I need some help with some artifacts I am planning to use in my campaign. To my players, please stop reading now.
OK, the first plot device artifact is nothing more than a way of explaining the extended absence of one of the players (he is away for six to twelve months). Basically, what I want to do is a device that turns a manse and its immediate environs in a sort of time capsule - a spherical area is surrounded by an inpenetrable barrier and taken out of the normal time stream. Time within the sphere actually flows faster than on the outside. Eventually, when the player returns, his character will free himself from it - he is a Twilight Solar with a fully stacked library who is too clever for his own good.
Basically, a Wyld Hunt group will use the artifact to imprison him within the manse and its surrounding areas (the fact that he has the Insidious Ebon Xoanon with him is probably part of the reason why they are willing to use such extreme measures).
But since the other PCs will probably want to research this, I need some background information on this artifact - its history, drawbacks for using it, and other possible powers, as well as the reason why the Wyld Hunt got it.
The second artifact I want to introduce is one that allows the user to manipulate portals and gates. Its intended function in the campaign is to allow the PCs to reopen a gate between Creation and modern-day Earth (the portal is actually part of a Primordial of Gates and Portals who managed to flee during the Primordial War. The PCs know that it exists because three of them are originally from Earth and got to Creation through it.) But I also want to come up with an interesting history and secondary powers. Ideally, I'd like it to be an Autochtonian artifact so that I can use it as an excuse for the gate to Yugash to open later during the campaign...
For the first, the easiest drawback would be to have the barrier not just accelerate time but violently remove the area inside from Fate. This effect could even spread to the nearby area, resulting in all manner of chaos. Perhaps it was originally created by a few Sidereals with an eye towards hiding away some Solars for later, but after they saw the long term devestation the device wrought they abandoned the project.
The second artifact I want to introduce is one that allows the user to manipulate portals and gates. Its intended function in the campaign is to allow the PCs to reopen a gate between Creation and modern-day Earth (the portal is actually part of a Primordial of Gates and Portals who managed to flee during the Primordial War. The PCs know that it exists because three of them are originally from Earth and got to Creation through it.) But I also want to come up with an interesting history and secondary powers. Ideally, I'd like it to be an Autochtonian artifact so that I can use it as an excuse for the gate to Yugash to open later during the campaign...
Any ideas?
The artifact is actually a scroll, containing the surrender terms of the Primordials to the Exalted. It was drafted by your group's Eclipse's past life, and is written in a unique language invented precisely for the purpose of negotiating the surrender of the Primordials. Every level of this language -- syllabic, grammatical, conceptual -- resonates on a fundamental level with the deepest and most profound nature of the Primordials. It is simply psychologically impossible for a Primordial to ignore anything said in this language, and when they speak they are utterly unable to lie or deceive. Furthermore, when something is said in this language, every Primordial knows it.
When the PCs use this language to command your Lord of Gates to open the way to Earth, all the Primordials will know it. In particular, Autocthon will shudder in his sleep, and the Alchemical Exalted will a) realize that there is something that can wake him from his coma, and b) they will invade Creation to get it. (Of course, some of the Alchemicals will have the additional bright idea of using the scroll to take over Autochthon completely -- Clarity does not preclude cynical self-interest.)
OK, the first plot device artifact is nothing more than a way of explaining the extended absence of one of the players (he is away for six to twelve months). Basically, what I want to do is a device that turns a manse and its immediate environs in a sort of time capsule - a spherical area is surrounded by an inpenetrable barrier and taken out of the normal time stream. Time within the sphere actually flows faster than on the outside. Eventually, when the player returns, his character will free himself from it - he is a Twilight Solar with a fully stacked library who is too clever for his own good.
There is a Solar Circle Spell which does exactly this (talkes an entire city and places it Elsewhere). A Spell Binding Cord is an artifact that captures a cast spell and allows it to be released later. Have a Sidereal Exalt show up with one of the few Spell Binding Cords that have a Solar Circle spell still caught in it and unleash it on the PC. Then, all he has to do is learn Adamant Countermagic to free himself (since time passes slower in the sealed realm then outside of it this allows you to have the campaign world advance however man years you want).
