Noruba's Ice Sphere
Tags: magical, awkward
A perfect sphere of dark ice, the size of a fist, never melting, hard as stone, and set like a gaudy gem at the end of a finely wrought torc. Or not a torc, perhaps, but maybe a ring that once sat upon some giant's finger?
Staring into the icy sphere brings a sense of calm, serenity, and detachment. Indeed, a lesser mind might find itself staring into its depths for hours on end.
When you peer into the Ice Sphere, your mind is cleared of strong emotions.
When you gaze deeply into the Ice Sphere and ponder a situation, puzzle, or mystery, ask the GM one of the questions below. The GM will answer honestly.
- Who benefits (or would benefit) from ___?
- What about ___ isn't what it seems to be?
- How could I learn more about ___?
- What's the most likely outcome if ___?
- What am I overlooking?
After the GM answers, roll:
While acting on the GM's answer, you can spend Acumen 1-for-1 to:
- Ask another question from the list above, and get an honest answer
- Treat a bust you rolled as a success with no six, or a success with no six as a success with a 6
On a bust, your connection to your body weakens — mark a debility and mark 1 circle. The debility lasts until you spend a few days living wholly in your body and averting your gaze from the Ice Sphere.
Detachment: ☐ ☐ ☐
When you make the last mark, you unlock the mysteries of the Ice Sphere and can use Mindwalking (below).
Mysteries
MINDWALKING
When you use the Ice Sphere as a psychic anchor, your consciousness leaves your body and walks the world as a spirit, invisible and insubstantial. Roll:
- On a success with a 6, hold 3 Power.
- On a success with no six, hold 2 Power.
- On a bust, hold 2 Power and mark a Consequence.
While mindwalking, you may spend your Power, 1-for-1 to:
- Manifest as a ghostly voice and/or presence
- Manipulate an unattended item (small or smaller, no bigger)
- Return instantly to the Ice Sphere from any distance
For every 2 Consequences you mark, gain one of the following moves:
A MIGHTY WILL — When you mindwalk, hold +1 Power.
FARWALKER — When you mindwalk, you may spend 1 Power to instantly send your mind to any place you have ever visited, physically or mentally.
TELEPATHY — When you mindwalk, you may spend 1 Power to become able to communicate mentally with someone nearby, as long as you remain in their presence. They can choose whether to respond, and can attempt to ignore you, but cannot shut you out completely without magic of their own.
THOUGHTCRAFTER — When you mindwalk, you may spend 1 Power to animate a mass of loose material (gravel, snow, leaves, etc.) into a body no larger than your own. The body is directed by your mind rather than your body. While you inhabit it, you gain extra trait access — pick one trait from the shared list that the body's make embodies (a gravel body might lend CRUSHING GRIP or THICK HIDE; a leafy one SOFT PAWS or BRUSH), and it applies as if it were yours until the form ends. This form has 10 HP. When reduced to 0 HP, it dissipates and you return to your physical body.
Consequences
- You draw the attention of some powerful, hungry entity of the spirit world. It has your scent.
- Your physical body withers and fades — permanently mark the weakened debility.
- Your emotions dull. You can no longer be affected by fear, hate, passion, or other powerful emotions (for good or ill).
- Replace your instinct with "Detachment: To distance yourself from human connections and emotions."
- Your skin tinges bluish; your body becomes cold to the touch. You are unaffected by even the bitterest cold, but find heat and warmth unbearable. When you take damage from fire, roll twice and take the higher result.
- When you bust at Death's Door, you have no choice: gain the Ghost insert (with the Ice Sphere as your tether).