Centauric Regulator 7321

The Centauric Regulator 7321 was conceived by a renegade Kaelen-Va engineer who sought to harmonize the nomadic authority of the centaur tribes with the industrial precision of the Emberforge. By dismantling a sacred Bit and Bridle and fusing its silver-runed essence with the obsidian arms of a Magi-Steam Caliper, the artisan created a device that could measure the very heartbeat of a mount. To temper the intense thermal and psychic feedback of the merge, a Suckersip Flasklet was melted down and used as a celebratory cooling reservoir, infusing the tool with a permanent aura of camaraderie. It is now a singular artifact held by high-ranking outriders who must command beasts and repair steam-rigging in the heat of Saṃsāra’s volcanic frontiers.

Description

The Centauric Regulator 7321 is an imposing, articulated brass and dark-metal bracer that terminates in a pair of obsidian-tipped calipers. The device is etched with Va-Shar runes that pulse with an ember-like glow, while the central pivot is set with a sapphire Gemstone of Command. A small, reinforced flasklet is integrated into the side of the regulator, serving as a pressurized reservoir that vents refreshing, alcohol-scented steam. When active, the device telescopes outward with a soft hiss, extending up to 5 feet, while the internal magi-steam regulator vibrates in resonance with the wielder’s pulse and the proximity of nearby beasts.

Stats

Tier: 3
Level: Tier 3 (Requires Tier 3 Character to Activate)
Armor Check (AC): +9
Weight: 4 lb.
Resilience: 30
Item Hit Points: 180 (Avatar’s max HP + 120)
Rarity: Rare

Skills Gained While Openly Worn

Beast-Logic Calibration (+3): Proficiency in using the tool to interpret the physical health and emotional state of mounts and wild creatures through thermal and telepathic scans.
Synergic Diplomacy (+3): Enhances the wielder’s ability to broker trust during celebrations or tense negotiations, merging the flasklet’s warmth with the centaur’s authority.
Advanced Steam-Smithing (+3): Grants a significant bonus to the repair and creation of intricate steam-powered mechanisms and metalwork.

Multiple Passive Magics

Empathic Thermal Harmony: The device provides a +3 bonus to Survival and Animal Handling checks. The wielder can sense the heat signatures and emotional “temperature” of all creatures within 30 feet.
Rune-Glow Authority: The ember-like runes grant the wielder a +2 bonus to Intimidation and Persuasion. Nearby allies feel a sense of communal warmth and resolve, reducing the effects of magical fear.
Steam Stability: The internal regulator stabilizes the wielder’s arm, granting a +2 bonus to Constitution checks against fatigue and a +2 bonus to all crafting rolls involving metal or stone.
Singular Physicality: This merged item occupies only one slot. Despite its origins as tack, a tool, and attire, it is now worn exclusively as a single physical bracer.

Multiple Active Magics

Consensus Command (2/Day): By speaking the command word, the wielder triggers a telepathic and thermal pulse. One mount or beast within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom save or become charmed and obedient for 1 hour.
Flaw Reveal Burst (3/Day): The wielder activates the aetheric reservoir, venting a burst of flavored steam. This grants a 30% chance to identify hidden structural flaws in objects or physical weaknesses in a target for 1 minute.
Telescoping Spirit Hunt (1/Day): The calipers extend to their full 5-foot length, emitting a high-pitched steam whistle. This summons a spectral hound for 10 minutes that tracks targets through their heat signature and deals 2d6 piercing damage.
Convivial Refreshment (Normal Casting): The wielder can expend 10 Mana to release a cooling mist from the flasklet reservoir. This restores 1d8 temporary hit points to the wielder and up to two allies within 10 feet by invigorating their senses.

Specific Slot

Tool (Worn on the Hands/Arm slot as a singular bracer).

Defensive Integrity and Restoration of the Centauric Regulator 7321

To deactivate the integrated magical lattice of the Centauric Regulator 7321, an opponent must specifically declare a targeted strike against the device during an engagement. The Armor Check (AC) required to land such a blow is the wielder’s current total AC plus the item’s tier level (3) plus the result of a tier die roll (1d8). If an attacker’s roll meets or exceeds this combined value, the strike impacts the obsidian arms or the central sapphire, immediately rendering the item unattuned and its magical properties inert.