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The second artifact I want to introduce is one that allows the user to manipulate portals and gates. Its intended function in the campaign is to allow the PCs to reopen a gate between Creation and modern-day Earth (the portal is actually part of a Primordial of Gates and Portals who managed to flee during the Primordial War. The PCs know that it exists because three of them are originally from Earth and got to Creation through it.) But I also want to come up with an interesting history and secondary powers. Ideally, I'd like it to be an Autochtonian artifact so that I can use it as an excuse for the gate to Yugash to open later during the campaign...
There is said to be a key that, when inserted into any lock opens the door to Malfeas. But that was no the original intention of this key. Originally it was created by the Primordials as a key to the underreality, the place where Essence flows less freely. They each invested a part of their power into this key, so that none of them may use it freely without the permission of the others. But when the Primordials started dying during the Wars the nature of this key changed. The Primordial Who Fled seized on it, using his mastery of portals to unlock the power for a breif instant and allowing him to fleee to the Underreality.
In their spite at their siblings escape the surviving Primordials captured the key and changed its nature. Now it will force the user to Malfeas. The purpose of the key now is to capture The One Who Fled and force him into bondage like his siblings (for the Yozi are jealous and bitter in their impriosnment and can not stand their brother to be free). If one were to negotiate with the Ebon Dragon, he might be willing to allow one to us ethe key for free passage back to the Underreality... so long as the explorer agrees to help bring The One WHo Fled back...
But since the other PCs will probably want to research this, I need some background information on this artifact - its history, drawbacks for using it, and other possible powers, as well as the reason why the Wyld Hunt got it.
This could easily be one of the original devices that was being considered to use against the Solars back in the first age. After all, why spend the effort and manpower to *destroy* the entire deliberative when you can just get all the Solars together for a big meeting, and then trap them wholesale out of time and space (and fate presumably).
The only problem is that no one could ever get the range of the device to encompass a large enough area to perform that task, so they set it aside and went with Plan B: murder all the Solars.
Since then, the device pretty much fell out of the histories... as its fate-reducing power makes it difficult to track, even for the Sidereals. But, after it was found by a Scavenger lord some years ago, it eventually made its way to Savant down in Gem, who in turn sold it to a collector of curios curios and twinkling trickets... and it made its way back to the Blessed Isle, and eventually to the desk of one of the various Immaculate Sidereals.
Uses: if completely understood, anyone using it could potentially lock themselves inside of it and reduce their training times by several orders of magnitude, as long as they had resources for surviving
Drawbacks: when it's activated, no one outside can remember precisely what happened to the person using it, for good or for ill. this is why it was lost in the first place... when the sidereals studying it determined that its area effect was too small, they went to make a report and then forgot where they put it.
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Samuel L. Jackson is the Mastery of Small Manners charm: "Use the Shrimp fork, motherfucker!
Egg of Education:
There was once a Twilight cast who had sworn to educate another exalt who was... not a good student. After a few temper tantrums, the Twilight decided that he was going to educate this exalt, no matter what.
So he built this egg, looks like a hearthstone, but has a completely different purpose. It goes into the Manse, in the slot where the hearthstone normally forms. He gave it to his student, and told him to put it into his manse, telling him some lie about what it was going to do.
What it actually does is trap the student inside the Manse, via the barrier, along with enough nearby land for the student to be able to survive (enough food resources for 1 person with some survival.)
Time inside the bubble is sped up, so the student has the most time to study, and isn’t wasting the normal amount of time. Primarily so the teacher would live long enough to see the results.
The Egg summons a number of spirits into the Manse to help teach the student as needed.
The only way to remove the Egg from the manse, and get out of the time bubble, is to go to Egg, which basically gives the student an oral exam. The questions are different each time. The student should have: Lore 5, Occult 5, Medicine 3, and requires mastery of both terrestrial and celestial level sorcery.
The benefits of this education can only be used by the person to whom the manse is attuned. Only works on a manse with a single hearthstone. The only way the bubble will open early is if the student dies.
The Wyld Hunt believe it to be a death trap, that’s ledged promised education, but only brings death. As every Dragon blood that has ever used it, has died (because they can’t learn Celestial Sorcery, and hence can’t pass the test). Hence they are willing to use it to trap a dangerous Anathema.
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