Lore of the Forge

Annunaki Lores

Description: The Lore of the Forge means supreme mastery of the inanimate world. With this Lore, an Angel can fashion any object imaginable from any kind of material (say, a glass crown or a sword made from stone). Additionally, this Lore may be used to produce wondrous magical objects or cursed gifts.

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● ENHANCE OBJECT

This evocation allows a Malefactor to gain an innate understanding of an object and its intended function, simply by running her hands over it or working its moving parts. What's more, she can repair damaged objects or make adjustments that cause them to work better than before.

System: Roll Perception + Crafts. The difficulty is determined by the relative complexity of the object: A hammer is difficulty 5, while a car is difficulty 8. High-tech objects such as a computer are difficulty 10. A single success grants the demon an innate understanding of how the object is constructed and the way it works; she can operate it as though she possessed a basic familiarity with its capabilities. If the object is damaged, the demon can repair it with a single success. If she wants to improve the way it works, each success lowers the difficulty needed to use the device. This method of refinement can be done only once to any given item, and it normally lasts for the duration of the scene. The demon can make the effects permanent, if she wishes, by expending a temporary Willpower point.

Torment: Objects repaired or enhanced by a monstrous demon are tainted by the demon's hatred, infusing them with a tendency to inflict misfortune and death. On a roll of 1 or 2, such cursed items cause a botch when used. Weapons affected by this evocation strike the user or someone close to her when a botch occurs, at the Storyteller's discretion.

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●● ACTIVATE OBJECT

With this evocation, the demon can cause mechanical objects to operate by simple force of will.

System: Roll Intelligence + Crafts. The difficulty is determined by the complexity of the object. Causing a door to open is difficulty 5, while making a pistol chamber a round and fire is 8. This evocation works only on objects that operate by simple, mechanical means. Hinges move, levers operate, but hammers don't pick themselves up and start banging away at nails. An elevator button could depress or a computer's power switch could turn on or off, but the inner workings of the computer's memory aren't affected. The character can affect a single object within a number of yards equal to her Faith score.

Torment: A machine affected by a monstrous demon's will often breaks or goes wildly out of control, damaging or destroying itself in the process. When making the Stamina + Crafts roll to activate the object, also apply the number of successes rolled as damage levels to the object.

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●●● SHAPE OBJECT

This evocation allows a Malefactor to take matter and work it with ease. A wooden board can be worked into a model ship, a plate glass window can be worked into a delicate glass crown or a steel pipe can be shaped by the Malefactor's hands into a razor-edged sword.

System: Roll Dexterity + Crafts. You must gain a number of successes depending on the complexity of the item your character wishes to create. A hammer requires one success, while a clock could require five or more. These successes can be gained through an extended action, allowing the character to work on an item, set it down and come back to it hours or even days later. The difficulty to create sophisticated machines, such as internal-combustion engines or electrical generators is 9 and could require 10 or more successes to complete. High-tech items such as computers pose a difficulty of 10 and could require as many as 15 or more successes to complete. Items created exist permanently unless destroyed.

Torment: Objects created by monstrous demons are dangerous and unpredictable, equally capable of inflicting tragedy as they are of functioning as designed. Objects created in this fashion botch on a 1 or 2 when used, and the wielder or someone close to him suffers the consequences.

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●●●● ENCHANT OBJECT

This powerful evocation is the one most often associated with the angels of the earth: the ability to infuse objects with supernatural qualities that can make ordinary mortals into heroes — or monsters. Many such objects are specifically created for that purpose, but Malefactors are also adept at taking pre-existing items and infusing them with frightening new capabilities.

System: Creating an enchanted object is a laborious and expensive process, requiring substantial investments of time and energy. If the Malefactor creates the object intended for enchantment, the difficulty for performing the evocation is 6. If she works with an existing object, the difficulty is 8. To enchant an item, the demon must first possess a lore path that evokes the investiture in question. For example, if the demon wants to create a magic mirror that shows an illusion of perfect beauty to whomever looks into its depths, she needs to possess at least one dot in the Lore of Light, the path governing illusions. More complex effects could conceivably require a combination of pertinent lore. If the demon wanted the mirror to sense a mortal's deepest desire and present an illusion depicting it, he would need some measure of the Lore of Light and the Lore of Humanity. The Storyteller is the final arbiter on what lore is needed (and at what level) to create a particular object. Enchanted items draw upon the wielder's inherent belief to perform their supernatural functions. Mortals (including thralls) require a successful Willpower roll ( difficulty 8 ) to access an object's abilities, while demons require a successful Faith roll (difficulty 6). This roll must be made each time the item is used. If either roll botches, the character loses one point of the relevant trait. Alternatively, characters can attune an object to them and create a permanent link that keeps the item energized at all times. Attuning an item thus costs one point of permanent Willpower (in the case of mortals and thralls) or 1 point of permanent Faith (in the case of demons). Once attuned, the character can use the device at will without requiring a dice roll to activate it. If the demon possesses the required knowledge, make an extended Dexterity + Crafts roll and expend a Faith point. The number of successes required depends on the power and scope of the enchantment. A simple creation such as a knife that never loses its edge requires one success. A key that opens any lock requires five. A magic mirror that shows a mortal attaining her deepest desire requires 10. If a creation roll botches, the item is destroyed. This evocation cannot be used on high-tech items such as computers or other electronic hardware.

Torment: Monstrous demons create cursed objects that consume the souls of their owners and wreak misery on those close to them. Cursed objects botch on a roll of 1 or 2, and the consequences of such a mishap are always directed at either the wielder or any friends or loved ones who happen to be nearby. Further, instead of making a dice roll to activate the object, mortals (including thralls) lose one point of Willpower with each use, while demons gain one point of temporary Torment.

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●●●●● IMBUE OBJECT

While the ability to enchant objects made the Annunaki much sought after among the fallen, this evocation made them equally feared as well, allowing a Malefactor to bind a soul — mortal or demon — into a specially prepared reliquary or object.

System: Your character must prepare a suitable vessel to hold the spirit in question. This vessel must be made of natural materials and be shaped by hand. If the Malefactor made the vessel herself, the difficulty to perform the evocation is a 6. Otherwise, it's 8. With this vessel in hand, your character can use this evocation on any disinterred spirit (such as a demon stripped of its host body or a ghost) within a number of yards equal to her Faith score. Spend one Faith and roll Stamina + Crafts in a resisted roll versus the target's Willpower. If your effort is successful, the spirit is bound into the vessel. Mortal souls bound this way cannot interact with the physical world. Demons, on the other hand, can still use their inherent powers and their lore paths, provided they have available Faith, (Any existing pacts with mortal thralls remain in effect). The only way to free a soul thus bound is to destroy the vessel that contains it.

Torment: Monstrous demons who bind souls with this evocation are tainted by the Malefactor's Torment, twisting the spirits into maddened, malevolent entities. Mortal souls bound in this fashion suffer a permanent derangement, determined by the Storyteller. Fallen bound thus have their permanent Torment increased by the number of successes generated by the Stamina + Crafts roll used to anchor them.

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MUMMU, THE VISAGE OF THE FORGE

The angels of the forge appear as giants hammered from the black iron of the earth, their powerfully muscled forms lit with veins of hot magma, and their eyes shining like disks of burnished brass. Their voices are deep and thunderous, like the roar of a furnace. When in their apocalyptic form, these fallen are immune to extremes of temperature and pressure. They can handle hot coals as mortals do ice cubes.

The Visage of the Forge confers the following special capabilities:

• Master Artisan: The difficulties of all Crafts rolls decrease by two.

• Increased Size: The character's body grows to a third again its own height, adding the following bonus traits: +2 Strength, +1 Dexterity, +1 Stamina.

• Thunderous Voice: The character's shout shatters glass and makes stone tremble. Individuals within a number of yards equal to the character's Faith suffer four dice of bashing damage. This ability may be used only once per scene, and it requires an action to perform.

• Immune to Fire: The character is immune to damage from fire.

Torment: High-Torment Mummu are nightmarish creatures of iron skin and serrated blades, surrounded by a haze of smoldering brimstone. Their eyes are twin globes of roiling fire, and wherever they go, electrical devices go berserk: lights flicker and televisions and radios are afflicted with static.

The Visage of the Forge confers the following high-Torment special capabilities:

• Blades: The fingers of the Mummu end in curved blades of razor-sharp iron, inflicting Strength +2 aggravated damage.

• Extra Limbs: The demon grows a second set of arms. Extra arms allow a character to parry or block hand-to-hand or melee attacks without sacrificing her own attack, or make up to two additional attacks of her own per turn (which are considered multiple actions).

• Magnetic Field: The demon is surrounded by a magnetic field intense enough to disrupt electronic devices within a radius in yards equal to the character's Faith.

• Iron Skin: The character's iron-like skin acts as armor, providing four additional dice to soak bashing, lethal and aggravated damage.

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