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Shugendo 367 of the River Turning Horagai

—

by

Dale
in

Lore:

  • Carved from the heavy spiraled shell of a mountain-river conch found in the snowmelt gorges of Saṃsāra, this ritual trumpet was originally utilized by yamabushi ascetics to mimic the roar of dragons and signal between distant hermitages.
  • Initiates of the water-fall purification rites discovered that sound, wind, and kinetic shock are merely rivers of raw vibration that can be bent rather than endured.
  • By carving Taoist trigrams of water (Kan) and wind (Sun) into the inner spiral, the conch was transformed into a conduit that catches oncoming waves of physical force, magical vibrations, and elemental currents, spiraling them through the acoustic chambers to alter their trajectory.
  • Inscribed with the tally mark “367” by the monastic quartermasters of the Mist-Crest Sanctuary, it was distributed to vanguard guides whose duty was to turn avalanches and deflect gale-force gusts away from climbing pilgrimages.
  • The horn serves not as a weapon of blunt resistance, but as an instrument of yielding redirection, guiding wild violence along harmless curvilinear paths back toward the environment or the instigator.

Description:

  • A ceremonial conch trumpet roughly twelve inches in length, retaining the pale, cream-and-amber calcified ridges of high-altitude river mollusks.
  • The mouthpiece is fashioned from cold-hammered bronze, engraved with delicate wavy water-patterns and bound to the shell’s apex using dark red silk wrapping cords.
  • The open flared lip of the shell is lined with a band of polished meteoric silver, carved on the interior curve with spiraling water trigrams that faintly shimmer with an iridescent mother-of-pearl sheen.
  • Two braided suspension cords made of coarse hemp and tipped with small, polished river-jasper beads allow the horn to hang comfortably across the chest or over the shoulder.
  • When energy or forceful air passes near the flared mouth, the conch emits a low, resonant drone like the echo of distant rapids, pulling stray vibrations toward its spiraled maw.

Detailed Stats:

  • Item Tier: Tier 1
  • Rarity: Common
  • Armor Check (AC) Contribution: +0 AC
  • Item Health Points: Maximum Avatar Health Points plus 10 (Resilience 10 multiplied by Tier 1)
  • Resilience: 10
  • Weight: 1.5 pounds
  • Bound Status: Unbound
  • Required Attunement: Simple attunement (10 minutes of blowing rhythmic, low breaths through the horn while seated near moving air or water)
  • Component Requirements: Requires no consumed fuel; functions on the acoustic and spiritual discipline of the user’s breath, though rinsing the interior with clean mountain water once a month maintains resonance

Passive Magics:

  • Vortical Deflection: While worn across the chest and attuned, the natural acoustic vortex of the conch bends incoming ranged kinetic missiles. The avatar receives a +1 bonus to AC and defense checks against non-magical ranged attacks (such as arrows, thrown daggers, or slingshot stones) as the horn shifts the air currents directly around the torso.
  • Sound-Wave Dissipation: The inner chambers dampen extreme auditory vibrations. The avatar has advantage on saving throws against being Deafened or incapacitated by thunder damage, deafening shouts, or concussive sonic blasts.
  • Vector Sense: The horn hums faintly against the avatar’s ribs whenever a high-velocity physical or magical projectile enters a 30-foot perimeter, granting a +1 bonus to initiative checks when ambushed by ranged attacks.

Activable Magics:

  • Deflective Gale: As a reaction when an enemy within 30 feet makes a ranged attack (physical or elemental) targeting the avatar or an ally within 5 feet, the user raises the conch to their lips and blows a sharp, brassy note. A spiraling cone of compressed air intercepts the projectile or beam, imposing disadvantage on the attack roll. If the attack misses, the user redirects the projectile up to 20 feet away to strike an unoccupied space or harmlessly glance off terrain. This reaction can be used twice per short or long rest.
  • River-Turns-the-Stone: As a reaction when the avatar is hit by a spell or effect that deals bludgeoning, force, thunder, or cold damage, the user sounds a low drone from the horn. The incoming damage is reduced by 1d8 + avatar’s Wisdom modifier. The avatar then redirects the diverted kinetic force along the ground, forcing the original attacker (if within 20 feet) to succeed on a Dexterity saving throw (DC 8 + proficiency bonus + Wisdom modifier) or be knocked prone by the returning shockwave. Once used, this ability cannot be used again until finishing a short or long rest.
  • Spiral Echo Return: As an action, the user channels their own spiritual breath through the horn to release a 15-foot spiraling wave of resonant acoustic force. Creatures caught in the cone must make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, they are pushed back 10 feet and have their movement speed reduced by 10 feet until the end of their next turn as the swirling vortex disrupts their center of gravity. On a success, they are pushed back only 5 feet with no reduction in speed.

Specific Slot:

  • Torso / Neck Slot (Worn slung over the shoulder across the chest, or held in one hand)

Tags: Shugendo, Horagai, Conch, Tier 1, Common, Torso Slot, Energy Redirection, Kinetic, Sonic, Deflection, Acoustic, Attuned, Yamabushi, Trumpet, Wind, Water, Shockwave, Vibration, Aeromancy, Taoist, Reflection, Resonant, Abjuration

Commerce and Acquisition of the River-Turning Horagai in Saṃsāra

  • High-Mountain Waterfall Sanctuaries and Pilgrim Cloisters:
    • Situated along the roaring torrents, glacial melt cascades, and misted cliffs of holy mountain passes, these monastic shrines are tended by elder yamabushi ritualists and liturgical horn-blowers.
    • In these tranquil pavilions, the conch rests upon a wet river-slate altar beside stick incense and copper offering bowls, offered to ascetic guides, pilgrims, and valley messengers who need to turn whistling gale-winds and ward off falling rockslides.
    • Standard pilgrims and visiting avatars purchase the horagai for a customary temple donation of 80 silver to 105 silver, while ordained yamabushi, ascetic acolytes, or mountain messengers carrying monastic credentials receive an initiation discount, securing the horn for 72 silver to 95 silver.
    • Selling a surplus horn back to a waterfall sanctuary yields 50 silver to 65 silver in direct World Bank credit chits, or fair exchange in consecrated trail rations, braided hemp climbing lines, and sealed flasks of blessed glacier water.
  • Acoustic Ateliers and Resonant Curio Boutiques:
    • Located within the cultural quarters, conservatory boulevards, and artisan districts of major island capitols, these specialized storefronts cater to wind-mages, bardic choristers, and planar acoustic researchers.
    • The shopkeeper displays the trumpet on a velvet-lined rosewood stand beneath soft crystal lighting, demonstrating its properties by striking tuning forks near the shell’s mouth to show how the bronze rim and spiraling nacre bend and channel acoustic vibrations into harmonic currents.
    • Unaffiliated spellcasters and foreign collectors pay a retail price ranging from 95 silver to 130 silver, while recognized members of collegiate choirs, bardic guilds, or wind-weaving academies obtain an artisan’s courtesy rate of 85 silver to 117 silver.
    • Selling an unblemished conch to an acoustic outfitter commands 65 silver to 85 silver deposited into the seller’s institutional account, provided the bronze mouthpiece has no cracks and the inner water trigrams retain their pearl-like sheen.
  • Canyon Outpost Armories and Gorge-Watch Depots:
    • Stationed at fortified rope-bridge crossings, wind-carved canyon watchtowers, and river-gorge frontier barricades, these militarized supply depots outfit scouts, bridge guards, and wilderness rangers.
    • Quartermasters issue the trumpet to scouting skirmishers and canyon sentries to divert enemy sniper bolts, deflect whistling arrows in narrow passes, and signal across vast chasms without fear of wind distortion.
    • Because of the intense wind hazards and projectile combat common to the deep canyons, the outright purchase cost runs from 110 silver to 140 silver, though contracted gorge-wardens and licensed bridge-scouts can sign for one at a subsidized rate of 99 silver to 126 silver.
    • Selling a captured or extra conch to a canyon armory brings 70 silver to 90 silver in frontier scrip, supply requisitions, or certified bank ledger transfers.
  • Ferryman Havens and River-Wharf Pawn Vaults:
    • Nestled in the damp, fog-shrouded docks beneath river trade towns, waterfall boat lifts, and subterranean canal crossings, these cluttered emporiums deal in salvaged river goods, unclaimed transit cargo, and traveling curios.
    • Pawnbrokers market the shell to bargemen, smugglers, and canal mercenaries who prize an off-hand instrument capable of knocking aside crossbow bolts during water ambushes and blowing concussive blasts to shove boarding skiffs away from the gunwales.
    • Prices fluctuate based on seasonal water traffic and recent river piracy; an adventurer can pick up a water-stained conch for as low as 70 silver during the dry winter low-waters, or pay up to 125 silver when spring floods make navigation treacherous.
    • Pawnbrokers buy these trumpets swiftly with few questions, offering 45 silver to 60 silver in loose silver coin, river-jade nuggets, or trade ingots to keep transactions unrecorded by the World Bank.

Tactical Roleplay and Combat Applications of the River-Turning Horagai

  • Narrow Mountain Ravines and Scree-Choked Gorges:
    • Defensive Roleplay:
      • When ambushed by archers or slingers perched along the high canyon rims, the avatar holds the shell across their chest, letting the passive air vortex bend incoming arrows off course into the dirt.
      • If a heavy barrage of crossbow bolts or falling scree drops toward an ally, the avatar raises the bronze mouthpiece and sounds a sharp, piercing note to trigger Deflective Gale, creating a spinning cone of air that whips the projectiles aside into the rocky walls.
      • When struck by a falling boulder or a club-wielding hill brute, the user invokes River-Turns-the-Stone, blowing a deep resonance that absorbs the jarring bludgeoning shock and routes the kinetic vibration along the ground to knock the attacker flat onto the gravel.
    • Offensive Roleplay:
      • Positioned at a narrow canyon choke point, the avatar takes a deep diaphragm breath and unleashes Spiral Echo Return, channeling a swirling acoustic shockwave that shoves advancing skirmishers 10 feet backward down the scree, stripping their footing and causing them to slide down the loose shale.
      • After redirecting a barrage of stone projectiles away from their allies, the avatar aims the deflection vector directly into brittle cliffside formations, deliberately triggering a localized rockslide that seals off an enemy flanking route.
  • Roaring Waterfalls and Mist-Shrouded River Crossings:
    • Defensive Roleplay:
      • While crossing slippery moss-covered logs or fording foaming rapids, the avatar sounds low, droning tones that align with the natural cadence of the rushing water, using the acoustic vibration to steady their footing and maintain balance against the churning current.
      • When hostile aquatic serpents or river ambushers strike with pressurized water jets or concussive tail slaps, the conch draws the kinetic water force into its spiraled core, completely deadening the impact before it reaches the avatar’s chest.
      • Caught beneath a sudden surge of glacial snowmelt, the avatar blows into the conch to part the descending curtain of water, bending the cascading weight around their companions like an invisible prow.
    • Offensive Roleplay:
      • Standing knee-deep in the rapids, the avatar channels their spiritual breath into Spiral Echo Return, sweeping the flared mouth along the water’s surface to generate a violent, concussive wave that knocks swimming adversaries downstream and batters boarding skiffs away from the crossing.
      • Utilizing the redirected kinetic energy from River-Turns-the-Stone, the avatar stamps the ground as the horn blares, sending a resonant shockwave rippling through the riverbed that rattles the bones of submerged foes and forces them to breach for air.
  • Wind-Swept High Steppes and Grassland Plains:
    • Defensive Roleplay:
      • Across open, flat grasslands where cover is nonexistent, the avatar relies on Vector Sense to anticipate incoming long-range recurve arrows, hearing the conch hum against their ribs seconds before the missiles enter lethal range.
      • When mounted horse-archers circle to loose a synchronized volley, the avatar blows Deflective Gale, warping the steppe winds into a twisting barrier that scatters the arrows harmlessly into the tall grass.
      • Against howling dust storms or gale-force winds that threaten to blind or overturn wagons, the user draws ambient wind shear into the flared silver mouth, converting buffeting turbulence into a quiet, manageable draft.
    • Offensive Roleplay:
      • As cavalry raiders charge across the open plain, the avatar plants their stance and releases Spiral Echo Return directly into the vanguard. The sudden acoustic blast hits the charging mounts like a solid timber beam, throwing the lead horses off stride, pushing them backward, and disrupting the entire cavalry wedge.
      • Siphoning the velocity of incoming thrown javelins, the avatar twists the mouthpiece to redirect the momentum sideways into adjacent horsemen, unseating riders using the force of their own companions’ thrown weapons.
  • Enclosed Subterranean Crypts and Stone Tunnels:
    • Defensive Roleplay:
      • In tight, resonant stone corridors where acoustic spells and sonic detonations are normally catastrophic, the conch acts as a protective damper, using Sound-Wave Dissipation to absorb concussive reverberations and keep the party’s eardrums intact.
      • When animated stone constructs or armored grave sentinels swing heavy mauls, the avatar sounds River-Turns-the-Stone to deaden the blunt impact, allowing them to parry blows that would otherwise shatter bone.
      • If a pressure-plate dart trap triggers in a corridor, the conch’s passive deflection field pushes the cluster of small steel darts harmlessly against the stonework.
    • Offensive Roleplay:
      • The avatar steps into a low-ceilinged crypt chamber and sounds Spiral Echo Return. Confined by solid granite walls, the spiraling acoustic wave acts like a battering ram, slamming skeletal guardians against the walls, dislodging ancient sarcophagus lids, and leaving the defenders staggered and crawling.
      • Using Deflective Gale, the avatar catches magical ray attacks or alchemical fire vials thrown by tunnel lurkers, whipping the projectiles around tight corridor corners to strike enemies hiding behind total cover.
  • Urban Alleyways and Crowded Market Thoroughfares:
    • Defensive Roleplay:
      • Navigating packed market squares or narrow alleys where crossbow snipers shoot from rooftops, the conch’s Vortical Deflection nudges rooftop bolts aside without harming innocent bystanders in the crowd.
      • When city riot shields, spellcaster beams, or thrown cobblestones target the party, the user uses Deflective Gale to turn the projectiles harmlessly upward into awning canvas or empty sky.
      • Facing a thunderous roar or sonic stun spell cast by guild enforcers, the avatar holds the shell forward, allowing its interior acoustic spirals to catch the sound waves and neutralize the ringing stun effect.
    • Offensive Roleplay:
      • When cornered in a dead-end alley by a press of mercenaries, the user blows an explosive blast through the conch via Spiral Echo Return, driving the frontline push back 10 feet into market stalls, tipping over heavy wooden handcarts, and scattering the press to open an immediate escape path.
      • By absorbing the kinetic impact of a charging brawler’s tackle through River-Turns-the-Stone, the avatar redirects the brute’s momentum into the paved road, shattering the street pavers beneath their feet and sending the aggressor skidding face-first across the cobbles.

