| THE TOUCHSTONE LEVEL 4 TREASURE |
| At first glance, a Touchstone is nothing special. It appears to be a simple rock suspended from a leather strap, and Kenning reveals only a weak flicker of magic. However, anyone who closes their hand around the Touchstone immediately feels a sense of calm rush over them. All rolls to stay calm are at -1 difficulty, and all rolls to become agitated in any way are at +1 difficulty, whether by the player or an outside source. However, the stone is extremely addictive. After a total of one hour holding the stone, the player must pass a Willpower test (difficulty 7) to put down the stone. After a total of six hours holding the stone, its effects increase. In addition to the original penalties and benifits, all rolls to stay calm gain one free success, and all rolls to become agitated or worried in any way lose one success. This loss cannot turn a failure into a botch. At this point, putting down the stone at any time requires a Willpower roll, difficulty 8, and two successes. Furthermore, the person's thoughts will continue straying towards the stone, requiring a Willpower roll each hour, difficulty 7, to avoid getting the stone. After a total of 40 hours, it is nearly impossible to get the stone out of the person's hands. All rolls to stay calm automatically succeed, and all rolls to develop any extreme emotion automatically fail. The person cannot put down the stone on their own at this point, and, if it is forcibly removed, will do everything in their power to retrieve it. After a month of this, the character simple drifts away, no longer caring enough even to keep eating or breathing. Every day in which a character avoids touching the stone reduces their total hour count by one. This can be extremely effective, in the long run, making this tool, properly used, good for people to use. It is more commonly used as a trap, however, to take out an opponent without recourse to violence. |