Crafting Artifacts

Mechanically, crafting an artifact is a pair of long-term Challenges in addition to whatever it takes to amass the tools, resources and exotic materials required. The Difficulty of these rolls is 4, but there are many factors that can modify this.

Challenge One: Design

The design of an artifact includes deciding what it will do, what it will be made of and how the elements will be combined into the final whole. The end result is a recorded process much like a recipe in whatever form is suitable to the crafter; examples include a finely calligraphed scroll including diagrams in metallic inks, a teaching song to be memorised, or a set of pictograms carved into a temple wall. Any sufficiently skilled crafter with access to the design document can use it to make any number of instances of the artifact.

The Challenge requires a number of Overcome rolls equal to the final level of the artifact (see the table below). Up to half the successful rolls (e.g. 2 for a level 5 artifact) can be Occult (representing thereotical design) the rest must be Craft (for experimentation).

• Occult rolls: Each roll takes the base time per roll and is not affected by Charms or other effects that speed up crafting, though the character can still choose to adjust the time for a modifier to skill or difficulty (see table). This is elapsed time during which the character is always but not exclusively thinking about the project, they can continue to act and adventure normally through this period except for designing another artifact, only one design process can progress at a time. Resources and tools are neither required nor helpful. A success progresses the design and (if they have not all already been determined) reveals one of the exotic materials required, a failure does nothing. At the crafter's players choice instead Success at Cost adds a flaw of (artifact level/2, rounded up), Sucess at a Minor Cost adds a level to an existing flaw (or adds a level 1 flaw if none exist or all are already level 5), Sucess with Style reduces one flaw by one level (or the first flaw after this is one level lower).
• Craft rolls: Each roll takes Base Time per roll, modified by Charms and skill adjustments and requires 12 hours a day of work in the workshop (or every hour for times less than a day), it is modified by the workshop used and requires resources as specified in the table below. A Success progresses the project (and reveals an exotic material as above), a Failure makes no progress and increases the base time per roll by one row in the table for all future Craft rolls on the project, although the caster can decide to include an additional type of Magical Material into the design instead of increasing time. At the crafting player's discretion a Sucess at a Cost increases time as a failure and adds a flaw of (artifact level/2, rounded up), Sucess at a Minor Cost increases time as a failure and adds a level to an existing flaw (or adds a level 1 flaw if none exist or all are already level 5), Sucess with Style reduces one flaw by one level (or the first flaw after this is one level lower).

Challenge Two: Construction

Before any construction rolls can be attempted the crafter must have obtained the raw materials (including Magical Materials) and all the required Exotic Materials.

• Craft rolls: Each roll takes the base time per roll modified by previous rolls and adjustment for modifiers (going up or down rows in the table). For durations longer than a day it requires 12 hours work each day. The roll is modied by the worst kind of Workshop used during the period. Failure or Success with any cost either increases the time per roll by one roll in tablle for future rolls, or adds a complication that must be dealt with before any further rolls can be attempted. Failure does not progress the project, Success does. Success with a Cost adds a flaw of (artifact level/2, rounded up), Sucess at a Minor Cost adds a level to an existing flaw (or adds a level 1 flaw if none exist or all are already level 5), Sucess with Style reduces one flaw by one level (or the first flaw after this is one level lower).

Artifact Details

10+

Artifact Level	Scale	# Rolls	Ability Minimums	Resources	Exotic Materials
1	0	1	3	2	0
2	1	2	3	3	1
3	2	3	3	4	2
4	3	4	6	5	3
5	4	5	7	5(diff 6)	4
N/A	7+	6+	8+	6+	10+

Making an artifact without any of the Magical Materials requires an additional Exotic Material (i.e. one per level in total) but reduces the Resource requirements by 1 - Level 5 becomes 5, N/A remains 6+), this is the same Resources required for each Craft roll in the design phase. Each additional Magical Material used has the base Resources cost again for construction (no change for design).

Base Time Per Roll

Artifact Level	Time per roll
	One Day
	One Week
1	Two Weeks
2	One Month
3,4	One Season
5	One Year
N/A	One Decade
	One Generation (21 years)

Each increase in time (e.g. one month rather than 2 weeks) grants a +2 bonus to the roll. Each decrease in time (e.g. one day instead of one week) increases the difficulty of the roll by +3.

Materials

Most Artifacts are made out of mundane materials combined with one of the Magical Materials and some number of Exotic Materials. Using the Magical Material assosciated with the crafters Exalt type adds +2 to all design and construction rolls. Using no Magical Materials increases the number of Exotic Materials by one but decreases the Resources cost of the Artifact. Using an additional Magical Material can compensate for a mistake in the design process but increases the Resources cost (requiring an additional purchase).

