From: Lineage 6274 of Qosqo Pacha
• Tool Type: Optical Apparatus (Reading and Identification Lenses)
• Carried Location: On a braided cord around the neck. The neck cord is the lenses’ own fastening and does not take a separate slot.
• Tier: 1 (Common)
• Required Training: Library Research or Qosqo-Khipu Knot Reading
• Attunement: Handheld (instant when held to the eyes)
• Item Health Points: 10 plus the avatar’s maximum health points (resilience 10)
• Weight: 0.5 pounds
• Suggested Value: 110 silver
• Appearance: Folding brass-framed reading lenses with two round lenses of clear, faintly amber-tinted crystal ground in the workshops of Hanan-Pacha. A third, smaller lens on a hinged arm can swing down in front of either eye for close magnification. Tiny Khipu-Glyphs etched around the rims glow faintly indigo when the lenses are in use. The hinges are worked into small closed-knot shapes.
• Properties:
• Identify Focus: The lenses serve as the item focus needed for the active use of the Mind’s Eye. With an action and a few minutes of concentration, the holder can identify an item, creature or inscription, revealing deeper stats and properties than a passive glance. Shielded or falsified stats may still mislead.
• Close Magnifier: The hinged third lens magnifies fine detail. The holder gains +1 temporary skill point to Qosqo-Khipu Knot Reading while holding the lenses and examining an object.
• Dye-Truth Tint (spell, 2 charges, recharges at dawn): As an action, the holder twists the rims until the lenses glow fully indigo. For 10 minutes, faded dyes, worn knots, hidden glyphs and later re-tied or altered knots stand out clearly. Attempts to detect forged or tampered records are made with advantage.
• Lore: Hanan-Pacha’s lens-grinders began making reading lenses during the Renaissance, when the Archive-Terraces grew too deep for even the luminous eyes of the Qosqo-Pacha to read the smallest knots in lamplight. Junior readers receive a pair when they are entrusted with their first original Turrath fragment. The Keeper of the Long Cord gave Illari these lenses personally. She has used them to find two forged cords in the archive, which many believe made her enemies before the sealed bundle vanished.
Expanded Lore
* During the architectural expansion known across Saṃsāra as the Hanan-Pacha Renaissance, the Keepers of the Long Cord pushed the archive excavations hundreds of yards deeper into the mountain roots, carving tiered granite galleries directly over active geothermal chimneys. In these subterranean depths, where natural sunlight never penetrated and perpetual tallow smoke from animal-fat lanterns left a greasy film across the air, even the acute, bio-luminescent sight of veteran scribes began to falter. The smallest numerical plies, micro-hitches, and faded lichen dyes of pre-cataclysm texts became blurred beneath shadows and soot. To safeguard historical integrity, the Master Lapidaries of the upper terraces developed optical grinding laps turned by sulfur-steam turbines, polishing natural amber-quartz nodules with volcanic diamond dust into flawless, strain-free convex crystals.
* Each brass frame was cast in cold-hammered alloy to prevent magnetic interference with subterranean mineral lodes, with the hinges sculpted into traditional closed-loop binding knots that represent unbroken truth. The circular rims were hand-scribed by senior khipu-willaq using diamond styluses, cutting microscopic glyphs that channel the wearer’s bio-vascular currents into the crystal. When a junior reader is entrusted with their first original Turrath fragment, receiving a pair of these lenses marks their transition from mere transcriptionists to certified archival stewards sworn to defend recorded reality against alteration, rot, and institutional deceit.
* When the Keeper of the Long Cord personally presented pair 6093 to Illari, it was considered an extraordinary vote of confidence in her tactile and analytical precision. That confidence bore bitter fruit when Illari utilized these lenses to scrutinize the foundational tax rolls of the third terrace; through the Dye-Truth Tint, she detected mismatched cochineal dyes and spliced alpaca hair where two historic cord bundles had been untied and re-knotted decades prior. The forgeries had erased massive grain-tribute debts and scrubbed an illicit land seizure committed by the forebears of two reigning archival patriarchs. By officially logging the fraud, Illari exposed an entrenched network of administrative corruption, creating powerful, vindictive enemies within the upper scribal conclaves shortly before the catastrophic disappearance of the sealed Turrath archive bundle.
Item Specifications
* Item Name: Brass Reading Lenses of the Deep Vaults 6093 * Tool Type: Optical Apparatus (Reading and Identification Lenses) * Specific Slot: Held Slot: Held to the eyes in one hand during active use; worn suspended around the neck on its integrated braided cord when stowed (does not occupy a standard armor or cloak slot) * Tier: 1 (Common) * Required Training: Library Research or Qosqo-Khipu Knot Reading * Attunement: Handheld (instantaneous upon lifting the crystal lenses to the eyes) * Item Health Points: 10 plus the avatar’s maximum health points (Resilience 10) * Weight: 0.5 pounds * Suggested Value: 110 silver
Tier One Stats
* Intelligence: +1 * Wisdom: +1
Skills Gained While Openly Worn or Held
* Library Research: +1 temporary skill point * Qosqo-Khipu Knot Reading: +1 temporary skill point * Investigation: +1 temporary skill point
Multiple Passives Magic
* Identify Focus: The lenses serve as the physical focus required for the deliberate, concentrated operation of the Mind’s Eye. By taking an action and maintaining unbroken concentration for three minutes while peering through the crystal, the wielder reveals the complete statistics, functional properties, historical lineage, and tier level of an examined object, creature, or inscription (though magically veiled, falsified, or cursed attributes may still require advanced discernment checks). * Close Magnifier: The auxiliary third lens swings smoothly on its knot-shaped hinge over either eye, magnifying minute fiber plies, microscopic micro-dots, and razor hairline fractures up to twenty times life size, granting an additional +1 temporary skill point to Qosqo-Khipu Knot Reading and fine craftsmanship appraisals while engaged in close-up examination. * Amber Glare-Filtering: The natural amber hue of the quartz crystal filters out harsh sulfur-flare, flickering lamplight refraction, and smoke haze, granting the user clear sight through non-magical subterranean gloom, mist, and particulate dust without suffering visual strain or low-light perception penalties. * Bio-Resonant Rim Glow: The micro-etched khipu glyphs along the brass rims channel the bearer’s bio-vascular currents, pulsing with a faint indigo radiance whenever an active illusion, magical camouflage, or disguised arcane ward is present within direct line of sight up to 30 feet. * Structural Stress Sight: Peering through the twin lenses at masonry, worked stone, or tensile cords highlights structural strain lines as faint amber fracture veins, granting advantage on checks made to assess an object’s remaining durability, locate architectural weak points, or predict imminent tunnel collapses.
Multiple Activatable Magics
* Dye-Truth Tint: 2 charges, recharges daily at dawn. As an action, the user twists the knurled brass rims a quarter-turn until the lenses flare with deep indigo luminescence. For the next 10 minutes, the optical spectrum shifts to reveal organic dye ages, chemical differences in ink or pigment, worn knot-creases, scrubbed parchment layers, and spliced replacement threads. The user gains advantage on all checks made to detect forged documents, counterfeit coins, altered khipus, and tampered physical records. * Micro-Script Piercing: 2 charges, recharges daily at dawn. As an action, the user swings down the third magnifier and recites a short Pacha-Qosqo cadence. For 1 minute, the user can read microscopic script, invisible light-refracting watermarks, and hidden cipher patterns embedded inside seemingly solid illustrations or knot structures down to the width of a single fiber, completely ignoring mundane optical obscurants. * Glint of Revelation: 1 charge, recharges daily at dawn. As an action, the user angles the amber crystal lenses toward an illuminated source or channels their bio-resonance to project a focused beam of golden-indigo light at a target creature or surface within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (DC 13) or have any active invisibility, shape-shifting disguise, or visual illusion outlined in a clinging halo of violet phosphorescence until the start of the user’s next turn.
Specific Slot
* Slot Assignment: Held Slot: Held to the eyes in one hand during active use; worn suspended around the neck on its integrated braided cord when stowed (occupies no armor or cloak slot)
Tags
Optical Apparatus, Reading Lenses, Brass Frame, Amber Crystal, Tier 1, Dye Truth, Mind’s Eye Focus, Hanan Pacha, Forgery Detector, Third Magnifier, Common Rarity, Neck Cord, Closed Knot Hinge, Micro Script Piercing, Glint of Revelation, Structural Stress Sight, Glare Filtering, Bio Resonant Rim, Library Research, Deep Vaults, Archival Forensic, Turrath Analysis
Acquisition and Commerce of the Brass Reading Lenses of the Deep Vaults 6093
* Acquisition through avatar possession occurs when an arriving player soul projects into the atmospheric mantle of Saṃsāra and merges with an unpossessed native host in the mountain province of Andean who belongs to the scribal, lapidary, or archival trades. Junior khipu readers, assistant catalogers, and forensic auditors stationed within the deep stone galleries of Hanan-Pacha routinely wear these lenses suspended from their necks on the integrated braided cord. When an incoming soul targets an unpossessed apprentice carrying the apparatus, possession succeeds on an even result on a d4. Following the momentary disorientation of transient global amnesia, the awakened avatar assumes immediate control of the host body, retaining the Brass Reading Lenses, the attached neck-cord, and all personal equipment ready for active play without expending currency.
* Acquisition through institutional assignment or archival commission takes place when characters undertake research contracts, historical investigations, or structural surveys for the Keepers of the Long Cord or the high curatorial council of Hanan-Pacha. Operatives dispatched to inspect smoke-damaged lower galleries, conduct forensic audits on suspected forged tribute rolls, or survey structural stress fractures near the Rockfall scar are officially issued a pair of these lenses as vital diagnostic equipment. Successfully resolving the contract—such as exposing altered knot clusters, mapping subterranean fault lines, or retrieving intact pre-cataclysm texts from soot-choked vaults—results in the council formally signing over ownership of the apparatus to the character as a permanent professional commendation.
