True Scales
Wonder · Mage
Arete 2, Quintessence 10, Background Cost 2 pts.
For millennia, humanity has known how to measure the weight of items — an essential part of commerce throughout the ages. Unfortunately, with the invention of scales came scoundrels attempting to fleece others with
counterfeit items. No matter how sophisticated technology got, flimflam artists weren’t far behind, ready to exploit the new technology to their own benefit. Thankfully, the rise of scientific chemistry means the era of swindlers is coming to an end.
In addition to providing an accurate measurement of items’ weight, True Scales also analyze the composition of them. Practiced users can determine exactly how pure a supposed gold bar is and what impurities it might have. They also resist movement due to outside forces. Not only will cheaters seeking to gain a few pence more by placing their thumb on the scale receive nothing for their efforts, the scales will even signal that someone’s trying to change the result.
System
A Matter 1 Effect provides an accurate reading for the mass of the items in the scales’ bowl. Additionally, it identifies chemical elements contributing at least 1% to the mass and displays their approximate proportion in a set of 61 small meters on the True Scales’ base plate. 60 of these meters indicate the concentrations of 60 known elements, with the final element meter simply reading “unknown.” A Forces 2 Effect prevents outside forces from influencing the scales’ weight reading. The scales’ Effects are uncanny.