Treasure Creation for Live-Action Changeling

Revised version, May 21, 2000 (with slight changes 5/11/2001, 6/12/2001, and 7/9/2001) -- somewhat powered down, as per 1998 player complaints and my own and other Storytellers' observations.  The old rules are still up for comparison, but basically I've imposed trait limits and made some things more expensive.  All Treasures should comply with these rules, so some of you may have to revamp old ones, if you can even still find the stats...  These rules are considered "in progress," as your input is welcome and I may have second thoughts myself, but if I change these I'll announce it somehow, and I'll try to have the issue settled before game week.

The Shining Host rules leave it to the Storyteller to create your Treasure for you. Well, I just can't be bothered. Use these rules to craft your own, and I'll approve it or not as my whimsy dictates.

If this all seems too daunting, use the general guidelines on SH p. 90 to make something up and I'll take a look at it. And some cool ideas just don't fall nicely into a point-creation category (how many bonus traits does the magical camera mentioned below need to be able to photograph the Dreaming?).  So in short, if you can't use these rules, or don't understand them, I'll help you make your Treasure after all.

I welcome questions and comments, especially suggestions for improvement.

Chimera or Treasure?

Simply:

1. If it affects the real world without Enchantment or Calling on the Wyrd, it's a Treasure.
2. If it's a real-world item with magical effects, even if they're only chimerical, it's a Treasure. (Here we might include real-world technological items that can affect the Dreaming, like a camera that can photograph fae miens.)
3. A powerful chimerical object with a chimerical effect is still a chimera.

(I will also note that chimerae are flashier-looking, although Treasures also tend too look much cooler to fae than to the unenchanted.)

This contradicts some Changeling sourcebooks, but oh well (see the section on Treasures in Kithbook: Nockers, beginning p. 58, and especially "Mundane Weapons," pp. 59-60, which says non-nockers must buy nocker-made chimerical weapons with the Treasure Background -- but in the end, you have spent one Background trait  of some kind for that chimerical sword).

That said, in the Midsummer 2000 game, where everyone will be kithain or Enchanted, the distinction will probably not matter too much. If you want an object of Mighty Magicks, you should use these rules as a guide.

Creation Points

Per bonus Attribute trait useable by owner -- 3 creation pts. (Maximum = level of the Treasure.)
-------> (These are in addition to the normal Bonus traits provided by, say, a sword.)
Per bonus Ability level (useable only through the Treasure) -- 2 creation pts. (Maximum 5 Abilities).
Per additional Glamour trait possessed by item -- 1 creation pt. (Maximum 10 Glamour).
-------> (Treasures begin with one Glamour trait per level.)
Per cantrip-type effect -- 4 creation pts. per Art level (basic, intermediate, or advanced; an advanced Art would cost 12)
-------> Having power equal to one Art does not mean it also has lower levels of that Art unless you buy them too.
-------> Additional Realms cost 1 creation point; see below.
Per 3 Attribute traits (NOT Bonus traits) possessed by the Treasure (sentient only) -- 1 creation pt.
-------> (Maximum number of traits in any category = Level of Treasure x 3)
Per Ability trait possessed by the Treasure (sentient only) -- 2 creation pts. (Maximum 5 Abilities).
-------> (These are intended more to be "advisory" abilities: a magic sword with Thallain Lore, for instance.
-------> Also appropriate would be Leadership or Subterfuge for use against unauthorized wielders.)

Cantrip effects

If you choose a cantrip power that has a varying effect depending on the number of Bunk traits, it will have the minimal effect unless you perform a Bunk.  If you have bought "Bunk-free" casting, use the level of the Treasure to determine the effect (so a cantrip cast Bunk-free with a 4-trait Treasure would have the same effect as if cast with a 4-trait Bunk).

Realms are tricky here: assume you get one relevant Realm free that makes the thing work properly, or else it doesn't need a Realm at all: A ring of invisibility casts "Veiled Eyes" on whoever wears it, regardless of Realm. A ring that made only faeries invisible would have the "Limited Use" flaw. A ring that let you turn *other* people invisible, however, requires Realm use. If it did not also work on you, the "Ring of Making Other People Invisible" would have one free level of Actor or Fae. Additional levels would have to be bought. -- In some cases, the free level of the Realm is not the first level:  A ring that let you turn chimerical creatures invisible would have the Fae Realm: Manifold Chimera built in, but if you also wanted the first three levels of the Fae Realm in the ring, you'd have to buy them.  I hope this makes sense.