Perception of Activation:

  • Visual Perception:
    • User’s Perspective:
      • When the bronze mouthpiece touches the lips and breath is blown into the conch, a luminous cyan vortex unfurls inside the spiraled bell, rotating in smooth, concentric rings.
      • Thin, brilliant lines of turquoise light trace through the exterior ridges of the calcified shell, matching the cadence of the player’s exhalation.
      • Incoming projectiles—such as iron arrowheads, sling stones, and crossbow bolts—visibly curve around the rim of the shell, caught in swirling slipstreams of turquoise-tinted air that bend their paths downward or outward away from the body.
      • The avatar sees micro-currents of atmospheric air highlighted in pale green and white filaments, clearly outlining incoming ballistic arcs before they land.
    • Observer’s Perspective:
      • Spectators see the mouth of the pale shell ignite with an ethereal, spinning disc of sea-foam and azure radiance.
      • Incoming arrows, throwing darts, and kinetic strikes appear to strike an invisible spinning dome of dense air, deflecting at sharp 90-degree angles with small, glowing ripples.
      • The user’s hair and garments are caught in a circular localized updraft, fluttering violently as if standing in the eye of a miniature typhoon.
    • Positives:
      • Clearly visualizes the deflected trajectory of missiles, allowing the user and allies to anticipate where stray projectiles will land.
      • The radiant light provides immediate confirmation that the acoustic deflection field is actively rotating.
    • Negatives:
      • The bright turquoise flare from the bell completely dispels any personal concealment in night skirmishes or shadowy tunnels.
      • Concentrating on the visual vortex inside the flared mouth can momentarily cause minor peripheral tunnel vision.
  • Auditory Perception:
    • User’s Perspective:
      • Blowing into the mouthpiece produces a deep, reverberating brass bellow that feels as though it vibrates through the user’s skull and collarbones.
      • Ambient loud noises—such as the thunder of cavalry hooves, collapsing boulders, or roaring water—are harmonized and modulated into a singular low drone, removing sharp, deafening auditory spikes.
      • The deflection of incoming projectiles generates a distinct, whip-like acoustic crack, sounding like a wet sail snapping in high wind as momentum is diverted.
    • Observer’s Perspective:
      • Observers hear a resonant, haunting horn call that echoes with the depth of a mountain gorge, cutting clean through the chaotic clatter of melee combat.
      • As projectiles deflect, bystanders hear a high-pitched whistling hum, similar to a rapidly spinning top or a deflected iron blade skipping across stone.
    • Positives:
      • The deep, penetrating tone can serve as an unmistakable rally signal or warning beacon for distant allies across large battlefields.
      • The low acoustic frequency deadens concussive ringing in the ears caused by nearby explosions or deafening monster roars.
    • Negatives:
      • The resounding horn blast echoes for hundreds of yards in canyons or stone chambers, alerting distant patrols to the user’s presence.
      • Continuous blowing prevents the user from speaking or giving verbal commands while actively channeling the deflection.
  • Olfactory Perception:
    • User’s Perspective:
      • Inhaling to blow through the horn brings a crisp, refreshing scent of cold mountain river water, crushed river moss, and clean limestone silt.
      • As the bronze collar warms against the breath, a light, warm metallic aroma blends with the scent of wet sea-shell calcium.
    • Observer’s Perspective:
      • Those standing close by catch a sudden, cooling breeze that smells like fresh rain mist hitting river gravel, cutting through the reek of dust, sweat, and dried blood.
    • Positives:
      • The cool, mineralized aroma clears dry throats and invigorates the respiratory system during long climbs or intense sprints.
    • Negatives:
      • The distinct scent of high-altitude river water and wet mineral slate can be smelled downwind by acute subterranean trackers.
  • Gustatory Perception:
    • User’s Perspective:
      • The bronze mouthpiece leaves a cool, pleasant mineral sweetness on the lips and tongue, similar to drinking from an ice-cold mountain stream flowing over copper deposits.
      • Air entering the mouth feels light, crisp, and devoid of dry grit or particulate dust.
    • Observer’s Perspective:
      • Bystanders do not taste the activation directly, but note the user’s relaxed facial set and the absence of mouth dryness even during sustained physical exertion.
    • Positives:
      • Keeps the mouth moist and eliminates dry cottonmouth induced by combat panic or prolonged exertion.
    • Negatives:
      • Leaves a lingering, slightly coppery taste on the palate that can persist for an hour after prolonged use.
  • Tactile Perception:
    • User’s Perspective:
      • The shell vibrates vigorously against the fingers and chest, producing a soothing, numbing oscillation that relieves hand tremors and finger fatigue.
      • When an incoming projectile is turned, the avatar feels a firm, elastic pushback against the shell, as if a rubber ball were caught and bounced off a taut drumhead.
      • A gentle, outward-blowing cool draft washes over the user’s face, neck, and hands, cooling sweaty skin.
    • Observer’s Perspective:
      • If standing within the deflection cone, observers feel a firm, spiraling cushion of pressurized air brush past their shoulders, slightly pushing them outward.
      • The ground beneath the user’s feet vibrates faintly in concentric ripples, scattering loose gravel and fine sand outward.
    • Positives:
      • Absorbs the violent kinetic shock of deflected impacts, ensuring the user’s wrists and forearms do not suffer bruising or sprains.
      • The cool air wash prevents overheating when operating in oppressive heat or volcanic zones.
    • Negatives:
      • Sustained vibration of the heavy conch can leave the thumbs and palms feeling slightly tingling or numb after multiple consecutive blasts.
  • Extra-Sensory Perceptions:
    • Mind’s Eye Perception:
      • User’s Perspective: Looking inward through the Mind’s Eye reveals fluid, rotating streamline vectors surrounding the avatar’s silhouette; incoming kinetic velocities appear as red incoming trajectories that immediately bend into smooth, blue curvilinear arcs flowing harmlessly away from the center.
      • Observer’s Perspective: Observers viewing through their Mind’s Eye see the user enveloped in a translucent, spinning torus of kinetic redistribution runes, with incoming damage variables shifting instantly from direct impact to environmental dispersion.
      • Positives: Provides real-time tactical visualization of safe deflection zones, showing exactly where deflected missiles are being routed.
      • Negatives: The continuous visual feed of swirling ballistic arcs can create minor cognitive strain when dodging multiple attackers simultaneously.
    • True Sight (Ultraviolet Spectrum):
      • User’s Perspective: In the ultraviolet spectrum, the conch manifests as an open acoustic vortex resembling a nautilus shell of swirling indigo and cerulean light, drawing ambient turbulence into its spiraled throat and venting it as smooth, laminar wave-fronts.
      • Observer’s Perspective: True Sight reveals a spiraling dragon of concentrated wind mana curling outward from the horn’s bell, batting aside incoming spells and arrow trajectories with sweeping coils of violet-tinted atmospheric pressure.
      • Positives: Confirms the complete boundary of the air-screen, ensuring the user knows precisely which adjacent allies are shielded.
      • Negatives: The spinning ultraviolet patterns can briefly drown out faint, low-intensity spiritual signatures or invisible stalkers hidden in the distance.
    • Soul Sense / Spiritual Attunement:
      • User’s Perspective: The soul aligns with the yielding principle of water (sui-do); the avatar experiences a serene detachment, viewing hostile force not as an attack to be fought, but as an energetic current to be gracefully redirected along its natural path of least resistance.
      • Observer’s Perspective: Sensitives nearby feel the user’s spirit loosen and flow like a rushing mountain river—impossible to grasp, crush, or break with direct linear hostility.
      • Positives: Fully buffers the avatar against psychic rage, panic, and mental compulsion that relies on aggressive force or violent intimidation.
      • Negatives: The extreme yielding detachment can briefly lessen the user’s ruthless killer instinct when an immediate, lethal follow-through is necessary.

