Umbral Choir "Life’s a forge! Yes, and hammer and anvil, too! You’ll be roasted, smelted, and pounded, and you’ll scarce know what’s happening to you. But stand boldly to it! Metal’s worthless till it’s shaped and tempered! More labor than luck. Face the pounding, don’t fear the proving; and you’ll stand well against any hammer and anvil." -Lloyd Alexander

5
Requires Seasoned
This Artifact grants you the power to.
Created by Riley.

The process takes quite a bit of time, as Luci must properly bind this object to its ideal image by bathing it in The Well. A process that, if witnessed by a normal person, would likely result in some minor traumatic occurrences. Luci watches over the item the entire time to make sure it is not swallowed up into the inky mess. A lengthy sweat-inducing endeavor, but by its end, when Luci pulls the item from the reservoir, it is all worth it.

The items in question will sport a dark tint on the paint job and if Luci desires it, she can make its primary or secondary colors as dark as she wants. The symbol of The Well, a front facing Kraken with its tentacles curled out symmetrically, will appear somewhere visibly on the item, marking it as improved.

Idealism was always thought to exist solely in concept, to associate reality with mental ideals as opposed to material objects. That somewhere in the cosmic lands above, a perfect image of this "thing" exists, and only its material imitations are founded in "reality". But what if a material object could be elevated closer to the status of its ideal perfect image? A question Luci had asked herself for a period, and while it took some time, she managed to find a way.


This Artifact has been upgraded.

This Artifact receives 3 extra dice to all actions taken for its intended use. Attacking with an upgraded weapon grants +3 Weapon Damage instead of additional dice. While it is upgraded, the item cannot be destroyed.

Upgraded weapons count as any material your opponent might be particularly vulnerable to. Upgraded Armor cannot be circumvented by called shots. Upgraded Devices do not run out of fuel or energy.

  • "Destroyed" in this context means "prevented from functioning for its primary purpose", so for instance, an upgraded land mine would still explode as normal if triggered, even though it cannot be "destroyed" and a car's windows may still be broken.
  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used. The same is true for extra dice.
  • Extra dice from this Effect do not apply to Gift activation rolls.

Revision purchased with:
Improvement from writing up Five (Indefinite Suspension | Do not run) spent on adjusting power: Umbral Choir    (since refunded)
Improvement from writing up Four (Indefinite Suspension | Do Not Run) spent on adjusting power: Umbral Choir    (since refunded)
Revision purchased with:
Revision purchased with:
Revision purchased with:
Improvement from writing up Four (Indefinite Suspension | Do Not Run) spent on improving power: Umbral Choir    (since refunded)
Improvement from writing up Five (Indefinite Suspension | Do not run) spent on improving power: Umbral Choir    (since refunded)
Improvement from writing up Five (Indefinite Suspension | Do not run) spent on improving power: Umbral Choir    (since refunded)
Improvement from writing up Four (Indefinite Suspension | Do Not Run) spent on improving power: Umbral Choir    (since refunded)
Revision purchased with:
Improvement from writing up Five (Indefinite Suspension | Do not run) spent on improving power: Umbral Choir    (since refunded)
Improvement from writing up Eight spent on improving power: Umbral Choir    (since refunded)
Improvement from writing up Five (Indefinite Suspension | Do not run) spent on improving power: Umbral Choir    (since refunded)
Revision purchased with:
Improvement from writing up Eight spent on improving power: Umbral Choir    (since refunded)
Revision purchased with:
Improvement from writing a Journal for The Hospital spent on improving power: Umbral Choir    (since refunded)
Revision purchased with:
Gift from playing in Mushroom Hunt spent on improving power: Umbral Choir    (since refunded)
Revision purchased with:

Community Artifact Crafting Gifts

Hey there, I'm Harold Ford, Vice president of Ford Motors and president of Metalcraft™. Our boys at the lab where doing some market research and you know what they found? All of you people suck at repair work! I told my boys to be nicer to my fellow contractors but they insist, all you guys know how to do is investigate and shoot!

So I told my boys: Maybe the problem isn't the contractors it's the fucking tools you guys are making! I mean Jesus, can't I just have a gun that repairs my car?! So I got my boys working on that - They said it was impossible, and I said they're just lazy! A few months later they come back with this bad boy - Check it out!
I call it - the repair-o-gun! It looks like a ordinary device, but with a little pull of a switch and BANG BANG BANG! I LOVE YOU REPAIR-O-GUN! AAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I LOVE THIS THING! I mean, next time anything breaks, you can just shoot it! Let's face it, you already solve most of your problems that way! Best-in-class repair device, patented nanotubular meshing. I don't understand how it works and neither do you!

Order now and receive free, same-day shipping courtesy of Offr Red! I love these devilish guys! Yah!

Exert your Mind and spend 10 minutes. Select a Object within arm's reach that is no larger than an SUV. Cannot be used on Alien technology. More than half the target object must be present in order to begin repairs. Roll Dexterity + Firearms at Difficulty 6.

If you succeed, your target is repaired back to a functional state. If you fail, you spend the full time working before realizing you cannot repair the target.

