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Item 419 of the Hollow Echo Shroud

—

by

Dale
in

Lore: In the crowded, high-octane trade hubs of Saṃsāra, the noise of a thousand lives can be deafening. The Hollow-Echo Shroud was originally woven by the “Glass-Hearted Hermits” of the peripheral floating rocks—avatars who felt the world was too loud, too close, and fundamentally not for them. By infusing spectral silk with the essence of a “Void-Gaze,” they created a garment that subtly pushes reality away. It does not hide the wearer; it simply makes the world forget they are there, creating a cold, invisible barrier of emotional and social distance. Those who wear it often report that while the insults of enemies no longer sting, the laughter of friends sounds like it is coming from the bottom of a deep, frozen well.

Description: A translucent, floor-length poncho made of shimmering, grey-silver fibers that never seem to catch the light. When still, the shroud looks like a thin veil of mountain mist; when in motion, it ripples like oil on water. The fabric is perpetually cold to the touch and smells faintly of ozone and stagnant air. It lacks buttons or fasteners, hanging loosely over the shoulders and obscuring the wearer’s silhouette into a non-descript, lonely shape.

Stats

  • Rarity: Common
  • Tier: 1
  • Slot: Torso (Outerwear)
  • Weight: 0.2 lbs
  • Social Penalty: -2 to all Charisma-based checks to persuade or charm, as the wearer radiates a palpable sense of “not belonging.”

Skills Gained (While Openly Worn)

  • Void-Step Stealth: The avatar gains a +2 bonus to Stealth checks while moving through crowds or public spaces, as people instinctively avert their eyes to avoid the discomfort of the wearer’s presence.
  • Emotional Callus: The avatar gains a +2 bonus to Insight checks to detect lies, as their alienated perspective allows them to observe human interaction with the cold detachment of an outsider.

Tags: Alienation, Void-Infused, Common, Tier 1, Spectral-Silk, Social-Distance, Cold-Logic, Outcast, Obscuring, Torso-Slot, Emotional-Shield, Forgotten, Grey-Mist, Outsider-Logic, Apathetic, Spectral-Veil, Non-Resonant, Still-Presence, Social-Static, Cold-Isolation, Hollow-Core, Ghost-Thread, Detached-Vantage

Multiple Passives Magic

  • The Unfelt Presence: The wearer does not leave footprints in natural terrain (dirt, sand, snow) and produces no scent. Animals and low-intelligence creatures will ignore the wearer unless directly provoked, sensing them only as a “hollow space” in the environment.
  • Dissonant Aura: The shroud creates a minor dampening field. The wearer is immune to the “Charmed” condition caused by social manipulation, as the magical distance of the shroud prevents emotional tethers from taking root.

Multiple Active Magics

  • Flicker of the Forsaken (1/Short Rest): As a reaction to being targeted by a social or mental attack, the wearer can pull the shroud tight. They become “Socially Untargetable” for one round; enemies simply lose interest in them as a primary threat, redirecting their focus to more “relevant” entities.
  • Cold Shoulder (1/Day): The wearer can release a burst of pure alienation in a 10-foot radius. All creatures in the area must succeed on a Willpower or Wisdom save or suffer a “Chilled Heart,” imposing a penalty on their next movement action as they are overcome by a sudden, inexplicable sense of profound loneliness.

Acquisition of the Hollow-Echo Shroud

The Hollow-Echo Shroud is an item born of the periphery, usually appearing where the social fabric of Saṃsāra has begun to fray. Because it is a Tier 1 item of Common rarity, it is not a guarded relic but rather a specialized garment for those whose roles—or souls—require them to remain on the outside looking in.

Methods of Acquisition

  • The Hermit’s Bequest: These shrouds are often found in the abandoned dwellings of “Void-Gazers” or ascetics who have passed away in isolation. Finding one usually involves trekking to the quietest, most desolate corners of a floating island.
  • Mourner’s Industry: In some Metropolitan districts, the shroud is produced for professional mourners or graveyard shift workers who wish to perform their duties without the burden of social interaction. They are often “hand-me-downs” within these somber guilds.
  • Accidental Weaving: Occasionally, a bolt of spectral silk is left in a “Dead Air” zone where no voices have spoken for years. The silk “starves” for resonance and naturally transforms into a shroud, later discovered by scavengers who mistake it for mere scrap.

