Celestial Hearthstones
The mightiest of Exalted sought to please their patrons with manses erected not over elemental lines of Essence, but in places awash with the Essence of their gods. Solar manses reach toward the sun, Lunar strongholds reflect the moon's rays, and Sidereal manses use the most auspicious geomancy to highlight the travels of the Maidens across the sky. Most terrible of all, the Underworld manses of the Deathlords create hearthstones from the stagnant Essence of the dead.

Abyssal | Lunar | Sidereal | Solar

Abyssal Hearthstones

Gemstone of Creeping Rot (Level 3 Abyssal Hearthstone, by ikselam)
This lenticular stone looks to be composed of obsidian, mottled with pale markings that phosphoresce faintly in the dark. When attuned, it allows its bearer to breathe forth a cloud of spores that quickly spread into a carpet of horrid, creeping slime mold. The mold rapidly expands to cover an area up to fifty feet in radius. It smothers and kills any plants that it engulfs, and swiftly rots through wood and other organic materials. Any wooden object covered by the mold loses one point per turn from both its lethal and bashing soak values; this cannot reduce its soak below zero.

In addition, anyone who accidentally ingests or breathes in the mold's spores risks a grisly death as the mold germinates and spreads through their innards. Treat this as a disease with treated/untreated morbidity 2/4, and difficulty of treatment 2. Treatment generally includes a regimen of herbal tinctures to kill the mold, followed by purgatives to flush it out of the patient's body. Contagion-Curing Touch can cure the mold with a difficulty 1 roll. The mold's virulence is 1 for someone who just walks through it, 2 for someone who touches it, and 4 if it actually gets in the nose or mouth.

After its initial period of rapid growth, the mold continues to spread, albeit at a much slower rate. It immediately withers away if exposed to fire or direct sunlight (Solar anima banners at the 8+ mote level count as direct sunlight).

Shadow-Sewing Stone (Level 3 Abyssal Hearthstone, by ikselam)
This many-faceted lens appears almost insubstantial, like a piece of solidified smoke. When attuned, it allows the bearer to manipulate shadow as a tailor manipulates cloth and thread. Shadows can be pulled off the ground or walls as sheets, braided into rope or nets, and suchlike. Things made out of shadow can be assumed to have roughly the same strength as silk, but of course weigh nothing and float through the air like drifting spiderwebs. Most shadows are rather transparent; very deep shdaows are fully opaque, but are no stronger or heavier than lighter ones.

Use of this power requires a Dexterity + Crafts roll. This is a normal roll if the user wishes to do something simple like pull a shadow off the wall and hide under it, or grab a handful of shadow and swirl it about in order to confuse attackers. It is extended if he wishes to perform fine manipulation, such as braiding a shadow rope or stringing a shadow sheet across a corridor in order to hide a door. Anything made from shadows will immediately disintegrate if touched by fire or strong light. Non-Abyssal anima flares at the 8+ level can be assumed to produce "strong light"; regular torches do not.

Stone of the Inescapable Oubliette (Level 5 Abyssal Hearthstone, by ikselam)
This dead-black orb emanates a palpable chill, and seems to suck light in. When attuned, it can suck people in. This requires the bearer to touch the stone to the target and expend a point of Willpower. The target and the bearer then engage in a reflexive opposed Essence test. If the target wins or ties, she will be unaffected and will be immune to the stone's effects for a year. If she loses, her body and soul will be sucked into the stone and trapped there for up to the next lunar month. If she botches, she will be trapped in the stone forever unless its owner chooses to release her. Anything she was carrying, with the exception of clothing and attuned artifacts, will be left behind when she is consigned to the Inescapable Oubliette. If the stone's user botches, the target will be unaffected and will be immune to the stone's effects forever.

The only ways for a character to escape the stone is for the power's duration to expire, the stone's owner to decide that he wants to release her, or the stone to be destroyed. Only one person can be imprisoned in the stone at a time. Characters inside the stone don't become thirsty or hungry, but do need to sleep. A character who is sucked into the stone finds herself
lying on a black basalt floor, inside a circle of wan light. In the center of the spotlight is a pedestal holding a large replica of the Stone of the Inescapable Oubliette. By looking into the gem, she can see what is going on outside it. Outside the spotlight is impenetrable darkness. What lies outside the circle of light is left up to the Storyteller's discretion.

