[3E] The Artifact and Evocation Workshop

[The Unsung Hero]

Let's say there's an artifact weapon that "grows" like a plant. Would only green jade be required for that, or would you need moonsilver as well?

My first answer is "it's whichever feels right to you." But I would ask how does it grow? Does it just get bigger? Or does it actually grow leaves or bark and stuff? Or does it extend further in an attack to bite deeper into the flesh of its foes? The nature of its growth will answer your question.

[The Unsung Hero]

"Can be targeted by melee-range attacks from enemies at the front" isn't significant? There's some value to be had in forcing a character to go around or through an army to get to you. Admittedly fighting at the rear with a sword is awkward, yes, but still doable via ranged Melee Charms.

I suppose its more that the nature of the evocations in the rest of the tree are either unrelated to combat for the most part, or directly related to fighting in the thick of things (like the pinnacle). It's not a drawback to fight in the front of your group if the sword actually encourages you to do that and gives you benefits for doing so. Melee is one of the easiest trees to invest in to be comfortable with fighting in the thick of it. But to each their own. That's just the reason it felt off to me. Ferryman should go with his gut.

[The Free Man]

About your Searing Wisdom, why do the bonuses for attuning to it seem so very small? Compared to some other artifacts granting evocations for free, it seems somewhat lackluster.

[The Unsung Hero]

About your Searing Wisdom, why do the bonuses for attuning to it seem so very small? Compared to some other artifacts granting evocations for free, it seems somewhat lackluster.

It is honestly overpriced. It should probably make that either free or just 1 extra mote. As noted in the post, it is a reworking of Torrid Omen, my first artifact. I made the evocations more balanced and working together, but in the end I didn't have an Attunement Bonus that worked. That one i just came up with on the fly, but I didn't modify the cost. It's not worth more than 1 point in all honesty.

[The Unsung Hero]

Time for another weapon. I'm worried that the pinnacle evocation is either too strong or too weak. It varies widely by a lot of factors, but maybe that's what makes it balanced. It's high lethality gave it a higher cost than I typically put on an evocation. But I did have fun writing it's story!

Unyielding Tsunami (Black Jade Powerbow ***)

The magnificent powerbow Unyielding Tsunami has been passed down from father to son, or commander to soldier, since the Shoganute era. Stories of its power in high sea battles are the favorites of children and the inspiration that drove countless young Dynasts into the Navy of the Blessed Isle.

The tale of its creation varies from telling to telling, but the general consensus is thus. Versaad the Wavecutter was a hero of the seas, travelling for adventure and the glory of the dragons. Her accomplishments are many, but the important tale begins when her famous ship, The Mighty, was dashed to flinders from a tidal wave. The only survivor of the wreck, Versaad was fascinated by the untamed ferocity of the event and sought to tame its power for herself.

Journeying across the lands to the West, she sought out sages and sorcerors, smiths and lorekeepers, asking how she might wield the power of the sea. Most laughed at her quest, for Versaad was a woman of action and physical prowess, and the matters of sorcery were beyond her. But unwavering, she pressed on in her quest, ever-seeking the power of the waves.

At last, she found a hermit on an isle no bigger than her former ship. The hermit promised to forge a weapon to match Versaad’s ambition if she brought him the Heart of the Tides. The Wavecutter was fearless and boastful and promised to bring back the heart. Her quest took her across the islands of the West and through adventures plenty, but none had heard of this Heart of the Tides.

Finally, Versaad ventured into the seas of the Wyld, with only a small dingy and her wits. There she faced the embodiment of the seas, a predatory wave that tried to drown the Wavecutter. The mighty warrior wrestled with the wave for 5 days and nights until at least, she tore from it the Heart of the Tides. She brought it back to the hermit who had spent the years crafting a magnificent bow of black jade. Incorporating the Heart of the Tides into the weapon, Unyielding Tsunami was born and the Wavecutter wielded it in many stories more.

It is generally accepted that this story is more allegory than history, but it is the commonly accepted origin of the bow.

Unyielding Tsunami is a black jade powerbow. Its length is shaped with crashing waves as the sea. It is fitted with 2 hearthstone sockets, one at each tip.

Evocations of Unyielding Tsunami
A Solar or Dragonblooded who spends 2 additional motes to attune to Unyielding Tsunami gain 1 initiative every round that they make an attack with the Wet tag. The Wet tag is gained through the evocation Monsoon Armament, or whenever an arrow is completely soaked, either by passing through a liquid or in the midst of a downpour. Water-Aspected Dragonblooded anima flux count for this criteria.

