Greater Wonders

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Hearthstones

Breaking Hearthstones

Hearthstones are very durable items formed from pure magic. They're far too hard to break in the heat of combat, even with a weapon forged from one of the five magical materials. The easiest way to destroy a hearthstone is to damage the manse whence it springs. Failing that, a character with Occult 3 and Craft (Air) 3 can, with several days of study, find a natural seam down which a chisel made from one of the five magical materials will split the gem, rendering it into chunks of raw gray stone.

A player must make a difficulty 1 (Perception + Craft [Air]) roll for his character to do this. A single success destroys the stone, but a botch indicates that the stone was split along the wrong plane of fracture, releasing wild magical effects similar to the results of high-circle countermagic spells. Two characters—a sorcerer and a jeweler—can work together to split a stone, combining their skills, but the difficulty of the (Perception + Craft [Air]) roll increases to 2.

Hearthstones are the talismans of the Exalted. Where mortal men gather mementos of magic, the Exalted harvest its very fruits. From the heart of a manse grows a crystal of pure magic, usually about the size of a large chicken egg. Such crystals are of unearthly beauty, growing naturally in beautiful cuts. Yet, it is not for their luster that the Chosen prize them.

Many items made of the five magical materials have sockets in them to permit the mounting of these crystals. When an Exalt is attuned to a manse, places that manse's hearthstone into an item made with one of the five magical materials and then invests Essence in the item to attune it to himself, the hearthstone resonates as well. Such a resonant hearthstone has a beneficial effect on the Exalt who carries it. This effect is determined by the architecture of the manse that produced the stone and the nature of the demesne that forms the manse's foundation. Some provide minor bonuses, while more powerful hearthstones grant great magical powers.

Hearthstones of Air

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Hearthstones of Fire

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Hearthstones of Water

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Hearthstones of the Celestials

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Powerbows

Beautifully ornate weapons, powerbows are to bows what daiklaves are to swords. These weapons are made from a laminate of horn, rare woods and the five magical materials. Crafted by the Exalted for their own hands, these baroque and ornate bows far overmatch any merely mortal weapon. Like daiklaves, powerbows must be invested with Essence to function—otherwise their mighty limbs are too stiff for even the mightiest of the Chosen to bend. Unlike normal bows, powerbows do not have a maximum Strength. They are linked with the Essence of the firing character, and their construction is such that they yield to those who are weak and stiffen when their wielder is mighty. Instead, they add to the user's Strength for the purposes of determining damage.

Short Powerbow

Short powerbows require the to commit four motes of Essence. They have a setting for a single hearthstone.

Speed	Accuracy	Damage	Rate	Range	Minimums	Attune	Cost	Tags
6	+2	+2L/2	2	250	—	••	Artifact ••••	2, O, B

Long Powerbow

Short powerbows require the to commit four motes of Essence. They have a setting for a single hearthstone.

Speed	Accuracy	Damage	Rate	Range	Minimums	Attune	Cost	Tags
6	+1	+3L/2	3	350	—	•••	Artifact ••••••	2, O, B

Artifact Armor

See also Artifact Armor and the Five Magical Materials.

Breastplate (Artifact •)

Soak	Hardness	Mobility	Fatigue	Cost	Attune	Tags
+6L/4B	2L/2B	-0	0	•	2	May be concealed under heavy jacket or cloak.

Chain Shirt (Artifact •)

Soak	Hardness	Mobility	Fatigue	Cost	Attune	Tags
+5L/3B	2L/2B	-0	0	•	2	May be concealed under normal clothes.

Lamellar (Artifact ••)

Soak	Hardness	Mobility	Fatigue	Cost	Attune	Tags
+8L/9B	5L/5B	-1	0	••	3	May be concealed under heavy jacket or cloak.

Reinforced Buff Jacket (Artifact ••)

Soak	Hardness	Mobility	Fatigue	Cost	Attune	Tags
+7L/10B	5L/5B	-1	0	••	3	—

Reinforced Breastplate (Artifact ••)

Soak	Hardness	Mobility	Fatigue	Cost	Attune	Tags
+10L/9B	8L/8B	-1	1	••	4	—

Articulated Plate (Artifact •••)

Soak	Hardness	Mobility	Fatigue	Cost	Attune	Tags
+12L/14B	8L/8B	-2	1	•••	6	—

Superheavy Plate (Artifact •••)

Soak	Hardness	Mobility	Fatigue	Cost	Attune	Tags
+15L/15B	10L/10B	-2	2	•••	8	—

The Five Magical Materials

Melee Use of the Five Magical Materials

Artifact melee weapons (and those hand-to-hand weapons designed for use with the Martial Arts Ability) are usually forged from an alloy of steel and one of the five magical materials. When attuned by an Exalt of the correct type, such weapons are even more efficient and deadly.

