The World of Darkness/House Rules/Relics

Relics Clarifications & House Rules Acquisition/Creation Storied vs. Crafted Relics are either storied or crafted/created. For purposes of this the term 'Storied Relic' refers to Relics tied to significant/potent people, events, and the like. This can also include relics created by ancestors, NPCs, etc. The term 'Crafted Relic' refers to Relics made through the Relic Creator merit. Relic Crafting We have our own system for creating relics. Please find it here: Relic Crafting Relic Creators may create a number of Relics in a single month equal to half their Occult rating, including a Relic specialty, rounded down. The maximum number of relics per month is 3, and requires 5 dots of Occult and an occult specialty in Relics. Storied Relics You may only purchase one Storied Relic per month. All found/purchased/whatever Relics that come to your character other than through a PC with Relic Creator, are considered Storied Relics. Storied relics must be written up in the same format as crafted relics. This format can be found here: Relic Crafting. All storied relics require a story! This serves as a "justification" for obtaining the relic, and also explains why this item is magic. As such, storied relics cannot be justified for a lower xp cost. Storied relics at 4 and 5 dots require a PrP to be obtained. If you need assistance formulating a PrP, or have questions if a PrP is acceptable, please contact Relic Staff. Relics during Character Generation Characters are allowed to take the Relic merit during character generation. Characters will pay the full xp cost for these relics, and they will be considered storied relics. These relics follow all the same rules and restrictions as storied relics, and they must be submitted in the same format as found here. Characters are limited to 10 dots of the Relic Merit, and a maximum of three relics. (Ie, a player could take two 5-dot relics, or one 5-dot relic, and a 2-dot relic, and a 3 dot relic.) Relics obtained during character generation remain the purview of relic staff, and will be approved by relic staff. Relic Power Limits Relics may have no more than 10 points in Powers. Any relic with more than 5 dots in powers must be brought back down to 5 or lower with Drawbacks, as the Relic merit only has values from 1-5. The lowest a relic's level can be brought down to with drawbacks is 1. If a relic has a 1-dot power, and 15 dots of drawbacks, it is still a 1-dot relic. Unique Powers/Drawbacks Just as in the book, we allow "unique" powers and drawbacks. These are powers and drawbacks created by the player, and are not found in the book. These powers will be heavily scrutinized, and will require thorough write-ups. Here are some guidelines to creating unique powers: Is it a rare power in a sphere? If so, it is unlikely we will allow it in a relic. Are you getting a sphere power for a cheaper cost? Relics are cheap compared to super powers. If you're getting a deal, it is unlikely we will allow it in a relic. Is there any similar power in any book? Finding similar concepts in the books allow us to balance your power out. Relics mostly affect the user of the relic. If you wish to affect other people (specifically in the negative), it likely won't work. We do not allow automatons. We do not allow aura conceal/aura alteration/anything else that might hide what you "really" are. Battery of Will cannot store other pools (ie, no Battery of Mana or Battery of Vitae). Modification Relics may only be modified by a PC with the Relic Creator merit. Modifications may only take the following forms: Upgrading Powers Tweaking a Relic with a variable cost Power to have a more potent version, or a thematic upgrade such as Protection Charm (Bashing) up to Protection Charm (Lethal), is acceptable. Adding wholly new powers is not. This will increase the Relic level of the item, and the Relic Creator or owner must pay the XP (whoever paid for the item). Removing Drawbacks This is only possible with Cursed Relics (those with more Drawbacks than powers), or if removing the drawback wouldn't cause the power to go over 5 dots. Uses the Imbuement Ritual rules, minus the bonus for Crafting or Special Materials. Requires 5 successes per dot of Drawback to be removed. This will increase the Relic level of the item, and must increase it to 1 or higher in a single go. Someone must pay the XP for the newly un-cursed/modified Relic. Spirits/Ghosts/Demons: Relics that deal with spirits or ghosts may also affect demons, depending on the specific power and its use (see Entrap Entity below). Ask if you're unsure. Teamwork Benefits Teamwork may be used in all aspects of the Relic crafting process(crafting and imbument). However, teamwork will negate the xp savings gained for the entire process. This does not effect the xp savings from having superior materials. WP Per Round: Any Relic that costs more than 1 WP, but has an action type of 'Reflexive', allows the spending of its full amount of required WP (or other stat) regardless of the usual rules for spending. However, for Willpower this counts as your '1 Willpower per round'. No spending 2 WP to reflexively activate your Relic, only to turn around and spend a WP for bonus dice on an action within the same round. Powers, Drawbacks, Alternate Costs The below list contains our house rules for certain powers, drawbacks and alternate costs where we differ from what is in the book. The full list can be found in The World of Darkness: Reliquary, starting on page 