From: Lineage 2741 of the Zaf Amra
Tertiary Weapon / Focus
Description:
A flexible whip composed of braided glass-filament cords encased in fine copper mesh, tipped with crystalline beads that hum faintly. When moved through air, the whip generates soft harmonic tones that can disorient foes or amplify geomantic casting.
Function & Effects:
- Deals slashing + sonic damage; effective against creatures with sensitive hearing or brittle armor.
- Active (2/day): Whisper Disruption — releases a resonance pulse (20 ft radius) that dampens enemy spellcasting or focus checks.
- Passive: Doubles as a channeling focus for geomancy or steam rituals, granting +1 to magic precision rolls.
- In close quarters, can coil into a defensive ring of vibrating glass strands that deflect projectiles.
Lore:
The Echo-Glass Whip was first created in the Sandhaven Sound-Forge, where master artisans tuned molten glass with ley vibrations. Zarisa’s personal version is harmonized to her pulse, producing a distinctive low hum like shifting dunes when activated.
The Echo-Glass Whip 1907 of Whispered Resonance stands as one of the great hybrid marvels of Amratian craftsmanship—equal parts weapon, focus, and musical instrument of the arcane. Its origin lies deep within the sandstone caverns of the Sandhaven Sound-Forge, a sacred manufactory built at the intersection of five subterranean ley-lines where sound, pressure, and molten glass merge into harmonic perfection. According to ancient records etched on obsidian panels, the artisans of Sandhaven did not “forge” their glass but rather sang it into shape—using resonant tuning rods and copper-throated bellows to sculpt molten silica that responded to tone rather than touch.
The 1907th whip was one of the final creations before the Forge’s collapse beneath the dunes. Crafted by the dual artisans Yaleh and Zarisa—a bonded pair of glasswrights and geomancers—it was designed not merely as a weapon but as an extension of one’s inner rhythm. The whip’s braided glass filaments were woven in seven harmonic strands, each attuned to one of the desert’s natural frequencies: dune-wind, shifting stone, heartbeat, breath, whisper, echo, and silence. The copper mesh, drawn from river-bronze ore, carries the minute currents of steam energy that allow the whip to oscillate with deadly precision.
Zarisa’s own whip, the original of this design, was tuned uniquely to her pulse. Her allies claimed that when she fought, the air itself sang—the dunes rippled in sync with her movements, and enemies found their focus shattered by waves of harmonic dissonance. During her last recorded stand against the invading dune-wraiths of Kharveth, the whip’s tones crescendoed until they became a storm of living sound, collapsing the wraiths’ resonance shells and scattering them into the sands.
It is said that when an Echo-Glass Whip resonates perfectly with its wielder, the whip’s glass glows faintly with inner light—each movement tracing golden arcs that flicker between weapon and art. Its hum lingers long after combat, vibrating through the bones of those nearby, as though whispering the remnants of forgotten desert songs.
Tier One Values and Magical Attributes
Tier: 1 (Fine Tertiary Weapon / Focus Hybrid)
Slot: Tertiary Weapon / Focus
Weight: 1.8 lb
Length: 10 ft fully extended; 1.5 ft coiled
Durability: 50/50
Base Statistics:
• Attack Type: Slashing + Sonic (Hybrid)
• Damage Output: 1d8 (physical) + 1d6 (sonic resonance)
• Attack Range: 10 ft (melee, reach)
• Accuracy Modifier: +2 (Precision-based weapons benefit)
• Defense Modifier (Coiled Mode): +1 AC when active and focused
• Initiative Bonus: +1 in acoustically resonant areas (halls, caverns, dunes)
Skills Gained:
• +1 Geomancy (for focus channeling)
• +1 Acoustics / Resonance Tuning (for vibration-based interactions)
• +2 Performance (when using rhythmic movements or chants in roleplay)
• Advantage on Insight checks involving vibration, movement, or tension sensing within 30 ft
Passive Magics:
- Harmonic Awareness: The whip’s oscillating filaments attune to surrounding resonance. The wielder senses unstable magic, hollow spaces, or ley-line tremors within 60 ft as faint vibrations through their arm.
