Every Exalt, eventually if not right from character creation, ends up with a Hearthstone. While free essence regeneration is great, you can't help but want the extra power as well. Thankfully, settings are not exactly hard to get ones hands on. Most every Daiklave has a hearthstone setting, and they're fairly common in other items as well!
Sometimes, however, you need more than just a setting or two. Moreover, sometimes what you really want is a Hearthstone-centered artifact -- as opposed to a daiklave, that just happens to have a Hearthstone setting added on.
This desire is what this page caters to:
Hearthstone Amulet (level 1)
The Hearthstone Amulet is the most basic artifact of this type, and despite its name is actually quite varied in appearance and even basic function. Many of them are in fact amulets, while others are chokers, mantles, bracers, or other bits of ornamentation. All Amulets tend to be at least a little gaudy, however, and include noticable amounts of one of the Five Magical Materials.
The basic Hearthstone Amulet has a setting for one stone, and one of the following options:
Commitment Cost: 1 mote
the Mantle of Jade Harmonization (Level 2)
The Mantle of Jade Harmonization is a beautiful and impressive adornment, forged of beaten steel and two interwoven colors of jade. The centerpiece of the mantle is two different hearthstone settings, each particularly aspected toward one of the two types of jade used in the Mantle's construction. The Mantle also functions as a suit of extremely light armor, protecting the characters vitals and giving him a 1L/0B soak. The Mantle does not count as armor for the purposes of Martial Arts that prohibit the wearing of such, however.
The primary bonus of the Armor, however, comes from its attunement to the jade used in its construction and the Hearthstones socketed in its settings. In order to gain the bonus, two conditions must be met. First, each setting must be socketed with a hearthstone of the appropriate element according to the jade used in the mantles construction. Second, the Dragon-Blooded attuned to the Mantle must share an Elemental Aspect with one of the types of Jade. If these conditions are met, the character does not have to pay an elemental surcharge on charms of either of the attuned elements.
Commitment Cost: 2 motes
the Manifold Nexus (level 4)
The Manifold Nexus is a elaborate Jade and Orichalcum Choker, set with 5 different Hearthstone settings in an elaborate pattern along with various precious gems. An extremely potent and ancient configuration, the secrets of its construction have long been lost in the stretch of time and only a dozen or so examples currently exist in this broken age. The primary powers of the Nexus require a Hearthstone (of any level) be socketed in its central setting. This allows the character to regain his normal Essence regeneration every half hour, and increase the Hearthstone bonus to three times the level of the Manse instead of only two. The character also gains a bonus to any roll involving the characters Essence rating equal to the level of the socketed Hearthstone.
The Manifold Nexus gains in power as more Hearthstones are added, however. Every Hearthstone beyond the first adds +1 mote to the characters Essence regeneration rate. If the character has a Hearthstone of at least level-two in every Hearthstone socket, the level of the primary Hearthstone increases by two. This increases its regenerate rate, as well as the power level of its granted power. Lastly, a character with more than one stone in the Manifold Nexus can choose to cannibalize the secondary stones for 1 willpower. This lowers the level of the Hearthstone by one, but causes the character to regain 10 motes. Lost Manse levels regenerate at one point per month, unless drained to 0. A completely depleted Manse regenerates one level per season until it is fully restored.
Commitment Cost: 4 motes
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