DESTRUCTION BEGETS CREATION
Cost: — ; Mins: Malfeas 0, Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: By Pain Reforged
Wood must be burned to stoke a forge; marble must be chipped to form a statue. Autochthon often found himself a victim of the Empyreal Chaos' artisan manias; the First was torn limb from limb in order to build sapient life, and one of his greater creations was gutted to form the heart of the Daystar. In Malfeas, this urge burns undiminished; even as the Demon City demolishes itself, new alien districts build themselves from his brazen skin and crystal hair, doused in his vitriolic tears.
When making a Craft roll, the Infernal may acquire additional free successes, provided the raw materials and/or exotic ingredients for the project he is working on could be considered complete, usable items in their own right, rather than simply base materials, unusable except as components. The Infernal gains one free success at each interval for each Resources dot of raw materials acquired in this way, and three successes for each exotic ingredient. These successes are added to each and every interval of the project. Craft rolls enhanced in this manner always qualify to be enhanced by Malfeas' Excellency.
Valid examples might include smashing apart a wooden house to build a boat, rather than using raw wooden planks, or melting down a pair of orichalcum hearthstone bracers to make a switchklave, rather than simply procuring unforged orichalcum. Note that actual living creatures are always considered to be complete items in their own right for the purposes of this Charm.
This Charm may be purchased a second time at Essence 4+, allowing the Infernal to use his Strength in place of the usual (lower of Dexterity, Perception or Intelligence) on a Craft roll that would gain even one additional success in this fashion, or that would otherwise qualify to be enhanced by Malfeas' Excellency. It is the prerogative of the Brass City to smash the world into its proper shape, without needing to stoop to delicacy, consideration or thought. In addition, the manner in which functional artifacts can be used as exotic ingredients is altered. Working artifacts can normally only be used as an exotic ingredient if they would be an appropriate component of the artifact being crafted. At this level, however, the Infernal may treat any functional artifact as an appropriate component in any kind of helltech artifact he creates.
New Charm!
FORGED IN FURY
Cost: 5m; Mins: Malfeas 0, Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One interval
Prerequisite Charms: Destruction Begets Creation, Insignificant Embers Intuition
Malfeas' rage is a furnace, in which entire worlds might be beaten into shape. When such inspiration seizes the warlock, he becomes a frenzy of activity, clanging and bashing about his workshop, cursing the pace of the universe for not matching his own genius. The Infernal may use this Charm to enhance any Craft action he makes, reducing the length of its interval by one degree of time. This reduction is increased to two degrees if the project in question is a direct replacement for one of the items destroyed in its making. Further, if the Craft action would gain even one additional success from Destruction Begets Creation, the item's effective Resources or Artifact rating is halved (rounded up) for the purposes of determining the length of its intervals. However, Malfeas cannot bear to accept the aid of those truly lesser to him; a Craft action enhanced in this way cannot have the length of its intervals reduced any further by non-Yozi (or Primordial) Charms.
If the warlock knows the Charm Sun-Heart Furnace Soul he may add the Obvious keyword to this Charm, as emerald light pulses out from the centre of his chest, and fire dribbles from between his teeth while he works. Spitting on his hands and rubbing them together at this point will set them alight with green flame, allowing the Infernal to use them to pound, heat and carve, removing all need for tools or workshops, and all penalties for crafting without tools. If the warlock crafts a structure in his way, he may also ignore the need for assistants, provided the structure in question is smaller than him
