Freebie: Akenian Relics (Gear)

 

 

Helical Archive, Magia Branch

Item(s): A0765, A0484, A0434

Classification: Minor Relics, Akenian (3rd Aeon)

Agent: Mucky Paws

 

After assisting the university in unsealing a door to a previously unexplored sub-basement of their primary faculty, the staff allowed us to claim three of the items found within for further study. These are:

• A0765, designated "Mana Visor Helm"
• A0484, designated as "Magi-Gunblade"
• A0434, designated as "Glide Mantle"

The three items have the characteristic visual flourish of Akenian equipment and are in working condition thanks to being primarily made of sungold and other superior materials. While all three are unique in manufacture, they follow a similar styling of equipment connected to Mage Knights, so it can be reasonably concluded they belonged to a retainer of one that was highly skilled and did not have magical capabilities of their own.

Mana Visor Helm

This ornate helm includes a crystal visor that allows the wearer to see the flow of concentrated mana, allowing them to visually confirm spells are present or being cast. Presumably, a skilled combatant can use this increased awareness to their advantage.

• Anyone wearing the Mana Visor Helm is able to see the flow of mana. This should be noted during Exploration.
• In addition, the Helm grants the wearer a +2 (Minor) Bonus on Insight and Deftness Rolls for avoiding a Magical Ability or effect.
• COST: N/A, Slots: 1
  

Magi-Gunblade  

An elegant weapon suitable for both close quarters combat and sniping. The built in spell canister also meant the weapon could be used even if one did not have any physical ammunition on hand.  While kept in good condition, the handle is quite worn, demonstrating this was well used.

• The Magi-Gunblade is a Master/Large Mechanical Missile Combo Weapon made from sungold.
  
• Rather than normal ammunition, the Magi-Gunblade utilizes Spell Canisters, a specialized form of Spell Engine. One of these is placed in a chamber between the blade and grip.
• Spell Canisters come in many variations, but two examples are..
• Infinity Shot: The most common type of Spell Canister. These draw in ambient mana and compress it into a projectile. This process begins again the moment the Magi-Gunblade is fired. This means while the weapon must still be "reloaded" once used, this process happens automatically and the wielder can act normally in the turn while the canister charges.
• Wide Shot: This Canister unleashes a blast of energy that bursts into many deadly fragments. When used, the wielder's attack is made against everyone occupying a targeted Area, hitting anyone whose defense the result matches or exceeds. Once used, this canister must be recharged in the same way as a normal small spell engine.
  
• Spell Canisters take an action to replace in the middle of a fight or perilous situation.
• COST: N/A, 2 Slots 

 

Glide Mantle

A grand cape that billows dramatically when worn, but manages to never get in the way while doing so. This sort of thing was considered very stylish in ancient Akenia. It also grants its bearer the ability to ride the wind.

• The Glide Mantle grants its wearer the sage ability Practical Flight as long as the wind is present. This is generally the case outdoors, though it might also be the case within certain structures (like a cavern an outside breeze carries through) at the GM's discretion. 
• Cost: N/A, 1 Slot 

 

Setting: The Seven Masks of the Wondersmith

The Wondersmith is an enigmatic figure in Outer World's mythology. A protege of the Creator who was present for the forging of Promise, it was their hands that crafted Outer World, the Sun Machine, and many other things at the behest of the Unshaped and their own whims. When the Unshaped were  defeated, the Wondersmith vanished from the lips and minds of balladeers and chroniclers - though obviously not from history entirely.

Throughout the aeons the Wondersmith has remained, though all that follow them are rumors and folktales. Strange towers and devices are attributed to them. They are added to many great and terrible events in history by whispers and tall tales after the fact. Folk just go along with it as well: of course, why wouldn't the Wondersmith be involved?

Descriptions of the Wondersmith are extremely varied. A bouncing, jocular toymaker. A plump and kindly baker. A wiry blacksmith who lets their craft speak for them, just to name a few. The only consistency is flowing red clothing and a golden mask of some kind. It is often assumed that those making these claims are mistaken, or coloring their experience in some way. But they are not - these individuals and more are all the Wondersmith. They are simply one of their 7 masks.

