Cauthon's Homebrew Hub

[ArcaneArts]

Sooo... the whole thread goes down if I update the index post. Gooooood to know.

It's a lesson I had to learn with the Whiskey, Gin, and Teeth thread.

[Cauthon]

Unflagged! Huzzah.

In the interim, I updated the Iron Tower a bit: their Adept Attainments got a polish to make them more streamlined, and I ended up replacing the Disciple Attainments wholesale. Not hugely happy that I've now made them bruisers, but I think it overall follows a better arc of progression.

Also still soliciting better names for the Courtlings. "Courtiers of the Thorn Brand" doesn't exactly flow off the tongue.

[KaiserAfini]

Jewelers of the Jade Maze ? Jade slips are normally used as magical items in xianxia, plus the Hedge itself is being forged into these items, which has the associated color. It covertly alludes to the origin and magical nature of the items, at least enough to pick the context clues with an Occult roll.

[Cauthon]

Jewelers of the Jade Maze ? Jade slips are normally used as magical items in xianxia, plus the Hedge itself is being forged into these items, which has the associated color. It covertly alludes to the origin and magical nature of the items, at least enough to pick the context clues with an Occult roll.

A good suggestion, though I'll need to change the founder's Shadow Names. Surtr and Morrigan don't quite seem like the kind of names you'd associate with xianxia. Probably change Surtr's sword into a chisel too, to match the "Jeweler" bit...

Anyway, here's an unrelated Imbued Item.

Imbued Item: Westphall's Snowglobe (●●●●● ●●●●)
Effects: Secret Room (Space ●●●●), Alter Direction (Space ●●●●)
Mana Cost: 2
Mana Reservoir: 1
Activation: Persistent
Reach: Indefinite Duration
Other Traits: No Flexible Reach, Relinquished, Everywhere, Combined Spell

A curio in many ways, and difficult to replicate due to the needed understanding of Space, Prime, and Matter, Westphall's Snowglobe is a portable Sanctum. Looking from the outside like nothing more than a palm-sized snowglobe containing a highly detailed castle, discerning eyes might notice that there is no liquid or "snow" within. Further, careful study will soon reveal a small, complex, and well crafted hatch on the globe's brass base.

Passing through this hatch -impossible without the use of spells such as Break Boundary or Teleport- reveals a well-appointed and vaguely steampunk entry hall, which in turn leads to a grand marble staircase. Ascending these steps bring the visitor into the castle proper, a perfectly constructed domicile that can house dozens of people comfortably. Originally Shaped of plaster and Lastingly reinforced by copious castings of Alter Integrity, the castle is fully decorated with simple furniture of high quality. However, residents will need to be creative for mundane tasks such as cooking or ablutions, as there is no plumbing or electrical systems. Spacious gardens of real loam extend around the castle proper, their quality and crops depending on how well the current owner tends them.

The interior of the Snowglobe is a "massive" space created through the Secret Room spell. The entire area remains perfectly balanced through the use of the Alter Direction spell, keeping the direction of "up" fixed on the peak of the Snowglobe's dome.

Many have owned the globe over the years, with various levels of care given to it's upkeep. Careless owners, for example, have often forgotten that plants need sunlight and left the orb to languish on shelves or in storerooms.

[KaiserAfini]

Somehow, this makes me visualize one of its owners having built a room inside for their snowglobe collection, where each snowglobe was filled by utilizing a Making of Space and Time to store copies of their favorite moments in history. Like a more festive version of Trazyn The Infinite's archive.

[Cauthon]

As mught be expected from nascent godlings, Mages have a tendency to recreate mythological artifacts and items of myth. The Gjallarhorn is one such item, seeing several variants in circulation amongst Asatru enthusiasts and dedicated warriors.

Imbued Item: "The" Gjallarhorn, AKA The Iron Gjallarhorn (●●●●● ●●●)
Effects: Golem (Matter ●●●●), "Forces - Mutable Mask" (Forces ●●)
Mana Cost: 2
Mana Reservoir: 1
Activation: Contingent (The horn is sounded)
Reach: Instant Casting
Other Traits: No Flexible Reach, Relinquished, Everywhere, Permanence, Combined Spell

A variant popular in Matter-heavy Consilli, this Gjallarhorn is a curved war-horn wrought of fine steel and etched with Elder Futhark runes. When blown, it animates any humanoid structures within a [Scale] area around the sounder. These golems converge on the hornsounder and follow her orders to the letter. The golems also gain a simple Forces illusion as they come to life, causing them to appear as armored vikings. The most pragmatic owners will ensure they have a stable of suitable subjects on hand to animate, an army in effegy prepared to march at the horn's call.

