Lore
• Crafted from the inner bark of moon-fed mulberry trees, this tapa cloth is beaten thin by shrine-keepers who specialize in calming restless spirits rather than banishing them violently.
• Each symbol is painted with mineral inks mixed with ash from burned prayer sticks once used in failed exorcisms, giving the cloth a quiet authority over lingering presences.
• It is traditionally wrapped or worn during negotiations with spirits, not as a weapon, but as a declaration that the wearer stands between worlds with intent and restraint.
• The cloth is believed to remember every spirit it has helped pass on, growing subtly warmer with each successful rite.
Item Details
• Rarity: Common
• Tier: 1
• Slot: Waist (Sash) or Shoulder (Drape)
• Weight: Negligible
• Durability: Low, but self-mending minor tears at dawn if no hostile spirit is bound to it
Skills Gained While Openly Worn
• +1 Exorcism-related checks involving calming, releasing, or negotiating with spirits
• +1 Insight when discerning emotional or spiritual unrest in possessed creatures or locations
Passive Magics
• Symbol of Gentle Authority: Nearby minor spirits instinctively recognize the cloth as a sign of ritual legitimacy; hostile spirit reactions are slightly delayed rather than immediate.
• Bark-Bound Memory: The wearer gains a faint intuitive sense when a spirit has unfinished business tied to the current location.
• Quiet Threshold: While worn, ambient spiritual noise is softened, reducing distraction from whispers, chills, or spectral flickers during roleplay scenes.
Activable Magics
• Sever the Knot (2/day): By touching the cloth to a possessed target, the wearer may weaken the bond between spirit and host, granting advantage to the next non-violent exorcism or release attempt.
• Symbol of Passage (1/day): The cloth’s markings glow dimly as a soft chant is spoken, allowing a willing spirit to detach peacefully and fade without backlash or lingering corruption.
• Whispered Rebuke (1/day): When confronted by a hostile incorporeal entity, the wearer may snap the cloth outward, forcing the spirit to recoil and become hesitant for a short duration.
Tags
Exorcism, Spiritual, Ritual, Symbolic, Cloth, Nonviolent, Calming, Spirit-Touched, Barkcloth, Ancestral, Handcrafted, Cultural, Sacred-Textile, Soft-Focus, Whisper-Bound, Moon-Inked, Shrine-Made, Threshold-Rite
How This Item Might Be Obtained
• Gift of Release: Granted by a spirit-keeper, shrine attendant, or village mediator after the avatar assists in resolving a non-violent possession, calming a haunted site, or escorting a willing spirit to departure.
• Rite Apprenticeship: Earned during a short period of service at a bark-shrine where the avatar helps prepare inks, chants, or symbolic layouts, culminating in being entrusted with a finished cloth.
• Ancestral Exchange: Passed from one caretaker to another when the former believes the avatar has shown restraint, respect for spirits, and emotional steadiness.
• Quiet Recovery: Found folded and wrapped in protective leaves within abandoned shrines, spirit houses, or threshold altars where previous keepers vanished or moved on.
• Cultural Commission: Created specifically for the avatar after elders interpret dreams, omens, or spiritual disturbances surrounding them.
Types of Shops, Where Found, and How Trade Works:
Spirit Mediation Houses
• Location: Temple districts, edge-of-town shrines, or crossroads between living quarters and burial grounds.
• Nature of Trade: Items are not openly displayed; purchases begin as conversations about intent, temperament, and past actions.
• Cost: 12–18 silver, often reduced if the buyer accepts a minor obligation such as returning with news of the cloth’s use or performing a future calming rite.
Ancestral Cloth Halls
• Location: Coastal cities, island capitals, and regions with strong bark-cloth traditions.
• Nature of Trade: Cloths hang like banners; symbolism is explained before sale to ensure cultural respect. Bargaining is expected but must remain polite.
• Cost: 15–22 silver, depending on symbol density and the reputation of the maker.
Shrine-Markets (Periodic, Not Permanent)
• Location: Appear during festivals, mourning weeks, or spirit-quieting seasons near sacred groves or old cemeteries.
• Nature of Trade: Items are traded alongside incense, ashes, ritual cords, and offerings. Sales may require a brief spoken vow.
• Cost: 10–14 silver, sometimes partially paid with services, prayers, or ritual materials instead of full coin.
Rural Spirit-Keepers’ Homes
• Location: Isolated villages, jungle edges, mountain paths, or river crossings known for hauntings.
• Nature of Trade: Highly personal; the cloth may be taken from a chest rather than stock. Refusal is possible if intent feels wrong.
• Cost: 8–12 silver, frequently paired with a request to resolve a local disturbance instead of additional payment.
Urban Curio Sanctums (Restricted Section)
• Location: Large cities with mixed populations and heavy spiritual traffic.
• Nature of Trade: Kept behind counters or in quiet rooms; buyers are warned the item is not decorative.
• Cost: 18–25 silver, reflecting convenience, city demand, and intermediary handling.
General Trade Notes
• Prices vary by region, recent spiritual unrest, and availability of bark-trees suitable for ritual cloth.
• These items are rarely sold in bulk and almost never exported far from their cultural regions without escort or explanation.
• Sellers may refuse a sale outright if the buyer intends violent exorcism or exploitation rather than release or mediation.
Roleplay Applications Across Environments: Defense and Offense
Urban Environments (Cities, Towns, Dense Settlements)
• Defense: The cloth is worn openly to signal spiritual legitimacy in crowded areas where violent exorcism would cause panic. Spirits bound to buildings, alleyways, or forgotten cellars hesitate to act openly, sensing witnesses and ritual authority. Possessed individuals are approached calmly, with the cloth used as a visible boundary that discourages escalation.
• Offense: Rather than direct harm, offense takes the form of social and spiritual pressure. Snapping or unfurling the cloth in narrow streets forces hostile entities to withdraw or expose themselves subtly, allowing guards, clergy, or mediators to intervene without bloodshed.
Rural Environments (Villages, Farmland, Open Roads)
• Defense: Hung over doorways, fences, or worn while walking boundaries, the cloth establishes a temporary warded presence. Wandering spirits are guided away from livestock, homes, and travelers. The wearer becomes a moving anchor of calm, reducing fear-driven reactions from both spirits and villagers.
• Offense: In open spaces, the cloth is used to confront spirits directly. Its symbols are displayed deliberately, creating a psychological and metaphysical challenge that weakens possessive claims and pressures entities to release hosts or retreat into the wild.
Wilderness Environments (Forests, Jungles, Mountains, Ruins)
• Defense: The cloth muffles spiritual noise in ancient or feral regions where layered hauntings overlap. It helps the wearer avoid attracting territorial entities by presenting as a neutral mediator rather than prey or invader. When resting, the cloth can be wrapped around trees or stones to establish a safe spiritual threshold.
• Offense: The wearer uses the cloth as a focal banner, drawing hostile spirits into controlled interactions. The act of grounding symbols against raw terrain disrupts predatory behaviors, forcing entities into negotiation or flight rather than ambush.
Underground and Enclosed Spaces (Caves, Catacombs, Tunnels)
• Defense: Folded tightly and worn close, the cloth absorbs oppressive spiritual pressure common in sealed spaces. It prevents lingering dead from swarming or overwhelming the senses, giving the wearer mental clarity while navigating confined passages.
• Offense: When unfurled suddenly in darkness, the symbols act as a spiritual flare. Hostile incorporeal beings recoil, their awareness briefly fragmented, allowing the wearer to press for release, separation, or retreat without direct confrontation.
Sacred or Desecrated Sites (Shrines, Battlefields, Mass Graves)
• Defense: In sacred locations, the cloth resonates with existing rites, reinforcing boundaries and protecting participants during ceremonies. In desecrated areas, it stabilizes emotional backlash, shielding the wearer from despair, rage, or grief-driven manifestations.