* Acquisition through artisan crafting requires a master workshop equipped with fine lapidary grinding wheels and non-magnetic bronze-brazier hearths. The crafter must possess a minimum trained skill level of 5 in Lapidary or Gem-Cutting, a skill level of 4 in Fine Metalworking or Jewelry Crafting, a skill level of 3 in Rune Inscription or Qosqo-Khipu Knot Reading, and a skill level of 2 in Alchemy or Material Infusion. The necessary components comprise two ounces of cold-hammered brass alloy, two uncut nodules of high-clarity amber-tinted quartz crystal, a smaller quartz fragment for the auxiliary magnifier, three feet of tightly twisted vicuña bast cord, volcanic diamond polishing slurry, and an intact Tier 1 magic crystal catalyst. Over ten minutes of focused invocation, the artisan channels arcane resonance through the catalyst into the brass rims, dissolving the crystal into a pale violet-gold vapor that permanently bonds the Identify Focus, Dye-Truth Tint, and optical magnification matrices into the lenses.
* Acquisition through combat recovery occurs when adventurers defeat corrupt scribes, rogue antiquarians, or black-market tomb-delvers who utilize optical aids during their operations. When an unpossessed mortal adversary carrying the lenses is killed, their physical remains remain in place, permitting party members to lift the braided cord from the neck of the fallen foe. If the defeated wielder was an active avatar host possessed by an external soul, the physical shell collapses upon reaching zero health points into an eruption of purple soul-sparks, depositing its Tier 1 soul crystal and all carried inventory—including the folded Brass Reading Lenses—directly onto the floor for salvage.
* Archival scriptoriums, scholarly guildhouses, and lapidary academies in Hanan-Pacha serve as the standard civic markets for purchasing and selling these lenses. Because these institutions manufacture the apparatus directly for their own administrative staff, the items are retailed at their base suggested value of 110 silver (equivalent to 11 gold coins, or 22 electrum). Unaffiliated travelers pay the full 110 silver. A buyer holding recognized standing within an associated scribal guild or civic academy receives a 10% discount multiplied by their character tier level; a Tier 1 guild member pays 99 silver, while a Tier 2 member pays 88 silver. When selling surplus lenses to an archival bursar, the standard liquidation deduction of 10% multiplied by the seller’s tier level applies; a Tier 1 seller receives 90% of base value (99 silver), while a Tier 2 seller receives 80% (88 silver), with funds wired electronically into the seller’s World Bank account.
* Mountain collegiate exchanges, engineering guild-depots, and frontier caravanserai script-posts situated along the high gorge switchbacks toward Peakhold stock these lenses as precision engineering instruments. Mining overseers, bridge architects, and prospectors prize the lenses for their ability to detect structural stress in rock arches and read micro-fractures in load-bearing masonry. Frontier vendors mark up the item due to shipping overland through harsh weather, retailing it between 125 silver and 145 silver (12.5 to 14.5 gold coins). Unaffiliated explorers pay the full marked-up rate, while faction-aligned buyers apply their tier discounts to the adjusted price. When purchasing used lenses from wandering adventurers, frontier outposts pay between 75 silver and 85 silver, factoring in the cost of recalibrating delicate knot-hinges and buffing surface scratches from the quartz crystals.
* Coastal antiquities salons, imperial arcana emporiums, and aristocratic curio galleries in low-altitude trade capitals—such as the great maritime metropolises of Aterian, Assyria, or Magdalenian—regard the Brass Reading Lenses as prestigious ethnographic tools and arcane oddities. Because commercial shipping across Saṃsāra moves predominantly from east to west, transporting mountain precision glassware eastward against oceanic prevailing currents incurs steep transit surcharges, maritime insurance premiums, and harbor handling fees. In these coastal salons, dealers display the lenses in velvet-lined mahogany cases, retailing them to private collectors, arcane researchers, and noble magistrates for 220 silver to 275 silver (22 to 27.5 gold coins). An adventuring company transporting an intact pair to a coastal metropolis can sell them to an antiquities dealer for 160 silver to 185 silver in World Bank funds, as brokers count on high profit margins among coastal elites fascinated by highland forensic magic.
* Illicit pawnshops, black-market fences, and shadow-scribe circles operating in the subterranean under-levels of Peakhold or concealed mining encampments actively trade in uncataloged or stolen reading lenses. Counterfeiters, document forgers, and underworld fences covet the apparatus for its Dye-Truth Tint and micro-script magnification, using it to verify forged banknotes, inspect counterfeit guild seals, and spot invisible security ciphers. All black-market exchanges occur in physical coinage—predominantly gold coins—leaving no electronic record in the World Bank ledger. When purchasing from a shadow-scribe, an avatar pays a premium for discretion, facing costs between 120 silver and 150 silver in unclipped coin without faction reductions. When liquidating a set through an underworld fence, a standard fence offers the baseline rate of 99 silver to a Tier 1 seller; however, if the fence has an urgent order from a master document forger, they may pay up to 180 silver to 200 silver (18 to 20 gold coins) in hard cash.
* Fiscal duties and statutory tariffs apply to all legitimate sales of the Brass Reading Lenses in established municipal jurisdictions. Any vendor offering the apparatus for sale within a Central City, State Capital, or chartered Town must pay a 3% value tax (3.3 silver on the 110 silver base) to the municipal tax magistrate. Consignments passing through a city gate or harbor pier incur a 1% transit tax, in addition to the standard traveler entry fee of 1 silver per person. Moving the item across sovereign state borders incurs a 5% border tariff based on assessed value. Foreign merchants and non-citizen travelers conducting commercial transactions face doubled assessments, paying a 6% sales tax or a 10% border levy. Failure to remit assessed duties upon demand results in immediate confiscation of the optical apparatus by municipal bailiffs until all back taxes and administrative fines are satisfied.
Tactical Environmental Roleplay for Defense and Offense with the Brass Reading Lenses
* Within deep subterranean vaults, catacomb galleries, and ancient crumbling mines around the Rockfall scar, the apparatus operates as a hazard detector and an architectural targeting reticle. * Defensive Roleplay: The amber-tinted quartz lenses cut through greasy animal-fat smoke, sulfurous vent haze, and floating stone dust, preventing blindness and disorientation. Peering through the twin lenses activates Structural Stress Sight, highlighting hairline compression cracks and buckling keystones in ancient granite ceilings as glowing amber fracture lines; this allows the avatar to steer the party away from collapsing arches or anticipate floor collapses over hidden cisterns. Concurrently, the bio-resonant rim glow begins pulsing with indigo light if an invisible subterranean creeper or an illusory pit-trap lies within thirty feet, giving the party time to brace before an ambush triggers. * Offensive Roleplay: In combat against subterranean brutes or armored stone golems, the wielder spends an action peering through the lenses with Structural Stress Sight to identify the load-bearing fracture fault in a cavern pillar or an enemy construct’s armored knee joint. Calling out this weak point grants allies targeted strikes to topple pillars onto advancing foes or sunder construct limbs. When subterranean stalkers use camouflage or invisibility to hide among hanging stalactites, the wielder invokes Glint of Revelation, projecting a beam of focused violet-indigo light that outlines hidden predators in an inescapable luminescence, stripping away their stealth bonuses for the party’s ranged attackers.
* Along high-altitude mountain precipices, fog-draped switchbacks, and wind-scoured chasm bridges, the lenses mitigate environmental blindness and neutralize concealed cliffside snipers. * Defensive Roleplay: High mountain ascents present blinding whiteouts, cloud glare, and reflective snow-mirages. The amber filtering eliminates snow-blindness and glare without dimming visual sharpness. When inspecting suspension bridges, rope ladders, or climbing anchors along sheer ravines, the wielder swings down the third magnifier to inspect anchor pins for microscopic hairline shears and fiber rot, ensuring safety before any party member steps onto a fatal fall hazard. * Offensive Roleplay: Guerilla raiders often use mountain mist, camouflage mantles, or ridge overhangs to stage vertical ambushes. The wielder uses the lenses to spot raiders concealed behind brush or loose scree, noting the distinct heat and bio-vascular signature that bleeds through the crystal. If enemy scouts deploy magical concealment or mirage cloaks across a 30-foot gorge, the user flashes Glint of Revelation across the cliff face; the clinging halo of purple phosphorescence marks the scouts against the white fog, giving friendly slingers and archers clear targets.
* In municipal scriptoriums, aristocratic council chambers, and high-security archival courts, the lenses serve as covert investigative weapons and legal counter-measures. * Defensive Roleplay: The wielder wears the apparatus openly around the neck as a harmless scholar’s loupe, entirely bypassing municipal blade bans and magic restrictions. When presented with treaties, contracts, or civic warrants, the user twists the knurled brass rims to activate Dye-Truth Tint for ten minutes. This reveals chemical discrepancies in ink, scrubbed parchment under-text, spliced cord strands, or poisoned contact resins, protecting the party from signing fraudulent pacts or touching toxic ledgers. * Offensive Roleplay: During public debates, inquests, or judicial tribunals, the wielder can systematically dismantle an opponent’s legal standing. Using Micro-Script Piercing, the wielder reads encrypted missives, concealed seals, or bribery tallies resting flat on an opposing noble’s desk across the chamber. When an official presents an altered historical khipu to justify unjust taxes or land grabs, the wielder examines the cords under Dye-Truth Tint, publicly demonstrating where older knots were untied and spliced with newer thread to expose high-level municipal fraud on the council floor.
* Within active geothermal calderas, boiling mud flats, and volcanic sulfur fields, the apparatus provides thermal navigation and tactical environmental manipulation. * Defensive Roleplay: Swirling steam plumes, blinding geyser vapors, and stinging sulfuric clouds reduce standard sight to zero. Peering through the amber lenses neutralizes the optical whiteout, allowing the avatar to read the volcanic floor safely. The Structural Stress Sight reveals paper-thin basalt crusts hiding molten sludge or boiling mud pockets beneath, enabling the wielder to map a safe path across unstable terrain where missteps mean immediate incineration. * Offensive Roleplay: When engaging fire-drakes, basalt hounds, or ash-crawlers in an active caldera, the wielder uses Structural Stress Sight offensively to locate pressurized volcanic crusts or brittle basalt domes near enemy positions. Signaling an ally to strike that specific structural fracture with a sling bullet or hammer causes a targeted geyser blowout or steam eruption directly under the enemy’s feet. If an elemental creature submerges into the thermal ash to obscure its approach, the wielder flashes the lenses to trace its heat-refraction silhouette, denying the creature surprise.
* Inside sealed tombs, warded treasure vaults, and trapped mechanical labyrinths, the lenses function as a fine-scale disarming tool and an analytical combat guide. * Defensive Roleplay: The bio-resonant rim glow pulses indigo when approaching invisible trip-wards, pressure-plate glyphs, or illusion-masked pit traps, allowing the party to halt before triggering an explosion. The wielder swings down the third close magnifier, gaining +1 temporary skill in Knot Reading and fine engineering to trace the microscopic hair-springs, counterweight threads, and poison-needle pins inside complex mechanical locks, providing essential precision for lock-picking. * Offensive Roleplay: Against ancient guardian automatons, tomb guardians, or warded crypt beasts, the wielder uses Identify Focus, taking an action and maintaining concentration to analyze the target through the Mind’s Eye. Peering through the crystal exposes the target’s underlying stat blocks, damage resistances, elemental vulnerabilities, and charge thresholds. The wielder directs the party’s attacks to bypass physical resistances, calling out exactly which elemental spells will trigger a catastrophic internal rupture in the creature.
* Across crowded night bazaars, dockside warehouses, and shadow-market alleys, the lenses counter criminal deception, disguised assassins, and counterfeit currency. * Defensive Roleplay: In dim, crowded markets where thieves use minor glamour charms or optical cloaks to slip past guards, the apparatus’s rim glyphs pulse softly to warn of nearby deception. When accepting high-value trade payments, loans, or ancient relics from black-market brokers, the user inspects the merchandise through the third magnifier to spot gold-plated lead cores, acid-washed coin edges, or fabricated provenance glyphs before parting with funds. * Offensive Roleplay: During covert urban tracking or sting operations, the wielder identifies disguised shape-shifters, doppelgängers, or polymorphed spies mingling with the bazaar crowd. Once the lenses register an active visual disguise, the user fires Glint of Revelation into the throng. The concentrated beam hits the suspect, instantly outlining their true physical form in a clinging violet halo that shatters their disguise, prompting immediate intervention from municipal guards or clearing a line of fire for party enforcers.
Perception of Activation:
* User’s Perspective: * Lifting the cold-hammered brass frames to the eyes triggers an immediate, comforting warmth as the metal absorbs the wielder’s skin temperature, forming an active bio-resonant circuit with the vascular channels in the hand and brow. Looking through the amber-tinted quartz lenses instantly filters away visual noise; ambient lamplight glare, sulfur smoke, and floating soot particles soften, leaving surfaces rendered in crisp, high-contrast clarity. When the knurled rims are twisted to activate Dye-Truth Tint, a sharp, tactile click resonates through the closed-knot hinges, followed by a faint, rhythmic tingling along the bridge of the nose and cheekbones. The optical field shifts into deep, luminous indigo tones; faded cochineal dyes, ancient lichen pigments, and subtle chemical mismatches in inks flare with hyper-saturated vibrancy, while spliced cord fibers and scrubbed parchment under-text appear as jagged, jarring luminous seams. When Glint of Revelation is loosed, the wielder feels a crisp, focused electrostatic snap leave the crystal lenses, accompanied by the dry mineral aroma of warm quartz and ozone.
* Observer’s Perspective: * To an onlooker, the wielder raises the folding brass loupe with one hand and holds it to their eye. As the user’s bio-resonance engages, the microscopic khipu-glyphs carved along the circular rims ignite with a steady, pulsating indigo phosphorescence, casting intricate, lace-like geometric shadows across the wielder’s upper face and temple. The clear amber lenses darken into an iridescent, deep amethyst-indigo sheen that mirrors surrounding light sources like polished gems. When the user swings down the third auxiliary magnifier, a faint optical ring of magnified clarity is visibly projected onto the inspected object. When Glint of Revelation is discharged, a brilliant, needle-straight lance of violet-gold light flashes from the crystals toward the target, splashing across surfaces in a shimmering, crackling wave that ignites any concealed or invisible entity in an inescapable, clinging corona of purple luminescence.
* Extra-Sensory Perceptions: * Through the Mind’s Eye, the user perceives an analytical data overlay superimposed directly onto reality. Floating geometric matrices, numerical tallies, tier levels, material compositions, and remaining resilience values manifest along the perimeter of the field of view, detailing the latent magical properties and structural history of whatever object, entity, or glyph is placed under focus. * Under True Sight or aetheric vision, the twin quartz crystals manifest as radiant focal prisms. Swirling golden threads of abjuration and sapphire spirals of divination magic flow through the closed-knot hinges directly into the user’s optic pathways, while the etched rim-glyphs spin in microscopic counter-rotations, actively stripping away glamour, optical phantasms, and visual misdirections. * Through Psychometry or historical resonance, resting the third magnifier against an ancient cord or parchment causes the user to experience faint sensory echoes of the scribe’s physical state: the rhythmic tapping of the original bone bodkin, the specific warmth of an elder’s fingertips, or the frantic pulse and slick sweat of a forger splicing replacement strands decades in the past. * To senses attuned to Structural Stress Sight, inspecting masonry, bedrock, or load-bearing timbers reveals internal mechanical tension as luminous amber fault-veins running through the material. Weak points, impending cave-in fractures, and hollow wall voids pulse with a low-frequency hum, signaling structural failure points before physical cracks appear. * Under Aura Sight or disguise discernment, creatures maintaining magical disguises, polymorph shapes, or invisibility appear surrounded by a frayed, vibrating distortion field, resembling loose threads peeling away from a woven tapestry.
* Positives: * Provides immediate forensic confirmation of authenticity via Dye-Truth Tint, granting advantage to identify forged manuscripts, tampered tribute khipus, spliced knots, and counterfeit coin alloys. * Functions as an Identify Focus, enabling full statistical, mechanical, and historical appraisal of unidentified artifacts, beasts, and runes through concentrated use of the Mind’s Eye. * Eliminates environmental visual penalties caused by thick subterranean smoke, torch flicker, and blinding snow or sulfur glare through amber quartz filtering. * The bio-resonant rim glow functions as an autonomic early warning system, softly pulsing with indigo light when within 30 feet of invisible foes, magical disguises, or concealed arcane wards. * The auxiliary third lens grants a temporary +1 skill bonus to fine micro-script reading, knot decoding, and delicate lock mechanism appraisal. * Glint of Revelation actively pierces optical invisibility and illusionary glamour, outlining hidden adversaries in glowing phosphorescence for allies to target.
* Negatives: * Requires one hand to hold the apparatus to the eyes during active use, preventing the avatar from wielding two-handed weapons, using shields, or climbing with both hands while focusing. * The bright indigo rim glow and the discharge beam of Glint of Revelation create an obvious visual signature, ruining personal stealth in pitch-black subterranean vaults. * Deep item and entity identification via the Mind’s Eye requires uninterrupted concentration for several minutes, leaving the wielder perceptually isolated and vulnerable to surprise ambushes. * Although durable, the ground quartz lenses and articulated brass hinges can be cracked, knocked out of alignment, or scratched by direct concussive blasts or crushing bludgeoning damage. * Active magical abilities (Dye-Truth Tint, Micro-Script Piercing, and Glint of Revelation) consume dedicated daily charges, requiring disciplined resource management during extended research or ruin excavations.
Crafting Recipe: Brass Reading Lenses of the Deep Vaults 6093
Materials Needed
* Non-Magnetic Cold-Hammered Brass Alloy: Two ounces of purified copper-zinc alloy smelted in a sulfur-free crucible and cold-hammered to eliminate magnetic draw, preventing interference with subterranean mineral lodes while forming the folding rims and bridge.
* Amber-Tinted Quartz Crystal Nodules: Two flawless, optical-grade natural amber quartz nodules harvested from high-altitude geothermal gas vents in Hanan-Pacha, free of internal feathers or bubbles, plus a third smaller quartz wafer for the auxiliary magnifier.
* Hardened Bronze Closed-Knot Hinge Pins: Three miniature pivot pins cast from hard phosphor-bronze, each head sculpted into an unbroken closed-knot binding symbol to anchor the main fold and the articulated third-lens arm.
* Volcanic Diamond Lapping Powder and Polishing Slurry: Graduated grades of crushed volcanic diamond dust and pumice powder suspended in mineral oil, used for grinding convex curvatures and polishing the crystals to high optical transparency.
* Conductive Indigo Resin Glaze: Half an ounce of alchemically refined pine sap mixed with powdered indigo cake, copper-verdigris salts, and sulfur water, used to fill the microscopic rim engravings and complete the bio-resonant circuit.
* Braided Vicuña and Agave Neck Lanyard: Three feet of tightly spun, triple-ply cord woven from highland vicuña wool and wild agave bast fiber, dyed slate-black and fitted with brass end-ferrules to attach directly to the frame temples.
* Tier 1 Magic Crystal Catalyst: One intact, coin-sized Tier 1 magic crystal harvested from a defeated entity or acquired through municipal merchant banks, sacrificed during the final transference ritual to permanently bind the Mind’s Eye Identify Focus, Dye-Truth Tint, Glint of Revelation, and Structural Stress Sight into the apparatus.
Tools Required
* Steam-Driven Lapidary Grinding Lap: A rotary gemstone grinding wheel driven by sulfur-steam piping or a fine pedal crank, fitted with interchangeable bronze and iron lap plates to shape, crown, and bevel convex quartz lenses.