Monsoon Armament
Cost: 1m (+2m) Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: None

Water is the great forger of life, the source of nourishment. But many are those who have learned that water is also deadly and punishing in the right circumstances. Unyielding Tsunami ensures it is the latter.

Monsoon Armament lets the wielder draw an arrow from an available source of liquid. While this is typically water, it could also be a cup of wine, a bottle of poison, or the blood of a spurting vein. The arrow can also be pulled from the rain if more than a drizzle, or with a stunt, something splashed in the air. There must be enough liquid to form an arrow from, and the exalt must be able to touch the liquid and draw it straight across the bow for it to form. Such arrows gain the Wet tag.

If the exalt pays an additional 2 motes when creating the arrow, they may draw the properties of the liquid they forge the shot from into its being. An arrow made from poison will inflict it upon its targets if it deals damage, while one forged from the blood of a diseased victim may cause its target to roll for contracting it. More creative uses of this evocation are subject to storyteller discretion for how they affect the victim. An existing arrow doused in a special liquid may be granted its properties for this evocations cost.

Tide Alignment
Cost: 5m Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Withering
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Monsoon Armament

The currents of the ocean dictate the ebb and flow of all life in the sea. So too, can the tides impact the field of battle. Any Withering attack supplemented by Tide Alignment rides the currents of war towards its target, gaining double 9’s on the attack roll. If it hits, the arrow explodes in a torrent of water, weighing down the foe. This causes the target to fall 3 initiative lower in the combat order, though they do not actually lose any initiative. Tide Alignment can only be used once per target, per scene, unless reset by crashing a target with this evocation.

If the attack has the Wet tag, it extends the distance the arrow may travel without an AIM action by 1 band.

Drowning Deluge
Cost: 8m, 1wp Mins: Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-Only
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Tide Alignment

The flood is a force of nature that cleanses a land fiercely and decisively. Few survive its awesome power and Unyielding Tsunami channels that force into a single foe. Drowning Deluge is a Decisive attack that inflicts the force of a tidal wave upon its foe.

On a successful hit, convert a number of damage dice equal to the extra successes on the attack roll into automatic successes. The exalt may also choose to have the impact either knock the opponent prone or knock them back 1 range band automatically.

If the attack has the Wet tag, it also fills the target’s lungs with water drowning them. They get (Stamina x 2 rounds) to expel the water as an extended roll before they drown. Each round, the target rolls (Stamina + Resistance) at a difficulty 1 as a miscellaneous action that may be flurried. Each success causes the target to vomit up some of the liquid. The target number is equal to the number of extra successes on the attack roll. However, at the end of each round that the target is still drowning, they gain a cumulative -1 penalty to all actions. If the target runs out of air, they die.

This ongoing effect may be ended at any time by the exalt who unleashed it. Drowning Deluge may only be used activated once per combat.

[Ferryman]

How about another black jade themed item?

The Night-Tide Aegis of Ryujin (Artifact 3) - Black jade and moonsilver heavy artifact armor
Crafted during the Shogunate for the great Admiral Shio Ryujin, the Night-Tide Aegis is a reinforced breastplate composed of black jade-steel alloy, inlaid with moonsilver taken in a Wyld Hunt he served in his youth. After Ryujin's eventual demise, the armor passed through his family until it came to Shio Mai. She is said to have perished at the height of the madness following the Great Contagion while leading the last defense of Anostos, a semi-mythic city that supposedly sat beside a large inland lake or small sea somewhere south of Zoatham. In the centuries since it has fallen into the hands of the Silver Pact, who consider it more fitting to a Champion of Luna. Descendents of Ryujin would dearly love to reclaim their ancestor's raiment, but to this day it has proven terribly elusive.

The Aegis has customarily been worn over a white hooded coat, adorned with a sash of blue or royal purple and has been re-fitted with dyed grey straps of fine leather from time to time as the old fastenings give way to age and wear. The gauntlets and greaves of the armor cover leather gloves and boots of the same color, but the polished midnight jadesteel and moonsilver surfaces remain as unmarred as ever - battle damage seems to imperceptibly fade on its own with time, as though the fluid nature of the essence that courses through the armor erases all imperfections.

