GearAscendancy.com

Staff of the Echoing Fault 901

—

by

Dale
in

From: Lineage 713 of Qosqo Pacha Peak Forged Ascendants

Description: This staff is Kallpa-Rumi’s primary magical implement, crafted to help control the volatile magic of their lineage. It stands just taller than its wielder, fashioned from a single, gnarled piece of dark mountain mahogany found near the Rockfall Memorial. The wood is unnaturally dense and cool to the touch. Instead of a large crystal, the “head” of the staff is a metallic cage of blackened copper and silver, resembling the root system of a tree, which holds a grapefruit-sized chunk of dull, fractured obsidian—a relic from Turrath itself. This fractured core thrums with a low, dissonant vibration. The staff helps Kallpa-Rumi channel their “Geomantic Surge,” absorbing the initial backlash and allowing for slightly more controlled, albeit still raw, expressions of earth magic.

Lore:

This staff is not merely a tool; it is a machine. It is a purpose-built containment and channeling system for a power that Kallpa-Rumi fears and respects: her own volatile, “Geomantic Surge.” The staff’s components were not chosen at random; they were hunted, salvaged, and assembled with the specific intent of controlling a catastrophe.

The “Mountain Mahogany” handle is from a “witness tree”—a gnarled, ancient tree that stood at the edge of the Rockfall cataclysm. It was not destroyed, but it was changed. For millennia, it absorbed the ambient, shattered magical echoes, its wood becoming unnaturally dense, its grain twisted, and its core imbued with a profound, cold, stability. It is the “witness” part of the staff, the element of pure, unyielding earth that endured the trauma. Kallpa-Rumi would have sought it out, sensing its patient, grounding power.

The “Core”—the grapefruit-sized chunk of fractured obsidian—is the opposite. It is not a witness; it is a perpetrator. It is a literal, unadulterated piece of the Turrath-era hubris, a “shard of the surge” that still thrums with the raw, chaotic, and unmaking magic that caused the Rockfall. It is a “cold engine” of pure, dissonant power. To anyone else, it is a dangerous, cursed relic. To Kallpa-Rumi, it is a tuning fork for her own soul’s magic.

The “Metallic Cage” is Kallpa-Rumi’s own contribution. It is her craft, her science. Fashioned from blackened copper and silver (known magical conductors), its “root system” design is a functional, geomantic circuit. It is a throttle. It is a grounding-wire. Its purpose is to connect the “raw engine” (the obsidian core) to the “stable chassis” (the mahogany staff) and to Kallpa-Rumi’s own will.

The staff’s constant, low, dissonant vibration is the sound of this system in idle: the chaotic core fighting the controlling, grounding influence of the wood and the cage. When Kallpa-Rumi’s own “Geomantic Surge” erupts, the staff recognizes it. The core flares in sympathy, the cage catches the “overspill,” and the dense wood absorbs the backlash, allowing Kallpa-Rumi to channel the raw, unpurified, and dangerous power outward, rather than letting it consume her.

Slot: Two-Handed Melee Weapon / Magical Focus

Tier 1 Stats:

  • Strength: +0
  • Dexterity: -1
  • Constitution: +1
  • Intellect: +3
  • Wisdom: +1
  • Charisma: +0

Skills Gained:

  • Geomancy (Knowledge): The staff is a conduit for raw earth magic, enhancing the wielder’s understanding of its principles.
  • Magic Circuitry (Knowledge): The cage-like head is a masterwork, if unconventional, magic circuit, granting insight into such constructs.
  • Melee (Two-Handed): The staff is a heavy, gnarled quarterstaff, fully capable of being used as a defensive weapon.

Passive Magics:

  • Lineage Resonance (Peak-Forged Ascendant): The staff’s fractured core is inert and dangerously chaotic to all others. It will only attune to a member of the Peak-Forged Ascendant lineage, whose own magic shares its “shattered” nature. This attunement unlocks all of the staff’s stat bonuses and magical abilities.
  • Dissonant Thrum: The staff’s core emits a constant, low vibration that the wielder feels in their hands and bones. This vibration changes pitch and intensity when in the presence of other powerful, active magic, acting as a “magic-detector” and granting a bonus to checks made to perceive or identify active spells.
  • Grounded: The staff’s unnatural density and connection to the earth makes the wielder more stable. The wielder gains a passive bonus to any checks made to resist being knocked prone or forcibly moved.
  • Heavy Focus: The staff is a heavy, two-handed implement, granting its -1 Dexterity. As a melee weapon, it functions as a masterwork quarterstaff.

Activatable Magics:

  • Surge Channel (1 use per long rest): This is a reaction. When the wielder’s “Geomantic Surge” (or any magical spell they cast) results in a magical backlash or a “wild surge,” they can use their reaction to activate the staff. The fractured obsidian core flares with a dull, crimson light as it absorbs the chaotic energy. The backlash is negated. However, the staff is now “overcharged.” The next offensive, geomantic spell the wielder casts within 1 minute is empowered, dealing maximum damage, but the wielder also takes 1d4 psychic damage from the strain.
  • Echoing Fault (3 uses per long rest): This is an action. The wielder slams the butt of the staff on the ground, channeling the core’s dissonant vibration into the earth. A visible, 30-foot line of “shattered” earth erupts from the wielder. This is a raw, uncontrolled expression of magic. All creatures in that line must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, they take a significant amount of force/bludgeoning damage (e.g., 3d6). On a success, they take half. Regardless of the save, the 30-foot line is now considered difficult terrain as the ground is cracked, shattered, and uneven.

Tags: Weapon, Two-Handed, Melee, Magical Focus, Tier 1, Qosqo-Pacha, Peak-Forged Ascendant, Geomancy, Control, Intellect, Lineage-Bound, Obsidian, Ruin, Backlash, Dissonant, Grounding

The Staff of the Echoing Fault (Weapon 901) is a unique and extremely dangerous artifact. Its value is almost impossible to determine with a standard market, as its true function is locked to the Peak-Forged Ascendant lineage. To anyone else, it is a volatile, cursed, and non-functional relic. Its sale would be rare and handled in very specific, niche channels.

