PDA

View Full Version : Art Imitates Life... (Artefact)



Iituem
2007-07-16, 03:17 PM
A minor artefact for y'all...

The Brilliant Canvas

This object appears to be a plain oblong board of canvas on an easel, of excellent quality and suitable for the creation of oil paintings and the like. You notice a faint glimmer to the canvas in direct light, giving off the appearance of a brilliant sheen.

The brilliant canvas has several basic qualities of note.

First, it counts as a masterwork artisan's tool for Craft (painting) checks, providing a +2 bonus to any such check.

Second, the canvas can be stretched to any length if the painter simply grasps the corner of the canvas firmly and stretches it to the desired length, releasing it when satisfied. During expanding of the canvas, the canvas gleams with a brilliant white light.

Third, when the painting is finished the canvas can be removed and the easel will grow a new canvas over the next 24 hours, spinning it from light and hardening it into shape.

Fourth, any panting made using the canvas only consumes half the normal raw materials during the Craft check (due to not needing to supply canvas).



A painter may make additional use of the canvas with greater skill.

With 6 ranks in Craft (painting), the painter may use an additional 50gp in gold or silver paint to paint light sources on the painting that will actually emit light. This raises the market price by 90gp and causes the painting to emit light from these painted sources in a 20ft radius. These will not cease emitting light until the painting is destroyed.

At 7 ranks, the painter may put a little of himself into the painting, learning to weave the canvas so that it changes to fit the painting. By spending 120xp and taking an additional 2 days on top of the time taken for the standard painting, the painter may imbue a silent image into the painting, causing it to move in minor ways as pre-determined by the painter. This increases the market value of the painting by 2000gp. After painting, the painter is too exhausted to paint for 24 hours.

At 9 ranks, the painter can use the painting even more effectively, as he learns that as light can be woven into the canvas, so too can sound. By spending 720xp and taking an additional 2 weeks on the painting, the painter may weave sound into the painting, as per a minor image spell, causing it to move and make sounds as pre-determined by the painter. This increases the market value of the painting by 12,000gp. After painting, the painter is too fatigued to paint for one week.

At 11 ranks, the painter learns how to weave elements of his own being into the cavas. By spending 1800xp and taking an additional full month on the painting, the painter may bring a semblance of life to a painting, as per the major image spell, causing it to move, make sounds, smell, feel and emit heat and cold as pre-determined by the painter. This increases the market value of the painting by 30,000gp. After painting, the painter is too drained to paint for one month.

Additionally, if the painter is of an evil alignment, the painter may at 11 ranks spend 84xp to weave a portion of the malevolence in his soul into a painting, set upon a single target (be it a specific person or type). The first suitable target who looks upon the painting must immediately make a Will save against DC 14 + the Int modifier of the painter to shrug off the malevolence that unravels from the canvas to strike at him. If this fails, he must make a Fortitude save against the same DC or die instantly as the malevolence weaves itself into him, but will take 3d6 points of damage regardless. If the painter is of a neutral alignment, he may spend an additional 42 xp (126xp in total) to achieve this effect but must make a Will save against DC 14 + his own Int modifier or become evil.

The true, terrifying power of the brilliant canvas only reveals itself to those with 15 or more ranks in Craft (painting). By spending a full month working on the painting, the painter may depict a person with such perfection that the painting itself comes to life, stepping out of the background and into the real world. The painting is similar to a simulacrum, except that it has the full knowledge, skills and hitpoints of the imitated person (although it can never advance in level or age). The simulacrum is aware of its existence as a copy and is compelled to obey its creator until destroyed or until it vanishes. The simulacrum exists for three days, after which it vanishes back into the painting.

However, should the simulacrum kill the person it is an imitation of (which most simulacra will likely wish to do) it will become permanent and last until it is destroyed. The soul of the dead imitee will become trapped in the original painting, replacing the figure on the background and aging as if it were alive. The imitee cannot be resurrected in any fashion (not even by a wish or miracle) until the painting is destroyed. Should the painting be destroyed, the simulacrum will be destroyed similarly. The simulacrum will protect its own painting to the point of destroying the painter if he becomes a threat (the only situation under which it would disobey the painter).

Each time the painter create a simulacrum, however, he puts some of his own being into the canvas. He must make a Fortitude save against a DC equal to his own ranks in Craft (painting) each time he creates a simulacrum or the next time the canvas regrows upon the easel, it will contain a partially painted image of the painter (which can be painted over in the course of normal painting without penalty). The painter may fail up to four such Fortitude saves without penalty, each time the painting growing nearer and nearer to completion. A wish or miracle will not erase the picture but merely reverse it by one step.

Upon the fifth failed Fortitude save, the painter's own portrait is completed and the painter himself is trapped within the painting. The painter can thereafter never be raised or resurrected, even if the painting is destroyed. A wish or miracle will free his soul for the purposes of resurrection, but only if both the brilliant canvas itself and the painting of him are destroyed. The painting cannot be destroyed until the brilliant canvas is destroyed.