For you see, long ago, the Wondersmith realized that all things, even things that think they are forever, have an ending of some kind. The Wondersmith could craft a 1000 Outer Worlds, 10'0000 Sun Machines, and in spite of the skill and perseverance required for such a task, Ending would still find them and eventually grind them into gossamer and stardust. It might take multitudes of aeons, but it would still happen somewhere, someday, and this inevitability, this end of hope, was too much for the Wondersmith to bear.

So they came to a simple conclusion. They would outmaneuver Ending.

With their many tools they split their soul into seven parts, and gave each a mask: forger, cook, artificer, alchemist, tailor, gadgeteer and cartographer. Each was then granted a unique form and demeanor by the others, and went their separate ways and spread across the whole of Outer World, save the cartographer, who remains in a secret place that even their compatriots know little about. The exploits of each is shared to the others through their masks, and if Ending catches one through one of its many agents, the others will quickly know and act as needed.

So far, this final step has not been called upon. Each has wandered and even have settled into various places for a time, unmolested by the inevitability their grand efforts have sought to avoid for at least 2 ages at this point. But this has only made them more careful and worried. In the time they have spent apart, each has began to plot on their own, creating a great, increasingly wide and brittle web of schemes. Each believes they might have stumbled upon the answer, the thing that will grant them true eternity.

They are wrong, of course - but when has that stopped anybody, really?

The BREAK!! store is open!

 

 

Just a short but exciting announcement today, but our store is now open!

Physical and digital books now available to everyone!

Prices are discounted for a short period - to celebrate the launch!

Visit the shop

Note: If you're a FLGS checkout the wholesale section (and sign up for discounts!)

Freebie: Harmful Terrain

 

Traveling throughout Outer World is exciting, but also perilous. Sometimes the danger doesn't come from a monster or ne'er-do-well like one might expect, but from the land itself.

 

Below are a few examples of Harmful Terrain as described in the Journey section of the BREAK!! tabletop rpg rulebook. These might surround an important adventure site, add some perilous color to a location in your saga, or work as an explanation as to why merchants usually take the long way around when traveling to a particular settlement.

 

Ailments contracted from the below Harmful Territory examples can be healed in the normal fashion described in their individual entries, Abilities that remove said Ailments, or by simply remaining outside of the Harmful Terrain for at least 24 hours and resting. Also note that Bio-Mechanoids and other characters immune to things that affect organic individuals are immune to effects that can be blocked with re-breathers or armor with the Anti-Hazard custom ability.

Scorching Sands

• Most commonly encountered in the Blazing Garden, these desserts have absorbed so much of the sun machine's light that they have become dangerously hot. Watch out for all the fire aligned creatures that stalk these sands!
  
• Contracted Ailment: Failing a Grit Check while traveling through or entering the Scorching Sands means you incur the Fatigued Ailment. You can avoid this by wearing Extreme Weather Clothing (Heat).
  
• Inhabitants: Monsters in the sands often breathe fire and have protection from heat. It's said dancing cacti that bring luck hang around as well, but few have ever seen them.
  
  

Doldrum Flats

• Certain places in the Wistful Dark are so devoid of joy and energy that they sap that from anything traveling around them. This is usually due to the presence of a particularly terrible curse or grudge. These places are grey and near lifeless, with twisted plant life and some sort of heavy mist framing them.
  
• Contracted Ailment: Failing a Grit Check while traveling through or entering the Doldrum Flats means you incur the Dispirited Ailment. You can avoid this if wearing armor with the Anti-Hazard custom ability.
  
• Inhabitants: Not many creatures are able to live in the Doldrum Flats, though wicked undead are fond of wandering around them hoping to pick off helplessly despondent travelers. Strangely, the occasional flower will grow here and these are beautiful and rather valuable.
  
  

Confounding Cavern

• Deep in the Buried Kingdom are caverns of reflective crystal and echoing halls that confuse and discombobulate. It's very easy to lose both your senses and your way in these winding tunnels. Scholars wonder if some primordial magic left behind by the Creator is to blame.
  