Magical Materials

• Jade, a stone found in regions that exemplify each of the elements, with one variety for each. Assosciated with Dragon-Blooded.
  • White jade is ideal for artifacts that manipulate earth and stone or restrain another being’s mind and the Abilities of Awareness, Craft, Integrity, Resistance and War.
  • Green jade is best for controlling plants, affecting animals and drawing ambient Essence into an artifact and the Abilities of Archery, Medicine, Performance, Ride and Survival.
  • Red jade is perfect for controlling fire or making people immune to it, as well as causing harm or heightening reflexes, and the Abilities of Athletics, Dodge, Melee, Presence and Socialise.
  • Black jade, apart from controlling water, works well for affecting or communicating with gods, elementals and demons and the Abilities of Brawl, Bureaucracy, Investigation, Larceny and Sail.
  • Blue jade, Artifacts that control the weather or sense or affect thought are usually best made with blue jade as well as the Abilities Linguistics, Lore, Occult, Stealth and Thrown.
• Yellow Jade, alchemically transformed from naturally ocurring Jade though no reliable process is known. Assosciated with the Dragon-Blooded and mortals, useful for any Artifact that does not need to be attuned or has reduced Essence cost.
• Moonsilver, a metal that appears unpredictably in the Bordermarches or Middlemarches of the Wyld and must be refined before it can be used. Some believe that in the First Age it could be manufactured from moonlight and powerful Essence of the natural world. Assosciated with Lunars and ideal for artifacts that emphasize fluidity, transience, chaotic change, sleep and dreams, among other things.
• Orichalcum, greatest of metals, can be found in deposits like gold in ore beds heated by both sunlight and magma. Alternatively it can be refined from gold using lava and huge mirrors. It is assosciated with Solars and represents strength, superiority, order, glory and (to a degree) perfection or striving for the absolute.
• Starmetal is forged from falling stars in sanctified furnaces. While it is suitable for Artifacts of choices, predictions, time, avoidance, mysteries and knowledge it is assosciated with no known type of Exalted.
• Soulsteel never ocurrs naturally but can be created by alloying ghosts with ore taken from the Labyrinth in an incredibly cruel process. Soulsteel has no peer for artifacts dealing with all forms of death, although artisans sometimes employ bone or obsidian if soulsteel is unavailable, and is almost certainly assosciated with the newly encountered Deathknights.

Exotic Materials

In order to shape the Essence flows in the final artifact various strange items are used as components, tools or reagants in the crafting process, most cannot be purchased as they are too rare and specific to be marketable and must instead be sought out. The higher level the artifact the more exotic the materials get. Nothing can remove the need for these materials (for instance even though Craftsman Needs no Tools normally means no tools are required if the design for a type of daikliave uses a stylus made from the finger bone of a master swordsman to tool the leather of the handgrips that stylus must br used). Some materials (especially tools) may last long enough to be used in crafting more than one instance of an artifact. Each design roll normally reveals one exotic material required, if instead the crafter already has a specific (and appropriate) material in mind the design roll can "reveal" it at +2 difficulty. Instead of finding a specific exotic material a crafter can instead build an equivalent, which is itself an Artifact of one level lower.

Sample Exotic Materials

• The handwritten journal of a savant who confounded 10 gods, which has been in a major library for more than 5 decades.
• Frozen Lightning, shards of which fall to earth in the far North when lightning strikes the front of a frozen storm.
• Joyful Ashes, the cremated remains of a mortal who died at peace and whose funeral was attended by every descendant born for at least three generations, all of whom genuinely mourned them.
• Spiritual Benefaction, a powerful blessing by a god (or demon) of Essence level at least 2 higher than the level of the Artifact, this takes years or decades for the god to completely recover from.

Scale

All Overcome and Create an Advantage rolls in the crafting process are at a Scale based on the final level of the Artifact (see the details table). Comitted Excellencies do last long enough to help with these rolls.

Assistants

Assistants must each have one of Occult, Lore, Craft at high enough level to build the artifact, must be present and working during the entire time required for the roll and increase the Scale of the caster, e.g. 5 mortal assistants grant +1 Scale while 30 Scale 1 first circle demons would grant Scale +3. Assistants are grouped together by Scale for this calculation, for example a circle mate of Essence 3 (Scale 2), 3 heroic mortal smiths and 8 summoned ghost scholars would count as +2 and a Fang (+1) of Scale 1 assistants (+1) for a total assitant bonus of +4 Scale

Magitech

A type of crafting that became popular during the Shogunate, using mechanical devices, Essence stored in reservoirs and directed through wires of jade alloy or alchemically treated copper and a general clockpunk aesthetic. All magitech artifacts require maintenance and are constructed using Craft(Magitech). Any artifact that stores Essence or was made using at least one Exotic Material constructed by Thaumaturgy (e.g. an Artifact 3 at least one of whose Exotic Materials was a constructed Artifact 2 that had as its Exotic Material an Artifact 1 made with Thaumaturgy) must be magitech, as is any Artifact whose level was lowered by a maintenance flaw, but any Artifact can be magitech at the choice of the designer. If no maintenance flaw is already part of the design then any flaw added can be maintenance.