1. The Cursed Relic Broker (Historical/Danger Value)

  • Type of Shop: A high-end, magically-warded, and extremely exclusive antiquarian shop. This is not a place for weapons, but for “dangerous historical relics.” The proprietor is likely an ancient Qosqo-Pacha historian or a Stonegrower with a morbid fascination for the Rockfall.
  • Where: A secure, unlisted back room in a scholarly district of Peakhold (Qosqo-Suma) or the ancient city of Hanan-Pacha.
  • How It Is Sold: The staff would be kept in a warded, lead-lined containment case, not on display. The proprietor would know exactly what the core is: a “Shard of Turrath,” a literal piece of the cataclysmic magical-surge, captured in obsidian. They would sell it as a one-of-a-kind, priceless artifact of historical study.
  • Sales Pitch: “Do not touch the core. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to channel magic through it. This is not a focus; it is a bomb. It is a piece of the Rockfall itself, a shard of the very surge that destroyed Turrath, held in a ‘witness-wood’ handle that barely contains it. Its dissonant thrum is the sound of the cataclysm, frozen in time. I am selling this as a historical, academic relic only. What you do with it after you leave… is your own suicide.”
  • Cost (Historical/Danger Value): The price is astronomical, not for its function, but for its unparalleled rarity and historical significance as a piece of the Rockfall.
    • Cost: 75 Platinum (750 Gold)

2. The Scavenger’s Black Market (Nuisance Value)

  • Type of Shop: A “Ruin-Rat” stall, deep in the unregulated, multi-level cave-bazaars or steam-tunnels of Peakhold. The seller is a scavenger, not a merchant.
  • How It Is Sold: The staff would be leaning against the back wall of the stall, covered in filth. The seller hates this item. They found it in a deep ruin near the Rockfall Memorial, and ever since, they’ve had pounding headaches, nightmares, and bad luck. The “dissonant thrum” is a psychic “scream” that makes them physically ill, and they just want it gone.
  • Sales Pitch: “That? That cursed thing? Look, it’s a big, heavy stick. The wood is hard, won’t break. But the rock in it… it’s wrong. It hums. Gives me the sweats. You look like you can handle… dark things. Tell you what, just give me 10 gold and take this bad-luck-stick off my hands before I throw it in a chasm.”
  • Cost (Nuisance Value): Extremely low. The seller is desperate to be rid of it, believing it to be cursed and the source of their problems.
    • Cost: 1 Platinum (10 Gold), and they’d probably take 8 Silver if haggled.

3. The Lineage Elder (Inheritance Value)

  • Type of Shop: This item would never be “sold” by a Peak-Forged Ascendant. It is arguably the most sacred and important artifact of their lineage.
  • Where: Within the small, insular, hidden community of the Peak-Forced Ascendants in Peakhold.
  • How It Is “Sold”: It is not sold; it is bestowed. This staff was likely built by a Peak-Forged ancestor specifically to solve their lineage’s “Geomantic Surge” problem. It is a masterpiece of their unique, specialized magic-craft. It would be given to Kallpa-Rumi (or another of her kind) by a lineage elder when her own volatile magic becomes too powerful and dangerous to control, marking her as the next wielder responsible for this dangerous, essential tool.
  • Cost (Inheritance Value): The cost is not in coin.
    • Cost: 0 Coin. The price is accepting the burden of her lineage and the responsibility of wielding a “tamed catastrophe” as her primary weapon.

Here is a roleplaying explanation of how the Staff of the Echoing Fault (Weapon 901) is used for defense and offense.

Environment 1: An Ancient, Pre-Rockfall Ruin (Turrath)

Defensive Application: Passive Magic-Detection

  • Scenario: Kallpa-Rumi enters a large, silent, and dark chamber in a ruin. She suspects the chamber may have dormant magical defenses.
  • In-Game Roleplay: The player states, “I’m holding my staff forward as I walk. I’m paying attention to its Dissonant Thrum.”
  • How it’s Described: As you enter the chamber, the staff’s normal, low thrum-thrum-thrum is steady. You walk past the first collapsed pillar, and nothing changes. You approach the far-end, near a sealed stone archway. Suddenly, the staff’s vibration changes. The thrum becomes a high-pitched, agitated, and dissonant BUZZ-ZZZ that you feel in your bones. It’s not warning you of a trap you can see; it’s warning you that the archway itself is saturated with a powerful, active magical ward. You now know not to touch the archway.

Offensive Application: Clearing a Blocked Hallway

  • Scenario: A group of rival explorers (or ancient, animated constructs) is in a 30-foot-long, 10-foot-wide stone hallway, blocking the only path.
  • In-Game Roleplay: The player says, “They are in a perfect line. I’m planting my feet, aiming the staff’s head at them, and slamming the butt of the staff on the floor to unleash Echoing Fault.”
  • How it’s Described: You slam the dense, heavy mahogany staff onto the stone floor. The fractured obsidian core in the head flares with a dull, angry, crimson light for a split-second. The ground explodes. A 30-foot line of raw, unmaking geomantic force rips through the hallway floor, erupting in a violent crack of shattered stone and concussive power. The enemies in that line are blasted by the shrapnel and raw force. When the dust settles, the entire hallway floor is a jagged, cracked chasm, a field of difficult terrain that will prevent any other survivors from charging you.

Environment 2: A Peakhold Steam-Works Facility

Defensive Application: Resisting Force

  • Scenario: Kallpa-Rumi is on a narrow, vibrating metal gantry, high above a massive, hissing steam-engine. A Guild Enforcer, a large, burly avatar, uses his action to try and shove her off the edge.
  • In-Game Roleplay: The player says, “He’s trying to shove me? I’m relying on my staff’s Grounded passive ability. I’m planting my feet and holding the staff.”
  • How it’s Described: The Enforcer slams his shoulder into you, expecting you to fly off the gantry. But the unnaturally dense, “witness-wood” staff in your hands acts like an anchor. You don’t just “resist”; you absorb the impact. Your feet barely move, as if you’ve suddenly become a 500-pound statue. The Enforcer, shocked at your immovability and over-extended, stumbles and nearly falls himself.

Offensive Application: Absorbing and Re-Channeling Magic

  • Scenario: Kallpa-Rumi is fighting the chief engineer, who is also a Stonegrower. The engineer casts a spell, but the chaotic magic of the steam-works causes it to fail, and a backlash of raw, magical energy surges toward Kallpa-Rumi.
  • In-Game Roleplay: The GM says, “A surge of wild magic is about to hit you!” The player responds, “As a reaction, I’m using Surge Channel. I’m pointing the staff’s core right at the surge.”
  • How it’s Described: You see the arc of chaotic magic, and you accept it. You aim the staff’s head, and the fractured obsidian core flares. The metallic “root” cage whines as the backlash hits it and is absorbed, sucked into the core like a void. The staff is now screaming in your hands, its thrum a violent, high-pitched VREEEE. It is overcharged. On your next turn, you use your action to cast a simple ‘Stone Bolt’ spell… but the staff vomits the stolen, raw power into your spell. The ‘Stone Bolt’ becomes a ‘Stone Cannonball,’ smashing the Stonegrower with maximum, uncontrolled force, and the staff’s vibration finally returns to its normal, dissonant thrum.