- Steam Conduction Matrix: The copper mesh channels excess heat from nearby steam sources, allowing the whip to harmlessly interact with scalding or pressurized environments.
- Echo Stabilization: While acting as a magical focus, the whip harmonizes the wielder’s energy flow, reducing spellcasting misfire chance or ritual instability by 10%.
- Glass Memory: Each swing subtly records ambient sounds or spells within 10 ft, replaying them faintly during activation—an auditory signature that can be both distracting and revealing.
Activatable Magics:
- Whisper Disruption (2/day): Emits a resonant pulse from the whip’s glass beads, silencing concentration and disrupting magical precision. All creatures within 20 ft must succeed on a Willpower / Focus / Constitution saving throw (DC 14). Failure results in one of the following (GM discretion): loss of next spell action, disadvantage on concentration checks, or stunned hearing for 1 round.
- Vibrant Coil (1/day): Coils into a defensive spiral; for 1 minute, ranged weapon attacks and low-tier magical projectiles suffer –2 to hit as vibrations deflect trajectories.
- Resonant Lash (1/day): Unleashes a precisely timed sonic strike—targets struck take full sonic damage even if resistant to nonmagical weapons. Creates a faint echo that can reveal invisible or stealth-based entities by their disturbance patterns.
Tags:
Whip, Resonant Focus, Sonic Weapon, Geomantic Conduit, Steam-Woven Glass, Vibration Control, Focus Conductor, Ritual Instrument, Defensive Coil, Amratian Craft, Ley-Linked Item, Harmonic Tuner, Desert Resonance, Sound-Forged, Whip, Resonant Focus, Sonic Weapon, Geomantic Conduit, Steam-Woven Glass, Vibration Control, Defensive Tool, Amratian Craft
Purpose:
The Echo-Glass Whip 1907 of Whispered Resonance is both weapon and artform—a living conduit of sound and steam. It bridges offense and focus, granting elegance through rhythm and violence through resonance. In the world of Saṃsāra, it embodies the Amratian truth that perfection arises not from silence or sound alone, but from the delicate harmony between the two.
Commerce and Circulation of the Echo-Glass Whip 1907 of Whispered Resonance — World of Saṃsāra
The Echo-Glass Whip 1907 of Whispered Resonance occupies a curious place between artisan’s treasure, sacred relic, and practical battlefield instrument. It is not a weapon one finds hanging idly in a market rack—it is heard before it is seen. Across Saṃsāra, its trade exists in hushed rooms, echoing workshops, and perfumed forges where sound and steam merge into commerce.
1. The Sound-Forge Guild Halls of Sandhaven
Nature of Shop: Artisan Guild Atelier / Steamwright Emporium
Location Context: Found in the subterranean districts of Sandhaven, where heat vents hum beneath glass-lined arches.
How Bought/Sold:
Buyers must be introduced through a recognized Soundwright or Geomantic Artisan. Payment is accepted not only in gold but in “Resonant Hours”—documented work sessions within the forge’s sound chambers, where one’s rhythmic output helps refine raw echo-glass for other projects. Each whip is tuned to the buyer’s personal heartbeat using copper tuning forks and desert quartz calibration.
Cost Range:
• Commission Price: ~1,400 to 1,800 gold pieces (dependent on harmonic alignment and requested attunement).
• Guild Trade Value (buy-back): 900 gp for an intact, unwarped model; 1,200 gp if still attuned.
Purchase Ritual: Buyer must stand in silence while molten glass is sung to resonance—if the harmonic tone resonates correctly with the buyer’s pulse, the transaction completes. If not, the whip rejects the owner and shatters harmlessly into sound-dust.
2. The Whispering Spiral Emporium (Sandhaven Upper Market)
Nature of Shop: Luxury Weapon & Performance Boutique
Location Context: A domed pavilion where brass chimes hang from every archway, their tones forming continuous harmonic patterns.
How Bought/Sold:
Sold as both performance instruments and self-defense tools. Patrons—typically diplomats, bardic engineers, or desert aristocrats—commission unique finishes with additional filigree or rune etching. Trades often involve barter in musical relics, ley-maps, or rare sand-resin rather than coin.