Establishments of Trade and Marketplace Costs

Trading a shroud is a subdued affair. Because the item radiates alienation, it is rarely displayed in the front window; it is usually tucked away in the back, where it doesn’t “disturb” the other merchandise.

  • Funerary and Mourning Outfitters
    • Location: Quiet districts near “The Final Anchor” or crematorium sectors.
    • Description: Smelling of incense and cold stone, these shops serve those who deal with the end of things. The shrouds hang in dim corners, often mistaken for shadows.
    • Cost: 20 to 25 Silver Pieces.
    • Transaction: The shopkeeper will likely complete the sale with minimal eye contact. The price is standard for high-quality, specialized silk work.
  • Underground “Grey Markets”
    • Location: Basements and tunnels beneath the main trade plazas of Aetherion.
    • Description: These shops cater to spies, outcasts, and those who “do not exist” in the eyes of the law.
    • Cost: 12 to 18 Silver Pieces.
    • Transaction: These are often used goods. The lower price reflects the fact that the shroud may have a “memory” of its previous owner’s loneliness, making it slightly more potent but harder to discard.
  • Curiosity Shops of the Fringe
    • Location: Remote trading posts on the edges of the “Great Void” between islands.
    • Description: These shops are filled with items that “don’t quite fit.” The shopkeeper is often as alienated as the items they sell.
    • Cost: 30 Silver Pieces.
    • Transaction: The higher cost here reflects the rarity of finding a “fresh” weave away from the metropolitan centers. The merchant might accept a “trade of silence”—information about a secret location—instead of coin.
  • Aetheric Waste Reclaimers
    • Location: Near the refuse chutes of high-tier magical academies.
    • Description: Messy stalls piled with “failed” enchantments and drained artifacts.
    • Cost: 5 to 10 Silver Pieces.
    • Transaction: This is a gamble. At this price, the shroud might be torn or have a “leak” in its alienation field, requiring the avatar to spend time repairing the spectral fibers to regain the full mechanical benefits.

The Architecture of Isolation: Roleplaying the Hollow-Echo Shroud

Roleplaying with Item 419 of the Hollow-Echo Shroud requires a shift in presence. You are not “hidden” in the traditional sense of a rogue behind a curtain; you are “unimportant.” To the world, you are the background noise, the smudge on the lens, or the stranger whose face is forgotten before they even leave the room.

Crowded Plazas and High-Society Galas

  • Offense: When you need to reach a high-tier mark in a crowded ballroom, the shroud excels at “Social Infiltration.” Roleplay the way people naturally step aside without looking at you, their conversations continuing as if you were a ghost. You use Void-Step Stealth to reach the target’s pocket or plant a listening device, benefitting from the fact that witnesses will later struggle to describe your height, hair color, or even the fact that you were there at all.
  • Defense: If cornered by guards in a busy street, you use Flicker of the Forsaken. Roleplay the guards’ eyes glazing over as they suddenly decide the “real” threat must be the shouting merchant three stalls down. You don’t run; you simply walk away with the cold detachment of someone who doesn’t belong in the chase, leaving the aggressors feeling foolish and confused.

The Silence of the Dead-Air Tunnels

  • Offense: In the hollowed-out tunnels of the fringe rocks, sound carries for miles. Use the Unfelt Presence to move over crunching gravel or dry bones with absolute silence. Roleplay the way the local cave-predators sniff the air and turn away, unable to find the “soul-scent” of a living being. This allows you to set an ambush from the “dead space” behind them, striking before they realize the void has a blade.
  • Defense: Against spirits or echo-entities that hunt through emotional resonance, the Dissonant Aura acts as a cold shield. Roleplay your character centering themselves in their own isolation. When the ghost lunges to feed on your fear, it finds nothing to latch onto—the shroud makes your heart feel like a frozen stone, invisible to those who hunt for the heat of life.