As a Tier 3 Rare artifact, the item possesses a resilience of 30. The specific item hit points that an attacker must overcome to physically break the object are calculated as the avatar’s maximum hit points plus 90 (30 resilience multiplied by the item’s tier of 3). If the Regulator takes damage equal to or exceeding 50% of this total value, it is considered broken. In this state, the telescoping arms jam, the Va-Shar runes dim to cold ash, and the steam reservoir leaks, preventing any active or passive magics from functioning. Should the hit points reach zero, the artifact is destroyed, crumbling into dark metal shards and inert crystal dust.

Repairing the Centauric Regulator 7321 requires a blend of mechanical skill and communal ritual. If the item is merely deactivated, a standard 10-minute attunement ritual is sufficient to restore its function. However, if the item is broken, the following restoration process is required:

The item must be brought to a Steamforge Tinker Hall or a Centauric Sacred Grove equipped with a Tier 3 Elemental Infuser.
A master artisan with a skill level of at least 7 in Steamcraft Engineering and Runescribing must lead the repairs.
Materials for restoration include 2 silver coins’ worth of Rhodium dust and a fresh supply of fermented joyroot to refill the cooling reservoir.
For each day of downtime dedicated to the repair, the artisan must succeed on a Skill Check against a “Hard” difficulty (DC 64%) to restore 1d8 of the item’s hit points.
Once hit points are fully restored, the wielder must perform a “Rite of Shared Toast” with a bonded mount or ally to re-synchronize the item’s sentient core and finalize the repair.

Acquisition and Market Dynamics of the Centauric Regulator 7321

As a Tier 3 Rare artifact, the Centauric Regulator 7321 is not a mass-produced item. It is a merged entity that requires a significant history of usage and a master-level crafting ritual to exist. Because it combines nomadic tradition, industrial engineering, and social “Tastecraft,” it is typically found only in specific cultural nexuses or as a result of direct high-tier intervention.

Methods of Obtaining the Artifact

The High-Tier Convergence Ritual: The most direct way to obtain the Regulator is for a Tier 3 avatar to possess the three base items—the Bit and Bridle, the Magi-Steam Caliper 137, and the Suckersip Flasklet. These must be taken to a Master Emberkin Smith or a Centauric Shaman who has achieved Tier 3 mastery. The “Rite of the Shared Toast” is performed, where the items are physically collapsed and their essences unified into the singular bracer-tool.
Legacy of the Frontier Outriders: A high-ranking scout or outrider who has served both the Emberforge and the centaur tribes for decades may be gifted a pre-merged Regulator. In such cases, the item is often viewed as a “Living Badge of Office,” and receiving it involves a week-long trial of both mechanical skill and animal bonding.
Recovery from Volcanic Vaults: In the cave megacities or deep within volcanic island reaches, an avatar may uncover a Regulator from the “Age of the Steam Ascendance.” These units are often dormant and require a fresh infusion of “Spirit of Merriment” and steam-recalibration before they can be attuned.
Diplomatic Exchange of the 73 Nations: In rare instances, a floating city or a cave megacity may offer the 7321 model as a diplomatic gift to an envoy who has resolved a major trade or territorial dispute between the Emberkin and the nomadic tribes.

Specialized Shops and Valuation

In the “sellers’ market” of Saṃsāra, Tier 3 artifacts are priced in Gold, Platinum, and Rhodium. There is no fixed price; instead, the cost is a negotiation between the seller’s greed and the buyer’s desperation.

Emberkin Master-Forges (Cave Megacities): These are the most reputable locations to buy or commission a Regulator. The smiths here understand the internal magi-steam regulator better than anyone.
- Buying Cost: 4,500 to 5,800 Gold.
- Selling Cost: 2,200 to 2,800 Gold (credited toward new Tier 3 commissions).
- Transaction Note: The cost may be reduced by 500 Gold if the buyer provides a rare volcanic core or a crate of high-quality obsidian shards.
Centauric Relic Tents (High Plains/Floating Markets): These mobile shops follow the centaur migrations. They view the item as a sacred tool of leadership rather than a machine.
- Buying Cost: 50 Platinum (Equivalent to 5,000 Gold) or a “Vow of Service.”
- Selling Cost: Not applicable; they rarely buy back sacred items, but may “trade” for other legendary animal-handling gear.
- Transaction Note: Centaurs often refuse to sell to those who cannot demonstrate “Beast-Logic” through a successful DC 15 Animal Handling check.
The Gilded Gear-Wharf (Floating Cities/Oceanic Hubs): These high-end emporiums cater to wealthy explorers and technomancers.
- Buying Cost: 6,500 to 8,000 Gold.
- Selling Cost: 3,000 Gold (Cash).
- Transaction Note: These shops charge a premium for “Instant Attunement” services and polished, aesthetically customized brass casing.
The Shadow-Pipe Market (Urban Megacities): Located in the steam-damp underbelly of industrial towers, these black-market stalls sell “scavenged” or “untraceable” Regulators.
- Buying Cost: 3,500 to 4,500 Gold.
- Selling Cost: 1,500 to 2,000 Gold.
- Transaction Note: “Buyer Beware” is the law here. These units often have a 5% higher chance of “Mechanism Jamming” during high-stress encounters due to poor maintenance.