Evocations of the Night-Tide Aegis
The essence of the Aegis is like the midnight ocean, absorbing power both mystic and physical only to return it with crushing, irresistible force. When worn by a Lunar Exalt, the moonsilver in the armor responds to the power of their Essence and shapes the armor's inlay and decorations to more closely resemble his spirit-totem. In the case of the current owner it has resculpted the armor to bear eagles’ heads on either shoulder and wings upon the central breastplate, though should it be claimed by a new owner it would slowly remake itself to suit her. Furthermore, a Lunar Exalt may commit an additional 4m to the armor (raising the total commitment cost to 10m) to attune the spirit of the Aegis to his own mutable nature. Doing so allows the armor to reshape itself as the Lunar changes his own shape, retaining its armor profile regardless of form. This is immediately obvious to anyone viewing the wearer, as the armor does not disappear but physically adjusts itself to take on a configuration appropriate to whatever form the Lunar wears - it will appear as armor or barding as appropriate to the shape, from snake to elephant to bird-of-prey. It always carries the heavy armor Mobility penalty regardless of its configuration, however, so champions of Luna who prize speed and subtlety may find that there are times when they wish to leave the Aegis behind rather than travel girded for war.

Note that the Evocations below, as with the attunement bonus above, are appropriate for a Lunar bearer of the Aegis. A Terrestrial would likely draw forth very different miracles, though they will still reflect the fluidity, changeability, and infinite depths of the lightless seas.

The Fool and the Sea
Cost: 1m per HL Requirements: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Decisive-only, Stacking
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: None
The spirit of the Aegis ebbs and flows with the cadence of battle, absorbing the killing intent of enemies only to return it upon them many times over. As the foolish man rails at the ocean, so does the foe who seeks to strike down Luna’s champion. Upon taking damage from an enemy’s Decisive attack the wearer may spend motes of essence up to the number of HLs suffered, which remain committed. At the start of any turn the wearer may end this commitment to immediately gain Initiative equal to the committed motes, and the effect ends. This Charm may be used multiple times, but no more than 7 motes can ever be committed this way.

Midnight Radiance Returned
Cost: 1m or 3a Requirements: Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Perilous
Duration: Three turns
Prerequisites: The Fool and the Sea
As the lightless depths of the ocean drink in Luna’s radiance without diminishing her, so does the Aegis receive the glory of her Chosen. Upon gaining a level of anima through essence expenditure, the wearer can choose to spend 1m to submerge it in the endless depths of the Aegis, to a maximum of three anima levels total. Once three levels have been absorbed in the current scene, the wearer can Reflexively draw them forth to suffuse the armor with his own iconic power - the moonsilver inlays glow with pale light and the eyes of the eagles seem alive with predatory intent. Doing so immediately grants the Exalt one point of temporary Willpower and increases the armor’s Hardness by 2 for three turns. Once per scene, unless reset by building from dim to iconic anima banner through essence expenditure.
Special Activation Rules: This Evocation can only be unlocked by a Lunar who has fully attuned to the Aegis (as described above) and who bears it into a dangerous situation in which his true nature must not be immediately revealed.

One Thousand Waves Upon the Shore
Cost: 2m Requirements: Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Perilous
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Midnight Radiance Returned
As the tides recede and crash upon the shores of Creation in response to the Pale Lady’s changing face, so the Aegis gathers roiling power from the mutability of her Chosen. Each time a Lunar wearer of the Aegis takes a shapechange action to assume a new form in combat, the Lunar may spend 2m to activate this Evocation reflexively in order to declare an Aim action as part of the shapechange, ignoring the normal restrictions on doing so. After assuming three different animal forms in the same combat, the character may declare a single Reflexive shapechange action as part of a Decisive attack with greater than 10 Initiative. This shapechange action costs no motes and benefits from this Evocation's reflexive Aim effect, also at no cost. Doing this resets the shapechange count.
Special Activation Rules: This Evocation can only be unlocked by a Lunar who has fully attuned to the Aegis (as described above), and who incapacitates a significant opponent with a Decisive attack while in an animal form.

[The Unsung Hero]

How about another black jade themed item?

The Night-Tide Aegis of Ryujin (Artifact 3) - Black jade and moonsilver heavy artifact armor

I love the concept (and I've been desperate for more Armor examples. I get so stumped trying to make them.)

However, by the direction we were given informally by the devs on the forum in the past (I don't have a quote right now, I'm sorry), technically evocations don't work for Lunars outside of their true form. Just wondering if you factored that when designing this. I have no problem with you simply ignoring it for your design, I was just mentioning it.

Otherwise, Black Jade is best jade.