Crafting Recipe: Shugendo 367 of the River-Turning Horagai

Materials Needed:

  • Giant Mountain-River Conch Shell (1 intact specimen, 10–14 inches in length) – Harvested from high-altitude glacial gorge waters, free from structural fractures or calcium decay.
  • Cast Bronze Ingot (0.5 pounds) – High-copper bell bronze alloy suitable for drawing and machining into an acoustic mouthpiece.
  • Meteoric Silver Wire and Foil (2 ounces) – High-purity conductive sky-silver used to band the outer lip and inlay spiraled water trigrams.
  • Dark Red Silk Wrapping Cord (6 feet) – Tightly spun, dyed silk filament used to secure the bronze collar to the shell’s apex.
  • Braided Hemp Rope (8 feet) – Coarse, water-cured mountain hemp cordage for crafting the over-shoulder sling.
  • Polished River Jasper Beads (2 units, spherical) – Drilled stones used as decorative and energetic terminal anchors on the suspension tassels.
  • Tier 1 Magic Crystals (2 units, coin-sized) – Extracted from wind-, river-, or kinetic-attuned Tier 1 creatures, utilized as sacrificial catalytic reagents to awaken the acoustic deflection vortex.
  • Distilled Mountain Snowmelt Water (2 gallons) – Mineral-lean, pure meltwater used for ultrasonic shell flushing, acid etching, and ceremonial quenching.
  • Refined Lacquer Resin (1 fluid ounce) – Natural sap-based amber lacquer used to seal interior shell micro-fissures without dulling acoustic reverberation.

Tools Required:

  • Lapidary Diamond Coring Drills and Burr Bits – Precision rotary bits for removing the inner apex spiral and carving trigrams without cracking the brittle shell.
  • Jeweler’s Chasing Chisels and Gravers – Fine hand tools for cutting fluid water motifs into the bronze collar and silver lip band.
  • Small Charcoal Melting Furnace and Crucible – For casting, annealing, and fitting the custom bronze mouthpiece.
  • Fine Emery Polishing Paper and Pumice Slurry – For smoothing the shell’s calcium ridges and polishing the nacreous interior.
  • Agate Mortar and Pestle – Non-reactive stone basin for reducing sacrificial magic crystals to a micro-fine powder.
  • Bench Clamps with Felt Jaw Pads – For securing the irregularly shaped conch shell firmly without applying point-stress fractures.

Skill Requirements:

  • Woodcarving / Bone-and-Shell Crafting: Level 6 or higher (Minimum level 5 required for base shell manipulation, plus 1 additional level to achieve the Tier 1 item outcome).
  • Metalworking / Bronze Casting: Level 3 or higher – For forging, sizing, and boring the balanced bronze mouthpiece and silver rim band.
  • Musical Instrument Crafting (Acoustics): Level 2 or higher – For tuning the conch’s internal chambers to the proper low-frequency harmonic drone.
  • Alchemical Crafting: Level 1 or higher – For preparing the mineral bonding resin and charging the silver trigram inlays with crystal catalysts.

Crafting Steps:

  1. Preparation and ultrasonic cleansing of the conch shell:
    • Submerge the river conch in distilled mountain snowmelt water for twelve hours to soften organic residues and loosen river silt.
    • Carefully ream the interior calcified whorls using diamond burr bits, clearing obstructions while preserving the structural integrity of the outer spiral chambers.
    • Coat the deepest internal crevices with a microscopic layer of refined amber lacquer resin to seal porosity, letting it cure until the acoustic snap of the shell rings clear when tapped.
  2. Truncation and boring of the apical blow-hole:
    • Secure the shell in felt-lined bench clamps with the pointed spire angled upward.
    • Slice away the top half-inch of the apex with a diamond-grit wire saw, exposing the central spiral canal.
    • Bore a smooth conical socket into the apex to receive the tapered bronze mouthpiece fitting.
  3. Casting, engraving, and setting the bronze mouthpiece:
    • Melt the bell bronze ingot in the charcoal furnace and cast a flared, cup-shaped trumpet mouthpiece with an elongated mounting shank.
    • Anneal the metal and engrave flowing river-wave motifs around the outer collar using jeweler’s chisels.
    • Seat the bronze shank into the bored apex of the shell, cementing it with alchemical resin.
    • Bind the joint tightly with dark red silk wrapping cord, coating the windings in clear lacquer to create an airtight, permanent pneumatic seal.
  4. Fabricating and inlaying the meteoric silver flared rim:
    • Forge the meteoric silver into a thin, curved bezel band fitted to the open outer lip of the conch’s bell.
    • Using fine gravers, incise Taoist trigrams of water (Kan) and wind (Sun) along the inner surface of the silver band.
    • Secure the silver collar over the outer shell lip, burnishing the edges down so that incoming air flows seamlessly over the metallic trigrams without turbulence.
  5. Fitting the suspension harness and jasper anchors:
    • Drill two small, reinforced eyelet holes through the thick calcified dorsal keel of the shell.
    • Thread the braided hemp rope through the mounting holes, knotting a balanced over-shoulder sling so the conch hangs horizontally across the torso.
    • Terminate the cord ends with the two polished river-jasper beads, securing them with traditional yamabushi tassel knots.
  6. Sacrificial crystal awakening and resonant harmonic tuning:
    • Pulverize one coin-sized Tier 1 magic crystal in the agate mortar until reduced to an iridescent flour-like powder.
    • Mix the powdered crystal with a drop of tree lacquer and rub it into the engraved grooves of the silver water trigrams along the flared mouth.
    • Place the second intact Tier 1 magic crystal directly inside the conch’s resonant chamber.
    • The artisan kneels near moving water or a wind corridor, blowing continuous, measured breaths through the bronze mouthpiece for one full exploration turn (10 minutes).
    • As the sound waves lock into resonance with the shell’s natural chambers, the intact crystal dissolves into pale turquoise radiance, permanently fusing with the calcified spiral walls.
    • Test the completed horagai by blowing a sharp, brassy note against a dangling silk thread; verify that the thread is pushed sideways by a spiraling vortex of air, the ridges glow with faint turquoise light, and ambient noise takes on a deep, resonant drone.

Singing Mountain Snail-Bone That Bends Iron Needles 367

In the first ancient moon-winter, when the clouds were still very fat and had not yet learned to climb high above the dirt, the mountain was full of bad wind-men. These wind-men did not have toes, but they had broad wooden bows as long as two fat sheep, and their throwing-spears were tipped with the gray teeth of cold bears. When they sat upon the high cliff-teeth, they would look down into the gorge where the water ran white like boiled fat, and whenever a small man walked along the gravel to find sweet water-grass for his donkey, the wind-men would spit thirty arrows down into his neck.

