Nuada is one of the seven artifacts left with Brigid when she was given to the orphanage to be raised on her Shadow Earth. This and Balor were the only two that stayed with her throughout her childhood, the rest being sold or lost through the years. It was a great help during her superhero days, giving her a measure of protection which helped her survive her very risky profession.
Description
Nuada is a pharisee, an animate, almost-mindless semi-living suit of armor of Faerie. Since they cannot be bribed they are used to guard treasure or act as bodyguards. Most pharisees have only one form, but Brigid in several earlier existences enhanced Nuada to match her own shapeshifting abilities, and enchanted it with the ability to change its shape also. Nuada is primarily made of adamant, orichalcum and gold: Faerie rarely uses iron, but it has the skill to forge adamant and orichalcum to be stronger as steel; gold is used primarily for inlay and decoration. When created it was given the following forms: note that Brigid was aware of only the first two forms until very recently.
◆ Armband: so it could be worn in comfort but always be ready to defend the one it was destined for.
◆ Invisible armor: in this form, it is invisible to the unsuspecting eye, but it can be revealed through magick to be a colorless, formfitting layer just above the clothes and skin.
◆ Faerie armor: in any other circumstance it would appear almost impossibly gaudy and impractical. The armor consists of partial plate and chainmail armor, designed for lightness, flexibility and ease of wearing. The plate is inlaid with gold designs of magickal beasts and Celtic knotwork, and bejeweled with clear gems of such size and clarity that they cannot possibly be diamonds, yet the richness of the armor argues otherwise. Where there is not solid metal, there is chainmail so fine that it looks like cloth but can assume the stiffness of plate armor when struck a blow. A helmet adorned with a crest and wings of a phoenix in gold with emerald eyes completes the armor: it is open across the eyes, and has movable wings for cheekguards.
◆ Seelie formal armor: if possible, it is even more gaudy and impractical-looking than the regular armor. Built more to impress than to defend, it looks too fine to be protective, a mistake many have made. This armor is inlaid with red, blue, and green enamel. The diamonds are supplemented by rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, and the armor itself seems to glitter prismatically; in strong light it can dazzle and mesmerize opponents. It also has a belt of gold-worked, jewel-encrusted dragonskin supporting ropes of gold wire and a cloth-of-gold loincloth. The helmet becomes a gold tiara in the shape of a tongue of flame, encrusted with rubies and emeralds and sapphires, yet it seems to protect as well as a helmet.
◆ Unseelie formal armor: consisting of a skin-tight suit of glossy night-black chainmail from neck to foot, a blank white mask with eyeslits protecting her face and head, and a white gossamer floor-length cape with gold fleur-de-lys and trim. It is designed to be mysterious and dramatic.
◆ Gauntlets: Nuada can manifest itself as a pair of silver, skintight gauntlets that reach up past Brigid’s elbow. Since it is so tight and so flexible it has the effect of making her skin look like silver, or like she has shapeshifted her arms into silver metal.
In addition to the shapes it knew from Faerie, Nuada has learned several shapes while it was with Brigid in her Shadow or in Amber. These are:
◆ US Space Command space armor: sleek, silvery armor designed to resist the extremes of space. It looks like molten silver or mercury poured onto a person, topped with a spherical helmet with a transparent facemask and studded with boxes of electronic equipment around the waist. It also has limited propulsion abilities and extensive communications and detection gear. This was the first form of armor other than the first two of Faerie make that Brigid discovered, much to her surprise.
◆ Nightshade™ stealth armor: a formfitting suit of grey that can change color to match its surroundings.
◆ Castle Amber guard armor: plain but functional armor. Very useful for sneaking around the Castle undetected.
Because the armor is in some ways alive, it is easier for Brigid to shapeshift within it.
Points
| Resistance | 4 | Invulnerable | Nuada is resistant to anything up to and including .50 caliber machine gun bullets. Because Nuada is formed of adamant and orichalcum, cold iron has little effect upon it, unlike other Fae creatures and creations. |
| Vitality | 4 | Amber | Nuada is very much alive, and is very difficult to kill. Nuada is also capable of difficult feats of strength. |
| Movement | 1 | Confers Mobility | Nuada can walk and maneuver on its own but it can only move at a normal pace. |
| Stamina | 2 | Amber Endurance | Nuada can operate independently for long lengths of time. |
| Aggression | 1 | Combat Training | Nuada can fight on its own in defense of Brigid, but it can only do so with its own native abilities. |
| Damage | 1 | Extra Hard | Nuada is capable of penetrating common armor and defenses. |
| Item Healing | 1 | Self-Healing | Nuada is capable of repairing itself. |
| Shapeshifting | 4 | Limited Shape Shift | Nuada can assume up to 12 different forms of armor or protection, at Brigid’s command. Not all of these forms have been memorized. |
| Transferal | 5 | Resistance | Nuada automatically protects Brigid at all times, even when not invoked, through an invisible force field. |
| Points | 23 |
Note that not all these points were used for the original character: Brigid has advanced in the campaign and so has her armor, “waking up” so to speak.
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