A vanishingly rare version of this Gjallarhorn has a Mind component, creating highly intelligent units of golems to serve the hornsounder.

---

Imbued Item: "The" Gjallarhorn, AKA The Ivory Gjallarhorn (●●●●● ●●●)
Effects: Quicken Corpse (Death ●●●), Corpse Mask (Death ●●)
Mana Cost: 3
Mana Reservoir: 3
Activation: Contingent (The horn is sounded)
Reach: Advanced Duration, "Super Zombies" Reach Effect
Other Traits: No Flexible Reach, Relinquished, Everywhere, Time In A Bottle, Combined Spell

A highly morbid version of the Gjallarhorn, this silver-bound ivory war-horn is often outlawed in "civilized" Consilli. When blown, it causes any corpses within a [Scale] area around the sounder to animate under her control. Any obvious signs of their undeath are masked for the duration, papering over wounds and decongealing blood.

---

Imbued Item: "The" Gjallarhorn, AKA The Avernian Horn (●●●●● ●●●)
Effects: Create Avernian Gate (Death ●●●●●)
Mana Cost: 2
Mana Reservoir: 3
Activation: Contingent (The horn is sounded)
Reach: Advanced Duration
Other Traits: No Flexible Reach, Relinquished, Time In A Bottle, Everywhere

Forged of weathered brass, it is traditional to engrave the words "The Grave Is No Bar To My Call" around the mouth of these horns in a dead language or High Speech.

Boasting one of the oldest known Gjallarhorns amongst their number, The Avernian Horns are relatively simple in function but require a great deal of preparation to use. When blown, they rip open an Avernian Gate where the sounder stands, the Iris always leading to a specific Underworld realm tied to that particular horn. Owners who do not perform their due diligence may see a scant handful ghostly marauders arrive on the scene, but those who prepare can call up legions of the dead. The fact that these allies will not be affected by Dissonance usually makes up for the fact that the hornsounder will need to have negotiated their services beforehand.

[Cauthon]

Legacy seed - "wand" using, potion-brewing witch.

I'm thinking Prime/Matter, and primarily want to make use of Word of Command, "Create Tass", and Spell Potion. The Disciple-level practitioners would basically end up being potion-sellers, with their exact repertoire depending on their other Arcana. Life would likely end up being very popular.

On the other hand, it feels a lot like I'm just remaking the Eyes of Ein Sof.

Initiate

• Word of Command (Instant Casting)
  • Use "wands"
• Detect Substance (Instant Casting, factors to Scale)

Apprentice

• Supernal Vision (Advanced Duration, Instant Casting)? Scribe Grimoire (Instant Casting, Lasting)?
  • SV is basic, but reliable.
  • SG is... boring, and kinda pointless. Maybe make it be able to "copy" existing Grimoires? That way they can peddle cantrips even if they don't know them.
• Craftsman's Eye (Instant Casting, "How to Use", Permanence)
  • Limited to potential ingredients or tools for crafting potions, food, candles, or other consumables.

Disciple

• "Create Tass" (Advanced Duration)
  • Based on Mana Battery. Spend an hour creating a consumable, which grants Mana when consumed. Atypical - costs no Mana to activate, but stored Mana is drawn from the Legacy member's own pool upon creation.
• Spell Potion (Advanced Duration)
  • Same as the above, and can be activated simultaneously. Stored spells don't take up Spell Control, as long as the Legacy member is the one infusing them.

Adept

• Dispel Magic (Instant, Sight, Lasting)? Wards and Signs (Instant, Duration, Potency to Primary)?
  • Boring, if reliable options.
• ???

Master

• ???
• Golem? (Instant Casting, Advanced Duration) Only works on Spell Potions created with the Disciple Attainment?

[TempleBuilder]

Is this a Moros legacy? You could try and pull inspiration from SoS Stygian section on Prime, I find it very evocative. I see could see the legacy being very different than the Eyes by focusing on Tass as a catalyst.