• Offense: The cloth becomes a tool of moral authority. Displaying it in such places asserts that the dead are seen and acknowledged, stripping hostile spirits of anonymity and weakening their grip on the site.
Maritime and Coastal Environments (Ships, Ports, Reefs)
• Defense: Worn or tied to rigging, the cloth calms restless spirits of drowned sailors or sea-creatures. It reduces poltergeist-like disturbances aboard vessels and protects sleeping crews from possession during long voyages.
• Offense: The cloth is snapped sharply in sea air, its symbols interacting with wind and spray. This startles or disperses aggressive water-bound entities, pushing them away from hulls, nets, or harbors without provoking lasting retaliation.
Social and Psychological Context
• Defense: The cloth reassures the living as much as it restrains the dead. Its presence communicates restraint, tradition, and care, preventing fear-driven violence and escalation.
• Offense: Offense is expressed through authority, exposure, and choice. Spirits are confronted with the option to release, withdraw, or be named and remembered—often the most potent pressure of all.
Perception of Activation:
User’s Perspective
• Sight: The tapa symbols slowly brighten from within, not glowing harshly but becoming clearer and deeper, as if ink is remembering its original meaning. Lines seem to subtly shift, aligning into more orderly patterns.
• Hearing: A low, almost-inaudible hum forms beneath ambient sound, like breath passing through cloth. Occasionally, a single whispered syllable can be sensed, though not clearly heard.
• Touch: The cloth feels warm and faintly alive, its fibers tightening slightly as if bracing against a current. The weight feels more grounded, anchoring the avatar in place.
• Smell: A dry, clean scent of bark, ash, and distant smoke emerges, similar to an old shrine after prayers have ended.
• Taste: A faint bitterness settles at the back of the tongue, reminiscent of herbal infusions used in calming rites.
Observer’s Perspective
• Sight: The symbols darken and lighten in slow pulses, casting shallow shadows that do not match the surrounding light. Fine motes of dust or mist drift toward the cloth and then dissipate.
• Hearing: Nearby sounds seem briefly muted, as if the space itself is listening. Speech and movement feel quieter without actually losing volume.
• Environmental Reaction: Flickering lights steady, drifting air stills, and restless movements—whether from spirits, animals, or people—hesitate for a moment.
Extra-Sensory Perceptions
• Spiritual Pressure: A noticeable easing of tension, like a tightly knotted cord being loosened one strand at a time.
• Emotional Resonance: A wash of calm layered with solemn resolve, not joy or relief, but acceptance.
• Intent Awareness: A brief, intuitive clarity about whether nearby spirits are willing, resistant, or confused.
• Threshold Sense: The avatar perceives a clear boundary forming between “held” and “released,” even if no spirit is immediately visible.
Positives
• Mental clarity increases, making it easier to focus on negotiation, ritual, or calm speech.
• Hostile spiritual influence feels slowed and less reactive, reducing sudden escalation.
• The avatar gains confidence in their authority without feeling aggressive or domineering.
• Nearby living beings often feel reassured, lowering fear-driven responses.
Negatives
• The emotional weight of unresolved spirits may briefly surface, causing heaviness or fatigue.
• Prolonged activation can make the avatar feel detached or distant from purely physical concerns.
• Sensitive avatars may experience lingering echoes of sorrow, regret, or longing after activation ends.
• Repeated use in a short period can dull the cloth’s warmth, making subsequent activations feel colder and more draining.
