IN> Oracle Bones

[William Keith]

      Oracle bones are a method of divination used by the Chinese from 
ancient times until the practice was largely replaced by numerological 
divinations with the I Ching.  A large bone, such as a turtle shell or 
the shoulder blade of an ox, was inscribed with characters regarding a 
given topic, and a small hole drilled.  Heated metal was applied to the 
hole until the bone cracked, and the resulting pattern read for a 
response to the question.  In a simple form of the ritual, letters 
representing a finite number of choices are inscribed, and the one that 
gets the crack is the choice made.  If this were all there were to it, 
the practice would be mere superstition, but specific oracle bones are 
legitimate.

      True oracle bones are relics made by the Chinese pantheon and 
distributed to favored worshipers, mostly pagan Soldiers and 
Sorcerer-priests.  They manifest various informational Songs, with a 
sufficient reliquary attached and a limited set of replies that can be 
made.  Some are constructed with a preset number of uses; others are 
intended for reuse, with the Corporeal Song of Healing employed between 
uses to repair the crack made at the previous use.  These oracle bones 
are in casual circulation, as their construction is not difficult and 
the pantheon still makes a few even today.  Treat as a standard relic 
for the given Song at the relic's level, with a finite number of 
possible responses to an informational query.  Common oracle bones 
include:

"Is [subject] a threat?"  Any of the Songs of Nemesis; responses yes/no
"What does [subject] most fear?" Ethereal Nightmares, with choices 
limited to "physical attack," "poverty," "ill health," or "loss of 
face."
"Is [subject] lying?" Ethereal Truth, responses yes/no

      Technically, relics for the Corporeal and Ethereal Songs of 
Symphony are the most common oracle bones, but these are varied since 
the bones can only respond to a limited range of topics.  Some will 
indicate the likely bounty of a harvest for the upcoming year (clever 
querents can metaphorically adapt this to financial futures); some will 
suggest which major bodily system should be examined as the source of 
an ailment ("brain" is the response for most celestially-caused 
problems), others will suggest which of a few tactical options are 
likely to be the most auspicious or give the closest of eight compass 
directions in which a given object lies.

A typical Oracle Bone, answering the question "will [course of action] 
be auspicious?" is statted as follows:

Relic/5, Ethereal Symphony	+15
Self-powered				+0
Limited CD, 2				-2
5-minute ritual to use		-2
Use Restriction				-2
Once per week				-2
(relic must be repaired between uses with Corp. Healing)
Automatically detectable		-3
---------------------------------------------
Total, 4 points

This version can be used by pagan Soldiers with an Ethereal Connection. 
  It is limited to one use per week and costs 4 Essence to use, but is 
generally accurate a bit more than half the time, and is fairly cheap 
for a relic.  The "limited CD" feature is new, indicating that the Song 
can only give, at best, qualified yes/no answers: course of action is 
very favorable (as the user would view it), somewhat favorable, 
neutral, mildly inauspicious, highly inadvisable.

William