As for the various attainments, Detect Substance could be good for the first for getting rare materials for potions. As for the second, Craftsman's eye with the reach for how to use the object is the way to go, lets one know how to use any artifact or substance they come across. Very useful for a magic item focused legacy. I should note that you can make "potions" from certain materials like drugs to produce various effects on the body, by enhancing various properties. Bet that gets weird when that's Tass with unusual properties.

I'm not sure about the Pseudo-Demesne, I've always felt that's more for legacies that tie themselves to a specific location. Something like putting themselves into the land. Now making a pseudo soul stone feels more in line with the Magical item maker feel, which can then be leveraged into a Demesne if you want, or a super golem.

[Cauthon]

Is this a Moros legacy?

Hadn't decided yet, but the alchemical bent of them -and Matter being the Optional Arcana- would make them the best choice.

As for the various attainments, Detect Substance could be good for the first for getting rare materials for potions.

Aye. I was hoping for a direct tie to the Prime side, but that's probably the best choice.

As for the second, Craftsman's eye with the reach for how to use the object is the way to go, lets one know how to use any artifact or substance they come across. Very useful for a magic item focused legacy. I should note that you can make "potions" from certain materials like drugs to produce various effects on the body, by enhancing various properties. Bet that gets weird when that's Tass with unusual properties.

Probably have it be a rider on the Supernal Vision then. A pity, I kinda wanted to make Scribe Grimoire an Attainment for the heck of it.

I'm not sure about the Pseudo-Demesne, I've always felt that's more for legacies that tie themselves to a specific location. Something like putting themselves into the land. Now making a pseudo soul stone feels more in line with the Magical item maker feel, which can then be leveraged into a Demesne if you want, or a super golem.

Guess I was leaning into the witch-y stereotypes, where you don't challenge Baba Yaga in her cabin. Maybe not then. The Matter capstone being the ability to Golemize any spell poition might be fun - health potions that force themselves down your throat if you've passed out, that kind of thing.

[TempleBuilder]

Probably have it be a rider on the Supernal Vision then. A pity, I kinda wanted to make Scribe Grimoire an Attainment for the heck of it.

I think you still can. Craftsman’s Eye should reveal enough Supernal Properties, especially with a Prime Component to get by.

Guess I was leaning into the witch-y stereotypes, where you don't challenge Baba Yaga in her cabin. Maybe not then. The Matter capstone being the ability to Golemize any spell poition might be fun - health potions that force themselves down your throat if you've passed out, that kind of thing.

Oh, you meant that kind of witch. Oh, Golem is perfect then, just go with dolls, creepy effigies, and wax skulls rather than stone or metal.

[KaiserAfini]

What about Shaping, being able to hide your potions anywhere, repairing your cabin or sinking an unruly visitor into the floor seems fitting.

[Cauthon]

So, two Cults I cobbled together for the heck of it. Not sold on the rank-naming scheme for either if anyone has any suggestions. Or general suggestions/criticism, I'm not picky.

For the Web of Civilization, I toyed a bit with giving them the Fixer merit instead of Eidetic Memory, but I generally don't want to give merits that participants aren't guaranteed to qualify for. Having the first tier of Mystery Cult give a dot of Professional Training would give them the Contacts dots necessary, but you generally shouldn't combine MC and PT as far as I'm aware. Likewise, the Citywalker Merit from Core might be interesting, but it's mortal-only. Plus I like the idea that Citywalking crops up as an unintended effect of them disrupting their own patterns.

The Web of Civilization Mystery Cult (Independent, Formerly God-Machine)

Civilization spreads across the land, single points in the wilderness that expand outwards. Slowly at first, cutting a new trail between two settlements to facilitate trade. Then faster and faster, exponentially increasing with every new point on the web. Eventually civilization covers the land, sustained by trade networks and the infrastructure to support them.

That growth has given rise to The Web of Civilization, a Mystery Cult of merchants and logisticians who tend to the great arteries and networks through which the lifeblood of civilization flows. Where the Cult's influence is strongest, those pathways form strange symbols and tangled runes. Profit is never the goal - the perpetuation of civilization is.

Low-ranking members are often members of vital -if simple and often under-appreciated- professions such as truck drivers, warehouse workers, or longshoremen, but higher ranks are not limited to CEOs and the wealthy. Cult activities mostly revolve around keeping trade open and flowing - war profiteers are ironically one of the few areas the Web encourages violent action against. War may be good for buisness, but it's awfully hard on infrastructure.