Rite of Whispered Bark and Bound Symbol
Materials Needed
• Inner bark strips from a moon-fed mulberry or similar spirit-quiet tree, harvested without metal tools
• Ash from burned prayer sticks or incense previously used in failed or unresolved exorcism rites
• Mineral pigments ground from soft stone, charcoal, and pale clay
• Spring water drawn at dawn and allowed to sit overnight beneath open sky
• Natural binding resin or tree sap mixed with a small amount of beeswax
• Fine plant fibers or sinew for edging and reinforcement
• A single personal token from the crafter representing restraint or mercy
Tools Required
• Bark mallet or smooth stone beater for softening and thinning the bark
• Flat wooden or stone surface for cloth preparation
• Bone, reed, or feather quill for symbol application
• Shallow bowls for pigment and ash mixtures
• Soft cloth wraps for drying and resting the material
• Low-burning incense or prayer brazier
Skill Requirements
• Basic bark-cloth or textile preparation
• Ritual symbolism or spiritual artistry
• Calm-focused exorcism or spirit-mediation practice
• Emotional discipline and patience during extended ritual work
Crafting Steps
• Harvest the inner bark at dawn, offering a spoken acknowledgement to the tree before removal, then immediately wrap the bark to prevent drying.
• Beat the bark gently on a flat surface until it spreads into a thin, flexible cloth, pausing often to keep the fibers aligned and intact.
• Rinse the cloth in prepared spring water, then allow it to rest overnight wrapped loosely, absorbing ambient magic.
• Mix ash, mineral pigments, and resin into a thick ink, stirring slowly while focusing on release rather than banishment.
• Lay the cloth flat and inscribe symbols deliberately, allowing pauses between markings so each symbol settles before the next is applied.
• Reinforce edges with plant fibers or sinew, binding them while quietly recounting a moment when restraint was chosen over force.
• Suspend the finished cloth above low incense smoke for several hours, letting warmth and scent bind the symbolism into the fibers.
• Complete the rite by touching the personal token to the center symbol, then removing and discarding the token, symbolizing separation and release.
• Allow the cloth to rest unused until the next dawn before wearing or activating it.
Cloth That Learned to Let Go
They say, in the oldest tongue that no one speaks correctly anymore, that the cloth was not first made to bind, nor to banish, nor to command. They say it was made because something refused to leave.
In those days, when the world was younger but already old, the villages near the bark-trees lived between two winds. One wind came from the sea and smelled of salt and endings. The other came from the forest and smelled of sap and beginnings. Where those winds crossed, the spirits lingered longer than they should have.
A woman lived there. Or perhaps a man. The story is unclear, because the words for “caretaker” and “self” were the same in that language, and the translator wrote both. This one had no weapons worth naming and no titles worth keeping. They were known only as the one who stayed.
The staying mattered.
When people died badly, or too suddenly, or while holding too tightly to promises, they did not go. They pressed themselves into doorways, into sleeping mats, into the backs of the living. Children woke speaking in voices that were not theirs. Fires went cold while still burning. Food tasted like ash even when it was fresh.
The elders tried shouting the names of the dead. That made things worse. They tried driving the spirits out with noise and fire. That only taught the spirits to hide deeper.
So the one who stayed listened instead.
They cut bark from a tree that had grown crooked, not because it was sick, but because the ground beneath it shifted every season. They cut it slowly, apologizing too often, and beat it thinner than was sensible. The cloth tore twice. The tears were kept.
They mixed ash not from holy fires, but from the sticks people had thrown away when prayers failed. The ash still remembered disappointment. This was important.
The symbols were drawn wrong at first. Too sharp. Too demanding. Each time the cloth was held up, the spirits pressed harder against the living. So the caretaker washed the symbols away and tried again. This happened many times. The story says “until the moon was tired of watching.”
At last, the symbols were not commands. They were acknowledgements.
When the cloth was worn, the first spirit did not leave. It only stopped screaming.
That was considered success.
The caretaker stood between a child and the thing clinging to the child’s breath. They did not pull. They did not shout. They unfolded the cloth and let it be seen. The spirit leaned forward, curious, as if recognizing a language it had forgotten how to speak.
They talked for a long time. Or a short time. The story cannot decide. Time behaved poorly in those moments.
The spirit left without being forced. It did not thank anyone. It simply went, the way one leaves a room after realizing it no longer belongs to them.
After that, the cloth grew heavier. Not in weight, but in presence. It remembered each leaving. It also remembered each refusal. Some spirits would not go. The cloth did not make them. That was its rule.