* Micro-Jeweler’s Brazier and Blowpipe: A clean charcoal brazier paired with an angled brass blowpipe for micro-soldering the hinge knuckles, heating the bezel wire, and annealing frame joints without warping optical tolerances.
* Diamond-Tipped Engraving Stylus: A needle-sharp engraving burin tipped with an uncut volcanic diamond splinter, used to hand-scribe microscopic Khipu-glyphs along the inner and outer circular brass bezels.
* Precision Watchmaker’s Pliers and Riveting Mallet: Miniature smooth-jaw bronze pliers and a balanced antler-faced mallet used to cold-peen the closed-knot hinge pins and articulate the third-lens swing arm without marring the brass.
* Optical Calibration Bench and Target Card: An adjustable hardwood test rig fitted with an illuminated fine-thread khipu specimen card and micrometer guides to verify focal lengths, eliminate visual distortion, and align the auxiliary magnifier over both primary oculars.
Skill Requirements
* Lapidary and Gem-Cutting: A minimum trained skill level of 5 in Lapidary, Gem-Cutting, or Fine Glasswork, required to grind identical convex focal curvatures, bevel the retaining edges, and polish the amber quartz without optical distortion.
* Fine Metalworking and Jewelry Crafting: A minimum trained skill level of 4 in Fine Metalworking, Jewelry Crafting, or Clockwork Mechanics, necessary to forge the non-magnetic brass frames, execute functional closed-knot hinges, and seat the swinging magnifier arm.
* Rune Inscription and Qosqo-Khipu Knot Reading: A minimum trained skill level of 3 in Rune Inscription or Qosqo-Khipu Knot Reading, needed to scribe the microscopic rim glyphs in proper sequence and calibrate the Dye-Truth forensic spectrum.
* Alchemical Preparation and Material Infusion: A minimum trained skill level of 2 in Alchemy or Material Infusion, required to formulate the conductive resin glaze and safely channel the catalyst crystal sublimation into the assembly without cracking the quartz under thermal stress.
Crafting Steps
* Phase One: Frame Forging, Hinge Fabrication, and Third-Arm Articulation * Smelt and cold-hammer the brass alloy into thin, uniform stock; draw out two circular lens bezels with internal retaining grooves, a central folding bridge knuckle, and a miniature articulated swing arm. * File and mill the frame hinges into interlocking knuckles shaped like Andean closed-knot bindings; align the central bridge hinge so the two primary oculars fold flat against each other for compact storage. * Mount the auxiliary third-lens arm to the lateral hinge post using a hardened bronze pin; cold-peen the pin to set the tension, ensuring the small magnifier swings down smoothly over either eye and stays firmly in place during active movement.
* Phase Two: Lens Grinding, Faceting, and Optical Polishing * Mount the two amber quartz nodules onto cedar dop sticks using warm pitch; grind the front surfaces on the lapidary wheel using coarse diamond slurry to establish a uniform convex focal curvature matched to a reading distance of fourteen inches. * Grind the reverse surfaces flat to produce plano-convex lenses; repeat the process on the smaller third quartz wafer, grinding it to a steeper convex radius capable of achieving twenty-times micro-magnification. * Advance through progressively finer polishing slurries down to volcanic pumice paste, buffing all three crystals until surfaces are free of scratches, swirl marks, or refractive clouding, and verify that ambient amber filtering neutralizes sulfur glare.
* Phase Three: Micro-Glyphic Inscription and Bio-Resonant Inking * Secure the polished brass bezels in an engraving vise under a magnifying mirror; use the diamond-tipped stylus to engrave microscopic Khipu-glyphs into the brass rims, tracing the ancient Pacha-Qosqo formula for truth-seeking and veil-piercing. * Heat the conductive indigo resin glaze in the crucible until fluid; apply the tinted resin across the engraved glyph channels with a fine bone pick, wiping away surface excess so the blue-green resin fills every line. * Burnish the filled engravings until flush, establishing a conductive pathway that will channel the wielder’s bio-vascular pulse directly into the crystal lenses upon contact.
* Phase Four: Assembly, Calibration, and Lanyard Rigging * Warm the brass bezels gently over coals to expand the metal; seat the two primary quartz lenses and the auxiliary magnifier into their respective retaining channels, allowing the brass to cool and contract into a secure mechanical fit. * Mount the assembled apparatus onto the calibration bench; inspect the illuminated test target through both primary lenses to verify that stereoscopic alignment produces no eye strain, and verify that swinging down the third lens magnifies individual thread plies with sharp focus. * Attach the three-foot braided vicuña and agave neck cord to the frame eyelets, securing the brass ferrules with closed-loop stopper knots to complete the neck-lanyard fastening.
* Phase Five: Catalytic Crystal Transference, Attunement Priming, and Inspection * Lay the completed reading lenses flat upon a polished granite slab in the center of the workbench, draping the braided neck cord neatly around the frames; place the Tier 1 magic crystal catalyst directly across the central brass bridge. * The artisan lifts the frame by the temples, touches their thumbs to the knurled rims to bridge the bio-resonant circuit, and recites the formal scribal cadence of the Deep Vaults over ten uninterrupted minutes. * Direct the arcane energy through your fingertips into the brass; the catalyst crystal glows with intense violet-gold luminescence before sublimating into a mineral-scented vapor that absorbs directly into the amber quartz lenses and the engraved rim glyphs. * Roll a d20 to verify the stability of the magical transference: * A roll of 1 results in optical fracture; thermal shock cracks one of the primary quartz lenses, requiring the artisan to rebuild the optic from Phase Two using fresh quartz. * A roll of 2 through 19 confirms a stable binding, permanently locking the Mind’s Eye Identify Focus, Close Magnifier, Dye-Truth Tint, Micro-Script Piercing, Glint of Revelation, Structural Stress Sight, and Bio-Resonant Rim Glow into the apparatus. * A roll of 20 results in masterwork resonance, granting +1 additional daily charge to Dye-Truth Tint and increasing the reveal range of Glint of Revelation to 45 feet. * Inspect the finished tool, verifying that total weight is exactly 0.5 pounds, the frames fold smoothly without catching, the rim glyphs pulse indigo when held near illusionary or disguised surfaces, and twisting the knurled bezels activates the Dye-Truth spectrum cleanly.
Two Cold Windows of Brass and Little Swinging Wheel of Glass Whereby Maiden Illari Stole Lies from Bellies of Grandfathers
Now this is the recitation of that paper which was pulled out of the soot-hole behind the seventh lime-vat, set down in the awkward speech of the salt-merchants who do not know the difference between a cord-tie and an ox-halter, and having many clumsy sayings of stone-cutting.
In that ancient season which the elders call the Spreading-Out of the High Shelves—which in the foreign mouth is spoken as the Renaissance of Hanan-Pacha—the digging-men did carry their bronze picks seven hundred ladders deeper into the belly of the cold world. They made long streets of slate beneath the old tombs, where no sun-dog could ever bark and no wind from the snow-peaks could blow away the breath of the diggers. In those deep ditches, the scribes of the string did hang many hundreds of grease-pots filled with the tallow of the mountain camel. But the fat of the beast was foul, and the black smoke came out of the wicks like greasy wool, laying a thick mantle of grey soot upon the walls, upon the teeth of the maidens, and upon the little knot-clusters of the ancient khipus.
Then it came to pass that the eyes of the wise women began to leak red water. For though their veins ran with the pale blue lamp-blood of the mountain people, the smallest plies of the dead city Turrath were no thicker than the leg of an ant, and they were drowned in grease-shadows. Many junior readers, striving to find how many bags of salt were owed to the quarry-men, tied false knots because their eyeballs were swollen like boiled plums; and the grandmothers cried out that the memory of the rock was turning into grey porridge because the people could no longer see what their mothers had tied.
Therefore, the master-beaters of stone who lived beside the sulfur-pipes made a great engine. They caught the boiling steam that came out of the crack of the earth, and with it they turned a heavy stone wheel of black basalt. Upon this wheel they laid nodules of clear stone, the color of yellow honey, which were gathered from the high chimney where the earth spits yellow crystals. With the sharp dust of the black diamond, they rubbed and rubbed these honey-stones until they were round and smooth like the eye of an owl, having no scratches and no fog within their meat.
Then the smiths took the yellow metal which is brass—not that brass which is soft and loves the iron needle, but cold-hammered brass beaten thirty times with an elk-horn mallet so that it would not twist when it came near the black iron veins of the deep walls. They made two round collars to hold the honey-glasses, and between them they set a bridge with a knuckle shaped like the sacred hitch of the five-fold cord, so that the two glasses could shut together flat like the wings of a beetle when it sleeps in the bark. And upon the side of the left glass, they pinned a third little looking-wheel on an arm of bronze that could swing down with a small snap, like the ear of a llama when the fly bites it, so that a reader might put three glasses over one eyeball and see the very hairs that grow upon a thread of wool.
Now when the sixth thousand and ninety-third pair of these spectacles was lifted from the polishing-slurry, the Chief Engraver took a stylus tipped with a river-diamond. He was an old man who had no teeth and ate only parched flour mixed with grease; yet his hand did not shake. Around the round brass collars he cut thirty-six little signs of the Qosqo-Khipu, so small that a fly might cover three of them with its wing-case. Into these cuts he rubbed the blue paint made of fermented mountain-moss and the bitter salts of the copper-pans, so that when the skin of a living man touched the metal, the blood of his forehead would run into the brass and make the little cuts glow like the belly of a fire-worm.
In that very hour, the girl Illari had brought to the high platform her first clean copy of the broken Turrath slate-cord. Her fingers were stained blue with the dye of the agave, and she stood straight upon the stone flags. The Keeper of the Long Cord, whose beard was yellow like an old fleece from ninety years of sitting over the sulfur-wells, looked upon her work. He did not give her a copper ring, nor did he give her a jar of corn-wine. He reached into the breast of his black mantle and brought forth Frame Six Thousand and Ninety-Three, hanging from three cubits of vicuña-bast braided with slate-colored agave.
