Item of Power: Faeblade

[CBIrish]

Nothing is wrong with Holy Touch, it just encompasses a number of options that don't apply in this situation.  The "All Creatures Equal Before God" listing under the Sword of the Cross is more appropriate.

I priced Vendetta/Vengeance at -1 because it only applies to fae of certain Court(s) and only those with Toughness powers (whatever the Catch - usually cold iron).  These are unique weapons meant to be the instrument of wrath, vengeance and defense of their respective Courts.  If the Toughness by-pass worked on every sort of being with Toughness or even all fae, I would prolly make it a FP cost.  As it is, I think the limited nature makes -1 Refresh appropriate.

[sinker]

I priced Vendetta/Vengeance at -1 because it only applies to fae of certain Court(s) and only those with Toughness powers (whatever the Catch - usually cold iron).  These are unique weapons meant to be the instrument of wrath, vengeance and defense of their respective Courts.  If the Toughness by-pass worked on every sort of being with Toughness or even all fae, I would prolly make it a FP cost.  As it is, I think the limited nature makes -1 Refresh appropriate.

As I said before though someone with these weapons is going to be fighting Fae of the appropriate court nearly constantly. It's a limitation that would have varying value based on the story, so it's tough to assign it a single value.

[MWKilduff]

I do not know why you need to pay for this to satisfy the cold iron catch anyway.  You are wielding a sword...  Steel and Iron pointy things satisfy the catch nicely on their own. 

[Sanctaphrax]

I agree with MWKilduff.

What options does Holy Touch have that are inappropriate? I can't find any.

Also, what Catches are attached to the Toughness powers of the Swords?

[Apollishar]

As they are items made by the Sidhe, made in the Sidhe realms, I wouldn't think they are made of cold iron. One is seemingly part plant/flower, one is gold and ice, one seems to be made of flame, and the Autumn one I would imagine is some kind of harvest related makeup

[CBIrish]

Please don't agree with MWKilduff - it only encourages him (he's my GM - hey buddy!)

For Holy Touch mostly it's the ability to compel aspects that doesn't apply.  The other part is consistent.

Apollishar has it right - they're crafted in the Nevernever by Fae and are definitely not made of iron/steel.

Sanct - Good point - the Catch for Toughness powers granted by the swords is cold iron (classically applied to all fae). I'll edit that.

And I feel I should point out - wielders of these blades may or may not be fighting predominantly fae - I leave that to the story teller and the kind of chronicle they're running.  Also, the ST is going to be the final arbiter on anything in their game - if they decide to change the catch or the name or whatever, that's up to them.

[computerking]

I do not know why you need to pay for this to satisfy the cold iron catch anyway.  You are wielding a sword...  Steel and Iron pointy things satisfy the catch nicely on their own.

What I'm getting from the weapon synopses is that normal swords are made of steel/iron, and these are specially made out of other materials, since bringing iron to a Fae battle is like wielding a plutonium rod: Both friend and foe of Fae nature are going to put a LOT of space between you and them. Don't want to alienate your Fae allies? Use a sword that satisfies the Enemy's catch, but not your Friends'.

[Apollishar]

All in all, they seem workable to me

[Sanctaphrax]

Iron-ness is free. It's not a thing that you have to spend Refresh on. Saying that a dude who wants a glass fey-killing blade should spend a point that a dude who wants an iron blade doesn't have to spend is silly. Especially when the glass blade is worse than the iron blade, since it only applies to some fey.

As for Vendetta: Compels seem appropriate to me. Being touched with a weapon created to slay your kind could affect your behaviour easily. But if you don't like that benefit, some other semi-narrative bonus would be appropriate. Like letting you take Sponsor Debt on your sword-swings. Also, I dislike the fact that some Vendettas are broader than others.

[CBIrish]

Iron-ness is free. It's not a thing that you have to spend Refresh on. Saying that a dude who wants a glass fey-killing blade should spend a point that a dude who wants an iron blade doesn't have to spend is silly. Especially when the glass blade is worse than the iron blade, since it only applies to some fey.