[ Back to Top | Back to Magic ]

Lunar Hearthstones

Cat's Feet Stone (Level 1 Lunar Hearthstone, by ikselam)
This rounded gem looks like sandstone, and bears an impression in the shape of a cat's pawprint. When attuned, it causes the wearer to always land on his feet. He can still fall or lose his balance, but will never fall flat as long as he travels at least one yard through the air before striking the ground.

Stone of Startling Reorientation (Level 3 Lunar Hearthstone, by ikselam)
This stone appears as a perfect sphere, divided into a silver half and a dark gray half. No matter how it is held, the gray portion always faces down. When attuned, it allows the wearer to briefly reorient gravity with respect to himself. He can fall horizontally, upward, or any other straight-line direction he desires. This effect can be activated reflexively, and lasts for one turn (three seconds) per activation. It cannot be terminated prematurely.

The altered gravity does not affect anything but the user, his clothes, and any artifacts in his possession which are attuned to him. Note that activating this power does not immediately kill the character's previous velocity; if he is falling off a cliff, he had better start falling upward not too long after the halfway point if he wants to avoid damage. Likewise, falling in a direction other than down still has the potential to inflict falling damage if the character hits something. An object will fall approximately 144 feet (48yd, 44m) in three seconds if unimpeded, so it is advisable to have a nearby landing spot (or some way of avoiding massive falling damage) in mind when activating this power.

Gem of Mirror Image (Level 4 Lunar Hearthstone, by ikselam)
This rectangular gemstone is almost perfectly reflective. When attuned, it can call forth a multitude of mirror images of its wearer to confuse and baffle assailants. These images, although intangible, are indistinguishable from the original without the aid of illusion-piercing powers. Every sense except touch is equally hoodwinked. The images mimic the actions of the hearthstone's user, but reoriented and slightly altered in order to appear more believable. For example, if the character started running away from her enemy, some of the images would also run away from him, but others would run towards him and still others would run circles around him -- but they would all start running. This power lasts for a scene, and can only be used once a day.

In game terms, when the gem is activated, the character rolls Wits + Stealth, opposed by the opponent's Perception + Awareness roll. If she wins, the opponent can't tell which image is real and has only a (his Essence) in 10 chance of hitting her with any given attack in combat. It will also be very hard for him to tell where she actually is. If she loses, the mirror images still appear, but the opponent knows exactly which one is really her and suffers no penalty. Every time the character attacks or does something to blatantly affect the environment, a new contested roll takes place.

Gemstone of the Unseen Trickster (Level 4 Lunar Hearthstone, by ikselam)
This disk-shaped stone is colored dark silver, like a piece of polished magnetite. Once per day, its bearer can cause his body to become completely transparent for a period of up to one hour. This has no effect on his clothes, or anything he might be carrying, although any objects he swallows or otherwise hides inside himself do become invisible, as does the artifact in which the hearthstone is socketed. He is also no harder than normal to detect with senses other than sight.

Characters fighting an invisible opponent suffer the same penalties as fighting blind.

Nine-Lives Cat's Eye (Level 5 Lunar Hearthstone, by ikselam)
This gray stone has nine small green-and-black markings that look like cat's eyes. Its bearer enjoys the ability to miraculously cheat death. If she is killed, her body will always manage to be inexplicably lost -- falling over a cliff, being swept out to sea, carried off by wolves, or just mysteriously vanishing when no one is watching it. The hearthstone will always be lost along with her. The very next day, she will show up in an out-of-the-way place near the spot at which she met her demise, alive and well and carrying the Nine-Lives Cat's Eye.

Each time this power activates, one of the eye markings on the hearthstone closes. When all nine are closed, the character can no longer use its power. This does not impair others' ability to benefit from the stone, however -- when a new owner attunes to it, the appropriate number of eyes will open.

[ Back to Top | Back to Magic ]

Sidereal Hearthstones

Gemstone of the Efficacious Scrounge (Level 1 Sidereal Hearthstone, by ikselam)
When held at the proper angle, this light gray stone displays a marking which resembles the symbol of Mercury. When attuned, it infallibly guides the wearer to stray coins, discarded clothing, meager but edible food scraps, and the like. It never finds anything of quality or value, but will provide enough for a resourceful vagrant to survive on. It typically doesn't work very well outside of urban environments.