Environment 3: An Unstable Mountain Pass

Defensive Application: Controlling Her Own Failure

  • Scenario: Kallpa-Rumi is trying to cast a spell to create an earth-bridge over a chasm, but the area is a shattered ley line. Her own “Geomantic Surge” activates, and her spell fails, threatening to cause a new rockslide.
  • In-Game Roleplay: The GM says, “Your spell surges! You feel it twisting, about to cause a collapse!” The player responds, “As a reaction, I’m using Surge Channel on myself. I’m absorbing my own failure.”
  • How it’s Described: You feel the “fire-sickness,” the volatile surge, erupt from your own Mind’s Eye, threatening to un-make the very cliff you’re standing on. You instinctively thrust the staff’s core forward. The fractured obsidian inhales your own chaotic magic, neutralizing the wild surge before it can even manifest. The staff in your hands now thrums with a painful, contained power. You have saved everyone from your mistake, but you are now “overcharged” and must find a way to discharge the staff’s absorbed power.

Offensive Application: Area Denial and Control

  • Scenario: A pack of fast-moving, wolf-like mountain predators is charging Kallpa-Rumi and her party, bounding over the uneven, rocky terrain.
  • In-Game Roleplay: The player says, “I’m not trying to hit them all, I’m trying to stop them. I’m aiming Echoing Fault at the ground between me and them, to break their charge.”
  • How it’s Described: You slam the staff’s butt onto the mountain path. The ground shatters in a 30-foot line. It’s not an explosion; it’s a fracture. A two-foot-wide, jagged “fault line” of broken, unstable rock is created. The charging predators are forced to stop or be funneled, as the ground in that line is now a mess of treacherous, ankle-breaking, difficult terrain. You have just created a “moat” of broken earth, controlling the entire battlefield with one action.

Perception of Activation:

For Surge Channel (Reaction)

  • User’s Perspective:
    • Tactile: The activation is a violent, involuntary jolt. The instant the magical backlash or her own “Geomantic Surge” erupts, the staff lurches in her hands. She feels an intense, sucking sensation, as if the fractured obsidian core has become a void. This is accompanied by an almost-painful, dry, absorbing cold that flashes up her arms from the staff. For the next minute, the staff is “overcharged”—the wood is no longer just cool, it is vibrating violently, a high-frequency, angry thrum that rattles her teeth and makes her hands ache.
    • Auditory: The staff’s normal, low, dissonant thrum is instantly silenced. It is replaced for one second by a sharp, implosive VWOOMP sound, like a vacuum being filled. After this, the staff’s sound changes to a loud, high-pitched, agitated VREEEEEEEE—the sound of the “overcharged” state.
    • Extra-Sensory (Mind’s Eye): She sees the incoming magical backlash as a chaotic, jagged, bright-red spear of energy. As her reaction triggers, she perceives the obsidian core of her staff as a perfect, cold, black void that eats the red energy. The “root” cage flares in her mind’s eye with a dull, crimson light as it strains to contain the new power.
    • Extra-Sensory (Vibration): The normal, unsettling dissonance of the staff is replaced by a feeling of pure, contained, volatile power. It no longer feels like a “shattered” thing; it feels like a bomb that has been armed.
  • Observer’s Perspective:
    • Visual: An observer sees the arc of wild magic (the backlash) leaping toward Kallpa-Rumi. Just before it hits, the fractured obsidian core in the staff’s head flares with a dull, crimson-black light, and the metallic “root” cage glows like the embers of a forge. The arc of magic visibly bends in mid-air and is sucked into the obsidian core, vanishing instantly. For the next minute, the obsidian core glows faintly with a contained, pulsing, angry-red light, and the air around the staff’s head shimmers with heat.
    • Auditory: A sharp, percussive, and inward-rushing THWUMP! sound, as if the air has been instantly sucked out of the space in front of the staff. This is immediately followed by a new, loud, high-pitched whine from the staff.
  • Positives:
    • The activation is instantaneous and visually confirms that a major magical threat has been neutralized.
    • It turns a negative (a backlash) into a positive (an empowered spell), a clear, tangible benefit.
    • The visual and auditory cues of the “overcharged” state are unmistakable, serving as a clear warning to allies.
  • Negatives:
    • The “overcharged” state is a new, immediate problem. The high-pitched whine is loud, conspicuous, and a beacon to all enemies.
    • The psychic strain and violent vibration from the overcharged staff are painful and distracting to the wielder.
    • The wielder is now under pressure to discharge the energy, which may force them to act in a way that is not tactically ideal.

For Echoing Fault (Action)

  • User’s Perspective:
    • Tactile: The user causes this activation by slamming the staff’s butt onto the ground. They feel a powerful, reverberating shockwave travel up the dense mahogany staff, not as a painful impact, but as a solid, grounding confirmation of power. This is immediately followed by a sensation of unleashing, as if they have “opened a valve” and are venting the staff’s cold, dissonant energy directly into the earth.
    • Auditory: She hears the physical THUD of the staff hitting the ground, but it is instantly overwhelmed by a deep, guttural, subsonic GROOOOAN that she feels in her chest and feet. It sounds like a mountain shifting its weight, a sound of stone grinding against stone, traveling in a straight line away from her.
    • Extra-Sensory (Mind’s Eye): As she strikes the ground, she sees a line of crimson-red “fracture-energy” erupt from the staff, traveling along the ground like a fissure of light. She feels a brief, cold, and arrogant pulse from the obsidian core, a “memory” of the original Rockfall’s unmaking power, as it revels in being unleashed.
  • Observer’s Perspective:
    • Visual: The observer sees the user slam the staff onto the ground. The fractured obsidian core and the metallic cage both flare with a single, bright, angry-red pulse of light, timed with the impact. A visible line of energy, looking like a heat-haze or a ripple of red light, shoots across the ground from the staff’s base. The ground violently cracks and bursts upward along this 30-foot line, throwing dirt, dust, and stone shards into the air in a dramatic, tearing motion.
    • Auditory: A loud, definitive THUD-CRAAAACK! The CRACK is not like thunder; it is the deep, ripping, and tearing sound of earth and stone being shattered, like a quarry blast.
  • Positives:
    • The activation is a clear, decisive, and powerful offensive action.
    • It is visually and audibly impressive, having a significant psychological/intimidation effect.
    • The result (the damaged, difficult terrain) is immediately visible and tactically useful.
  • Negatives:
    • It is extremely loud, conspicuous, and destructive. It is the opposite of a stealthy action and will alert everyone in a large radius to the user’s exact position.
    • The power is “raw” and “uncontrolled.” It will destroy the terrain, which could be highly undesirable (e.g., destroying a delicate floor in a ruin, collapsing a tunnel, or blocking an escape route).
    • It has a high potential for unwanted collateral damage to nearby allies or objectives that are in the line.