The Web of Civilization has existed in several forms across the ages, often as several concurrent but unaffiliated cults in different parts of the world. The earliest verifiable records of the Cult date back to Venice in the early 740s, though hearsay has them cropping up as early as Harappa. The Web's most cohesive and continuous cell originated in the early days of the Iroquois Confederacy, Peacemaker's legacy focusing on trade as cooperation more than profit. It has spread across the North American continent since that time, jumping cultures as needed but remaining a singular organization. The branches of Asia have often been larger or more influential, but have merged and fractured with alarming regularity.

During the British Raj, a majority of the Cult's branches were verifiably Stigmatic pawns of the God-Machine. Under the GM's influence the Cult's more esoteric practices began to standardize, with their incidental geoglyphs drifting towards a convergent pattern. Even after the GM inexplicably withdrew its influence during the Cold War era, the Cult has continued to make heavy use of the memory-enhancing ritual that it mandated all Junctions undergo.

● Filiment - Gain the Specialty Academics (Logistics)
●● Intersection - Gain the Area of Expertise (Logistics) Merit, or the Good Time Management Merit
●●● Junction - Gain the Eidetic Memory Merit, the Web's more esoteric training regimens allowing the initiate to recall reams of manifests at the drop of a hat.
●●●● Anchor - Gain three dots of Status to allocate towards organizations that make significant use of logisticians - a nation's military or mail service, Amazon, UPS, etc
●●●●● Network - Gain three dots of Resources, representing strategic supply-chain investments and/or lucrative contracts

Secrets and Storyhooks

• The ritual to promote a new Junction is one of the few overtly supernatural aspects of the Web of Civilization - the candidate is sedated using a special cocktail of nootropics and sedative extracts, and placed in a room laden with maps, trade data, and manifest records. Other members of the cult form a circle around the subject, and begin a deep, wordless chant. The one Mage who has studied the process reported that the room was spontaneously flooded with Astral Resonance, and that something temporarily entered the subject's Onieros from the deep Tenemos. While the entity quickly departed, the new Junction's Onieros showed subtle structural changes that appeared to correlate to their now-eidetic memory.
• The Web's geoglyphs are difficult to pick out amidst the general tangle of urbanization, but there are distinct "dialects" in every region of the world. When those dialects transition on a gradient, things run smoothly. When dialects from halfway across the world mingle, however, strange glitches such as city-walking begin to crop up. A potentially useful tool... if not for the increase in encounters with the Crossways Abyssal Entity.

The Custodians of Progress AKA "Free Technologies, LLC"
Mystery Cult (Pantechnion, Web of Pain)

The Custodians are Pantechnion pawns through and through, dedicated to commoditization of invention and innovation. Through their front as Free Technologies, the Cult advocates for looser copyright and patent restrictions, while also offering technological consultation to stalled R&D projects. Though the former often makes companies leery of working with the LLC, their track record with having the exact bit of data needed to make a project viable often drives individual researchers to their doors. Especially when their initial fees are so low!

Of course, once Free Technologies has helped you perform a miracle, it's so easy to keep going back. And if they occasionally ask for project data, in lieu of their steadily increasing consulting fees? Well, it's not like they can intergrate proprietary tech without getting hauled into court, right?

The Custodians maintain an extensive archive of R&D projects and data from across the globe, and seek to expand that archive to encompass as much of human innovation as possible. To that end, they seed or seduce agents in various corporations and universities, infiltrating labs via research assistants and boardrooms via the secretary pool. The actual scientists within the cult reap great rewards off the work of their peers, creating more advanced technological leaps through the amalgamation of disparate projects.

Though popular with the civilian population who have heard of them, Free Technologies generally stays out of the headlines. Their activities are often contested by TELM Trust, who represent one of the few organizations that the Custodians are actively rivals with.

Though the Cult perpetuates an internal image of being visionaries building a physical Akashic Record, their origin is far less glamorous than the rank and file know. When a Pantechion Prelate known now as Cycle attained Archmastery in the late 1990s, her aponia resulted in a child she didn't remember having. Uninterested in the child as anything beyond a Mystery to study, she set up the Custodians as a kind of guardianship for her newfound offspring. Sold to the rest of the Ministry as a tool for commoditization of intellectual progress, the Custodians and their charge are largely ignored unless a Seer needs to aquire intel on a corporation's R&D department. Some vast spell Cycle worked into the cult's charter keeps the company below notice, although unfortunately for individual agent this only applies at the organizational level.