• Contracted Ailment: Failing a Grit Check while traveling through or entering a Confounding Cavern means you incur the Disoriented Ailment. Understanding Creator's Script renders you immune to this effect.
  
• Inhabitants: The main dangers here come from getting lost or harming yourself. These caverns often seem to be near places of ancient importance and so any defenses or guardians of such locations also pose a threat.
  
  

Petrifying Forest 

• Sometimes if an unshaped is slain in a particularly violent or indelicate way, its body curses the ground where it lies and fills it with calcifying energy. The trees that grow here are made of bone, ice, or rock, and anything living that passes through has a chance of joining them in that state.
  
• Contracted Ailment: Failing a Grit Check while traveling through or entering a Petrifying Forest means you incur the Petrified Ailment. This can be avoided by wearing armor with the Anti-Hazard custom Ability.
  
• Inhabitants: Twisted monsters made of the forest's cursed material wander these places and collect - or destroy - statues made from unwary travelers. They are tough and difficult to harm, but some might make for good crafting material if skinned.
  
  

Bounce Bog 

• Among the marshes and wetlands of the Twilight Meridian is the occasional Bounce Bog, where pent up whimsy gasses can cause animal, monster, and folk alike to become oddly buoyant. The animals and plants that live in these places are sometimes carried elsewhere by the wind, which can warn travelers of their presence.
  
• Contracted Ailment: Failing a Grit Check while traveling through or entering a Bounce Bog means you incur the Ballooned Ailment. This can be avoided by wearing a Re-Breather, or armor with the Anti-Hazard custom Ability.
  
• Inhabitants: Creatures that have adapted to these places use their odd state to their advantage, bobbing smoothly along the surface of the water. Some of the larger floating plants can be used as makeshift transportation if pruned.
  
  

Frosted Tundra

• The eternal night of the Wistful Dark can create these bitterly cold regions that are often covered in a blanket of permanent snow. The wind here can occasionally sound like mournful singing, only making it all the more haunting.
  
• Contracted Ailment: Failing a Grit Check while traveling through a Frosted Tundra means you incur the Fatigued Ailment. This can be avoided by wearing an Extreme Weather (Cold) outfit.
  
• Inhabitants and Other Dangers: The monsters that wander a Frosted Tundra are unsurprisingly imbued with ice abilities. The occasional frozen undead also graces these dreadful lands.
  
  

Flux Fields

• Flux fields are odd spots where the flow of mana is so precariously balanced it's actually volatile, causing the landscape and its inhabitants to shift on occasion and become a little gooey. These are mostly found in the Twilight Meridian, but have been seen in other parts of Outer World as well.
  
• Contracted Ailment: Failing a Grit Check while traveling through a Flux Field means you incur the Jellyfied Ailment. This can be avoided by wearing armor with the Anti-Hazard custom ability.
  
• Inhabitants and Other Dangers: Odd, flexible monsters that look partially melted stalk the Flux Field. In addition, certain individuals find the risks of living in them are outweighed by the potential magical studies that can be conducted in these spaces.
  
  

Prismatic Wasteland 

• Many ancient facilities from the 3rd Aeon have gone unmaintained, falling in disrepair and creating an excess of magic that pollutes the land. Frankly, some of these structures were doing it while they were being maintained, but that's neither here nor there. The thing to understand is that the spots getting the worst of it sprout any number of strange magical flora, becoming garishly colorful and dangerous.
  
• Contracted Ailment: Traveling through a Prismatic Wasteland exposes you to Arcane Contamination Syndrome. This can be avoided by wearing armor with the Anti-Hazard Custom ability.
• GM NOTE!: This one is just here to show that you can play around with Harmful Terrain to induce other effects alongside Status Ailments!
  
• Inhabitants and Other Dangers: Creatures within the Prismatic Wasteland often have abilities associated with a particular Odditis symptom. In addition, while the plants here are contaminated, they often can be used to make potent imbued consumables.