The people who lived in the dry ditch had much sadness in their water-skins. They built big roofs of woven willow-sticks and thick river-mud over their goats, but the wind-men shot big round stones out of heavy wood-slings that broke the mud-sticks into small gravel, and the small goats had their ribs broken into red grease. The head-man of the mud-holes took five stone axes to the foot of the tall rock and cried out with his mouth wide: “O you who sit upon the snow-ridge, why do you stick our backs full of sharp reeds? We have given you three bowls of dried fish-grease and two yellow mats of wild barley!” But the bad wind-men only blew through their nostrils like sick horses and threw two more flint-spears into his big toe, so that he was obliged to hop back to his ditch upon his one dry knee.

Now there walked along the edge of the roaring cataract an old naked man whose skin was hard like the shell of a dried river-gourd. His name in the crooked marks was He Who Pours Water Into a Sieve. He wore no deer-coat, and his hair was tangled with green river-moss and small black snails. For sixty winters he had stood upon one wet stone where the big waterfall leaps down from the cloud-hole, letting the cold foam hit the middle of his forehead until his skull became smooth like a bird’s egg.

He watched the people running into the dark badger-holes with their backs stuck full of goose-feather reeds. The old hermit blew the cold spray out of his nostrils and spoke to a fat yellow crab sitting upon the gravel: “The people of the mud-ditch are foolish like a heavy pig that runs against an oak-trunk. When a stone comes flying down from the sky, they try to catch the stone with their soft noses, and their teeth are knocked into their gullets. When the big river comes down from the melt-hole, it does not strike the mountain with a hammer; it turns to the left-hand side, it runs around the great pebble, and it leaves the hard rock sitting dry in the sun. The straight arrow is very strong, but the spiral path of the snail has no beginning and no teeth to break.”

Then the old hermit took from the deep gravel-pool the heavy white house of an ancient water-snail that had died when the stars were still very small. It was as long as the forearm of an ox-butcher, and its bones were thick and pale like boiled lard. He took a sharp pebble of black glass and scraped the snail’s tail until he made an open hole where the breath might run through.

He walked to the red chimney where the earth boils red copper-soup. He pulled out a piece of soft red metal with two crooked horn-sticks and beat it between two granite stones until it became a round tube like the throat of a crane. Around this neck he wound eighteen threads of the red worm-silk that grows in the high wild mulberry-thorns, sticking it fast with the sticky blood of the mountain plum-tree.

Then he went down to the place where the cold sky-stone had split the river-bank, and he scraped from its gray ribs three pinches of sky-silver. With the pointed claw of an owl he scratched three crooked three-line marks around the open mouth of the white shell, such as the grandmothers scratch upon the belly of a water-jar so that the water does not rot in the dark. At the thick side of the shell he tied two strings of rough nettle-rope, and at the end of each cord he hung a round pebble of red river-jasper, which is the stone that keeps the mouth cool when held beneath the tongue during the hot sun.

When the shell was made dry in the cedar-smoke, he threw the rope over his neck so that the horn lay across his breast like a sleeping white duck. Into the hard shell-rib he scratched three scratches, six scratches, and seven scratches, which was the tally of the times he had listened to the mountain-frog sing before the first snow fell upon the ferns.

Then the Great Red-Eyed Hunter of the High Scree, who was the chief of the bad wind-men, looked down from the high ice-ledge and saw the naked hermit standing upon the slippery stone. The Hunter had a great horn-bow pulled by three cords of dried bull-gut, and his arrows were made from the heavy black timber that sinks in water, tipped with broad heads of beaten meteor-iron.

“Look down upon that old gray frog who sits upon the wet pebble,” cried the Hunter with a voice like stones rolling in a box. “He has no bull-hide shield, and his breast has no coat of boiled leather. I will pin his liver to the river-cliff so that the crows may have warm fat for their young ones.”

The bad Hunter drew the three bull-gut strings back to his right ear until the horn-bow bent into a round hoop like the moon. He let go the cord with a great snap that shook the frost from the hemlock-boughs. The heavy black iron-tooth rushed down through the cold gorge with a terrible whistling scream, straight toward the heart-hole of the naked hermit.

The people of the mud-ditches hid their faces in their grease-rags, crying: “Alas, the grandfather who catches the mist in his mouth will be torn like a rotten fish-bladder! He will be pinned to the wet rock, and we shall have no one to throw cedar-twigs into the spring-flood.”

Yet the old man did not jump into the deep water, nor did he lift a flat stone to cover his belly. He only took the bronze throat of the white shell between his dry lips, pulled his belly flat against his backbone, and blew a long, smooth breath into the snail-bone.

From the wide mouth of the shell there came forth a deep sound, not like the screaming of a brass whistle, but like the heavy booming of the great river when the winter-ice splits under the noon-sun. As the breath went into the spiral canal, the calcified ridges of the shell began to shine with a pale light, the color of cold water when the sky is green before hail.

The great iron-arrow of the Hunter came flying down like a thunderbolt, but when it came within five cubits of the hermit’s breast, it did not bite the skin. The air in front of the shell began to turn round and round like water rushing down a hole between two rocks. The straight road of the iron arrow was broken; it was caught by the wet turquoise wind that came out of the snail’s belly, and it was whirled into a great circle.

With a sharp sound like the crack of dry hazel-wood, the iron arrow was turned aside. It flew sideways through the spray, struck the high stone cliff twenty cubits away, and shattered its black shaft into sixty small splinters that fell harmlessly like cedar-needles upon the foaming water.

The Hunter upon the ice-ledge had great anger in his lungs. “The old frog has blown a trick-puff!” he bellowed. He called to forty-and-two of his spearmen, and they stood in a row upon the rim of the gorge, loosing an entire cloud of black-feathered arrows and sharp river-darts all at once, so that the sky over the waterfall became dark like the belly of a rain-crow.

The old hermit did not drop the shell from his chin. He took a deeper breath, filling his chest until his dry ribs stuck out like the poles of a summer-tent, and he sounded a second, louder drone from the bronze mouthpiece.

The sound that came out of the horn ran down the gravel like a long wave of gray foam. The cloud of falling iron points did not strike a single hair of his head. As the arrows touched the spiraling wind of the conch, they bent like young willow-wands; some were thrown straight up into the clouds to fall upon the empty mountain-top, others were twisted into the boiling pool where the fish swallowed the bright feathers, and twelve broad spears were turned completely around by the spinning air, flying backward up the steep cliff to cut the sandal-strings of the wind-men who had thrown them.

The Hunter’s knees became soft like wet tallow. His great horn-bow fell out of his fingers and tumbled five hundred cubits down into the gravel-chasm, where it broke upon the rocks.

“This is no man of flesh,” said the wind-men, trembling until their teeth clicked like pebbles in a basket. “He has put the throat of the great river-dragon into a white stone, and whenever we throw our iron teeth at his head, the dragon swallows the straight path and gives us back only the crooked wind.”

Then the old hermit stopped blowing into the shell. He took the horn from his mouth and let it swing once more by its hempen cords against his naked ribs. The turquoise light died away inside the chalky ridges, and the shell became once more cold, pale, and dull, smelling only of wet lime and river-moss.

He looked up at the trembling men upon the high ledge and raised his dry right hand, speaking with a voice like water trickling over flat slate: “The hard stone stands in the gorge and says: ‘I am iron, I will not move.’ Then the great flood comes down, and in three moons the stone is rolled into the sand and ground into dust for the crabs to crawl upon. The river does not say: ‘I am sharp.’ It only turns where the bank turns, and because it has no corners, it carries the mountain down into the great salt-bottom. If your thoughts run only in straight lines like an arrow, the first whirlwind will take your arrow and stick it into your own thigh. Go back to your cold peaks and learn how to blow the air through a twisted reed before you come down to teach the river how to run.”