Cost Summary

Standard Tier 3 Value: 5,000 Gold.
Rhodium Equivalent: 0.5 Rhodium (50 Platinum).
Price Modifiers: Costs increase by 15% in regions experiencing seismic quakes or beast migrations, as the tool’s utility becomes indispensable.

Environmental Roleplay and Tactical Application of the Centauric Regulator 7321

The Centauric Regulator 7321 functions as a unified extension of the wielder’s intent, combining the authoritative weight of a chieftain with the surgical precision of an Emberkin smith. Because it is a merged, single-slot artifact, the wielder maintains the dexterity required for high-speed riding or complex tinkering without the encumbrance of multiple tools.

Volcanic Ridges and Subterranean Forge-Halls

Offense: In the oppressive heat of Obsidian Hollow, the wielder uses Thermal Harmony to track the heat signatures of rock-lurking predators through solid stone. By activating the Telescoping Spirit Hunt, the wielder sends a spectral hound through narrow lava-tubes to flush out enemies into the open. During a confrontation with a rogue construct, the Flaw Reveal Burst identifies a glowing stress point in the machine’s chassis, allowing the wielder to jam the obsidian calipers into the gear-work with pinpoint accuracy.
Defense: When a geothermal vent threatens to rupture, the wielder uses the Advanced Steam-Smithing bonus to rapidly recalibrate the pressure valves. If the wielder is exhausted by the fumes, the Convivial Refreshment releases a burst of invigorating mist, restoring morale and physical resilience. The Steam Stability passive ensures their hands remain steady even as the ground tremors beneath them.

Open High-Plains and Nomadic Steppes

Offense: While galloping across the Veylani grasslands, the wielder uses Consensus Command to wrest control of a rival’s mount, forcing the beast to veer away or halt mid-charge. The Beast-Logic Calibration allows the wielder to sense the exact moment a wild herd is about to stampede, directing the chaos toward an enemy encampment. The obsidian tips of the regulator serve as a formidable striking tool for “tagging” and tracking fleeing targets across the plains.
Defense: Against a pack of predatory plains-wolves, the wielder invokes the Rune-Glow Authority. The ember-like light and the aura of communal resolve intimidate the beasts, making them hesitant to attack. The Empathic Thermal Harmony alerts the wielder to ambushers hiding in the tall grass by sensing their elevated heart rates and body heat long before they are visible to the naked eye.

Urban Megacities and Steam-Powered Hubs

Offense: In the cramped, steam-filled alleys of Korynth Isle, the Synergic Diplomacy skill is used to bypass aggressive guards by initiating a “Rite of the Shared Toast.” If negotiations fail, the wielder can use the Telescoping Spirit Hunt to track a thief through the “scent” of their lingering aetheric trail. The Flaw Reveal Burst can be used to identify a weak support beam in a building, which the wielder can then manipulate to create a tactical obstruction.
Defense: The wielder uses the Rune-Glow Authority to project an aura of calm and command during a city-wide riot or a steam-pipe explosion, keeping bonded allies focused and reducing panic. The Steam Stability bonus allows the wielder to perform emergency repairs on city infrastructure or their own gear while under fire, maintaining a steady grip despite the surrounding chaos.

Oceanic Floating Cities and Ship-to-Ship Platforms

Offense: During an airship boarding action, the wielder uses the Ley Line Reel (channeled through the resonator’s resonance) to snag a railing or a moving gear, hauling themselves onto the enemy deck. The Consensus Command is used to turn a pirate’s trained griffon or sky-beast against its master. The Harmonic Scald feature (derived from the flasklet’s pressure) chokes the narrow corridors of a ship with alcohol-scented steam, blinding and disorienting the defenders.
Defense: On the pitching decks of a floating city during a storm, the Steam Stability passive prevents the wielder from being knocked prone by heavy winds or waves. If an ally is washed overboard or injured, the Convivial Refreshment provides an immediate boost to their vitality and clarity. The Beast-Logic Calibration can be used to communicate with aquatic creatures or avian mounts to secure a safe passage or a swift evacuation from a sinking platform.