Tactical Combat and Skirmishes

  • Offense: Use Cold Shoulder when surrounded by a pack of enemies. Roleplay a wave of crushing, grey loneliness washing out from the shimmering silk. As your enemies hesitate, overwhelmed by a sudden existential dread and the feeling that their allies are miles away, you strike at their slowed forms. You are the only one comfortable in this isolation; they are crippled by it.
  • Defense: When targeted by a telepath or a “Charm” spell from a Siren-class enemy, roleplay the mental attack sliding off the shroud’s spectral fibers. You feel the “tug” of the spell, but it cannot find purchase because, in this moment, you do not care to be known or loved. The Emotional Callus allows you to watch the Siren’s performance with clinical boredom, waiting for the perfect moment to counter.

Sensory Immersion for the Avatar

  • User’s Perspective: The world looks slightly desaturated, as if you are viewing life through a thin pane of frosted glass. You feel a constant, mild chill on your skin, and your own voice sounds thin and distant to your ears. There is a strange, melancholy peace in being the “Hollow Space.”
  • Observer’s Perspective: Looking at the wearer is like trying to remember a dream while you are waking up. Their edges seem blurry, and your mind keeps trying to slide off them to look at something more “vivid” nearby. Standing near them makes you feel a sudden, unwelcome urge to go home and call a friend.

Perception of Activation:

User’s Perspective

  • Sight: The world undergoes a “Desaturation Wash.” Colors bleed out into shades of grey and muted slate. Objects in your field of vision seem to lose their sharpness, appearing as though they are vibrating at a frequency just slightly out of phase with your own.
  • Sound: Ambient noise is replaced by a “Vacuum Hum.” The chatter of crowds or the roar of wind becomes a hollow, distant echo, as if you are listening to the world through a thick layer of ice. Your own breathing sounds unnervingly loud, yet strangely disconnected from your body.
  • Smell: The air becomes sterile and “Thin.” The rich scents of earth, food, or perfume vanish, replaced by the sharp, dry scent of high-altitude ozone and the metallic tang of a cold, empty room.
  • Taste: A sensation of “Ash and Water” coats the tongue. Flavors become indistinguishable, leaving only a lingering, neutral coldness in the mouth.
  • Touch: The weight of the shroud vanishes. You feel a “Ghost-Skin” sensation—a subtle, prickling numbness across your entire body that makes you feel as though you are no longer physically touching the ground you walk on.

Extra-Sensory Perceptions

  • Vibration of Apathy: You perceive the “Emotional Noise” of others as faint, irritating static. You can sense where people are, but you feel no connection to them; they appear as “hollow silhouettes” rather than living beings.
  • The Void-Gaze: You gain an intuitive sense of “Lines of Sight.” You can feel when someone’s gaze is about to fall on you, and you feel the shroud instinctively “blur” your presence before the eye can focus.
  • Causal Distance: You feel a sense of “Temporal Lag.” It feels as though you are existing a fraction of a second behind everyone else, safe in a pocket of forgotten time.

Observer’s Perspective

  • Sight: The wearer becomes “Visual Background Noise.” Your brain struggles to keep them in focus; they look like a smudge of heat haze or a lingering shadow on the periphery of the eye. If you look directly at them, you feel a sudden, inexplicable urge to look at anything else.
  • Sound: The wearer produces a “Sound-Sink.” Footsteps are not just quiet; they seem to be swallowed by the air. Standing near them makes your own voice sound uncomfortably quiet to your ears.
  • Emotion: Observers experience a “Chill of the Outcast.” A sudden, sharp feeling of loneliness or the urge to go home and check on loved ones often strikes those who spend too much time in the shroud’s proximity.

Positives

  • Invisible in Plain Sight: You can stand in the middle of a busy plaza and remain entirely unremarked upon. It is the ultimate tool for observation without interference.
  • Mental Fortitude: The shroud acts as an emotional dampener, making you nearly immune to panic, fear, or the manipulative charms of others.
  • Perfect Anonymity: Witnesses will recall that “someone” was there, but will be unable to provide a single identifying feature, often confusing your presence with a trick of the light.

Negatives

  • The Lingering Cold: Extended use (over 4 hours) leaves the wearer feeling “spiritually numb,” making it difficult to engage in genuine social bonding for days after removal.
  • Social Ghosting: Allies may accidentally overlook or forget to include the wearer in tactical plans or conversations while the shroud is active, as the alienation affects friends and foes alike.
  • Existential Erosion: Prolonged activation causes a “Fade Effect,” where the user begins to doubt their own reality, leading to temporary penalties on tasks requiring high self-will or ego.

Schematic 419: Weaving of the Hollow-Echo Shroud

Materials Needed

  • 3 Yards of Spectral Silk: A rare, semi-transparent fabric harvested from silkworms raised in total silence.
  • 1 Vial of Void-Gaze Essence: Collected from the concentrated stare of a “Dead-Air” hermit.
  • 12 Shards of Frosted Mirror: To be ground into a fine dust and infused into the hem.
  • Thread of a Forgotten Memory: A single strand of silver thread soaked in an alchemical solution of “Lethe-Water.”
  • Distilled Ozone: To provide the garment with its characteristic sharp, sterile scent.
  • Grey-Silver Dye: Derived from crushed lead and mountain mist.

Tools Required

  • Loom of Stillness: A specialized wooden loom treated with “Sushupti” oil to prevent any creaking during the weave.
  • Bone Needles: Carved from the remains of a creature that died of old age in isolation.
  • Mortar and Pestle of Numbness: Used for grinding the mirror shards without generating heat.
  • Atmospheric Bell Jar: To keep the ozone and essence contained during the final infusion.
  • Soft-Bristled Ghost-Brush: For applying the dye to the individual spectral fibers.

Skill Requirements

  • Tier 1 Weaver’s Craft: Proficiency in handling delicate, non-physical materials.
  • Basic Alchemical Synthesis: Necessary for distilling the Lethe-Water and Ozone.
  • Meditation (Internal Silence): The crafter must be able to maintain a state of total mental detachment for at least 6 hours.
  • Fringe-Logic Literacy: Understanding the laws of Saṃsāran “Dead-Air” zones to ensure the shroud’s field doesn’t collapse.

Crafting Steps

  1. Fiber Preparation: Wash the Spectral Silk in Distilled Ozone. This strips the fabric of any lingering “warmth” or social resonance from the harvester.
  2. The Grey Wash: Using the Ghost-Brush, apply the Grey-Silver Dye in long, rhythmic strokes. The color must be inconsistent—shifting between grey and silver—to ensure it never catches a direct beam of light.
  3. Grinding the Distance: Crush the Frosted Mirror shards in the mortar. While grinding, the crafter must focus on a memory of being a stranger in a crowd. Sift this “Visual Distance” dust into the fabric’s weave.
  4. Setting the Loom: String the Loom of Stillness with the Thread of a Forgotten Memory. This acts as the structural spine of the shroud, ensuring its magic is “anchored” in the concept of being overlooked.
  5. The Silent Weave: Weave the spectral silk into a simple, seamless poncho shape. This must be done in a room where no words are spoken and no music is played. If a sound occurs, the weave must be restarted.
  6. The Void Infusion: Place the completed garment inside the Atmospheric Bell Jar. Release the Void-Gaze Essence into the jar. As the silk “drinks” the gaze, it will begin to flicker and ripple like oil on water.
  7. Final Cold-Press: Remove the shroud and press it with a cold iron. Perform the “Right of Erasure”—a ritual where the crafter looks at the item and attempts to forget they ever made it. If successful, the Hollow-Echo Shroud is primed.

Silver-Grey Hiding-Skin 419

In the many-suns-ago, before the floating rocks learned to float quietly, the world was suffering from the Great Sickness of the Open-Mouths. The meat-people of the High-Plazas did not know how to shut their noise-holes. They did the talking, and the shouting, and the banging of the brass-cups. The scratched-stones call this time The Era of Too Much Hello.

In the city of Aetherion, the Chief of the Shouting-Meat [translator note: perhaps a mayor, or a king of merchants] made a terrible law. He said, “All meat-people must be seen! All meat-people must do the aggressive hand-touching [handshakes]! If a person is not perceived by five other persons before the sun goes into the wet-below, they will be given to the angry-crabs!”

