Book of Bone and Ebony

EXALTED • BOOK OF BONE AND EBONY
of a fast horse and can deform its shape sufficiently to enter
under a door or through a partly open window or anywhere
else that flies can travel. It can also speak with a droning
voice composed of the buzzing of its members.
This manifestation is extremely weak. The mass of
flies is treated as having the normal Strength, Dexterity,
Stamina and Dodge of the character, but if a single blow
connects with the swarm, the flies will be scattered and the
ring’s effect broken. Sorcery, fire or Charms connecting
with the swarm will also break it asunder. Normal winds
are insufficient to scatter the blowflies, but gale-force
winds will do so, unless the swarm can find cover first.
When the ring’s effect is broken, the wearer is forced to
return to his natural state as a ghost. If currently in a
shadowland, he is safe enough, but if in a living part of
Creation, he is cast into the corresponding part of the
Underworld and cannot use the ring again until the next
dark of the moon.
Artifact Traits:
Power ••, Usefulness •••, Game Impact ••, Script
Immunity •••;
Drawback •• (Component •, Notoriety •)
SACRIFICIAL GEM (ARTIFACT ••)
Sometimes, the dead wish to intervene to aid the
living, especially when they see their living kin or lovers
suffering from the resentments of little gods. One of these
gems will allow a ghost to bear some form of minor curse or
spell that has been directed at a living person whom he
wishes to protect. The effect cannot be more than a single
dice roll’s worth of penalty in a particular area or the
persistent loss of a single Attribute point. The ghost who
is using the Gem suffers all the effects of the penalty that
would otherwise be inflicted on its natural victim. This
ceases if the ghost chooses to restore the curse to its natural
owner (though he cannot then sacrifice himself a second
time) or if the curse or magical effect is somehow lifted
from the original victim, such as by the little god forgiving
her for her offense.
Sacrificial gems are faceted gems the length of a
woman’s finger, clear when not in effect and obsidian-dark
when working. They are usually set in some form of
jewelry, such as a bracelet or necklace or belt buckle. To
take effect, they require an arcane link to the person
currently suffering from the magical effect in question, an
emotional or familial link of some sort between the ghost
and the victim — a ghost cannot sacrifice herself for a
target for whom she knows or feels nothing — and full
knowledge of the curse that is currently affecting the
target. If the curse is too serious for the gem to transfer,
then nothing happens.
Artifact Traits:
Power ••, Usefulness ••, Game Impact •••, Script
Immunity •••;
Drawback •• (Component •, Notoriety •)
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SHADOW GLOVES (ARTIFACT ••)
These gloves are of thin black leather, strangely warm
to the touch. When donned, their wearer can use them to
shape shadow itself into a solid form. While what the
gloves produce will only last for a short time, it may remain
whole for long enough to be of crucial value in a crisis. The
elegance of the object produced depends on the wearer’s
abilities, but crudely functional items are easy to shape —
assuming that there’s shadow in the vicinity.
If the wearer wishes to use the gloves, he must be
wearing them, and he must spend 3 motes of Essence for
any object that he wishes to create. He then reaches into
the most convenient area of shadow and pulls out a length
of darkness as though it were clay. His skill in producing
the desired result depends on the number of successes his
player garners on a Perception + Craft roll against a
difficulty of 5, but the character cannot benefit from more
successes than he has points of permanent Essence. The
number of successes required for whatever the user wishes
to create is up to the Storyteller. A single success creates a
rough bar of iron, a shapeless mass of dark cotton or a plain
clay urn. Three successes create a well-balanced weapon,
a helm or cuirass of dark iron or a necklace of onyx gems.
Five or more successes could create perfectly crafted steel
weapons, armor that kings among the living would beg to
wear or a statue so beautiful that scholars would marvel at
the artist’s skill. Items of up to the user’s size may be created
of any material (except the Five Magical Materials), so
long as they are black. All items vanish after 24 hours,
whatever is done to preserve them.
Artifact Traits:
Power ••, Usefulness ••••, Game Impact ••, Script
Immunity •••;
Drawback •• (Component •, Notoriety •)
SHADOW PEACOCK EARRING (ARTIFACT ••)
When a ghost wants to influence others, he frequently
wishes to do so without obviously using any artifacts or
employing Arcanoi to change their way of thinking. One
of these earrings — an inch-wide black opal disc, in a pale
silver setting — can be worn and used inconspicuously, but
has impressive effects on a victim.
When the wearer chooses to spend 2 motes of Essence,
the earring begins to sparkle darkly and hypnotically, with
shadows like eyes flickering inside the gem. It imperceptibly
draws the attention of the person to whom the wearer is
speaking and lulls him into a vague and suggestible state,
making whatever the wearer says sound very reasonable.
Plausible suggestions, such as, “We’re private emissaries
here to see the Deathlord,” will be accepted, as will statements
such as, “We’re not the fugitives. They must have
gone that way.” The victim’s player should make a Willpower
roll against a difficulty of 5 each turn, gaining a +1 for
each turn of exposure to the effect. If the player gains 10