Fakir's Horns
Fakirs, the mystical recluses and beggars of India and Islam, are often troublesome miracle-makers. Rarely content to remain in reclusion, fakirs often come to the streets of India to put on “shows” for passersby. These events sometimes have the fakirs yelling out magical names and chants at people, sometimes screaming the mantras and epithets in their faces. Other fakirs dance across hot coals, attempt levitation, starve themselves publicly and charm various animals such as snakes. While not all fakirs are so intolerable (some are quiet Sufi ascetics), they tend to draw the ire of those around them and are illegal in a number of cities because of this.
Fakirs, knowing that they may be attacked, often bring a set of “fakir’s horns” with them for protection. The device, essentially a round, metal buckler shield with two long antelope horns winding from either side of it, grants the wielder a modicum of offensive and defensive capability. A fakir grips the shield, or madu, in the middle and uses the antelope horns (generally tipped with metal or otherwise sharpened) to parry attacks aimed at disrupting the fakir’s “magic.” While predominantly used to ward off attacks, the wielder can also use the horns as thrusting implements.
Using the horns as a weapon is difficult, and is reflected in the –1 modifier toward the attack roll. However, brandishing the madu shield also grants the user a +1 bonus to Defense. If the wielder possesses the Weaponry Dodge (•) Merit, it grants him an additional +1 Defense.
Fakirs, knowing that they may be attacked, often bring a set of “fakir’s horns” with them for protection. The device, essentially a round, metal buckler shield with two long antelope horns winding from either side of it, grants the wielder a modicum of offensive and defensive capability. A fakir grips the shield, or madu, in the middle and uses the antelope horns (generally tipped with metal or otherwise sharpened) to parry attacks aimed at disrupting the fakir’s “magic.” While predominantly used to ward off attacks, the wielder can also use the horns as thrusting implements.
Using the horns as a weapon is difficult, and is reflected in the –1 modifier toward the attack roll. However, brandishing the madu shield also grants the user a +1 bonus to Defense. If the wielder possesses the Weaponry Dodge (•) Merit, it grants him an additional +1 Defense.
Item type
Weapon, Melee
Size: 3/N
Durability: 2
Cost: •
Notes: +1 to Defense (+2 with Weaponry Dodge Merit)