Twelve ancient octagonal stone talismans, each carved with a different symbol of the Chinese zodiac, and each bearing a cryptic inscription on the back, which describes its power. These are very powerful artifacts, and should either be used in an Unbelievably Powerful (or greater) setting, or heavily restricted. Based on Jackie Chan Adventures.
They are:
The Rat Talisman gives motion, and a semblance of life, to the motionless. When placed in statues, toys, etc., they will start moving and acting of their own volition. They are neither alive nor sentient though. Particularly large items animated should use the rules presented in the MechaThrash sourcebook.
Rules: Anything which can theoretically move will move when this Talisman is placed on them, becoming alive, in a way. The actual stats of the animate item vary; a toy would be weak, a statue very tough. Living beings turned to stone or otherwise immobilized, like the Demon Sorcerer Shendu, will return to their original form and vitality if they acquire this Talisman.
The Dragon Talisman grants the power of Combustion, allowing the wielder to hurl explosive fireballs from their hands. These can easily punch holes in walls or cars, or anyone stupid enough to get in your way. The wielder of this Talisman gains a golden, sparking aura while it is active - lighting up like Times Square on New Years. They will act like a torch should it be dark enough to require one.
Rules: Treat as a Chi Blast, with Exploding Blast (2 CP version), Flaming Blast, Forceful Blast and Power Boosting (auto. 15 Chi).
Accuracy: +0, Action Points: 6, Chi Cost: 10 (paid by the Talisman), Damage: 1d10+20, Move: 0, Range: 12 hexes
In addition to the above, everyone within one hex of the target takes half damage, it can start fires, and anyone struck by the blast suffers a knockdown.
The Rabbit Talisman dramatically increases the speed of whoever holds it. It was last seen encrusted in the shell of the world's oldest Tortoise.
Rules: Agility is increased by +5. Quadruple the Move scores of all maneuvers, and Move is no longer limited by Agility. This mean that the Dash maneuver now has a Move of 24 and the Movement maneuver lets the wielder Move 4 hexes for each Action Point spent. Halve the Action Point cost of all relevant maneuvers (all Punches, Kicks, but not Focus maneuvers, etc.), except for Dash and Movement.
The gift of karmic balance between Ying and Yang is received from the Tiger Talisman. This has little outwards effect, though almost every martial artist knows the importance of karmic balance. Things become more interesting if it is broken. There is a hairline fracture along the centre of the Talisman, and it is easily pulled or snapped apart. If this happens, then whoever broke it is themselves broken into two separate beings. This can only be undone by reuniting the Talisman, which will "fix" if the two sections are pressed
together. This does not appear to do lasting damage to the Talisman. The effect of the Talisman on something very unbalanced, i.e. possessing only Ying or Yang, but not both, is up to the GM.
Rules: While in possession of the whole, unbroken Talisman, the Discipline of Meditation is gained at level 5, and Iron Will at level 2. If the bearer already has these Disciplines, then these levels are added to the existing ones. The wielder is also exceptionally clear-minded, though not even this will help someone inherently unbalanced. Should the Talisman be broken, things get even more interesting. Firstly, the possessor will physically and spiritually split in two. The two resultant beings will both have exactly the same attributes, Disciplines, etc. as they did before they were separated, but very different personalities. One will be the Ying of the person, the other the Yang. This is not straightforward "good" and "evil", but the former will be composed of the positive traits and the latter of the negative ones. The effect of this will depend greatly on the kind of person the breaker of the Talisman was. This can be considered to be a variation on the "Send in the Clones!" theme, similar to "Slash" and "Bust" versions of each character. If the GM wants, the unbroken Tiger Talisman could possibly be used to unite alternate versions of the same character into one being, but the details of that are left to them to decide.
Another creative use of this talisman is as a locator - half of a broken object (a coin, for example) could be attached attached to the talisman, which was then drawn to the missing half. This works under the principle of the talisman attempting to restore the balance of the divided item. The power of the relic is so great that there does not seem to be a limiting range for this power, as long as both halves of the object are on the same plane of existance.
GMs should feel free to create other powers for this talisman, and let the players (or their enemies) come up with more creative uses of it themselves.
The Horse Talisman eradicates aliens within, and heals almost all wounds. In practice, this gives almost immediate regenerative powers, immunity to illness, and a resistance to poisons.
Rules: This is similar to the Regeneration maneuver, except that it allows one Health point to be healed for each AP spent. This works on any wound which does not kill the bearer. If they are knocked unconscious, then their total APs for each turn are spent on healing until they wake up. There is also a Chi cost, of course, but this is supplied by the Talisman. Also, the user is automatically cured of any illnesses, and the effects of drugs or poisons disappear, along with any other "alien" influences on the body. This even applies to esoteric magical poisons. It has been witnessed that an enchanted poison which turned the target to stone was reversed by placing the activated Talisman on the petrified victim. This Talisman is very useful when used in conjunction with the Dog Talisman.
The Rooster Talisman grants the power of levitation to the wielder. It can be combined with the Rabbit Talisman to awesome aerial effect. It was found set into a large ornate shield.
Rules: This acts as the Levitation maneuver, except that it only costs 3 APs per turn, and two hexes can be moved each turn. The user may also levitate other objects or people within 20 hexes or so. This costs at least 8 APs per turn, more if the weight lifted exceeds that of a small car. If combined with the Rabbit Talisman, then they grant the Flight maneuver. This costs 6 CPs per turn, aerial Move is multiplied by six for short-term purposes, and speeds of up to 300mph can be reached long-range.