Destroying the Brilliant Canvas

Destroying the canvas is surprisingly simple, for an artefact. All someone needs do is break the easel. Breaking the easel requires a DC 12 Break check or doing it 5 points of damage (hardness 5). This is not without complications.

- Any attempt to break the easel requires a DC 16 Will save to avoid becoming disheartened and deciding to let this charming little piece of furniture survive. On a failed save, the would be vandal is compelled to leave the easel alone for an hour. A second check is required should they attempt to grind the easel into sawdust, against DC 20.

- The easel can be repaired, so long as all the parts are gathered, with a DC 15 Craft (joinery or woodworking) check. The easel will then function as normal.

- So long as 50% or more of the easel is on hand, the easel can be repaired with additional wood and a DC 20 Craft (joinery or woodworking) check. The easel will then function as normal.

- If the easel is turned into sawdust, it cannot be repaired unless enough sawdust is found that made up 50% or more of the original easel and made into plywood or similar, requiring a Craft (woodworking) check against DC 20. The easel can then be remade with a DC 15 Craft (joinery or woodworking) check. If someone has committed themselves to finding the easel to repair it (see below), they will know instinctively both when they see sawdust formerly part of the easel and when they have enough to remake it.

- If someone finds a piece of the easel (sawdust or a physical part), they must succeed on a DC 16 Will save or undertake a quest to repair it at all costs. They may make this save again each week to break free of the compulsion.

SITB
2007-07-16, 03:41 PM
The true, terrifying power of the brilliant canvas only reveals itself to those with 15 or more ranks in Craft (painting). By spending a full month working on the painting, the painter may depict a person with such perfection that the painting itself comes to life, stepping out of the background and into the real world. The painting is similar to a simulacrum, except that it has the full knowledge, skills and hitpoints of the imitated person (although it can never advance in level or age). The simulacrum is aware of its existence as a copy and is compelled to obey its creator until destroyed or until it vanishes. The simulacrum exists for three days, after which it vanishes back into the painting.


Hmm, what happens if the painter decides to create something/someone which does not exist? (Literary example:Pygmalion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmalion_%28mythology%29) who craved from stone the perfect woman).

Iituem
2007-07-16, 04:16 PM
Nothing happens. No XP is deducted, nobody is created. The brilliant canvas only works to copy people, not create them from scratch.

Although I suppose it could create a level 1 commoner in the appearance of the picture, but that would be broken because then people could paint dragon simulacra.

talse
2007-07-16, 11:58 PM
has anyone thought to stat out dorian gray's portrait? league of extraordinary gentlemen (movie) style?

Daracaex
2007-07-17, 02:00 AM
This thing is awesome. Though I can't decide whether you drew more inspiration from Harry Potter or The Portrait of Dorian Gray. Or maybe you thought it out as-is? Whatever the case, I might actually use this in a game once I get around to running one.

Just one comment. You say at the seven-rank ability that the painter is fatigued for 24 hours after painting. Isn't that a bit redundant since the artifact takes 24 hours to grow a new canvas anyway?

Iituem
2007-07-17, 08:23 AM
Not especially. He can't work on mundane paintings either. Not that he ought to care, mind you, he's just painted something worth a small fortune, lucky beggar.

DracoDei
2007-07-17, 08:59 AM
High powered version of Marvelous Pigments.... nice. I agree about the influences.

I assume the frame and even its sawdust are immune to fire and acid?

There is also an oriental tale of a young painter who was given a magical brush that caused any COMPLETED painting done with it to come to life. I have to assume it made the paintings better as well because the story goes that he then went on to become rather successful as a painter... just with an odd quirk that there would always be one small detail missing from each of his paintings. then one day he is in the market place painting a tiger (from memory, not a live tiger as a model) just as he is ready to stop working on the peice (IE it is done except for the one detail he is intentionally leaving out) a drop of ink falls from the brush and lands on the tiger's face... where he had omitted the eye... the tiger leaps forth from the page and then everyone is after the brush and he has to paint things into existence like crazy to get away.

Then there was the issue of Inuyasha where a painters ink had a fragment of the Shicome(sp!) jewel fall into it so that he could summon demons by painting them and then later willing them to come forth.

Anxe
2007-07-17, 09:32 AM
So my suggestions would be:
Have an ability where you can step into the painting you've made.
And a method to permanently destroy it would be taking it five miles below the earth in the Underdark, cast darkness on the easel, then burn it.

Cool artifact.

Iituem
2007-07-17, 01:29 PM
Oh, it's easy to destroy. It's just also easy to remake. You can burn/melt it, yes! Unfortunately, the ashes count as 'sawdust' for the purposes of this. This thing just keeps coming back.

Anxe
2007-07-17, 02:59 PM
Well I suppose ashes would be a bit easier to scatter than sawdust. Oh well!

InsaneOrb
2007-07-17, 03:33 PM
I :thog: this artefact. Awesome idea.