Chapter V: Equipment
Mandrake Root (Easy): This sinister drug is popular among the mad for its numbing effects. For details on this poison, see Mandrake Man in Chapter 9: The Game Master. Manticore Spoor (Average): Harvested from Manticore dung, this poison is lethal, but has soporific side-effects. The first hit made by a weapon smeared with Manticore spoor that also deals damage, requires the victim to succeed a Challenging (–10%) Will Power Test or fall asleep. If the victim fails this test, not only does he slip into a dreamless slumber, he must also succeed a Hard (–20%) Toughness Test. If he fails this test too, he dies. o ddITIes Oddities are specific types of unusual or rare equipment normally only found in the possessions of heroes. Antitoxin Kit: An antitoxin kit includes a small knife, several herbal packs, and live leeches. If poisoned and you fail your Toughness Test, you may spend 2 full actions to try to save your life with the antitoxin kit. If you still live by the end of the 2 full actions, you may re-roll your Toughness Test. Blessed Water: A priest or other holy person blessed this water, making it pure. When sprinkled on Undead, it causes 1 Wound, regardless of Toughness Bonus of Armour. Grimoire: This a tome of arcane knowledge, used by wizards studying the magical arts. Healing Poultice: A warm and stinking sludge of healing herbs and all manner of foulness . When used in conjunction with a Heal Test, on a subject who is heavily injured, the subject counts as lightly wounded for that Heal Test, thereby regaining 1d10 wounds instead of the single Wound. Characters using a poultice will have to put up with stinking of dung, cow urine or whatever nastiness has been used as a base for the mixture. Lucky Charm: No two of these folk charms look the same, as each incorporates runes, religious symbols, or signs and symbols of good luck. A lucky charm is good for just one use. You can use the luck charm to reroll one Test or ignore a successful hit. If the latter, you must announce you are using a charm prior to determining Wound loss. Religious Relic: A religious relic is some remnant of a dead saint or holy person. Such an object could be a bone, a scrap of cloth, or jewellery. A religious relic adds a +5% to Charm and Gossip Tests when you interact with someone of this religion. r eplaCemenTs and a ppendages Replacements and appendages covers anything you can attach to or dangle from your person. Often needed as the result of war or similar brush with death, false limbs, prosthetics and other aids are not unusual in the Old World. Earring: A common enough sight in the Empire, for both men and women, earrings and nose rings are usually “self administered”, sometimes to mark a special occasion, rite of passage or event, or sometimes simply for whim or fashion. Ear- and nose rings can vary wildly in quality, from simple wire and bead affairs, all the way up to the finest jewellery money can buy. Eye Patch: A practical and affordable alternative to a false eye, an eye patch is a section of material attached to long cords, worn over the missing eye and tied securely at the back of the head. The materials used vary with quality—the worst being formed of little more than rags, the best of the finest leathers, silks and
velvets. Designs and decorations move in and out of fashion, though amongst military veterans it is traditional to display the heraldry of ones regiment or commander. False Eye: A man can lose his sight to many things, but some are unwilling to admit defeat. False eyes are a popular conceit of the rich, who can afford high quality glass imitations, matched to their remaining eye. However, where the Nobility set the fashion, many try to follow—hence poor quality wood or stone eyes “plug the gap” between rich and poor. False Leg: A sad necessity of war, artificers and surgeons the Empire over have had plenty of practice creating all manner of replacement limbs. Formed of a set of harnessing straps, a cup and a usually wooden “peg”, these prosthetics allow the wounded mobility and independence once more. The poorest quality are little more than scavenged wood and a few straps, whereas the finest are often cushioned, jointed and finely inlaid with heraldry, curses, or art. If you have a false leg, your Movement Characteristic is only –1 instead of halved (see Permanent Effects in Chapter 6: Combat, Damage, and Movement ). Gilded Nose: The obscure Dwarf smith Skalt Helfenhammer was said to have created the first “replacement nose” after an incident with black powder and a rogue candle. Whilst he chose the most noble of metals, gold, most today do not have the luxury of such a material. Wood, iron or ceramics form the basis of most, though the term “gilded nose” lives on. The most basic are little more than a spout, slotted into the nasal cavity, whereas the finest are almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Hook: The standby of the handless everywhere, these have been used for hundreds of years. Attached to the wrist with cloth or leather straps, the worst quality are rusting and prone to snappage, whereas the finest be of rare metals, decoration or come with a variety of attachments—knives, torches, soup spoons and even hairbrushes have been known. Skull Plate: Used on the most severe of head injuries, Skull plates are a section of curved metal inserted or bolted onto the very bone, to cover any missing sections of skull. Usually very functional, the poorest are brutal and basic looking—perhaps with weld marks, or traces of their original form as a cooking pot, or whatever. The finest are etched with runes or prayers, and inlaid with fine metals or gems. Tattoo: Common amongst sailors, soldiers, Dwarfs, and thieves, tattoos are skin decorations created by pricking pigment underneath the skin with fine needles. The poorest in quality are crooked, childish scrawls, whereas the finest are almost works of art. Veteran’s Hand: Formed of two or more metal “pincers” controlled through wires, straps and weights, this expensive prosthetic allows the user to grip and pick up objects, imparting a measure of dexterity, though fine manipulation remains impossible. Made to measure by craftsmen, even the worst quality are marvels of engineering, though they may perhaps be previously owned, temperamental, or rusting. The finest are exquisite jewelled and gilded creations, sometimes worth more than the person sporting them. Wooden Teeth: Disease, accident, and decay have ensured that false dentures are enjoying reasonable popularity in the empire. Purchasers have the option of full, half or partial sets of teeth made of “plates” fixed with wooden, ivory, or in some cases real teeth, to replace their own. The worst quality are often second- hand, shoddy looking, and chafe the mouth, whilst the best are carved of the finest woods, the whitest teeth, and are moulded to a perfect fit.
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