Artifacts of the Senators

Shortly after the Bargain, sorcery apparently worked differently than it does in Theah today. Notably, the original senators were able to grant powers to their followers. These sorcerous pioneers, in exploring the extent of the gifts, created items and objects to assist them. Collected here are suggested artifacts for the four Bargain sorceries appearing in the printed 7th Sea books.

Sorte

The Cup

To represent matters of the heart, she used a devotional cup dedicated to Amora, the Numan goddess of love and desire. The cup was decorated with the two faces of Amora (Love Scorned and Love Returned).

Any strega holding the Cup gains one Free Raise to any Cups rolls. She gets two Free Raises to any Cups roll involving two people who have both taken a drink from the cup during the Scene. (These do stack.) If a Hubris or Flaw relating to love or desire (e.g., Lecherous, Star-Crossed) is activated in the same room or area as the Cup, it takes two Drama Dice to counter it.

The Sword

The Sword of Sorte is one of Theah's more occult weapons. This gladius started life as Desco's Blade, a cult item for the worshipers of that Numan god. When the Imperator decided that the cult was gaining too much power, he arranged with its leaders to have it made the official religion of the Numan army (giving the priests much new power) but with the Imperator as High Priest. As a badge of that office, he began carrying Desco's Blade.

In time (several Imperators later) the sword became known to the general public as the Imperator's Sword, and it was one of his badges of office. So when the Senators made their Bargain and usurped the Imperator's power, Senator Allia Potestas took the sword to symbolically claim part of his power.

As she entered old age, she had the sword hung up as a trophy. It was in the Senate the day the First Prophet walked in; Potestas (now in her eighties) snatched it up but could not cut the Prophet's strands. Alarmed at his incursion, she later had the sword moved to another building. It hung there for some years until, after preaching the word of the First Prophet far and wide, St. Pierre returned to Numa. Legionnaires cornered him in that building, and he snatched the sword from the wall to (ultimately unsuccessfully) defend himself. When Corantine made the Reformed Vaticine Church the official religion of his empire, the sword was enshrined as a holy relic of that Witness of the First Prophet. Pilgrims often stop to see it, mostly unaware of its past sorcerous life.

Despite its long and colorful history, the Sword of St. Pierre's only special powers come from its time as Allia Potestas's focus item. The sword grants a Free Raise to any Swords rolls made by a strega holding it. Because of the sword's symbolic power to cut, a strega wielding it while she destroys a strand (of any type) suffers a Fate Lash only if a die explodes twice. Anyone in the same room or area of the sword who has a conflict-based Hubris (e.g., Hot-Headed) must pay two Drama Dice to resist if their Hubris is activated.

A strega who merely sees the sword will not know that it has these powers; she has to touch it. Since it is currently up on a wall, behind an altar, with priests in attendance upon it, touching it does not happen by accident. Only someone who has traced the sword's long history is likely to suspect that the Sword of St. Pierre is also the original Sword of Sorte.

The Coin

The third focus Senator Allia Potestas created to assist in honing her new Sorte magic was a coin, representing financial obligations. She used an aureus, a gold coin, minted in 425 AUC to commemorate the ascension of Julius Caius as the first Imperator. Potestas seems to have had an affection for symbols of imperial power; one wonders if her senatorial cohorts were unhappy with that, and if that somehow had something to do with the state of Vodacce today.

The current location of the aureus is up to the GM; even if its current holder is unaware of its sorcerous value, it is still a historically important coin. And if the current holder doesn't understand that, it's still shiny, shiny gold. It could be anywhere from a Vesten's treasure horde to the University of Charouse's numismatic collection to a forgotten vault in Villanova's treasure room. However, it probably has survived - something imbued with so much fate magic is unlikely to have been melted down or otherwise destroyed. Coincidences have always ensured that it has escaped such endings.

Any strega holding the aureus gains a Free Raise to all Coins rolls. If the strega passes the aureus to anyone in a monetary transaction, she automatically creates a 10 of Coins between herself and the person, with herself in the superior position. However, the strand disappears if the coin is returned. If the recipient passes it on, the strand does not disappear, but the strega has lost the coin. Anyone in the same room or area as the aureus whose Hubris is activated must pay 2 Drama Dice to resist, if the Hubris or its activation involves money or wealth. (So it will always apply to Greedy, but would only apply to Proud if the aid offered were monetary.)