Ancient Ruins and High-Magic Nexus Points

Offense: In the decaying halls of a forgotten Eclipsed Atelier, the wielder uses Advanced Steam-Smithing to interface with ancient mechanisms, turning dormant defenses against new intruders. The Flaw Reveal Burst illuminates the “magical cracks” in an enemy mage’s protective barrier, providing a clear target for the spectral hound to strike.
Defense: The wielder uses the Rune-Glow Authority to act as a beacon of stability for their team when facing eldritch horrors or mental illusions. The Empathic Thermal Harmony allows the wielder to distinguish between a cold illusion and a warm, living threat, ensuring the group’s defensive resources are never wasted on ghosts or shadows.

Perception of Activation:

User’s Perspective

Sight: Upon activation, the Va-Shar runes ignite with a brilliant, molten orange light that bleeds into the surrounding air. The central sapphire gemstone pulses with a deep, rhythmic blue that highlights the silhouettes of nearby beasts. The telescoping obsidian arms seem to leave faint, blurred “after-images” as they extend, tracing paths of potential movement.
Sound: A sharp, pressurized hiss of steam is followed by a low, harmonic hum that matches the wielder’s heartbeat. When the command word is spoken, the user hears a spectral “gallop” that resonates through their own bone structure, even on still ground.
Smell: A pungent and invigorating mixture of volcanic ozone, heated metal, and the rich, fermented scent of aged spirits. This aroma clears the sinuses and sharpens focus.
Touch: The bracer becomes warm but not scalding, vibrating with a steady, mechanical pulse. The wielder feels a “magnetic” pull toward nearby creatures and structural flaws, as if the tool is an extension of their own nervous system.
Extra-Sensory (Thermal Empathy): The user perceives “heat-blooms” of emotion from nearby creatures; a frightened mount appears as a flickering blue flame, while an aggressive predator glows with a jagged, intense red.
Extra-Sensory (Lithic Insight): The wielder can “feel” the stress points in stone and metal as though they were sore muscles, allowing them to intuitively understand where a structure is about to fail.
Extra-Sensory (Communal Bond): A telepathic tether connects the wielder to their mount or allies, allowing them to sense group morale as a physical sensation of warmth or cold.

Observer’s Perspective

Sight: The wielder’s arm is suddenly enveloped in a halo of orange light and white vapor. The iridescent sheen of the obsidian arms catches the light, making the device look like a living insect of brass and stone. The sapphire in the center casts a cone of blue light that seems to “stick” to beasts and mounts.
Sound: Observers hear a sudden, authoritative whistle of steam followed by a resonant hum that causes their own drinks and small metal objects to rattle.
Smell: A wave of heat and the smell of a roaring tavern fire—complete with the scent of roasting grains and spirit-vapor—washes over everyone within ten feet.
Extra-Sensory (Aura of Command): Nearby individuals feel a sudden, instinctive urge to stand straighter or listen to the wielder, as if the air around the artifact has become “heavy” with authority.

Positives

Total Environmental Clarity: The fusion of thermal sensing and flaw detection provides the wielder with an almost unfair advantage in understanding their surroundings.
Synergic Coordination: The empathic link ensures that mounts and allies react to the wielder’s intent before a word is even spoken.
Physical Stability: The internal regulator removes the “human error” of shaky hands, ensuring perfect precision in even the most unstable volcanic zones.

Negatives

Sensory Overload: In crowded environments, the flood of thermal and emotional data can lead to a “static” in the user’s mind, making it hard to focus on a single target.
Stealth Compromise: The bright glow of the runes and the audible hiss of the steam regulator make covert operations nearly impossible while the device is active.
Psychic Feedback: If a commanded beast is suddenly killed or harmed, the wielder may suffer a painful “neural snap” that causes a temporary -1 penalty to mental tasks.

The Rite of the Triple-Axis Fusion: Forging the Centauric Regulator 7321

This advanced Tier 3 ritual collapses the physical boundaries of three disparate objects—a sacred harness, a precision instrument, and a social accessory—into a single, high-output bracer. The process requires balancing the raw, primal spirit of the centaur tribes with the cold, mechanical logic of the Emberkin smiths, all while tempering the result in the convivial essence of the drink.

