Off the top of my head the mechanic I'd suggest (in theistic nomenclature) is:
A truestone holds a number of feats or equivalent, each with a rating.
To put another feat in, you must overcome one fifth (or substitute another ?denominator?) of the sum of ratings already loaded with your own rating (or maybe with your highest affinity rating) in a simple contest.
You can load any feat you have at any rating up to your own. However your rating in that feat is penalised by that amount until the feat is used from the truestone.
Only one person can load a truestone (although allowing community support and multiple loaders in a ritual could provide some scenario fodder. "We've put all the magic in our tribe in here. All you have to do is find the monster and point the stone at him.")
You can only start to load an empty truestone.
You can use any feat in the truestone (once) at the ability with which it was loaded. This removes it from the truestone and removes the penalty incurred by the loader.
> '2-point' blank pieces and the like.
Maybe some truestones have a maximum sum of ratings that can be
loaded.
> Problems I've thought of for HW.
> 1- How much/how many magical 'abilities' can be put into one piece?
> Can you add more later?
I'd say that you can't add more later.
> 2- What happens to the abilities of the one who puts them in?
In the mechanic above, they lose (some) use of the feat until it's
used.
> 3- Can you raise the Rating of an ability in a piece of Truestone?
I'd say no, but maybe you could put a feat in twice. (Example:
Humakti with Death affinity =20w has an empty truestone. He puts Lay
Ghost =20 in automatically. He can put a second Lay Ghost =20 in by
defeating a resistance of 4 (20/5) with his 20. After that he cannot
use Lay Ghost.)
> 4- Can Truestone hold any form of magic, Spirit, Feat/Affinity or
> Spell, maybe also AP? Can they be mixed? Can a Theist use a Spirit
in
> a piece of Truestone (or any other combination) without penalising
> his Theistic magic?
If only one person can load a truestone, they probably can't mix,
unless they person is mixed (pesky Lunars come out top again).....
I'd only allow individual feats (and non-theist equivalents) not whole affinities.
I'd say you can use a feat from the stone at the ability with which
it was loaded.
However, if you're a theist and it's not a feat but a spiritty
whatsit (rules not to hand, sorry) you suffer the Alien World
modifier, or if that's too crippling:
You can use the "feat" at your best affinity minus AW mod, up to the
loaded rating), although it'd be simpler just to:
let them use it at the loaded ability rating (like I said first time.)
I wouldn't allow raw AP to be put into a stone, but I would allow a feat from the stone to be used in an Extended Contest, hence giving APs.
> 5- Any other magical effects of Truestone in HW?
I seem to recall that truestones could be used as sling stones
(although that seems even more profligate than the old 250L throwing
daggers) so maybe you could get a hefty ability to counter magical
combat defenses somehow.
Just thinking out loud.....
sjjh
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