Knighthood of the Dragonslayer
From Edge of Darkness Wiki
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Winter Masques pp. 149-151 | |
Wyrd | ●● |
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Preqs |
Wits + Composure dice pool of at least six dice Intimidation ●● |
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The changes brought on by joining the Knighthood of the Dragonslayer are subtle, and to some, almost unnoticeable. The first change is in the eyes: pupils shrink, and the whites of the eyes become stark and bloodless. Those who don’t note this change specifically still feel the amped intensity from a Knight’s unblinking stare. The second change is in the appearance of minor draconic features: a few black scales on the back of a hand, a few teeth turned to curved needles, a tongue starting to split at the tip like that of a snake. The party line explanation is that the founder was splashed with the blood of the True Fae “dragon” he destroyed, and this blood contaminated his mien with elements of that rough beast. Others, though, suggest that it is a sign of the corruption within the very heart of the order, a callous and reptilian leaning.
Many knights of the order wear this cross — cobbled together from gems, seeds, bits of glass and other debris found in the Hedge — as part of a sash badge worn across the chest, though many simply pin it to a shirt or jacket. When activated and pressed against the skin of another, the cross is said to sense the sin within that person’s heart. The cross burns the skin provided that the target’s Morality score (or its equivalent, be it Clarity, Harmony, Humanity or Wisdom) is at 5 or below. For every one below 5, the cross does an additional point of lethal damage (Morality 5 causes one lethal, Morality 4 causes two lethal and so forth to a maximum of five lethal damage). In addition, one can heal the injury, but the cross leaves a permanent plus-shaped scar upon the flesh. If pressed against the flesh of someone with Morality 6 or higher, the cross has no effect (other than to tell the wielder that the victim may not be quite the sinner one suspected).
Action: Instant
Mien: The cross appears like an ugly, poorly crafted badge of flawed stones and bits of smooth glass (hemmed in by rings of dirty pewter). When active, though, the badge glows and throbs with an inner light that shines out through the multi-faceted stones and bits of glass to create a colorful display. When pressed upon the flesh of a sinner, the cross smolders and hisses.
Drawback: If used on a target with a Morality (or equivalent) score of 6 or 7, the knight feels dizzied and fatigued for the remainder of the scene, suffering a –1 penalty to all rolls. If the target had a Morality of 8 or 9, the penalty increases to –2, and if the target had a rare Morality 10, the penalty jumps to a dangerous –5 (penance, apparently, for testing the faith of someone who is clearly sacrosanct).
Catch: The token burns the hand of the user as well as (potentially) the flesh of the victim. This causes one point of lethal damage to the wielder. It doesn’t, however, cause a permanent scar — once the wound is healed, the scar will fade
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