He cast the loop over her head and said unto her: Take these two windows of the deep earth, little spider. With your two naked eyes you can see only what a man says he has done; but through these honey-stones you shall see what his fingers were thinking when he tied the string. If a man brings you a clean cord that smells of honest grease, look upon it and give him his bread; but if he brings you a string that has been bitten by a crooked needle, put the third glass to your eye and show the court the blood of his lie.
Now it was not twenty moons after the spectacles were hung about her neck that a great council was gathered in the Third Terrace of the White Pavement. There sat the five Archival Patriarchs, whose robes were made of the soft belly-wool of unborn calves, having heavy plates of hammered gold pinned to their shoulders. They had come with four great baskets of red and ochre cords, seeking to seal the Great Roll of the Grain Bales and the Canal Lands.
For they stood before the city people and said: Behold the ancient khipus of the year of the Great Shaking. Here it is written in the sacred knots of the foundation that the three terraces of the Upper Well, and all the corn that is beaten from the stalks between the two gorges, belong forever to the house of our grandfather, the Lord Manko-Zul. Likewise it is tied here that our house owes no barley to the public pot, because our ancestors gave eighty stone-boats to the building of the river-gate. The strings are old; the soot of seventy winters is upon them; therefore let the town magistrates set their seals to the knot, and let the common folk go down into the valley to carry our water.
The common people who stood upon the lower ramps were very sad, and they bowed their heads upon their knees; for their bellies were empty, and they knew that if the five grandfathers took the Upper Well, the children of the terrace would have to eat the roots of the water-dock through the dry months.
Then the maiden Illari stood up from the scribe-bench behind the lime-pot. She had the Brass Lenses resting upon her chest, folded like a sleeping moth.
She cried out with a loud voice: Let the baskets be set upon the table of inspection, for the law of the Long Cord says that no knot may be sealed into the book of the mountain until it has been washed by the cold light of the glasses.
The five Patriarchs laughed with their great bellies, and the eldest of them, whose name was Harap-Ur, stroked his gold breastplate and said: What will this little water-carrier do with her brass toy? The cords were tied by the hands of holy men who were buried before her grandmother had teeth. Can a young girl see through the soot that seventy winters have blown into the wool?
Illari did not make an answer of angry words. She stepped to the table and drew the spectacles from the braided lanyard. She opened the two round frames until the closed-knot hinge gave a small, greasy click. She lifted them to the bridge of her nose.
The moment her skin touched the cold brass, the thirty-six microscopic glyphs around the rims flared up with a cold, angry indigo fire. The people on the ramps cried out, for her face looked like the face of a mountain-ghost looking through two yellow moons. She took the knurled edges of the circular collars between the ball of her thumb and her first finger, and she gave them a quarter-twist to the right, toward the mark of the salt-pan.
Instantly, the two honey-stones became dark and deep like the night-sky above the snows, burning with the Dye-Truth Tint.
Illari looked upon the great red cord of the land-grant. To the naked eyes of the magistrates, the wool seemed old, grey, and uniform, crusted with the honorable dirt of seventy seasons. But through the indigo glass, the cord began to scream with different colors.
The girl reached out her bodkin of vicuña-bone and pointed: Look here, O judges of the wall. This main spine is indeed seventy years old, dyed with the true cochineal of the high cactus. But look upon the four pendant cords where the boundaries of the Upper Well are counted. These four strings were never boiled in the bug-vat. They are dyed with the sour juice of the red dock-weed, which was picked from the ditch not six summers ago. The dye has no salt in it; it does not bite the fiber; it sits upon the wool like grease upon a dog’s back.
The elder Harap-Ur became red in the jowls and shouted: She lies with her foreign glasses! The thread is red, and my grandfather was a red-cord man!
Then Illari reached up her left hand and pulled the little bronze arm that hung upon the temple. The third, smaller honey-lens swung down with a sharp snap, seating itself directly in front of her right eye. She leaned down until her eyelash brushed the black soot of the table.
She laughed a short laugh, like the cracking of dry wood: It is worse than weed-dye, grandfathers. Come look through the third eye, you people of the ramps. Come see where the scissors of the thief have been walking.
The Master Bailiff of the city came down and put his eye to the little third glass. When he looked, he fell back against the table with an oath. For under twenty-fold magnification, the knot was no longer a sacred knot; it was a butchery. The original cords, which had recorded the public ownership of the water-gates, had been severed with a hot bronze razor. The stubs had been teased out with a lard-needle, and the four false strings of weed-dyed wool had been spliced into the core with clumsy sailor-hitches, hidden beneath a smeared coating of boiled resin and old chimney-grease.
Illari did not stop her hand. She turned the lenses upon the second basket, wherein lay the record of the grain-tribute. Again the brass rims flashed with indigo sparks; again she swung the third glass over the knots.
She spoke into the great stone chamber: Here also is the debt of the eighty stone-boats. The grandfather did not give eighty boats to the city; he borrowed eighty sacks of barley from the storehouse to feed his quarry-slaves, and the knot of his debt was tied with a three-fold lock. But someone has taken a bone pick and untied the lock, turning the three loops into two open ears, so that what was a debt of eighty sacks is made to look like a gift of eighty boats. The sweat of the man who untied it is still salty in the fiber; it glows green under the amber stone, like the slime upon a stagnant well.
Then the great hall was filled with a terrible shouting. The common people took up the stones from the pavement and cast them at the feet of the five Patriarchs, crying out that the grandfathers were thieves who ate the bread of orphans with false strings. The municipal guards came down with their copper-headed sticks and seized the four baskets of cords, dragging the elder Harap-Ur and his kin away to the cold cells beneath the lime-kiln to await the judgment of the axe.
The people praised Illari, and would have carried her upon their shoulders to the house of the chicha-vats; but when she looked toward the dark stair that led down to the deep storage-crypts, her heart was heavy like a piece of lead. For through the amber lenses, she looked upon the high gallery where the elder scribes stood in the shadows; and though their mouths were shut, she saw through the glass that their hands were twitching and their fingers were making the secret knots of hatred.
She knew then that she had cut off the foot of a great serpent, but its head was still coiled in the deep shelves where no one walked.
And it was not three nights after the judgment of the well that the great iron doors of the innermost archive were found hanging upon their pins, broken by a heavy lever. The great chest of seasoned cedar, wherein lay the sealed Turrath archive—the true bundle of the ten thousand names of the dead, which had never been opened since the city fell—was empty. Nothing was left upon the floor but three broken clay tallies and a pinch of black wool.
When the bailiffs ran through the galleries seeking the thief, they found the maiden Illari sitting alone upon the stone stair. She had Frame Six Thousand and Ninety-Three in her hand. The lenses were smeared with cold tears, and the brass rims were glowing with a pale, dying indigo light that flickered like a lamp in a draft.
She looked up at the Keeper of the Long Cord, who had come down with his white hair flying, and she said: I found the false cords in the daylight, master; but the true cords have been carried into the dark where even these stones cannot see. The men whose grandfather I showed to be a thief have taken the grandmother of us all, and they will bury her where no glass will ever find her bones.
And from that night until the mountain itself shall break, the Brass Reading Lenses were kept as an holy terror among the people of the terraces. For the scribes know that an honest man may look through them and see the truth of fifty winters; but a liar who puts them to his nose will find his own eyes turned into glass, because the stone of the deep chimney does not know how to shut its lids when a thief is walking with a needle.
Moral of the Story: A lie may be boiled in ancient soot and wrapped in seventy years of silence until it looks like holy law to the naked eye; but when the glass of true craft is brought against the thread, the smallest false knot will cry out with the color of its shame, for the wool never forgets the hand that sheared it.
Suggested conversions to other systems:
Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition) Deep Vault Reading Lenses (Apparatus 6093)
* Item Classification: Hypergeometric Optical Apparatus and Forensic Focus (Held Slot: One hand to hold to the eye; worn around the neck on its integrated braided cord when stowed)
* Physical Profile: Folding cold-hammered brass frames with two round amber-tinted quartz lenses, a third miniature magnifying lens on a hinged bronze knot-arm, and microscopic khipu-glyphs etched around the rims that glow indigo when active. Weight: 0.5 lbs.
* Applicable Skills: Appraise, Archaeology, Art/Craft (Calligraphy or Forgery), Library Use, Spot Hidden, Science (Forensics or Chemistry)
* Attunement: Instantaneous upon holding the lenses to the eyes; requires basic literacy or training in Library Use or Qosqo-Khipu Knot Reading.
* Amber Glare-Filtering (Passive Property): * The amber quartz crystals filter visual distortion, soot haze, and flickering lamplight. The user suffers no penalty dice on Spot Hidden or visual perception checks when operating in smoke, sulfur mist, dust clouds, or blinding snow-glare.
* Structural Stress Sight (Passive Property): * When inspecting masonry, natural cavern walls, or load-bearing timbers, the user gains one Bonus Die on Spot Hidden, Archaeology, or Science (Engineering) rolls to locate concealed doors, structural collapse hazards, or hollow architectural voids.
* Bio-Resonant Rim Glow (Passive Warning): * The micro-etched glyphs along the brass bezels pulse with faint indigo light whenever an active illusion, magical camouflage, or disguised arcane ward is within 10 yards.
* Close Magnifier (Passive Property): * Swinging down the third lens over either ocular magnifies fine details up to twenty times, granting a +10% bonus to Appraise, Archaeology, or Library Use rolls made to inspect microscopic scripts, fiber splices, or miniature lock mechanisms.
