Bubble Shield

Bubble Shield (•)

 * Action: Reactive
 * Dice pool: Stamina + Crafts - shield’s radius in yards
 * Cost: 1 Wisp
 * Duration: 1 turn

The Noble manifests a protective shield around a circular area. She may create the shield around any area within sight, taking a penalty on the activation roll equal to the area’s radius in yards, and may do so in response to any action taken by another character within her line of sight.

The Noble may forgo her Defense for a turn to create Bubble Shields as reflexive actions during that turn; if she does not do so, using the Charm takes her action for the turn.
 * Dramatic Failure: The shield fails to appear, and the Noble leaves herself open to attack. She has -2 to her Defense this turn; if she sacrificed Defense, she loses her action this turn.
 * Failure: The shield does not appear.
 * Success: The shield appears, taking the form of a spherical section with the area’s radius. It will not cut through any solid object; if it encounters one it will stop at the object’s surface. If there are no obstacles the shield simply forms a perfect sphere. The shield is not subject to the force of gravity - as long as it exists, it stays exactly where the Noble created it.
 * The shield blocks both movement and attacks through itself, in either direction, until the Charm ends. Unlike normal objects the shield has no Durability, but it has a Structure of 3x the activation successes; attacks made on targets on its other side are absorbed by the shield until the last Structure point is gone. (Should this happen the shield breaks, ending the Charm.) Damage in excess of the shield’s Structure passes through to the intended target normally.
 * Exceptional Success: The shield will take a great deal of punishment before breaking.

If a Noble uses Bubble Shield to protect the same area as her next action, the new shield replaces the old with no gap of time.

Upgrade: Adamant
The shield behaves like a normal material, with Durability and Structure both equal to the activation successes. It provides transparent cover [CofD 92] against all attacks that must pass through it, in either direction, but does not absorb such attacks. Removing the shield’s last point of Structure breaks it and ends the Charm, as before.

Upgrade: Lasting

 * Duration: Inner Light turns

The shield endures for several actions before it must be renewed.

Upgrade: Partial
The shield can be shaped to cover parts of the circle, without surrounding the whole area; it can also be shaped as a flat plane.

Upgrade: Rainbow (Acqua •)
The shield manifests as an iridescent film, which bends light and hides the things inside it. It acts as concealment, imposing a penalty equal to half the Noble’s Aqua (rounding upwards). If Adamant is also applied, the shield instead provides opaque cover against attacks that pass through it.

Upgrade: Mobile (Aria •)
The Noble can create shields around a person or object. When she does so the shield remains centered on her target as long as it exists, no matter how the target moves.

Upgrade: Unbroken (Terra •)
If the shield meets a solid surface it will extend along that surface as a coating instead of stopping at it, taking the shape with the least area. For instance, if made in a room, the shield will coat the floor and enclose any furniture or people standing on it.

Upgrade: Beauteous (Specchio •)
Like a brilliant pearl, the shield gleams richly in the light of the Noble’s soul. Against such beauty, who dares raise a hand? All sapient or sentient beings must pass a Resolve + Composure roll, with a penalty equal to the lower of the Noble’s Inner Light or Specchio Invocation, to break the shield or attack anyone through it.