(Based on a barnstorming session with Casca and EDG
for a neat artifact for the former's new character for my new campaign)
Sometimes called an Aegis, these relics are beloved
by Servitors of Protection. When
activated, they generate a shimmering, fiery force field that protects the
wearer (and those he might be protecting).
The user must make a (Celestial Forces + relic/level) roll and spend 1
Essence; on a successful roll, the Protection gained is equal to (CD of the
roll x relic/level) and the duration is CD minutes. The GM should keep track of the number of hits the Divine Shield
soaks up: when more than (Protection squared) hits are stopped, the Shield goes
down and must be reactivated. Also, for
every -1 to the CD the user may include one person to be added to the
Shield. This affects duration,
Protection and hits, and the person may not break contact with the user. Divine Shields work on all three planes of
existence.
One difficulty with the Divine Shield is that it
blocks from both sides: unarmed and
Large Weapon attacks also have their damage reduced by the amount of
Protection, and such hits do count towards the amount of hits that the
Shield can stop. The user may, on a
successful Agility roll, maneuver a Small Weapon blade (or the muzzle of a gun)
through the Shield: this will do (CD of the Agility Roll -3, minimum 1) hits to
the Shield, but once accomplished the user may attack freely with that
weapon. Attackers will not be able to reciprocate
unless the user is somehow immobilized and not able to maneuver: in fact,
someone attempting to slowly bore through the Shield must make a contested
Strength roll at -2 to avoid having the weapon torn from his, her or its
grasp. Unarmed attacks trying to bore
through a Divine Shield will force the attacker to do the same to avoid being
flung around the room: the stuff is sticky in the extreme, you understand.
If all of this sounds like something out of the Dune
movie, well, it should. Laser weapons
don't make the whole thing go up, though.
At least, not the ones made in Heaven. Don't ask me about Vaputech Shields, that's
all I'm saying.
Cost: 2/level.
Convenience: can be worn, leaving hands free +2
Tracking: Celestials can use artifact to track owner
-2.
Total Cost: 2/level. More powerful Divine Shields often have 'requires brief, silent
invocation', various limitations on who may use the device, Unbreakable (which
affects the artifact, not the force field) and extra Essence capacity; Vaputech
Shields are notorious for their Inflicts Body Hits (representing lack of oxygen
replenishment, or the aforementioned blowing up when hit with a laser thing),
Visibility, Fragility and Disturbance.