* Identify Focus (Active Hypergeometry): * Cost: 0 Magic Points (1 MP if examining deeply warded Mythos artifacts). * Effect: By spending an action and maintaining unbroken concentration for three minutes through the lenses, the investigator reveals the physical composition, historical provenance, and mechanical or arcane properties of an item, rune, or creature, converting an Appraise or Archaeology roll outcome into a Hard Success (or revealing deeper properties on an Extreme Success). Shielded or cursed artifacts may require a POW check.
* Dye-Truth Tint (Active Hypergeometry): * Cost: 1 Magic Point; 2 charges per 24-hour cycle. * Effect: The investigator twists the knurled rims a quarter-turn. For the next 10 minutes, the optical field shifts into indigo spectra; faded inks, mismatched pigment layers, spliced cords, erased parchment under-text, and counterfeit paper fibers stand out clearly. All rolls to detect forged documents, altered contracts, or fake antiques receive one Bonus Die.
* Micro-Script Piercing (Active Hypergeometry): * Cost: 0 Magic Points; 2 charges per 24-hour cycle. * Effect: The investigator swings down the third magnifier and recites a cadence. For 1 minute, the investigator can read micro-dots, cipher watermarks, and hidden script embedded within artwork or dense text down to the width of a single wool ply.
* Glint of Revelation (Active Hypergeometry): * Cost: 2 Magic Points; 1 charge per 24-hour cycle. * Effect: The investigator channels bio-resonance through the crystals, projecting a concentrated beam of violet-gold light at a target within 10 yards. The target must succeed on an Extreme DEX or Regular POW check; on a failure, any active invisibility, shape-shifting disguise, or visual glamour is outlined in a clinging violet halo for 1 combat round, granting one Bonus Die to all combat attacks made against the target.
Blades in the Dark Vault-Reader Lenses 6093
* Item Classification: Fine Arcane Implement and Forensic Apparatus (Arcane Implement / Forensic Gear, 1 Load)
* Quality and Tier: Tier I (Fine Quality, granting +1 effective Quality level to Study, Survey, and Tinker actions concerning written records, locks, subterranean structures, and architectural forensics).
* Item Traits: Fine (+1 Quality), Arcane, Forensic, Optical, Truth-Seeking.
* Amber Glare-Filtering & Stress Sight (Passive Quality): * You suffer no reduction in Effect or Position when gathering information through heavy chimney smoke, coal-dust, darkness, or steam. When examining stonework or structures to spot weak points or hidden niches, you operate with increased Effect.
* Close Magnifier (Passive Quality): * The auxiliary swinging lens provides exceptional micro-clarity. Gain +1d to Tinker rolls to pick intricate miniature locks, or to Study rolls to scrutinize hairline seams, falsified ledger ink, or forged bank tallies.
* Bio-Resonant Rim Glow (Passive Arcane Trait): * The etched khipu-glyphs pulse softly with indigo light when approaching active illusions, supernatural glamours, or concealed spirit-wards within close range, providing early narrative warning before a trap triggers.
* Identify Focus (Special Action): * Spend 1 Stress and take a few moments of quiet study while peering through the crystal lenses. You gain Great Effect on a Study or Attune action to discover the true nature, hidden history, creator, or magical properties of an unknown relic or strange mechanism.
* Dye-Truth Tint (Special Action): * Uses: 2 charges per score (or spend 1 Stress). * Effect: Twist the rims to activate an indigo spectrum for a scene. You instantly perceive chemical differences in ink, spliced paper or cord fibers, forged stamps, and altered writing with Potency.
* Micro-Script Piercing (Special Action): * Uses: 2 charges per score (or spend 1 Stress). * Effect: Swing down the third magnifier to read microscopic codes, hidden watermarks, or cipher lines concealed inside illustrations or bookbindings without requiring special lighting or magnification gear.
* Glint of Revelation (Special Action): * Uses: 1 charge per score (or spend 1 Stress). * Effect: Project a focused beam of violet light at a target within throwing distance. If the target is concealed by magic, shadow-cloaking, or illusionary disguise, the glamour is stripped away and they are outlined in glowing violet phosphorescence, reducing their defensive Position from Controlled or Risky to Desperate.
Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition / 2024 Edition) Brass Reading Lenses of the Deep Vaults 6093
* Item Type: Wondrous Item, Uncommon (Requires Attunement by a character proficient in Investigation, Arcana, or History)
* Carried Location: Held in one hand to use; worn around the neck on its integrated braided cord when stowed (does not occupy an armor or cloak slot). Weight: 0.5 lbs.
* Forensic Focus (Passive): * While holding these lenses to your eyes, you gain a +1 bonus to Intelligence (Investigation) and Wisdom (Perception) checks, and you have Advantage on checks made to read, authenticate, or identify written texts, khipu cords, fine mechanical locks, and forged documents.
* Close Magnifier (Passive): * You can swing the third hinged lens over either eye as a Free Action. Doing so grants you a +1 temporary bonus to Dexterity (Sleight of Hand or Thieves’ Tools) checks to bypass miniature or complex lock tumblers, and allows you to resolve microscopic details up to twenty times life size.
* Amber Glare-Filtering & Stress Sight (Passive): * The amber quartz lenses allow you to see through non-magical smoke, fog, and dust clouds out to 60 feet without disadvantage. In addition, you have Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Intelligence (Investigation) checks to locate architectural stress points, hollow walls, or imminent cave-in hazards.
* Bio-Resonant Rim Glow (Passive): * The etched rim glyphs shed dim indigo light in a 5-foot radius whenever an active illusion, shapechanged creature, or invisible entity is within 30 feet of you.
* Identify Focus (At Will): * You can cast the Identify spell through the lenses as an Action without expending a spell slot or material components. The casting requires 3 minutes of unbroken concentration while holding the lenses to the target object or creature.
* Dye-Truth Tint (2 Charges, Recharges Daily at Dawn): * As an Action, you twist the brass rims. For the next 10 minutes, the lenses glow indigo, and you gain Truesight out to 10 feet specifically for discerning written words, ink compositions, altered knot clusters, scrubbed parchment, and physical document forgeries.
* Micro-Script Piercing (2 Charges, Recharges Daily at Dawn): * As an Action, you activate the auxiliary magnifier to read text down to micro-dot scale, decipher invisible watermarks, or read encrypted inscriptions for 1 minute, ignoring visual obscuration.
* Glint of Revelation (1 Charge, Recharges Daily at Dawn): * As an Action, you project a focused beam of violet light at a creature or surface within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or be bathed in a clinging violet halo until the start of your next turn. While outlined, the target cannot benefit from being Invisible, and attack rolls against it have Advantage.
Knave (Second Edition) Vault-Reader’s Brass Lenses
* Item Slot: 1 Item Slot (Carried around the neck on its integrated cord or held in one hand).
* Durability: 3 Quality.
* Tool Classification: Precision Optical Apparatus & Forensic Focus.
* Weight: 0.5 lbs.
* Amber Glare-Filtering & Stress Sight (Passive Trait): * Looking through the amber lenses eliminates all penalties from heavy smoke, soot, fog, or blinding glare. You gain Advantage on Wisdom checks to notice hollow stone walls, cracked tunnel ceilings, secret doors, and collapsing mine shafts.
* Close Magnifier (Passive Trait): * Swinging down the third lens over either eye grants Advantage on Intelligence checks made to read obscure languages, study complex engineering diagrams, inspect miniature lock tumblers, and identify counterfeit currency.
* Bio-Resonant Rim Glow (Passive Trait): * The brass rims glow faintly with indigo light whenever an invisible creature, magical illusion, or concealed spell-trap is within 30 feet.
* Identify Focus (At-Will Exploit): * Frequency: At will. * Effect: Spend 1 exploration turn (10 minutes) examining an unknown magic item, relic, or inscription through the lenses. The referee reveals its full stats, item tier, special abilities, and any curses attached to it.
* Dye-Truth Tint (Daily Exploit): * Frequency: Twice per day. * Effect: Twist the rims to activate an indigo forensic field for 1 exploration turn (10 minutes). The user automatically spots altered writing, spliced cords, erased inks, fake signatures, and disguised poisons on parchment or objects.
* Micro-Script Piercing (Daily Exploit): * Frequency: Twice per day. * Effect: Swing down the third lens to read text down to the size of a thread ply or find microscopic hidden symbols for 1 minute.
* Glint of Revelation (Daily Exploit): * Frequency: Once per day. * Effect: Flash a narrow beam of violet light at a target within 40 feet. If the target is invisible, shapechanged, or masked by an illusion, the disguise is nullified and the target is coated in glowing violet dust for 1 round, preventing them from hiding and granting Advantage on all attack rolls against them.
Fate Core Deep Vault Reading Apparatus 6093
* Classification: Extra (Optical Apparatus, Forensic Tool, and Divination Implement)
* Permission: An aspect reflecting archival training, Andean khipu scholarship, or possession of the deep vault lenses.
* Refresh Cost: 1 Refresh point to bind the apparatus to the character sheet.
* Primary Item Aspects: * Twin Amber Windows of Hanan-Pacha * The Needle That Catches Every False Knot
* Passive Stunt – Amber Filtering & Structural Stress Sight: * The user suffers no visual penalties from non-magical smoke, soot, fog, or blinding glare. * Gain a +2 bonus to Notice or Investigate rolls when inspecting masonry, cavern tunnels, or architectural weak points to spot structural collapse hazards and concealed doors.
* Passive Stunt – Close Magnifier & Rim Glow: * Gain a +2 bonus to Crafts or Lore rolls when inspecting fine mechanisms, micro-script, or knot bindings. * The micro-etched glyphs pulse with soft indigo light whenever an active supernatural illusion, magical disguise, or hidden arcane ward is present in the same zone.
* Basic Action – Identify Focus: * By taking an exchange in quiet concentration to assess an unknown relic or strange inscription through the lenses, the user may roll Lore or Investigate with a +2 bonus to Overcome and reveal its aspects, tier, and functional stunts.