Cost Range:
• Retail Price: 2,000–2,500 gp (depending on decorative grade and embedded gems).
• Resale to Artisans: 1,200 gp if fully resonant; 600 gp if harmonic tuning degraded.
Transaction Ritual: A quiet audition. The whip is cracked once across a sand bed—if its hum matches the ambient chime network’s rhythm, the shopkeeper deems it “harmonized,” granting a discount or ceremonial blessing.
3. The Steamwright’s Annex (Vara-Sul Industrial Quarter)
Nature of Shop: Mechanist & Enchanter’s Forge Collective
Location Context: Beneath the central bridgeworks of Vara-Sul, surrounded by hissing valves and bronze pistons.
How Bought/Sold:
The weapon is seen here more as a tool than a relic—favored by geomancers, engineers, and ley-technicians who value its vibration feedback for machinery calibration. Purchases often accompany practical demonstrations: the whip is used to detect pipe fractures or unstable enchantment flows.
Cost Range:
• Market Price: 1,000 gp flat (trade license discount available).
• Industrial Buyback: 700 gp for worn models; 900 gp for fully functional ones.
Sale Method: Practical demonstration under steam pressure—if the whip’s vibration can locate a hidden fracture in a metal plate, it’s considered “forge-ready.”
4. The Luminous Archive of Coralis Dominion
Nature of Shop: Scholar-Collector’s Repository / Curio Auction House
Location Context: Coral-glass corridors beneath oceanic skylights, humming faintly with tidal resonance.
How Bought/Sold:
Here, the whip is valued as a musical-arcane relic, not a weapon. Sold only to proven researchers or patrons of the Amratian Faith of Zephara, often through closed-door auctions held during the “Calm Tides.” The transaction is sealed by the Archivist’s Choir—three voices that intone the buyer’s name into the item’s harmonic core, binding ownership by sound.
Cost Range:
• Auction Average: 3,200–3,800 gp for authenticated pieces; copies or forgeries fetch around 1,000 gp.
• Donation Exchange: Sometimes traded for rare manuscripts, crystalline symphoniums, or sacred steam relics.
Buyback Policy: None; items are considered part of the living archive once sold.
5. The Shadow Bazaar of the Subterranean Dunes (Black-Market Variant)
Nature of Shop: Smuggler’s Stall / Silent Auction Vault
Location Context: Hidden among the catacomb-markets of the Deep Dunes, where steam ducts whistle eerily and buyers remain masked.
How Bought/Sold:
Traders here deal in confiscated relics, salvaged from fallen geomancers or broken ley outposts. The whips sold are often out of tune or missing resonance crystals, and their unpredictable hums can attract spirits or sand-wraiths. Still, assassins and echo-spies value them for stealth and confusion tactics.
Cost Range:
• Sale Price: 600–800 gp (no guarantee of stability).
• Resale Value: negligible—300 gp if reclaimed by legitimate artisans.
Trade Etiquette: Buyers are expected to crack the whip once in silence; if it hums back clearly, it’s considered “awake.” If it screams or fails to sound, it’s cursed—and still sells, at a discount.
Trade Culture and Economics
The Echo-Glass Whip’s market behaves like a blend of musical instrument trade and magical arms commerce. Its value fluctuates with harmonic quality and lineage traceability to the Sandhaven Sound-Forge. Items personally tuned to powerful wielders such as Zarisa can fetch historic relic status, increasing worth exponentially to 10,000 gp or more at a royal or religious auction.
Each purchase is treated not as a mere exchange of coin, but a ritual of harmonic acceptance—a resonance between buyer and object.
In the world of Saṃsāra, an Echo-Glass Whip does not simply change owners; it listens first, then agrees to be wielded.
Desert / Open Dunes
The whip’s natural habitat. Wielders move with the sand’s hush, snapping the braid to send long, sonorous strikes that shred brittle shells and crack light-armored plating. Use Whisper Disruption to throw a sand-raiding patrol into confusion — the resonance washes through enemy lines, breaking concentration and causing spellcasters or ritualists to lose their timing. In close sandstorms coil the whip into a vibrating ring to deflect thrown projectiles or flying grit; the glass-filaments sing against the wind, making a protective, rasping barrier. Roleplay notes: the whip’s hum blends with dune wind; locals sense it as a respectful invocation of Zephara if used calmly, or as a provocation if cracked in triumph.