Cantrip effect challenges are resolved like any other cantrip challenge (use the level of the Treasure as bonus traits in Bunk-free casting). Glamour expenditures, if necessary, come from the Treasure or the user, whichever is desireable. Sentient Treasures can also use their own Attribute traits to cast cantrips, if desired.

(Note: I'm taking suggestions from the audience about how quickly and indeed simply how Treasures should regain Glamour. "Faster than Kithain" is my thinking, but the matter requires some thought.)

Merits and Flaws

  (NEW 6/12/2001) Some Merits and Flaws (especially Supernatural ones) available to player characters may also be appropriate for your Treasure. In general, however, they won't be as cost-effective putting them into your Treasure as they would otherwise be if purchased for character directly. Most Merits will cost roughly half again as much, rounded up, as normal. For instance: If you want a Ring of Regeneration, incorporating the 7-trait Merit: Regeneration, you will need to spend 11 creation points on it.

 Well, in fact you may load those Flaws up as much as you like, but only so many will provide extra creation points. Thus you can have a Hostile Treasure (a 5-trait Flaw) even if you have only spent 3 Background traits on it, if it suits the concept, but you gain only 4 creation points from the Flaw.

At Hand (2-3 point Merit): So long as the user knows where it is, the Treasure can be summoned from its location with a simple test (appearing next turn). At 3 points, the user doesn't need to know its location to summon it (although if it is in the Dreaming/Umbra/Shadowlands etc., or the user is and it's in the mundane world, a Static Mental challenge, difficulty of the Gauntlet/Shroud/Banality separating their locations, is necessary). If the test fails, the user may try again either the following turn (in combat) or 10 minutes later (otherwise).

Ban or Geas (1-5 point Flaw): There is something you must do, or must not do, in order for the Treasure to continue to function or (for sentient Treasures) to remain friendly. This may range from requiring occasional extra Bunks or spending the wielder's own Glamour to human sacrifice. The number of points taken should indicate both the difficulty of keeping the Ban or Geas and how drastically or how permanently the Treasure's usefulness/goodwill is lost should it not be kept.

Banality's Curse (3-point Flaw): If the Treasure is exposed for more than 10 minutes to someone with more Banality than it has permanent Glamour, the user must make a simple test: on a loss the item will stop working until it is taken to a Freehold. The user can spend a Glamour trait to force it to work for one turn (or usage, or application, or for up to ten minutes, depending on what the thing actually does).

Boom! (7-point Merit): You have the "Bomb"  in challenges related to the use of your Treasure. There is no need to announce it first, for the ways of Glamour are mysterious and wacky and often surprise the hell out of people. (If you have no idea what the "Bomb" is, see "Celerity: Rapidity" [p. 141] or "Potence: Vigor" [p. 166] in Laws of the Night Revised.)

Bunk Buddy (5-point Merit): The Background level of the Treasure may be used as bonus Bunk traits in any cantrip - not just the Treasure's own cantrip-type effects - so long as the item is currently in the caster's possession (and, if applicable, feeling cooperative).  The maximum number of Bunk traits that can be used in a cantrip challenge is 5, and you must still perform some sort of Bunk.

Bunk Free (3 or 5-point Merit): Intermediate or Advanced cantrip-type effects cast with the Treasure do not require a Bunk. See above.

Cantrip Storage (1-point Merit): For each point of this Merit taken, up to the Treasure's Background level, the user may store one of his own cantrips (or get someone else to store a cantrip) in the item, to be released when he desires. If the cantrip requires Glamour, these must be spent at the time of casting and must be the caster's own (unless the Treasure also has the "Glamour Bank" Merit).

Chimerical Damage (2-3 point Merit): Treasures that are magical real weapons usually cause both real and chimerical damage (the mundane aspect will damage a changeling's mortal seeming, while the faerie aspect will damage his fae mien). With this Merit, you may "switch" to chimerical damage only so that you may use it against other kithain without killing their mortal seemings. One Glamour trait (of the Treasure) must be expended to change to chimerical; changing back is free. (While chimerical the Treasure counts as a chimera for purposes of interacting with unenchanted beings.) At 3 points, the change to chimerical is free.