Items Merged

Bit and Bridle of the Centaur Chieftain (Legendary Tier 1 Artifact)
Magi-Steam Caliper 137 (Tier 1 Lineage Item)
Suckersip Flasklet (Tier 1 Common Accessory)

Additional Materials Needed

3 Ounces of Rhodium Dust: To act as the high-tier molecular adhesive that forces the different materials to occupy a single physical slot.
1 Vial of Spirit of Merriment: Distilled from a festival’s peak, used to prime the flasklet reservoir.
1 Sunken Forge-Heart Fragment: A geothermal crystal used to power the upgraded magi-steam regulator.
5 Yards of Enchanted Silver Wire: To bridge the telepathic runes of the bridle with the mechanical arms of the caliper.
1 Gallon of Volcanic Spring Water: For the final quenching of the merged dark metal and obsidian.

Tools Required

Tier 3 Elemental Infuser: A geothermal-powered press capable of overlapping the physical dimensions of the items.
Adamantine Rune Stylus: For re-inscribing and unifying the Va-Shar and Centauric command runes.
Steam Calibrator: A precision gauge used to synchronize the new regulator with the wielder’s pulse.
Tinkerer’s Frame Clamp: To hold the disparate parts in a unified “bracer” shape during the fusion.
Alchemist’s Flameplate: To heat the resins and Rhodium dust to the point of aetheric bonding.

Skill Requirements

Mastery in Steamcraft Engineering (Skill Level 7): To integrate the telescoping arms and the magi-steam regulator into the new chassis.
Mastery in Runescribing (Skill Level 7): To ensure the Va-Shar and Centauric runes do not conflict during the merge.
Expertise in Animal Handling: To properly align the “Command Mount” properties with the physical bit-metal.
Basic Alchemy: To prepare the “Flavorbind” cooling reservoir from the flasklet components.

Crafting Steps

Phase 1: The Material Softening: Place the Bit and Bridle and the Magi-Steam Caliper 137 into the Elemental Infuser. Sprinkle the Rhodium dust over both. Heat the chamber using the geothermal vents until the dark metal and the celestial silver begin to glow with a unified orange hue.
Phase 2: The Physical Collapse: Activate the Infuser to press the items together. Use the Tinkerer’s Frame Clamp to force the silver bit-metals to wrap around the central regulator of the caliper, forming the “bracer” base. As they merge, the three gemstones of command must be repositioned to form a triangular power-array around the main pivot.
Phase 3: The Reservoir Integration: Take the Suckersip Flasklet and carefully dismantle its sucker-etched plates. Affix these plates to the underside of the bracer to act as the “adhesive” skin-contact points. Melt the remaining flasklet body and cast it into a small, reinforced cylinder on the side of the bracer to serve as the new magi-steam reservoir.
Phase 4: Rune Unification: Using the Adamantine Stylus, draw a silver wire connection between the Va-Shar runes of the caliper and the Command runes of the bridle. Inscribe the “Consensus Pattern” across the obsidian arms, allowing the telepathic energy to flow into the physical measurement tips.
Phase 5: The Aetheric Awakening: Pour the vial of Spirit of Merriment into the reservoir and seal it. Perform the “Rite of the Shared Toast” by quenching the glowing bracer in the Volcanic Spring Water while chanting the names of the ancient Centaur Chieftains and the Emberkin smiths.
Phase 6: Final Calibration: Use the Steam Calibrator to ensure the telescoping arms extend smoothly. The item is complete when the sapphire gemstone pulses in time with the wielder’s own heart, signaling that the three items have become a single physical object.

One-Arm-Machine-of-Horse-Mind-and-Hot-Water-Measuring

In the many sun-cycles of the old-before, when the dirt was angry and the water was coughing clouds, there was a great fighting between the People-of-the-Four-Legs and the People-of-the-Deep-Fires. The People-of-the-Four-Legs ran on the green-hair of the earth. They spoke to the beasts and carried the Star-Leather-Mouth-Metal, which was a gift from the sky-hunter. The People-of-the-Deep-Fires lived in the hot-holes of the mountain. They hit the dark-stone and used the Black-Glass-Heat-Measurer, which breathed the hot-water-smoke to see the sick-places in the rock.

The two peoples did not share the smiling-time. The People-of-the-Four-Legs said the hot-holes burned the green-hair of the earth. The People-of-the-Deep-Fires said the heavy-running of the four-legs broke the ceilings of their home-caves. There was much blood-spilling and no laughing.