Recipe: Staff of the Echoing Fault

Description: A highly-specialized recipe to construct a two-handed geomantic focus. This staff is not a simple magical implement; it is a dangerous, purpose-built containment and channeling “machine” designed to harness a specific type of volatile, “shattered” magical energy. It requires assembling two deeply magical, opposing-force components: one of pure, grounded stability (the chassis) and one of pure, chaotic power (the core).

Materials Needed:

  • The Chassis (Handle): 1x Witness-Wood Staff-Billet (This is the critical “grounding” component. It must be a 6-foot, dense, gnarled piece of Shock-Petrified Mountain Mahogany, harvested from the immediate border of a cataclysmic-magic zone, such as the Rockfall Memorial. The wood must be unnaturally dense and cool, and “saturated” with the memory of stability).
  • The Core (Engine): 1x Shard of the Surge (This is the volatile “engine” component. It must be a fist-sized, fractured, and “dissonant” obsidian core, salvaged from a pre-Rockfall (e.g., Turrath-era) ruin. The shard must be raw, un-attuned, and thrumming with contained, chaotic magical energy).
  • The Cage (Throttle):
    • 1x Spool of Pure Silver Wire (for the “control” circuit).
    • 1x Spool of Pure Copper Wire (for the “power” circuit).
    • 1x Pouch of Alchemical “Dampening” Solder (a special, non-heat solder made with powdered jade and resin, used for joining magical-circuit wires).
    • 1x Vial of Blackening Reagent (for finishing the cage).
  • Insulation: 1x Pouch of Insulating Resin (a thick, non-conductive, and shock-absorbing paste).

Tools Required:

  • Stonecarver’s Kit: (Required for shaping the “Witness-Wood,” which is as hard as stone. Includes rasps, fine-chisels, and polishing stones).
  • Artificer’s Lens/Goggles: (For the fine-detail wire-work on the cage).
  • Jeweler’s Kit (or equivalent): (For manipulating the silver and copper wires).
  • Warded Containment Box: (To safely store and handle the Shard of the Surge, which is psychically and magically “loud” and dangerous).
  • Geomantic Focus: (A personal staff, amulet, or crystal needed for the final, dangerous attunement).

Skill Requirements:

  • Artisan (Stonecrafting): Journeyman Level. Required to carve the dense, brittle “Witness-Wood” into a balanced, usable staff with a secure socket, without shattering it.
  • Artisan (Magic Circuitry): Journeyman Level. This is the most complex skill. Required to design and construct the “root-system” cage, correctly weaving the silver (control) and copper (power) wires into a functional “throttle” circuit.
  • Geomancy (Knowledge): Journeyman Level. Required to handle the Shard of the Surge safely and to perform the final, extremely dangerous attunement.
  • Mental Fortitude (Implicit): The crafter must be able to withstand the constant, dissonant, psychic “scream” of the obsidian core while working on it.

Crafting Steps:

  1. Carving the Chassis: The crafter begins by taking the Witness-Wood Staff-Billet and, using the Stonecarver’s Kit, patiently carves it into a balanced, two-handed staff. This is a slow, meditative process. A deep, insulated “socket” must be carved into the head of the staff.
  2. Building the Cage: This is the most precise step. The Shard of the Surge is placed in a warded, stable “jig.” The crafter, using their Artificer’s Lens and Jeweler’s Kit, must meticulously weave the silver and copper wires around the core, soldering them with the Dampening Solder. This is not just a “cage”; it is a functional, three-dimensional magic circuit in a “root” pattern, designed to throttle the core’s power and ground any backlash into the staff’s chassis.
  3. Finishing the Cage: The crafter applies the Blackening Reagent to the finished cage, giving it its somber, dark-metallic appearance and protecting the wires.
  4. The “Potting” (Assembly): This is the “hold your breath” step. The crafter fills the staff’s socket with the Insulating Resin. The Shard of the Surge (now inside its cage) is then carefully pressed into the resin, which is left to cure. The resin acts as a physical and magical “shock-absorber,” isolating the chaotic core from the stable chassis, with only the cage’s circuit-wires making a “bridge.”
  5. Final Attunement (The “Cold-Start”): The staff is now fully assembled, but it is a “dead” and dangerous object. The crafter must now “tame” it by attuning it to their own magical field. This requires a difficult Geomancy (Knowledge) skill check.
    • Failure: A failed check. The crafter’s magic clashes with the core’s magic. The staff either shatters violently, or the core’s “dissonant thrum” becomes a deafening psychic scream, permanently shattering the crafter’s mind. The item is destroyed.
    • Success: A successful check. The crafter’s magic “tames” the core. The staff’s violent, erratic thrum settles into its constant, low, dissonant vibration. The staff is “on” and stable (as stable as it can be).
    • Lineage-Specific Result: If this attunement is performed by a Peak-Forged Ascendant, their “shattered” aura is instantly recognized by the “shattered” core. They do not just “tame” it; they sync with it. This perfect resonance unlocks the staff’s full, lineage-bound powers, including the Surge Channel and Echoing Fault abilities.

Staff of Caged Fault
(A story told by the old, translated from a khipu-fragment, which itself was a bad copy of a song on a stone. The meaning is… slippery.)

It is known. After the great-mountain-fell (the Rockfall), the blood of the people was… cracked. They were the Peak-Forged. And they carried the echo. When their magic-song came, it was not the building-song of the Sentinel (Intayra). It was the breaking-song. It was the surge-fire. It was a sickness of pride, made flesh.

And there was one woman. Her name is gone, we call her “Surge-Walker.” Her sickness was the worst. Her magic was all breaking-song. She could not build a wall; she could only make a hole. She could not calm a stone; she could only make it scream. The Stonegrowers (the priests) looked at her and were afraid. “She is Turrath’s-Sin, born again,” they said. “She is a fire that will eat the house.”

The Surge-Walker was shamed. She went to the mountains, her true kin. She went to the edge of the great scar (the Rockfall). She sat for a moon. She did not ask for a cure. The sickness was her blood. She asked… for a cup.