84. Staff may add or change any house rules as we find necessary. Powers Armor: Any relic powers that grant armor must have their values split between Melee and Ballistic effect. If you get a piece of body armor with Equipment Bonus (Armor) +5, for example, you could choose to have the bonus be +1/+4, or +3/+2, or even +0/+5. For powers that grant an armor bonus to other items, they must have their value set to a static number as above, and will always grant that set value to any armor enhanced. Armor with this bonus cannot exceed a total of 5 armor for either General or Ballistic. A Kevlar Vest is rated at 1/3. Giving it +4 armor via equipment bonus will require the bonus be split and added to the existing number. If +2/+2 is chosen, the armor will be rated at 3/5. No piece of armor can go about an armor rating of 5 for either melee or ballistic. Confer Equipment Bonus vs Equipment Bonus: Confer Equipment Bonus allows a relic to grant an item an equipment bonus when the relic is activated and the correct rolls are made. (A sharpening stone can mystically grant any other blade a +2 bonus, after 2 willpower is spent and an appropriate roll is made.) Equipment Bonus is a flat bonus added to the relic that always applies when it is used. (A relic knife gives +2 to weaponry attacks, every time it is used in an attack.) The Skill that the Bonus applies to is chosen at the time of a Relic's creation. (i.e.: grants bonus to weaponry, grants bonus to firearms, computers, etc) Equipment bonuses do not stack with other equipment bonuses. Adding a +3 bonus to a relic computer that would already give +3 equipment bonus does not net +6. Likewise, granting +5 to a +5 relic sword does not give +10. The highest bonus 'overwrites' all other bonuses. This bonus only applies to using item. Holding a +3 knife does not give +3 weaponry to the hammer in your other hand. Likewise, a guitar that grants +5 expression does not lend it's bonus to magic powers, even if the relic is used in conjunction with that magic power. Defend: As the relic disorients the monster, this applies to all effects harmful or beneficial that the monster uses on the wielder of the relic and those protected by it. It does not affect Purified, Ghosts, or any other being which explicitly uses Morality but is not human. It does affect Spirits, Demons, any other non-human being that does not use an explicitly defined morality system (such as hobs) or any being that uses an alternate morality system (such as Mages, who are inherently human but use an alternate morality system). Durability: There is no more Durability power for Relics. They will use the same rule as Fetishes in that a Relic will gain an amount of Durability equal to its final Relic level. The 3 dot Unbreakable power is still available. Entrap Entity: The Cost of this Power should be 2, and applies to Ghosts OR Spirits OR Demons. It may be purchased more than once on the same item, to include another type of ephemeral entity. Forgettable: Attempting to attack someone while under the effects of Forgettable works as follows; the victim is penalized in their Wits + Composure roll to detect the surprise attack by a number of successes equal to the activation of the relic. Secondly; due to the mental nature of the power, inflicting damage while under its aegis returns half the damage done back in psychic damage; unmitigated by Defense or Armor. Object Killer: Relics with this power ignore the Durability of items, doing damage directly to their Structure. After some consideration on how this power will interact when faced with item-based Armor, we're using the following: Armor provides its full melee rating vs Relics with the Object killer, but each attack damages the armor. Armor can suffer a number a number of attacks equal to their Melee armor rating before being rendered useless until repaired in some fashion (generally making it useless for the rest of that scene). Supernaturally enhanced Armor uses the same rules, but the number of attacks it may suffer is twice its melee armor rating before being rendered useless (this includes armor with the Unbreakable power). Potent Success, Attribute The note of WP cost being 3 for Brawl, Weaponry, or Firearms also includes Athletics rolls involving Archery or Throwing Attacks; you can choose to spend 2 WP and gain it for non combat actions for the duration of the scene, but cannot later spend 1 WP to gain the bonus to your combat actives, it will have to be activated all over, and require 3 WP. Reward Temptation: Due to various logistics and loopholes, this Power does not exist on The Reach. Sense Creature: For clarification on this power, including what can and cannot be sensed, please see here: Sense Creature Skeleton Key: If a roll would require more than the 7 successes covered by this Relic, the character must still make the necessary roll, and gains the 9-again effect, but needs 7 successes less than would otherwise be required. Soul Inheritance: When it comes to supernatural beings, the following apply: Body Thieves, Eternals, Purified, and Visitors cannot take this and cannot be trapped by this. Blood Bathers, Patchwork People, Reborn, and Wardens die a final death when they die after binding to this.; Beings may become Possessed after bonding to the relic; the Damned have no need for souls. You cannot become a major supernatural template if you have used this, since your soul is bound into the relic. The soul cannot be recovered once it is bound to the relic. A being bound to the relic