Subterranean / Caves / Tunnels
Inside echoing caverns the Echo-Glass Whip becomes a precise tool. Its harmonic tone clairvoyantly maps fractures and ley-line eddies; used gently it reveals weak stone and hidden seams. Offensively, short, sharp sonic lashes disorient cave-dwelling beasts that rely on hearing; the whip’s vibration can rattle brittle carapaces or crystal ornamentation. Defensively its coil-mode makes a shimmering curtain that fractures incoming shrapnel from collapsing tunnels. Roleplay notes: echoes amplify its tone; players must choose power carefully or risk triggering subterranean predators attracted to the frequency.
Urban / Marketways / Streets
In crowded streets the whip excels at control and spectacle. A practiced wielder uses quick taps to create localized hums that unsettle pickpockets and hush crowds, then moves to disable a pursuer’s focus without lethal force. Whisper Disruption cast in a narrow arcade can collapse a mage’s ritual or break a thug’s coordination long enough to escape. Defensive coil can be used to snare thrown bottles or ricocheting projectiles in tight alleys. Roleplay notes: its sound draws attention; merchants may frown at performance that upends trade—using it subtly keeps social friction low.
Naval / Riverine / Canal Platforms
On decks and narrow gangways the whip’s flexibility is an advantage: pole-like use for vaulting or hooking rigging, sonic lashes to shatter fragile glass rigging or unsettle boarding parties. Whisper Disruption’s dampening effect can ruin an enemy spellcaster’s water-bound rituals; coil mode forms a vibrating shield that cuts splintered wood and deflects thrown grapnels. Roleplay notes: keep respect for shipboard rites—overuse may alarm captains who distrust strange harmonics near ballast or ley-pumps.
Airship / Aerial Platforms
High winds make long strikes unpredictable, but the whip’s harmonic feedback helps the user gauge air currents and tether lines. In aerial skirmish it stuns or disarms foes trying to plant explosives on rigging; Whisper Disruption can short a moment of coordinated boarding tactics by breaking chant timing. Defensive ring helps stop shrapnel from damaged gas cells. Roleplay notes: wind modifies pitch—successful use requires a practiced ear or a bracer tuned to compensate.
Forest / Jungle
Dense foliage dampens the whip’s range but enhances precision. Use briefer, cutting sonic taps to cleave brittle vine armor or to create concussive notes that push back insect swarms without slaughtering them. Whisper Disruption can mute a druidic circle’s cadence, robbing them of ritual synergy for a short span. Defensive coil is less useful here, but the whip’s tactile filaments excel at delicate tasks—cutting bindings, freeing trapped allies. Roleplay notes: wildlife reacts unpredictably; some forest spirits respect the tone, others flee; players should expect local guides to judge their demeanor.
Cold / Tundra / Icy Caves
Cold can make glass-filament more brittle; hits must be measured. The whip’s sonic damage still shatters thin ice or brittle frost-armor, but heavy impacts risk micro-fractures in the braided cords. Use Flow Cycle only where ambient moisture exists to reload or re-hum the filament. Defensive coil is effective at breaking brittle icicles before they fall. Roleplay notes: warming charms or steam-liners in gauntlets are recommended; otherwise the whip needs regular inspection.
Battlefield / Siege
Here the Echo-Glass Whip is a specialist’s tool. Against units relying on chants, the Whisper Disruption is a tactical counterspell that collapses coordinated volleys or timing-based engines. The whip’s sonic strikes cleave opalized armor plates and rattle siege-weapons’ tuning components, causing misfires. Defensive coil can catch and splinter lighter missiles aimed at the wielder or nearby engineers. Roleplay notes: massed use of resonance attracts enemy geomancers trying to retune the battlefield; wields must balance disruption with exposure.
