Post by Hoots Rowlet on Aug 31, 2016 21:44:30 GMT -5
The One Ring
"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them"
-Translation of the inscriptions on the Ring
"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them"
-Translation of the inscriptions on the Ring
The One Ring is a terrible artefact of pure power, tainted by the evil of its creator, the Dark Lord Sauron of Mordor. It was forged in the very fires of Oroduin, born from a flawed alliance, created from a terrible betrayal. Under the disguise of Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, Sauron 'helped' the elves of Eregion and their leader, Celebrimbor, to forge great rings of power. Unbeknownst to them, at first at least, the future Dark Lord secretly cursed all such rings (except the Three Elven Rings, which Celebrimbor hid away from the traitor so he could not taint them) in such a way as to render them susceptible to control by a master ring, a ring whose purpose would be commanding the wielders of all the others... The One Ring.
To create such a powerful artefact, and make it superior to all other rings of Power, Sauron had to put a large part of his own power in it. On one hand, it greatly enhanced his own power when wielding it, and it did have mastery over the other rings. On the other, when separated from it, his power was greatly diminished, as he was then a part of it. Thankfully, as long as one lived, the other couldn't be fully destroyed. Even if Sauron's form would be destroyed, he would eventually return in another form, recover his ring and rise to power anew. The only way to end the circle would be to melt the Ring in the fires of Oroduin, its birthplace, and then both it and its master would perish.
The One Ring's powers do not only benefit its creator, however. Most anyone who could wear the Ring would benefit from at least part of its powers, although how much it granted depended on the Bearer's stature, their personal power, and their willpower. For example, a simple hobbit with no unusual abilities would merely benefit from increased longevity and the ability to turn invisible while wearing it. However, a grown man would gain much power from it. An elf would become extraordinarily powerful, whereas a Maia, Elf-lord, or some lords of Númenórean heritage could become nearly invincible. As the Ring also enhanced one's skills and powers, it would make a talented swordsman into a formidable one, a powerful wizard into a terrifying one or a charismatic noble into one anyone else would follow in the deepest pits of Hell.
The One Ring's look are disarmingly simple. It actually has elaborate elven sigils on its sides, which translate to "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness, bind them." However, those letters only appear when the Ring is exposed to a flame for a few seconds.
In game terms, the One Ring's effects are as follows:
- Longevity: If the Ring-Bearer is Immortal, this effect simply doesn't apply. However, if the Bearer is of a mortal species, they gain Extended Lifespan, allowing a normal human who'd only live for around a hundred years to live for centuries. However, extending one's life like this will make its Bearer's soul feel thin and stretched, until life becomes unbearable. Eventually, the Bearer would still die and become a Wraith (see below).
- Speak/Understand the Black Speech: A basic effect of the Ring is allowing the Bearer to understand, and be able to speak the Black Speech of Mordor and of the Servants of Sauron, a dark language which none of the Fair Folk can hear without pain, and which frightens even gron, wise, strong men.
- Invisibility: When worn, if the bearer so wishes, the Ring will allow the user to turn Invisible up to AN 8 by entering the Wraith-World, between that of the Living and the Dead. While in the Wraith-World, the Bearer is Invisible - as the action - to the eyes of the living and a glowing white wraith to other spirits or one with the ability to perceive them through some means or another. They can also fight phase-shifted/incorporeal opponents in that world as though they were solid, making them capable of even defeating other wraiths and ghosts in direct combat. NOTE: Although a user is very much invisible when using, they still cast a faint, indistinct shadow. A person aware of that and looking for an invisible Ring-Bearer can use their Intelligence to beat the AN of the Ring's Invisibility, reduced to 4 against this particular person. Also, a weaker Bearer has no control over this effect and enters the Wraith-World the moment they put on the Ring.
- Commandment: A user whose stature and power is sufficient is capable of making lesser beings obey their every command, provided they are capable of understanding them. In effect, if the Bearer can make themselves understood by the target, they can use the Ring to perform a Project thoughts/Control others-like effect of 10 + Social Skills (user only pays for the latter) attack VS Mental Defense. If the target fails, they are forced to obey, and do whatever is asked of them, even if doing so would go against their beliefs or values.
- One Ring to Rule Them All: The main purpose of the One Ring in Sauron's plans is for the One Ring to unconditionally ruling over the other Rings of Power. A wearer of one of the men's Nine, the dwarves' Seven or any of the Lesser Rings later forged by Sauron is automatically subject to this effect. If a person comes across one of the aforementioned rings and puts it on, they are automatically (and with no cost to the user) the target of a 5 stones + User's Social Skills attack VS Intelligence. Failure to defend means the victims is enslaved to the One Ring's Bearer. They will obey the Bearer's every command, the Bearer will always know their location, their thoughts, have control on their powers and actions... basically, they become the Bearer's puppets, who will allow them to do as much - or as little - on their own as they please.
- Empowerment: The One Ring amplifies any inherent power, skill and ability of its wielder when worn according to the level of power in question. Any A/A/M, be it physical, magical, mental or energy in nature, will receive bonuses as follows, counting as Modifiers: +1 for an AN/MN of 1-3, +2 for an AN/MN of 4-6, +3 for AN/MN 7-9, and +5 to any AN/MN action/Modifier of 10 or higher. It only applies once per action according to the highest value (so using Close Combat 7 + Strength 3 will grant a +3 modifier, as would a Close Combat 3 + Strength 7), but otherwise applies to all actions (so using a Social Skills of 6 and Acrobatics of 3 in the same panel would yield a +2 for the Social Skills. and +1 for the Acrobatics). This Modifier does allows a user to exceed an AN/MNs normal limits (for example, a person with 3 in Strength wearing the Ring as they lift an object, receiving +1 from the Ring, would be able to lift up to 2 tons, not 1,000 lbs).
- Mental Authority: Allows user to actively use the action 'Telepathy' at AN 10 (Int.bonus, Efficient) with the following options: Telepathic communications, Illusions, Mental bolts, Generate Pain by touch, Empathic projection (Fear, Hatred, and other negative emotions).
- Acute Hearing: The Ring has the ability to enhance the user's Hearing by up to +3, at the cost of lowering their Sight by the same amount. This effect can be changed at will once every panel.
- Terrifying Presence: The Bearer can both alter their own appearance to a more frightening form, or terrify victims with sheer malevolence from the Ring. In game terms, it allows use of the action as Shape Shifting AN 8 (only for more frightening/impressive forms), and/or as Fear 10 (Efficient).
- Dark Lord Emergence: If a being of great power takes and uses the Ring with the intent of actively making use of its powers while the former Dark Lord is 'dead' and not yet fully back to power (i.e, hasn't regained the Ring yet; see Undying Evil below), the being who took it may very well become a new Dark Lord, and become the Ring's new master. If that happens, the Ring will imbue the user with power and transform them to a darker/more powerful version of themselves, as per a use of Metamorphosis 10 + Intelligence bonus, granting any A/A/M bonuses and body form as seems appropriate. This change is permanent, until the new Dark Lord is killed (see Undying Evil), and the Bearer still benefits from the Ring's other powers as normal, except it is no its true Master. Most Dark Lords have a terrifying appearance; Sauron's own is of a dark, terrible humanoid of huge size wearing a terrible, black armor with spikes and dark plates. If the user's corruption hadn't reached -5 yet, it definitely does now, along with at least -5 worth of additional negative/evil challenges of various types, unless the Ring's master is unaffected by the corruption (See 'Innocence Immunity'). NOTE: This 'permanent' Metamorphosis is lost if the Dark Lord loses the Ring, reverting to its weaker, normal form.
- Undying Evil: The Dark Lord of the Ring cannot truly die when protected by the Ring's existence. If they do die, they will reform in another shape, another body as per Reconstitute Self, but lose -2 to all A/A/M, until they recover the Ring and their full powers. That Reconstitution can take time, and will often leave the fallen Dark Lord away from the Ring. It is possible for a Dark Lord to vanish for good and die if a new Dark Lord rises (see Dark Lord Emergence) and the former one is killed in his weakened form. If no new Dark Lord has risen and the Ring still remain loyal to its owner, then the fallen Dark Lord will simply rise again in a new form, unkillable until the One Ring is destroyed or a new Dark Lord rises.
- Power of Mordor: Within the lands of Mordor, the Ring's power are drastically enhanced, and all of its effects gain +2 as long as the Bearer remains within its borders.
- Lure of the Ring: The Ring brings about the desire to possess it from those who see it, as a 10 stones effect VS Mental Defense. Also, once wielded, the Bearer usually becomes jealously possessive of it, and must be able to resist a 15 stones effect VS Mental Defense whenever someone else shows a desire for the Ring or tries to touch it without the user's express permission. Failure to resist might cause the Bearer to react aggressively or negatively.
- Corruption: When worn by someone other than the actual Dark Lord, a Bearer of the Ring will suffer corruption slowly but surely, with increasing corruption with greater use of the Ring's powers. Almost never using it makes this corruption build up very slowly, in decades if not centuries, whereas using it every day 5 or 6 times would speed the corruption up dramatically. The speed at which it is gained, being more a story device, is subject to the GM's will, and is represented by a Challenge of -1 (slightly corrupted) to -5 (almost dying and turning into a Wraith, like Gollum was at the end). Changes in appearance become possibly at higher levels (-3 to -5), causing possible Looking Non-Human challenges to happen). NOTE: Some users are unaffected by the Corruption (See 'Innocence Immunity').
- Malevolence: When separated from the current Dark Lord, the Ring will strive to return to him. It will attempt to manipulate events in subtle ways, either drawing individuals to it, driving them away, or changing in size to try and escape a Bearer it decides to abandon. Those effects are more of a story-driven event and are to be used by the GM as necessary. They are of course turned off when worn by the actual Dark Lord, to whom the Ring obeys completely.
- Wraith Curse: A Bearer susceptible to the Corruption of the Ring will eventually wither away and 'die', only to be brought back by the Ring as a dark wraith under the Dark Lord's power. The powers of such a Wraith varies and depend on the user, but the Nazghuls, who suffered this fate, are no doubt the most feared and terrible servants of the Dark Lord, and are a good hint at the threat such creatures pose.
- Innocence Immunity: Some beings or individuals of formidable power, absolute innocence or unequaled purity are actually capable of ignoring the Ring's corruption, although they may still benefit from its powers. In fact, such a being could technically become a 'Dark Lord' as per the Ring's powers but remained uncorrupted. Such beings are incredibly rare, but are able to wield the Ring without even activating its effects, or activate it without suffering its corruption. Such individuals also automatically see through the Invisibility effect of the Ring. One such immune being was Tom Bombadil.
- Sauron's Affinity: If Sauron is the Dark Lord and wearing the Ring, all of his A/A/M receive an automatic +1 modifier. However, if he loses the Ring, he suffers a -2 to all A/A/M if it is lost. This only applies to Sauron as he's the one who put so much power into making the Ring in the first place. Another Dark Lord wouldn't benefit/suffer from this.
- Limited Power: The Ring's powers do not work on Valars, Greater Gods, Cosmic Entities or beings of similar levels of power. GM's call whether or not a given being is powerful enough to be immune.