Dark Fate (5 point Flaw): No matter how useful the item is now, it must (sentient or not) somehow, someday be involved in the downfall or even destruction of its wielder. There's no telling when that might be, but the more you use it, the sooner it will come.

Eternal Enchantment (6 point Merit): so long as the object is worn or constantly in someone's possession, the bearer is Enchanted. Kithain who carry or wear such an item have the option of permanently spending a Glamour trait to avoid gaining a new permanent Banality trait.

Glamour Bank (2 or 4 point Merit): as a 2-point Merit, you may store your own (or someone else's, if they cooperate) Glamour traits, up to a number equal to the Background level of the Treasure, in the item indefinitely. As a 4-point Merit, the Treasure can lend you one of its own Glamour traits (which must be used instantly) a number of times per day equal to its Background level.

Hostile (5 point Flaw): The Treasure hates you. To get it to benefit you in any way you must either spend a Willpower trait or defeat it in a Social challenge (and it has a number of bonus Social traits equal to its Background trait rating for this purpose).  It can retest with its own Willpower; you can retest with an appropriate Ability.  If you succeed, you may control its actions for one Scene.  If you fail, for a Scene it will do whatever screws you over the most:  fail to budge, subtract its Background trait rating from your traits in a challenge, or even add them if it thinks that succeeding at what you are attempting will in fact harm you in some way.  Hostile Treasures may also cast their cantrips on their own to inconvenience or harm their owners. The Treasure must have the Sentience Merit to take this Flaw.

Limited Use (3-point Flaw): The bonus traits or other benefits provided by the item may be used only in a specific kind of challenge (for instance, a necklace that provides bonus Social traits only in Seduction challenges). (NOTE: It is however assumed that bonus traits related to the use of a magic weapon are only good for that weapon anyway - a +3 sword won't give you bonus traits for your non-magical machine gun. "I get these bonus traits only when I attack" is pretty much right out, too. Rather, think of a sword that provides bonus Physical traits only when parrying, or only when used against redcaps.)

Negative Trait (1-point Flaw):  In addition to the usual Negative Traits that apply to an object of its kind (see SH p. 171f. for weapons), your Treasure is further flawed.  Thus, your magical short sword is not only "Short" but perhaps "Fragile."  This Flaw may be taken more than once, but of course you can't take creation points in excess of your Flaw maximum.

Rebellious (2-4-point Flaw) point Flaw): You must have the "Sentience" Merit for this Flaw. This is similar to the "Hostile" and "Limited Use" Flaws above, except the Treasure isn't necessarily out to get its user; it just wants to do its own thing. A Rebellious sentient Treasure must be defeated in a Mental challenge  to get it to do anything it doesn't want to do, and it may spend its own Willpower to retest against you (whereas you can retest with, e.g.,  Leadership or Intimidation).  Rebellious Treasures have one bonus trait per Background level in Mental challenges against their users.  The value of the Flaw varies according to what triggers Rebelliousness (2 for "I'm not stabbing that giant worm; it's icky" to 4 for a version of that sword of redcap-slaying that not only does not provide bonus traits, but in fact refuses to come out of the scabbard, or subtracts traits, when facing other kiths).

Retest (4-6 point Merit): You have one free retest in challenges relating to the use of your Treasure. (This does not apply in attempts to control it, if you have an appropriate Flaw.) -- (NEW 7/9/2001): At five traits, the retest cannot be canceled by another retest, but must be played out separately (although it can be used to cancel your opponent's retest). At six traits, this retest is always the last in the challenge.

Safe (3-point Merit or 1-point Flaw): The item may not be used against its rightful owner. Obviously, this is a Flaw if the possessor does not qualify as "rightful."  As a Merit, this may not be combined with the "Hostile" Flaw.

Sentience (3 point Merit): The Treasure is self aware, and has one Willpower trait per level of the Treasure. You must choose three Mental and three Social traits for the item (additional traits can be purchased with creation points), and a Seelie or Unseelie Legacy that represents the personality of the Treasure.  Willow-Whisper and Prop are necessary to communicate with the item unless the Telepathy Merit or the Speech Merit or Flaw are taken.