“Great Sentinel,” she whispered to the stone. “You have given me too-much-fire. Give me a forge. Give me a leash. Give me a cup to hold this sea.”

The mountain, in its great patience, showed her.

She walked. She found a tree. A mahogany. It was not a tree. It was a Witness. It had stood on the edge of the great breaking. It had seen the sin. It had felt the surge. And it had not-broken. It had endured. Its wood was not wood. It was stone-of-wood (petrified). It was heavy with the weight-of-knowing. It was cold with patience. She took this Witness-Wood. This was her cup.

But a cup must have a bottom. She needed a ground. She went into the scar. Into the grave of the pride-city (Turrath). She dug in the dust of the old, burnt-out magic-veins. And she found… the Sickness-Itself.

It was a rock. A black-glass-rock (obsidian). Big as her head. It was not solid. It was all-fractures. It was a Shard of the Surge. It was a piece of the fire that had eaten the mountain. It was not-alive, but it screamed. A cold, high, silent, breaking-song (a dissonant vibration?). It was pure-fault.

Any other would have run. The Surge-Walker… she recognized it. “This is my blood,” she said. “This is the fire. Now I have the cup, and I have the fire.”

But she was a clever-hand (artificer?). She knew… if you pour the fire (the shard) into the cup (the wood)… the cup will break. You must have a throttle. You must have a cage.

She took the veins-of-the-mountain (copper and silver). She wove a net. A root-system of metal. A magic-circuit (a guess?). She potted the Scream-Shard in the Witness-Wood. She bound the Shard to the Wood with the Cage.

The Staff was made.

It was alive. It hated itself. The Scream-Shard (the core) fought the Witness-Wood (the handle). The Cage strained. And the staff began its song. A low, dissonant, angry, buzzing song. The song of a leashed-monster.

She took the staff. It felt… right. It felt like her.

She went to the Stonegrowers. “I am here,” she said. They said, “Show us.” She called her magic. The fire-sickness rose! The un-making-surge! Her hands glowed! “See!” they cried, “The fire!”

But the staff knew the song. The Scream-Shard flared! It called to her sickness like a brother. “Come to me!” it sang. The surge leapt from her hands… into the core. The Cage whined! The Witness-Wood shuddered… and held.

The fire was gone from her. It was in the staff. The staff was now glowing red. It was screaming its high, angry song. “Now it is a torch!” the priests shouted. “It will explode!” “No,” said the Surge-Walker. “It is full. Now… I pour.”

She slammed the staff’s butt on the ground. She aimed the fire. She unleashed the scream. A line of breaking shot from the staff. A fault. It cracked the stone for thirty feet. It was not a sickness. It was a spear. The staff was quiet. The fire was gone. The Scream-Shard was just… thrumming. Waiting.

The Surge-Walker was no longer the Surge-Sickness. She was the Fault-Wielder.

The Moral of the Story: You cannot cure a broken power. You can only build a stronger cup, and learn how to aim.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Staff of the Shattered Core Staff, rare (requires attunement by a creature of the Peak-Forged Ascendant lineage)

This heavy, gnarled staff of petrified mountain mahogany stands just taller than its wielder. Its head is a metallic cage of blackened copper and silver, resembling a root system, which holds a grapefruit-sized, fractured obsidian core. The core thrums with a low, dissonant vibration.

This staff functions as a magical Quarterstaff that grants a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls. It can be used as an arcane focus.

  • Lineage Attunement: While you are attuned to the staff, you gain a +2 bonus to your Intelligence score and a +1 bonus to your Constitution score (to a maximum of 20 for each).
  • Grounded: You have advantage on saving throws made against being knocked prone or forcibly moved against your will.
  • Dissonant Thrum: The staff’s vibration changes pitch and intensity in the presence of magic. You have advantage on Intelligence (Arcana) checks made to detect or identify active spells or magic items within 30 feet of you.
  • Surge Channel (1/Day): As a reaction, when you or a creature you can see within 30 feet triggers a Wild Magic Surge (or a similar magical backlash, at the GM’s discretion), you can use the staff to absorb the chaotic energy. The surge or backlash is negated.
    • Overcharge: When you use this ability, the staff becomes Overcharged. The next time you cast a spell that deals damage, the spell deals its maximum possible damage. You immediately take 2d6 psychic damage as the staff discharges the chaotic energy through you, and the staff is no longer Overcharged.
  • Echoing Fault: The staff has 3 charges. As an action, you can expend 1 charge and slam the staff on the ground. A 30-foot line of shattered earth and concussive force erupts from you in a direction you choose. Each creature in that line must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 3d8 force damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. The 30-foot line becomes difficult terrain. The staff regains 1d3 expended charges daily at dawn.

Blades in the Dark

The Fault-Eater’s Staff Heavy Weapon (2 Load), Artifact, Magical Focus

A heavy, gnarled staff of petrified “witness-wood” with a caged, fractured obsidian core. It thrums with a low, angry vibration.

  • Lineage-Bound: Only a character with the Peak-Forged Ascendant heritage can use this item’s abilities. To all others, it is a simple, unsettling, Heavy Weapon.
  • Grounded: When you Resist a consequence from being shoved, tackled, or knocked prone, gain +1d to your roll.
  • Dissonant Thrum: When you Attune to the ghost field, you can always ask “Is there active magic nearby?” for free.
  • Surge Channel: When you (or an ally in your immediate vicinity) would suffer a magical consequence (a backlash, a catastrophic surge), you can suffer 2 Stress to absorb it into the staff. The consequence is completely negated. The staff is now Overcharged.
  • Overcharged: While the staff is Overcharged, your next action that unleashes raw, destructive power (e.g., Wreck, Attack, or a magical assault) gains +1 Effect. Immediately after this action, you suffer Level 2 Harm (“Psychic Strain”) as the power burns its way out.
  • Echoing Fault: When you attack by slamming the staff on the ground, you can push yourself to unleash a 30-foot line of shattered earth. This functions as a Wreck action with Potency against all targets and structures in a narrow cone in front of you. The area is now a Shattered Fault Line (a dangerous, hazardous zone).

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Staff of the Turrath Echo Artifact (Magic), Melee Weapon (Large Club)

This heavy, gnarled staff of petrified wood is capped with a “root-like” cage of dark metal, holding a fractured obsidian core. The core emits a constant, low, dissonant, and deeply unsettling vibration.

