You place the windup key to the back of a toy, or similarly human representing golem. Twist for a minute until your hand begins to hurt. The toy will animate and grow in size to a friendly helper of the one holding the windup key.
If there is no toy, starting the process as if there were one will slowly make a basic enlarged teddy bear.
This artifact relies on the cultural idea of toys, and the cultural idea of wind up toys, especially in the minds of children. The basic idea of these wind up toys is that you wind them up, then let them go and they move around doing toy things, seeming almost alive. This artifact takes that idea, and merges it with a few other ideas of ways to create useful servants to make an artifact capable of making useful friendly minions.
The ritual to create this artifact relies on a ritual involving
- A variety of children's toys which are popular in the shared imagination
- A collection of stories and myths about the Hebrew golumn
- Mary Shelly's frankenstein
- Carefully shaping the pattern of a wind up key while reading various relevant parts of these stories
Exert your Mind and spend one minute.
Summon a single enlarged animated toy at your location. They will last until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. This Artifact may have at most 1 minion 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.
You may only use this Effect once per day.
The shadows twist and writhe, taking on ethereal forms that seem to move of their own accord. Spectral figures emerge from the darkness, their features obscured by the murky depths from which they arise. They obey the user's commands with an eerie obedience, moving silently and swiftly to carry out her will.
As the shadows swirl and dance around the user, participants and observers are left with a sense of awe and unease, knowing that they are in the presence of a force beyond mortal comprehension. It is a sight that leaves an indelible mark on the minds of those who witness it, a reminder of the true extent of the user's power as a shadowmancer.
The Gift of summoning shadows is not merely a mundane ability; it is a manifestation of primal forces that exist beyond the realm of mortal comprehension. In the depths of the human psyche, there lies a connection to the primordial darkness that has existed since the dawn of time, a wellspring of power waiting to be tapped by those with the courage to embrace the shadows.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. You must actively and obviously use Ring to activate this Effect.
Summon a single Shadow at your location. They will last until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 2 minions active at a time.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation or for its duration will almost certainly be disturbed to see Souls.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Casadastraphobia.
You are surrounded by Hellish Fire after giving yourself a cut on the hand to offer your blood and a portal opens next to you releasing Imps from Hell.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
Summon up to 3 Sapient Imp at your location. They last until they are destroyed They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 3 minions active at a time.
"Hey, hey THORN? Little help here please?!"
Thorn is by all means a normal looking crow, stubborn, insistent, and generally giving the impression that he's here because he wants to be. He is almost completely vocally silent and sticks to Sycamore for reasons they can't quite figure out yet, humoring their trust building exercises and now offering aid when he knows they need it.
Thorn was found at the same time as the first body Sycamore discovered. He seems to fill the role of familiar; Syc knew his name as soon as he addressed him, and always did, instinctively. Thorn has been in the shadows since Syc was 10.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
Summon a single Thorn at your location. They will last for two hours, or until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 1 minion active at a time.
The Demonologist performs an Arcane Ritual to summon an Imp and bind it to the mortal plane. It takes the form of a small, red-skinned humanoid creature with wings and short, stubby horns, and possesses the ability to hurl bolts of fire short distances.
Uses Demonology
Exert your Mind and spend at least two Actions performing the following ritual: A ritual Circle must be drawn and offered a drop of the casters blood while a chant is used to bind the summoned demon to activate. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.
Summon a single ________ at your location. They will last for an hour, or until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 1 minion active at a time.
Minions have 4 Body and can make ranged attacks at targets up to 30 feet away with 5 dice to attack and +1 Damage. They cannot move faster than a walk and cannot dodge incoming attacks. They have dog-level intelligence, but are capable of communicating information back to you. Any Perception checks they make are rolled with 3 dice.
Your minions can fly at their normal movement speed.
Ppimperton gives a tap of his Pimp-Cane or a snap of his fingers, and he concentrates a moment. He names which Bitch he wishes to summon, and then with a growl he reminds her aloud that he *owns* her and threatens/cajoles/something her. She obediently steps out from behind him, appearing from within his shadow.
Alternatively, he might concentrate a few moments before tossing a roll of cash off toward a corner, and the hand of one of his Bitches pops out of a shadow to catch the money. Ppimperton then demands she get her ass out here, and she pulls the rest of her body out of the shadow.
Bitches have the following equipment:
* Extremely revealing clothing and hugely impractical shoes that don't hinder them at all
* Kevlar-reinforced fur long-coat
* Pistol with extra mags
* Switchblade for cuttin' Jive Tricks
* Personal amount of cocaine
* Smartphone
* Smartwatch
* Skye: Suitcase/Backpack with Various Survival Gear: Poptent, water filtration equipment, rations, canteen, survival knife, basic fishing gear, etc.
* Moxy: Stuffed-Animal Backpack with Various Investigatory Equipment: Magnifying glass, telescope, basic mirrored microscope, Farmer's Almanac, etc.
Exert your Mind and spend two Actions performing the following ritual: Naming, Reminder of Ownership. You must use up Money in order to activate this Effect. You must maintain Concentration while activating this Effect, and it fails if you are interrupted.
Summon a single Bitch at your location. They will last until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. This Artifact may have at most 2 minions active at a time.
Possession of this Artifact causes the following Battle Scar to manifest over the course of a day: Demonic Shadow and Green-Glinting Eyes. If they lose possession of this Artifact, the Battle Scar heals over the course of the next day.
The Vampire is able to turn one of their victims into a lesser vampire, a pale shadow of a full creature of the night but useful nonetheless. Having drained and killed their target, the Vampire performs a brief ritualistic bloodletting, wherein they spill their own blood into the target's mouth, forcing them to drink, and bonding them together as child and sire.
Shortly afterwards, the fledgling vampire will rise from death, hungry for blood and eager to serve.
Take a Severity-1 Injury and spend one minute. Select a Dead target within arm's reach that has died within the last hour. This Effect cannot be used unless you drained the target's blood while they were still alive.
Your target rises as an Animate being. The raised creature is totally mindless, with no memory of its past life or hint of its old personality. They cannot communicate. They will follow any command you speak.
The creature lasts until it dies again. It is revived at full health. Any Injuries it had in life are not accounted for when determining its penalties or progression towards re-death, though they may affect its ability to perform certain actions at GM's discretion. The raised creature must consume flesh every day or it will die again.
Raised creatures have their Abilities set to the same that they were in life. Their Charisma and Intellect are set to 1, but their Dexterity, Brawn and Perception are the same as they had in life. A raised creature cannot use any Effects.
Your revived targets deal 2 Weapon Damage with their unarmed attacks.
The mobster knows a guy they can call for a hired goon, who arrives about a minute later. The goons are dumb as bricks, but tough nonetheless, perfect for sending a message when you need to keep your hands clean.
Exert your Mind and spend one minute. You must actively and obviously use a cell phone to activate this Effect.
Summon a single goon at your location. They will last until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 1 minion active at a time.
You may only use this Effect once per day.
Any successful musician knows the value of a good roadie. The musician calls for a roadie, and one will promptly arrive. The roadie doesn't talk much, and they aren't too bright, but they can sure haul gear.
After a couple hours of work, the roadie will retire to smoke and get some sleep.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action.
Summon a single roadie at your location. They will last for two hours, or until they are destroyed. They are controlled by the GM but will follow any commands you give. You may have at most 1 minion active at a time.
You may only use this Effect once per day.