The Rod

Starting with Imperator Tigranus, a rod surmounted by an orb or a Numan eagle was a symbol of authority and rulership, much as a crown might be in Theah today. When assembling her collection of assistance objects, the scepter was the only one Senator Allia Potestas had custom-made. The rod was made of jet-black marble veined with gold. She very badly wanted an imported Cathayan jade orb, as had been said to grace the tops of some famous scepters of times past, but was unable (even with her new Sorte magic) to cause one to fall into her lap. Instead, she had a fine hollow crystal orb made, and frequently filled it with the small, luminescent spiders that inhabited her homeland.

The marble rod is all that's left of the original scepter (save for a few shards of crystal still clinging to the mounting bracket). Allia Potestas had too much imperial ambition for comfort. For a long time, she manipulated the strands of the other senators of the Bargain, slicing Swords strands with the Imperator's Sword, bribing and blackmailing with the help of the Coin, and even drinking from the same Cup as some of her rivals. But "the Dragon" eventually developed an antagonism towards her that jumped from "too new to affect" to "too strong to affect" and, in the ensuing sorceorus battle, his decay-magic shattered the crystal orb (and killed all the poor spiders).

Any strega holding the scepter (or what's left of it) gains one Free Raise to all her Rods rolls. She also becomes a figure of fearsome authority, with a Fear Rating of 2 and a Free Raise to all attempts at Witty Repartee (Intimidate). If a character with a Hubris (or Flaw) relating to authority or power (e.g., Stubborn) has it activated in the same room or area as the scepter, it takes 2 Drama Dice to counter it.

The Skull

The "Black Skull" isn't actually black - it's natural bone, yellowed with age. But the strands it affects are black, and hence the name. It is the fifth and final Sorte focus.

The battle between Allia Potestas and the senator called Draco ("the Dragon," later von Drachen) ended inconclusively. She could use her Sorte to pre-establish the effects of his attacks, making them harmless, but she lacked an offensive capability to drive him off. Both parties withdrew to continue their fight using more mundane methods - political infighting and influence mongering.

But, late in life, this interaction of Draco's decay-magic with her Sorte opened Potestas's eyes to a new black strand. It didn't follow the rules that the other four kinds did. When she realized that they were an occasional harbinger of death, she ordered that the skull of the first person she saw die "because of" a black strand be brought to her. She used that as her fifth and final sorcerous focus.

Any strega holding the Black Skull can spend one Action to create an unattached black strand by rolling Resolve + Skulls vs. TN 25. She may then attack with it, rolling Finesse + Skulls to hit. If she is successful, she inflicts a Fate Lash upon her target (victim must sacrifice 3 DD or take 1 DW for every die lacking). The black strand does not have an Active or Passive Defense rating, but the strega may use Footwork or a weapon in her off-hand (subject to off-hand penalties). The strand lasts until the strega scores a hit or the end of the Scene (whichever comes first), at which point it disappears.

It takes two Drama Dice to resist the activation of any Hubris or Flaw activated in the same room or area as the Black Skull.

Porte

Blood comes from the body; the body feels. A Portier can feel a blooded object. Tears come from the eyes; the eye sees. What would happen if a Portier marked an object with his tears?

Nothing, as it turns out; the sympathetic principles that work with a droplet of blood don't work with tears. (The eye is not continually full of tears, you see.) However, the crafty Montanus found that if he marked an object and a specially-prepared silver mirror with tears cried at the same time, he could see images from around the object reflected in the mirror.

A Portier with one of Montanus's Mirrors can use his Blooding Knack to mark an object and the mirror with his tears; the TN is 10 higher than for a simple Blooding. This marking counts as one of the Portier's blooded objects. (The Portier can also blood the object; if he does so, it takes two of his item slots.) Thereafter, the mirror reflects what is around the object. The Portier can break the connection with an act of will, just as with a blooded item.

Should a tear-marked object pass into the Walkway, anyone gazing upon the mirror will be driven mad (unless the object is covered so that the sights of the Walkway are blocked). Montanus's Mirrors cannot be used to capture a mirror ghost.

