Divination bones

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Recall

First created by the shamans of the Arid Steppe as a means to scry the future, carved and enchanted bones have been used for countless years and are among the oldest known type of divination tool. Part astrology, and part mysticism, there are some Nomads who believe that the power of the bones lies in their connection with the dead while others insist that it is the enchantment process, through which the bones are imbued with magic properties, that gives them their unique properties.

When a prophet casts the bones forth with intent, probability will tug and twist the bones about in a reflection of the future. How strongly the Krr-tich bone is drawn towards the prophet reflects the potency, just as the lay of the Sek-rith reflects the extent. The domain is addressed by the Moon Sphere while the Sun Disk sets the tone for the reading.

Divination bones are known for their uncanny ability to stir the life-force within, a trait generally attributed to the once living nature of the bones. Skeptics note that even non-traditional bones carved from stone or wood display this trait and attribute it to ontological symbolism. Whatever the reason, the domain of survival is unquestionably ruled by bones.

Properties

Availability

Use

Prerequisites

  • Knowledge of ALIGN, learnable at 4th circle.
  • A set of bones that have been INVOKEed to bond them to you.

Syntax

  1. OBSERVE a heavenly body until you have successfully learned something. If the constellation/planet you want to observe requires a telescope, use CENTER TELESCOPE ON <HEAVENLY BODY> followed by PEER TELESCOPE.
  2. ALIGN to a skill or skillset. Must be associated with one of the heavenly bodies you observed. You can use RECALL HEAVENS <HEAVENLY BODY> to check this, or check the Star Chart. If your aim is to curse rather than bonus, use ALIGN <SKILL|SKILLSET> CURSE.
  3. ROLL BONES, or ROLL BONES AT <TARGET>.

Example

The Krr-tich bounces twice and lands pointing directly away from you.
The Sek-rith stands on end for a moment before falling over, pointing directly away from you.
The Moon Sphere coming to stop with the top face depicting a rune.
The Sun Disk lands black side up.
You notice a small chip in the Krr-tich that wasn't there before.
You gather your bones back up.

Interpretation

  • Krr-tich = Power. Pointing towards the seer indicates a larger bonus or curse.
  • Sek-rith = Duration. Pointing towards the seer indicates a longer duration.
  • Moon Sphere = Skill.
  • Sun Disk = Polarity. White is positive, black negative.
  • Any additional messages have to do with quality changes, or turned predictions.

So the example given is a very weak, very short, negative prediction (curse) on the Arcana skill. Furthermore, the Krr-tich bone was damaged, reducing its quality.

Qualities

ANALYZE bones to see their qualities. There are two types of qualities for individual bones: craftsmanship and conduit. The craftsmanship of a bone indicates how likely its conduit is to improve with use. Larger conduits increase the power of the bones, presumably by increasing the chances of a good result with that particular bone. Thus having good quality bones increases the chances that they will become very powerful. All bones will take damage over time, meaning the conduits will grow more and more slowly as the craftsmanship degrades. Eventually, the bones will be too damaged for the conduits to grow any further.

In addition, ANALYZE will show the age of the bones, the amount they have been used, the overall craftsmanship, and damage resistance. Age and use are cosmetic only. Overall craftsmanship appears to be a general indicator of how well the four bones are made, while damage resistance indicates how susceptible the bones are to damage.

Example

The Krr-tich is slightly lopsided.
The Sek-rith is slightly lopsided.
The Moon Sphere is slightly mis-weighted.
The lacquer unevenly coats the Sun Disk, which is slightly off-balance.
The bones are over a decade old.
They appear to have seen great use.
The overall craftsmanship is below average and the bones should prove slightly susceptible to damage.
Recognizing the investiture as your own, you cautiously probe the bones with your prophetic talent.
A small conduit of probability flows through the Krr-tich.
A small conduit of probability flows through the Sek-rith.
A small conduit of probability flows through the Moon Sphere.
A delicate conduit of probability flows through the Sun Disk.

Interpretation

These bones are well used and not in great repair. Each of the bones is slightly below average in quality, which means they are not as likely to grow their conduits any further. The conduits are small on the grand scale of things, meaning the bones will not perform as well at predicting. These bones are best at power (Krr-tich), duration (Sek-rith), and hitting the correct skill (Moon Sphere), and not as good at getting the desired positive or negative prediction (Sun Disk).