In the middle of the coughing-clouds lived a man named Maker-of-the-Strange-Bones. He was of the Deep-Fires, but his head-meat was full of the wind and the grass. He wished for the two peoples to sit at the same fire-circle. Maker-of-the-Strange-Bones said to his own ears, “I will take the heavy-magic of the three things and crush them into the one-space. The sky-judges will see only one object on the arm-branch, but it will speak the languages of the three.”

He walked his feet to the dangerous-trading-place. He gave many shiny-rocks to the People-of-the-Four-Legs to hold the Star-Leather-Mouth-Metal. He took his own Black-Glass-Heat-Measurer. He also found a Round-Cup-of-Laughing-Juice, a drinking-vessel with the sticky-circles that made the mouth taste the happy-memories. He carried the three things to the belly of extreme-heat at the bottom of the coughing-mountain.

He placed the three things into the crushing-teeth of the hot-forge. He poured the grey-shiny-dust. He poured the water of the angry-spring. He sang the song of the heavy-hammer and the song of the running-hooves. The three things screamed in the heat. The Star-Leather-Mouth-Metal tried to bite the Black-Glass-Heat-Measurer. The Black-Glass-Heat-Measurer tried to burn the Round-Cup-of-Laughing-Juice.

But Maker-of-the-Strange-Bones used the silver-hair to tie their magic together. He said to the mouth-metal, “You are not for the horse-mouth, you are the mind of the arm.” He said to the heat-measurer, “You are not for the rock, you are the fingers of the beast.” He said to the laughing-cup, “You are not for the mouth, you are the cooling-breath of the hot-water-smoke.”

When the belly of extreme-heat was opened, the three were gone. There was only the One-Arm-Machine-of-the-Horse-Mind-and-Hot-Water-Measuring. It was a single physical object. It sat on the arm-branch of the Maker-of-the-Strange-Bones. It had the black-glass fingers that reached far. It had the glowing-scratches of the deep-fires. It had the blue-stone eye. On its side was the belly-swelling of the laughing-cup.

Maker-of-the-Strange-Bones walked to the flat-dirt where the People-of-the-Four-Legs and the People-of-the-Deep-Fires were preparing to make the blood-spilling. But before the sharp-sticks could be thrown, the ground ripped open. A great monster of the dark-below crawled out. It was the Eater-of-the-Quiet. It was made of broken-mountain and had no eyes, only the teeth of shaking-earth.

The beasts of the People-of-the-Four-Legs screamed with the fear-mind. The hot-water-machines of the People-of-the-Deep-Fires broke from the shaking. The two peoples were going to be eaten into the dark-below.

Maker-of-the-Strange-Bones lifted his arm-branch. The One-Arm-Machine-of-the-Horse-Mind-and-Hot-Water-Measuring awoke. The blue-stone eye pushed the bright-color into the air. The black-glass fingers stretched out long with the hissing-breath. Maker-of-the-Strange-Bones used the mind-string of the star-leather to speak to the beasts of the four-legs. He pushed the thought-words into their chest-meat. He told them, “Do not fear the shaking. Be the storm.” The beasts stopped their screaming and stood like the angry-trees.

Then, Maker-of-the-Strange-Bones pushed the water in the belly-swelling of the laughing-cup. The machine breathed out the happy-steam of the fermented-roots. The steam covered the People-of-the-Deep-Fires and the People-of-the-Four-Legs. When they breathed the happy-steam, their fear-mind washed away. They felt the strong-blood of the old-dancing. They looked at each other and did not see enemies; they saw the brothers of the same coughing-cloud.

Maker-of-the-Strange-Bones pointed the black-glass fingers at the Eater-of-the-Quiet. The glowing-scratches burned bright. The machine looked at the heat of the monster. It found the cold-spot, the sick-place in the monster’s stone-skin. Maker-of-the-Strange-Bones blew the high-whistle of the hot-water-smoke. From the machine jumped the ghost-dogs of the hot-cloud. The ghost-dogs ran on the air and bit the cold-spot of the monster.

The two peoples ran together. The People-of-the-Four-Legs threw their sharp-sticks at the cold-spot. The People-of-the-Deep-Fires hit the cold-spot with their heavy-hammers. Because they breathed the happy-steam and heard the mind-string of the blue-stone eye, they moved as one body with many arms and many legs.

The Eater-of-the-Quiet crumbled into the small-dirts. The dark-below was closed.