will never leave a ghost, psychic imprint, spirit, or any other after effect. A Mage may bond with such a relic, but doing so counts as a Wisdom 3 sin. Unbreakable: It's specifically items that bypass Durability that ignore Unbreakable, not any 'magic' item. Armor with the Unbreakable power simply never degrades/takes damage (see above), and is always considered to have the 'Bulletproof' quality, regardless of its base form. New Powers Physically Bonded (2, 3, or 4): This acts as Bonded but is a required power for any Relics that are permanently a part of the body. Tattoos, skin grafts, piercings that couldn't be just yanked out. The 2 dot version allows the Relic to be damaged and destroyed like any other, with Lethal damage done directly to it (i.e. called shot, not just random damage, though sufficiently overwhelming/all encompassing damage like full body burns would apply). Once broken, it no longer functions. The 3 dot version means damage merely causes the Relic to suppress and once it's healed it returns to function (and in the case of burns, that section of skin will return to its former appearance, unburnt). The 4 dot is as the 3 dot, but the Relic doesn't stop functioning unless that portion of the body is completely removed. Fully removing a Physically Bonded relic of the 3 or 4 dot variety requires the expenditure of 3 points of willpower by the one doing the removal, as part of the process. Drawbacks Curses Danger Magnet: Due to various logistics and loopholes, this Power does not exist on The Reach. Debilitating Loss: If activating this Curse would stack the penalty to a single Attribute or Skill to more than -5, activation of the Relic fails. Ill Effects: The penalty from Ill Effects kicks in at the end of the scene in which the relic that triggers it is used, rather than right away. This should be no more than 1 hour from when it was activated, though this may vary based on which powers it is tied to. The penalty will usually last 1 or 2 hours, per the note for that relic. Insidious Bargain: While an interesting Storytelling tool, this Curse suffers much the same flaw in an online environment as Danger Magnet, and its use will be both restricted to lower dot powers and scrutinized. It's possible that any use of such a relic would have to come with a +request alerting staff so someone can arrange for the effects of the curse to kick in in a meaningful way, if the player hasn't suggested a suitable one already in the +request. Vulnerability: The effects of the Vulnerability curse are not applied to any pool the Defend power would protect one from. Their effects are directly contradictory, and the Defend power takes precedent. Any power used from far enough away not to be penalized gains the +2 bonus as usual. Alternate Costs: An 'Alternate Cost that replaces the activation Cost of a Relic, or serves as a secondary manner of activating the Relic if the Cost can't be paid, does not count towards reducing the final level of the Relic. i.e. if something costs 2wp and you want it to use 2 Vitae, or a 2 dot Curse instead of or as an alternative to the 2wp, you may, but it will not reduce the level of the Relic. Things found under 'Alternate Cost' that are used as well as the normal cost, will reduce the dot value of the Relic as normal. If the alternate cost that replaces the normal cost would have a value higher than the activation cost, the difference may be used as a break on the value of the Relic (i.e. a 3pt Curse replacing a 1wp cost would net -2 on the final Relic level). Conditional: Conditional is not limited to entirely environmental circumstances. A Relic that only functions in regards to certain types of creatures, or requires the user to belong to a particular organization, might also qualify as Conditional. Locational: These will be guidelines more than strict, unalterable rules, given the nebulous nature of 'Grid Square' vs actual size, and this chart may be altered to reflect that as issues come up. Level Area • Aleswich or Surrounding Wilderness/Marshes •• 11-20 Consecutive grid squares (+map DP, +map ES, +map MT, etc) ••• 5-10 Consecutive grid squares •••• 1-4 Consecutive grid squares. ••••• Less than 1 grid square, unique location (single building, graveyard) Sacrificial: When considering damage inflicted and cost value, please examine the Leech of Life drawback. If you're getting more benefit for less damage using Sacrificial, please revise your request in a fashion that makes it worth the dot value you're aiming for. Temporal: No clarification at this time. Relic Reforging Sometimes things change; goals and orientation of characters change, and sometimes you find the Relic you made just isn't doing you any good. Reforging a Relic allows you to use the item you made, and remake it into something of similar design. A bracelet becomes a necklace with new Powers and Drawbacks. A sword is melted down into a knife, or parts of a gun. When Reforging a Relic; the overall Rank, after it is completed, must be the same. If it was a Relic 3 before, it has to come out to be a Relic 3 after. The XP discounts will carry over from the prior Relic, so long as the base Imbuement roll is made. Basically you get to change the name, Powers, Drawbacks, etc. Doing this, however, comes with its own 'cost'; it still takes your number of days to Craft as it would as if you were making a new Relic, and it consumes one of your 'per month' Relics. So if you can make 3/month, and you choose to Reforge one, you can only make 2 more in that month.