But on the falling-edge of the rock, where the air smells like the old-dust, lived a person. His name was Varn-Tol, which translates to The-Man-With-No-Echo, or perhaps, He-Who-Eats-The-Quiet. He was a Glass-Hearted one [a hermit]. He hated the aggressive hand-touching. He hated the shouting. The noise of the city gave his brain-meat the feeling of a thousand angry beetles dancing in his skull.

When the Chief of the Shouting-Meat sent his Eye-Guards to count the people, The-Man-With-No-Echo said to the empty dirt, “I will not be counted. I will un-be.”

He walked into the Dead-Air caves. He searched for the quiet-crawlers [silkworms] that eat the grey-moss and never make the squeak-sound. He harvested their spit-threads. The text says: “He spun the threads while holding the breath of his lungs, because if he breathed out, the thread would remember his life and ruin the magic.”

For four-hundred-and-eighteen turnings of the moon, he tried to make a hiding-skin. But the skins were too loud. When he put them on, the Eye-Guards still looked at him and said, “There is a man.” He burned all four-hundred-and-eighteen skins in the cold-fire.

Then, he made the Four-Hundred-and-Nineteen.

For this one, he did not just use the quiet-crawler spit. He took a seeing-stone [mirror] and smashed it with a rock until it was the dust-of-not-seeing. He caught the wet-air [mist] from the mountains and boiled it down to the absolute nothing. He stitched the fabric together using a needle made from the bone of a fish that died alone at the bottom of the black-water.

He washed the fabric in the sweat of his own apathy. The old writings say: “He looked at the cloth, and he forced his mind to believe the cloth was a boring rock. He gave the cloth the power of the heavy-yawn.”

When the Great Day of Touching Hands arrived, the High-Plaza was a nightmare of noise. The Chief of the Shouting-Meat was sitting on his tall-chair, pointing his finger and yelling the names of the citizens. The Eye-Guards were doing the counting.

The-Man-With-No-Echo put the Four-Hundred-Nineteen over his head. It fell over his shoulders like the grey vomit of a sick cloud. It was cold like a dead lizard. He walked into the middle of the High-Plaza.

The Eye-Guards turned their faces to him. They opened their mouths to yell his name. But then, the magic of the Silver-Grey Hiding-Skin did its work.

The text becomes very poetic and confusing here. It reads: “The eyes of the guards hit the man, but the eyes slid off like hot fat on a smooth stone. The brains of the guards said, ‘Look at the man!’ but the souls of the guards said, ‘Why bother? He is just the empty space between two loud things.’ The guards blinked. They felt a sudden, terrible coldness in their blood-pumps [hearts]. They started crying for their mothers, completely forgetting they were supposed to be doing the counting.”

The-Man-With-No-Echo walked right up to the Chief of the Shouting-Meat. The Chief looked down. The Chief’s eyes went crossed. The Chief’s mouth opened, but he did not say “Hello.” Instead, the Chief said, “I suddenly feel the big sad-lonely. I wish to go to my sleeping-chamber and stare at the wall.”

The-Man-With-No-Echo stood directly in front of the Chief and did a little dance of mockery. He waved his grabbing-flesh [hands] in the Chief’s face. But the Chief only looked through him, staring at a mildly interesting crack in the floor-stones. The Chief sighed the heavy-breath of the outcast.

The-Man-With-No-Echo realized he was completely un-perceived. He was entirely disconnected from the meat-people. He was the ghost-that-breathes.

He did not go back to his cave. He walked out of the city. He walked past the screaming merchants, and the aggressive hand-touchers, and the angry-crabs. Nobody saw him. Nobody stopped him. As he walked, he left no foot-holes in the dirt. He cast no dark-shape [shadow] on the ground.

The scratched-stones say he walked until he simply became a piece of the distance. He faded into the grey-mist of the world. But he left the Four-Hundred-Nineteen behind, draped over a dead bush. Later, scavengers found the cloth. They did not know why they wanted to cry when they touched it. They sold it to a merchant of quiet things, and the merchant forgot he bought it, and so the curse of the un-being was passed down to the modern turnings.

