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.
A pale blue sword made of an unknown metal, seems to always be surrounded by a small cold aura that surrounds the sharp blade. The handle is decorated with silver leather etched in runes as the crossguard has the shape of two silver stag horns.
This Artifact can be used as a thrusting sword. It is roughly the same size as a thrusting sword but can be collapsed into a sword shaped pendant and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +7 Weapon Damage. The target's fully effective
Possession of this Artifact causes the following Battle Scar to manifest over the course of a day: True Colors: Holding e from the winter courtonto the blade for long causes your appearance to turn into the one of a Fas, making you stand out as non human, your skin turning ice blue with long sharp ears and silver hair.. If you lose possession of this Artifact, the Battle Scar heals over the course of the next month.
Possession of this Artifact causes the following Trauma to manifest over the course of a day: Fae's Word: You must make a Self Control Roll to lie, break a promise you have made, or otherwise go back on a deal, bargain, or similar.. If you lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next month.
You also gain the following effects:
The skins starts violently shifting and changed surrounded by a faint blue mist like glow surroudning their body, the faint laughter of the fae being heard to those close them.
Spend 2 Actions.
You become disguised in a manner of your choosing. The disguise lasts until you either activate a new disguise, or choose to end the effect.
The new appearance may have a different sex, age, and race to your own, and you may alter height by up to a foot and your weight by 50%. Your disguise cannot directly mimic an existing person. You cannot alter your clothes. A disguise cannot affect your Attributes or other stats.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see the fae magic violently warping and shifting the skin of the wielder to adapt to another look.
This Gift's Cost is capped at 2 and cannot be increased further.
This Effect ends if you take an Injury or are stunned or incapacitated.
The artifact holds at least one demon bound to obey the commands and will of the wielder and advance their interests. When used a demon crawl's its way out of the object, and leap out, looking for enemies.
The demon in this iteration looks like a small creature of shadow, about the proportions of a human 10-year-old, but stretched upwards to be thin and lanky with dark scales, blank white eyes, clawed fingers and thin leathery wings. When firing at range, they shoot dark blades that dissipate after impact.
The demon can speak, reporting on anything it sees, and apply a level of intelligence to understanding the world around it.
This artifact is made by summoning a demon, making a deal with it, and binding it to the object in a long ritual.
Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action.
Summon a single Sapient Bound shadow Imp at your location. They last until they are destroyed They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. This Artifact may have at most one active at a time.
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.
A sleek black metal deck holder with arcane designs covering the outside, inside are metal tarot cards with sharp edges that can be used for combat.
This Artifact produces ephemeral projectiles that can be used as a shuriken.
Attack by rolling Dexterity + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +2 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
....
Spend a minute. Select a an object that needs to be unlocked. within arm's reach. At the end of your investigation, roll Charisma + Technology at Difficulty 6.
You learn a single specific piece of information, chosen from the following list, about your target:
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
You cannot investigate the same target more than once per day.
...
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
You may understand and communicate to humans as if you are fluent in a relevant language for the next hour.
This device is a piece of chrome the size and shape of the back of a spoon. When placed against the skin, small hypodermic needles sprout from the device and attach it to the user's bloodstream. There, it filters and releases lifesaving drugs into the bloodstream, granting complete immunity from contracting new diseases and added resiliency in all other cases.
WARNING: The immunizing drugs have been shown to reduce inhibitions in test subjects.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You get +2 dice to any Body resistance rolls you make. You also gain the following effects:
The mad scientist can craft steel helmets that protect their wearers from mental influence and attack.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
You get +0 dice to any Mind resistance rolls you make. You also gain the following effects: