding it in steam as they talk about the stories of the helm of hades.
Vel finally carves in elvish the words into the ring. The patterns are common enough that the ring looks recognizable as something akin to the one ring, drawing power from people's conception of that. The specifics of the wording serve as another specific bit of meaning, anchoring the power of the ring in the point of time when the ring was harmless, and connecting it to the other 2 stories of less malevolent effects.
Notes:
[So my thought process for this is that the most well known ring of invisibility and symbol of invisibility is the ring from Lord of the Rings.
When trying to impart an effect, Vel doesn’t want to make a ring that destroys lives and minds. So, the other stories, and the words in elvish are a way of anchoring the power Vel gets from the big story, pulling the other stories of similar tools, and using them to divert the effects the one ring is supposed to have.
I could probably switch to just the Greek stories to make it a little cleaner, but I think if you are making a ring of invisibility using the cultural understanding of rings of invisibility, you need to address the one ring, or it will slip in.]
You gain the following benefits as long as 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.
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. Activating a targeted or obvious Effect, attacking, or being Injured ends the Effect. When the Effect ends, it is disabled for one minute.
You may turn this Effect on and off at will during its duration.
The shield has become more than what once was; becoming the very item that both serves to protect, but also to serve those that the cared for.
This Artifact can be used as a thrusting sword. It is roughly at least twice as large as a thrusting sword and cannot be concealed on your person or disassembled for storage.
Attack by rolling Ninja + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +8 Weapon Damage.
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: Call of the Flame: Gaia must roll their mind to take notice of people's words/pleas during combat. Upon a fail/botch, their words go on deaf ears.. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.
You also gain the following effects:
Should their soul ever falter, their shield will to. So how unfortunate it is to be, that they have none to be staggered.
This Artifact produces ephemeral projectiles that can be used as a javelin.
Attack by rolling Kickass + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +3 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
Enshrouded in with the ashes of the shattered seals, this Weapon has absorbed the resonant magic that was used to contain the 'Guardians'. While the shield is a symbol of protection, it becomes the unbreakable bind of which Gaia cannot escape from; the seals she swore to destroy became her, and this bane cannot be broken.
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.
Non-NPCs cannot hold or use this Artifact. They take a Severity 1 Injury each Round they touch or possess of the Artifact. It cannot be prevented or healed by any means until one day after they relinquish possession.
If this Artifact is in no one else’s possession, its true owner may Exert their Mind and spend two Actions to bring it to themselves.
This Artifact's true owner must have it with them to have restful sleep. They cannot regain Mind or Source while separated from this Artifact.
The spy can do up their passport to take on the appearance of any valid form of identification they may need.
This Artifact can change its appearance. When not transformed, it is roughly the same size as a passport and just as difficult to conceal.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action to activate. This Artifact changes its appearance into an Object within the category of forms of identification. 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.
The "Reaper" Assault Helmet is the signature piece of the Future Soldier's arsenal. It has a sleek, design and is made of a mysterious matte-metallic alloy. The wearer's face is exposed normally, but when activated, a blue holographic visor flickers to life in front of the eyes. This HUD contains information about the soldier's ammunition and shield status, but more significantly can detect enemy combatants. Anyone nearby who is holding a weapon is painted with a red dot that follows them in real time. This allows the Future Soldier to fire at painted targets in the dark, detect ambushes lurking around corners, and grants an overall tactical advantage.
Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action.
You automatically detect all people wielding weapons 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.
The 255TE "Lancer" Rife fires an extremely deadly spike of plasma at its targets. It comes standard with a volume control, allowing the soldier to mute its normally fearsome lightning crack report for stealth missions. When not in use, it can collapse into a small metal disk that can fit into any utility belt.
This Artifact can be used as a rifle. It is roughly the same size as a rifle but can be collapsed into a metallic disk and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Firearms, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +5 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
When Winter Fang's glittering string is drawn, an ice arrow crystalizes nocked and ready to fire. These ice arrows melt quickly after piercing their foes, leaving deadly wounds instead of evidence.
This Artifact can be used as a bow. It is roughly at least twice as large as a bow and cannot be concealed on your person or disassembled for storage.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +3 Weapon Damage. Attacks do not require a successful called shot to do damage.
You also gain the following effects:
The Axe of Legend's blade has been imbued with the metal of the dark lord of rock and roll. It shreds chords and flesh. The rock god commanding it may recall it to their hand at will.
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 Contested Outcome +4 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects: