A brass lighter with the Napoli sign flicks open, flame sparking, then snaps shut with a sharp click.
The sound echoes. A garbage truck roars to a halt nearby. Its doors swing open. Out steps Roccos crew in sharp suits, cold eyes, each wearing a crafted token of loyalty.
The signal was lit.
It’s cleanup time.
Those entrusted with the sign of the Napoli family swear more than loyalty they bind themselves to the foundation that holds the family strong. Before the lighter is passed on, the oath is spoken:
"I stand with the Family, in shadow and in fire. I raise no hand, voice, or will against the heart that keeps us whole. I keep what must be kept, cleanse what must be cleansed, and serve what endures.
What is given to me, I hold for us; where I walk, I walk for us; what I claim, I claim in our name.
In doubt, I turn first to kin; in danger, I stand where we stand; and in all things, my steps remain known to the Family, as my hands remain open to them."
Only those who speak these words truly earn the right to carry the lighter. When sparked and sealed, it calls the crew. The truck arrives. Equipped with the finnest weapons (Automatic) .mess is handled. No hesitation.
Exert your Mind and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: Lighting the lighter and calling the crew. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.
Summon up to 5 Sapient Mafioso at your location. They last for two hours or until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. This Artifact may have at most 5 minions active at a time.
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.
When the user is injured or mentally drained, the pictographic representations of flames running through beating hearts glow like a gentle flame.
The Stubborn Flame calls upon the spark of life that everything shares. Stoking it to a roaring flame that stands in defiance of the the mortal shell's injuries, helping the user compensate for even the most gruesome of wounds and light the way through the thickest of mental fogs.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact.
Your Stress from Injuries and Mind Damage is reduced to 0.
Hudson can turn a regular weapon into a machine of death, making most things significantly more powerful.
This Artifact has been upgraded.
This Artifact receives 2 extra dice to all actions taken for its intended use. Attacking with an upgraded weapon grants +2 Weapon Damage instead of additional dice.
When she pulls the hat off, it closes a vibrant red, and she throws it as it becomes her weapon of choice
This Artifact can be used as a javelin. It is roughly at least twice as large as a javelin and cannot be concealed on your person or disassembled for storage.
Attack by rolling Brawn + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +3 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects:
You chase each bond after bond like it's all you'd ever want, not knowing it was always meant to be fleeting. The beauty of life and serendipity escapes you as you insist on pinning the red string of fate upon each and every milestone.
Now, it has made it to your gifts as well. They are tethered to you by what may be an invisible string, and eventually you are bound to be connected to so many that you become a network of promises. The visuals remind you of an evidence board, beautiful in its ordered chaos, soon to be smothered in red.
This item has been promised to you. Do not let anyone take it away.
Never again.
On the red string:
Koriol, ever the artist, weaves in crimson strings. They wrap around and through the artifact, pinned down in the same manner that one would install 10 locks on a door. He's slipping. He needs a safety net. This will have to do. Soon enough the strings appear to vanish, but deep down we all know... it was meant to be.
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.
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.
Pure black the color of what a black hole would look like so dark its hard to comprehend and where the dots would be is inset gemstones that glow like multicolored stars
Exert your Mind (unless you win a coin flip) and spend at least one Action. Select a Sapient target within 20 feet. Roll a single d10, Difficulty 4. If you fail or botch, the Effect fails and you cannot activate it again for an hour. Your target may be actively engaged in Combat. Communicate a command to your target. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If the contested Outcome is positive, your target will be compelled to follow your command to their best understanding of the letter and spirit of the command until they have completed it or for your Outcome in minutes. You cannot issue another suggestion to the target until 10 minutes after they have completed the first command or 10 minutes after a failure.
The target is unaware that they are under supernatural influence and feel they are acting of their own free will. If you fail, they realize that you were attempting to influence them supernaturally with your command.
Your command can be an order to take an immediate Action and a conditional request. You cannot order a target to "do nothing," and they are free to take other Actions as they fulfill your request. Your command cannot be obviously self-destructive. The Effect ends if following your command would cause a target to cross one of their Limits in a way that would necessitate a Trauma roll.
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: