)by guybrush
Wishing Staff (Artifact )
by guybrush
This unique weapon was originally crafted by Lunar smiths for the Solar consort of Sekiru, a lesser Elemental Dragon of Water. The stories say Sekiru kept it as a remembrance of her when she died, but a Zenith Caste warrior tricked the dragon out of the weapon and went on to use it in a number of exploits which, though they amused the Unconquered Sun, angered the other gods. Eventually the Exalt was imprisoned under a mountain in order to learn humility and patience.
The staff is much heavier than an ordinary quarterstaff to a mortal, but in the hands of an Exalt, it is lighter and faster. Capped with orichalcum at each end and decorated with its name in golden paint, the wishing staff's true power comes from its core of cold iron alloyed with moonsilver. The staff is able grow or shrink at the owner's mental command with a small extra commitment of essence.
To shrink the staff to any size smaller than it's usual six feet costs 1 committed mote of essence, and the staff may be willed back to its normal size with but a thought. Increasing the staff's size costs 1 committed mote for each additional staff length; if the owner wishes to increase the size of the staff to an arbitrary size, round down to the nearest multiple of six feet. Note that changing the Wishing Staff's size does not simply make it longer or shorter - it grows proprtionally in diameter as well, making it an ideal battering ram at larger sizes (presuming there is enough room between the wielder and the door).
Increasing in the staff's size also increases its weight (though, being attuned to it, the user does not notice) and makes it unwieldy; once the staff is tripled in length, it becomes almost unusable as a weapon. The user cannot make normal attacks with the over-sized staff, but may swing it clumsily to cause base damage and knock opponents over. Multiple foes made be struck with the staff at once, however this sort of effect is best left to cinematic description.
The base essence commitment for the wishing staff is 6 motes.
Example: Masaaki wishes to enlarge the staff so it may act as a bridge to the other bank of a river forty feet across. The nearest multiple of the staff's length is 42 feet, which would cost 7 motes, but this is rounded down to 6. These 6 motes are committed as if to fuel an ongoing Charm, and are recovered when the staff is returned to its normal size.
Name Speed Accuracy Damage Defence Artifact Minimums Wishing Staff +2 +2 +4L +1 S
