Seer of the Spiral Sword
Overview
The Seer of the Sword is an Imperial title appointed through the bourse. It grants the ability to direct research at the runeforge in Redoubt, located in north-west Limus on the road between Cargo and the Highborn town of Hedra in Necropolis.
The college allows the creation of new and unique magic items, as well as offering the possibility of sharing that knowledge with Imperial artisans.
Responsibilities
The Seer oversees the research agenda of the runeforge, and is responsible for crafting the unique magic items the structure produces. In the event the runeforge is threatened, the Seer is responsible for addressing such threats. Likewise, if an opportunity related to the runeforge arises, the Seer is responsible for determining how to exploit such an opportunity.
Powers
A unique item is one that does not already exist in the magic item lists. It is likely that such an item will need to be bonded, and will be a weapon, armour, talisman or group magic item. Magic items tend to do one thing, rather than multiple types of things, and creating an item that does more than one thing is increasingly more expensive that creating an item that does one thing well. Not every ability of a magic item is equally appropriate to every kind of item, and more powerful items may prove to be prohibitively expensive in terms of time or materials required - or flat out impossible. It is worth talking to Profound Decisions about the kind of item you wish to create so that we can work together to come up with something possible that is as close as we can get to your original idea.
Unique Crafting
The runeforge can be used to create a single copy of a unique magic item. It takes six months to research a new item, which can require up to 40 materials to create. If the finished item requires more than 40 materials, it requires one extra season of work for every 20 extra materials. When the research is completed, the Seer is presented with a standard magic item that, as with all such items, will last for one year.
At this time, the Seer of the Spiral Sword may choose to learn the ability to make that item for the usual experience point costs. However, the character will be unable to teach anyone else how to make the item - the ability to do so will remain theirs alone.
Forge Schema
Instead of constructing a single copy of a magic item, the Seer may choose to make a schema. It takes six months to research a schema, which can require up to 40 materials to create. If the finished item requires more than 40 materials, it requires one extra season of work for every 20 extra materials. Creating a schema requires the Seer of the Spiral Sword to provide one ring of ilium per ingot or measure of material required to make the item (to a minimum of 10 rings). A schema is permanent unless destroyed with Words of Ending.
A schema is a "pattern" for the new crafted item that anyone can use to learn the method of creating the item. It can also be expended with the assistance of the Imperial Senate to spread the knowledge of how to make the new item throughout the Empire.
Using the Forge
The runeforge is used during downtime. The Seer of the Spiral Sword should contact Profound Decisions by e-mail (at empire.rules@profounddecisions.co.uk) prior to the next event with the details of the item they wish to try and create. If they want to make a schema, they will need the appropriate number of rings of ilium in their inventory. Profound Decisions will let the player know before the next event the number and type of materials required to make the new item.
The Seer of the Spiral Sword is an Imperial title and thus may appoint a proxy. It is important to note however that a proxy cannot wield powers related to downtime; they cannot direct the runeforge nor learn how to create a unique magic item. Only the actual character with the title of Seer of the Spiral Sword is legally allowed to use the runeforge to make or master new magic items.
Appointment
The title is an Imperial position appointed through the Bourse during the Spring Equinox by open auction. As with any Imperial position, any Imperial citizen may participate in the auction and hold the seat.
Custodianship of the runeforge is retained for a year, or until the citizen holding the seat dies, or steps down. An Imperial Bourse seat cannot be revoked by the Imperial Synod.
The Spiral Sword
The runeforge itself stands on the road between Cargo in Redoubt and Hedra in Necropolis. It is a circular building of white granite and weirwood, with extensive metal fittings of fine mithril. There is a small hostelry attached, with apartments for use by the Seer of the Spiral Sword and by the apprentices and assistant artisans who help staff the runeforge. It is built in an Urizeni style, in the shape of a six-sided tower, the top of which is decorated with six symbols representing the realms of magic.
An extensive library of texts stands in a third building, a fine marble stucture of graceful columns decorated with images of owls and with a gorgeous mosaic floor composed of thousands of tiny pieces of polished tempest jade depicting a cowled androgynous figure with six arms in which it holds a chisel, a flame, an eye, a triangle, a smith's hammer, and a quill.
There are only two entrances of the runeforge proper; each is cunningly positioned so as to be aligned with the rising and the setting sun. On the first day of Midsummer, the sun shines directly through the great arched portals into the central chamber. Each door is flanked by two stone statues of a bearded man and a statuesque woman, one bearing the tools of an architect and the other the tools of a stone mason.
The centrepiece of the runeforge is a solid stone of white granite inlaid with a mithril design depicting the astronomantic constellation of the Phoenix. The forgestone stands beneath a crystalline dome decorated with the twenty-seven runes. Each rune is depicted as held, bourne up, or carried by a humanoid or animal figure - heroes, gods, and legendary beasts from both Asavean myth and Urizen history. During the day, natural light strams in through the dome while at night the central hall is lit by dozens of cunningly positioned lightstones.
Around the circumfrence of the chamber are state-of-the-art crafting tools from all major disciplines, each watched over by intricately sculpted stone images of idealised crafters of the appropriate kind.