Implement

An Implement is a tool chosen by a Practitioner that serves as a badge for them and as an item to further define their craft.<ref name=":4">“Implements are supposed to be badges, [...] Choosing an implement means deciding the one tool you’ll define yourself

by for the rest of your life.  That adage, ‘if all you have is a 

hammer, every problem looks like a nail?’  I think that holds true with implements.  This is a kind of commitment to a path in life, so maybe that’s what feels wrong.  I’m committing to something… less than pleasant.” “You’re committing to breaking swords?” Ty asked. “I’m committing to stopping things like the Hyena.  You don’t take an

implement like this if you don’t plan on fighting, and continuing to 

fight for a long time.” [...] “Some shamans specifically hunt monsters to get materials to make items with, infusing those items like you infused June’s hatchet.  Right

here, you’ve got something that could be powerful.  Tricky, yes, but 

powerful.  Tap into what the Hyena could do.  Strength, durability, inspiring fear…” - excerpt from Void 7.11 </ref><ref name=":5">A familiar represents the people you want to be around, choosing an implement is like choosing a career, and a demesne is where you want to be. - excerpt from Void 7.11</ref><ref name=":6">Gathered Pages: 2</ref><ref>Study and enact the ritual noted in Implementum.  Your choice of tool will shape how you interact with this world, your craft, and will be your badge in the eyes of many.  The book is dreary, page on page of examples, but study it thoroughly, for there are many meanings, and a poor choice of tool may well cripple you. - excerpt from Bonds 1.3</ref> Once chosen, a the practitioner can never choose another Implement.<ref name=":0">The connections are strong enough that lost items and things will tend to blow their way back. The path of least resistance will remain the things that bring master and implement/practice/demesnes together again.
Once lost, though, you don't tend to get the ability to get stuff back. If demesnes/familiar/implement are allegories for where you're at, your life partner, and your career, then it'd make sense you'd have the ability to pick a new one, much as it's common nowadays for people to have two marriages, or make a massive career change mid-life, or (not so

common, but possible to) pick up and move halfway across the world.  

But the practitioner world tends to lag behind the real world in these things. Perhaps in a few decades, with some precedent. - Comment by Wildbow </ref><ref name=":7" /> The Implement ritual is one of the three major rituals that defines a Western Practitioner, alongside the Famulus and Demesne rituals;<ref>The three rituals noted here are fundamental in determining how you access, hoard and focus power. - excerpt from Bonds 1.3</ref><ref>The largest group that might be said to make regular use of the scepter

would be the Anglo-influenced Japanese families of practitioners, who 

have taken on the Western traditions of choosing implement, familiar, and demesnes for their personal power. - excerpt from Implementum, quoted in Gathered Pages: 2</ref><ref>One tidbit I was able to pick up these past few months was about Eastern styles.  India, some of Japan.  See, they aren’t big on familiars and implements and demesnes.  Well, the Western-influenced ones are. - excerpt from Damages 2.7</ref><ref name=":7">Nick raised one eyebrow, but he went on.  “Three ways you build up power.  Blake has one, maybe two?”

[...]

"You can pick an implement, too.  Your tool of the trade.  There are no takebacks.  Everything matters, when you make your choice.  The style of it, the history, the type of item, the purpose it’s meant to serve, the symbolism…”

“An object?” Alexis asked.

“Like a wand,” I said, “Or a dagger…”

“Any restrictions?”

“Has to be something you can hold in your hand, or hands,” I said.

[...]

“These are life-altering calls you’re making,” Nick said.  “Like I said,

the rules are old.  You don’t backtrack, you don’t get to decide on one
option here and then backtrack.  We talked about setting down roots.  

There’s the tool, the choice of vocation, how you want to face down the world and how you want the world to look at you.  Finally, we have the familiar.  Kind of like marriage, but with one of the monsters.” - excerpt from Subordination 6.3 </ref> it is the most common of the three.<ref name=":10">For as long as there has been practice there have been tools to hone that practice.  Of the three defining rituals of the Western practitioner, the Ritual Implementum dates back the furthest and is the most frequently carried out. - excerpt from Implementum, quoted in [1]Bonus Material: Implementum Text</ref>

Creation

To obtain an Implement, the practitioner must perform a ritual that requires infusing the item with power<ref name=":1">“It’s a bit of a catch-22, isn’t it?  The demesne gives us a steady supply of power, with bigger spaces giving us more power.  It’s a sanctuary, and a place where we can bend the rules in our favor.  Right?  So we need a tool or a familiar to lay claim to as big a space as we can pull off.”
“Yes.”
“But we can’t infuse our tool until we have some power to infuse it with,” I said.  “Except…”
“That power would ideally come from the demesne,” Rose said.
I nodded, “Or the familiar, in terms of strength and shaping how the tool functions.  And we can’t start talking with Others about bringing them on board as a familiar until we have some established power already.” - Bonds 1.6 </ref> and possibly, ideally, for them to be at the right point in their life.<ref>Taking an implement, familiar, or demesnes involves a commitment. The problem here is ensuring that players treat that commitment with gravity, and not as a strict power grab. To these ends, we say the following:
A practitioner should launch into the ritual in the aftermath of an achievement, the greater the better, that represents their approach to the world (implement), their associations with others (familiar), or their inner self (demesnes). The greater the achievement, the greater the puissance of the ritual’s result.
A practitioner should have given something as part of the ritual. The greater the price paid, the greater the connection. With a stronger connection, power can be given or taken more freely between the practitioner and the subject of the ritual, and the end result is more adroit in how power is leveraged and used and how changes are wrought. For an implement it is a question of prerogative, how easily the implement is wielded, the time it takes to bring power into focus and to then have the implement take effect. [...] the later in the campaign they choose, the greater the longevity. Implements are more durable, with more staying power or power stored within. - Pact Dice</ref> The amount and type of power infused helps to determine the Implement's strength and abilities.<ref name=":1" /> It is possible to choose a set of items as a single implement.<ref>Once the ritual is conducted, the implement is preserved, tied to the owner.  If damaged, the owner can put some of their Self into the implement to repair it.  If emptied, spent, or partially lost, for those

implements that may be part of a complete set (as with a handful of 

dice, for example, or a pack of cigarettes), the Self will be tapped to replenish what is spent. - excerpt from Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text</ref>

The ritual is simple and generally takes three days. It involves becoming intimately acquainted with the object over that time; it is harder if the object has a complex history.<ref name=":8" />

The ritual involves invoking your name; if one supernaturally lost their name, they also lose the connection to the implement.<ref>“This implement, if I remember the rituals right, rightfully belongs to Maggie Holt, the name is invoked as part of the ritual.  I can’t really use it, but I’ll have to make do,” Maggie said, taking her implement in hand. - excerpt from Signature 8.2</ref>

Limits

Generally the item must be small enough to be held in one's hand or hands,<ref name=":7" /><ref>The item we choose is indicative of a lot about who we are.  How we approach the world.  It’s a decision we make only once, one object that can be held in our hands and comfortably lifted, and it works better if it’s not already magic.  - excerpt from Leaving a Mark 4.7</ref><ref name=":11">The implement has a few essential requirements: it must be a material, solid object.  It must be easy to carry or wear.  It should not be magical, or its nature should be well accepted and understood before the

practitioner ties themselves to it.  Objects with mechanical 

functionality and/or many moving parts may lack functionality due to the

way the separation between parts or outside momentum interrupt their 

functionality as an effective piece of diagram. - excerpt from Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text</ref> although it is technically possible to have one which is heavier, causing one to be severely weakened when away from the object but helping to infuse power into one location.<ref>The Heavy Implement is one that cannot be carried in

the hands, or one that weighs twenty pounds or more.  One’s power is 

rooted in the implement, and the further the individual is from the chosen implement, the more the Self diminishes, with strength of Self and practice fading swiftly if they are more than a hundred and fifty feet from the object.  This is an extension of what is described with the stone as an implement, carried further.

As an advantage, the power tends to be fairly well-rooted in the location, and may spread to the immediate vicinity, provided there isn’t

any prior claim by lord, practitioner, or innocent.  Impact tends to be
higher within the affected area, and with the right arrangements, may 

extend further. - excerpt from Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text </ref> Travel and practice may be slowed by a heavy Implement.<ref>What, then, is the effect of a practitioner chaining themselves to a rock for life?  One’s effective mobility is hampered, and this will act as a symbolic and functional impedance in the practitioner’s life.  As spirits take note and start to act in accordance with this badge of office, the practitioner will find that travel becomes hard.  It represents the practitioner’s handling of practice, and it is hard to deftly handle; practice then becomes cumbersome, heavy, and slow.  It may have more impact and longevity, but the cost is not worth it. - excerpt from Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text</ref>

Choosing a Magic Item, that is already infused with power, makes the ritual more difficult and risks pulling you towards that power source or Realm.<ref name=":8">“A side effect of the ritual is that what you choose is, even if kept

out of sight, a badge of sorts, indicating who and what you are.  The 

implement tells Others what to expect of you.  Ms. Casabien makes no secret she works with Others of the Ruins, which we just visited, in a way.  She’s protected against the worst of that environment, she bears some of the benefits that Ruins others enjoy, and they’ll recognize her as one of their own.  It makes it easier, but makes dealing with non-Ruins Others harder.  Be careful when picking something that has power before it’s made an implement, or you may find yourself pulled more into that realm or power source, than the power source is drawn to you.  The ritual is a simple one, conducted over three days, where you become intimately acquainted with the object in question.  This too gets

harder if the object is already carrying power.  It can be more complex
if the object has a long and complicated history.”  - excerpt from Leaving a Mark 4.7</ref>

Recently-developed technology, which is unfamiliar to the spirits as a symbol, will lack most of the usual effects of an Implement if chosen. This is in addition to the hazards of technological obsolescence. However, some Technomancers will still choose such items, which can be useful for extending one's Self and magic into digital spaces.<ref>The Digital Implement is any device normally in the Technomancer’s province, including blackberries, handheld televisions, and radios.  Too unfamiliar to spirits to have a ‘diagram’, the digital implement foregoes the upsides and uses of an implement for a material means of connecting one’s Self to the digital reaches and better extend that self through those spaces.  The item’s value can be expected to sit

at middling to low values and then plummet when the item falls out of 

common use, dragging one’s Self with it.  Technomancer families may have

the means by which to extend this ‘shelf life’ and protect the Self 

when using such devices, but many choose conventional implements regardless. - excerpt from Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text</ref> Even a simpler/older item with mechanical moving parts may have issues.<ref name=":11" />

Effects

These tools are bonded to the practitioner and especially strong connections will contrive to keep them together.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":12">The Chakram is a close cousin of the ring, but is symbolic and aggressive at the same time.  A metal ring as large or larger around than a dinner plate, often with a sharpened outer edge and

heavily decorated, it forms its own closed diagram and houses its own 

effect.  The chakram can be worn as jewelry with turbans or as bracelets, be thrown as a weapon, or be held and used to slash in close quarters.  Because it houses its effect and is aggressive, it can sometimes impart an effect like a curse or element to the one struck.  The claim one has to their implement helps ensure it bounces back to the

owner. - excerpt from Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text</ref> It can generally only be lost long-term via a binding bargain or to a powerful Other. Being without one's Implement will weaken a Practitioner's Self by up to a third; having it truly destroyed is severely damaging.<ref>The practitioner will maintain a great deal of claim to the item, and 

this operates on a cosmic level; if lost or stolen, it will find its way

back to the practitioner.  If given away, loaned, or taken hostage, it 

will remain gone, but those Others much weaker than the practitioner may

find it slips their grasp and finds its way back to the owner in short 

order.  Loans with a binding word on the owner’s part or loans to very powerful Others will be lasting.  While without the object, the practitioner will be lessened, their Self reduced by as much as a third.  A permanent destruction of the implement, while rare, may be akin to losing an arm or a leg. - excerpt from Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text</ref>

An Implement is recognized by spirits and other forces somewhat like a component of a diagram, especially when weilded by it's 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.

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.

In actuality, there is no fixed diagram, but the parallels and effects are much the same.  - excerpt from Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text </ref>

If an Implement is damaged or physically spent/depleted in some manner, the item can self-repair by drawing on the Practitioner's personal power.<ref>Once the ritual is conducted, the implement is preserved, tied to the owner.  If damaged, the owner can put some of their Self into the implement to repair it.  If emptied, spent, or partially lost, for those

implements that may be part of a complete set (as with a handful of 

dice, for example, or a pack of cigarettes), the Self will be tapped to replenish what is spent. - excerpt from Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text</ref>

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. - 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). - 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 Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text</ref> storing distilled ghosts 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. [...] Images of faces flickered between the orb-encased skull and the necromancer’s fingertips, as he caressed his implement. [...] 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. [...] He hit me with distilled echoes, every single one of them a dying memory. - 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. - Comment by Wildbow</ref> making all or most magic come with a certain element attatched,<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. - 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 Implementum, quoted in 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. - Comment by Wildbow</ref> making all of you 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.” “Can I sit?” Jessica asked. He motioned with a hand for her to sit, and she took a seat on the bench, heavy. 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.”   - 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 breate 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 Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text</ref> imparting a specific curse or effect to anyone struck,<ref name=":12" /> 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 Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text</ref><ref name=":13" />

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.”
“You need a demesnes.  Or a tool that can make any use of power more efficient,” Rose said.  “Or a familiar.” - 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. 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? - 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).
[...]
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. - excerpt from 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 Implementum, quoted in 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" />

Social Effects

Since it permanently affects your Practice, picking an implement serves as a statement about your intended path in life; it's been compared to choosing a career.<ref name=":4">“Implements are supposed to be badges, [...] Choosing an implement means deciding the one tool you’ll define yourself

by for the rest of your life.  That adage, ‘if all you have is a 

hammer, every problem looks like a nail?’  I think that holds true with implements.  This is a kind of commitment to a path in life, so maybe that’s what feels wrong.  I’m committing to something… less than pleasant.” “You’re committing to breaking swords?” Ty asked. “I’m committing to stopping things like the Hyena.  You don’t take an

implement like this if you don’t plan on fighting, and continuing to 

fight for a long time.” [...] “Some shamans specifically hunt monsters to get materials to make items with, infusing those items like you infused June’s hatchet.  Right

here, you’ve got something that could be powerful.  Tricky, yes, but 

powerful.  Tap into what the Hyena could do.  Strength, durability, inspiring fear…” - excerpt from Void 7.11 </ref><ref name=":5">A familiar represents the people you want to be around, choosing an implement is like choosing a career, and a demesne is where you want to be. - excerpt from Void 7.11</ref> It can also show one's cultural background and patterns of thinking.<ref name=":6">Gathered Pages: 2</ref> Many Others will percieve and be influenced by the implications of your Implement even if it is kept out of sight.<ref name=":8" />

When examining how an Implement can relate to others, the are three major aspects one can look at: declarative, authoritative, and socio-cultural. The declarative aspect is what the object conveys to others while it is inert and base, generally only focusing on the obvious descriptors. The authoritative aspect is what the object conveys to others while it is in use. The socio-cultural aspect is what groups are most likely to use the object and for what purpose. All three of these aspects carry a meaning when deciding on an implement and should be taken into consideration.<ref>Damages 2-x (Gathered Pages 2)</ref>

Some iconic implements have held significant meaning throughout history. They include Chains, Chakrams, Chalice, Coffers, Coins, Emblems, Knives, Lanterns, Lenses, Masks, Plates, Rings, Scepter, Skulls, Staffs, Standards, Stone, Swords, Talismans, Tomes, Trumpets, and Wands.

In-Story Implements

• Athame - Maggie Holt
• Pocket Watch - Laird Behaim
• Pocket Watch with Stonehenge Design - Duncan Behaim
• Tarot Cards? - Alister Behaim
• Shepard's Crook - The Shepherd
• Chalice - Sandra Duchamp
• Pan Flute - Johannes
• A drinking vessel made of her brother's skull - Fionna
• Crystal Ball with a skull inside - A Duchamp husband
• Crooked Hat - Unnamed Duchamp husband's namesake hat
• Wand - Alexander Belanger
• Raincoat - Jessica Casabien

Variations

Although a single irreplacable Implement is the standard in the West, some Eastern practices allow for multiples or sets of Implements.<ref>It's like how some eastern practitioners have their own systems & standards, where they have familiars and implements wrapped up in the same system (generally with multiples or sets). - Comment by Wildbow</ref>

It's possible to combine an implement with one of the other major rituals, such as making a vehicle both your demesne and your implement. However, this generally results in a single item which fills both "slots" without being any more powerful than a standard implement, merely different; possibly even weaker. Violating the strong traditions that surround the Implement ritual is generally not considered worth it.<ref>Demesnes can't generally move. There are other ways to go about it, which wouldn't be termed demesnes, but generally at a steep cost.

It's like how some eastern practitioners have their own systems & standards, where they have familiars and implements wrapped up in the same system (generally with multiples or sets). You might go this route, but there's caveats - at least 2/3 of these are liable to crop up, but very likely all 3, depending on measures taken & how much the practitioner puts into the ritual:

• You might go for a mobile demesnes but you're basically wrapping it up in familiar or implement. So you have a motorcycle as your cradle, but it's also your familiar, or you have a van as your cradle but it's also your implement. It's not ~actually~ an implement though, but it's taking up that space in terms of your self definition, because it's just this clumsy thing you're doing, and it's not an equal proportion of power. This means you're basically, instead of having a familiar at 100%, an implement at 100%, a demesnes at 100%, you're going 50/50, 100.
• It's exaggerated further in that it's nontraditional here and so there's less respect and focus afforded to it. So it takes a hit and winds up being more like 33/33, 100 in terms of general puissance/power level. The end result is you've almost halved your overall power level compared to what you could achieve otherwise.
• Remember Blake talking about how the tool represents how people approach the world, the familiar represents the relationships they form, and the demesnes represents the position they occupy in it? If you're saying "The place I hold in the world is living in a car" or "the place I hold is that of a traveler" then you're sending a lot of signals to the spirits. There's a pretty heavy quality of life cost in this. You're signaling to the spirits that hey, you're probably never going to own a house or live in an apartment for more than a few months. Now all of a sudden you're getting evicted or the landlord wants to stop renting so they can move family into your apartment, or you just can't get that mortgage approval or get a realtor to answer your calls. There's subtle effects to how people & Others see you too. To Others, the practitioner with a sailboat demesnes isn't worth dealing with because they're not going to be here next week.

Tradition matters and you can buck tradition but at a steep cost. Generally speaking, trying to get tricky with it isn't worth it - some niche cases

exist and some people don't care about overall power level, they just 

want a talking motorcycle that makes their nomadic lifestyle more comfortable. But you're not going to have a van and be able to be a lesser god of your own domain when you crawl into the back of it.
- Comment by Wildbow </ref><ref>You can blend as a more permanent thing (not what Laird does). You can have a familiar plus demesnes for a more intelligent demesnes. A familiar plus implement for an object with a personality. An implement plus demesnes for a demesnes you could bring with you. Generally you take a pretty significant hit to power in exchange for some degree of utility. You also lose standing with practitioners and Others. I think

I've posted on this before.  If you have a talking motorcycle you're 

giving up 90% of the power of a proper implement and 90% of the power of

a proper demesnes, but you're getting an implement that's more weighty 

and a comfortable seat that isn't limited to one place. And because you're a practitioner that's flouting convention then convention helps you less, so your practice in general isn't going to be all that. - Comment by Wildbow</ref>

History

The Impement ritual is the oldest of the three Defining Rituals.<ref name=":10" />

Sword implements have declined in popularity in recent times,<ref>The Sword is an aggressive choice, and a more common choice in older eras. - excerpt from Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text</ref> as has the Chalice<ref>The Chalice is a cup, ornate and decorated, once a common implement.  It can be a symbol or a limited means of taking action in a diagram, but more than anything, it is a repository for holding power and then partaking of or distributing that power.  Favored

by practitioners dealing with the divine and the management of power. - excerpt from Implementum, quoted in Bonus Material: Implementum Text</ref> and the Plate (now almost unheard-of.)<ref name=":13" />

References

<references />