Carter has learned how to empower contracts with his written word.
You may make an oath with any number of physically-present, Sapient targets. Communicate the oath's terms to the targets, including the requirements and penalties for each participant. If all agree to the terms, you must Increase your sacrificial Injury's Severity by 1 and all participants must sign thier names with the qill to seal the deal.
Record the oath as a Condition. If a party breaks the oath, the Condition ends and they suffer the oath's penalty.
When crafting your oath, you may incorporate any of the following penalties:
The targets cannot be compelled to agree via a direct threat of violence, another Effect, or another oath. If you would like to use clever wording to mislead the targets, you must succeed a contested Intellect + (Culture or Influence) roll.
When crafting your oath, you may opt to enforce compliance. If you do, any participant that wishes to break the deal must take 3 Mind damage and succeed a Self-Control roll. They may attempt once per day.
If you do not have a sacrificial Injury when you activate this Effect, take a new Severity-1 Injury.
They appear to be gold cufflinks that have a very mechanical look to them, sort of like what you'd see inside a watch.
You gain the following benefits as long as you are wearing this Artifact and you are engaged in unarmed combat.
+2 dice to rolls for Attacking, Defending, and Clashing without a weapon. Unarmed attacks do +2 Weapon Damage (instead of -1).
You may Defend against melee, projectile, or firearm Attacks from any range and Clash with those in range of your Attacks. Attacking materials like steel or spikes will not Damage you unless it has an Effect that does so.
You also gain the following effects:
Whenever the Artifact's owner allows it to temporarily expand their perception, an aggressive red glint can be seen shining for a split second from within the center of the dagger's crossguard. Likewise, the Artifact's silhouette momentarily blurs as well.
To the Artifact owner, during their period of otherworldly awareness, all opaque materials become partially transparent. Crimson, glowing, ever-shifting glyphs start to frequently appear floating inside all of the aforementioned opaque-turned-transparent objects and terrain. Normally, the glyphs themselves aren't distracting, and tend to be somewhat faint, however some decide to trace the outlines, edges and corners of seen-through surfaces instead of simply floating without purpose - these ones are quite more noticeable, being a bit more numerous and bright. The Artifact owner is mentally aware of all such glyphs within this sense's range.
The difficulty of discerning the less obvious details within a given area dictates how colorful the glyphs in said area appear: for example, glyphs within the first and thus unobscured wall that the Artifact's owner could see are of a strong red hue, while glyphs in an object that's behind several usually-opaque surfaces or deep underground would be darker - both in color and in brightness.
Expend a point of Battery and spend an Action.
You may perceive things within 75 feet of you with perfect clarity as though there were no walls or obstacles blocking your view for the next 30 minutes.
You may perceive through up to 15 feet of material. The Difficulty of all Perception rolls made through a wall are increased by 1 per wall.
Elvis bats their eyelashes and hits a pose, pouting in concentration as camera flashing disco balls form above him. He's so alluring, who would ever want to attack him? He looks like... He looks like he's surrounded by an aura of... Beauty!
Exert your Mind and spend an Action or Reaction. Roll Dexterity + Performance at Difficulty 6.
If you succeed, you create a Barrier extending out 15 feet from yourself, which absorbs 2 times the next (Outcome +4) Damage. Only applies to attacks which originated outside the 15 foot radius, and protects anyone who is within that radius. Any Damage absorbed by the barrier is reflected back to the attacker, up to a maximum of 4. Their Armor applies in full. The Damage reduction from the barrier is applied before Armor. This Artifact may only have 1 active barrier at a time.
You must maintain Concentration while using this Effect. The barrier will fall if you are interrupted, or if it absorbs the full amount of Damage. When a barrier falls, you cannot use this Effect again for a minimum of 2 Rounds.
The bracelet on my wrist transforms into the blade in a slithering, almost wet manner, denoting from the sword's gimmick of it being alive. Once it has rested on my hand, it relaxes into shape, the shape being of a short sword with a crossguard, a small crystal in the pommel of the blade and with a simple silver glint on the actual blade.
