Astrology 742 of Agony

Lore: The bronze-and-hematite band known as Astrology 742 of Agony was forged in the Iron Eclipse of Veridora’s Painward School, where seers believed that true predictions rise from suffering. Twelve minute onyx studs circle its circumference, each engraved with a Chinese zodiac animal; delicate inward-facing barbs of polished hematite rest against the finger, drawing only the faintest pressure—never blood—whenever pain nearby sharpens fate’s focus. Scholars record that the ring’s number, 742, marks the precise interval (seven lunar triads and forty-two stellar minutes) between the first cry of a newborn and the alignment that seals its earthly trials.

Description: A slender bronze ring (outer diameter 22 mm) set with twelve onyx facets. The inner band is lined with nearly invisible hematite thorns. When worn, the onyx flashes dull crimson whenever someone within thirty feet experiences fresh pain, and thin scarlet threads of starlight briefly map the local sky upon the studs.

Detailed Stats

• Tier 1, common rarity, Slot — Finger (counts as one magical item toward the ten-item active limit).
• Weight negligible; requires a ten-minute attunement ritual.
• No innate offense or defense bonuses; its value is foresight and dramatic narrative impact.
• Holds up to three charges, refreshing at dawn when the Ox-Hour (1 a.m.–3 a.m.) begins.

Passive Magics

• Zodiac Sight — The wearer automatically knows the Chinese zodiac sign and elemental aspect of any creature conversed with for one minute or more, gaining advantage on non-hostile social checks with that creature while acknowledging a shared hardship.
• Empathic Pulse — Each time a living creature within thirty feet takes damage, the inner thorns tighten fractionally, alerting the wearer to unseen harm without revealing numbers; this sensation never inflicts hit-point loss.
• Galaxies of Grief — While the wearer has taken damage within the past hour, faint star-patterns appear on the onyx studs, granting the wearer a +1 bonus to Wisdom (Insight) checks made to discern another’s emotional turmoil.

Activable Magics

• Agony Augury (1 charge, action) — The wearer concentrates on a deliberate self-inflicted prick (1 psychic damage, bypasses resistances). A single yes/no question concerning an immediate course of action is answered as the studs glow either sanguine (affirmative) or ashen (negative). The accuracy equals 75 percent; on failure, the answer is random. Cooldown: one hour.
• Pain Exchange (1 charge, bonus action) — Select a willing creature within thirty feet. Up to 2 hit points of its recent damage are transferred to the wearer (cannot be reduced). For the next minute both creatures gain advantage on Constitution saves to resist ongoing agony effects, symbolizing shared suffering. Recharge: short rest.

Tags: Astrology, Ring, Zodiac, Chinese-Animals, Pain-Magic, Divination, Empathy, Common-Rarity, Tier-1, Roleplay-Focus, Agony, Elemental-Cycle, Bronze-Craft, Onyx-Studded, Hematite-Barbs, Celestial-Thrum, Pain-Trigger, Charge-Based, Ox-Hour-Resonance, Narrative-Foresight

Shops where and how this item might be bought and sold:

• Painward Eclipse Stalls, Veridora
  • Setting: Arcaded booths at the Painward School of Prognostic Surgery, open to scholars and inquisitive travelers between the waxing and waning crescents.
  • Acquisition: Buyers submit to a brief pin-prick demonstration so tutors can verify the ring’s resonance; payment is recorded in the Iron Eclipse ledger.
  • Cost: 110 gp flat, with a ten-percent tithe diverted to the school’s hospice.
• Celestial Trinket House, Walled City of Lumenwall
  • Setting: Marble-floored boutique beneath the Grand Observatory, shelves lined with zodiacal baubles and copper star-charts.
  • Acquisition: A resident astrolabe-keeper casts the buyer’s birth-hexagram; if no malefic clash appears, the ring is sealed in silk and handed over.
  • Cost: 100 gp; negotiable down to 95 gp for Observatory members in good standing.
• Night-Bazaar of Red Lattices, Undermarket Quarter
  • Setting: Lamplit crimson awnings where pain-mages barter stimulants, scars, and rumor.
  • Acquisition: Haggling is expected; many vendors offer a free Empathic Pulse trial on a caged vermin to prove authenticity.
  • Cost: Typically 85 gp after spirited negotiation, though prices rise sharply during wartime patrols.
• Itinerant Zodiacist Caravan, Floating Archipelago Routes
  • Setting: Wagon-tents painted with swirling constellations, arriving once every lunar triad.
  • Acquisition: Transactions require reciting one’s animal sign and element while gripping a heated brass rod; the rod cools if compatibility is true.
  • Cost: 120 gp, reflecting travel scarcity and caravan protection fees.
• Temple of Shared Wounds, Sanctuary Isle
  • Setting: Incense-rich cloisters where monks chronicle ailments as sacred texts.
  • Acquisition: Offered in exchange for a 90 gp donation or an equivalent supply of medical tinctures; purchasers must vow to relieve suffering with the ring’s power at least once.
• Fortune Auditor’s Exchange Hall, Veridale Financial District
  • Setting: Ledger-lined counters under ticking astrolabe-clocks, staffed by actuarial clerks.
  • Acquisition: Item is sold on consignment; buyers sign a predictive liability waiver acknowledging potential psychic burden.
  • Cost: 95 gp, fixed by guild tariff to stabilize divination-tool prices.
• Pawn-Hold of Broken Stars, Ruined Metropolis of Umbral Reach
  • Setting: Shattered astronomical dome repurposed as a pawnbroker’s vault, guarded by mute pain-sworn acolytes.
  • Acquisition: Prospective owners endure a short “thorn trial” (1 hp self-damage) to prove seriousness before coin is accepted.
  • Cost: 75 gp, lowest on record, but stock appears only after battlefield scavengers deliver new finds.

Roleplay in different environments:

• Urban back-alleys and tavern intrigue: The constant jostle of streets and drinking halls means sudden bruises, brawls, or pickpocket scuffles occur every few minutes. Each jolt of pain in the crowd tightens the ring’s barbs, giving silent notice of nearby violence before the blade is drawn. A wearer who notices three rapid pulses might step sideways behind a barrel or shift posture to parry an unseen sap. For offense, a discreet self-prick triggers Agony Augury: a yes-answer flicker can prompt an immediate bold accusation or a decisive lunge against the cut-purse before guards arrive.
• Fortified battlefield lines: In melee chaos, Empathic Pulse adds a ghost-sense of incoming harm—arrows striking allies thirty feet away cause the band to constrict an instant before the next volley, signaling the wearer to raise a shield or duck. When comrades cluster around a wounded standard-bearer, Pain Exchange draws two of the bearer’s lost vitality into the ring-hand, letting the banner stay aloft and morale remain steady. Aggressively, the wearer can absorb that token agony, then stride forward with eyes aflame from Galaxies of Grief, gaining heightened Insight to read enemy feints and exploit hesitations.
• Subterranean dungeon corridors: Echoing stone chambers often hide unseen traps; spring-dart wounds in a scouting companion squeeze the thorns just in time for the wearer to halt the main party before they enter the lethal crossfire. When negotiating with captive cultists, the ring reveals each prisoner’s zodiac-element, allowing tailored threats that feel eerily personal. A brisk self-inflicted sting followed by Agony Augury can confirm whether the left-hand passage truly leads toward the relic chamber, maintaining strategic momentum while torchlight dwindles.
• Wilderness night camps: Predatory beasts seldom cry out, yet the ring answers to any pain, even a distant rabbit’s squeal beneath underbrush. A sudden tightening warns that something has begun its hunt, giving sleeping companions moments to ready defenses. Should an injured ranger drag themselves back to camp with a poisoned arrow lodged deep, Pain Exchange siphons away just enough suffering for them to stay lucid while antidote is brewed. In a desperate ambush, the wearer may intentionally cut a thumb, consult Agony Augury, and decide at once whether to light a diversionary fire or press a flanking charge through the trees.
• Courtly audience halls: Diplomats mask emotions behind silk etiquette, yet the studs glow dull crimson whenever a rival’s hidden headache or stress-spasm flares beneath ceremonial robes. That subtle cue lets the wearer slip a barbed verbal probe at precisely the moment the adversary’s composure falters, turning psychological pressure into a political weapon. If an ally must endure a public penance—kneeling on gravel during judgment—Pain Exchange quietly shares the sting, allowing them to speak clearly when called for testimony without revealing magical aid.
• Storm-tossed ship decks: Sharp shifts of the mast crack sailors’ backs and fingers; each groan activates Empathic Pulse, mapping crew injuries even in pitch rain. The ring-bearer marshals deckhands toward safe rigging points, averting cascading accidents that sink morale. During boarding action, Agony Augury guides whether to sever the grappling rope or rush across it; a wrong reading means the band’s error, not the bearer’s hesitation. Should the ship’s surgeon be overwhelmed, Pain Exchange lets a hardy fighter shoulder part of a gravely wounded helmsman’s agony so the vessel keeps a steady course through the maelstrom.
• Academy debate chambers: Within lecture duels, scholars often defend arguments with biting quills that draw pinpricks of blood to power sigils. Every sting registers, providing the ring-wearer an immediate tally of how many magical points the opponent has spent, a significant defensive edge in pacing one’s own rebuttals. Offensively, a subtle thorn press and instant Agony Augury decides whether to unveil a risky, reputation-damaging citation that could settle the contest in a single rhetorical strike.
• Desert caravan trails: Sunburn blisters and grit-fuelled abrasions trigger low-level pulses throughout the day, painting a living map of caravan fatigue. The wearer can pre-empt heatstroke casualties by redirecting rest schedules. When raiders descend at dusk, a quick Pain Exchange with the injured outrider forestalls collapse, while Galaxies of Grief sharpens the wearer’s perception of the bandit leader’s fear beneath bravado, opening an opportunity for a cutting ultimatum that scatters the attack without bloodshed.

In every locale, the ring converts pain—whether personal, shared, or merely sensed—into a predictive compass and social lever, turning the ache of existence on Saṃsāra into both shield and blade.

Perception of Activation:

• User’s Perspective
  • Sight — The onyx studs blush deep crimson, and thin carmine filaments race along the inner bronze, sketching fleeting star-charts that only the wearer can fully resolve.
  • Hearing — A muted chime, as if a distant temple bell were struck beneath water, tolls once within the skull; the tone aligns with the wearer’s heartbeat, slowing each pulse by a fraction.
  • Smell — A faint metallic tang, reminiscent of fresh-drawn blood mingled with ozone after a midsummer storm, lingers at the edge of breathing.
  • Touch — The hematite barbs pinch just enough to register as sharp pressure without wounding; simultaneous warmth radiates outward across the finger and up the forearm.
  • Taste — A coppery note blooms on the tongue, then dissipates behind a phantom sweetness of star-fruit.
  • Extra-sensory — Momentary sight-lines of every living creature within thirty feet trace across the mind’s eye as gleaming red threads, each pulsing once to mark current pain. A whispered syllable in an unknown dialect offers a single word of omen—affirmation or warning—before fading.
  • Positives — Heightened awareness of hidden injuries, sharpened intuition, and a brief calm that clarifies decision-making in crisis.
  • Negatives — The acute empathy can echo nearby suffering too vividly, risking distraction; the copper tang may nauseate sensitive stomachs, and the barbs’ pressure can remind the wearer of personal vulnerability long after activation ends.
• Observer’s Perspective
  • Sight — The ring’s studs glow like embered coals, and a web of faint red light briefly crawls over the wearer’s skin before vanishing; a halo of starlike motes may shimmer above the ring for a heartbeat.
  • Hearing — A soft hiss, comparable to a single breath drawn through clenched teeth, surrounds the wearer; to close companions it sounds almost like an exhaled sigh.
  • Smell — Those standing within arm’s reach detect a sharp, rain-charged metallic scent that fades instantly when they step back.
  • Touch — If an observer’s hand brushes the wearer’s, a subtle warmth and electric prickle pass between skin surfaces.
  • Taste — No direct taste manifests to others unless physical contact is made, in which case a brief iron flavor may arise.
  • Extra-sensory — Sensitive minds feel a ripple, as though an unseen thread had tugged lightly at their own emotional state; clairvoyants glimpse a fractal zodiac wheel turning behind the wearer’s silhouette.
  • Positives — Allies gain a fleeting sense that the wearer understands their pain and stands ready to aid; the visible glow can serve as a morale beacon.
  • Negatives — Enemies might notice the activation spark and time an assault before the wearer finishes interpreting the omen; empathic observers may suffer a sympathetic pang matching whatever agony triggered the ring.

Recipe: Forging Astrology 742 of Agony

• Materials Needed
  • Painward Bronze Ingot (≈30 g alloy: 84 % copper, 14 % tin, 2 % powdered hematite)
  • Twelve onyx cabochons (3 mm each, evenly graded)
  • Hematite needle-wire (0.2 mm gauge, 15 cm length)
  • Scarlet Star-Resin (alchemical binder of starfall dust, iron oxide, myrrh; 2 ml)
  • Iron Eclipse Etching Salts (copper nitrate, lunar ash, vinegar of the new moon)
  • Ox-Hour Candle (slow-burn beeswax with ground valerian and night-jade)
  • Thread of Suffering (silk dyed in blood-root tincture, 30 cm)
  • Drop of self-shed blood from the destined wearer (fresh)
• Tools Required
  • Spirit-forge crucible and vented jeweler’s furnace
  • Celestial lathe with fine-angle indexing wheel (twelve-point setting)
  • Barbing jig and micro-hammer set
  • Gem-setting tweezers infused with lodestone dust
  • Divinatory astroscope calibrated to Chinese zodiac constellations
  • Quenching dish of salted rainwater gathered during an eclipse
  • Whisper-bore needle drill (hand-cranked)
  • Red-glass vial for resin warming
• Skill Requirements
  • Journeyman metal-shaping and micro-barbing artistry
  • Apprentice gem-channeling and resin infusion
  • Basic astro-divinatory alignment reading
  • Ritual pain-sympathy attunement discipline
• Crafting Steps
  • Bronze Casting: Melt Painward Bronze in the spirit forge. Pour into a ring mold sized for the intended finger. Air-cool to hand-warmth, then true the circle on the celestial lathe.
  • Twelve-Fold Indexing: Use the lathe’s indexing wheel to mark twelve evenly spaced sockets around the band’s outer edge; drill shallow gem seats with the whisper-bore.
  • Inner Barbing: Clamp the ring in the barbing jig. Draw the hematite needle-wire through a micro-hammer pass, creating inward-curving thorns each 0.5 mm high. Seat the wire inside the band; peen and smooth till no snags are visible from the outer rim.
  • Etching the Interval: Paint the Iron Eclipse Etching Salts along the inner surface. Heat gently over the Ox-Hour Candle for forty-two stellar minutes; rinse in eclipse-quenched rainwater, revealing faint star-script denoting “742.”
  • Onyx Seating: Warm Scarlet Star-Resin in the red-glass vial. Dab a grain-sized bead into each socket and press an onyx cabochon flush with the band. Rotate under gentle heat until resin cures clear.
  • Zodiac Alignment: Place the ring beneath the calibrated astroscope. Turn the band until each onyx facet aligns with its corresponding animal sign in the night sky projection. Fix orientation by momentarily chilling the band in eclipse water so the resin locks.
  • Thread Binding: Wrap the Thread of Suffering thrice around the ring, reciting the twelve animal names in ascending cycle while focusing on shared pain. When the final name is spoken, sever the thread; let the loose end smolder against the bronze.
  • Blood Sealing: Anoint the inner thorns with a single drop of the destined wearer’s fresh blood. Allow the fluid to wick along the barbs and darken the etched numerals; this completes the empathy conduit.
  • Quenching and Cooldown: Submerge the ring in the salted rainwater bath until its glow subsides. Pat dry with lint-free cloth; inspect for flush gem seating and uniform barb tension.
  • Attunement Trial: Have the future bearer slip the ring on during the Ox-Hour. A successful empathic pulse—gentle tightening without piercing—confirms the crafting’s fidelity.

The ring is now ready to join the cycle of agony and foresight woven through Saṃsāra’s celestial tapestry.

Lament of the Twelfth Thorn in Cycle 742

Lo, hear ye the parchment-wind that flutter of yesterday’s bones, for upon that whisper is told the wrought ring of sorrow whose counting is seven hundred forty and two. First carved was it in the shadow-sky season, when bronze wept red and stars were still unborn insects. The scribes, whom no tongue remembers, set down their letters in the dust of a moon not yet cooled, yet we who live nowhere near that sun now read only smoke of meanings.

They say a child of unquiet cradle—she called Meadow-Caller, or perhaps Meadow-Crawling, for the glyph is cracked—grew beneath a roof of laments. Many nights the roof sang droplets of agony, and the child would number each droplet aloud, hoping the sum would close the wound of her ears. But number failed. Thus in her tenth breath-turn she walked to the iron hill where tools bleed. There, twelve smith-seers argued whether hurt be gift or poison. They agreed upon neither, yet hammered the dispute into a circle and left its edges keen on the inside.

The circle—ring, band, thorn-sister—demanded stones of sky-ink. Twelve onyx seeds were pressed, each fat with an animal shaped by a soundless roar. Rat stone, Ox stone, Tiger stone, and onward till Pig stone; some order is lost, for the sequence scribes scratched now looks like spilled beans. When the last stone clicked into the bronze throat, the circle coughed sparks that wrote nine constellations, then three more, then erased seven of them. This was called completeness.

Meadow-Caller slid the ring upon her trembling digit. Instantly her finger remembered every bruise she ever borrowed, and every cut her mother forbade. The finger sang small knife-hymns, and the girl wept laughter of dried wells. Seeing this, the twelve smith-seers recited the Law of Acceptable Screaming: “If the scream return as echo of stars, suffering becomes counsel.” So the child pressed her hand against the village gate. The gate shuddered, showing its wooden soul stamped by many axes; it moaned of raiders yet to come. Villagers asked, “Which hour will bite us?” The girl spoke numbers: seven lunar triads and forty-two stellar minutes. None believed until the raiders marched inside that very notch of heaven’s clock.

Fear paid tribute to her now. Lords knelt, pouring coin to tame her ring’s prophecy. Yet coin scratches prophecy’s mirror. Greedy lords desired which enemy, which day, which neck to sever; the circle tightened, thorns burrowed, and her voice cracked like roasted reeds. She was carried to the Iron Hospice where whispers sleep. There the ring refused to exit her bone. Three surgeons pulled; six priests pleaded; the circle only drank their pleas.

At final dusk the child-grown-woman, hollow as flute reed, asked the onyx animals, “Will pain end when flesh ends?” The studs glowed a soft yes-no, yes-maybe, and an unlettered color beyond refusal. She pricked her own heart with a thorn grown long; red filaments fled heavenward, spelling shapes none recall. The body cooled, but the ring sat warm atop ash. Travelers later found it, finger-bones gone, number 742 etched like quiet thunder.

Since then, whoever slides that bronze sorrow upon flesh sees wounds of world before wounds bleed. Some heed the vision and guard the weak; others hawk the omen for coin and choke upon it. Always the onyx blushes, always the thorns remind, and always the number 742 ticks beneath unseen starlight, counting droplets that roofs yet weep.

Moral: Pain foretold may shield or shackle; wisdom lies in whether the foreseer listens more to suffering or to mercy.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition — Ring of Zodiac Agony

• Type: Mythos Relic (wearable)
• Appearance: Slim bronze ring inset with twelve tiny onyx stones. The inner band holds hematite barbs.
• Activation: The wearer spends 1 Magic Point and endures 1 HP of self-inflicted damage to rouse the ring’s power.
• Effects
  • Zodiac Sight — For one hour the wearer automatically identifies the Chinese zodiac sign of any person encountered; grants a bonus die to Psychology rolls that exploit the target’s anxieties.
  • Agony Augury — Once per day the wearer may ask one yes/no question concerning an immediate course of action. Keeper rolls INT ×5: success = truthful omen; failure = ambiguous omen; fumble = false omen. Sanity cost 1/1D4.
  • Pain Exchange — By suffering 1D4 HP loss, the wearer may instantly heal an equal amount on a willing target within 10 yds.
• Drawbacks: Each activation requires a Hard CON roll to resist fainting. A failed roll imposes a −10% penalty to all skill checks for one hour. Prolonged use (three activations in 24 hrs) costs 1D6 Sanity as intrusive visions of cosmic suffering flood the mind.

Blades in the Dark — Fine Zodiac Ring

• Load: 0 (counts as an Arcane Implement)
• Attunement: whisper or character with at least one dot in Attune.
• Qualities: fine, arcane, empathic
• Special:
  • Empathic Pulse — When someone within Near range takes harm, the Ring bearer gains potency on actions to anticipate or reduce the next danger.
  • Agony Augury — Spend 1 stress and roll Attune; on 4/5 gain limited info, on 6 clear info, on crit vivid prophetic detail (+1d ongoing to related actions); on 1-3 the GM marks a psychic harm level equal to the user’s trauma-threshold −1.
  • Pain Exchange — Spend 2 stress to transfer up to level-2 harm from an ally to yourself (it becomes level-1 “Stinging Thorns”).
• Downside: While carried, tormenting echoes impose −1d to Resistance rolls versus fear when any crewmate is wounded during the score.

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition — Astrology 742 of Agony

• Wondrous Item (ring), common, requires attunement
• While wearing this ring you have three charges. It regains all charges daily at 1 a.m. (the Ox Hour).
• Passives
  • Zodiac Sight — After speaking with a creature for one minute you know its Chinese zodiac sign and element; you have advantage on Charisma (Insight) checks made to read that creature’s emotional pain.
  • Empathic Pulse — When a creature within 30 ft takes damage, you feel a harmless constriction.
• Actives
  • Agony Augury (1 charge) — As an action you take 1 psychic damage and receive a yes/no omen about a specific course of action within the next 30 minutes (75 % accuracy, determined by the DM).
  • Pain Exchange (1 charge) — As a bonus action choose a willing creature within 30 ft. Transfer up to 2 hit points of damage from it to yourself (this damage ignores reductions). Both of you have advantage on Constitution saving throws against ongoing pain for 1 minute.
  • Curse-Risk: Each time you expend the last charge, roll a d20; on a 1, you gain one level of exhaustion from searing empathic feedback.

Knave 2nd Edition — Bronze Ring of Suffering (Inventory Slots 1)

• Rarity: Common relic
• Activation: Prick the fingertip for 1 damage; the ring functions for 10 minutes.
• Abilities
  • Zodiac Glimpse — Learn an NPC’s birth animal; gain advantage on one social check against them during the duration.
  • Pain Sense — You instantly detect the direction of fresh harm within 30 ft.
  • Agony Counsel — Once per dawn you may ask a yes/no question about an immediate plan; the referee answers truthfully on a 1–3 (d6), evasively on 4–5, falsely on 6.
  • Share the Hurt — You may transfer up to 2 HP of recent damage from an ally within 30 ft to yourself (no save).
• Complication: Each dawn roll a WIL save; on failure you suffer one day of melancholic gloom (disadvantage on persuasion).

Fate Core — Zodiac Thorn Band

• Item Type: Extra (counts as one refresh unless acquired through a major milestone)
• Core Aspect: “Bronze Ring Where Pain Turns the Heavens”
• Stunts
  • Empathic Pulse — When any character in your zone takes physical stress, you may immediately spend 1 Fate Point to add +2 to your next action that protects or aids them.
  • Agony Augury — Once per scene you may suffer 1 physical stress to ask the GM a yes/no question about a course of action you will attempt in the next few minutes; the answer is truthful but often cryptic.
  • Pain Exchange — By accepting a Mild Consequence labeled “Thorn-Bitten,” you can erase one Mild Consequence or up to two stress boxes from a willing ally in your zone.
• Compel: Any time you refuse to act on knowledge gained from Agony Augury, the GM may offer a Fate Point to have the ring tighten, imposing a -2 on your next roll.

Numenera / Cypher System — Ring of Agonized Stars

• Level: 4 (d6) Form: bronze ring set with twelve onyx studs Depletion: 1 in 1d10
• Activation Cost: 1 Intellect point plus 1 Might damage as the thorns press
• Abilities
  • Zodiac Sight — For one hour you know any creature’s zodiac sign after one minute of conversation; gain an asset to all interaction tasks that play on shared hardship.
  • Agony Augury — Ask the GM a yes/no question about an action the party will attempt within the next ten minutes. On a roll of 17–20 the guidance is precise; on 1–4 the answer is misleading.
  • Pain Exchange — Transfer up to 2 points of Speed, Might, or Intellect damage from a willing creature within immediate range to yourself (ignores armor). Both of you gain an asset to resisting pain for one minute.
• GM Intrusion: A sudden flood of nearby suffering overwhelms the wearer, inflicting 2 Intellect damage and confusing zodiac visions for one round.

Pathfinder Second Edition — Astrology 742 of Agony

• Item 2 Price 30 gp Bulk — Usage worn, on finger
• Traits: common, divination, emotion, invested, magical
• Automatic Effect: While invested you feel a harmless pinch whenever a creature within 30 feet takes damage.
• Activation Agony Augury [one-action] (manipulate, fortune) Frequency once per hour Effect You deal 1 mental damage to yourself and ask one yes/no question concerning events within the next 30 minutes. The GM rolls 1d20: 1–5 false omen, 6–20 true omen.
• Activation Pain Exchange [reaction] (emotion, healing) Trigger A willing creature within 30 feet would take damage. Effect Reduce that damage by 2 and you take 2 damage of the same type. Both you and the target gain a +1 status bonus to Fortitude saves against persistent pain for 1 minute.
• Curse Risk: The first time you use both activations in the same day you must attempt a DC 17 Will save; on a failure you become sickened 1.

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition — Zodiac Agony Ring

• Category: Magical Gear (Arcane Device) Requirements: Attuned (10-minute ritual)
• Powers
  • Empathic Pulse Edge-like effect: grants Alertness (+2 Notice) against incoming attacks until the start of your next turn whenever someone within 6″ suffers a Wound.
  • Agony Augury Casting: Divination (limited to yes/no) PP Cost 2 plus self-inflicted Fatigue level that recovers after one hour; succeeds on Spellcasting roll, failure causes a level of Fatigue instead of the answer.
  • Pain Exchange Casting: Healing (variant) PP Cost 1 Action: transfer one Wound or Fatigue from a willing adjacent ally to yourself (it becomes a level lower for you).
• Power Points: 5 Recharge: natural as Arcane Background or with a one-hour Ox-Hour meditation.
• Hindrance: While wearing the ring gain the Quirk (Brooding Empath) Minor; in addition, any time you roll a Critical Failure on a ring-related power the GM may impose the Vigor roll for Bleeding Out even if you received no actual Wound.

Shadowrun Sixth World — Ring of Painful Portents

• Category: Qi Focus (Rating 2) Legality F Availability 10 Cost 10,000¥ × Rating (20,000¥)
• Binding Cost: 4 Karma
• Activation: Minor Action; the adept suffers 1 box Stun damage as the hematite barbs tighten
• Functions
  • Empathic Pulse — While the focus is active the wearer gains +2 dice to Assensing tests made to read auras that currently reflect Physical or Stun damage.
  • Agony Augury — Once per hour the wearer may spend one Edge and suffer an additional box of Stun to ask the gamemaster a single yes/no question concerning events occurring within the next Combat Turn. Accuracy equals (Rating × 10) %, rounded up; on failure the answer is reversed.
  • Pain Exchange — Simple Action; transfer 1 box of unresisted Physical damage from a willing target within Charisma meters to the wearer. Both characters gain a +2 bonus to Willpower + Logic tests to resist Fear until end of Scene.
• Focus Flaw: If the wearer acts against a truthful omen in the same Scene, the ring unleashes a burst of empathic feedback causing 2 DV Stun damage, resisted by Willpower + Body as usual.

Starfinder — Ring of Zodiacal Agony

• Item Level 2 Price 1,500 cr Bulk — Slot Ring
• Activation: Standard action to activate; usage 1 Resolve Point; capacity n/a; three uses per day, recharges at dawn
• Passive: Empathic Pulse grants the wearer a +2 circumstance bonus to Sense Motive against any creature that took Hit Point damage within 30 ft in the previous round.
• Agony Augury: When activated the wearer willingly takes 2 Hit Points of damage to cast augury as the spell, limited to a yes/no answer about actions within the next 30 minutes (75 % accuracy).
• Pain Exchange: As a reaction while the ring is active the wearer may shift 2 Hit Points of damage from a willing ally within 30 ft to themselves; both gain a +1 morale bonus to Fortitude saves against ongoing pain effects for 1 minute.
• Drawback: Each subsequent activation on the same day after the second imposes the shaken condition on the wearer for 10 minutes.

Traveller (Mongoose 2e) — Zodiac Thorn Circlet

• Tech Level — Artifact Mass Negligible Cost Untradeable
• Activation: As a minor action the user loses 1 point of temporary END (recovered after one hour).
• Benefits
  • Empathic Pulse — For ten minutes the user gains DM +1 on Recon or Sensors checks to detect imminent danger generated by beings that have taken any damage in the last minute.
  • Pain Augury — Once per day the user may ask the Referee a yes/no question about a declared course of action that will occur within the next ten minutes. The Referee secretly rolls 8+ on 2D: success truthful, failure uncertain, Effect –4 or less provides false guidance.
  • Suffering Share — Reaction: shift up to 2 characteristic damage (any type) from an adjacent willing ally to the user. Both gain DM +1 on END checks against pain for one hour.
• Risk: Each full day in which the ring’s augury is used more than once forces a Difficult (10+) END check; failure inflicts one level of the Injured condition from empathic backlash.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Fourth Edition — Ring of Agonised Portents

• Type: Magical Ring Enc 0 Rarity Rare Traits: Arcane, Divination, Omen, Pain
• Passives
  • Empathic Pulse: Whenever any creature within 6 yds suffers a Wound the wearer gains +10 to Perception tests to detect further threats that Round.
• Active Talents
  • Agony Augury — Once per hour the wearer may suffer 1 Wound ignoring Toughness to consult the ring; make an Average (+20) Intuition Test. Success grants the GM-provided answer Yes or No about events in the next 30 minutes. A Fumble provides the opposite answer.
  • Pain Exchange — Reaction; after an ally within 6 yds takes Wounds the wearer may suffer up to 2 of those Wounds instead. Both gain +1 Advantage against Fear and Terror for the next five minutes.
• Corruption: Each day the ring is activated twice or more the wearer must succeed at a Hard (-20) Cool Test or gain 1 Corruption point from unfiltered mortal anguish.