Shifty (2 point Flaw): The item has both a Seelie and an Unseelie Legacy. Make a simple test whenever you use the item: on a loss it will change Legacies; when its Legacy is opposed to the Court of its wielder it becomes temporarily Rebellious (see above). The Sentience Merit is necessary to take this Flaw.

Speech (1-2 point Flaw; 1-2 point Merit): The item is capable of chimerical (1 point) or real (2 points) verbal communication. As a Flaw it talks constantly and perhaps unwisely. Sentience is necessary.

Telepathy (1-point Merit): The item may communicate telepathically with its user. Requires "Sentience" Merit.

Unfortunately at Hand (2-point Flaw): No matter how baneful the item is or how desireable it might be to get rid of it, it will always reappear somewhere in the owner's possession. The "At Hand" Merit may not be taken with this Flaw.

Wrong Owner (1-5 point Flaw): The item belongs to someone else who would very much like it back, even if they are unaware of its supernatural status. The number of Flaw traits depends on how powerful or persistent the real owner is (similar to the "Enemy" Flaw in Laws of the Night ). Sentient Treasures might or might not wish to be returned; some may even still have a telepathic link with their rightful owners.

Wyrd (5 point Merit): The Treasure can "call upon the Wyrd" for its wielder, spending its own Glamour and Willpower traits. Sentience is necessary.

Examples

The Shining Host rules (p. 90) suggest a "circlet of command over mortals" as appropriate for a 4-trait Treasure. Both as an example and to prove to myself that these rules kinda work, here is such a circlet:

Glamour: 4
Arts: Sovereign: Dictum; Sovereign: Grandeur
Realms: Actor (all five levels), Scene 1
Merit: Retest (4M)
Flaws: Limited Use (3F), Ban (2F)

Description: The Circlet allows the wearer to cast certain Sovereign cantrips on mortals and grants a free Retest in Social challenges against them. Mortals wearing a four-leaf clover or who say to the wearer "You have no power over me" are completely immune to the powers of the Circlet.

The Flaw: Limited Use comes into play because one could also construct a Treasure that granted retests in all Social challenges. Also, "Grandeur" usually involves the Realm of the person to be made grand, and affects everyone who sees the caster. Here we fudge a bit. Assume no Realm is necessary for the Circlet to allow the wearer to use Grandeur against mortals -- but fae are immune.

The 21 points (16 creation points + 5 for Flaws) were spent as follows: one Basic Art (4 traits), one Intermediate Art (8 traits), 5 Realms (5; one level of Actor was free); one Merit (4).
 

2. Flaming Sword (4-Trait treasure)

Lots of people, of course, think in terms of magic weapons, I guess because most of us started our RPG career in the dungeons.  While "Midsummer 2000" will (I hope) be more or less combat-free, here's an example of spending those same 4 Background traits for the power of kick-ass (although not as kick-ass as a sword built under 1998 rules, which is entirely the point).

Glamour: 5
Bonus Traits: 6 (- Heavy, - Clumsy)
Arts: Pyretics: Prometheus' Fist (additional level of damage; chance of catching target on fire)
Realms: n/a (can light only itself on fire)
Merits: Bunk Free (3M)
Flaws: Extra Negative Trait; Banality's Curse (3F), Wrong Owner (1F)

Description:  This longsword is hot -- it catches fire AND it's stolen: a changeling liberated it from the private collection of some tiresome mortal rich guy. It can be Clumsy to use because when it's on fire it's a bit uncomfortable to hold too tightly.

Three of the bonus traits and the "Heavy" negative trait are usual for a mundane longsword.

Normally, Prometheus' Fist requires the expenditure of Physical traits to keep it burning, but that's impractical here. Once the cantrip has been activated with a Glamour trait and a successful challenge, it will burn chimerically until the end of the combat. Real fire costs one Glamour trait per turn.  Obviously in real-world combat one gets more mileage out of one's Glamour by calling on the Wyrd here.

Since this is a real sword, attacking a changeling with it does one real and one chimerical level of damage. With the flame on, it does an additional level of damage in the appropriate category, but not in both.

The 21 points (16 creation points + 5 for Flaws) were spent as follows: one Intermediate Art (8 points), 3 bonus traits (total 9 points), Merit (3 points), one extra Glamour trait (one point).