Stealth / Assassination / Infiltration
Despite its audible reputation, when used in low amplitude the whip becomes a near-silent instrument for cutting bindings, disabling delicate alarm filaments, and creating micro-frequency pulses that confuse warding sensors. Whisper Disruption’s small, localized pulse can be timed to break a sentinel’s focus for a single guarded doorway. Defensive coil is a last-resort barrier to a single attacker. Roleplay notes: small-town watchmen may interpret low hums as omens; clandestine buys of this weapon require careful introductions.
Ritual / Ceremony / Performance
The Echo-Glass Whip doubles as an instrument. In rituals it can amplify geomantic casting, shaping small visions and reinforcing communal chants. In court or market performances a master-cracker uses harmonics to tell stories—notes threaded to illustrate dunes or river currents. Offensively, using it during a rite risks turning the performance into a weapon; defensive uses are usually ceremonial shields or visual displays. Roleplay notes: when used respectfully the whip is a unifier; when used provocatively it becomes a statement of dominance.
Machine / Industrial Use
Engineers prize the whip’s ability to locate harmonic imbalances in steam-gear and ley-core matrices. Tap sequences reveal misalignments, and the coil can shield technicians from flying shrapnel while calibrating turbines. Offense here is subtle: small sonic pulses can detune enemy machinery or cook fragile crystal conduits. Roleplay notes: workshops expect technical demonstrations; the whip marks the wielder as a trained artisan rather than a brash fighter.
Social / Diplomatic Contexts
Used as an emblem of craft and subtle power, a quiet hum at a negotiating table signals calm authority. Whisper Disruption used recklessly will destroy a diplomat’s cadence and be seen as a breach; used artfully it demonstrates control over chaos. Roleplay notes: in Amratian courts the whip’s tone is symbolic—cracking it in anger is a grave insult.
Tactical and Roleplay Caveats (Risks & Limits)
• Brittle Failure: strong blunt strikes or severe cold increase chance of hairline fractures; broken filaments reduce effectiveness or create shards that must be repaired by a sound-forge.
• Area Effects: Whisper Disruption affects allies in range; coordinate or risk friendly disruption.
• Ley Interference: heavy ambient noise, strong enemy geomancy, or corrupted ley nodes can damp or invert the whip’s tone, causing reduced effect or unpredictable harmonics.
• Attraction: prolonged resonance can draw sound-sensitive predators or curious geomantic entities.
• Social Consequences: public use of sonic disruption can be seen as an affront to local rites; wielders may be questioned by Sandshrines or guilds.
Tactics & Roleplay Tips for Players and NPCs
• Combine short, staccato lashes with toolkit checks to both disable fragile armor and perform technical work.
• Use the coil defensively when the party needs time to retreat engineers or ley-devices.
• Reserve Whisper Disruption for high-value targets (casters, ritualists, machine cores) and signal allies before use.
• Roleplay the whip’s personality: it hums like dunes; let NPCs react to the tone—comfort, fear, awe—depending on cultural context.
• Show care: master artisans prefer their whips treated as instruments, not brute weapons; repairing and retuning at a Sound-Forge is part of honorable ownership.
This range of environments highlights the Echo-Glass Whip’s dual nature: as a resonant tool of craft and a precise instrument of disruption. Its greatest strength comes from a wielder who listens as much as strikes—matching tone to terrain, cadence to company, and restraint to occasion.
Perception of Activation:
User’s Perspective:
The moment the Echo-Glass Whip awakens, a subtle vibration ripples through the wielder’s arm, like the plucked string of an instrument resonating beneath the skin. The air around the hand thickens with warmth and faint humidity as the glass filaments begin to hum—a tone so pure it seems to bypass hearing and nestle directly into the bones. The copper mesh tingles, every braided thread alive with soft static, while the crystalline beads at the tip flare in alternating pulses of blue and amber light. With each motion, the whip feels weightless yet impossibly precise, like a living current anticipating intent before muscle responds. Extra-sensory awareness expands: sound becomes color, vibration becomes texture; faint ley-lines thread visibly through the ground, and every step or shift in balance echoes as luminous ripples in the wielder’s mind. The whip’s hum synchronizes with the user’s heartbeat, then deepens—an unspoken agreement of resonance.
