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SOULFORGING

PREQUISTIES:

You must have CRAFTS ◉◉◉ +1 soulforging speciality ( and ONLY ONE  listed on xp page) to craft RELICS

You must have CRAFTS ◉◉◉ +1 soulforging speciality ( and ONLY ONE  listed on xp page) and FLUX ◉◉◉ (Common Or Initiate) to craft ARTIFACTS.

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The process by which material is soulforged is painfully simple. The Corpus of the subject is heated over soulfire crystals — crystal shards invested with Pathos by a master Usurer — until it softens and begins to melt, at which point the smith takes a hammer to it and begins to forge it into the desired shape. The  process is repeated until the results are satisfactory to the forger. The end result is called soulsteel, and it is durable, tough, and
holds an edge exceptionally well.

Some smiths use only the hammer and tongs; others prefer to cast molten plasm into molds. But regardless, the rule of the Underworld is that a single soul can only be turned into a single item, except under certain extenuating circumstances. Artificers know the trick to pledging only a part of themselves to the forge; this is part of their initiation into the Guild, but the plasm they sacrifice can never grow back, and it is only the
specialized knowledge of the Guild that allows them to do this at all. In the early days of Stygia, other wraiths were commanded to make the Tithe of the Dead, a sacrifice of part of their plasm to earn entry into the Underworld, but both this practice and the art by which these wraiths were only partially forged have both long since been lost.

There remains a lively running debate about whether souls remain self-aware after they’ve been soulforged. It has been taken as an article of faith for centuries by the bulk of the Stygian population that they do not, and that the process eliminates any and all sentience. And yet, there are those who swear that this isn’t true. What is known is that soulforged items have an uncomfortable tendency to moan softly to themselves, often at the worst possible time. What the forges produce is an endless variety of hard goods (softer items, like cushions, tend to be either relics or wraiths shapeshifted into item form through use of the Arcanos Moliate). Swords, shields, girders, oboli, objets d’art, and more all come from the forges, as do the bones of many of the empire’s massive building projects. There’s not a strict one-to-one correlation  between the size of the Corpus forged and the size of
the end product; the Law of Conservation of Mass holds no sway in the Underworld. So a hulking plasmic could go into the forges and emerge as a delicately crafted ring, while a single Drone could be hammered into a massive girder. The limit in many cases is merely the smith’s imagination.

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SYSTEM:

• The system of soulforging is entirely optional. You can roll and follow the roleplay process listed below (we provide this so you CAN roleplay it out if you so desire) Ultimately the product you create is a matter of XP COST. The tables below show the cost of various things.

• If you are creating an object for yourself you will pay the XP. This represents among other things the amount of time you have devoted to crafting the item and thus the neglect of other duties, crafting means you won't have time to devote to other areas of development, thus explaining why you don't have XP to spend on other areas of your profile!

• If you are creating the item for another player character wraith (non wraith cannot use soul forged items except in conditional cases) the other player character wraith pays the XP cost of the item, this represents them paying your material and labour costs, meaning they have no doubt had to take on various jobs for the Hierarchy to pay the currency cost of the item, thus again negating other areas of development. All wraith are equally poor (you can't take it with you!)  unless they are the Hierarchy (player wraiths definitely are not!)

• Regardless of following the roleplay system, you or the person buying the object must still pay the XP cost of the item. 

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RELIC vs ARTIFACT

In creation terms a RELIC  is an item that simply does not possess Arcanos and/or Pathos.

In creation terms an ARTIFACT is empowered with Arcanos and may have a pathos pool.

• Both items are created in the same way. A sword follows relic creation until it is empowered with an Arcanos. power, at which point it becomes an Artifact. 

• FLUX ◉◉◉ (Common Or Initiate) is required to craft ARTIFACTS.

• You may only imbue an Artifact with COMMON Arcanoi unless you have Access to the Initiate Arcanoi of the type you wish to imbue.

• You are not required to OWN the COMMON Arcanoi 

• You MUST consult with the wraith Storyteller when deciding on the Artifacts special abilities. The process involves looking at existing Artifacts, and determining which Arcanoi at which level is required for the desired feature.

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Each soulforging job has three stages:

• APPRAISAL

• WORKING

• FINISHING

The first stage can take place anywhere; the second and third require appropriate tools and, respectively, a forge with a good soulfire supply and a workshop.

APPRAISAL:
First, the smith assesses the soul they intends to forge to determine how best to work it.

ROLL: MANIPULATION + CRAFTS 

DIFFICULTY: 10 + Targets willpower (Composure + Resolve)

SUCCESS:  The smith gains insight into the soul’s nature and the best way to render it down, and they can proceed to the next step.

FAILURE: 

The smith can’t determine the Corpus’ optimum melting point or find any spiritual stress lines; they can proceed, but all further rolls are at +1 difficulty. The appraisal process takes an hour, reduced by 10 minutes per success.

You CAN use this on other wraith (After gaining consent obviously)

You CAN pick up NPC wraith from Barataria Bay, new wraith fresh out of the caul are often sold on the auction blocks. Targets willpower is likely to be between 4 and 10.

We recommend asking for NPC wraith to get the more gritty experience of roleplaying turning a fellow soul into an instrument of some kind.

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WORKING
In this stage, the smith converts a soul into raw plasm, paralyzes all vestiges of consciousness, and then shapes it into the desired configuration.

EXTENDED ACTION (Roll until you accumulate enough successes to create the size and complexity of the object you wish to create) 

ROLL: STRENGTH + CRAFTS  (You May Roll ONCE per Hour)

DIFFICULTY: 10+ Targets  STAMINA 

This is an extended action, you roll until you acquire enough successes to pay for the product's desired size and complexity.

SUCCESS

SIZE
1 success Medium object; Conceal Trenchcoat tool or weapon; armor jacket
2 successes Non-concealable tool or weapon; breastplate
3 successes Small object; Conceal Jacket tool or weapon; shield or helmet
4 successes Wraith-sized; almost all the original Corpus remains; full-body armor
5 successes Tiny object; Conceal Pocket tool or weapon

COMPLEXITY
1 success Basic functional shape; blunt implement
2 successes Crude mechanical part
3 successes Balanced, symmetrical functional shape; edged weapon
4 successes Wearable attire; aerodynamic shape; projectile
5 successes Precision mechanical part; flexible or jointed weapon

BOTCH:

Each botch during the working process introduces a crack into the object to be forged.

RESULT: The item will take a week to cool off if it has any "CRACKS"

The item is poor quality at this stage, it has zero uses, it is "Approximately" the same weight and size of the desired object, but has zero functionality.

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FINISHING

This stage turns the soulforged object from a basic shape into a fully functional implement. The smith uses tools, soulfire, barrowflame,
or alchemical treatments to file off burrs and rough edges, shape and polish surfaces, increase hardness or flexibility, and add
utilitarian or decorative patterns, coloration, or inlay. Finishing is a simple matter of SPENDING XP or ASSIGNING AN XP COST.

The amount of XP a soul forged item depends on what it is, what it does and so on and so forth. Check the table below to put your finishing touches to the item. We won't be checking your rolls for creating the item, as we said previously. If you wish to skip over the roleplay element straight to this point you may do so. Though the roleplay definitely gives you a purpose.

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SOULFORGER

There are four schools of Soulforging. You choose ONE school for your entire soulforging career. This school is a crafts speciality, and is purchased with XP. See the XP Tab for costs. Once you have chosen your school you are locked into it and cannot change it.

 

 

PATHOS POOL (ARTIFACTS ONLY)

A Pathos Pool is a number of pathos points imbued into the item, this pathos pool can ONLY be used by the item, the wraith can't spend the pathos for anything else.

• The pathos may be spent in the usual way for powering the Arcanos within the item (1 Arcanos maximum)

• Alternatively if the item has no Arcanos then the Pathos Poll is used as a rolled trait.

• The rolled trait can ONLY be used for tasks the item would normally carry out.

• EXAMPLE A.  A suit of armor with a pathos pool Could roll. PATHOS POOL + ARMOR DEF rather than Stamina +Athletics + Armor def.

• EXAMPLE B.  A Sword with a pathos pool Could roll PATHOS POOL + WEAPON ATTACK BONUS rather than Dexterity + Melee + weapon attack bonus.

• PATHOS POOL used as a rolled trait REPLACES the default required attributes (Such as Dexterity +Melee or Stamina +Athletics) It does NOT add to them and it cannot be used for rolls outside of the items functions.

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ALLOYS

Alloys confer different benefits to items created with them. You choose ONE and ONE alloy only when you create an Artifact or relic.

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SOULSTEEL: Plasm is soulforging’s ubiquitous raw material. Worked on its own, it yields soulsteel. A skilled smith can make a soulsteel product look and feel like a much wider range of substances than mere transubstantiated metal. However, smiths have learned to amalgamate plasm with any of the Underworld’s other substances to produce a variety of implausible alloys, the best-known of which is Stygian steel

STYGIAN STEEL:

Most “ordinary” weapons in the Shadowlands are either relics or forged with soulsteel, and thus have no special properties when it comes to causing injuries — a relic gun or a soulsteel knife is still dangerous, of course, but “merely” inflicts lethal damage. (if worked right) Stygian steel weapons, however, are another matter. Supposedly forged from wraith plasm mixed with scrapings from the walls of the Labyrinth, Stygian steel weapons inflict aggravated wounds on any wraiths (or Spectres) unlucky enough to feel their bite. Many high-ranking Legionnaires carry Stygian steel weapons, and their terrifying capabilities makes their bearers formidable foes indeed.

 

NECROPOLIS STEEL:
A lesser form of Stygian steel that foregoes the most Oblivion-tainted materials, Necropolis steel is rare not because of its difficulty but because of its lesser prestige. 

 

ASH IRON
Produced by burning one of the priceless trees that struggle to grow alongside the Great River, ash-iron is prized for its color and flexibility. It is a dusty white so pure as to be faintly luminescent.

 

LABYRINTHINE ADAMAS:
In Stygia, this Oblivion-touched alloy is vanishingly rare because of its reliance on a dove-gray coal-like substance mined deep in the Labyrinth. Among Spectres, it’s still rare, though more common than Stygian steel, and its creation is credited to True Spear. Labyrinthine adamas is a water-patterned alloy whose light and dark grains move in slow, hypnotic whorls that most definitely do not resolve into blasphemous forms or screaming faces when the viewer glances away. The owner of a Labyrinthine adamas may feed it 2 points of Pathos (or 1 point of Angst) to render it invisible for a scene, A Labyrinthine adamas weapon does aggravated damage except to Spectres, who take normal damage.

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CRACKS

A crack in a soulforged item is not a physical defect but a spiritual one. It is a flaw induced by the smith’s failure to render down completely the soul into raw plasm. Cracks should not be crippling. They’re minor inconveniences intended to provide additional creepy flavour for things ultimately made of people and memories.

COMPELLING: The object is very interesting to one particular class of entities (for example, Mourners, Ferrymen, Spectres, or werewolves).

 

FLEETING: Whenever dropped, the object unerringly rolls or bounces into the most inconvenient place within 2 meters.

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LONELY: If left unattended, the item gravitates toward other soulforged objects.

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MAGNETIC: The bearer’s Shadow obsesses over the item. The shadows highest dark passion(s) determines the -nature- of the obsession.

NIHILISTIC: Whenever dropped, the object unerringly rolls or bounces 2 meters  toward the nearest Nihil large enough to swallow it.

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SOMNAMBULISTIC: Sometimes, when its owner Slumbers, the item travels to the closest other Slumbering wraith.

TRANSIENT: Supernatural creatures on the other side of the Shroud sometimes react to the object’s presence.

Other supernatural characters can detect something odd with a successful OCCULT + WITS roll. DIFFICULTY 10+ Shroud rating. When the wraith with the item is within 10 meters of them (remember shadowlands and Skinlands have same geographical locations)

VOCAL: The item emits faint anguished whimpers at socially awkward times. +1 difficulty to social rolls.

VULNERABLE:  The item seeks destruction. The Item will break on a botch (it will reform at end of scene)

WEEPING: The object occasionally seeps plasm that leaves faint salt-stains on Corpus and relic garments.

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