Maker-of-the-Strange-Bones fell to his knee-bones. The One-Arm-Machine-of-the-Horse-Mind-and-Hot-Water-Measuring was smoking. The voices of the running-beasts and the deep-fires were too loud in his single head-meat. He took the single physical object off his arm-branch. He placed it on the flat-dirt between the leaders of the two peoples.

He said with the heavy-tongue, “I have crushed the three powers into the one-space to trick the sky-judges. The tool sees the heat, speaks to the beast, and gives the happy-breath. It is yours to share. But beware the wearing of it, for the arm that measures the rock and commands the herd must also hold the weight of the laughing-ghosts, and the ghosts do not sleep.”

The two peoples built a great stone-house for the single physical object. They did not make the blood-spilling again. They only put the object on the arm-branch when the dark-below tried to open. They remembered the man who folded the measuring-stick, the horse-mouth-metal, and the sticky-cup into the one space.

Moral of the story: When the maker forces the wild-beast, the hot-rock-measurer, and the cup of the smiling-time to live in the single metal-house, the arm gains the power to move the mountain and calm the herd, but the mind must forever listen to the loud argument of the tools that forgot how to be separate.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Unique Name: The Aether-Lash of the Subjugator

Classification: Trans-Dimensional Artifact
Skill: Science (Engineering) or Animal Handling
Damage: 1D8 + DB (Blunt strike from calipers) or 2D6 (Spectral Hounds)
Range: Touch to 5 yards (Telescoping Arms)
Magic Points: 10 (to activate active abilities)
Sanity Cost: 1/1D6 (The psychic strain of connecting to beasts and sensing aetheric flaws unsettling the user’s mind).
Special Mechanics:
- Primal Consensus (2/Day): The wielder may spend 2 Magic Points and succeed on a Hard Animal Handling roll to mentally command one beast or mount within 20 yards. The target must succeed on an opposed POW roll or obey commands for 1 hour.
- Lithic Insight (3/Day): By spending 3 Magic Points, the wielder gains a Bonus Die on Spot Hidden or Science (Engineering) rolls to find structural weaknesses or hidden compartments for 1 minute.
- The Spectral Pack (1/Day): Costs 5 Magic Points and 1D4 Sanity. The wielder summons ethereal hounds that automatically track and deal 2D6 damage to a single target within 20 yards before dissipating.
Syntax Note: This is a “Merged” artifact; it occupies a single arm/hand slot.

Blades in the Dark

Unique Name: The Outrider’s Steampulse Bracer

Classification: Fine Arcane Implement / Fine Tool (Tier III)
Load: 1 (Consolidated mass of three items into a single slot).
Quality: +1 Quality to Tinker and Command (when used on animals) actions while the bracer is worn.
Special Abilities:
- Beast-Mind Tether: You may expend 1 Stress to automatically succeed (as a 4/5 result) when rolling Command or Attune to calm or control a hostile animal or mount.
- Thermal Blueprint: When you perform a Survey or Tinker action to find a flaw in a lock, vault, or hull, you may push yourself (take 2 Stress) to gain +1d and increase the Effect level, sensing the thermal stress points.
- Convivial Vent: During Downtime, the reservoir can be used to clear 1 extra Stress during a Vice (Stupor or Pleasure) activity for you or an ally, representing the magical communal brew.
Complication: The glowing runes and hissing steam make stealth nearly impossible; any Prowl rolls made while the active functions are venting suffer -1d.

Dungeons & Dragons (2024 Edition)

Unique Name: The Centauric Regulator 7321

Item Type: Wondrous Item (Bracer), Rare (Requires Attunement)
Armor Class: You gain a +2 bonus to AC while this bracer is worn.
Features:
- Thermal Empathy: You have Advantage on Wisdom (Animal Handling) and Wisdom (Survival) checks. You can sense the emotional state and relative heat of creatures within 30 feet.
- Steam-Smith’s Precision: You gain a +3 bonus to Intelligence checks made to repair, dismantle, or forge metal constructs and mechanisms.
- Command Beast (2 Charges/Day): As an Action, you can target one beast or mount within 60 feet. It must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be Charmed by you for 1 hour. While Charmed, it obeys your telepathic commands.
- Spectral Hounds (1 Charge/Day): As an Action, you summon a pack of spectral hounds. Target one creature within 60 feet; the hounds strike unerringly, dealing 4d6 piercing damage to the target.
- Convivial Mist (At Will): As a Bonus Action, you can vent flavored steam. You and up to two allies within 10 feet gain 1d8 temporary hit points. This property cannot be used again until the temporary hit points are depleted or 1 hour has passed.
Syntax Note: This merged item occupies only the “Hands” or “Bracers” slot.

