Windrose Arsenal

Blue Jade Flying Fang Daggers, Artifact 4

Tepet Karst was an adopted daughter of Tepet himself, one of his beloved scouts. A master of the Eastern Rose yamabushi school, she was a scout and spirit-talker of great renown. After Tepet’s elevation to matriarch, Karst was charged to chart the Blessed Isle.

In preparation for her voyage, Karst’s husband forged her the Windrose Arsenal. He cast blue jade from the stone of their home in Lord’s Crossing, that no matter where she went she would find her way home. He harvested meteor iron from the soaring gorges of the Imperial Mountain, that no matter where she went she would never be lost.

After several voyages and expeditionary missions on the Isle and abroad, Tepet Karst had produced some of the most lovely maps; even today, her work is displayed in the yamabushi halls of Lord’s Crossing.

Tepet surrendered the Windrose Arsenal to Cynis Fa-Len as part of the husband-price for three Tepet husbands to marry three Cynis daughters–among them Cynis Jaylah. Fa-Len gave Jaylah the Arsenal as her graduation gift; no matter where Jaylah wanders, she must now constantly be reminded of her marriage burden, and of her mother’s sincere and boundless generosity.

Attunement: 5m

Type: Light Artifact (Accuracy +5/+4/+3/+0/-2, Damage +10L, Overwhelming 3)

Tags: Artifact, Lethal, Melee, Thrown (Short)

Hearthstone Slots: 1

Aesthetics

The Windrose Arsenal is a beautiful necklace made from meteor iron and blue jade. It has a large socket for a hearthstone; when there is no hearthstone, it is an attractive asymmetric absence.

The Arsenal can summon an array of eight phantom kunai. Each knife corresponds to one of the Eight Directions. They look as if they are made of crystal or glass, and each one trails a unique color of light. When they strike a target, they shatter in a cascade of ice and lightning, a flash of a trigram, and then reappear in orbit around you a moment later.

The knives float and twist like compass arms, occasionally orientating toward powerful elemental displays matching their direction or other powerful effects.

Scenery Features

The Windrose Arsenal makes use of a unique mechanic called scenery Features. A scenery Feature is an element of the scenery or terrain of the scene: a rushing river, a surging gas pocket, a blazing bonfire, etc.

A Feature is defined by two traits: scope and intensity.

When a character makes an attack which takes advantage of a Feature, their target gets a penalty to their Defense based on the intensity of the Feature. When a character defends in a way which takes advantage of a Feature, they get a bonus to their Defense. Like with Intimacies, an attack or defense which takes advantage of multiple Features only gets the highest bonus or penalty.

Scope

Scope defines how large the Feature is. Scopes increase as follows:

• Personal,
• Close,
• Short,
• Medium,
• Long,
• Absolute.

Personal scope affects only a single person, like a statue or a free-standing tree. Absolute scope is defined by where it is not in a scene, for example, fighting on rafts atop a rushing river.

Intensity

Like Intimacies, a Feature has one of three Intensities: minor, major, or defining.

A minor Feature is a quirk or nuissance. Thick underbrush and the twilight sun shining in an unfavorable direction are examples of minor Features. A minor Feature gives +2 Defense when used to defend and -1 Defense when used as an attack.

A major Feature is felt presently and immediately over the area it affects. It should be easy to use in a description and avoiding it feels like an effort. A crumbling cliff face, intense cavern darkness, and a toppled feast in the middle of a great hall are examples of major Features. A major Feature gives +3 Defense when used to defend and -2 Defense when used to attack.

A defining Feature is omnipresent in its scope and has a pressing impact on every action. Two defining Features overlapping feels like a great struggle of titans. Examples include a raging forest fire tearing through the scene, a hurricane wracking a port, and the ground falling out from under your feet on an unstable ledge whenever you move. A defining Feature gives +4 Defense when used to defend and -3 Defense when used to attack.

Evocations of the Windrose Arsenal

All Artifact Thrown weapons gain the following effect:

This weapon automatically returns to you after use.

While attuned to the Arsenal, you may summon up the knives at the beginning of a fight as a draw/ready weapon action, and can banish them at the end of the scene. While the knives are banished, the Arsenal is still obviously magical; you just have the nice option of not having to carry the knives around.

When summoned, the knives are oriented to their respective directions. You have the Direction Sense merit. The Arsenal counts as exceptional equipment for making maps, navigating, or exploring new territory. If such a roll upholds a Major or Defining Principle, double 9s.

Because you are resonant to jade, you unlock Erudite Cartographer Techniques for free.

Essence 1

Erudite Cartographer Techniques

Cost: –; Mins: Essence 1

Type: Permanent; Duration: Permanent

Keywords: None

Prerequisite Charms: None

The spirit of Tepet Karst is infused into the Arsenal. Simply by wielding it, you may inherit some of her skill.

You gain the following effects permanently:

• You know the exact route, by land or by sea, to return to where you have been;
• You can immediately understand any map you see, even if it is hidden or has been obscured. A map which is covered reveals as much to you as if it were uncovered, simply by glimpsing a corner. You gain an immediate, reflexive roll against ciphered maps, even if you don’t know what you’re looking at is a map.
• You gain a free Lore (Maps and Cartography) specialty. You may apply your Survival specialties as if they were Lore specialties to Introduce Fact or Contest Fact.

Roving Soul Method

Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 1

Type: Simple; Duration: Instant

Keywords: None

Prerequisite Charms: Erudite Cartographer Techniques

The Arsenal desires to be put to use: to travel to new places and thrill at new sights. It empowers you to find the unknown.

Pick one:

• Directions: Pick a destination whose name you know but whose location you
• don’t, such as a town or valley. The Arsenal points the way relative to your
• current location.
• Discovery: The Arsenal points toward some nearby unknown place of
• significance or power, like a wayward demesne or a set of ruins.

Once per travel, when you activate this Charm, you get a banked point of Willpower, which you can use on any Ride, Sail, or Survival roll to move toward your goal, or on any Lore roll to introduce fact about it. You can also spend the Willpower to help someone else’s roll who is doing the journeying for you, like assist the captain of a ship.

Tramontane Discovery

Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1

Type: Simple; Duration: Instant

Keywords: None

Prerequisite Charms: Erudite Cartographer Techniques

Through the power of the Arsenal, you either create a new feature in a surge of elemental power, or take advantage of a feature which was always present in the scene, we players just hadn’t noticed it…

Roll (Intelligence + Lore) with your Maps and Cartography background as an Introduce Scenery roll. An Introduce Scenery roll creates or reveals a personal, minor Feature within the scene. Each success on your roll gives you one point, which you can spend to enhance the Feature:

• 1 point: Increase the scope of the Feature by one step;
• 2 points: Increase the intensity of the Feature by one step.

Unspent points are lost.

If you introduce a Feature which is also an Environmental Hazard, you must pay Initiative as if you had used the Create an Environnmental Hazard gambit.

Essence 2

Sirocco Instincts

Cost: –; Mins: Essence 2

Type: Permanent; Duration: Permanent

Keywords: None

Prerequisite Charms: Tramontane Discovery

The Arsenal is ready to act, and hums with anticipation as danger approaches. As you call forth the knives to defend you, they twitch suddenly to point out the most powerful feature… Ah yes, that will do.

You may activate Tramontane Discovery reflexively as part of your Join Battle roll.

A Secret Evocation

This Evocation will be revealed when you meet the secret trigger to learn it for free… How mysterious…