When the caretaker died, the cloth did not follow. It stayed folded where it was placed, waiting for hands that would not try to turn it into a weapon.
Many generations later, someone tried.
They wore the cloth to drive spirits into submission. The symbols dulled. The bark stiffened. The cloth did not tear, but it went cold, and nothing listened to it anymore. That person was said to have lived long, but alone.
Later still, someone else found the cloth and wore it gently, asking nothing of it at first. The warmth returned slowly. Not all at once. The cloth does not forgive quickly, according to the broken text. It only forgives honestly.
The last lines of the story are missing. The page is torn. But written in a different hand, much later, is a note scratched into the margin:
“It does not cut. It does not bind. It only opens a door that was already there.”
Moral of the story:
Release is stronger than force, and what is allowed to leave will not haunt what remains.
Suggested conversions to other systems:
Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition
Tapa 417, Cloth of Quiet Severance
Type: Enchanted ceremonial bark-cloth (worn as sash or drape)
Requires: Physical contact with the cloth to trigger effects; works best when the user is calm and deliberate.
Passive Effects
• Steady Threshold: While worn openly, gain a bonus die on checks to notice spiritual influence, haunted boundaries, or possession signs (typical use: Spot Hidden or Occult, Keeper’s call).
• Quieting Presence: In a scene where a spirit is present but not yet attacking, the Keeper may grant a bonus die to the first social approach that is clearly non-hostile (typical use: Charm, Persuade, Psychology).
Active Effects (each may be used 2 times per session)
• Sever the Knot: Spend 2 Magic Points and make an opposed POW test against the possessing entity (or POW vs. a set difficulty chosen by the Keeper). On a success, the possession is weakened: the next attempt to drive it out (an exorcism ritual, negotiation, or banishment) gains a bonus die, and the entity suffers a temporary reduction in its grip (Keeper may apply this as reduced control, forced hesitation, or a penalty die to the entity’s next possession-related roll). On a failure, the user suffers a psychic backlash: lose 1 Magic Point and take 1 point of Sanity loss (0/1 is a common scale for this).
• Symbol of Passage: Spend 3 Magic Points and speak a brief rite (a few rounds). If the spirit is willing or conflicted, the Keeper may allow an automatic departure; otherwise, make a POW test. On success, the spirit is forced to disengage for the remainder of the scene unless it has a strong anchor. On failure, the spirit remains and the user takes 1 Sanity loss.
Drawbacks
• Weight of Unfinished Business: If the user attempts a violent or vindictive “exorcism,” the cloth goes cold and provides no active benefits for the rest of the session.
Blades in the Dark
Tapa 417, Whisper-Sever Sash
Item: Fine Arcane Implement (0 load if worn as clothing accessory; 1 load if carried as a ritual banner)
Quality: Fine for spirit-negotiation and separation rites
Passive Effects
• Quiet Authority: When you openly display the sash in a tense supernatural situation, you may take +1 effect on a non-violent approach that establishes legitimacy (typically Command, Sway, or Attune—your choice based on fiction).
• Threshold Sense: When you enter a haunted or spirit-active area, you may ask the GM one question: “Is there a spirit here that is anchored, bound, or possessing?” The GM answers honestly, but vaguely if the fiction supports uncertainty.
Active Effects
• Sever the Knot (2 uses per score): When you touch the sash to a possessed host or bound object, you may Attune to weaken the binding. On a success, you gain increased effect on the next roll to drive the spirit out or compel separation; on a partial, you still gain increased effect but take level 1 harm “Spirit-Pressed” or mark 2 stress; on a bad outcome, the spirit lashes out (harm, complication, or lost opportunity).
• Whispered Rebuke (1 use per score): You snap the sash outward as a visible ward. You may resist the next supernatural consequence this scene with +1d to the resistance roll (or reduce the severity by one step if the GM prefers fixed outcomes).
Special Drawback
• No Tyrant’s Rite: If you use it to dominate rather than release, the GM may reduce effect by one step on all sash actions until you perform a quiet atonement scene (offerings, apology, or reparative act).
Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition
Tapa 417, Whispered Severance Drape
Wondrous Item (common), worn as sash or shoulder-drape
Attunement: Not required (functions as written for any wearer)
Passive Benefits
• Calm Ward: You have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks made to detect possession, haunting influence, or a spirit’s emotional state.
• Softened Veil: You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened by undead or incorporeal entities.
Activations
• Sever the Knot (2/day): As an action, you touch the cloth to a creature you can reach that is charmed, frightened, or otherwise influenced by an undead or incorporeal entity, or that is visibly possessed (DM adjudication). The target immediately repeats one saving throw against that effect with advantage. If no saving throw exists, the DM may allow a new Wisdom saving throw (DC set by the source, or DC 13 if none is available). On a success, the effect ends or the possession’s control is weakened until the end of your next turn (DM chooses the most fitting).
• Symbol of Passage (1/day): As an action, you present the cloth and speak a short rite. Choose one undead or incorporeal creature you can see within 10 feet. It must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC 13) or be forced to move 10 feet away from you and cannot willingly move closer until the start of your next turn. If the creature is possessing a host, the DM may allow this to instead force a momentary separation (the host gains advantage on its next save to end possession).
• Whispered Rebuke (1/day): As a bonus action when an undead or incorporeal creature targets you with an attack, you impose disadvantage on that attack roll.
Limitations
• The cloth cannot “turn” creatures the way stronger holy relics can; it creates space, hesitation, and openings for release rather than outright banishment.
Knave (Second Edition)
Tapa 417, Severance Wrap
Item Type: Worn cloth (takes 1 inventory slot when carried; counts as worn when equipped)
Passive Effects
• Quiet Threshold: +1 to WIS saves versus fear, possession, or spiritual influence.
• Spirit-Sense: When entering a haunted area, you may ask the referee once: “Is something here bound, watching, or clinging?” The referee answers briefly.
Active Effects
• Sever the Knot (2/day): Touch the wrap to a possessed creature or haunted object and make a WIS save (typical target 12–15). On a success, the next attempt to drive the spirit out or break the binding gains advantage (or +2, referee’s choice). On a failure, you are rattled: disadvantage on your next WIS-based roll.
• Symbol of Passage (1/day): Present the wrap and speak a short rite. One incorporeal or undead presence within near distance must make a WIS save or withdraw to far distance and hesitate for 1d4 rounds.
Drawback
• If you use it cruelly, the symbols dull; all active effects are unavailable until you complete a calm, restorative rite (a quiet scene of apology, offering, or release).
Fate Core / Fate Condensed
Tapa 417, Mantle of Whispered Severance
Item Type: Enchanted Aspect-Bearing Gear
Scale: Personal, spiritual mediation
Aspects
• Worn Between Worlds
• Symbols That Invite Release
• Authority Without Violence
Passive Benefits
• While the mantle is worn openly, the wearer gains a situational bonus when creating advantages related to calming spirits, identifying possession, negotiating release, or establishing ritual legitimacy.
• Once per scene, the wearer may invoke Worn Between Worlds for free when attempting to notice unseen spiritual influence or emotional disturbance caused by incorporeal entities.
Stunts
• Sever the Knot (2 uses per session): When you Create an Advantage to weaken a possession or spiritual binding using empathy, ritual, or calm authority, gain +2 to the roll. On a success with style, you may immediately create a second related aspect with one free invoke.
• Symbol of Passage (1 use per session): You may attempt to Overcome a possession, haunting, or spirit-anchor that would normally require extended effort. On a success, the entity disengages or becomes willing to depart. On a tie, the spirit withdraws temporarily but leaves a lingering complication.
Consequences
• If the mantle is used to dominate or violently coerce spirits, the GM may compel Symbols That Invite Release to temporarily suppress all stunts until the wearer performs a restorative scene.
