Midnight Star (Rune Shield):

Sarah had once been a member of the Coalition Special Forces and had earned a number of awards and metals which few soldiers ever earn and almost none of those who earn them live through the events which prompted them being given those awards. Then suspicion fell on her of consorting with supernatural creatures. She was tortured by the same government which she had once served so loyally. If not for her companions, she would have died but she had been rescued by them.

She had moved on since then but many of her values which she had from her time in the Coalition remained. It was hard to break from them, having been drilled deep into her mind. One of these was a hatred of magic and those who practice the magic art. In truth, her hatred had diminished and she could deal with them far better than she once had. Still, she did not really trust them and considered them all to be extremely dangerous.

Her long time companion John just gave her a bracelet which he said he found at a small shop in the village. It might have been better to consider him to be her husband as long as they had been together but they had never formalized their relationship. So far she had been admiring it. It was an intricate silver creation with a dark blue gem, virtually black. Even though she did not normally wear much in the way jewelry, it was incredibly beautiful.

Slowly, Sarah slid the silver bracelet onto her left wrist. Suddenly the bracelet tightened on her wrist and a voice suddenly spoke into her mind, "I choose you." She had telepathy herself and knew how it felt in her mind. She also had the ability sense danger and had felt no danger as she put it on and she should have. That it was not actually dangerous to her was extremely hard to get a grasp on.

The bracelet had transformed into a full arm vambrace / light arm shield. Where the bracelet had been silver, the arm shield was a matt black. The gem, which was positioned just above her wrist, was the same and the lines and patterns on the shield were similar to those of the bracelet. It was still quite attractive.

Sarah almost panicked in reaction and immediately began pulling at the arm shield. Her mind raced as she used all of her strength on it. It would not move at all and she definitely could not get it off. Using all of her strength, and she was extremely strong, she could not get it off. What was this thing and what had happened. It was not uncomfortable though.

She pulled her vibro-blade from the sheath on her waist. The ex-Coalition Special Forces Trooper activated the blade and brought it up against the vambrace. It shook violently in her hand as she held it against the shield. Pushing with all of her strength she could not make a single mark on the matt surface.

The voice in her head then spoke again, "I know about your feelings towards magic. Still, I can help you and we will be able to defeat our enemies together." She tried to calm down. It shouldn't but the voice seem to help to some extent.

Midnight Star has a power which is quite unusual and few rune weapons have. It has the ability to transform. Some rune weapons are known to be able to transform to a less dangerous weapon but few are able to transform to an object which is not even a weapon. Whenever any ability of the shield is activated, it transforms to its shield form. Its native form is that of a vambrace with its alternate for that of a silver bracelet. In either form, the object fits snug but not uncomfortably. As well, the rune weapon is unable to be removed once bonded. It cannot bond to a bionic or cybernetic arm.

In its native form, the shield is almost an vambrace which appears to be made from a matt black metal with deep runes carved into the shield. It is extremely highly decorated with an almost organic feel to the light shield. It looks almost like that of the shell of an insect in many respects. There is what appears to be a large blue black gem in the center of the shield next to the wrist with the designed wrapped around the gem and makes the gem stand out even though the bracer is of almost the same color.

The shield has the ability to transform into what appears to be a silver bracelet with a large blue black gem along the center with the designs of silver bracelet mimicking the design of the bracer. The whole creation is incredibly beautiful. The gem appears identical in form to the gem in the shield. The bracelet fits right on the wrist of the wearer. With an extremely careful examination of the bracelet, there are tiny visible runes in it.

In personality, Midnight Star driving force appears to be honor. When it finds a person with a strong sense of honor, it appears to bond immediately. When that happens, it also shrinks down so that it fits onto the wrist and cannot be removed without removing the arm which it is on. It usually seems to prefer female possessors over male wielders although it has in the past bonded with men as well as women. Most are extremely skilled warriors, knights in some cases although just plain mercenaries. It seems to prefer to bond with normals not supernatural creatures and practitioners of the mystic arts. Stories indicate that it has even bonded with a juicer before. Most wielders are extremely daring and get killed in battle, leading to the shield having bonded with quite a number of warriors over its known existence.

It is said that Midnight Star might remain quiet and stay in the form of a bracelet until it finds a possessor it likes. It might be passed around for years without revealing any special abilities. A possessor might not know that it is even a magic item and consider it just a beautiful piece of jewelry. Magic will reveal that it is enchanted but no amount of probing reveals what its abilities are. It can block object reading for some reason. The rune shield appears to use one ability when in bracelet form.