Loyal Companion Gem (Level 2 Sidereal Hearthstone, by ikselam)
This clear, faintly teal-colored orb has a hole running through its center. When attuned, it allows its owner to call it, along with any artifact it is mounted on, to his hand as a reflexive action. This power operates over any distance, but will fail if the hearthstone has become deattuned. In order to carry an artifact along with it, the gem must actually be in a hearthstone mount.

Jewel of Improbable Escape (Level 4 Sidereal Hearthstone, by ikselam)
This blue, egg-shaped stone is filled with glittering silver motes. If its bearer ever finds herself trapped in any kind of enclosed space, she can activate the Jewel of Improbable Escape through brief concentration. Upon doing this, she will immediately vanish with a soft popping noise and reappear just outside the place from which she escaped. This power has no range limit, but only functions inside buildings, containers, or reasonably enclosed natural features. It could be used to escape from a cave, a dungeon cell, a deep hole, a closed chest, or a cage, but it could not be used to escape from the deck of a sinking ship, a small island in the middle of a sea of lava, or an open-air Wyld zone. If the character is restrained, the jewel still functions, but will take the restraints along for the ride; if she was shackled to the wall of a dungeon, she could poof to outside the cell, and from there to the outside of the prison building, but would be dragging the shackles and chains along with her until she figured out some way to get them off.

Stone of Ten Thousand Doors (Level 5 Sidereal Hearthstone, by ikselam)
This spherical stone appears oily, shimmering with rainbow colors. A person attuned to it can travel in a most curious fashion; any time he steps through a door, he may emerge through any other unlocked door within one hundred yards. This may be used in conjunction with powers that cause doors to unlock themselves. It works on both open and closed doors, but only on doors; it won't work on windows, archways, or the like. The door must also be part of a building; closets are fine, free-standing armoires or carriage doors are not. City gates and other very large doors are still perfectly legal.

[ Back to Top | Back to Magic ]

Solar Hearthstones

Orb of the Sun's Passage (Level 1 Solar Hearthstone, by guybrush)
This round Gem resembles a hemisphere, with thousands of tiny notches in a line across it's surface. The gem shows a band of pure golden sunlight which moves across the crystal clear surface of the gem, matching exactly the current position of the sun in the sky.

An Exalt attuned to this gem always knows the time of day and year exactly. Anyone not attuned to the stone while it is active can determine the same information by comparing the band of light's position and angle with the line of markings and making an Intelligence + Lore roll, difficulty 2.

Thrifty Merchant's Stone (Level 2 Solar Hearthstone, by ikselam)
This multifaceted stone looks much like a chunk of pyrite, but shines much more brightly. It allows its wearer to instantaneously assess the fair market value of any material item placed before him. This assessment is totally objective; it does not take into account the local economic climate (although sweeping economic change across a vast portion of Creation would influence the estimate), or any sentimental value the item may have to a few specific people (although if an item has great historical value, it will be factored into the assessment).

The Eagle's Eye (Level 4 Solar Hearthstone, by ikselam)
A bright yellow mote of light twinkles in the heart of this amber orb. It grants its bearer unsurpassed vision; anything within a hundred miles can be seen just as clearly as if it were a yard away. This magic sight obeys normal line-of-sight restrictions; it can't look through walls, mountains, or other obstacles. It does not allow the character to see invisible things, or to ignore environmental conditions that would normally impair his vision (such as darkness, fog, smoke, and so forth).

Jewel of the Immaculate Heart (Level 5 Solar Hearthstone, by ikselam)
This lenticular gem is smooth and unfaceted, but its interior is laced with refractive planes that make it sparkle like a cut diamond. It acts as a focus for the wearer's soul and emotions, allowing her to draw great strength from her Virtues. By concentrating on the stone and expending a Willpower point, the wearer can add her rating in a single Virtue as extra dice to every roll she makes for the remainder of the scene. During this period, she must act in strict accordance with the Virtue being used, and cannot activate other Virtues (though she may activate the Virtue being chanelled through the stone, as per the normal rules). When the scene ends, she immediately gains a point of Limit. Using the Jewel of the Immaculate Heart's power does not count against a character's per-story limit for Virtue activation.

[ Back to Top | Back to Magic ]