My first-ever attempt at artifice, it is a simple sword with nothing too special about it besides its ability to condense in size.... Except for a few things:
• The ever changing formless handle that changes size and shape depending on the way I need to grip it, sometimes the blade grows long or shorter depending on how many hands are holding it.
• the small crystal on the pommel. It is in fact not for decoration but it is a small exposed part of the sword's true form, one that can sense my life force and can draw itself back to me within a certain range.
• a side of the sword that is sharpening and serrated, purely designed with the intention of tearing through armour that can't be cut in one go.
• the blue essence inside the blade's fuller. It is actually more of my life force that has been conjoined with the blade permanently hence why it works best with me, though I don't deny the idea that if it were taken in my death that it'd be willing to accept anyone else as its master.
• and finally, in its bracelet form, it has a single magical crystal, I suppose it's for keeping the blade in that form unless needed.
This Artifact can be used as a sword / axe. It is roughly the same size as a sword / axe but can be collapsed into a bracelet and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.
Attack by rolling Brawn + Melee, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +5 Weapon Damage. The target's fully effective
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:
The Shackle of the Riftway is a powerful artifact and a companion for the Shackle of Serenity: it is designed to anchor Norman to a specific point in time and space, allowing his spirit to travel across dimensions before rematerializing. The bracer is built in black leather, intricately detailed with gold filigree and runes that pulse with otherworldly energy. A series of small, polished links from a runed stainless steel chain are woven into the bracer, reinforcing its ability to connect with the arcane forces of the multiverse. The centerpiece of the bracer is a coin-shaped symbol embedded in the leather, etched with eldritch designs that evoke the ancient power of the Elders who once bestowed these abilities. This symbol acts as the focal point for Norman’s dimensional travels, guiding his spirit as it slips between realms in pursuit of closure, with the first etchings dedicated to a specific site - the Infinite Parking Lot.
Exert your Mind and spend 1 minute. Select a Location within your line of sight.
You are transported directly to the chosen Location. Anyone who is touching you as you Travel will be brought along with you. You must wait an hour before activating this effect again.
If you traverse any Parking Lots for one minute, you may activate this Effect and travel to the edge of any other Parking Lots that you’re aware of, regardless of range.
The airship of solitude is the mad scientist's lair and preferred mode of travel. Not only does it include a full science laboratory, it can be collapsed into an incredibly small canvas cube and easily transported. The mad scientist may pilot the ship alone or rely on its autopilot features for ultimate convenience.
This Artifact can be used as a blimp. It is roughly the same size as a blimp but can be collapsed into a phone-sized canvas cube and concealed. Collapsing or expanding it costs a Quick Action.
This blimp has full science laboratory, bullet-proof envelope, and ample parachutes. Any roll to pilot this vehicle receives +2 dice.
You also gain the following effects:
The Skeleton Key slips easily into any keyhole and turns without a fuss.
Spend an Action.
You may lock, unlock, and/or open any number of doors, containers, knots, or locks within arm's reach of you. Cannot be used on Alien technology.
If you successfully operate a lock, you may choose to destroy it, rendering it inoperable.
Dazzle Glasses are advanced "black-tech" espionage gear. They can be styled as any sort sunglasses. When the wearer is recorded, they will quickly flash a non-visible laser into the recording device, destroying it after only a moment of footage is taken.
This Effect activates whenever you are recorded. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a Non-Sapient Object within 20 feet no larger than a duffel bag (35 liters). Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. Roll Perception + Culture Difficulty 6.
If your Outcome is 4 or higher, the target will be completely destroyed and can no longer function, though it may still be repaired. If your Outcome is less than 4, the target will be partially damaged, and any attempts to use it will suffer a dice penalty equal to your Outcome.
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 lightning bracers can be activated to summon a thunderbolt into the wearer's hand. Throwing these thunderbolts makes an incredibly loud boom. Once a thunderbolt is in hand, the wearer can throw as many as they wish. The electricity from these bolts will jump between nearby targets.
This Artifact produces ephemeral projectiles that can be used as a javelin.
Attack by rolling Brawn + Athletics, Difficulty 6. Successful attacks deal Contested Outcome +3 Weapon Damage.
You also gain the following effects: