This page collects new Unnatural Artifacts invented by community members as part of their scenarios or settings and which they have designated Open Content – that is, content that can be re-used in future publications as long as they are:
To make it easier to know how to correctly cite a creator’s work in future OGL listings, the entries below each contain an “OGL Citation”: if you include this line of text somewhere in the OGL Copyrights listing (section 15 of the OGL template), you will have correctly recognized the original copyright.
Roi de Jaune Playing Card
OGL CITATIONDark Visitations © 2022, Kevin A. Ross. |
Ritual: None, it is Carcosan “technology”.
Activation cost: 1 WP.
SAN Loss: Each use costs 1 SAN.
Description: The Roi de Jaune appears as nothing more than a simple, if somewhat old-fashioned and beaten, playing card – the King of some obscure “suit” (the symbol is actually a rendition of The Yellow Sign). In truth it is something ancient beyond knowing and utterly foreign to humanity. Although appearing fragile, the flimsy piece of card is actually physically indestructible — at least by any means available to characters in this scenario. No amount of effort will tear it. If immersed in water, it remains completely dry and solid. Similarly, even if placed in the middle of a raging fire, it refuses to ignite.
Possessing the Roi de Jaune card imbues unusual mental powers on the user, giving him or her enhanced and magical abilities to compel others to follow mental commands. There is, however, a significant limitation to this ability — an individual must already be sufficiently “like-minded” to the card holder, either intrinsically or through an altered mental state, to be affected. This makes it useless as a means of compelling an adversary, but helpful in compelling allies.
In game terms, the powers of the card can be used in two distinct ways; either against an entire group, or focussed on dominating the will of a single person. It is triggered by simply visualizing the target or targets, and picturing them as being subordinate to one’s will. This process is instinctive to anyone handling the card that makes an INT×5 test, feeling like a familiar yet indistinct memory just out of reach. Attempting to use the card in either manner costs the cardholder 1 Willpower Point and 1 point of SAN. To be affected by the card’s powers an individual must be within 20 yards of the cardholder, but he or she does not need to be visible to the cardholder, nor does the target need to be able to hear the cardholder’s voice. Triggering the card is practically instantaneous, and is performed by simply holding the card in one hand and concentrating on it. A trigger attempt can be made once per round if desired (as long as the Willpower Point and point of SAN are paid).
Group Domination
If used against a group of people, the cardholder must succeed in an opposed roll which matches his or her own POW against a number obtained by multiplying the highest POW of the group by a factor between ¼ and 6. This factor should take into account:
It is important to note that if overall the group is not at all like-minded with the cardholder (i.e., antagonistic or even neutral) the roll will automatically fail.
Once the factor has been determined, the opposed roll is made — if the cardholder obtains a better result, all members of the group are affected.
Group domination by a successful use of the Roi de Jaune lasts 5 minutes, during which time the target must loosely follow the mental suggestions of the cardholder as long as they are consistent with the common belief system or mental state shared by cardholder and target.
Individual Domination
If used against an individual, the cardholder needs to overcome the halved POW of the target, further reduced if the target is extremely like-minded or has been dominated many times before.
This is a more powerful effect — the cardholder can compel the affected target to perform any action that is not obviously intended to cause him or her personal harm.
Long Term Use
Long-term users of the magical card begin to experience subtle but unavoidable changes. Firstly, the cardholder becomes possessed of an “affinity” with the card; he or she will always know (in vague terms only), where it is. Note that these sensations are very imprecise; descriptions such as “in a gentleman’s home, south of the Thames” or “approaching the Theatre District in a hansom cab” are about as precise as can be achieved.
A second long-term effect of using the Roi de Jaune is that it slowly enhances the user’s sense of self-confidence and self-importance, to the point that the cardholder begins to feel invincible. GMs should feel free to ask for additional rolls to avoid careless errors and oversights caused by a lack of attention due to over-confidence.
Fine Print
Note that only one active “domination” by the card can be in effect at once — if the cardholder makes an attempt to trigger a new domination (e.g., focus attention on just a single individual, or target a new group of people), any targets still under the influence of a previous successful domination are immediately freed from that influence, regardless of whether the new trigger attempt succeeds or not.
Individuals affected by the magical influences of the Roi de Jaune never feel that they have been coerced, either while the domination is occurring or afterwards — the ideas and motives all feel genuinely to be their own.