  • 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.

Exert your Mind and Spend an Action to activate. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may roll Body, Difficulty 7, as a Free Action to resist.

If you succeed, the target receives a new Battle Scar of your choosing, limited by the contested Outcome:

  1. A Minor Battle Scar E.g. an aesthetic-only body modification (a disfigured face, a pig's tail), impacted hand or foot, or vocal changes that complicate communication
  2. A Major Battle Scar E.g. a disabled/removed hand or foot, an inability to speak, an impacted major sense, removal of a minor sense, impacted movement.
  3. A Severe Battle Scar E.g. a disabled/removed arm or leg, deafness, aesthetic changes that are nearly impossible to conceal.
  4. An Extreme Battle Scar E.g. removal/disabling both hands or both legs, blindness, a full-body deformation that leaves the target humanoid but makes it difficult to use clothes, vehicles, and equipment designed for humans.
Refer to the stock Battle Scars on the Character Sheet for specific systems.

  • If this Effect fails due to the Unreliable check, you must still pay any associated activation costs.
  • You may opt to inflict a Battle Scar that is less severe than what your Outcome allows.
  • Remember: A Contractor’s Body rating is reduced by 1 for each Battle Scar after their fourth.
  • You can target yourself if you qualify as a valid target by the other requirements.

The ability to make this item depends on a few things.

The conscious part is Vel attempting to make an item with the powers of https://thecontractrpg.com/gift/revision/58634/. They do this with carving an image of a star, and a lot of images of distance, and the night sky, trying to get more power into the concept. But some other things leaked in.

One is the residual effects of Vel diving deep into their mind, and the source of their power https://thecontractrpg.com/questionnaire/c/5226#answer-12687 .
(Basically, Vel's source of power is semi eldritch, relating to stories, and some meta nature of the contract)

The Other relates to some things which are minor spoilers for some plot lines I'm running.

Spend an Action. Select a Location which is at most 60 feet away horizontally or 15 feet away vertically. If you have activated this Effect 10 times it the last minute, you must Exert your Mind. 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 jump to the chosen location. If jumping blind or landing precariously, must roll Dexterity + Athletics to land safely. You will never take fall Damage from successfully landing a jump made with this Effect.

Instead of physically passing through the air, you are teleported directly to your destination. Does not allow you to go through walls, cages, or grapples.

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: The Whispers of the Universe (Paranoia). If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.

  • If you are Encumbered, the maximum range is cut in half. If Encumbrance has reduced your total movement to 0, you cannot activate this Effect.
  • vertical jump height measures to the bottom of your feet, so your total vertical reach is at least a body length greater.
  • Rolls to land safely will generally be Athletics, but GMs may call for a different roll at their discretion if it makes sense for the specific circumstances.
  • You must be on a surface of some kind in order to activate this Effect; it cannot be activated while in mid-air.
  • You may only use this Effect once per Round of combat, regardless of any Enhancements you have taken.
  • Your target must be within line of sight, or within range of another sense if more fitting for the Gift's flavor.

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.

  • 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. You only remain obscured while you are standing still; moving or taking actions will suspend the Effect for a Round.

  • 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.

This Artifact can be used as a sword / axe. It is roughly at least twice as large as a sword / axe and cannot be concealed on your person or disassembled for storage.

Attack by rolling Brawn + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal 5 Weapon Damage. The target's fully effective

Possession of this Artifact causes the following Battle Scar to manifest over the course of a day: Lost Eye. If you lose possession of this Artifact, the Battle Scar heals over the course of the next month.

This item is a living thing. It counts as a Creature when targeted. If destroyed or abandoned for more than two days, it dies and becomes unusable.

You also gain the following effects:

  • Blade Breaker: If you successfully Defend against a melee attack or if an opponent is unsuccessful at Defending against your melee attack, you may break your opponent's weapon.
  • Lasersaber: Given time, you may demolish any object or wall. To destroy 1 cubic foot of material: spend 2 Actions for material demolishable with a crowbar or sledgehammer, and 5 Actions for other materials (like steel).
  • 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.

  • This Artifact cannot be disguised or morphed with other Effects like Shape-Changing object.
  • Reminder: additional Weapon Damage granted by this Effect does not stack with any other bonus to Weapon Damage. Instead the largest bonus is used.

Stock Artifact Crafting Gifts

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:

  • Survivor: You are immune to all non-Alien diseases.
  • All Brawn No Brain: You suffer a -2 dice penalty on Mind resistance rolls.

  • These bonuses apply only to Body rolls made to resist Effects and other supernatural phenomena. They do not apply to other contexts such as attacks made while under the Creature Transformation Effect.

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:

  • Naturally Resistant: Any time you make a Mind resistance roll, the individual who you are resisting must Exert their Mind, or your resistance succeeds automatically.
  • Clash Of Wills: If you fail to fully resist an Effect, your Outcome is considered to be 0.

  • These bonuses apply only to Mind rolls made to resist Effects and other supernatural phenomena. They do not apply to Trauma rolls or self-control rolls.