The one ability which the rune shield retains in both forms is limited telepathy. It can only communicate with someone wearing the vambrace. If a wearer is incompatible, the rune weapon will use the ability to suggest that the possessor may want to get rid of it. It makes it appear that it is the person's own inner voice if at all possible.

Otherwise, the rune item will not talk much to the person which wears it. If the wearer is reluctant, it may suggest that it can help the possessor and help the person on how they can use the vambrace's special abilities. The only other case it may speak out is if the wielder acts dishonorably. It will chide the possessor and may even refuse to allow them to use its abilities. It cannot break the bond though.

Most sources consider Midnight Star to be an extremely powerful rune weapon. Many consider it to be a greatest rune weapon. Like most rune weapons, it is extremely useful in combat. It can also even be used to parry energy blasts although its enchantments make it extremely effective at the role. Whenever any power of the rune shield is activated, the gem at the wrist glows a bright blue.

The shield has the power to activate a glowing blue white blade which extends from the shield. It appears to be able to be activated unlimited times in a twenty-four hour period. The energy blade is huge, around six feet in length and about three inches wide. It can cut through virtually anything given time.

As well, a number of other enchantments can be activated up to three times each per day. These abilities are designed to greatly boost a wielder's combat abilities. These abilities include the creation of a magical set of armor which is incredibly tough. It is partially transparent but is still quite real. The second is that the person can greatly increase their combat speed and endurance, making them also the equal of a juicer for limited period of tiume although they virtually collapse afterwards. Another ability is to parry energy blasts back on someone attacking the wielder. Around the wearer, a shockwave can be created which expands in all directions. There is also the ability to negate magic which can extremely useful. Finally, the shield gives the wearer the ability to create wings.

Attributes:

Characteristics:

Like all Rune weapons, it is completely indestructible
Bonds immediately with wielder if compatible. No one knows if the rune weapon and the possessor can sense each other at any distance because it locks onto the wrist.
Gives wielder +1 on all saving throws.
Can be used to parry energy blasts at normal bonuses
Aberrant Alignment: Can only be used by individuals of Aberrant, Scrupulous, and Principled Alignments with a strong sense of honor only. Someone of Unprincipled alignment might be able to use the shield. Does not do any damage to possessors not of those alignments but will stay as a bracelet and not reveal any of its special abilities.

Weapon Bonuses:

Due to superior craftsmanship, equal to Dwarven quality, gets +1 to Strike (Lightblade is also +1 to strike) and +3 to Parry.

Weapon Damage:

Note:

Weapon's Special Abilities:

Lightblade: Can be activated at will (Unlimited activations.) Creates a Lightblade which is around six feet long and around three inches wide. It is bluish white in color. Blade inflicts 1D4x10+10 damage. Lightblade has +1 to strike and can also be used to parry energy blasts.
Wizard / Ley Line Walker Magic: The shield can cast the following spells up to three time each per day. Spells are cast as if from a tenth level spell caster.
Shape-Change: The shield can transform into the form of a silver bracelet with a blue black gem in the center. It will show as having an enchantment but can be scanned by object read or other means to determine what the items abilities are. When any ability is activated or if the wielder commands, the bracelet will immediately transform into the full shield form.

[ Altarain TM, Bandito Arms TM, Brodkil TM, Chipwell Armaments TM, Coalition States TM, Cyber-Knight TM, Federation of Magic TM, Free Quebec TM, Golden Age Weaponsmiths TM, Horune TM, Iron Heart Armaments TM, Kankoran TM, Kittani TM, Kydian TM, Larsen’s Brigade TM, M.D.C. TM, Mechanoids TM, Mega-Damage TM, Megaversal Legion TM, Millennium Tree TM, Mutants in Orbit TM, Naruni Enterprises TM, Naut’Yll, New Navy TM, New Sovietskiy TM, NGR TM, Nog Heng TM, Northern Gun TM, Phase World TM, Psyscape TM, Rifter TM, SAMAS TM, S.D.C. TM, Shemarrian TM, Splugorth TM, Stormspire TM, Sunaj TM, Tolkeen TM, Triax TM, Wellington Industries TM, Wilk’s Laser Technologies TM, Xiticix TM, and Zaayr TM are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]

[ Beyond the Supernatural®, Heroes Unlimited®, Nightbane®, Ninjas & Superspies®, Palladium Fantasy®, and Rifts® are registered trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]

Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

Return