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Dead Man's Gambit

Level Three Soulsteel "Chakrams"

The Dead Man's Gambit is a delightful deck of cards, forged of soulsteel and composed of 75 different individual cards each with its own story and soul. The exact history of the artifact is something of a mystery, with numerous different Deathlords believed to be responcible for the rather macabre artifacts existance. Most fingers, however, point to the former Princess Magnificent with Lips of Coral and Robes of Black Feathers as she seems to enjoy frivolous artifacts. Others rather point to Darkmist Isle, and the Silver Prince, claiming that the artifact was a gift for a particularly favored Child of Silence with a love of gambling.

The true history of the deck is unlikely to be easily discovered, and indeed mayhap it sprang whole from the Labryinth itself at the whim of one of the Dead Gods. Regardless of how the Dead Man's Gambit came to be, it has circled most of Creation in the hands of Abyssal Exalted, Nemissaries, and other servants of the Deathlords. Often considered something of a bad luck charm, the deck doesn't often like to stay in one place -- though, so far, the Zenith Kalushtar has managed to keep a hold of it for almost a year.

The cards of the Dead Man's Gambit are made of Soulsteel and have razor-sharp edges that seem to delight in tasting living blood. Though the exact face of the cards can vary in appearance, each maintains a somewhat similar appearance, and are expertly balanced throwing weapons based loosely off the statistics of Chakrams.

Other Powers of the Dead Man's Gambit

• Quick On the Draw: The Abyssal attuned to the deck is able to slice out cards at an exceptional rate. It's possible to deal a hand at twice the normal speed, and the Abyssal gains a +4 initiative modifier if he is using the Dead Man's Gambit in combat.
• Reshuffle: The Abyssal using the deck may pull the deck apart and spend a mote of Essence, calling any missing cards back to the deck from as far away as 100 yards. Any cards that were used as weapons and successfully hit their targets rip free, inflicting an additional 1L damage to their target as they return to the exalt. Upon returning, the cards whirl around the Abyssal for a few moments (shedding any blood or gore), and then shuffle back into the deck.
• Stacking the Deck: The Abyssal may spend 1 mote per victim when shuffling the deck, ensuring that the cards will come up badly for the Abyssal's opponents. While not particularly prone to helping the Abyssal win, the cards are quite eager to make others lose. In general, a character inflicted with this power suffers from one level of Unluck for this card game.
• Losing Stream: Anyone losing (either a card game, or a battle) to the Abyssal using the Dead Man's Gambit can suffer from some rather severe results. The Abyssal may choose to spend a willpower point and make an Essence roll, with each success translating as one point of the Unluck flaw being applied to his victum. If used against multiple opponents, these successes must be divided between them. A botch on the Essence roll inflicts 3 points of Unluck on the Abyssal.
• Disguising: The Dead Man's Gambit was forged only with ghosts who had mastered the Shifting Ghost Clay Path, and now that potent selection grants the cards the ability to shift in appearance and even form. The Abyssal may spend 1 mote, causing the deck to shift into a form appropriate for any game of chance. Extra cards are temporarily sent Elsewhere, while those remaining shift according to the rules and requirements of the game at hand.

Dead Man's Gambit is a Thrown Artifact forged with Soulsteel. It gains an Accuracy bonus of +3 against animated targets, relentless in its pursuit of all those infested with life energy.

Commitment Cost: 3 motes

For those interested, Kaine has set up a DeadMansGambitWhosWho to contain information on the personalities that have become the cards.