Masterwork relics

When the Old Ones left the world, their relics and items of wonder remained behind. These artifacts are called many things, but the dogs of Pugmire generally refer to anything created by Man as “masterworks.” Such masterwork items are coveted by many people, whether it’s so they can learn more about Man, gain respect in society, or purely for the power such objects contain.

Types of Masterworks
There are three different kinds of masterworks: items of magical power The Pugmire Core Rulebook and the Monarchies of Mau have descriptions of masterworks that Guides can include in their games.
 * Relics: powerful artifacts of Man
 * Fixes: consumable
 * Wonders: strange, arcane things that have limited utility

Using Masterworks
A masterwork’s description explains how the item works. A dog can attempt to discern the nature of one masterwork after an hour of careful study, if they are in physical contact with the item. Once the study is complete, the dog learns the item’s initial properties, as well as how to use it. Fixes are an exception; a quick look, a little taste, or a careful sniff is enough to tell the taster what the fix does.

Some masterworks (such as an artisan’s focus) require a dog to form a bond with them before their magical properties can be used. This bond is called attunement, and certain items have a prerequisite for it. Attuning to a masterwork requires a dog to rest for an hour while in physical contact with it, focused on only that item — this can’t be the same time that a dog studies the masterwork to learn the item’s properties. This focus can take the form of carefully examining the masterwork, weapon practice, meditation, or some other appropriate activity. If the rest is interrupted, the attunement attempt fails. Otherwise, at the end of the rest, the dog gains an intuitive understanding of how to activate any magical properties of the item, including any necessary command words.

A few relics grow more powerful over time. Once such an artifact is attuned to a character, she can use an improvement to give it refinements, just like with tricks. If a refined relic is given to another character, that character gets the benefits of the refinements (if they are otherwise able to use the relic). Further, a dog attuned to a refined relic is unlikely to lose it for long — through various circumstances, such relics will find their way back to the paws of their owner. Fixes and wonders cannot be refined.

Masterwork Focus
A Masterwork Focus is a relic without an obvious function (like a short ebony rod with glowing runes or a metal ball that slowly changes colors). An artisan must be touching her Focus to cast spells.