Levels and examples

1. Toys and Minor Tools. Impressive to a mortal but not an Exalt as they can do cooler things themselves for whom these are tools of convenience. Examples: a brush that writes at mental direction, a drum that plays through the night to scare away animals, a gateway board that plays against the user.
2. Effective Tools. Quite useful in specific circumstances or moderately useful in a broader range of situations, similar to a standard Charm. Examples: A Daiklaive with no additional powers or evocations (beyond the base material evocation), a pair of sandals that increase running speed, a chair that makes the person seated in it aware of all who approach
3. Wonders. Confer a great advantage in a single discipline or a significant advantage in a broad range of circumstances. Similar to an Advanced Charm. Examples: An enchanted mirror that allows a character to speak through other mirrors, a staff that places objects (not people) it strikes Elsewhere, and can call them back just as quickly, a Grand Goremaul or other 2 handed Artifact weapon, a Daiklaive with multiple evocations.
4. Greater Wonders. Provide overwhelming advantages in their spheres of influence, or great advantages in many situations. These wonders perform feats that are flat-out impossible to most inhabitants of Creation, letting the character travel miles in the blink of an eye or shape the earth with a melody. Similar to Terrestrial or Celestial Sorcery. Examples: A clockwork bird that can lead its owner to any named person or object in Creation. A shield that protects its wielder completely from all physical harm as long as the owner harms no one. A seed that grows a forest overnight.
5. Marvels. Offer unbeatable advantages in their areas of focus, or overwhelming advantages in many situations or in a few potentially vital conflicts. Whatever powers an artifact of this level possesses, they are usually unique and often impossible to counter. Similar to an Elder Charm or Solar circle sorcery. Examples: A key that opens any door and allows the owner to step out through any other doorway he wishes. A great orichalcum staff that can deflect any attack toward another target, including overtly magical attacks. A prayer strip that ensures that a single object will never again be found by anyone.

Flaws

Artifacts can be flawed in some way, for example they might be difficult to use or have undesirable side effects. These flaws are rated 1-5 and can be added to artifacts for several reasons: If an artifact is particularly powerful for its level it might require a flaw of a lower level; If the designer wants to reduce an Artifacts level by 1 (only) they can include a flaw of at least one level higher (e.g. a mirror that speaks through others is normally a level 3 artifact, but if it only works when the user is illuminated by the sun at its zenith, a level 3 flaw, the mirror would count as level 2 as a cost through the design and construction process.

1. Minor. The artifact has a restriction that rarely comes up or isn’t difficult to meet, an annoying quirk or a side effect that causes little trouble. Examples: The artifact is unusable if the character hasn’t prayed to the Unconquered Sun within a day. The artifact doesn’t function without enough light to read. The artifact targets the wrong individual when there are at least four redheads in the wielders vision. The artifact makes the wielder dizzy.
2. Moderate. The artifact has a restriction that comes up regularly or isn’t easy to meet, a moderate glitch in the way it functions or a side effect that causes problems. Examples: The artifact only works if the character utters an audible prayer (as an action) to the Unconquered Sun before activating it. The artifact requires a dedicated hearthstone to function. The artifact only functions during the daytime. The artifact affects the wielder if she targets a redhead. The artifact harms the wielder (one stress).
3. Significant. The artifact has conditions that require significant effort to meet before it can be used, a very troublesome malfunction or a consternating side effect. Examples: The artifact does not function unless the character has converted someone to the worship of the Unconquered Sun within the past week. The artifact only functions if the character has sacrificed a living creature to it within the last month. The artifact requires three dedicated hearthstones. The artifact only functions at the sun’s zenith. The colour red defends against or can banish the artifact’s effects. The artifact drains the wielder’s life (smallest remaining Consequence).
4. Massive. The artifact’s conditions may present great obstacles to its use, and its side effects can be devastating. Examples: The artifact does not work unless the character has sacrificed a human to it within the last week. Only by sacrificing a family in the Unconquered Sun’s name can a character activate the artifact. Attuning to the artifact requires also attuning to a simple, fragile object, like an egg; destroying this object deactivates the artifact until it can be replaced. The artifact drains Essence of those around it for several hours after activation. The artifact causes widespread floods or droughts nearby.
5. Overwhelming The artifact cannot be used unless severely onerous conditions are met, and the side effects it causes can trigger entire adventures. Examples: The artifact must bathe in fresh human blood before each use. The artifact must consume an orichalcum prayer strip to the Unconquered Sun (essentially Artifact 1) to be used. Activating the artifact opens a door elsewhere in Creation for a Second Circle demon. The artifact invents arch-rivals for the wielder out of whole cloth when used. The artifact rips Essence from its surroundings, draining demesnes for months or leaving plant and animal life for miles around to slowly die.