Sunken Secrets


The Keepers have a few tricks up their sleeves, as one might expect from ladies and gentlemen in their profession. These secrets are not to be revealed to outsiders, on pain of being "shipped out": snugly fitted with a soulforged body brace and sunk to the bottom of the nearest large body of water, chained even more snugly in a soulsteel cage. Anyone who's given to this punishment will have their fetters well-looked after by the group just to make sure that traitor doesn't escape via a Harrowing. Should one happen, they'll find him once more and imprison him once again: "loose lips sink ships."

 

Arcanoi

Level 3 Argos Alternate Art - Storm Armor:

This Alternate Art is a spin-off from one of the old tricks of the Harbingers: using the Shadows one would gather around the self to Enshroud and thickening them into protective garb instead. The second level of this understanding once created "storm robes" that could help withstand a Maelstrom's gale winds. This version creates all-encompassing armor.

SYSTEM: The player spends two points of Pathos and rolls Stamina + Argos. Each success grants a scene of being clad in what appears to be a seamless, smoky layer of shadow. The Shadow Armor provides one dice of protection against bashing or lethal damage, and confers no penalties to Dexterity-based rolls. If the armor is struck by bashing damage that does more than one level, it will stay together, but if it is overcome by lethal or aggravated damage it will dissolve at the end of that part of the turn.

 

Level 2 Keening Alternate Art - Depth Sounder:

This useful variant of Keening allows a Chanteur to fine-tune her voice and ear in such a way as to create a sonar-like effect. This can be used to determine how deep a body of water is, or how close an underwater or unseen opponent is. This helps to negate the effects of Argos 1: Enshroud, as a matter of fact.

SYSTEM: The chanteur's player spends a point of Pathos to create the sound burst, which travels at the speed of sound in air, and just a little faster under the water. No roll must be made to create the burst, but the Wraith must make a Perception + Alertness roll to correctly interpret what the returning "pings" are saying.

The difficulty for sounding a body of water is 10 minus the Wraith's Intelligence + Oceanography. The difficulty for sensing unseen opponents is the opponent's Dexterity + Stealth if he's trying to sneak, and straight Dexterity if he's not. Each success on the Chanteur's roll takes away one success from any Stealth attempt, and if the Chanteur scores more successes then he can "see" the other wraith as though he weren't hidden at all.

 

Relics & Artifacts

Harpoon: Common Weapon:

An over-sized, metal spear with a barbed point, there were usually used to hunt whales in the last century before the invention of ship-mounted harpoon guns. They can be thrown or used as melee weapons, and do lethal damage. The Keepers consider these things to be prized weapons of status, and they cost 3 points as a Relic or Artifact. To use it in melee requires both hands.

Melee: Diff: 6. Dam: STR + 3. Concealment: No. Minimum STR: 2. Background Cost: 3.

Thrown: Diff: Distance to target divided by thrower's strength. Dam: STR + 2. Minimum STR: 2. Range: 10 yards.

 

Speargun: Rare Relic:

A long, fluted gun that uses an air charge to fire a long, arrow-like projectile. They can be used equally well in water or in air, but their principal use is beneath the water since they don't require a dry projectile to fire. Not many wind up in the Shadowlands, and even fewer spears appear: The background cost is 3, and each spear is 1 point.

Diff: 6. Dam: 4 (lethal) Range: 30 in water, 50 in air. Rate: 1 every 3 rounds (one to fire, two to reload). Clip 1. Conceal: Trenchcoat. Pathos 1. Background Cost: 3.

 

Selene's Trident: Rare Group-Exclusive Artifact:

The Keepers' ancient symbology revolves around the Moon and the Trident, so it's only fitting that the two should somehow be combined. The Artifact appears to be a soulsteel trident of average size and weight, inscribed with a repeating pattern of crescent Moons. The metal has a strange, translucent quality to it, and glows from within when used in combat whether it's
principal ability is utilized or not. The tridents are extremely rare, mostly because no Artificer knows exactly how they were made; this is yet another secret The Keepers have to themselves.

The tridents are imbued with the level 2 Pandemonium art Befuddlement. To use it, the user spends a point of Pathos for the first target and two Pathos for each additional target, and then rolls her straight Intelligence against a difficulty of the targets' Willpower. All targets must be within her line of sight. Any target overcome by the power of the trident is Befuddled as per the normal rules, and may make the Intelligence roll at Difficulty 8 to overcome the results for a turn.

The Captain of each Locker is given the one for that group when she ascends to the position, and will keep it until she no longer commands. She's not always expected to keep it on her person due to its' size, but few Captains are willing to be far from it, as it is a weapon that is rightly feared in combat and a prize unto itself.

Diff: 6 (2 handed). Dam: STR + 3 (lethal). Conceal: No. Minimum STR: 2. Background Cost: 4.


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