The wind-men took their broken bows and ran away into the high snow-smoke, and from that day they never threw another flint-spear into the ditch of the goat-herders.

When the men of the mud-holes climbed out of their holes with pots of mountain-honey and baskets of dried pig-ribs to set up the old man as a king over their ditch, the hermit was no longer upon the wet stone. He had walked up the foaming rapids, leaving no track upon the water, taking with him only his crooked willow-cane and the singing snail-shell that knows how to turn the road of iron into the water’s circle.

Moral of the Story: He who meets the flying spear with a rigid forehead will find only the grave, but he who understands the yielding nature of the spiral can turn the fiercest wrath of the world into an empty loop, sending the destroyer’s own strength back to break his own bow.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Conch of the Deflecting Surge

  • Item Classification: Arcane Artifact / Taoist Musical Instrument
  • Weight: 1.5 lbs
  • Sanity Loss: 0 to wear or sound. Witnessing a physical projectile or spell trajectory bend unnaturally in mid-air and reverse direction costs 0/1 Sanity.

Game Mechanics:

  • Vortical Deflection (Passive): When worn slung across the torso, ambient acoustic eddy currents buffet incoming missiles. Attackers targeting the user with non-magical missile weapons (arrows, throwing knives, sling stones, hand-thrown javelins) suffer one penalty die on their Firearms or Throw rolls.
  • Acoustic Damper (Passive): The user gains a bonus die (+1D) on CON rolls to resist deafening effects, concussive pressure waves, and disorientation caused by extreme noise, thunder, or explosions.
  • Deflective Gale (Reaction): When a ranged attack targeting the investigator or an adjacent companion within 2 yards is successful, the investigator may spend 2 Magic Points and an immediate reaction to sound a sharp, brassy blast on the horn. Oppose the incoming attack roll with an immediate CON or Art/Craft (Musical Instrument) roll. If the user achieves an equal or higher level of success than the attacker, the projectile is blown off course and harmlessly glances off nearby terrain. If the user scores an Extreme Success, the missile is redirected into an unoccupied space or back at the attacker (dealing base weapon damage).
  • River-Turns-the-Stone (Reaction): When struck by a bludgeoning impact or concussive shockwave, the user spends 2 Magic Points to sound a low drone. Reduce incoming damage by 1D8 + 2. The redirected kinetic force ripples along the ground toward the attacker; the attacker must succeed on a DEX roll or fall Prone.
  • Spiral Echo Return (Active): As an attack action, the user spends 3 Magic Points and blows a sustained, spiraling bellow into a 5-yard cone. Creatures caught in the cone must make an Extreme STR or Hard CON roll. On a failure, they are knocked back 3 yards, knocked prone, and lose their next movement action due to profound acoustic disorientation.

Blades in the Dark

The River-Turning Horagai

  • Classification: Arcane Implement / Wind & Acoustic Conduit
  • Load: 1 Load (Slung across chest or held in one hand)
  • Quality: Tier I fine item

Item Features:

  • Fine Craftsmanship: A heavy river conch fitted with a cast-bronze mouthpiece, wrapped in red silk cord, and lined at the lip with silver-inlaid Taoist trigrams.
  • Resonant Vortex: The interior chambers subtly swirl ambient air currents, deflecting physical velocity and dampening sonic vibrations.

Game Mechanics:

  • Acoustic Dampener (Passive): You are immune to hearing loss, disorientation, or concussion penalties caused by thunderclaps, loud explosions, or sonic shockwaves.
  • Ranged Ward (Passive): When facing ranged missile attacks (arrows, crossbows, thrown blades) in open air, your defensive position is considered improved by one step (e.g., Desperate becomes Risky, Risky becomes Controlled).
  • Deflective Gale (Special Armor): You may mark this item as your Armor tick against a ranged physical or elemental attack. When you do so, the attack is deflected completely harmlessly. Alternatively, you may spend 1 Stress while marking this armor to deflect the missile into another nearby threat or obstacle, turning the enemy’s attack into an immediate, effective strike against a secondary target.
  • Spiral Echo Return (Active): Spend 1 Stress to blow a concussive, spiraling blast through the horn. You gain Potency on an immediate Skirmish, Wreck, or Command action to push back an advancing squad, knock charging foes off their feet, or create an instant breach through light barricades and doors.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

River-Turning Horagai

  • Wondrous Item, common (requires attunement)
  • Item Category: Worn (torso) or held in one hand
  • Weight: 1.5 lbs

Item Properties:

  • Vortical Deflection: While worn across your chest, you gain a +1 bonus to AC against non-magical ranged weapon attacks.
  • Acoustic Insulation: You have advantage on saving throws against being deafened and against taking thunder damage.
  • Vector Sense: The horn vibrates faintly against your ribs when high-velocity missiles approach; you gain a +1 bonus to initiative checks against ambushes involving ranged weapons.

Active Properties:

  • Deflective Gale: As a reaction when a creature you can see hits you or a friendly creature within 5 feet of you with a ranged attack roll (weapon or spell), you blow a sharp, brassy note into the horn. Roll 1d6 and add the result to the target’s AC against the triggering attack, potentially causing it to miss. If the attack misses, you can redirect the projectile to hit an unoccupied space up to 20 feet away. You can use this reaction twice, regaining all expended uses when you finish a short or long rest.
  • River-Turns-the-Stone: As a reaction when you take bludgeoning, cold, force, or thunder damage, you sound a low drone from the conch. You reduce the damage by 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier (minimum reduction of 1). If the attacker is within 20 feet of you, they must succeed on a DC 12 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone by the returned shockwave. Once used, this property cannot be used again until you finish a short or long rest.
  • Spiral Echo Return: As an action, you blow a spiraling wave of resonant acoustic air in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 12 Strength saving throw. On a failure, a creature is pushed 10 feet away from you and its speed is reduced by 10 feet until the end of its next turn. On a success, the creature is pushed only 5 feet and its speed is not reduced.

Knave (Second Edition)

Ascetic’s Deflecting Conch

  • Item Slots: 1 Slot (Slung across chest or carried)
  • Item Quality: 3/3 Durability
  • Hands Required: 1 Hand to bring to the mouth and sound
  • Base Value: 110 copper coins

Item Mechanics:

  • Missile Ward (Passive): While slung across the torso, the twisting air around the horn disrupts incoming missiles. Ranged attacks targeting you suffer a -2 penalty to hit.
  • Shockwave Damper (Passive): You gain a +2 bonus to Constitution saving throws to resist sonic blasts, deafening thunder, and concussive shockwaves.
  • Deflective Blast (Reaction): Once per day, when an enemy scores a hit against you with a physical projectile or spell bolt, you can use your reaction to blow a sharp warning blast. Roll an immediate Dexterity saving throw. If successful, the projectile is deflected away and deals no damage. If your save exceeds the difficulty by 5 or more, the missile redirects directly back toward the attacker, who must make a saving throw or suffer the attack’s normal damage.
  • River-Turns-the-Stone (Reaction): Once per day, when struck by a bludgeoning blow, falling debris, or a slam attack, sound the conch to reduce the incoming damage by 1d8 + 2. The redirected kinetic pulse travels through the floor, forcing the attacker to make a Strength save or be knocked flat onto their back.
  • Spiral Blast (Action): You blow a lung-bursting bellow through the horn. Target up to two adjacent creatures in front of you. Each must make a Strength saving throw; on a failure, they are pushed back 10 feet and knocked prone. If both creatures fail their saves, make an Item Save for the horn (d20, target 11+); on a failure, the bronze mouthpiece collar loosens, inflicting 1 point of Quality damage.