[Ferryman]

I remember it, and I know the reasoning behind it. I don't think it's really an issue in this case, but of course anyone is free to disagree. For my part, I have no problems ignoring rules like that when they would get in the way of a good idea. I don't think this is so much a case of an Artifact that can be used while shifted as it is an example of one that plays nice with shifting as a mechanic which seems like obvious design space for moonsilver armor. The former might pose balance concerns, but I don't think the latter is so bad. To be honest, the thing I was most concerned about is the terrifying soak values that someone could hit as, say, an elephant draped in artifact barding. You'd be slow but damned near invulnerable. In the end, I decided I was okay with that.

Besides, if playing a Lunar who can go through an entire combat in a dizzying parade of animal shapes while always clad in his distinctive baroque black-and-silver armor is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

[The Unsung Hero]

I remember it, and I know the reasoning behind it. I don't think it's really an issue in this case, but of course anyone is free to disagree. For my part, I have no problems ignoring rules like that when they would get in the way of a good idea. I don't think this is so much a case of an Artifact that can be used while shifted as it is an example of one that plays nice with shifting as a mechanic which seems like obvious design space for moonsilver armor. The former might pose balance concerns, but I don't think the latter is so bad. To be honest, the thing I was most concerned about is the terrifying soak values that someone could hit as, say, an elephant draped in artifact barding. You'd be slow but damned near invulnerable. In the end, I decided I was okay with that.

Besides, if playing a Lunar who can go through an entire combat in a dizzying parade of animal shapes while always clad in his distinctive baroque black-and-silver armor is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

Cool. As I said, I have no personal beef with it, just making sure you knew of it. I dig it a lot. Also as I said, I love seeing people design artifact armor, because for some reason I get stumped when trying to invent evocations concepts for them myself.

[Jen]

Hmmmm, since a 5-dots Daiklaive can nuke the whole battlefield, I wondering what are the limit and scope of N/A Artifacts. The Crow of Thunder and the Perfect Staff are the only N/A Artifact with stat and the only noteworthy things about them are big number and providing flat-immunity.

I also trying to make a Cthulhu-esque fear mask, but I have no idea how inflicting intimacies of fear on the enemies help in combat, maybe a Decisive-only simple charm that consume the intimacy, fluffing it as the enemy having a heart attack ?

[The Unsung Hero]

Hmmmm, since a 5-dots Daiklaive can nuke the whole battlefield, I wondering what are the limit and scope of N/A Artifacts. The Crow of Thunder and the Perfect Staff are the only N/A Artifact with stat and the only noteworthy things about them are big number and providing flat-immunity.

I also trying to make a Cthulhu-esque fear mask, but I have no idea how inflicting intimacies of fear on the enemies help in combat, maybe a Decisive-only simple charm that consume the intimacy, fluffing it as the enemy having a heart attack ?

The cool thing with Intimacies in 3e is that they have number values associated with them. Minor Intimacies are valued at 2, Major at 3, and Defining at 4. So it's a great way to convert intimacies into combat-relevant values with evocations. Add (Intimacy) damage dice, or gain (Intimacy) initiative, or what have you.

I'm excited to see your Cthulhu mask!

[Jen]

The cool thing with Intimacies in 3e is that they have number values associated with them. Minor Intimacies are valued at 2, Major at 3, and Defining at 4. So it's a great way to convert intimacies into combat-relevant values with evocations. Add (Intimacy) damage dice, or gain (Intimacy) initiative, or what have you.

Oooh, I thought those number only apple to Resolve, didn't know that you can use them for other things too :'o

I'm excited to see your Cthulhu mask!

It's rare to see people who get excited and give advice for other poster's homebrew like this, surely your heart must be as big as Guanyin

[Morangias]

Oooh, I thought those number only apple to Resolve, didn't know that you can use them for other things too :'o

As I understand, normally you can't use it for anything else than Resolve - it is, however, a valid design space for magic to tap into. Fists of Iron uses it, for example.

[The Unsung Hero]

Oooh, I thought those number only apple to Resolve, didn't know that you can use them for other things too :'o

As Morangias said, it doesn't naturally apply anywhere else, but you're making magic items. You can pull from anywhere you want.

It's rare to see people who get excited and give advice for other poster's homebrew like this, surely your heart must be as big as Guanyin

Evocations are something of a thing for me if you hadn't noticed. I try to give feedback to encourage more of it out there. You are right, though, there is very little homebrew feedback for artifacts in the forums these days and it is sad. Happy to help!

[TheCountAlucard]

Technically the Crown of Thunders was "merely" a 5-dot one-of-a-kind artifact made by the Highest of Holies (according to Oadenol's, anyway).

The Five-Metal Shrike was an N/A Artifact with hard numbers, mind, but its presentation in 2e was a tad lacking.