Editing Implement (section)

===Thematic Effects===
The practitioner's personality and skills will be somewhat influenced and strengthened by their choice of Implement over time.<ref>Conversely, while held, the implement augments the Self.  The specific things it reinforces are subtle, but over time, the individual will grow to match the implement.<br>Some examples:<br><br>The Tome-bearing practitioner will find that reading comes more naturally, as does memorization and facility with language or art.<br><br>The Knife-bearing practitioner will become more skilled with the blade, and more able to use the knife in a fight.<br><br>The Crown-wearing practitioner will have an easier time with leadership, being comfortable with being looked up to, and appearing noble.<br><br>These aspects of personal growth are not usually above and beyond what the individual could do or learn, but are best described as the effect of spending one’s days with a book, or spending one’s days handling the knife or bearing the crown.  Because the implement is an extension of the practitioner, use of it and related things become very natural.<br><br>By a similar token, the material and make of the implement do have their influences.  An item of gouged steel, torn leather, and sharp edges will impart familiarity with places, people, and things in a similar state.- excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05 Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref> This may be stronger with older items.<ref>Items with a bloody history will impart familiarity with the bloody, so care should be paid to whether an object was used to kill at any point.  Longer histories mean the practitioner must spend longer with the ritual and may take longer to become intimate with the item, but allow for far more depth and nuance. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05/6-3-spoilers-implementum-text/ Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref>

An Implement is recognized by [[spirit]]s and other forces somewhat like a component of a [[diagram]], especially when wielded by its owner. A sword might direct forces outward when pointing or block them when guarding, for instance, just as the lines in a diagram would.<ref>Think, if you will, of the implement as a segment of a diagram.  The arrow pointing outward with an epithet written within, the symbol for life with spokes radiating outward, the attached figures and circles drawn as an adjunct to tie the effect to the practitioner, or the barrier raised against outside harm with a symbol for fire inscribed on it.  In actuality, of course, these are material objects the practitioner bears, that they may channel practice through.<br><br>Once chosen, this segment of diagram is with the practitioner always.  The ritual, from the point it is performed, will influence the practitioner’s practice in subtle ways.  When the implement is wielded, worn, or borne, that influence is far stronger.  Just as the forces of our world react to a diagram that points outward, they will react to the presence of a sword that does the same.  They will recognize the sword’s guard as they do a barrier, and they will recognize everything about that sword’s history, culture, and appearance as they would the writing within and around a chalk circle.<br><br>In actuality, there is no fixed diagram, but the parallels and effects are much the same.  - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05 Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref><ref>In active use, the item can be used to shortcut practices: a staff striking ground to replace the active portions of a diagram, while the associated elements are held, or personal power being pushed through a talisman while a line is drawn in the dirt, directing it. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05/6-3-spoilers-implementum-text/ Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref>

An implement which forms a closed circle, such as a ring, is more likely to manifest a distinctive power, as is one which is especially elaborate or "one-note". Possible powers of an Implement include acting as a battery for storing energy,<ref name=":2">The chalice is a container, and as such, can be used to hoard a measure of power, but unlike the box, it does not contain or store it long-term.  Many will use the chalice to hold blood from a sacrificed individual or being, and as such it becomes a battery for power.  As the chalice holds liquid, the implement allows the wielder to hold or sustain effects, using the aforementioned battery. - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/02/06 Excerpt] from ''[[Implementum]]'', quoted in [[Gathered Pages: 2]]</ref><ref>Faberge Egg is tricky and niche, but in very different ways than I think the perfume bottle is.  I could see it being pretty exclusively for Historical/Heroic practitioners who are tapping into a specific type and collection of figures that they want to access.  It'd be a specific egg for a specific person, with power and status stemming from that egg because of the people who once owned it.  It's just a battery for power, drawing in specific figures of a specific type from beyond the veil/from the incoherent consciousness, and maybe a special function or power that could be invoked when needed (faberge eggs contained surprises of value).  - [https://www.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/8yo6o4/_/e2chne9/ Comment by Wildbow]</ref><ref>''The Coin'' is a small token, subtle, and tied heavily into the notion of fortune, fate, and exchange.  A typically metal, stamped disc that can be held in the palm.  Rarely the centerpiece of a practice, though it may act as a very weak talisman if marked, or as a token of power that can be easily handed away, replaced with Self over time. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05 Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref> storing distilled [[ghost]]s and shooting them at people,<ref>I saw his implement.  A crystal ball with a skull in the center, tucked in the crook of his arm.<br>[...]<br>Images of faces flickered between the orb-encased skull and the necromancer’s fingertips, as he caressed his implement.<br>[...]<br>The necromancer reached out, and the images of faces danced out, much like a flash of electricity.  Green Eyes took one to the collarbone, reeled, and then disentangled herself, ducking under a fence, a canvas of bloody skin still hooked to her tail.<br>[...]<br>He hit me with distilled ''echoes'', every single one of them a dying memory. - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/10/28 Excerpt] from [[Duress 12.8]]</ref> making it easier to hold or sustain effects,<ref name=":2" /> making all your magic more beautiful,<ref>The handheld mirror is a strong implement with a fair bit of use.  Not something you'd use in every situation, but there's a reflection-of-self, deflection, aesthetic element to it that could make all practices more beautiful and effective on an interpersonal level, or even just for a personal level.  Vision/clarity, too, plays a big part and would be the 'mirror mirror on the wall' part of it.  I could see practitioners of fae magic, augurs, some heartless, hosts, sympaths, some scourges (bloody mary), oni mages, etc, all could have uses for mirrors.  In addition to aesthetic & clarity effects, might make your practices overall stronger against indirect attacks/defenses but weaker against direct attack or blunter defenses. - [https://www.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/8yo6o4/_/e2chne9/ Comment by Wildbow]</ref> making all or most magic come with a certain element attached,<ref name=":3">Fans are also strong, though not so much used in the west.  There's an aspect of partial concealment, the elemental, comfort, even (given the right fan) defense.  I could see fans used by oni mages (primarily), many fey, many elementalist, some heroic/historical practitioners.  I could see the effect on your practices to append a degree of elemental or secondary effects to all practices (the winds produced by the movement of the fan)- depending heavily on the make of the fan and the practitioner's practice.  There might also be some indirect obstruction in the face of general level attention, reachings, or environmental effects, delaying the time it takes for a spell or Other to get a grip on you, when it doesn't already have you in its sights (hiding the face, holding off the heat).  As a drawback, one might lose effectiveness in penetrating defenses and making the ephemeral solid. - [https://www.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/8yo6o4/_/e2chne9/ Comment by Wildbow]</ref><ref>A talisman of water can allow one to assume water by default, filling in
 the blanks by impressing the talisman on the practice at hand, or to force water into an ongoing practice. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05 Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref> making ongoing effects you inflict painful to remove,<ref>Fish-hook is just so very narrowly focused that I struggle to really parse it.  I could see it having merit for a curse mage, who wants their curses to really stick, but it's also elemental and environmental, and not in the sense that it's especially good for elementalism.  It's more that it's focused on water as a venue, with specific prey in mind, so it might take on drawbacks.  Unless you or your target are near open water at the time of practicing, your practice might suffer.  A slight offensive edge, the ability to make it so the removal of any ongoing effects you set is difficult or painful, but also, as an associated drawback, effects that bounced back to you might hurt to remove as well (the fishhook can prick you, and acts of inexperience might even encourage such to happen).  I struggle to really think of any inherent drawbacks other than that it's small and flimsy- so the net effect/gain is small and easier to cancel out.  In terms of rep or status it might impact how Others and councils see you. - [https://www.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/8yo6o4/_/e2chne9/ Comment by Wildbow]</ref> making all of your magic more subtle,<ref name=":9">“Every object has a function.  Choose a shield as an implement, and it will tend to gather any benefits and spirits that gather around you, to better serve its function of protecting you from harm. The shield offers a different kind of protection than the raincoat.”<br><br>“Can I sit?” Jessica asked.<br><br>He motioned with a hand for her to sit, and she took a seat on the bench, heavy.<br><br>He went on.  “But that’s not all an implement is.  It is, like a magical diagram, a kind of series of signs, that tell the practice how to act around you.  Spirits will sit up and pay attention, standing at the ready to protect the shieldbearer.  Or the raincoat wearer.  And as the user practices, they will flow in a way that works with the implement.  Imagine that you yourself are a magical diagram, and the implement is an extension of that diagram.  Its messaging is very clear, and it colors every practice that flows through and around you, from the time of the ritual until the day you die.  It can make some practices weaker, at the same time it strengthens others.  Some, like me, choose not to commit to one, because they prefer to be more flexible.  But they are very powerful.  Our own headmaster uses a wand.  It can be used to point, to direct, and his practice leans that way as a result.  It can be held up a sleeve or used to make fine motions, and his own practice becomes subtle and finer to the touch.”   - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/09/08 Excerpt] from [[Leaving a Mark 4.7]]
</ref> granting you some of the benefits and status of a [[Ruins]] Other,<ref name=":8" /> the ability to ward off heat, the ability to breathe underwater, linking yourself to a particular ally,<ref>Worn on the hand, the ring applies itself to the manual handling of practice and Others, its design and its closeness to the wearer imparting some benefit or effect.  In short, by having the ring of a specific design, it becomes its own closed diagram (as the ring itself is closed).  This can be a way for a practitioner to attain a lasting effect such as the ability to ward off heat or the ability to hold one’s breath for longer underwater.  In other cases, tying to the idea of the wedding ring or other symbols of engagement, the ring may connect to an Other or another practitioner, linking them. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05 Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref> imparting a specific curse or effect to anyone struck,<ref name=":12" /> enhancing one's [[Second Sight]],<ref><strong>The Lens</strong> may be a monocle, spyglass, or spectacles, but could include a gemcutter’s lapidary.  Enables one to see what they otherwise could not.  Ties in directly to the Sight, and may enable the blind or hard of seeing to not see better, but to See better.  Does not often exaggerate or benefit a given practice, unless that practice is centered around information gathering or Sight, but can provide additional insights that help with all practice.<br><br>Exercise: Thought experiment: what materials or design would one use if they wanted to make a lens that would help keep an eye on Death?  What about War? - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05/6-3-spoilers-implementum-text/ Bonus Material: Implementum Text]
</ref> vomiting blood and minor goblins every morning,<ref name=":15" /> transforming oneself, taking on negative effects for the practitioner,<ref>Subtle, but in very different ways from the knife or wand, the mask may allow one to adopt a certain role or even alter one’s own Self in a pinch.  Used in practice, the mask may be a substitute for oneself, or a deflection or barrier when the Self might be at risk. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05 Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref> transforming an area into a particular [[Realm]].<ref name=":13">'''The Plate''' is a very old type of implement, seeing virtually no modern use.  Traditionally a decorative plate, individually crafted and painted or tiled to serve as a very large symbol and/or a periodic means of delivering an offering to the gods.  At a time when art was expensive, the plate was a means of carrying and displaying images, often held during formal events, when posing for portraits, or they were mounted on the walls and above doors.  More modern interpretations or replacements have been discussed, including the mirror, but we include the plate for illustrative purposes; its tie is specifically to the past and avoids the present, and because of this, it carries a great deal of weight when dealing with old Others.  The quality and nature of the art may make the plate a good vessel for transforming an area; should it depict a region of the Faerie it could be held up to transform the immediate surroundings, or if it is tied to subservient service to a god, it may reflect that god’s influence. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05/6-3-spoilers-implementum-text/ Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref><ref>By contrast, a ‘lantern’ could be Abyssal, and would let one express some abyss into their immediate surroundings, translating everything close by to an Abyssal alternate.  Other realms can be cast out into the immediate environment in this manner. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05/6-3-spoilers-implementum-text/ Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref> 

An implement can make any use of power more efficient.<ref>“It’s sage advice.  I need a goddamn power source.  Not just a bit of hair.”<br><br>“You need a demesnes.  Or a tool that can make any use of power more efficient,” Rose said.  “Or a familiar.” - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/breach-3-5/ excerpt] from [[Breach 3.5]]
</ref>  Implements will commonly make certain practices easier, in keeping with the symbolism of the item, but often also make certain practices harder.<ref name=":3" /><ref>The perfume bottle is a less-strong implement.  It's the kind of thing I imagine a new practitioner might tap into.  You don't have a family, you don't have a strong background or library of texts to read, and you pick up some practice in a particular field.  Self-augmentation, charm, illusion, beguilement, whatever.  You're working with scraps and because those scraps are all you have, you pick an implement that encompasses that narrow field of coverage - you get good at this one thing -beguilement and allure, self enhancement-, but probably at the sacrifice of many other things.  Substance, attack power, defensive power, utility.  It's like being the bad guy in the one-shot episode of a tv show like Buffy or Supernatural- where you have this one thing you do pretty well, but it's liable to fall through if the gimmick it supports fails.<br><br>Bird whistle is... I guess it's doable.  I feel like there'd be better options for the draiodhe or minion summoner that wanted to use one to focus on their airborne minions.  Easier calling of flying Others and natural things?  Less effectiveness on other Others, practitioners, mundanes, and non-flying things? - [https://www.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/8yo6o4/_/e2chne9/ Comment by Wildbow]</ref><ref>The wand is not in common use in the world, barring stage shows. However, it is easily hidden, indicating a balance between the two worlds.  It can easily be decorated or high quality, and is distinctly of practitioners and the practice.  As such, the wielder can be assumed to be focused on practitioners and their workings.  The result might be an ease with altering or adjusting the work of others, defense against workings, and especially offense against workings (see the notes on the Authoritative, below). <br>[...]<br>In the practitioner schools in the United Kingdom, wands are provided to the students by default, for their convenience, easy portability, and a prevailing sentiment that the wand is the strongest implement of choice for practitioner dealings against hostile practitioners. - [https://pactwebserial.wordpress.com/2014/02/06 Excerpt] from ''[[Implementum|Implementum]]'', quoted in [[Gathered Pages: 2]]</ref><ref>At the same time, however, some other practices may be negatively affected, just as they would be if they were close to or connected to an inappropriate, outwardly-pointing segment of diagram.  They may be destabilized, weaker, or the practitioner may end up putting some extra notations down to divorce their work from the sword’s influence. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05/6-3-spoilers-implementum-text/ Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref> This sort of minor to moderate effect on certain Practices is the most common "power" for Implements to display,<ref>Most often, however, the effect is a minor to moderate influence.  To range, to the lasting power of a practice, to its ability to harm the unclean, or taint the refined.  In this, the materials and nature of the item matter. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05 Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref> affecting the cost of every Practice performed.<ref>In effect, the variables will change for every practice the practitioner undertakes, after the ritual.  This can be somewhat shocking initially but a practitioner will adapt or be adapted in time. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05/6-3-spoilers-implementum-text/ Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref> As a result, some practitioners - even powerful ones - choose to forgo choosing an Implement to remain more flexible.<ref name=":9" />

An Implement's power, being influenced by the power of its owner, will grow with them.<ref name=":14" /> If the practitioner has excess power or spends time in an area soaked with power, the Implement may develop into a living implement,<ref>In other cases, objects may come with an associated Other or they may develop their own identities. <br>[...]<br>In the latter case, where items develop their own identities, the effect is often the result of either an excess of power, where the practitioner has power to spare or spends a great deal of time in an area where power is latent and compatible with them, or less power is applied, but the power being handled has a great deal of motive energy to it. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05 Bonus Material: Implementum Text]</ref> animating or manifesting a body<ref>In either case, the item will either form an immaterial body or voice, largely unable to affect the world but capable of communicating with the practitioner and possibly offering a limited set of eyes or help with the metaphysical, or the item will contrive to form a material body.<br><br>The latter case is especially common in the event of motive energies running wild.  In an example case, we have Windsor, an alchemist who is busy creating life, their workshop filled with homunculi charged with spiritual and natural energies.  Windor makes regular use of their personal cauldron, an implement like the coffer, but in a period where they are focused on paperwork, the waste material of dead homunculi is gathered by the cauldron according to its natural flows and influences and formed into a crude body.  Over time, this body consolidates and forms an identity, becoming a limited workshop helper.<br><br>Such bodies may disintegrate as soon as the practitioner picks up the item, they may be permanently attached, remaining close to the item at all times, or some combination therein. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05 Bonus Material: Implementum Text]
</ref> and drawing a singleminded personality from a relevant aspect of the practitioner's personality.<ref>Living items cannot and should not be mistaken for familiars.  This said, there is some room for intermingling the familiar and implement, discussed in the next chapter, though this is not readily recommended given the costs in opportunity and effect.  Practically, the living item knows what the item does, which is often limited, and tends to reflect one facet of the practitioner’s personality, appropriate to the item. An axe could take on a personality matching the practitioner’s most combat-ready mindset, while the aforementioned cauldron could reflect Windsor’s diligence.  Such items are very single minded, shallow, and often hard for anyone but the source practitioner to get along with.<br><br>Some, such as those who do most of their practice in workshops or in particular areas, may intentionally seek these things out. - excerpt from [[List of Books#Implementum|Implementum]], quoted in [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2020/11/05/6-3-spoilers-implementum-text/ Bonus Material: Implementum Text]
</ref>