Fate Core

Ascetic’s Horagai of the Diverted Current

  • Aspect: Resonant River Conch of the Mountain Pass
  • Aspect: Yielding Path of the Spiral Eddy
  • Aspect: Silver-Inlaid Trigrams of Wind and Water

Stunts:

  • Vortical Missile Ward: Because you carry the attuned river horn slung across your torso, you gain a +2 bonus to defend with Athletics or Physique against ranged physical attacks (arrows, thrown weapons, sling stones) as swirling micro-currents deflect incoming ballistic paths.
  • Deflective Gale: Once per scene, when you or an ally in your zone are targeted by a physical or elemental ranged attack, you may spend a Fate Point to invoke the horn as an immediate interrupt. Sound a sharp blast and roll Physique against the attack roll. On a success, the attack is deflected harmlessly; with style, you redirect the projectile or ray into an adjacent zone, hitting a secondary enemy or creating the situational aspect Shattered Missile Shrapnel with one free invoke.
  • River-Turns-the-Stone: Once per scene, when you take physical stress from a blunt, concussive, or falling impact, you may sound a low drone from the horn to reduce the stress taken by 2 shifts. The redirected shockwave creates the boost Staggering Ground Ripple against the attacker.
  • Spiral Echo Shove: Once per conflict, you may blow a concussive blast into your zone as an action. Make an overcome roll with Physique with a +2 bonus against all active opponents in your zone. Each opponent who fails to beat your result is pushed into an adjacent zone and gains the temporary aspect Disrupted Stance.

Cypher System / Numenera (Discovery & Destiny)

River-Turning Horagai

  • Level: 2
  • Form: A calcified spiral river conch trumpet fitted with a cast-bronze mouthpiece wrapped in red silk, its flared rim inlaid with meteoric silver water glyphs.
  • Kind: Artifact (Depletion: 1 in 1d20, checked when activating Deflective Gale, River-Turns-the-Stone, or Spiral Echo Return)

Game Mechanics:

  • Missile Eddy (Passive): While worn slung across the torso, ambient acoustic vortices ease Speed defense rolls against non-magical physical projectiles (arrows, bolts, thrown darts) by one step.
  • Acoustic Damper (Passive): Might and Intellect defense rolls against thunder, deafening sonic blasts, or concussive pressure shocks are eased by one step.
  • Deflective Gale (Action / Reaction): When the user or an ally within immediate distance is targeted by a ranged projectile or energy beam, the user may blow a sharp note through the horn as an immediate interrupt. The Speed defense roll against the attack is eased by two steps. If the defense succeeds, the user redirects the projectile up to short distance away into terrain or an unoccupied area. Roll for Depletion.
  • River-Turns-the-Stone (Reaction): When struck by an attack dealing blunt, concussive, or cold damage, the user sounds a low drone. Incoming damage is reduced by 3 points. The user redirects the kinetic shock along the ground toward the attacker (if within short distance), forcing them to make a Speed defense roll or fall prone. Roll for Depletion.
  • Spiral Echo Return (Action): The user blows a lung-bursting acoustic spiral into an immediate cone. Up to two targets within the area take 2 points of concussive damage and are pushed back an immediate distance; targets must succeed on a Might defense roll or have their movement hindered for 1 round. Roll for Depletion.

Pathfinder (Second Edition)

River-Turning Horagai – Item 2

  • Traits: Uncommon, Abjuration, Sonic, Invested, Magical
  • Price: 35 gp
  • Usage: worn (torso sling) or held in 1 hand; Bulk: L

Description:

  • Carved from a heavy high-mountain river conch, this ritual horn features a chased bronze mouthpiece wrapped in crimson silk and an outer rim banded in meteoric silver with engraved water and wind trigrams.

Passives:

  • Deflecting Eddy: While invested and worn across your chest, you gain a +1 item bonus to AC against non-magical ranged weapon attacks.
  • Acoustic Buffer: You gain a +1 item bonus to saving throws against effects that deal sonic damage or inflict the deafened condition.

Activate:

  • Deflective Gale (Reaction – Concentrate, Manipulate): Trigger: You or an adjacent ally are targeted by a ranged physical or spell attack roll from an attacker within 30 feet. Frequency: Twice per day. Effect: You blow a sharp, brassy note. You impose a -2 circumstance penalty on the triggering attack roll. If the attack misses, you redirect the projectile or beam up to 20 feet away to strike an unoccupied space or solid obstacle.
  • River-Turns-the-Stone (Reaction – Concentrate, Manipulate): Trigger: You take bludgeoning, cold, force, or physical falling damage. Frequency: Once per day. Effect: You sound a resonant drone, gaining resistance 5 against the triggering damage instance. If the source of the damage is a creature within 20 feet, that creature must succeed on a DC 16 Reflex save or be knocked prone by the returning ground-tremor.
  • Spiral Echo Return (Two Actions – Concentrate, Manipulate): Frequency: Once per day. Effect: You blow an expansive, spiraling wave of pressurized acoustic air in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in the area takes 2d6 sonic damage and is pushed 5 feet away (basic Fortitude save against your class DC or spell DC). A creature that critically fails is pushed 10 feet and knocked prone.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

River-Turning Horagai

  • Type: Minor Arcane / Acoustic Relic
  • Weight: 1.5 lbs
  • Cost: $250 (prized by river guides, gorge sentinels, and mountain scouts)

Special Abilities:

  • Vortical Shielding: The spiraled shell passively turns the path of incoming projectiles. Attackers targeting the bearer with ranged attacks (bows, slings, thrown weapons) suffer a -1 penalty to their Shooting or Athletics (throwing) rolls.
  • Concussive Dampener: The wearer receives a +2 bonus on Vigor rolls to resist being Shaken or Stunned by thunder, deafening sonic attacks, or acoustic explosions.
  • Deflective Gale: Twice per encounter, when the user or an adjacent ally is struck by a ranged physical or elemental attack, the user may take an instant Free Action to blow a sharp warning blast. Roll an immediate Athletics or Performance roll opposed by the attacker’s original roll. On a success, the projectile is deflected harmlessly; with a raise, the projectile is redirected toward an enemy within 4 inches (8 yards), resolving as a free attack using the user’s Spirit to hit for the weapon’s base damage.
  • River-Turns-the-Stone: Once per encounter, when hit by a blunt, concussive, or crushing attack, the user blows a low drone as a Free Action. Reduce incoming damage by 4 points. The attacker (if within 4 inches) must make an immediate Agility roll at -2 or be knocked Prone by the redirected ground wave.
  • Spiral Blast: As an Action, the user blows a deep bellow through the horn, placing a Cone Template originating from the bell. All targets in the cone must make a Strength roll at -2 or be pushed back 2 inches and become Distracted.

Shadowrun (Sixth World Edition)

Yamabushi Wind-Turning Horagai (Force 2 Qi / Manipulation Focus)

  • Item Classification: Enchanted Qi Focus / Aeromantic Fetish
  • Force: 2
  • Karma Cost to Bind: 6 Karma
  • Availability: 3 (L)
  • Cost: 7,500 Nuyen
  • Form: A calcified high-mountain river conch wrapped in red silk cord, mounted with a cast-bronze mouthpiece and rimmed with engraved meteoric silver water-trigrams. Worn slung over the shoulder across the chest or carried in one hand.