Numenera / Cypher System
Tapa 417, Barkcloth of Gentle Severance
Cypher Type: Subtle Artifact (wearable)
Level: 3
Usability: Persistent while worn
Passive Effects
• The wearer gains an asset on Intellect tasks involving spirits, possession, emotional unrest, or spiritual boundaries.
• While worn openly, minor spirits hesitate before hostile action, reducing immediate escalation in narrative situations.
Active Abilities
• Sever the Knot (2/day): As an action, the wearer touches a possessed creature or haunted object. The wearer makes an Intellect task against the entity’s level. On success, the possession or binding is weakened; the next attempt to remove or negotiate with the entity gains an additional asset. On failure, the wearer takes 2 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor).
• Symbol of Passage (1/day): The wearer presents the cloth and performs a brief rite. A willing or conflicted spirit immediately disengages. An unwilling entity must succeed on a level 3 Intellect defense or retreat and remain inactive for several rounds.
Depletion
• Roll a depletion check (1 in 20) after each day the cloth is used aggressively or forcefully rather than for release or mediation.
Pathfinder Second Edition
Tapa 417, Whispered Severance Drape
Item Type: Worn Item (Common)
Item Level: 1
Usage: Worn (waist or shoulders)
Bulk: L
Passive Effects
• The wearer gains a +1 item bonus to checks to Identify possession, haunt effects, or incorporeal influence.
• When encountering a haunt or possession, the wearer gains a +1 circumstance bonus to the first non-hostile interaction or Recall Knowledge attempt related to it.
Activate
• Sever the Knot (2/day) — One action, manipulate
You touch the drape to a possessed creature or haunt anchor. Attempt a Will check against the effect’s DC. On a success, the target gains a +2 circumstance bonus to its next save against the possession or haunt. On a critical success, the possession is suppressed for 1 round. On a failure, you are stupefied 1 until the end of your next turn.
• Symbol of Passage (1/day) — Two actions, concentrate
You present the cloth and speak a calming rite. One incorporeal creature within reach must attempt a Will save against DC 14. On a failure, it is pushed 10 feet away and cannot approach you until the start of your next turn. If it is possessing a host, the host gains an immediate save with a +2 circumstance bonus.
Savage Worlds Adventure Edition
Tapa 417, Cloth of Quiet Severance
Item Type: Worn Relic (Common)
Activation: Action
Passive Effects
• The wearer gains +1 to Spirit rolls made to sense possession, spiritual unrest, or emotional disturbance caused by supernatural forces.
• Minor spirits must succeed on a Spirit roll to initiate hostile actions against the wearer.
Powers (Limited Uses)
• Sever the Knot (2/day): As an action, the wearer touches a possessed target and makes a Spirit roll opposed by the possessing entity’s Spirit. On a success, the entity is Shaken and the next attempt to remove or repel it gains +2. On a raise, the possession is briefly disrupted, preventing control for one round.
• Symbol of Passage (1/day): The wearer unfurls the cloth and speaks a rite. All incorporeal entities within a small radius must make a Spirit roll or become Hesitant on their next turn.
Hindrance
• If used cruelly or for domination, the GM may apply a temporary Minor Hindrance representing spiritual backlash until the wearer performs a calming or restorative act.
Shadowrun Sixth World
Tapa 417, Whisper-Sever Ritual Cloth
Item Type: Magical Focus (Non-Weapon, Wearable)
Availability: Restricted by tradition and intent, not legality
Bonding: Requires attunement to a single user; bond breaks immediately if another bonds to it
Passive Effects
• Spiritual Legitimacy: While worn openly, the user gains a bonus die on tests involving Astral Perception, Assensing, or Conjuring-related actions when identifying possession, emotional residues, or astral disturbances.
• Soft Astral Wake: Spirits and astral entities perceive the wearer as a mediator rather than an intruder unless directly attacked first.
Active Effects
• Sever the Knot (2 uses per session): As a Complex Action, the user touches the cloth to a possessed target or astral anchor and makes an opposed test using Willpower + Magic against the possessing entity’s Force or Willpower (GM discretion). On success, the entity’s control is weakened; the next attempt to banish, negotiate with, or expel the spirit gains bonus dice equal to the net hits. On failure, the user takes unresisted Stun damage equal to the entity’s Force minus hits.