I'm sorry, but I really have no idea what you mean by this.  Please explain.

As for Vendetta: Compels seem appropriate to me. Being touched with a weapon created to slay your kind could affect your behavior easily. But if you don't like that benefit, some other semi-narrative bonus would be appropriate. Like letting you take Sponsor Debt on your sword-swings. Also, I dislike the fact that some Vendettas are broader than others.

I essentially used the Sword of the Cross IoP from the book as a template, which is why I used the example of All Creatures Equal before God and then powered it down until it was more in line for the weapon.  The Vendettas are same in scope - the Vengeances are broader based on the often tossed-around premise that Spring and Autumn were forced out rather than agreeing to disburse peacefully (where's the fun in that) - the likelihood that a character is aligned with one of these Courts is much less, and they have a purpose behind the sword that is broader.  The sword is less likely to be brought to bear, but when it does - it is more of a threat (or at least, to a larger group of fae).  It can also be used to in character development between PCs and NPCs and can be a source of conflict.  From a mechanics stand-point, I'll look at narrowing the Vengeances with the ever-present provision that GMs can make edits where ever they like.

I've tried to make unique items with specific purposes while leaving some flexibility to allow GMs and players who might want to incorporate them the option of doing so.  I happen to prefer the ACEbG option - you might want to switch it to Holy Touch if you were to use them in your game.  That's your right and I'm good with that. 

[Apollishar]

Iron-ness is free. It's not a thing that you have to spend Refresh on. Saying that a dude who wants a glass fey-killing blade should spend a point that a dude who wants an iron blade doesn't have to spend is silly. Especially when the glass blade is worse than the iron blade, since it only applies to some fey.

I believe what is meant by this is that you can get a plain iron sword, effect all the courts, and it won't cost you any refresh. And, I agree with that statement. What I would do is give some kind of glamour resistance. This gives it functionality over a plain iron sword, while keeping with the theme

[CBIrish]

Okay, this is good.  I think we've identified the major issues with these.  I have a version of these I did before the current version, but I didn't use it because I'm uncertain about introducing unique effects.  Here's the alternate version of Harvest (Autumn Blade) - see if this would be a more viable approach:


Harvest [-2]
Description: With a textured grip and a slender, curving blade, this weapon resembles nothing so much as a giant predator's talon.
Musts: You must have an aspect related to your possession of this item.
Skills Affected: Weapons
Effects:
[-0] Purpose. Borne by the Autumn Knight before that Courts fall, this blade is rumored to possess a small part of his essence.  It seeks to carry out the last command given by the King of Autumn.
[-0] It Is What It Is. It's a sword (Weapon 3). The pointy end goes in to the other person.
[-0] Unbreakable. As an Item of Power, this item cannot be broken except with a magical ritual predicated upon perverting its purpose.
[+2] One-Time Discount. It's a sword.  It gets noticed.
[-1] Vengeance. When used against a member of the Winter Court, this blade treats any Toughness powers as being one level lower.
[-3] Autumns Bounty. Just as autumn is a time of harvest, so does this blade grant the power of it's grim harvest to it's bearer. When an opponent is slain with Harvest, the bearer can spend one fate point to pull the power of the victim's feeling spirit to him, granting him Inhuman Strength, Speed, or Recovery (the Catch is Cold Iron) until the next sunrise.

[Apollishar]

My first question, is would it stack, in either way? Multiple enemies=higher benefit and/or longer duration?

[Mr. Death]

Might wanna check your math on that. 3+1-2 is 2, not 1.

[CBIrish]

Well, sunrise is considered to be a time when magic is washed away - it weakens wards, chases ghosts to shelter and otherwise disrupts and disburses magical effects.  Now, that's not to say he can't kill someone between bed and breakfast and then have it til next sunrise - he just has to be willing to eat alone. 

I'm hesitant to increase the level of power granted or add others simply because that would cause it to go beyond  the -3 rating.

And math has been corrected.  Thank you.