  • SAN Cost: Identifying the core as a “Shard of the Surge”—a literal piece of the magic that caused the “Rockfall” cataclysm—requires a Hard Occult or Cthulhu Mythos roll. Success costs 1/1d6 SAN.
  • Weapon: Functions as a Quarterstaff (Large Club). Damage 1d8 + DB.
  • Grounded: The wielder is preternaturally stable. They gain a Bonus Die (one 10-sided die) on any STR or Athletics roll to avoid being pushed or knocked prone.
  • Dissonant Thrum: The staff’s vibration is a warning. The wielder gains a Bonus Die on Listen or Spot Hidden rolls to detect active magic, psionic abilities, or dimensional-shambler-type effects.
  • Surge Channel (Lineage-Bound): This power is only active for an Investigator of the Peak-Forged Ascendant lineage. Once per day, if the Investigator (or an ally within 10 feet) fumbles a Magic Point or POW roll, resulting in a catastrophic magical backlash, the wielder may use this ability as a reaction. The backlash is negated.
    • Overcharged: The staff is now Overcharged. The next offensive spell or action the wielder takes that spends Magic Points will be Empowered (all damage dice are doubled, or it is an automatic Extreme Success). Immediately after, the wielder must make a Hard POW roll. Failure results in 1d8 Sanity loss from the psychic strain. Success results in only 1d4 Sanity loss.
  • Echoing Fault (Lineage-Bound): By spending 4 Magic Points and 1 SAN, the wielder can slam the staff on the ground. This creates a 10-yard line of shattering earth. All creatures in that line must make a Dodge roll. Failure results in 2d8 physical damage (from shrapnel and force). Success results in half damage (1d8).

Knave (2nd Edition)

Surge-Tamer Staff Staff (Relic)

  • Inventory Slots: 2
  • Damage: 1d8 (Heavy Melee Weapon)
  • Qualities: Heavy, Durable, Two-Handed, Magical.
  • Lineage-Bound: This staff can only be used by a character with the Peak-Forged Ascendant lineage (Virtue). To all others, it is a non-magical Staff that hums unsettlingly.
  • Attunement: You gain a +2 bonus to your INT defense and a +1 bonus to your CON defense. You have disadvantage on DEX saves (representing the -1 DEX).
  • Passive (Grounded): You have advantage on STR saves made to resist being moved or knocked prone.
  • Passive (Dissonant Thrum): You have advantage on WIS saves made to detect or identify active magic.
  • Active (Surge Channel – Daily): Once per day, as a reaction, when you (or an ally within 10ft) would suffer a magical backlash or a “miscast” (GM’s discretion), you can negate that effect. The staff becomes Overcharged.
  • Overcharge Mechanic: While the staff is Overcharged, the next time you cast a spell that deals damage, it automatically deals maximum damage. You immediately take 1d6 damage (Psychic/Will), bypassing armor. The staff is then no longer Overcharged.
  • Active (Echoing Fault – 3/Day): As an action, you can slam the staff on the ground. A 30-foot line erupts from you. All creatures in the line must make a DEX save. On a failure, they take 3d6 damage (Bludgeoning/Force). On a success, they take half. The line becomes difficult terrain.

Fate (Fate Core)

Staff of the Caged Fault A heavy, two-handed staff of petrified wood, capped with a cage of dark metal holding a fractured, vibrating obsidian core.

This item is represented by a core Item Aspect and several Stunts, which are only fully available to a character with a related Lineage Aspect.

Item Aspect: Staff of the Caged Fault You can Invoke this Aspect for a +2 or a reroll when:

  • You are casting a geomancy spell or using its Echoing Fault.
  • You are resisting being physically shoved, pushed, or knocked prone.
  • You are trying to detect active magic using the Dissonant Thrum.

An enemy can Compel this Aspect (for a Fate Point) when:

  • The staff’s heavy, unwieldy nature (-1 DEX) causes you to be slow on the draw or fumble a delicate physical task.
  • The staff’s Dissonant Thrum becomes overwhelming, distracting you from a social or mental task.
  • The Overcharged Core causes a dangerous, unintended consequence.

Stunts:

  • Grounded: Because the staff is unnaturally dense, you gain a +2 bonus to Physique rolls made to defend against being knocked prone or forcibly moved.
  • Dissonant Thrum: Because the staff’s core hums in response to magic, you gain a +2 bonus to Notice rolls when you are actively trying to detect the presence of active magic in your immediate vicinity.
  • Surge Channel: (Requires Peak-Forged Ascendant Aspect) Once per session, when you fail a magic-based roll (Create an Advantage or Overcome), you can choose to succeed at a major cost. The action succeeds, but the staff absorbs the failure, creating the Situation Aspect Overcharged Core with one free invocation.
  • Discharge Overcharge: (Requires Peak-Forged Ascendant Aspect) When you make a magical Attack while the Overcharged Core aspect is in play, you can use its free invocation. If you do, your attack automatically inflicts a 2-shift hit in addition to your roll’s outcome. After the attack, you must take a 1-shift hit yourself (psychic strain), and the Overcharged Core aspect is removed.
  • Echoing Fault: (Requires Peak-Forged Ascendant Aspect) Once per scene, you can make a geomantic Attack action against an entire zone adjacent to you. All targets in that zone must defend against your roll. After the attack, you create the Situation Aspect Shattered Ground in that zone, which all characters must Overcome to move through.

Numenera & Cypher System

Staff of the Shattered Core Level: 6 Form: A heavy, gnarled staff of petrified “witness-wood,” capped with a metallic “root” cage. Inside, a fractured obsidian core thrums with a low, dissonant vibration. Artifact

Effect (Passive): Functions as a heavy melee weapon (deals 4 points of damage).

Effect (Passive, Grounded): All Might-based tasks to resist being pushed or knocked prone are eased by one step.

Effect (Passive, Dissonant Thrum): All Intellect-based tasks to perceive, identify, or sense active magic are eased by one step.

Effect (Passive, Lineage-Bound): If the wearer has the Peak-Forged Ascendant Descriptor, they gain +1 to their Intellect Pool and +1 to their Might Pool. However, the staff is heavy and unwieldy, and their Speed Pool is reduced by 3.

Effect (Reaction, Surge Channel, Lineage-Bound): When the wearer triggers a GM Intrusion on a magic-based roll (any roll using Intellect for a magical effect), they can activate the staff. The GM Intrusion is canceled and does not occur. The staff becomes Overcharged.

Effect (Overcharged): While Overcharged, the next damaging action the wearer takes (before the end of their next turn) deals +4 damage. Immediately after, the wearer takes 3 points of Intellect damage (psychic strain) which bypasses Armor. The staff is no longer Overcharged. (Depletion: 1 on a d20, check when Surge Channel is used).

Effect (Action, Echoing Fault, Lineage-Bound): The wearer slams the staff on the ground. This creates a 30-foot (short) line of force and shattered earth. All targets in that line take 6 points of ambient damage. The area of the line becomes difficult terrain, and moving through it requires a Speed-based task. (Depletion: 1 on a d20).

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Staff of the Echoing Fault Item 6 [Rare] [Magical] [Geomancy] [Evocation] [Focus] [Staff] [Qosqo-Pacha] Prerequisites: You must have the Peak-Forged Ascendant heritage to invest this item. Usage: Worn staff; Hands: 2; Bulk: 2 Base Weapon: Staff (1d4 B, Two-Hand d8)

This heavy, gnarled staff is made of petrified mountain mahogany and capped with a “root” cage of dark metal, holding a fractured, vibrating obsidian core. It can be used as a magical focus.

Invested (Passive): The Staff of the Echoing Fault is a +1 Striking Staff. Invested (Passive): The staff’s weight and attunement affect your physical-magical balance. You gain a +1 item bonus to your Intelligence and Constitution ability scores, but you take a -1 item penalty to your Dexterity ability score (and all associated DCs and modifiers). Invested (Passive, Grounded): You gain a +2 item bonus to your Fortitude DC against all attempts to forcibly move you or knock you prone. Invested (Passive, Dissonant Thrum): You gain a +1 item bonus to Arcana checks and Perception checks to detect or identify magic.

Activation [reaction] (Concentrate, Magical) Surge Channel

  • Frequency: Once per day
  • Trigger: You critically fail a check to Cast a Spell, or a GM-determined magical backlash effect occurs.
  • Effect: You negate the critical failure effect of the spell (it is a normal failure) or the backlash. The staff becomes Overcharged.
  • Overcharged: While the staff is Overcharged, the next time you Cast a Spell that deals damage before the end of your next turn, the spell is automatically Heightened to +1 level (or deals one additional damage die if it cannot be heightened). You immediately take 2d8 psychic damage. The staff is then no longer Overcharged.

Activation [two-actions] (Evocation, Geomancy, Interact) Echoing Fault

  • Frequency: Three times per day
  • Effect: You slam the staff on the ground. A 30-foot line of shattered earth and force erupts from you. All creatures in the line must attempt a DC 21 Reflex save.
  • Critical Success: The creature is unaffected.
  • Success: The creature takes 2d8 bludgeoning damage.
  • Failure: The creature takes 4d8 bludgeoning damage and is knocked prone.
  • Critical Failure: The creature takes 8d8 bludgeoning damage, is knocked prone, and is slowed 1 for 1 round.
  • Special: The 30-foot line becomes Difficult Terrain.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Staff of the Caged Fault Magic Item (Staff)

Damage: Str+d6 AP: 1 Weight: 15 Notes: Magic, Two-Handed, Reach 1. Lineage-Bound: Requires the Peak-Forged Ascendant Lineage Edge. To all others, this is a simple magic Staff (Str+d6) that hums unsettlingly and inflicts a -1 penalty to all Agility-based rolls and to Parry.

Powers (Lineage-Bound):

  • Attunement: The wielder’s Smarts and Vigor attributes are increased by one die type (max d12). The wielder’s Agility attribute is decreased by one die type (min d4).
  • Grounded (Passive): The wielder gains a +2 bonus to Strength rolls to resist being pushed or knocked prone.
  • Dissonant Thrum (Passive): The wielder gains a +2 bonus to Notice rolls to detect active magic.
  • Surge Channel (Free Action):
    • Frequency: 1/Day
    • Trigger: The wielder suffers a magical backlash (e.g., from a Critical Failure on a Power roll, or as a result of a Short on a Power).
    • Effect: The backlash is completely negated. The staff becomes Overcharged.
  • Overcharged (Status): While the staff is Overcharged, the next damaging Power the wielder activates (before the end of their next turn) is Empowered. It deals its damage with a Raise automatically, in addition to any Raises on the roll. After the Power is resolved, the wielder suffers 2d4 damage (as psychic feedback) and is Distracted.
  • Echoing Fault (Action):
    • Frequency: 3/Day
    • Effect: The wielder slams the staff, unleashing a 30-foot (5″) line of force. This uses the Cone Template but is only as wide as the small end (a 2″ wide line). All targets in the template must make an Agility roll.
    • Failure: Targets suffer 3d6 damage and are knocked Prone.
    • Success: Targets suffer half damage.
    • Special: The area of the line becomes Difficult Ground for the rest of the scene.

Shadowrun (6th Edition)

Turrath-Core Staff Melee Weapon (Club) / Magical Focus (Geomancy)

This heavy, two-handed staff of gnarled, petrified wood is capped with a “root-system” cage of blackened copper and silver. Inside, a fractured obsidian core thrums with a low, dissonant, and chaotic energy.

  • Type: Melee Weapon (Club) / Power Focus
  • Reach: 2
  • Damage: (STR + 3)P
  • AP: -1
  • Availability: 18R
  • Cost: 75,000 Nuyen
  • Focus Rating: 5
  • Attunement (Bonding): Requires bonding as a Power Focus (5 Karma). Can only be bonded by a character with the (custom) Peak-Forged Ascendant Quality.
  • Powers (Bonded & Lineage-Bound):
    • Attunement: The staff’s mental focus and unwieldy nature attune to the wearer. The wearer gains +1 Edge on all Sorcery (especially Geomancy) and Willpower tests. The wearer suffers a -1 die penalty on all Agility-based tests.
    • Grounded (Passive): The staff’s density makes the wielder preternaturally stable. The wearer gains +1 Edge when resisting any attempt to use the Knockdown action against them.
    • Dissonant Thrum (Passive): The staff’s core reacts to magic. The wearer gains +2 dice on all Assensing tests made to detect or analyze active magical effects or Foci.
    • Surge Channel (1/Day): As a Free Action, when the wielder rolls a Critical Glitch on a Sorcery or Summoning test, they can negate the Critical Glitch and all its effects. The staff becomes Overcharged.
    • Overcharged (Status): While the staff is Overcharged, the next Sorcery spell the user casts that deals damage gains the Potency effect (Critical Hit, e.g., +2 DV and other effects) for free. Immediately after the spell is cast, the wielder suffers 3 boxes of Stun damage (unresisted biofeedback).
    • Echoing Fault (3/Day): As a Complex Action, the wielder slams the staff on the ground and makes a Magic + Sorcery [Rating 5] test. This unleashes a 10-meter line of force (2m wide). All targets in the line must make a Reaction + Intuition test; the wielder’s net hits are the damage (P), with an AP of -2. The 10-meter line becomes Difficult Terrain.