The Tetrarch conveys her will to the cult through the mouth of her child, and has made it abundantly clear to the Cynosures that their continued prosperity and direction lasts only as long as their oracle lives. Free Technologies' board of directors have invested a great deal of resources towards that end, up to and including the creation of several Deviants to act as bodyguards and handlers.

● Vibration - Gain the Specialty Science (Theory Appraisal)
●● Cascade - Gain a dot in Contacts (R&D), representing the Cult's network of scientists and developers who've benefited -often "fortuitously"- from consultations with Free Technologies
●●● Tulpa - Gain the Eidetic Memory Merit, to better facilitate extracting sensitive data
●●●● Akashic - Gain three dots of the Library (Science) Merit, representing access to the Cult's accumulated store of data and research
●●●●● Cynosure - Gain three dots of Resources, representing income from various patents and discoveries.

Secrets and Storyhooks

• The process a Tulpa undergoes to gain their Eidetic Memory was the product of research culled from several Conspiracies within the Web of Pain. Of course, the research that eventually Perfected the process lead to a staggering amount of Deviants, mostly of the Cephalist Clade.
• Given that a great deal of their research draws from the Web of Pain, it's not surprising that Free Technologies is responsible -directly or indirectly- for Renegade cohorts. Some are even intentionally aided or released into the wild, for both study and the opportunity their sabotage on other Conspiracies can bring. Invasives and Chimerics see the highest rates of utilization, but Coactives infused with Supernal or Abyssal energies are unusually common within the cult's own labs
• The Cult's oracle shows up at the local TELM office, newly Awakened and asking for sanctuary and training. Apparently there's been infighting on the Ministerial level, and Cycle engaged in a mutual kill with a Paternoster Tetrarch directly in front of the now slightly traumatized cult idol. The stress -and sheer Supernal saturation of the fight- seems to have drawn the attention of one of the Watchtowers. With Cycle gone, the Cult has no direct Seer influence, and her oracle is surprisingly reticent to go to the Ministries. Control -albeit indirect- of the Custodians is being offered, but how far can the offer be trusted?

[Cauthon]

What's a good 5-dot benefit for a Mystery Cult of Fae ecologists? I'm thinking a bunch of Mages decided that understanding Arcadia is the key to Ascension, and started an Occult research group. Mages typically get fast-tracked to the 3rd tier, with Sleepers/Sleepwalkers doing a lot of the grunt work.

The things I've considered so far are:

• Library 3 (Occult) - kinda boring
• Faction Member 3 (Invisible Path) - makes a certain amount of sense, but a little odd
• Retainer 3 or Allies 3 - have it be Hobs or Changelings? Kinda boring
• Grimoire 3 - Stack it with Mind and/or Fate spells. Boring, but very practical
• Astral Adept - something something entering the Hedge is like entering the Astral something something
• Spend a point of Mana to open existing Hedgegates without needing to cast a spell - not aweful. Means you don't need to be a Fate Mage to make your own way into the Hedge. On the other hand, not having Fate in the Hedge is a bit of a bad idea.

Faecologists Mystery Cult (Pentacle)
● Gain the Specialty Occult (Changelings)
●● Gain the Interdisciplinary Specialty (Changelings) Merit
●●● Gain the Perfected Item merit, representing a Siderite-Hermium-Lunargent amalgam amulet given to trusted initiates. As long as the item is worn against the skin, the initiate also gains the benefit of the Unseen Sense (Fairies) Merit. The amulet begins to vibrate when in the presence of something with a Wyrd rating or a Mask, though this becomes useless when in the Hedge.
●●●● Gain three dots of the Occultation Merit, the Mage having learned to insulate themselves metaphysically from both the Wise and the Wyrd. Only Mages may reach this level.
●●●●● ???

[orathaic]

What is normal? Could you grant them Hollow merit (essentially like Sanctum but within the Hedge).

A three dot merit, or access to a collective Hollow which multiple members use in a given area?

[Cauthon]

What is normal? Could you grant them Hollow merit (essentially like Sanctum but within the Hedge).

A three dot merit, or access to a collective Hollow which multiple members use in a given area?

Not a bad suggestion. Not quite feeling it tho.

Eh. I'll go with this for now.
●●●●● Gain three dots of the Grimoire merit. At least half of the encoded Rotes must be of the Mind and Fate Arcana, typically related to Changeling and The Hedge.