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 fragmented snowflake that closely resembles broken glass, will appear embossed somewhere visibly on the item, marking it as improved.
The Well is oblivion and vice versa. There is no being or creature exempt from the prices that it exacts upon those that meet it uncordially. And like a hook, when it sinks its fangs into you, it will rip you root and all at even the slightest weakness.
The Well is also eternal. As long as the universe turns and toils, and unless someone has the power to circumvent or mimic the powers of Oblivion, upgrades items will persist ad infinitum.
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 Armor is shredded by half the normal amount. If it is a piece of Armor, it instead receives half that amount as bonus armor rating, rounded up. If an upgraded shield and armor are both worn, the upgrade bonus does not stack with itself.
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.
The deep red gem at the centre of the necklace releases a cloud of black miasma, which coalesces into the form of a horse, capable of running long distances without tiring, or needing food or water. It can be recalled into the necklace at will.
This Artifact can be used as a Shadow Horse. It is roughly the same size as a Shadow Horse but can be collapsed into a necklace with a deep red gem in the centre and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.
This Shadow Horse has Plate Armour, Saddle, Reins. Any roll to pilot this vehicle receives +2 dice.
You also gain the following effects:
The pages of the journal transform into the desired identification. A passport is the most obvious 1:1 illusion, but an official government ID and badge that flips open is also possible. Other forms of ID such as driver's license, insurance ID cards, gym memberships, etc. appear as their appropriate cards encased in a laminate sheet on each page of the journal. It is impossible to remove these IDs (as their an illusion), but this inability always seems to be an inability of the user to find the laminate seam. (If necessary there will be some modification to the laminate, allowing a magnetic strip on the ID card to be scanned.)
This Artifact can change its appearance. When not transformed, it is roughly the same size as a pocket journal and just as difficult to conceal.
Spend a Quick Action to activate. This Artifact changes its appearance into an Object within the category 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.
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 is one of the few safe ways that Athena was able to stabalize the volatile nature of the Void. In the form of this miniature dispensor that produces nutrient paste, put together as a result of the incredible energies working in harmony. It can only dispense enough paste for three people per day. When consumed, the void reverts part of the target to a previous state. Athena uses this to remove the damage of relatively recent battlescars and place it upon a shadowy construct, reverting the target to their state before they received that battlescar.
Unfortunately, this does tend to give the target visions of the void which can traumatize them.
Expend a point of Battery and spend ten minutes to activate. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Your target must make a Trauma roll when you activate this Effect. Select a Battle Scar on your target to treat.
The treated Battle Scar will heal over the course of the next week. Your patient is required to The target can not be supernaturally healed other than Athena's Alleviate power for the next month. If they violate this rule, your treatment is immediately reversed.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see a tentacle black mass regurgitated from the target's mouth. It looks exactly like the target with the same battlescar and will attempt to immediately flee into the nearest body of water and dissappear.
The gift appears to be a large backpack. One can put any object inside and loudly declares, while holding the backpack, "If only I had [food item]". Be sure that there are no other items in the backpack, because they will be consumed.
(Note that one cannot request a whole dish; for example, they can order plain macaroni, but not mac and cheese).
Open the backpack after five minutes to reveal the requested food item, whose output weight matches that of the input. The taste of the food will depend on the value of the object. Make sure it's exactly 5 minutes. Who knows what'll happen if it isn't.
Black goo will always seep out from the bottom of the backpack when in use.
On the backpack:
It's easy enough to mistake for any backpack at all, and Delphyrion has not put a label on it. They have lost quite a few beakers and pens to it whenever they mused about their next experiment, as they often reach epiphanies by saying, "If only I had [food item]". Perhaps that's why the artifact works this way.
On food quality:
For some reason the output quality directly ties to the price of food in Orlando. So, put a 5-cent pencil in the backpack, and you'll get a 5-cent quality potato fry.
Also, yeah, make sure it's 5 minutes exactly. This is a theoretical number; no one has tried to test its limits, hence its reference to Schrodinger.
(On a critical fail, one fails to retrieve the food in time and it is either underdeveloped or spoiled.)
On the black goo:
Delphyrion themself isn't sure what it is, nor do they ever remember to analyze it. It doesn't seem to leave any residue on the backpack itself, though it stains quite horribly on porous material including skin. With enough washes it should go away.
If consumed, call the Poison Control Center and pray.
(Also pray that you are not Dephyrion, the chemist who has had 0 interaction with any religion at all, and therefore still thinks priests can get pregnant.)
On Madness:
One gets uncontrollably angry at the sight or mention of any food that did not come out of the backpack. It feels as if one is running a state-of-the-art restaurant, yet people line up for the nearby McDonald's instead. Delphyrion feels this way towards content farms like 1-minute arts.
Expend a point of Battery and spend 1 minute. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you think the backpack has created the intended food item. In fact, it appears and smells more delightful than it should, to the point that you are urged to eat it right away no matter what. You will develop Vertigo upon eating the food as it turns out to be incredibly poisonous.
Choose an Object which could fit inside a regular backpack (up to 27 liters). It must be Non-Alien and generic. You cannot create explosives. You cannot create firearms.
Roll Intellect + Crafts to fabricate your chosen Object. The Difficulty is assigned by the GM and depends on the specificity of your chosen Object. The created item lasts 2 hours.
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: No Outside Food - upon sight or mention of food that you did not create, roll Self-Control to contain the urge to cannibalize yourself or the person who brought up the food. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Trauma heals over the course of the next day.
By placing this vest on dog Inkz can give it one more sense to utilize while tracking. It becomes keenly specialized at hunting down Cryptid creatures.
Expend a point of Battery and spend one minute. This Effect cannot be used unless Must Be placed on a dog to be used.
You automatically detect all Cryptid Creatures within 50 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.
If no Cryptid Creatures targets are within 50 feet of you, and then one enters range, you automatically detect it, even if this Effect is not active.
Even if there are no Cryptid Creatures within 50 feet of you, you become aware of the direction the closest one is in, as well as a rough sense of its distance from you.
Any Cryptid Creatures detected while this Effect is active are “marked”. You will continue to detect them until the Effect ends, no matter how far away they move. You will also continue to detect them after the Effect ends, so long as they remain within 50 feet of you.
All Cryptid Creatures who you can sense are equally able to sense you.
While this Effect is active, you are at -2 dice to all Actions and cannot Concentrate.
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 +1 dice to any Mind resistance rolls you make. You also gain the following effects:
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: