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Steam Wardens Repulsor 902

—

by

Dale
in

From: Lineage 813 of the Tide Forged Scholarchs

This is a defensive weapon designed for the Nga-Tara physique, specifically for a scholar who wishes to create distance rather than engage in close combat. It is a heavy, reinforced bronze bracer worn on the end of the trunk, connected by a flexible, armored hose to a small steam boiler on a belt harness. By using a mental command or a specific gesture, the wearer can vent the boiler’s pressure in a single, concussive blast. The trunk-mounted repulsor deals minimal damage but is excellent for pushing a single foe backward, allowing the user to reposition or escape a dangerous situation. It is a weapon of last resort, meant for control and survival, not aggression.

Lore

The Steam-Warden’s Repulsor is not a traditional weapon, but a piece of custom-built survival equipment, born from Lyra-Vael’s own ingenuity and a near-fatal encounter. While exploring a sealed tomb, she was cornered by an ancient, mindless golem, her escape cut off. She only survived by destabilizing the tunnel’s ceiling, a desperate act that nearly buried her. Shaken by her physical powerlessness, she decided she needed a tool of control, a “weapon for a scholar who does not wish to kill.”

She based her design on the non-lethal, crowd-control repulsors used by the City Guard of Dreamtide, who use massive, shield-mounted versions to manage unruly crowds on the city’s narrow docks and high catwalks. Lyra-Vael, a master of micro-steamcraft, spent months miniaturizing the principles, creating a personal-defense version. The bracer is her own unique prototype, an unlicensed, civilian adaptation of a piece of law-enforcement technology. The name “Steam-Warden” is a wry, private nod to its origins. The trigger mechanism is a series of pressure plates within the leather straps, allowing her to fire it with a specific, practiced clench of her trunk muscles, a somatic command only she knows.

Item Values

  • Tier One Stats:
    • Weapon Type: Ranged Attack (Steam)
    • Damage: 1d4 bludgeoning damage.
    • Range: A single target within a 15-foot cone.
    • Properties: On a successful hit, the target must make a DC 13 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the target is pushed 10 feet directly away from the user and is knocked prone. On a successful save, the target is pushed only 5 feet and is not knocked prone.
  • Skills Gained:
    • Applied Engineering: The construction and maintenance of this device grants the user an intuitive understanding of steam-powered mechanisms. The user gains proficiency with Tinker’s Tools. If the user is already proficient, they gain advantage on checks made to repair or modify steam-powered devices.
  • Passive Abilities:
    • Bracer Block: The bracer is heavy and reinforced with bronze. When not holding anything else in their trunk, the wearer can use it as a shield. The wearer gains a +1 bonus to their Armor Class against one melee attack per round that they can see.
    • Rapid Recharge: The alchemical boiler is designed for quick reuse. After being fired, it automatically begins to repressurize. It takes one full round to do so, during which the device cannot be fired.
    • Safety Valve: The device is designed to fail safely. If the bracer takes a critical hit or is severely damaged, the boiler automatically vents all pressure harmlessly in a loud, dramatic plume of steam, rendering the device unusable until it is repaired.
  • Activatable Abilities:
    • Repulsor Blast: As an Action, the user can fire a concussive blast of high-pressure steam. This is a ranged attack roll using the user’s Dexterity modifier. The boiler holds enough alchemically treated water for a number of shots equal to the user’s proficiency bonus. All charges are regained after a long rest.
    • Utility Jet: As an Action, the user can vent the steam in a controlled, non-concussive jet. This can be used to clear away loose sand or debris from an archaeological find, trigger a small pressure plate from a distance, or extinguish a non-magical fire the size of a campfire. This utility use does not expend a charge.
  • Specific Slot:
    • Trunk Bracer (This item occupies the unique trunk slot of a Nga-Tara).
  • Tags:
    • Nga-Tara, Trunk Bracer, Steamcraft, Weapon, Non-Lethal, Crowd-Control, Defensive, Ranged-Attack, Self-Made, Artificer, Pushback, Knockdown, Concussive, Disengage-Tool, Mechanical, Prototype, Bronze, Dreamtide-Design, Rare

As a custom-built prototype based on restricted law-enforcement technology, the Steam-Warden’s Repulsor 902 cannot be bought in any standard shop. Its acquisition or sale would be a complex affair, handled through specialized commissions or in the legal grey areas of the world’s industrial hubs.

The Specialist Artificer’s Workshop

  • Type of Shop: This is the most legitimate way to acquire a similar device. It would be a high-end, bespoke engineering workshop, like “The Brass Piston Garage” in Ironheart Reach or a guild-certified steamfitter in Dreamtide. These artisans specialize in custom steamcraft and take on unique, well-paying projects.
  • How it’s Bought/Sold: You would commission the item. Since the design is based on City Guard technology, the artisan would be cautious. A client would need to provide Lyra-Vael’s detailed schematics or work with the artisan to design a similar, legally distinct device from scratch (which would be more expensive). The artisan would likely register the final product as a “High-Pressure Debris Clearing Tool” or a “Mining Implement” on official paperwork to avoid trouble with the authorities.
  • Estimated Cost: 800 Gold Pieces (GP). The high price reflects the custom nature of the work, the master artisan’s time, and the legal risk they are taking on by building an unlicensed, weapon-like device.

The Grey Market Arms Dealer

  • Type of Shop: This is where the original prototype or a stolen City Guard model would be sold. These are not open storefronts but illicit businesses run out of the back rooms of taverns or unregulated workshops in the industrial slums, known by names like “The Boiler Room.” They deal in unlicensed weapons, experimental tech, and stolen goods.
  • How it’s Bought/Sold: All transactions are discreet and based on reputation. To sell the original prototype, the owner would need a contact to arrange a meeting. The dealer would offer a low price, knowing its target market (a Nga-Tara scholar who wants a non-lethal weapon) is incredibly small. To buy, a customer would need to navigate the criminal underworld. The dealer would market the item as a “discreet defensive implement,” emphasizing its non-lethal nature as a benefit for clients who don’t want to attract murder investigations.
  • Estimated Cost: Prices are dictated by risk and rarity.
    • To Sell (the original prototype): A dealer would likely offer only 300 GP, citing the difficulty of finding a buyer.
    • To Buy (the original prototype): The dealer would ask for 1,200 GP, marketing it as a one-of-a-kind “scholar’s defensive device.”
    • To Buy (a stolen City Guard model): A larger, clumsier, shield-mounted version might be available for around 500 GP, “no questions asked.”

The Inventor’s Exchange / Guild Board

  • Type of Venue: This is not a shop but a professional forum, such as a notice board in a major Adventurer’s Guild or an Artificer’s Guildhall. This is where one would go to acquire the design, not the item itself.
  • How it’s Bought/Sold: The owner of the design (Lyra-Vael) could post a notice, offering to trade the schematics for her unique device. This would attract other inventors, wealthy patrons, or adventurers in need of a non-lethal solution. The transaction would be a direct peer-to-peer trade, not a retail sale. The exchange could be for coin, a different set of rare blueprints, a unique material component, or a service (like an armed escort to a dangerous ruin).
  • Estimated Cost: This is a negotiated trade for the intellectual property. The monetary value of the schematics would be around 400 GP, but they would more likely be traded for an item or service of equivalent worth.

The Steam-Warden’s Repulsor 902 is a tool of control and survival, not of destruction. Its roleplay in any conflict is that of a thinking person’s weapon, used to manipulate the battlefield, disable opponents without killing them, and turn the environment itself into an advantage. Its offense is about creating opportunities, not ending lives.

Environment 1: A Narrow Ruin Corridor

In the tight, claustrophobic confines of a dungeon or ruin, the repulsor is a peerless tool for controlling space and dictating the terms of engagement.

Defensive Roleplay

An armored golem or a large, mindless beast charges you down a 10-foot-wide hallway. There is no room to dodge and its momentum is terrifying.

  • Roleplay: You would describe planting your feet and leveling your trunk like a battering ram, bracing for impact. As the creature enters your 15-foot range, you narrate the distinct, sharp KA-CHUNK-WHOOSH of the repulsor firing. The Repulsor Blast is not an attack that harms the creature, but a solid wall of force that slams into its chest. The creature’s forward charge is completely halted, and it is violently thrown backward 10 feet, landing in a heap. Your defense was to create breathing room, turning the narrow hallway from a death trap into a defensible chokepoint for your allies to exploit.

Offensive Roleplay

An enemy spellcaster is taking cover behind a hulking warrior at the end of the corridor, preparing a powerful spell.

  • Roleplay: You see that the real threat is the caster. You aim the repulsor over the warrior’s shoulder and fire. The blast of steam slams into the spellcaster, dealing minimal damage but, more importantly, knocking them prone. You would shout to your allies, “Caster is down! Their concentration is broken!” Your offense wasn’t about damage, but about using the repulsor’s unique properties to interrupt a spell and leave the high-priority target vulnerable, their defensive position completely compromised.

Environment 2: A Rickety Bridge or High Ledge

When fighting in a precarious location, the repulsor’s ability to move opponents becomes its most devastating feature.

Defensive Roleplay

An agile foe is pressing an attack on a swaying rope bridge, their blade weaving past your defenses.

  • Roleplay: As your enemy lunges with a final, decisive strike, you narrate using the heavy, reinforced bronze of the Bracer Block to make a desperate parry. The clang of steel on bronze echoes over the chasm. The passive +1 AC bonus is roleplayed as you turning a utility device into a makeshift shield, a last-ditch deflection that turns a killing blow into a glancing one and creates a split-second opening.

Offensive Roleplay

With your foe momentarily off-balance from your parry, you see your only chance.

  • Roleplay: You don’t aim for a vital organ; you aim for their center of mass. You fire the Repulsor Blast. The roar of the steam is deafening. The minor damage is irrelevant; the force of the blast on the unstable footing is all that matters. The enemy fails their Strength save. You narrate them being physically lifted off their feet and thrown backward, not just 10 feet, but over the side of the bridge. They vanish into the chasm with a final scream. Your offense was using the push effect to turn the environment itself into a lethal weapon.

Environment 3: A Crowded Marketplace Brawl

In a chaotic social setting where lethal force would bring the wrath of the City Guard and endanger innocents, the repulsor is a perfect tool for non-lethal intervention.

Defensive Roleplay

A bar fight erupts, and a massive brawler is about to smash a chair over your oblivious friend’s back.

  • Roleplay: You shove through the crowd, knowing a spell or a blade would cause panic and harm bystanders. Just as the brawler raises the chair, you fire the Repulsor Blast at his chest. You describe the chair flying from his hands and shattering against the ceiling as he is thrown backward, landing in a heap on an empty table—stunned, winded, and out of the fight, but alive and with no collateral damage. Your defense was a clean, non-lethal intervention that protected your ally and prevented the situation from escalating.

Offensive Roleplay

You need to stop a nimble pickpocket who is escaping through the panicked crowd. You can’t get a clear shot, and don’t want to hurt them.

  • Roleplay: Instead of targeting the thief directly, you aim at a nearby fruit vendor’s cart. You activate the Utility Jet. You describe the focused, non-concussive blast of steam hitting the cart’s wheel, causing it to spin and tip over, spilling apples and melons all over the street directly in the thief’s path. The thief slips on the fruit and tumbles to the ground, allowing the City Guard to apprehend them. Your “offense” was a creative, non-lethal application of the tool, manipulating the environment to achieve an objective without causing any direct harm.

Perception of Activation:

This describes the sensory experience when the Steam-Warden’s Repulsor 902‘s primary ability, Repulsor Blast, is fired. The perception is one of raw, mechanical force, not subtle magic.

User’s Perspective (Lyra-Vael)

  • Sight: Your view is momentarily obscured by a massive, violent cloud of white steam erupting from your trunk. The air in front of you visibly distorts and shimmers for a split second from the sheer pressure wave.
  • Sound: The activation is a deafening, concussive KA-WHOOMPH. It is a deep, guttural, and purely mechanical sound, like a cannon firing directly in front of your face. It is immediately followed by the loud hiss of dissipating steam and a satisfying click-clank from the boiler on your belt as the valve mechanism resets.
  • Touch & Feeling: A powerful, jarring recoil shoves your entire upper body backward. It is a purely physical kick, not a magical push. You feel the heavy bronze bracer vibrate intensely for a moment, and a wave of intense, humid heat washes over your trunk and face.
  • Extra-Sensory (Mind’s Eye): Your Mind’s Eye registers the status change on your equipment: [Repulsor Charge Expended: 1] and [Boiler Status: Repressurizing – 1 Round]. You perceive no magical energy leaving your body.
  • Extra-Sensory (Kinetic Sense): You feel the immense pressure wave leaving the device, a tangible force that feels solid for a split second before it travels outward, completely separate from your own physical or magical energy.

Observer’s Perspective

  • Sight: A huge, instantaneous cloud of white steam explodes from the end of the Nga-Tara’s trunk with incredible force. The air visibly ripples in a concussive shell around the blast. Any creature or object struck is thrown backward violently as if hit by an invisible battering ram. The flexible hose connecting the bracer to the belt harness visibly tenses and bucks from the sudden pressure release.
  • Sound: A shockingly loud, deep BOOM echoes through the environment, a sound more akin to an industrial accident or a boiler explosion than a spell. This is followed by a loud hissing and the distinct metallic clanking of a mechanism resetting itself.
  • Touch & Feeling: Observers standing nearby are hit with a powerful shockwave of displaced air and a blast of hot, humid steam. The force is strong enough to make them stagger, and the moist heat is palpable.
  • Extra-Sensory (Magical): This is the most crucial perception for an observer. A magically-attuned person would perceive a massive release of kinetic energy, but with zero magical signature. It would be deeply confusing. To see a spell-like effect of pure force with no accompanying magical aura would be a clear sign of extremely advanced, non-magical technology.
  • Extra-Sensory (Mind’s Eye): An observer using their Mind’s Eye on the user would see no mana being expended, no spell being woven, and no magical energy being released. Their Mind’s Eye would simply register the activation of a complex piece of machinery, perhaps with a tag like [Device: Steam-Powered Kinetic Projector].

Positives

  • Non-Lethal Control: Its primary benefit is providing powerful, non-lethal crowd control. It can end a fight, create an escape route, or disable an opponent without causing fatalities, which is ideal for a scholar and for avoiding the legal and moral complications of killing.
  • Bypasses Magical Defenses: In a high-magic world, many powerful opponents have defenses against magic (counterspells, wards, resistance). A purely physical, technological attack completely circumvents these magical defenses, making it a surprising and effective trump card.
  • Environmental Impact: The concussive blast is effective against more than just creatures. It can blast open a stuck wooden door, clear a path through a dense thicket of thorns, or create a significant auditory and visual distraction.

Negatives

  • Extremely Loud and Conspicuous: The activation is deafeningly loud and visually dramatic. It is impossible to use stealthily and will attract the immediate attention of everyone in the vicinity, friend and foe alike, like firing a cannon indoors.
  • Tactical Delay: The one-round delay while the boiler repressurizes is a significant tactical drawback. In a fast-paced fight, being unable to fire again immediately can be a dangerous, if not fatal, limitation.
  • Purely Physical: As a non-magical item, its blast cannot harm incorporeal or ethereal creatures (like ghosts or spirits) that are only vulnerable to magic.
  • Potential for Collateral Damage: While non-lethal to the primary target, the powerful, unfocused blast can easily knock over shelves, shatter glassware, and send unsecured objects—and nearby people—flying, making it risky to use in a cluttered or delicate environment.

Artificer’s Schematic: Personal Kinetic Repulsor

This schematic details the construction of a non-magical, trunk-mounted repulsor device. It is a complex piece of micro-steamcraft engineering, requiring a skilled steamfitter and armorer. The design is a miniaturized adaptation of restricted City Guard crowd-control technology.

Materials Needed

  • Metal Components:
    • 15 lbs. of Reinforced Bronze Ingots (for the bracer and nozzle).
    • 2 lbs. of Hardened Steel (for the internal piston and valve assembly).
  • Core Mechanism:
    • One Miniature High-Pressure Boiler Core.
    • A length of Armored, Flexible Steam-Hose.
  • Structural Components:
    • A roll of Hardened Leather Strips (for straps and padding).
    • A set of High-Tensile Steel Buckles and Fittings.
  • Miscellaneous: A vial of alchemical sealing resin, high-pressure gaskets, a pouch of assorted brass screws (estimated cost of 60 GP).

Tools Required

  • Masterwork Smith’s Forge & Tools: Required for forging the heavy bronze bracer.
  • Masterwork Tinker’s Tools: Essential for the assembly of the delicate internal mechanism and boiler.
  • Steam-Fitter’s Kit: A specialized set of tools including pressure gauges, pipe cutters, and valve calibrators.
  • Artificer’s Magnifying Goggles: For working with the small, precise components of the valve system.

Skill Requirements

  • Craftsmanship: The crafter must have proficiency with both Smith’s Tools and Tinker’s Tools.
  • Specialized Knowledge: The crafter must have a professional understanding of Steam-Pressure Systems. No magical skill is necessary.
  • Experience: This is a complex and potentially dangerous build, requiring a crafter of at least Character Tier 3 or higher.

Crafting Steps

The construction of the Repulsor is a demanding engineering project that requires a minimum of three weeks of dedicated work in a fully equipped workshop.

  1. Step 1: Forging the Bracer (7 days): The artisan forges the reinforced bronze ingots into the heavy, bell-shaped bracer and nozzle. This is heavy armor work, requiring strength and precision to create a housing that can withstand immense internal pressure without warping or rupturing.
  2. Step 2: Constructing the Boiler and Harness (4 days): The Miniature High-Pressure Boiler Core is fitted into a protective casing and attached to a belt harness made from the hardened leather. This involves ensuring all safety valves and pressure gauges are correctly installed.
  3. Step 3: Machining the Piston Assembly (6 days): This is the most precise and delicate step. The hardened steel must be machined into a perfectly sealed piston and a rapid-release valve mechanism. The tolerances are microscopic; any flaw will result in a dangerous pressure leak. A Difficult Tinker’s Tools check (DC 20) is required to create a functional, non-leaking assembly.
  4. Step 4: Final Assembly and Integration (3 days): The piston assembly is installed within the bronze bracer. The armored steam-hose is connected from the boiler harness to the bracer’s intake valve. The trigger mechanism, a series of pressure plates, is integrated into the leather lining of the bracer.
  5. Step 5: The Pressure Test (1 day): The device is fueled and brought to full pressure for the first time. The artisan must use the Steam-Fitter’s Kit to perform a final calibration, ensuring the blast is concussive but not lethal and that the device can safely recharge. This final step requires a Very Difficult Tinker’s Tools check (DC 22).
    • On a success, the Repulsor is created and functions as intended.
    • On a failure, there is a flaw in the valve system. The device can only use its “Utility Jet” function and cannot build enough pressure for a concussive blast. It must be disassembled (requiring another 3 days of work) to attempt the check again.
    • On a critical failure (a natural 1), the boiler over-pressurizes during the test and explodes, destroying the device and dealing moderate damage to the workshop and the artisan.

Scribe’s Word-Stick and Tyrant’s Last Order

This telling is of Scribe Kael, him who wrote the words of the Tyrant-King. The King’s heart-organ was a cold, hard stone, and his words were sharp knives. Kael was the King’s hand. Kael’s hand wrote the King’s dark thoughts on the skin of scrolls. He wrote the laws that stole the people’s bread, and he wrote the orders that sent good men to the final sleep.

Kael lived in a house of fear. He was the fourth scribe of the Tyrant-King. The three scribes before him, their stories did end in the middle of a sentence. When a scribe knew too many of the King’s secrets, the King would write the scribe’s last page himself. Kael knew his own last-day was coming, walking toward him on slow, quiet feet.

A scribe cannot have a sword. A scribe’s only tool is his word-stick. So in the secret hours, when the moon-eye was closed, Kael did make a new word-stick. From the deep earth, he took a stone-of-no-sound, an obsidian that drank all noise and gave back only silence. He carved the body of the stylus from it. From the highest sky-mountain, he took a lightning-stone, a crystal that remembered the storm’s first flash. This he made the tip. With silver-thread, pulled from the earth by a sad song, he bound his will to the tool.

He did not forge it with fire. He forged it with sound. For many nights, he sang the shaping-songs to the word-stick, quiet hums that told the lightning-stone how to hold a single, terrible note. He gave his word-stick a secret voice.

The day of black-sun came. The King was full of rage-thoughts. He did speak his worst words yet. “The House of the Sun-Lily, they think traitor-thoughts. Write the order. Every one of them, from the old man to the new baby, must be given to the final sleep before the next sun-rising.”

Kael’s hand did shake, but it wrote the death-order. The King smiled then, a smile with too many teeth. “Your writing is done, Kael. Your service is complete. The guards have a new, quiet room for you in the book of the dead.”

The tall guards did come into the room, their blades hungry for his life-spark. Kael stood up. In his hand was only his word-stick.

The first guard did laugh. “Does the little scribe fight with his pen?” he did say, and he reached to grab Kael’s shoulder.

Kael’s fear was a great river, and it broke its banks. He did what he had practiced in his mind-box a thousand times. He held his word-stick not like a pen, but like a dagger. He made one quick push.

The guard did not even move to block it. It was a toy to him. The tip of the lightning-stone did touch the guard’s leather chest-skin. In his head, Kael thought one final, desperate word: ‘End.’

The word-stick did speak. Not with ink, but with a great sound-shout, like the sky-gods themselves were angry. A flash of white-fire did explode from the tip. The sound was not a sound, but a solid thing that hit the room. The guard who was touched did fall down, his eyes wide and his ears bleeding, his life-spark frightened from his body. The other guards were thrown back by the sound-shout, their hands to their ears, their eyes full of the white-fire’s ghost.

In the ringing silence, Kael did run. He ran from the palace. He ran from his old life. He was a scribe no more. He was the man who wrote his own story’s end. The weapon was named for this moment: the Final Word.

The moral of the story is: Even the quietest pen can write a loud ending, when held by a hand that has nothing left to lose.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition

Stylus of the Sudden Retort

Weapon (dagger), uncommon (requires attunement)

This foot-long rod of polished obsidian is heavier than it looks and ends in a wickedly sharp crystal tip. While held passively, it is indistinguishable from a masterwork calligraphy tool.

  • Magic Weapon: You have a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.
  • Concealed Nature: You have advantage on Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) checks made to conceal the stylus.
  • Resonant Burst: When you hit a creature with an attack using this stylus, you can choose to activate its stored power. The attack deals an extra 2d6 thunder damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be deafened for 1 minute. Once this property is used, it can’t be used again until the next dawn.

Blades in the Dark

The Scribe’s Final Word

A heavy, perfectly balanced obsidian stylus with a crystal tip. It feels cold and carries a strange, silent hum. It is a masterpiece of occult engineering, a weapon hidden in plain sight. (0 Load)

This is a Fine dagger with the following special properties:

  • Perfectly Concealed: It is not considered a weapon and does not use a weapon slot on your character sheet unless drawn for a fight. It will not be found by a standard pat-down or search.
  • Concussive Burst: When you would roll your action to Skirmish or Hunt with this weapon, you can choose to unleash its stored energy. You don’t roll; your action is automatically a critical success (you achieve your goal with increased effect). Describe how the stylus unleashes a deafening crack of thunder upon impact, sending your foe reeling. After you use this ability, the stylus’s energy is spent, and it is just a normal fine dagger until you have downtime to repair and recharge its delicate internal mechanism with a Tinker or Attune action.

Call of Cthulhu, 7th Edition

The Stylus of Unspeakable Resonance

A heavy rod of non-reflective obsidian that seems to absorb the light. The crystalline tip is cut with impossible angles. It feels strangely silent, as if it is actively dampening the sound around it. The first time an Investigator understands its true purpose, it costs 0/1d2 Sanity.

  • Weapon Stats: As a Knife, deals 1d4+1 damage.
  • Disguise: The stylus is perfectly disguised. It requires a Hard (-20%) Spot Hidden or a successful Cthulhu Mythos roll to be identified as a weapon.
  • Unspeakable Resonance: Once per day, the wielder may choose to unleash the stylus’s power upon a successful hit. The target takes an additional 1d10 damage and must make a Hard (-20%) CON roll or be deafened for 1d6 rounds. The wielder, unprepared for the non-Euclidean sound it produces which tears at the fabric of sanity, must make a Sanity roll (1/1d4). Using this power reveals the item’s Mythos nature and grants the user +2 Cthulhu Mythos.

Knave, 2nd Edition

Obsidian Sound-Spike

A heavy, perfectly balanced obsidian rod with a crystal tip. It appears to be a very expensive writing stylus.

  • Slots: Takes up 1 inventory slot.
  • Qualities:
    • Weapon: A one-handed weapon that uses the statistics of a dagger (d6 damage).
    • Concealed: It is not obviously a weapon and can be carried openly in most social situations.
  • Ability (Thunderclap):
    • The spike holds 1 charge. When you hit an enemy with the spike, you may choose to expend the charge. If you do, the attack deals an additional +2d6 damage, and the target must make a Constitution save or be deafened for 1 hour. The spike cannot be recharged; once the charge is used, this ability is lost forever, and it becomes a normal, non-magical dagger.

Fate Core

The Scribe’s Last Word

This item is an Extra that represents a disguised and magically charged weapon.

  • Aspect: More Than a Simple Pen. This can be invoked when you use the stylus to surprise an opponent or to create an advantage related to its disguise. It can be compelled if someone who knows what it is sees you carrying it, causing social complications.
  • Permission: The stylus grants the fictional permission to carry a weapon into places where they are normally forbidden (courtrooms, high-security meetings, etc.).
  • Weapon Rating: As a well-balanced, sharp object, it has Weapon: 1 (deals +1 shift of stress on a successful hit).
  • Stunt (The Final Word): Once per session, when you succeed with style on a Fight attack with this stylus, you can choose to unleash its resonant power. Instead of taking a boost, your attack automatically inflicts a moderate consequence on your opponent in addition to any other stress.

Numenera & Cypher System

The Resonant Stinger

This item is a cypher. It appears to be a heavy, polished obsidian rod with a crystal tip, cool to the touch.

  • Level: 1d6 + 2
  • Usable: A handheld melee weapon.
  • Effect: When this pointed rod strikes a target, it can be triggered to unleash a powerful concussive blast. The attack is a melee attack. If it hits, it deals damage equal to the cypher’s level, and the target is stunned, losing their next turn. After this single discharge, the rod’s internal structure shatters, and it becomes a simple, non-functional piece of obsidian.

Pathfinder, 2nd Edition

Scribe’s Retort – Item 3+

UNCOMMON | EVOCATION | MAGICAL | SONIC Price 60 GP Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L

This +1 striking dagger is masterfully disguised as an ornate obsidian and crystal stylus used for high-end calligraphy. A creature must succeed at a DC 18 Perception check to recognize it as a weapon when it is not being wielded.

  • Activate [Free-Action] (evocation, sonic)
    • Frequency once per day
    • Trigger You successfully Strike a creature with the Scribe’s Retort.
    • Effect You unleash the stylus’s stored sonic energy. The Strike deals an additional 2d6 sonic damage, and the target must attempt a DC 17 Fortitude save.
      • Critical Success The target is unaffected.
      • Success The target is deafened for 1 round.
      • Failure The target is deafened for 1 minute.
      • Critical Failure The target is deafened permanently.

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE)

The Final Word Stylus

A heavy obsidian stylus that functions as a surprisingly effective magical dagger, especially when used as a last resort.

  • Damage: Str+d4; AP: 1
  • Weight: 1
  • Notes:
    • Concealed: The stylus is not obviously a weapon. A successful Notice roll at -4 is required to identify it as such unless it is being wielded threateningly.
    • Magic Weapon: The stylus is a magic weapon.
    • Last Resort: Once per session, when the wielder makes a successful Fighting roll with the stylus, they can choose to activate its power before rolling damage. The attack deals an additional +2d6 damage, and the target is automatically Distracted and Vulnerable. After this, the stylus’s power is expended for the session.

Shadowrun, 6th Edition

Ares “Ex-Comm” Pen-Blade

Marketed to corporate executives and diplomats, the “Ex-Comm” is the ultimate last-resort defensive tool. It appears to be a high-end, antique obsidian stylus, but a twist of the silver grip deploys a monofilament-edged blade, and the tip contains a single, high-capacitance taser charge.

  • Type: Melee Weapon
  • Damage: (STR+2)P
  • AP: -3
  • Availability: 14R
  • Cost: 9,500 nuyen
  • Concealability: The stylus is expertly disguised. Checks to find it during a physical search suffer a -4 dice pool penalty.
  • Special Ability (Taser Charge): The stylus contains a single, powerful taser charge. Once, when you make a melee attack with this weapon, you may choose to discharge it on a successful hit. The attack deals 10S(e) damage with an AP of -5. After this one use, the stylus’s capacitor is fried, and it becomes a simple blade. Reloading it requires an Electronics test and an expensive, restricted capacitor.

Starfinder

Null-Space Stiletto

LEVEL 3; PRICE 1,400 credits CATEGORY Operative Melee Weapon DAMAGE 1d4 P; CRITICAL — BULK L; SPECIAL Analog, Conceal, Operative

This elegant obsidian rod appears to be an expensive, gravity-defying writing stylus used by corporate elites. With a silent click, a stiletto-thin blade of hardened crystal emerges from the tip.

  • Conceal: The weapon is designed to be hidden. The DC for Perception checks to find this weapon is increased by 4.
  • Resonant Burst: Once per day, when you successfully hit a target with this weapon, you can trigger a sonic burst from the hilt as a free action. The attack deals an additional 2d6 sonic damage, and the target must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC = 10 + half your character level + your Dexterity modifier) or be deafened for 1 minute.

Traveller, Mongoose 2nd Edition

TL-11 Diplomat’s Pen-Blade

A sleek, stylish writing implement common among high-ranking diplomats and corporate agents where weapons are forbidden. It is a status symbol and a deadly secret.

  • Tech Level: 11
  • Cost: Cr 7,500
  • Mass: 0.1 kg
  • Legality: Highly Illegal (10)
  • Weapon Stats: As a Blade (knife), it deals 1d6 damage with AP 2.
  • Special Abilities:
    • Concealment: The weapon is perfectly disguised as a luxury writing pen or stylus. It requires a Difficult (10+) Investigate check to identify as a weapon when sheathed.
    • Discharge Injector (One Use): The tip contains a one-use, high-voltage charge injector. On the first successful hit with the blade, the user can trigger it. The injector deals an additional 3d6 damage and forces the target to make a Difficult (10+) Endurance check or be stunned for 1d6 rounds, unable to act. The injector cartridge is expended and must be replaced at a high-tech facility.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, 4th Edition

The Scribe’s Retort

What appears to be a heavy obsidian stylus used by a master scribe or scholar is, in fact, a cleverly disguised stiletto. A subtle twist of the silver grip allows a needle-thin blade to telescope from the tip, its point coated with a fast-acting paralytic.

  • Type: Dagger
  • Encumbrance: 0
  • Qualities: Concealed, Fast, Precise, Unreliable
  • Abilities:
    • Concealed: This item is perfectly disguised as an expensive writing tool. Any Perception Test to find it on your person, even during a thorough search, suffers from a -30 penalty.
    • Venom-Tipped: The blade is coated with a single dose of potent alchemical paralytic. The first creature struck by the blade must make a Challenging (+0) Endurance Test. If they fail, they gain 3 Stunned Conditions.
    • Unreliable: The alchemical agent is volatile. If you roll a 96–100 on your attack roll (a Fumble), the venom becomes inert and is wasted, even if you still manage to hit your target.

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