Game Mechanics:

  • Ballistic Deflection (Passive): While attuned and slung across the torso, the horn’s ambient acoustic eddy currents buffet incoming kinetic missiles. The bearer gains a +1 Defense Rating against non-magical, projectile-based ranged physical attacks (arrows, thrown blades, darts, low-velocity slug throwers).
  • Concussive Buffering (Passive): The internal spiraled chambers dampen deafening concussions. The wearer gains a +1 dice pool bonus to Body and Willpower Tests made to resist sonic attacks, flashbang disorientation, or deafness.
  • Deflective Gale (Reaction): When the user or an adjacent ally within 2 meters is targeted by a ranged projectile or elemental attack, the user may spend an Immediate Action (or interrupt with 5 Initiative Score) to blow a sharp, brassy note into the horn. The attacker suffers an immediate -2 dice pool penalty to their attack test. If the attack misses, the user may redirect the projectile to harmlessly strike terrain or an unoccupied location within 5 meters.
  • River-Turns-the-Stone (Reaction): When struck by a blunt melee impact, blast shockwave, or falling trauma, the bearer spends an Immediate Action to sound a low harmonic drone. Reduce incoming physical damage by 2 before soak. The redirected kinetic shockwave ripples along the ground toward the attacker; if within 5 meters, the attacker must succeed on an Agility + Athletics Test (Threshold 2) or gain the Prone status.
  • Spiral Echo Wave (Active): As a Major Action, the user blows an expansive acoustic cone extending out to Near range (up to 5 meters). All targets within the cone suffer 3S concussive damage and must make a Body + Strength Test (Threshold 2) or be pushed back 3 meters and suffer the Off-Balance status.

Starfinder (Second Edition)

River-Turning Horagai – Item 2

  • Traits: Tech, Magical, Abjuration, Sonic
  • Price: 75 credits
  • Bulk: Light
  • Hands: 1 (held to sound, or 0 when slung across torso)
  • Form: A spiraled river conch trumpet fitted with an engraved bell-bronze mouthpiece, wrapped with dark red silk cords, and banded at the lip in meteoric silver inscribed with wind and water trigrams.

Game Mechanics:

  • Vortical Deflection (Passive): While slung across your torso, swirling micro-currents nudge incoming ballistic missiles off course. You gain a +1 item bonus to AC against physical ranged attacks.
  • Acoustic Insulation (Passive): You gain a +1 item bonus to Fortitude saving throws against sonic effects and to resist the deafened condition.
  • Deflective Gale (Reaction – Concentrate, Manipulate): Trigger: A creature within 30 feet targets you or an ally within 5 feet with a ranged weapon or spell attack roll. Frequency: Twice per day. Effect: You blow a sharp, brassy blast. You impose a -2 circumstance penalty to the triggering attack roll. If the attack misses, you redirect the projectile or beam up to 20 feet away to harmlessly strike an unoccupied area or terrain feature.
  • River-Turns-the-Stone (Reaction – Concentrate, Manipulate): Trigger: You take bludgeoning, cold, force, or sonic damage. Frequency: Once per day. Effect: You sound a low acoustic drone, gaining resistance 5 against the triggering damage instance. If the attacker is within 20 feet of you, they must succeed on a DC 16 Fortitude save or be knocked prone by the returning kinetic ground-shock.
  • Spiral Echo Return (Two Actions – Concentrate, Manipulate): Frequency: Once per day. Effect: You sound a sustained spiraling bellow in a 15-foot cone. Each creature caught in the area takes 2d6 sonic damage and is pushed back 5 feet (basic Fortitude save against your class DC or spell DC). On a critical failure, the target is pushed back 10 feet and knocked prone.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Acoustic Deflection Conch

  • Tech Level: TL 4 (Primitive Bio-Acoustic Kinetic Diverter)
  • Weight: 0.75 kg
  • Cost: Cr 400 (sought after by gorge scouts, mountain trail guides, and bridge skirmishers)
  • Description: A massive calcified mountain conch trumpet fitted with a cast-bronze mouthpiece wrapped in red silk cord, its flared rim inlaid with meteoric silver water-trigrams. The internal spiral chambers passively channel and redirect ambient kinetic air currents.

Game Mechanics:

  • Ballistic Deflection: While worn slung across the chest, the spiraled shell passively turns incoming physical missiles. Attackers targeting the bearer with low-velocity ranged weapons (bows, crossbows, thrown weapons, primitive darts) suffer DM-1 on their attack rolls.
  • Sonic Buffer: The wearer gains DM+1 on all END checks made to resist deafening effects, pressure shocks, and concussion blast trauma.
  • Deflective Blast: Twice per day, when the user or an adjacent ally within 2 meters is targeted by a physical projectile or kinetic bolt, the user may blow a sharp note as a reaction. The attacker must immediately re-roll the attack and take the lower result. If the attack misses, the user may redirect the path of the projectile up to 6 meters away into harmless terrain.
  • Grounding Resonance: Once per day, when the user suffers bludgeoning, crushing, or falling damage, they may blow a low resonant drone as a reaction. Reduce the incoming damage by 1D+2. If the attacker is in close quarters (within 3 meters), the redirected shockwave forces them to make a DEX or STR check (Difficulty 8+) or be knocked Prone.
  • Spiral Acoustic Pulse: As a significant action, the user blows an expansive acoustic cone out to 4 meters. Up to two targets in front of the user must succeed on an Athletics (STR) check (Difficulty 8+) or be shoved back 3 meters and lose their next minor action due to physical disorientation.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (Fourth Edition)

Horagai of the Turning Torrent

  • Item Category: Magical Artefact / Trappings
  • Availability: Exotic (crafted by Cathayan river-mystics and mountain yamabushi guides)
  • Encumbrance: 1
  • Location: Torso Sling or Carried (1 Hand)
  • Cost: 5 GC (or traded for sacred river jade and temple mountain silks)

Item Properties:

  • Missive Deflection: While worn slung across the chest, twisting acoustic vortices disrupt incoming physical missiles. Ranged attacks (bows, crossbows, thrown weapons, slings) targeting the bearer suffer a penalty of -10% to hit.
  • Ear of the Hermit: The user gains a +10% bonus to Endurance Tests to resist gaining the Deafened Condition or suffering physical damage from thunderous detonations and acoustic roars.
  • Deflective Gale: Twice per encounter, when the character or an ally within 2 yards is hit by a physical ranged attack, the user may spend a Free Action to sound a piercing brassy note through the horn. The user makes an immediate Perform (Horn) or Athletics Test opposed to the attacker’s roll. If the user wins, the projectile is deflected harmlessly aside; if rolled with 2 or more Success Levels (SL), the missile is redirected into an adjacent target within 4 yards, resolving for base weapon damage.
  • River-Turns-the-Stone: Once per encounter, when struck by a bludgeoning weapon, slam attack, or falling debris, the character sounds a low drone to reduce incoming Damage by 1d10 + Toughness Bonus. The diverted kinetic wave pulses through the earth toward the attacker (if within 4 yards), who must pass an Athletics Test (+0) or immediately gain the Prone Condition.
  • Spiral Concussion: Once per day, the user may spend an Action to blow a resounding cone blast measuring 4 yards in length. All targets within the cone suffer a hit with a Damage of +3 (ignoring non-magical armor) and must succeed on an Opposed Strength Test against the user’s Perform (Horn) or Athletics Test or be pushed back 2 yards and gain 1 Stunned Condition.