Observer’s Perspective:
To an onlooker, the whip’s activation is mesmerizing and unsettling. The air distorts subtly, as though heat shimmers ripple outward even in the cool shade. The crystalline beads emit a low harmonic pulse that vibrates the chest more than the ear; nearby sand or dust dances upward in tiny concentric spirals. A faint halo of refracted light forms around the wielder’s silhouette, bending slightly with each swing. The hum changes pitch depending on motion—gentle for calm movements, sharp and piercing when struck. The scent of ozone and heated glass fills the air, and faint trails of phosphorescent motes mark each strike, fading like dying notes of music.
Positives:
• Heightened sensory precision—sound and vibration translate into instinctive spatial awareness.
• Harmonization with ley-line energy enables stronger control of terrain and ambient magic.
• Emotional steadiness under pressure; rhythmic breathing aligns naturally to the whip’s hum.
• Allies nearby often experience a mild calming focus, their own heartbeat unconsciously syncing to the rhythm.
Negatives:
• Prolonged use causes sensory overload—light halos, auditory distortion, and pulse echoing in the skull.
• The weapon’s resonance can betray stealth, attracting vibration-sensitive predators or alerting attuned listeners miles away.
• If emotional state falters (rage, panic, grief), the tone warps into a discordant shriek that can fracture the whip’s glass filaments or injure the user’s inner ear.
• The harmonic link persists briefly after deactivation, leaving the wielder haunted by phantom vibrations and whisper-tones that fade only with meditation or ritual grounding.
To wield the Echo-Glass Whip in activation is to stand between sound and silence—each motion a breath between creation and collapse, each hum a reminder that resonance is both power and peril.
Recipe Title: The Song of Tempered Glass — Crafting the Echo-Glass Whip 1907 of Whispered Resonance
Materials Needed:
• Braided Glass Filament (x3 lengths): drawn from molten desert glass quenched in moonlit river water to retain both flexibility and harmonic memory.
• Copper Mesh Weave (x2 sheets): fine Amratian copper strands annealed under low steam pressure; must conduct vibration evenly.
• Crystalline Beads (x5): pure quartz spheres carved with micro-glyph spirals; one central bead must be attuned to the crafter’s pulse via resonance chanting.
• Ley-Tuned Resin (x1 vial): semi-liquid bonding agent that vibrates with ambient magic, allowing internal tension without fracturing.
• Steam-Conductive Handle Core (x1 rod): hollow bronze grip tube containing miniature steam channels to control pulse flow.
• Whispering Sand (handful): fine-grained powder from the Serene Dunes, used to temper the filaments and stabilize sound harmonics.
• Binding Thread of Twin Currents (x1 spool): silk-steel thread dyed half turquoise (for water) and half amber (for sand), ensuring dual harmonic resonance.
• Essence of Vibration (drop): distilled extract from a geomantic tuning fork, providing sentient responsiveness to movement.
Tools Required:
• Sound-Forge Furnace: specialized forge designed to heat glass and metal through harmonic frequency rather than flame.
• Steam Pressure Hammer: for layering copper mesh over molten glass filament while preserving tonal purity.
• Precision Etcher (Khet-Glyph Calibrator): used to inscribe micro-glyphs that define the whip’s harmonic language.
• Resonant Tuning Basin: filled with mineral water from a ley-fed spring; used to submerge and “tune” the completed whip through vibration tests.
• Artisan’s Mask of Silence: dampens external sound so the crafter can hear and correct micro-tonal deviations during the process.
Skill Requirements:
• Artisan Craft (Glasswork) — Mastery Level.
• Steam Engineering — Competent Level.
• Leyline Resonance Tuning — Intermediate Level.
• Arcane Inscription (Khet-Glyph Script) — Proficient Level.
• Perception / Hearing — Above Average. (Crafters must be able to discern pitch deviations of less than one vibration cycle per second.)