Montanus has ten of these mirrors made. He never trained anyone else in their use, reserving that as his own trump card. Finding his journal or research records might hint at the true purpose of the mirrors.

Note: There was some debate on the forums over whether or not Senator Montanus was capable of tears. Keta Wahrheit suggested that the first mirror ghost was a woman Montanus genuinely loved - and who he condemned to an eternity imprisoned in the mirror-world, so that he could use his grief over her fate to power the mirrors.

El Fuego Adentro

However, one thing bothered him. His gift included immunity to fire - a nice bonus! And by necessity, it extended to whatever items he was holding, so that his clothes and possessions did not ignite. But this had an unfortunate side-effect, from his point of view. He couldn't grab hold of someone and light him on fire.

To anyone else, this might not seem like an insurmountable problem. But Senator Castillus really, really wanted to be able to grasp his enemies by the toga and watch their faces as fire crawled down his arms to finally begin to burn them. So he worked to create a talisman that would let him to precisely that. The focus itself isn't much to look at - a lump of rock with some white fibers attached, hanging from a chain. The white material is mineral known to the Arete for its ability to withstand fire. Castillus abandoned work on it once it was "good enough," in a rush to go out and use it.

Any fuego mage wearing Castillus's Talisman can elect to "turn off" the fire resistance that his touch imparts. However, it turns it all off. The mage himself will remain immune to fire and heat, none of his clothing or gear will.

Zerstorung

His words, in the days before the Bargain, led the other senators to suspect that he would be asking for the return of his youth and physical prowess. The sorcerous gift he actually requested stunned them all with its audacity - the power to kill with a touch. The room erupted in protest, but the dark powers they'd summoned ignored it and gave Draco what he wanted.

Montanus couldn't fathom it. Draco couldn't expect to live, considering the threat he posed. Then again - Draco didn't expect to live, period. He was old. And he wanted to inflict maximum damage on his enemies before he went - or after he was gone.

Draco carved a series of ornaments out of a drachen bone he'd taken as a trophy, years ago. There was a small model drachen, a hairpin covered with carved scales, a die with fangs threatening to bite down on each side, and other such fripperies. He imbued each with sorcery and hatred. They were Zerstorung bombs, designed to go off (using a variant of Indirect Touch) when the person they were created for came within five feet of them. Each inflicts 5 Dramatic Wounds of Zerstorung damage.

Whether or not these still pose a threat depends on exactly how Draco keyed them to his enemies. If he used a proper name, unless some very unlucky person with a Numan-sounding name encounters them, they are essentially useless. If he used some physical artifact to forge a link - a strand of hair or a fingernail paring - that artifact has surely decayed. The "pin" is gone and the Zerstorung bomb will affect the first person to come within five feet of it.

If he used a geas-like formulation - "Kill the wanton witch who walks the halls of power" - someone could put these deadly items to use. It would take an Occult check at TN 40 to recognize one of Draco's Gifts, and that should be allowed only if the character is aware of Zerstorung. Sorte, Scrying, or even Druidism might be able to puzzle out some or all of the triggering conditions. It might even take all three working together, at the GM's option - certainly these were never meant to be deciphered.

Montanus was able to use Draco's attack on Potestas as evidence that the senior statesman could not be trusted to maintain the "fellowship" of the Bargain. He and his followers were driven from Numa, retreating to south Eisen. Draco represented himself to the Alemanni as an incarnation of a drachen god and (after withering a few disbelievers) was largely accepted as such. The Numans with him were "of the Drachen" or "von Drachen." They continued a rule of terror in south Eisen until the first Baron Sieger eradicated the family in 981.

Note: Again on the forums, Keta Wahrheit had some good suggestions about this one, since he had long campaign experience with Zerstorung. His thoughts were that smaller "poison pills" that slowly killed from the inside out would be more in keeping with Draco's nature. In either case, since the sorcery's Knacks are focused on applying abilities under different physical conditions, the magical items should be an attempt to apply them through time. Basic Zerstorung doesn't have delayed effects.

1 - Alta Vista Babel Fish is giving me "drache," singular, "drachen," plural. But in Theah, "drachen" seems to be both singular and plural. Hopefully I've picked the right definite article to go with it.