SilveryCord
2006-12-30, 04:03 PM
Once there was a story about two women.
Eloisa hated it when Emily lied to her,
and Emily hated it when Eloisa lied to her.
Their lives were filled with the treachery of the royal courts; had they met any other way they would have been the best of friends.
But in this lifetime... They were to fight.
Eloisa with her words,
Emily with her actions.
No one knows Eloisa's story for sure, but most believe that she spinned a web of lies in the court of Hy'agresh, turning even Emily's closest friends against her. Emily replied with a drop of poison in Eloisa's goblet, and Eloisa died.
None of the gods wanted Eloisa, however. Her soul was two-faced: one face of good and love and another of lies and evils. Both sides had done their fair share of rule-breaking with their talent of truespeech. What god had any right to pass judgement on this woman? Was she a creature of evil or good? Even they could not see the true Eloisa behind her web of lies. And to that, the gods only had one solution:
She was to be sent beyond the universe she could so easily bend, to a place far less... existant.
Eloisa
Vestige Level: 1st
Binding DC: 15
Special Requirement: No.
Manifestation: The manifestation begins with a strange eruption of sounds from the seal. One skilled with truespeech can make out some of these sounds as utterances. There is a bright light, and then two identical women, back-to-back, emerge from the seal as if it were water. One of them is wearing all black, and the other all white. These are Eloisa's two faces.
Sign: Your tongue turns black, and your speech sounds distinctly like a woman's. (There is no noticable change to passerby when a woman is affected by this sign, but for the men it is quite noticable.)
Influence: While influenced by Eloisa you gossip behind people's backs, lie and manipulate others, and try to make others feel miserable. Eloisa requires that you never tell someone the truth if they ask you a question. You can answer with some semblance of the truth, however, it must be misleading in some way. (Someone who was aware that you were under the influence of Eloisa might be able to understand you if you're trying to communicate a truth to them while still lying.)
Granted Abilities: You gain supernatural powers related to Eloisa's lies and misdirection, and you also gain her natural truespeech abilities.
Diplomacy Bonus: You gain a +2 competence bonus on Diplomacy, Bluff, and Sense Motive checks.
Truespeaking: As long as you are bound to Eloisa, you can make Truespeak checks untrained, and you get a +8 competence bonus to truespeak checks.
Utterances: While bound to Eloisa, you may use the following utterances as if you were a truenamer with a truenamer level equal to your binder level:
Word of Nurturing, Minor, Defensive Edge, Knight's Puissance, Hidden Truth.
Truelearning: Whenever you are within 5 feet of a creature speaking an utterance, if that utterance succeeds you may make an opposed Truespeak check to try and learn the utterance. You may use the learned utterance for as long as you are bound to Eloisa, and then you lose it forever. If you become bound to Eloisa again at a later time, you do not regain utterances learned this way.
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How balanced is it? I know vestiges are very challenging to get right, and I'm hoping I didn't do this one wrong.
Eloisa hated it when Emily lied to her,
and Emily hated it when Eloisa lied to her.
Their lives were filled with the treachery of the royal courts; had they met any other way they would have been the best of friends.
But in this lifetime... They were to fight.
Eloisa with her words,
Emily with her actions.
No one knows Eloisa's story for sure, but most believe that she spinned a web of lies in the court of Hy'agresh, turning even Emily's closest friends against her. Emily replied with a drop of poison in Eloisa's goblet, and Eloisa died.
None of the gods wanted Eloisa, however. Her soul was two-faced: one face of good and love and another of lies and evils. Both sides had done their fair share of rule-breaking with their talent of truespeech. What god had any right to pass judgement on this woman? Was she a creature of evil or good? Even they could not see the true Eloisa behind her web of lies. And to that, the gods only had one solution:
She was to be sent beyond the universe she could so easily bend, to a place far less... existant.
Eloisa
Vestige Level: 1st
Binding DC: 15
Special Requirement: No.
Manifestation: The manifestation begins with a strange eruption of sounds from the seal. One skilled with truespeech can make out some of these sounds as utterances. There is a bright light, and then two identical women, back-to-back, emerge from the seal as if it were water. One of them is wearing all black, and the other all white. These are Eloisa's two faces.
Sign: Your tongue turns black, and your speech sounds distinctly like a woman's. (There is no noticable change to passerby when a woman is affected by this sign, but for the men it is quite noticable.)
Influence: While influenced by Eloisa you gossip behind people's backs, lie and manipulate others, and try to make others feel miserable. Eloisa requires that you never tell someone the truth if they ask you a question. You can answer with some semblance of the truth, however, it must be misleading in some way. (Someone who was aware that you were under the influence of Eloisa might be able to understand you if you're trying to communicate a truth to them while still lying.)
Granted Abilities: You gain supernatural powers related to Eloisa's lies and misdirection, and you also gain her natural truespeech abilities.
Diplomacy Bonus: You gain a +2 competence bonus on Diplomacy, Bluff, and Sense Motive checks.
Truespeaking: As long as you are bound to Eloisa, you can make Truespeak checks untrained, and you get a +8 competence bonus to truespeak checks.
Utterances: While bound to Eloisa, you may use the following utterances as if you were a truenamer with a truenamer level equal to your binder level:
Word of Nurturing, Minor, Defensive Edge, Knight's Puissance, Hidden Truth.
Truelearning: Whenever you are within 5 feet of a creature speaking an utterance, if that utterance succeeds you may make an opposed Truespeak check to try and learn the utterance. You may use the learned utterance for as long as you are bound to Eloisa, and then you lose it forever. If you become bound to Eloisa again at a later time, you do not regain utterances learned this way.
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How balanced is it? I know vestiges are very challenging to get right, and I'm hoping I didn't do this one wrong.