* Active Stunt – Dye-Truth Tint: * Twice per session (or by spending 1 Fate Point if exhausted), the user twists the knurled rims to shift vision into indigo spectra for a scene. Gain a +2 bonus to Investigate or Notice to detect document forgeries, spliced threads, counterfeit seals, or erased text.
* Active Stunt – Micro-Script Piercing: * Twice per session, the user swings down the third magnifier to automatically read microscopic codes, hidden watermarks, or cipher lines concealed in artwork or cloth without requiring an Overcome roll.
* Active Stunt – Glint of Revelation: * Once per session, the user projects a focused beam of violet light at a target in the same or adjacent zone, rolling Lore or Shoot against the target’s Athletics or Stealth. On a success, the target’s invisibility, disguise, or visual glamour is broken, and they gain the situation aspect Outlined in Violet Phosphorescence with one free invoke.
Numenera & Cypher System Deep Vault Forensic Oculars 6093
* Classification: Artifact (Optical Sensor / Forensic Scanner)
* Level: 3
* Form: Folding cold-hammered brass frames with two amber quartz lenses, a third swinging magnifier arm, and micro-etched glyphs along the bezels suspended from an integrated neck lanyard.
* Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (roll upon activating Dye-Truth Tint, Micro-Script Piercing, or Glint of Revelation).
* Passive Properties: * Forensic Focus: Tasks involving reading, authenticating, or decoding ancient scripts, khipu records, or miniature mechanisms are eased by one step while looking through the lenses. * Amber Glare-Filtering: Tasks to perceive details through heavy smoke, sulfur fumes, or particulate haze are eased by one step. * Structural Stress Sight: Tasks to spot hollow masonry, concealed stone chambers, or structural weaknesses in tunnels or constructs are eased by one step. * Bio-Resonant Rim Glow: The glyph rims pulse indigo when an illusion, cloaking field, or active energy ward is within immediate range (10 feet). * Close Magnifier: Swinging down the third magnifier eases tasks involving picking miniature lock tumblers or deciphering micro-engravings by one additional step.
* Identify Focus (Action): * Spend 3 minutes concentrating on an unknown device, cipher, or creature through the lenses to ease the task of identifying its level, function, and depletion by two steps.
* Active Ability – Dye-Truth Tint (Action): * The user twists the knurled rims to flood the field of view with indigo light for 10 minutes. Tasks to detect altered text, spliced cords, erased writing, or counterfeit objects are eased by two steps. Roll for Depletion.
* Active Ability – Micro-Script Piercing (Action): * Swing down the third lens and speak a cadence to read microscopic scripts or hidden watermarks down to a hair’s breadth for 1 minute. Roll for Depletion.
* Active Ability – Glint of Revelation (Action): * The wielder projects a beam of violet light at a target within short range (50 feet). If the target is concealed by invisibility, camouflage, or illusion, that effect is cancelled, and the target is outlined in glowing violet light for 1 minute, hindering all its defense actions by one step. Roll for Depletion.
Pathfinder (Second Edition Remaster) Deep Vault Reading Lenses
* Item Traits: Uncommon, Magical, Invested, Divination
* Item Level: 3
* Price: 110 gp
* Usage: Held in 1 hand (worn around neck when stowed on integrated braided cord)
* Bulk: Light (L)
* Description: * Folding cold-hammered brass frames with twin amber quartz lenses and an articulated third-lens magnifier. Microscopic khipu-glyphs etched into the rims channel the wearer’s life energy.
* Forensic Focus (Passive): * You gain a +1 item bonus to Perception and Society checks to Read, decipher, or authenticate written records, khipus, and architectural drawings, and to Thievery checks to pick locks with intricate micro-tumblers when using the Close Magnifier.
* Amber Glare-Filtering (Passive): * You ignore the concealed condition from non-magical smoke, fog, and particulate haze when observing targets through the lenses.
* Structural Stress Sight (Passive): * You gain a +1 item bonus to Perception checks to notice architectural hazards, stress fractures in stone, and secret doors.
* Bio-Resonant Rim Glow (Passive): * The rims shed dim indigo light in a 5-foot emanation whenever an active illusion, shapechanged creature, or invisible entity is within 30 feet.
* Activate – Identify Focus (10 minutes, Concentrate): * Frequency: At will. * Effect: You study an item, creature, or inscription through the lenses, replicating the effects of the identify ritual without requiring material components or primary check DC increases for unusual origins.
* Activate – Dye-Truth Tint (One Action, Manipulate): * Frequency: Twice per day. * Effect: You twist the brass rims. For 10 minutes, you gain a +2 status bonus to Perception and Society checks to detect forgeries, spliced fibers, erased writing, and counterfeit currency.
* Activate – Micro-Script Piercing (One Action, Manipulate): * Frequency: Twice per day. * Effect: You swing down the third magnifier. For 1 minute, you can read microscopic script, concealed watermarks, or cipher lines as small as a single thread ply without penalty.
* Activate – Glint of Revelation (Two Actions, Concentrate, Light, Manipulate): * Frequency: Once per day. * Effect: You project a beam of violet-gold light at a creature or object within 30 feet. The target must attempt a DC 19 Reflex save: * Critical Success: The target is unaffected. * Success: If the target is invisible or disguised by an illusion, it is concealed rather than invisible or disguised for 1 round. * Failure: Any invisibility or visual illusion on the target is suppressed for 1 round, and it is outlined in violet light, making it off-guard until the start of your next turn. * Critical Failure: As failure, but the illusion is suppressed for 1 minute and the target is off-guard for 1 minute.
Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition) Deep Vault Reading Lenses 6093
* Item Classification: Arcane Relic / Forensic Optical Tool
* Weight: 0.5 lbs
* Value: 1,100 currency units
* Minimum Strength: d4
* Carried Location: Held in one hand; suspended from the neck on an integrated braided cord when stowed.
* Forensic Focus (Passive Property): * Grants a +1 bonus to Notice, Academics, and Research rolls made to examine, decipher, or authenticate written documents, khipu records, and fine mechanical locks.
* Close Magnifier (Passive Property): * When the third lens is deployed over an eye, it grants a +1 bonus to Thievery rolls to pick intricate or miniature locks, and allows reading of microscopic details up to twenty times magnification.
* Amber Glare-Filtering (Passive Property): * Negates up to 2 points of visual penalties caused by smoke, soot, fog, or glaring light.
* Structural Stress Sight (Passive Property): * Grants a +2 bonus to Notice rolls made to spot hollow walls, cracked ceilings, and architectural collapse hazards in stonework.
* Bio-Resonant Rim Glow (Passive Property): * The rims pulse faintly with indigo light when within 6 yards of active illusions, disguised beings, or invisible creatures.
* Identify Focus (Passive / Action): * The wielder can spend 3 minutes scrutinizing an unknown magical item, creature, or cipher through the lenses to make an Academics or Occult roll at +2 to discern its full powers, edges, hindrances, and item tier.
* Internal Power Reserve: * Contains 5 dedicated Power Points that recharge at a rate of 1 point per hour.
* Integrated Power – Dye-Truth Tint (Object Reading): * Power Points: 1 * Range: Self * Duration: 10 minutes * Trapping: Indigo-tinted crystal vision highlighting chemical, fiber, and ink variations. * Mechanics: The user gains a +2 bonus on Notice or Research rolls to detect forged documents, spliced threads, erased text, or altered khipu records.
* Integrated Power – Micro-Script Piercing (Farsight / Micro-Vision): * Power Points: 1 * Range: Self * Duration: 1 minute * Trapping: High-precision quartz magnification. * Mechanics: Allows the user to read micro-script, invisible watermarks, or cipher patterns down to thread-width scale.
* Integrated Power – Glint of Revelation (Dispel): * Power Points: 2 * Range: 6 yards * Duration: Instant * Trapping: Piercing beam of violet-gold light. * Mechanics: The user targets a creature or surface. If the target has active invisibility, shape-shifting, or illusionary disguises, make an opposed roll of user’s Smarts versus the power’s creator (or the target’s Spirit). On a success, the disguise is nullified and the target is outlined in glowing violet light until the end of the next round, preventing stealth and granting a +2 bonus to attack rolls made against them.
Shadowrun (Sixth World) Deep Vault Forensic Oculars 6093
* Item Classification: Optical Apparatus / Forensic Loupe / Sustained Divination Focus (Held Slot: One hand to hold to the eye; worn around the neck on its integrated braided cord when stowed)
* Focus Bonding & Essence: Non-cybernetic optical gear; Essence 0. Awakened characters can bond the apparatus as a Force 2 Divination / Detection Focus for 6 Karma to enhance analytical perception. Non-awakened operatives utilize the physical lenses for non-electronic forensic examination and counter-intrusion inspection.
* Physical Profile: Folding cold-hammered brass frames enclosing two amber-tinted quartz crystal lenses, an articulated third-lens swing arm with a high-magnification quartz wafer, and microscopic khipu-glyphs scribed around the bezels that glow indigo when bio-resonant contact is made. Weight: 0.25 kg (0.5 lbs).
* Amber Glare-Filtering (Passive Trait): * The natural amber crystals filter visual particulate noise. The user ignores up to 2 points of Visibility environmental modifiers caused by smoke, dust clouds, industrial smog, flash-glare, or thermal haze.
* Structural Stress Sight (Passive Trait): * Viewing masonry, ferrocrete, structural steel, or vehicle chassis highlights internal load strains as amber fracture lines. The user gains a +2 dice pool bonus on Engineering or Perception tests made to identify structural weak points, sabotaged supports, or concealed voids and smuggling compartments.
* Close Magnifier (Passive Trait): * Swinging the third auxiliary lens down over either eye magnifies details up to twenty times, granting a +1 dice pool bonus to Cracking (Hardware) tests to bypass physical lock tumblers, as well as to Perception tests inspecting micro-transceivers, nanodot print, or spliced physical fiber cables.