Crafting Steps:
- Purification and Alignment:
At sunrise, gather all materials upon a bronze altar etched with a twin spiral—the marks of sand and water. Lay the Whispering Sand in a ring and whisper your true name once into it; this synchronizes your heartbeat with the crafting field. - Formation of the Glass Filament:
Heat the desert glass in the Sound-Forge Furnace while maintaining a continuous low hum matching the Khet-Glyph for balance. As the glass softens, draw it into three even cords, cooling each in alternating layers of steam and water mist. These cords will act as the whip’s core. - Application of the Copper Mesh:
Using the Steam Pressure Hammer, coil the copper mesh tightly around each filament. Between each layer, brush a thin coat of Ley-Tuned Resin, sealing tension and conductivity. The mesh must hum at a frequency between 212–215 ley-hertz when plucked; otherwise, restart the layering. - Embedding the Crystalline Beads:
Embed one bead every two feet along the braided filament, leaving the largest bead for the tip. The crafter must whisper a harmonic prayer to Zephara between each setting, infusing the beads with intention—clarity, focus, endurance. - Handle Integration:
Insert the filaments’ root into the bronze core and align the steam channels. Infuse Essence of Vibration into the junction point and bind it using the silk-steel thread in alternating spirals of turquoise and amber. Each turn of thread must coincide with an exhaled breath to maintain resonance alignment. - Harmonic Inscription:
Using the Precision Etcher, carve the Khet-Glyph for whisper, sand, and flow along the length of the whip. Perform this within a silence chamber—any stray noise can imprint an unintended harmonic that causes instability or unpredictable emotional resonance. - Tempering in the Resonant Basin:
Submerge the assembled whip in the mineral basin. Hum softly to produce leyline ripples; the whip will answer in tone. Continue until the whip’s pitch harmonizes exactly one octave below your natural voice. This marks successful attunement. - Final Calibration and Blessing:
Withdraw the whip and dry it under desert wind or artificial steam gusts. As it cools, the crystalline beads begin their first hum—soft, uncertain. Strike the whip once upon stone to finalize the bond. A faint shimmer of light should ripple along its length; the sound must resemble the first breath of dawn wind.
Outcome:
A newly forged Echo-Glass Whip, alive with resonance, capable of channeling sonic and geomantic forces. Each whip retains trace patterns unique to its maker’s heartbeat, ensuring no two are ever the same.
Crafting Moral (as whispered among Amratian artisans):
“To command resonance, one must first listen to silence. A tone forced by pride shatters; a tone born of stillness endures.”
Tale of Singing Glass of Zarisa
It is told in the fading tongues of the dune libraries that before the dunes were dunes and before the rivers had chosen their beds, there was a forge where sound was molten and silence was a hammer. There, under the blistering white sun, a maker named Zarisa of the Third Breath sought to create a weapon not of sharpness, nor flame, but of understanding. For she said, “The world shakes when struck, but it also sings when touched gently.”
In those ancient sands there were beasts called the Shoulen, whose hides were harder than glass and whose cries could splinter the cliffs. Warriors struck them with steel and broke their own arms. Priests chanted and were swallowed by echoes. Zarisa watched and listened, for her craft was not in battle, but in hearing the patterns between the roars.
It was said she walked alone into the Empty Basin for forty days, bringing only a bowl of river water, a vial of copper dust, and a shard of sky-glass. On the forty-first night, when even the stars had grown tired, she struck the shard upon the bowl and heard—so they say—a note that split the silence into color. She followed that sound beneath the dunes, where the ley-lines hummed like veins of sleeping serpents.
There she found the Forge That Wasn’t, a cavern with no tools and no walls, where sound itself folded and refolded like breath. Zarisa placed her copper dust into the air, poured the river water into nothingness, and sang the first of the Three Vibrations of Life: Harmonic of Beginning. The copper became threads. The water became glass. Her voice drew them together until the air itself trembled into form—a whip of braided glass and tone, shining like heat over sand.
When she left the forge, she found her world had changed. The Shoulen still roamed, but now when they roared, she could hear the sorrow beneath their noise. She lashed the air once, and the whip sang—not to cut, but to calm. The beasts lay down, and the dunes quieted, their rage forgotten for a moment.
But not all were soothed. The war-smiths of the northern dunes demanded the weapon for their armies. They came in silver armor and red banners, saying: “Give us the whip, and the sands will bow to Zephara’s might.” Zarisa refused, for the whip’s song was not meant for conquest. They drew their blades and took it by force, yet none could wield it; the whip screamed, fracturing glass and bone alike. The wind turned upon them, carrying the resonance into the desert.