Possible Qualities

Krr-tich/Sek-rith

exceptionally well-balanced
very well-balanced
fairly well-balanced
balanced
slightly off-balance
slightly lopsided
horrifically, unapologetically lopsided

Moon Sphere Symbols

meticulously detailed
easy to distinguish
difficult to differentiate
poorly rendered

Moon Sphere Weighting

fair
slightly mis-weighted
really more of a Moon Ovoid

Sun Disk Lacquer

smoothly and evenly coats
smoothly coats
unevenly coats
only a few specs of black and white lacquer differentiate between the sides

Sun Disk Balance

exceptionally well-balanced
well-balanced
slightly off-balance

Overall Craftsmanship

masterful
above average
average
below average
criminally poor, and the bones should likely be destroyed on principle. Possibly the creator as well or defenestrated at the very least.

Damage Resistance

nearly impervious to damage
slightly resistant to damage
slightly susceptible to damage

Messages

Krr-tich (Power)

Direction %
It points directly away from you. 1-4
It points away from you. 5-8
It points off to one side. 9-13
It points towards you. 14-17
It points directly towards you. 17-20

Sek-rith (Duration)

Direction Minutes
It points directly away from you. 1-15
It points away from you. 16-30
It points off to one side. 31-45
It points towards you. 46-60
It points directly towards you. 61-75

Defensive Skills

Skill Symbol
Brigandine several tiny scales
Defending pauldron in front of a shield
Chain Armor several linked rings
Light Armor piece of leather
Parry two crossed swords
Plate Armor suit of armor
Shield Usage shield
Endurance

Lore Skills

Skill Symbol
Alchemy flask
Appraisal gemstone
Enchanting wand
Engineering catapult
Forging anvil
Mechanical Lore gear
Outfitting paintbrush
Performance musical note
Scholarship open book
Tactics three figures surrounding a fourth
Bardic Lore
Empathy
Trading

Magic Skills

Skill Symbol
Arcana rune
Attunement prism
Augmentation imposing figure
Debilitation cowering figure
Primary Magic spellbook
Targeted Magic lightning bolt
Sorcery bat-winged skull
Utility moongate
Warding cage of slender lines
Astrology several stars
Summoning
Theurgy

Offense Skills

Skill Symbol
Bow bow and arrow
Brawling fist
Crossbow crossbow
Heavy Thrown spear
Large Blunt morning star
Large Edged longsword
Light Thrown throwing dagger
Melee Mastery crossed sword and mace
Missile Mastery arrows and a spear
Offhand Weapon pair of parallel daggers
Polearms pike
Slings sling
Small Blunt club
Small Edged small sword
Staves quarterstaff
Twohanded Blunt maul
Twohanded Edged greataxe
Expertise

Survival Skills

Skill Symbol
Athletics mountain
Evasion acrobat
First Aid drop of blood
Locksmithing lock
Outdoorsmanship mushroom
Perception eyeball
Skinning bear hide
Stealth dark cloud
Thievery coin
Backstab
Scouting
Thanatology

Special

  • The Sun Disk teeters for a moment. It tips over to land white side up. Your knowledge of the heavens made this so. - Turned prediction due to observation pool.
  • The Sun Disk bone teeters for a moment. It tips over to land white side up. Your bond with the bones made this so. - Turned prediction due to Sun Disk attunement.
  • You feel a strengthening of the bond between you and your bones. - Improvement to one quality.
  • You feel a weakening of your bond with the bones. - Damage to one quality.
  • The Sun Disk spins for a moment. - Critical success, improves all physical qualities.
  • The (bone) seems to have been damaged. - Fumble, damage to quality of specified bone. Sun Disk is the most rare result, but suffers the most damage.

Verbs

Creation

Creation of divination bones is currently disabled, pending the release of the Enchanting skill.

Variations

ItemSource isRare itemIs incomplete
Alabaster divination bonesStone Bones
Amber divination bonesSome Things Amiss (2)Some Things Amiss (1)Pavilion Mystic
Bones painted with tribal markingsStone Bonestrue
Brass-inlaid divination bonesFuture is Now (3)Future is Now (2)Future is Now (1)true
Chalky demonbones enruned with moonsilverSu Helmas: Seeds of Entropy/End lootSu Helmas 444: Make Haste!/End lootSu Helmas 440: Entrapped/End lootSu Helmas 438: The Forbidden Temple/End lootSu Helmas 434: The Forbidden Temple/End lootAesthene's Close 449/End Loottrue
Convoluted clockwork divination bonesHollow Eve Festival 410/Auctiontrue
Coralite-inlaid divining bonesFuture is Now (4)
Crimson-painted bonesStone Bonestrue
Crude yeehar bonesStone Bonestrue
Delicate clockwork divination bonesFuture is Now (3)Future is Now (2)Future is Now (1)true
... further results

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