The Moral of the Story: When the world is too full of the loud-mouths and the aggressive touching, do not fight them with a bigger stick; instead, wear the skin of the absolute-boring-nothing, so that their eyes slide off you like grease, and they are left alone to drown in their own terrible noise.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Name: Item 419: The Shroud of the Unseen Hermit

  • Classification: Arcane Artifact / Enchanted Garment
  • Description: A translucent, grey-silver poncho that feels unnaturally cold and smells of ozone.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Social Ghosting: Grants a +20% bonus to Stealth rolls made in populated areas (cities, crowds, parties).
    • Clinical Observer: Grants a +10% bonus to Psychology rolls made to detect lies or hidden motives.
    • Alienated Mind (Passive): The wearer is immune to magical Charm effects. However, they suffer a Penalty Die on all Persuade, Charm, or Fast Talk rolls.
    • Flicker of the Forsaken (Active): Spend 5 Magic Points. For 1d4 rounds, the user becomes “uninteresting.” Enemies must pass a Hard POW check to target the user if other viable targets are present.
  • Sanity Loss: 0/1 SAN to attune; the profound sense of isolation is a quiet, creeping weight.

Blades in the Dark

Name: Item 419: The Hollow-Echo Shroud

  • Item Type: Common Gear (Tier I)
  • Load: 1 (Worn as outerwear).
  • Mechanics:
    • Void-Step (Passive): You gain Potency when you Prowl through a crowd or public place. People instinctively forget your face.
    • Dissonant Aura (Passive): You are immune to the Charmed or Influenced conditions.
    • Flicker of the Forsaken (Active): Spend 1 Stress to make a Sway or Consort roll impossible against you for a scene; conversely, you suffer Reduced Effect on your own social actions.
    • Cold Shoulder (Active): Spend 2 Stress to unleash a wave of dread. Any NPCs in the immediate area suffer Limited Effect on their next action as they are overcome by a sense of isolation.
  • Syntax Note: The shroud makes you a “Ghost” in the social machine.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Name: Item 419: Hollow-Echo Shroud

  • Wondrous Item, Common
  • Attributes: While wearing this poncho, you have a -2 penalty to Charisma (Persuasion) and Charisma (Performance) checks.
  • Passive: The Unfelt Presence. You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made while in a crowd. You leave no footprints and have no scent.
  • Passive: Dissonant Aura. You are immune to the Charmed condition.
  • Active: Flicker of the Forsaken (1/Short Rest). As a reaction to being targeted by an attack or a spell, you can force the attacker to make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the attacker must choose a different target for the attack or lose the attack.
  • Active: Cold Shoulder (1/Day). As an action, each creature within 10 feet of you must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or have its movement speed halved until the end of its next turn.
  • Slot: Torso (Outerwear).

Knave (2nd Edition)

Name: Item 419: Grey-Mist Poncho

  • Item Type: Common Item (Tier 1)
  • Inventory Slots: 1 (Worn over armor).
  • Quality: 10/10 (Spectral Silk).
  • Mechanics:
    • Forgotten Face: All Stealth saves made in crowds or urban environments are made with Advantage.
    • Hollow Heart: The wearer automatically succeeds on saves against Charm or mind-altering social magic.
    • Social Penalty: All rolls to interact peacefully or persuasively with NPCs are made with Disadvantage.
    • Flicker (1/Day): An attacker must roll a second save (INT) to follow through with an attack against you; if they fail, they lose the action.
  • Syntax Note: If the shroud’s Quality reaches 0, the silk becomes opaque and loses its magical alienation.

Fate (Fate Core / Condensed)

Name: Item 419: The Hollow-Echo Shroud

  • Item Type: Common Extra
  • Functional Aspect: The Unseen Outsider
  • Stunts:
    • Void-Step Presence: Because I am wearing the Shroud, I gain a +2 to Stealth rolls when moving through crowds or public spaces where I can blend into the background noise.
    • Flicker of the Forsaken: Once per session, I can use the Shroud to declare that an NPC simply forgets I am a threat. I am removed from their list of targets until I take a direct offensive action against them.
    • Cold Shoulder: Once per session, I can use Will to attack all targets in my zone. This does not deal physical stress but instead places the Socially Isolated or Existentially Dreadful Aspect on the scene with two free invokes.
  • Mechanics: The Shroud imposes a -2 penalty to any roll where the avatar attempts to be the center of attention or inspire a crowd.