* Bio-Resonant Rim Glow (Passive Warning): * The micro-etched glyphs along the brass bezels pulse with a soft indigo light whenever an active illusion spell, Physical Mask, mana barrier, or visually disguised drone/critter is present within 10 meters.
* Identify Focus (At-Will Major Action): * Spending 3 minutes in unbroken concentration while examining an item, technological prototype, or creature through the lenses functions as an optical Mind’s Eye analysis. The user makes an Arcana, Assensing, or appropriate Knowledge test with a +2 dice pool bonus to reveal the target’s underlying operational stats, manufacturer provenance, Force, and functional enchantments or technological traits.
* Dye-Truth Tint (Active Major Action): * Frequency: 2 charges per 24-hour cycle. * Duration: 10 minutes. * Effect: The user twists the knurled brass rims, shifting the lenses into an indigo forensic spectrum. Faded organic pigments, chemical mismatches in inks, erased hardcopy text, spliced fiber cords, and altered physical seals stand out with high contrast. The user gains a +2 dice pool bonus and +1 Edge on tests to identify counterfeit paper scrip, forged credentials, tampered physical ledgers, or altered evidence.
* Micro-Script Piercing (Active Minor Action): * Frequency: 2 charges per 24-hour cycle. * Duration: 1 minute. * Effect: Resolves microscopic markings down to a single fiber’s width. The user can read micro-etched serial numbers, nanodot messages, or hidden security watermarks without requiring electronic magnification suites.
* Glint of Revelation (Active Major Action): * Frequency: 1 charge per 24-hour cycle. * Effect: The wielder channels bio-resonance to project a focused beam of violet light at a target within 10 meters. The target must make a Reaction + Intuition test (threshold 3); on a failure, any active invisibility or visual camouflage (such as Invisibility spells, ruthen-poly cloaks, or shape-shifting masks) is suppressed for 1 combat round, outlining the target in a clinging violet halo that grants attackers a +2 Attack Rating (AR) bonus against it.
Starfinder (Second Edition) Deep Vault Reading Oculars 6093
* Item Level: 3
* Price: 1,250 Credits
* Bulk: Light (L)
* Category: Held Tech-Magic Hybrid Forensic Tool (Held in 1 hand to use, worn around neck on braided cord when stowed)
* Usage: Held in 1 hand, invested
* Traits: Divination, Magical, Hybrid, Analog, Invested
* Amber Glare-Filtering (Passive Trait): * The amber quartz lenses cut through optical obscurants, allowing the user to ignore the concealed condition from non-magical atmospheric smoke, sulfur mist, steam plumes, and particulate dust clouds out to 60 feet.
* Structural Stress Sight (Passive Trait): * Highlights mechanical tension lines as glowing amber fracture veins, granting a +1 item bonus to Perception checks to notice architectural hazards, stress fractures in ship bulkheads, hollow rock walls, and hidden security compartments.
* Close Magnifier (Passive Trait): * The third hinged lens swings over either eye as a Free Action, magnifying fine objects up to twenty times. The user gains a +1 item bonus to Thievery checks to pick intricate lock cylinders or disarm micro-traps, and to Recall Knowledge checks when examining microscopic alien glyphs or nanotech circuitry.
* Bio-Resonant Rim Glow (Passive Trait): * The etched khipu-glyphs pulse with indigo luminescence whenever an illusion, cloaked creature, or invisible entity is within 30 feet.
* Activate – Identify Focus (1 minute, Concentrate, Magical): * Frequency: At will. * Effect: You study an item, creature, or inscription through the lenses. This functions as the identify spell, revealing the object’s level, magical/technological traits, and operational functions without requiring raw materials or tech kits.
* Activate – Dye-Truth Tint (One Action, Manipulate, Magical): * Frequency: Twice per day. * Duration: 10 minutes. * Effect: You twist the brass rims to shift vision into an indigo forensic spectrum. You gain a +2 status bonus to Perception and Society checks to detect physical forgeries, spliced fibers, erased documents, counterfeit currency, and altered data-wafers.
* Activate – Micro-Script Piercing (One Action, Manipulate): * Frequency: Twice per day. * Duration: 1 minute. * Effect: You swing down the third magnifier to read micro-script, invisible security watermarks, and micro-etched circuit pathways down to a single fiber’s width.
* Activate – Glint of Revelation (Two Actions, Concentrate, Light, Magical): * Frequency: Once per day. * Effect: You fire a beam of violet-gold light at a target within 30 feet. The target must attempt a DC 19 Reflex save: * Critical Success: The target is unaffected. * Success: The target’s invisibility or visual disguise is reduced to the concealed condition for 1 round. * Failure: Invisibility and visual illusions on the target are suppressed for 1 round, and it is outlined in violet light, making it Off-Guard until the start of your next turn. * Critical Failure: As failure, but the illusion is suppressed for 1 minute and the target remains Off-Guard for 1 minute.
Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition) Deep Vault Optical Loupe 6093
* Item Classification: Archaic Forensic Tool and Optical Field Analyzer (Held Slot: 1 hand in use; worn around the neck on its integrated cord when stowed)
* Tech Level: TL 8 (Specialized Non-Electronic Archaeological Relic)
* Mass: 0.25 Kilograms
* Suggested Cost: Cr 1,100
* Relevant Skills: Investigate, Science (Archaeology), Recon, Engineer (Civil), Mechanic
* Amber Glare-Filtering (Passive Property): * The amber quartz crystals negate up to -2 DM in visual penalties caused by thick engine smoke, sulfur smog, ash-choked planetary atmospheres, or intense solar glare.
* Structural Stress Sight (Passive Property): * Reveals compression loads in physical materials as amber fault-lines, granting a +1 DM to Engineer (Civil), Recon, or Survival checks to spot structural stress fractures, brittle rock formations, unmapped voids, or compromised pressure bulkheads.
* Close Magnifier (Passive Property): * The auxiliary hinged lens swings over either eye, magnifying details twenty times. Provides a +1 DM to Mechanic, Electronics, or Lockpicking checks involving micro-circuitry, miniature tumblers, or fine hair-spring triggers.
* Bio-Resonant Rim Glow (Passive Sensor): * The engraved glyphs pulse with indigo light when within 10 meters of active holographic projections, personal cloaking devices, or psionic sensory dampening screens.
* Identify Focus (At-Will Action): * Spending 10 minutes scrutinizing an unknown mechanical relic, alien inscription, or archaic device through the lenses grants a +2 DM to the next Science or Engineer check to deduce its operational parameters, power requirements, and potential hazards.
* Dye-Truth Tint (Active Action): * Frequency: 2 charges per standard day. * Duration: 10 minutes. * Effect: Twisting the knurled rims shifts the optics into an indigo spectrum, revealing variations in ink age, erased lines, spliced fibers, and counterfeit seals. Grants a +2 DM to Investigate or Admin checks to detect forged physical travel manifests, counterfeit identification papers, or tampered currency.
* Micro-Script Piercing (Active Action): * Frequency: 2 charges per standard day. * Duration: 1 minute. * Effect: Resolves microscopic engravings, nanodot tracking codes, and concealed micro-watermarks down to thread-width scale without electronic equipment.
* Glint of Revelation (Active Action): * Frequency: 1 charge per standard day. * Effect: Projects a concentrated violet-gold light beam at a target within 10 meters. Targets operating under optical camouflage, chameleon suits, or holographic cloaks must pass an Average (8+) Athletics (Dexterity) or Recon check; on a failure, their cloak malfunctions for 1 combat round, outlining them in violet light and providing a +1 DM to all attacks directed against them.
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition) Brass Reading Lenses of the Deep Vaults 6093
* Item Classification: Fine Arcane Curio and Forensic Optical Tool (Held Slot: 1 Hand in use; worn around the neck on its integrated braided cord when stowed)
* Encumbrance: 0
* Availability: Exotic (Highland Andean Provenance)
* Item Qualities: Fine, Accurate, Magical
* Amber Glare-Filtering (Passive Relic Trait): * The wearer ignores visual perception penalties from thick lantern soot, tallow smoke, sulfur fog, or blinding snow-glare when looking through the amber crystals.
* Structural Stress Sight (Passive Relic Trait): * Grants a +10% bonus to Perception, Lore (Engineering), and Lore (Geology) Tests made to identify structural fractures in stone, locate secret masonry doors, or predict tunnel cave-ins.
* Close Magnifier (Passive Relic Trait): * Swinging down the third hinged lens grants a +10% bonus to Pick Lock Tests on miniature or complex locks, and to Research Tests examining micro-engravings or thread splices.
* Bio-Resonant Rim Glow (Passive Ward): * The etched rim glyphs glow indigo whenever an active spell from the Lore of Shadows, an illusion, or an invisible entity is within 10 yards.
* Identify Focus (At-Will Action): * Spending 3 minutes studying an enchanted relic, unknown mechanism, or ancient rune through the lenses grants a +20% bonus to Lore (Magic) or Lore (Engineering) Tests to determine its functions, history, and attached curses.
* Dye-Truth Tint (Active Action): * Frequency: Twice per day. * Duration: 10 minutes. * Effect: Twisting the brass rims reveals chemical differences in inks, spliced cords, erased text, and counterfeit seals. Grants a +20% bonus to Research, Lore (Law), or Trade (Calligraphy) Tests to detect forged documents, counterfeit guild marks, or altered khipus.
* Micro-Script Piercing (Active Action): * Frequency: Twice per day. * Duration: 1 minute. * Effect: The wielder can read micro-script, invisible ink watermarks, or cipher lines as fine as a single thread ply without specialized workshop equipment.
* Glint of Revelation (Active Action): * Frequency: Once per day. * Effect: The wielder projects a beam of violet light at a target within 10 yards. The target must succeed on a Challenging (+0) Dodge Test or have any active invisibility, shape-shifting disguise, or Shadow-magic glamour suppressed for 1 combat round. While suppressed, the target is outlined in glowing violet light, granting all attackers a +10% bonus on weapon skill tests made against it.