Knave (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: The 7321 Beast-Forge Bracer

Item Type: Merged Tool/Relic (Tier 3)
Inventory Slots: 1 (Magical condensation allows it to occupy only one slot).
Properties:
- Thermal Senses: The wielder gains Advantage on all checks to track living creatures or find hidden mechanisms in metal/stone.
- Master of Beasts: The wielder can communicate basic intent to animals. Once per day, they can force an animal target to make a saving throw (against the wielder’s CHA) or become a loyal mount/ally for the duration of the exploration turn.
- Flaw Finder: When attempting to break an object or disarm a trap, the wielder may add a +3 bonus to their attempt by extending the steam-powered calipers to find the structural weak point.
- Restorative Brew: During a rest, the wielder can share the bracer’s steam-brew, allowing themselves and one ally to heal an additional d8 HP.
Risk: The bracer is mechanically complex. On a roll of 1 on any check using the item’s active properties, the steam valves jam, dealing d6 fire damage to the wielder and disabling the bracer until a Tinker check is performed during a rest.

Fate (Condensed Edition)

Unique Name: The Forge-Lord’s Centauric Bracer

High Concept: Tier 3 Merged Steampunk-Nomad Regulator
Aspects:
- Thermal Empathy of the Beast-Mind
- Va-Shar Runes of Convivial Command
- Delicate Telescoping Steam-Calipers
Stunts:
- Consensus Command: Because the bracer projects an overwhelming aura of alpha-authority and thermal empathy, you gain a +2 to Overcome or Create an Advantage using Rapport or Empathy when dealing with beasts, mounts, or nomadic creatures.
- Flaw Reveal Burst: Once per scene, you can spend a Fate Point to vent aetheric steam across a structure or opponent. This allows you to immediately place a “Structural Flaw” or “Physical Weakness” situation aspect on the target with two free invokes, using your Crafts or Investigate skill.
- Convivial Mist: Once per scene, by sharing the alcohol-scented steam from the pressurized flasklet reservoir, you can automatically clear a mild physical or mental consequence for yourself or one adjacent ally without needing a recovery action.
- Spectral Hunt: Because the bracer houses the Spirit of the Hunt, you may use Crafts or Lore to make physical Attacks against targets up to two zones away, representing the spectral hounds running them down.
Weapon Rating: 2 (When using the calipers as a piercing tool or summoning the spectral hounds).
Armor Rating: 1 (The thick brass and dark metal deflect glancing blows).
Syntax Note: This artifact is considered a single “Extra” and occupies only a single arm or wrist slot for the avatar, replacing the need for separate tools, riding tack, or social accessories.

Numenera & Cypher System

Unique Name: The 7321 Chieftain’s Caliper-Harness

Level: 7 (Artifact)
Form: A heavy brass and dark-metal bracer extending into obsidian calipers, featuring glowing runes and a pressurized fluid reservoir strapped to the side.
Effect (Passive): The wielder gains an Asset on all tasks related to repairing complex machinery, calming or riding mounts, and resisting physical fatigue or exhaustion. The item grants the wielder constant low-level thermal vision, allowing them to see heat signatures in total darkness within short range.
Effect (Active – 2 Intellect points): “Beast Command.” The wielder telepathically projects dominance. Target one level 7 or lower beast or mount within long range; it must obey the wielder’s telepathic commands to the best of its ability for one hour.
Effect (Active – 3 Might points): “Spectral Hunt.” The calipers extend, venting a high-pitched whistle that summons ethereal hounds. These hounds automatically inflict 6 points of damage to a target within long range, ignoring physical armor, before vanishing into mist.
Effect (Active – 1 Pool point of any type): “Convivial Steam.” The wielder vents the pressurized joyroot reservoir. This restores 3 points to the Might or Intellect pool of up to two targets within immediate range. A character can only benefit from this once per day.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20. Check depletion only when using an active effect. If it depletes, the magi-steam mechanism jams, the runes go dark, and the item becomes completely inert until repaired by a master tinkerer.
Syntax Note: Due to its merged status, this artifact occupies only one worn slot on the character, despite providing the mechanical benefits of multiple cyphers and artifacts simultaneously.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)