The Flesh Crafter’s Hubris

This is my first submission, hope you guys like it.

The Barb, also known as the Flesh Crafter’s Hubris, is an artifact of extreme power in the hands of any flesh crafter. It was created by a young and prideful epidermomancer, whose name has long been forgotten. The barb is a conduit for epidermomancy that makes even the toughest and most draining spells less mojo draining. But sooner or later the cost in blood the barb requires becomes too much and the user either dies or if they extreme lucky they can free themselves from the barb but at great cost.

The Barb (Major Artifact)
Description: The Barb looks like any old length of barbed wire. The color is a dulled gun metal and for the most part is completely unimpressive. But when the barb is carefully and painstakingly (emphasis on the pain part) wrapped around the left arm of a flesh crafter it turns bone white. If the Epidermomancer preformed this himself roll gun damage and gain a significant charge as you would in any other instance. If anyone else is to attach the barb for you violate taboo and the barb fails to work. The barb’s “front” end is held in the closed fist of the left hand. The fist is to remain clenched as the wire is wrapped around the arm with the end pressed into the vein on the inside of the elbow.

Once the barb has been attached small red veins will appear along the wire as it digs and burrows into your arm, skin instantly growing around it with most of the barbs and a few centimeters of wire protruding here and there. The veins will slowly turn black as the barb needs to be fed (see below). As an unintended byproduct of the way it is orientated the person always counts as having a knife when in hand to hand combat (so that is a +3 to hits for being sharp, and a minimum 1 damage even if the attack missed).
But what does it do? Well a lot actually. Fist off it is very similar to the mother’s rag (Break Today pg. 82) granting a bonus to epidermomancy with a similar sliding scale.

Skill Bonus
1-50% +10%
50-75% +5%
75%+ +0%

On top of that the barb also amplifies the magick of epidermomancy making spells cheaper.

Skill Bonus
1-50% – Minor spells cost 2 less minor charges (minimum 1)
-Significant Spells cost 1 less significant charges (minimum 1)

50-75% -Minor spells cost 2 less minor charges (minimum 1)

75%+ Minor spells cost 1 less minor charges (minimum 1)
This represents the barb’s constant digging around in the skin.

Feeding: Feeding the barb is where this artifact becomes scary; first off the barb can only be removed by pulling it out from the skin (and yes the barb will attempt to resist, but that is discussed later). The barb requires one significant charge be fed to it once a week. If it is fed early then the week is reset, so you cannot bank time so to speak. The first month that the barb is attached it does not require to be fed because it is too busy burrowing and wrapping around the bone of the arm. If the barb is not fed then it will forcibly wrench itself around under the skin to generate a significant charge which it then consumes.

Removal is a tricky subject with the barb. Once it has been attached it burrows in and heals the skin around it (no wound points are regained it just acts like a shield from infection and exposure). If one wishes to remove the barb there will be a contested struggle roll. The barb has a struggle of 50% unmodified. For each week that barb is in the arm it travels on length deeper into the skin similar to driving. A successful struggle moves the barb one length close, when it hits zero the barb is removed. The highest successful struggle roll is used as the damage for the removal (and yes a significant charge is created after the process).

If the barb is left in for four or more weeks then the barb has completely wrapped itself around the bone and integrated the nerves into itself. At this point when the barb is removed as above pick the highest successful struggle roll and double it in fire arms damage (with a minimum of 50 damage). If the barb is successfully removed the arm is left completely useless because it has destroyed the muscle, bones and nerves as it left. The upside is that if you live then you generate a Major charge but then again you’re out an arm and have a permanent decrease to body and wound total.