Orichalcum: Orichalcum hand-to-hand weapons excel at no one thing but are of superlative speed and accuracy in the hands of their Solar masters. They add +2 to Accuracy, +1 Defense and +1 Rate when wielded by Solar Exalted.

Moonsilver: Moonsilver melee weapons, like their wielders, can change shape. Though they are far from protean, they strike with a fluid grace and penetrate guards with unnatural ease. They are at +2 Accuracy and +2 defense in the hands of Lunar Exalted.

Jade: The jade-alloy weapons of the Dragon-Blooded bind the wielder to the elements from which her powers spring. A Dragon-Blooded character wielding a jade hand-to-hand weapon strikes with the speed and might of a thunderbolt, avalanche or waterfall. Jade melee weapons gain a -1 Speed bonus and +1 Damage.

Starmetal: Starmetal hand-to-hand weapons are weapons of fate, destined to strike the most lethal blows. Though Sidereal Exalts are not the most warlike of the Exalted, their baleful weapons are among the most feared. Starmetal weapons add +1 Accuracy and +3 Damage in the hands of a Sidereal.

Soulsteel: Soulsteel melee weapons are forged from human souls alloyed with frigid black stone from the caverns beneath the Underworld. When a soulsteel weapon strikes a target, it drains her warmth to fill the endless cold that exists within itself. In the hands of an Abyssal Exalt, a soulsteel melee weapon is +2 Accuracy and drains a number of motes of Essence equal to the wielder's permanent Essence whenever it strikes a target and inflicts at least one health level of damage. Soulsteel weapons cannot drain more motes on an attack than the total levels of damage dealt in Step 10.

Ranged Use of the Five Magical Materials

Artifact powerbows and thrown weapons are designed to contain one of the five magical materials, whether as layered inlays or for the entire construction. When attuned by an Exalted of the correct type, such weapons are even more efficient and deadly.

Orichalcum: Orichalcum ranged weapons excel at no one thing, but are excellent all-around weapons. When in the hands of the Solar Exalted, these weapons are +1 to Accuracy, +1 to Damage and +50 yards to their Range value for bows (10 yards for thrown weapons).
Moonsilver: Moonsilver ranged weapons are fluid things, reshaping themselves as they are drawn or cast in order to more effectively launch toward their target. In the hands of the Lunar Exalted, such weapons are +1 to Accuracy and add 100 yards to their Range value for bows (20 yards for thrown weapons).
Jade: Jade powerbows and thrown weapons allow their wielders to fire with the fluid grace of falling water, and their trajectory is buoyed by the natural eddies of the wind. In the hands of the Terrestrial Exalted, they benefit Speed with a -1 bonus and add 50 yards to the Range value for bows (10 yards for thrown weapons).
Starmetal: Starmetal ranged weapons reshape the destiny of their path, fating them to strike deadly blows. When in the hands of Sidereal Exalted, these weapons add +1 to Accuracy and +2 to Damage.
Soulsteel: Soulsteel missile weapons can sense the life and movement of their targets and seek to cease that struggling to bring about the blessed stillness of death. When used against living targets by Abyssal Exalted, these weapons are +2 Accuracy and +2 Damage. This bonus does not apply to inanimate objects, nor animate but nonliving ones.

Artifact Armor and the Five Magical Materials

Just as they forge weapons from steel alloyed with the five magical materials, the Exalted likewise craft armor. Because virtually all artifact designs must contain some of the five magical materials, the only armors that have artifact equivalents are those forged of metal.

The armor is unmistakably magical. Most of it glitters and gleams with the color of the magical material used to forge it, and the heavier armors typically have fins or long, flat spikes that protrude from the back and shoulders to prevent uncomfortable Essence buildup between the plates and the wearer's skin.

Orichalcum: Orichalcum is the strongest and most durable of the magical armors. When worn by a Solar, add two to both the armor's lethal and bashing soak, and add one to both the armor's lethal and bashing Hardness.

Moonsilver: Moonsilver shifts its shape to move with the wearer, accommodating his every need. When worn by Lunar Exalted, moonsilver armors have no mobility penalty, no matter how heavy they are.

Jade: The Dragon-Blooded have the endurance of the earth and the tenacity of wood, and their armor acts to emphasize these qualities. Jade shelters its bearer with the strength of the five elements. In addition to having no fatigue, jade armor subtracts two points from the Damage of any environmental hazard its wearer suffers.

Starmetal: Starmetal armor offers incredibly auspicious protection. When fully attuned, starmetal armor adds one to both the armor's lethal and bashing Hardness and reduces the minimum damage value of oncoming attacks by 1 (to a minimum of one die).

Soulsteel: Soulsteel armor is terrifying to see, forged from moaning souls that seem to swallow attacks. Disturbingly similar in strength to orichalcum, this armor likewise adds two to lethal and bashing soak and adds one to lethal and bashing Hardness.