This grants the wielder the often coveted power of Immortality. While the Talisman is in someone's possession, they cannot die; any blow which would kill them instead stuns them for a round, after which they are healed to full strength again. It also revitalises the old. It was buried in a wall in a windmill in Holland for some time.
Rules: There are very few rules to this Talisman. If the wielder is reduced to the point of death or below (usually -[2 x Stamina] Health Points), they will recover all their Health Points by the end of the round, and be ready to fight again the next one. They can still be knocked or tired out as usual though. In an elderly person has the Talisman, then they are rejuvenated to whatever their peak of health was. The effects of this vary from person to person, and should be determined by the GM, but it is reasonable to assume that a venerable martial arts master brought back to their physical prime with the benefits of a lifetime of training would be quite formidable.
The Pig Talisman grants the user the power to fire heat beams from their eyes. Or, as one user put it, "Heat Beam Eye Blast!" The Pig Talisman was stuck in the watchtower of a small Bavarian town, where the previous owner had hidden it after using it to melt chocolate for his factory.
Rules: Treat as a glowing red Chi Blast, with Continuous Blast, Eye Blast and Power Boosting (auto. 9 Chi)
Accuracy: +1, Action Points: 5, Chi Cost: 6 (paid by the Talisman), Damage: 1d10+10, Move: 0, Range: 16 hexes
This Talisman grants the bearer the power of Astral Projection. The bearer may now leave their body and move about intangibly and invisibly. While in this form, the user may also interact with the astral plane, and talk and deal with any spirits present. While the Astral Form is absent, the body appears to be in a deep sleep, though nothing will "wake" it. While the Sheep Talisman remains on the body, the user may enter and leave it at will. Should the Talisman be removed from the vacant body, the Astral Form will not realise it or be effected in any way, and may continue to travel Astrally until they choose to re-enter their body, at which point they are stuck in it as usual. The main danger with this Talisman is that the wielders body is unguarded while they are travelling, and is therefor an easy target for possession. Should this happen, then only magics or exorcisms will remove the possessing spirit, and the true soul of the form is left floating bodiless.
Rules: This operates very much like the Mind Walk maneuver, except that it only costs 4 APs to activate, and the Chi cost is of course paid by the Talisman. Unlike Mind Walk, the user only travels at normal speeds, and they cannot effect the physical world at all, or even be seen from it without some special means, such as Sorcery or psychic powers. Items on the travellers body, including other Talismans, will not effect the Astral Body at all.
The Astral Form is invisible and intangible, unrestricted by gravity and capable of flight through any "solid" objects. It can however enter dreams, and communicate with the sleeper as normal. Although making someone believe that you are anything more than part of their dream can be tricky.
The Ox simply grants superhuman strength to the wielder. Note that this might still be enough to overcome a potent foe - as it was said: "To me, you are nothing more than a very strong mouse." It was found attached to the mask of a Mexican Luchador Profesional.
Rules: Increase Strength by +10, or to 15, whichever is higher. Base Damage is also raised by the relevant amount. Base Damage is now added to all strikes, including those like Multi-Strike which are normally unmodified.
The Monkey Talisman can change the form of anything the user desires to an animal form. What the target is changed into is determined by what the user says when it is activated; this can be awkward. This is one of the most temperamental Talismans, and saying the wrong thing while holding it can be dangerous.
Rules: The Talisman fires a beam of energy at whatever is to be changed; this is treated as a modified Chi Blast with Continuous Blast.
Accuracy: +1, Action Points: 5, Damage: special, Move: 0, Range: 16 hexes.
Whatever is struck by the beam (and something is always struck), takes the form of whatever animal the user names as the beam is fired. This is not to say it becomes what is named, although it may if the two are already similar. For example, a human targeted while the user says "Monkey" would become a monkey, but a wall struck under the same conditions would only become a monkey-shaped wall. GMs fiat on any situation. Also, a living creature transformed by this will be unaffected mentally. For instance, when Shendu was transformed with the word "Rabbit", he became a small, green, scaly and very irate rabbit-shaped dragon. People changed by this have a tendency to retain any Focus maneuvers, though what else can be carried across is determined by the new form. Frogs, for example, are rarely capable of making use of Punch maneuvers. The transformed being also acquires the statistics of the new form, as determined by the GM, or taken from a Thrash sourcebook.
This Talisman renders the user invisible, at will. This is actual invisibility rather than mental confusion, and so someone using it will not show up on CCTV or the like. Howeverm, they will become visible if paint or something similar is thrown over them, and they leave noticable footprints in sand or other such media. Anything carried by the user when the talisman is activated becomes invisible also, as long as it doesn't weigh more than a few pounds (clothes, weapons, etc. are all fine). Items picked up after this remains visible unless they are small enough to be secreted on the users body. The talisman can also be used to make objects invisible, as long as they are twice it's size or more. You can do David Copperfield-style tricks with the Statue of Liberty with this one, if you like. It was discovered in a museum, though it wasn't afforded any particular importance there.
Rules: Treat this as the seventh level of the Art of Invisibility Discipline. It costs 4 APs to activate, and draws on its own (infinite) supply for all the required Chi points.