Acquiring & Equipping Items
What Are Items?
Weapon, armors, and other details related to appearance are mostly temporary manifestations created by the character that are symbolic in nature. They are not permanent, independent creations. They appear how the elohim chooses and most often communicate the nuances of a variety of things such as the attitude with which the elohim attacks their enemies or how the elohim treats their own defense. There also exist Items created by the Most High which are not manifested expressions of elohim, but are actual tangible objects. Such objects are fairly common and, like spirit beings, are indestructible except by the Most High himself.
Items come in all varieties and can be weapons, armors, jewelry or wearable items, arrows or sling stones, and even edible scrolls. Such Items were imbued with special qualities as holy objects, dedicated to be used in service to the Most High. Rebellious elohim cannot use Holy Items. When elohim rebel, however, the tools they do possess are corrupted by association and become unholy and unsuitable for use in the Most High's service. Holy elohim cannot use them. These distinctions create a dynamic where spirits will make use of Items they are able to use and conversely will want to keep enemy Items out of enemy hands.
Kinds of Items
Most Items will fall under the category of General Items. These Items come in the following varieties: Weapon (any variety), Crown, Cape/Cloak, Breastplate, Bracers/Gloves, Shield, Belt, Waist Covering (pants or wrap), Greaves, Necklace/Amulet, Brooch/Pin, and Ring. Other categories of Items are Covenant Items/Articles of Dominion, Limited Use Items, Consumable Items, and Signet Rings.
Covenant Items are Epic Blessings that are given to holy elohim upon being promoted to a higher Tier. Articles of Dominion are Covenant Items that were corrupted by their owner when they joined the host of rebellious elohim.
Limited Use Items are any Items that only have benefits with temporary effectiveness. Examples of such Items would be Arrows that affect a single shot or a Sword that can only increase your Precision for 3 Strikes each War. If the Sword also had another static bonus such as increasing Passion by +7, then it would not qualify as a Limited Use Item, but would be an Item with a limited use ability. It should be noted that Arrows and Stones can be retrieved if the elohim has time and opportunity to do so. This is not always practical, however, and should not be simply assumed to happen.
Consumable Items are any Items that can be used up permanently. The most common examples of these are Scrolls. Scrolls pass along knowledge of skills such as Maneuvers, Spiritual Effects, and Songs. Some can even provide a small permanent increase to a Basic Attribute or Social Attribute. If the Scroll is for a Maneuver Mastery Level or Spiritual Effect that an elohim is currently eligible to learn, the elohim can eat the scroll and learn that Maneuver. If an elohim tries to eat a scroll that they are not able to learn, they will take Poison equal to seven times the scroll’s Tier. For Maneuvers, Mastery Level 1 and 2 scrolls are considered Tier:1 (a Tier:1 elohim can learn them) and them up from there.
Signet Rings are unique items that signify the wearer carries the full authority of the entity to which the signet belongs. The entity might be the Most High, one of the four Orders, or a Discipline. These rings provide specific bonuses related to the giver and are given only when the elohim is expected to perform a task of very high significance to the entity it represents. The Signet is held in trust until that task is completed. Then the Signet is returned to the issuer. A Signet is to be worn on the right hand and any other Ring worn on the left. If the elohim ever comes into possession of two Signets and the Signets are not equal, the higher entity’s Signet is worn on the right hand and the lesser entity’s Signet is worn on the left hand. The only Rings that are considered equal would be if the elohim is of two or more Orders and they both grant a Ring of that Order. Otherwise, the Signets follow the following hierarchy: Most High, Order, Discipline.
Equipping Items
Holy elohim are expected to equip no more than three General Items at one time. General Items are any that do not fall into one of the following categories: Covenant Items, Limited Use Items, Consumable Items, and Signet Rings. Elohim cannot equip multiple Items of the same variety with the exceptions of equipping a weapon in each hand or wearing one ring on each hand. Any excess or unwanted Items should be turned over to a Hold to be placed in the Armory and shared with others.
Items give an elohim their benefits while they are equipped or even just worn. This means that a Bow Item can give its benefit to it’s carrier even when they have a Sword equipped. A weapon Item can be worn by any elohim, even if the elohim cannot manifest that specific weapon. Some Items make a Maneuver, Spiritual Effect, or Song usable. The Maneuver, Spiritual Effect, or Song is usable regardless of the Order of the equipping elohim or the Fighting Style employed by the elohim. Unless specifically stated, any bonuses to an Attribute provided an Item are treated as the new Natural level of that Attribute, not an Increase. When Items improve Social Skills of Composures, it is important to note that a single Skill or Composure cannot be raised more than 3 by Items and other special bonuses combined.