• Symbol of Passage (1 use per session): As a Complex Action, the user presents the cloth and chants audibly. All astral entities within short range must succeed on a Willpower + Magic test or be forced to disengage from hosts or anchors and withdraw from the immediate area for a short duration.
Limitations
• The cloth cannot be used to bind or dominate spirits; attempting to do so suppresses all active effects until the user performs a calming rite or reparative act.
Starfinder
Tapa 417, Drape of Whispered Severance
Item Type: Hybrid Item (Magic), Worn
Item Level: 1
Usage: Worn (shoulders or waist)
Passive Effects
• Veil-Softening Presence: The wearer gains a +1 insight bonus to Mysticism checks made to identify possession, haunt effects, or incorporeal entities.
• Calming Field: Undead or incorporeal creatures must succeed at a Will save (DC 11) to take aggressive actions against the wearer in the first round of an encounter.
Active Effects
• Sever the Knot (2/day): As a standard action, the wearer touches the drape to a possessed creature or haunted object. The target gains an immediate new saving throw against the possession effect with a +2 bonus. If the possession has no save, the possessing entity must succeed on a Will save (DC 11) or lose control for one round.
• Symbol of Passage (1/day): As a standard action, the wearer presents the cloth and speaks a rite. One incorporeal or undead creature within 10 feet must succeed on a Will save (DC 11) or be forced to move 10 feet away and cannot approach the wearer for one round.
Restrictions
• The drape does not function against purely technological mind control or non-magical compulsions.
Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)
Tapa 417, Spirit-Sever Mediation Cloth
Item Type: Cultural Ritual Gear
Tech Level: Variable, typically low-tech with psionic resonance
Passive Effects
• Psionic Calm: The wearer gains a boon on Psionics or Advocate checks involving non-hostile resolution of possession, mental intrusion, or emotional disturbance.
• Threshold Marker: Psionic or incorporeal entities instinctively register the wearer as a negotiator rather than prey.
Active Effects
• Sever the Knot (2/day): As a significant action, the wearer applies the cloth to a possessed target and makes a Psionics (Telepathy or Awareness) check opposed by the entity’s Psionic Strength. On success, the entity’s control is weakened; subsequent attempts to remove or negotiate with it gain a boon. On failure, the wearer suffers 1d3 END damage from neural feedback.
• Symbol of Passage (1/day): The wearer conducts a brief chant, forcing incorporeal or psionic entities within close range to make a Psionic Strength check or withdraw and cease hostile influence for several combat rounds.
Notes
• This item is valued more for narrative authority and mediation than for combat efficiency.
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition
Tapa 417, Cloth of Quiet Severance
Item Type: Enchanted Clothing (Common)
Encumbrance: 0
Availability: Rare outside spiritual or rural communities
Passive Effects
• Spirit-Sense: The wearer gains +10 to Perception or Intuition tests made to detect possession, haunting, or unnatural emotional influence.
• Uneasy Calm: Minor spirits hesitate before attacking; the GM may require hostile incorporeal entities to pass a Willpower Test before acting aggressively against the wearer.
Active Effects
• Sever the Knot (2/day): As an Action, the wearer touches the cloth to a possessed target and makes a Willpower Test opposed by the possessing entity. On success, the possession is weakened; the next exorcism, prayer, or banishment test gains +20. On a failure, the wearer suffers 1 Corruption Point or gains the Fatigued condition (GM discretion).
• Symbol of Passage (1/day): The wearer unfurls the cloth and speaks a rite. All incorporeal entities within several yards must pass a Willpower Test or retreat and refrain from hostile actions for one round.
Drawback
• If used cruelly or with arrogance, the cloth’s symbols dull, and all active effects are unavailable until the wearer completes a solemn act of restraint, prayer, or reconciliation.