Numenera & Cypher System

Name: Hollow-Echo Shroud (Item 419)

  • Level: 1d6 (Common Artifact)
  • Form: A translucent, shimmering poncho that smells of ozone and cold air.
  • Mechanics:
    • Passive (Asset): The wearer has an Asset on all Stealth tasks and all tasks to resist mental or emotional manipulation (such as charm or coercion).
    • The Unfelt Presence: The difficulty of any task to notice or track the wearer is increased by one step. The wearer leaves no physical scent and minimal environmental footprints.
    • Flicker of the Forsaken (Active): As an action, the wearer becomes “Socially Untargetable.” For the next minute, enemies will prioritize any other target over the wearer unless the wearer attacks them directly.
    • Cold Shoulder (Active): The wearer releases a wave of isolation. All creatures in immediate range must make an Intellect defense roll or have their movement difficulty increased by one step for one minute. (Depletion: 1 in 1d20).
  • Syntax Note: The wearer suffers an Inability on all tasks related to Persuasion or positive social interaction.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Name: Hollow-Echo Shroud (Item 419)

  • Item 2: Common, Abjuration, Magical, Shadow
  • Price: 30 gp
  • Usage: worn (torso); Bulk: L
  • Stat Block:
    • Skill Bonus: +1 item bonus to Stealth checks while in crowds and Insight checks to detect deception.
    • Passive: Dissonant Aura. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Will saves against Emotion and Mental effects. You are immune to the Charmed condition.
    • Passive: Unfelt Presence. You leave no scent and gain a +2 circumstance bonus to avoid being tracked in urban environments.
    • Activate [Reaction]: Flicker of the Forsaken. Frequency: Once per day. Trigger: You are targeted by an attack. Effect: The Shroud ripples. The attacker must succeed at a DC 16 Will save or redirect their attack to a different target within range (attacker’s choice).
    • Activate [Two-Actions]: Cold Shoulder. Frequency: Once per day. Effect: You emit a wave of alienation. Creatures in a 10-foot emanation must succeed at a DC 16 Will save or be Frightened 1.
  • Syntax Note: You take a –2 item penalty to Diplomacy and Performance checks while the Shroud is visible.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Name: Item 419: The Hollow-Echo Shroud

  • Item Type: Minor Relic / Protective Gear
  • Weight: 0.5 lbs
  • Mechanics:
    • Social Static: The wearer has the Outcast Hindrance while the Shroud is openly worn, but gains a +1 bonus to all Stealth rolls.
    • Hollow Core: The wearer receives a +2 bonus to Spirit rolls to resist any supernatural Social or Mental effects (such as the Puppet power).
    • Flicker of the Forsaken (Active): Once per session, as a Reaction, an enemy attempting to attack the wearer must make a Notice roll at –2. If they fail, they must pick a new target or lose the action.
    • Cold Shoulder (Active): As an action, the wearer makes a Spirit roll. On a success, all enemies within a Small Burst Template are Distracted as they are overcome by profound loneliness.
  • Syntax Note: Animals will not attack the wearer unless the wearer acts aggressively first.

Shadowrun (6th World Edition)