Starfinder (1st Edition)

Staff of the Shattered Core Advanced Melee Weapon / Hybrid Item

Level: 6 Price: 4,800 credits Category: Two-Handed Damage: 1d12 B Critical: Knockdown Bulk: 2 Special: Analog, Technomantic, Lineage-Bound (Peak-Forged Ascendant)

Description: This heavy, gnarled staff of petrified “witness-wood” is capped with a metallic cage holding a fractured, vibrating obsidian core.

  • Lineage-Bound Attunement: This item’s full power can only be accessed by a creature of the Peak-Forged Ascendant species. An attuned wielder gains the following:
    • Stat Attunement: You gain a +2 insight bonus to your Intelligence score, a +1 insight bonus to your Constitution score, and a +1 insight bonus to your Wisdom score. You suffer a -1 penalty to your Dexterity score.
  • Grounded (Passive): You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to your KAC against Bull Rush, Reposition, and Trip combat maneuvers.
  • Dissonant Thrum (Passive): You gain a +2 circumstance bonus on Mysticism checks to detect or identify active spells and magical effects.
  • Surge Channel (1/Day): As a Reaction, when you would suffer a magical backlash (e.g., from a critical failure on a spell-casting check, at GM discretion), you can negate that effect. The staff becomes Overcharged.
  • Overcharged (Status): While the staff is Overcharged, the next time you cast a spell that deals damage (before the end of your next turn), that spell deals its maximum possible damage. Immediately after, you take 1d6+your caster level in psychic damage (no save). The staff is no longer Overcharged.
  • Echoing Fault (3/Day): As a Standard Action, you can slam the staff on the ground. A 30-foot line of shattered earth erupts from you. All creatures in that line must make a Reflex save (DC 17). On a failure, a creature takes 4d6 force damage and is knocked Prone. On a success, a creature takes half damage and is not knocked prone. The 30-foot line becomes Difficult Terrain.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Staff of the Turrath Fault (Artifact) Melee Weapon (Staff) / Magical Artifact

This heavy, two-handed staff is made of petrified wood, as dense as iron. Its head is a cage of dark copper and silver, holding a fractured, black, vibrating stone.

  • Tech Level: 5 (Artifact)
  • Skill: Melee (Staff)
  • Damage: 1d6+3 B
  • AP: -1
  • Mass: 5 kg
  • Cost: Cr 65,000 (Artifact Price)
  • Qualities: Lineage-Bound, Magical, Heavy (inflicts DM-1 on attack rolls if STR DM is +0 or less)
  • Abilities (Lineage-Bound): The following functions only for a character with the Peak-Forged Ascendant trait.
    • Attunement: The wielder gains DM+1 to their INT, EDU, and END Characteristics. The wielder suffers DM-1 to their DEX Characteristic.
    • Grounded (Passive): The wielder gains DM+4 on all checks to resist being pushed or knocked prone.
    • Dissonant Thrum (Passive): The wielder gains DM+2 on all Psionics (Awareness) or Magic checks to detect active powers or spells.
    • Surge Channel (1/Day): As a reaction, when the wielder critically fails a Magic or Psionics check, they can negate the critical failure (it’s a simple failure). The staff becomes Overcharged.
    • Overcharged (Status): The wielder’s next Magic or Psionics roll that deals damage (within 1 minute) is an automatic Exceptional Success (dealing maximum damage). Immediately after, the wielder takes 2d6 damage, bypassing armor.
    • Echoing Fault (3/Day): As a Significant Action, the wielder makes a Magic (Difficulty 8+) check. On success, a 10m line of force erupts. All targets in the line must make an Athletics (Dodge) check (Difficulty 10+). Failure results in 3d6 damage and being knocked prone. Success = half damage. The area becomes Difficult Terrain.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

Staff of the Caged Fault Magical Staff (Quarterstaff)

This heavy, gnarled, two-handed staff is carved from wood as hard and cold as stone. A root-like cage of blackened copper and silver at its head holds a fractured, dull-black stone that thrums with a painful, dissonant energy.

  • Type: Staff
  • ENC: 200 (Heavy)
  • Availability: Unique
  • Damage: SB+4
  • Qualities: Magical, Lineage-Bound, Defensive, Pummel, Two-Handed
  • Lineage-Bound: Only those with the Peak-Forged Ascendant Bloodline (a custom Talent) can wield this staff. To all others, it is inert and inflicts 1 Corruption Point per day due to its raw, chaotic Dhar.
  • Powers (Lineage-Bound):
    • Attunement: The wielder gains +10 to their Intelligence, +5 to their Toughness, and +5 to their Willpower Characteristics. The wielder suffers a -10 penalty to their Agility Characteristic.
    • Grounded (Passive): The wielder gains the Sturdy Trait (ignores the first Test or effect each round that would cause them to be moved or knocked Prone).
    • Dissonant Thrum (Passive): The wielder gains a +10 bonus to all Channelling and Perception (Detect Magic) Tests.
    • Surge Channel (1/Day): Once per day, when the wielder rolls a Critical Miscast (Major or Minor) on the Channelling or Casting table, they can use this ability as a Free Action. The miscast is completely negated. The staff absorbs the Dhar and becomes Overcharged.
    • Overcharged (Status): While the staff is Overcharged, the next damaging spell the wielder casts (within 1 minute) gains +SL equal to their Willpower Bonus (in addition to the roll). Immediately after casting, the wielder suffers 1d10 Wounds (ignoring Armour and Toughness Bonus) from psychic feedback and gains 1 Corruption Point.
    • Echoing Fault (3/Day): As a Full Action, the wielder slams the staff on the ground. This is a magical attack using the Channelling (Geomancy) skill. It targets all characters in a 6-yard (3 Thread) line. All targets must make an Opposed Agility test. Those who fail suffer SB+SL damage (Bludgeoning) and gain the Prone condition. The 6-yard line becomes Difficult Terrain for the rest of the scene.

Comments

2 responses to “Staff of the Echoing Fault 901”

  1. Lineage 713 of Qosqo Pacha Peak Forged Ascendants – GearAscendancy.com

    […] Staff of the Echoing Fault (Weapon 901) […]

  2. Vessel of the Shattered Dream 882 – GearAscendancy.com

    […] Staff of the Echoing Fault 901: The geomantic “engine” and witness-wood grounding rods. […]