Secrets of Skillful Artifice

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. The target character, who must have the artisan skill, must be present throughout. A character who knows how to make the item chosen by the ritualists must also be present throughout.

This ritual is an enchantment. A target may only be under one enchantment effect at a time.

Effects

When the ritual is begun the ritualists must choose a single magic item they wish the target artisan to be able to craft. There must be someone present who already knows how to make that item, but they need not be a willing participant.

At the completion of the ritual the target artisan gains the ability to make the chosen item, as if they possessed the appropriate extra item skill. The target also experiences a roleplaying effect: they occasionally hear faint whispers, offering advice on the quality of crafted items or on tasks related to crafting, art or artifice. These whispers can occasionally be quite distracting.

The effect lasts until the start of the next Profound Decisions Empire event.

Description

As the Eternals of Night enjoy beautiful art and cunning artifice, almost as much as they love secrets and mysteries. Through this ritual, the magicians can help artificers to share their knowledge with each other - but they can just as easily use it to steal the secrets of how to create something from an unwilling target.

While the ability to craft an item remains for only a short time, there is nothing to prevent the ritual being used again, or being performed multiple times. During the reign of Empress Giselle, for example, a cabal of Temeschwari ritualists were found guilty of kidnapping skilled crafters and keeping them imprisoned, using this ritual to allow their own artisans to duplicate their finest work and selling the proceeds for a pretty profit.

Common Elements

This ritual is often performed in conditions of dim lighting, and one or both of the artisans involved in the ritual may be masked or blindfolded. A connection is often created between the two artisans - they may be tied together, or may both hold one end of a length of silk or metal. In some cases, they are bound together by multiple threads by the ritualists. Symbols of artifice and creation are often used, and there is often a symbolic moment where the artisan who knows how to craft the desired item passes something to the target - often a cup of wine, sometimes with a little blood in it.

In some cases, especially when the ritual is performed by the Freeborn the artisan with the item knowledge is paid by the recipient either symbolically or an arranged fee. This practice is said to intensify the roleplaying effect that the target experiences, and the voices often mutter negatively about someone who would sell a secret for mere money.

The rune of secrets is often used in this ritual, as are the runes Aesh and Pallas.