Name: Item 419: The Null-Presence Shroud

  • Item Type: Qi Focus (Force 2) / Enchanted Clothing
  • Availability: 4
  • Cost: 5,200¥
  • Stats: * Dice Pool Bonus: +2 to Sneaking tests (urban/crowds).
    • Social Penalty: –2 to all Influence and Con tests.
  • Mechanics:
    • Dissonant Aura (Passive): The wearer gains +2 dice to resist any Mana-based spells or Critter powers that target the mind or emotions (e.g., Control Thoughts, Influence).
    • Unfelt Presence (Passive): The wearer produces no scent and leaves no “Astral Signature” footprint while moving. Low-Intelligence critters (Para-animals) will ignore the wearer unless attacked.
    • Flicker of the Forsaken (Minor Action): Spend 1 Edge. For the remainder of the round, any NPC attempting to target the wearer must first succeed in an Intuition + Perception [3] test to “remember” why the wearer is a threat.
    • Cold Shoulder (Major Action): The user releases a pulse of alienation. Targets within 5 meters must succeed in a Willpower + Charisma test or suffer a –1 dice pool penalty to all actions for 2 rounds as they are overcome by existential dread.
  • Syntax Note: Occupies the Torso (Outerwear) slot. Wireless functionality: None.

Starfinder (2nd Edition / Playtest)

Name: Hollow-Echo Shroud (Item 419)

  • Item Level: 2
  • Price: 600 Credits
  • Bulk: L
  • Usage: Worn (Torso/Outerwear)
  • Stats: * Skill Bonus: +1 item bonus to Stealth checks (Advantage in crowds) and Perception to sense motives.
  • Mechanics:
    • Passive: Dissonant Aura. You gain a +1 status bonus to Will saves against Mental and Emotion effects. You are immune to the Charmed condition.
    • Passive: Unfelt Presence. You leave no scent and cannot be tracked by biological means. You gain a +2 bonus to AC against Opportunity Attacks triggered by your movement.
    • Active: Flicker of the Forsaken [Reaction]: Frequency: Once per day. Trigger: You are targeted by a biological creature. Effect: The shroud ripples. The attacker must succeed at a Will save (DC 13) or be forced to pick a new target (if available) or lose the action.
    • Active: Cold Shoulder [Two-Actions]: Frequency: Once per day. Effect: Creatures in a 10-foot emanation must succeed at a Will save (DC 13) or have their Speed halved for 1 round.
  • Syntax Note: You take a –2 item penalty to Diplomacy and Performance checks.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Name: TL 12 Social-Dampening Veil (Item 419)

  • Tech Level: 12 (Psionic-Integrated Fabric)
  • Mass: 0.1 kg
  • Cost: Cr 12,000
  • Stats: * Skill DM: Grants DM+1 to Stealth checks in populated areas.
  • Mechanics:
    • Hollow Core (Passive): The wearer receives a DM+2 bonus to all checks made to resist Psionic intrusion or social manipulation.
    • Unfelt Presence: Automated security sensors and biological guard animals suffer a DM-2 penalty to detect the wearer unless they are looking for “hollow spots” in the environment.
    • Flicker of the Forsaken: As a Reaction, the wearer may force an attacker to make an EDU (8+) check. If the attacker fails, they momentarily lose focus and suffer DM-2 on their attack.
    • Cold Shoulder: As a Significant Action, the wearer can project a wave of loneliness. All NPCs within 3 meters must pass a PSI or WILL (8+) check or suffer DM-1 to all checks for the next 1D6 rounds.
  • Syntax Note: The wearer suffers DM-2 on all Persuade or Carouse checks.

Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay: Wrath & Glory

Name: Item 419: The Shroud of the Forsaken Void

  • Tier: 1
  • Cost: 12 Value / 2 Influence
  • Keywords: [PSYCHIC], [STEALTH], [OUTCAST]
  • Stats: * Attribute Bonus: +1d to Stealth (A) and Insight (Int) tests.
  • Mechanics:
    • Dissonant Aura: You gain +1d to resist any Psychic powers with the [TELEPATHY] keyword. You are immune to any effect that grants the Charmed condition.
    • The Unfelt Presence: You leave no scent and ignore any penalties to Stealth rolls from environmental tracking (footprints, disturbed dust).
    • Flicker of the Forsaken: Once per combat, when you are targeted by an attack, you may spend 1 Ruin/Glory to force the attacker to target a different ally instead (if within range).
    • Cold Shoulder: As an Action, make a Psychic (Wil) test against the Resolve of all enemies within 5 meters. On a success, targets are Hindered (1) for one round.
  • Syntax Note: Occupies the Torso slot. Your Fellowship attribute is treated as being 1 point lower for all positive social interactions.