When the storm ended, Zarisa and her forge were gone. Only the whip remained, buried in sand that sang when the wind passed through it. Centuries later, diggers found shards of the weapon and remade it with their own tools—yet each fragment retained the hum of her heart. No copy has ever been silent, and no true listener can hold it without hearing her whisper: “To strike without harmony is to destroy twice—once the flesh, and once the sound of the soul.”
Over time, the tale grew distorted. In one region, she became a saint; in another, a heretic; in the oldest songs, a mere tone made flesh. But across the deserts of Amratian, when the wind passes through a hollow dune and hums like a buried harp, the elders say it is Zarisa’s voice testing the world’s stillness again.
Moral: “Strength born of sound must never drown the silence that gave it shape.”
Suggested conversions to other systems:
Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)
Echo-Glass Whip of Whispered Resonance (Mythic Artifact)
Weapon (Whip), Rare, Requires Attunement (Craft or Cthulhu Mythos 30%)
Damage: 1D6 + 1D4 sonic (vs. armor or brittle material, double on impale).
Range: Melee (2 meters).
Attacks per Round: 1.
Malfunction: 98–100 (filament shatters; 1D4 rounds to reattune).
Passive Effects: While wielded, user gains +10% to Listen and Art/Craft (Glasswork). The whip hums when near ley or magnetic anomalies (Mythos locations).
Active Power – Whisper Disruption (2/day): Expend 5 Magic Points to emit a 20-foot resonance field. Enemies performing spellcasting or concentration checks must succeed POW vs. POW or lose the action.
Active Power – Vibrant Coil (1/day): Expend 3 Magic Points to create a vibrating shield of glass strands, granting +1 Armor and +10% Dodge for 1 minute.
Sanity Loss: Witnessing the whip resonate with unseen Mythos harmonics (1/1D4).
Blades in the Dark
Echo-Glass Whip 1907
Fine Arcane Weapon (Focus)
Type: Melee/Utility.
Tags: Fine, Arcane, Resonant, Focus.
Effect: When used as a weapon, inflicts harm equivalent to a sword (2 levels). When used as a focus, grants potency in any attunement or geomantic action.
Special: On command, releases a 20-foot pulse that silences arcane sound or disorients spirits for a few moments (2 stress).
Passive: +1 effect to any action relying on sound, vibration, or balance.
Drawback: Every time it hums, roll 1D6; on a 1, it attracts echoes or spectral attention.
Load: 2.
Dungeons & Dragons (5e)
Echo-Glass Whip 1907 of Whispered Resonance
Weapon (Whip), Very Rare, Requires Attunement
Damage: 1D6 slashing + 1D4 thunder.
Properties: Finesse, Reach.
Passive Abilities:
• You gain +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls with this weapon.
• You have advantage on Perception (sound-based) checks.
• You can use the whip as a spellcasting focus for any Geomancy or Elemental spell.
Active Abilities:
• Whisper Disruption (2/day): Emit a resonance pulse (20 ft radius). Each creature must succeed on a Constitution save (DC 14) or be silenced and have disadvantage on spell concentration for 1 minute.
• Vibrant Coil (1/day): Reaction—gain +2 AC until the start of your next turn.
• Resonant Sight (Passive): Detect magic and tremorsense (10 ft) while the whip hums softly.
Tier 1 Item Bonuses: +1 to Dexterity (precision tasks), +1 to Arcana (resonance-based checks).
Knave (Revised Edition)
Echo-Glass Whip 1907 of Whispered Resonance
Gear Slot: Weapon / Tool (counts as both)
Damage: D8 (slashing/sonic hybrid).
Special: Once per rest, emit a resonance pulse—forces enemies within Near range to Save vs. Constitution or lose focus (spells, actions disrupted).
Passives:
• Grants +1 Dexterity and +1 Awareness when held.
• When the whip hums, the wielder can sense faint vibrations within Near range (detecting hidden doors, unstable structures, or nearby ley-energy).
Actives:
• Whisper Disruption (2/day): brief soundless field—foes fail reaction-based checks for one round.
• Resonant Guard (1/day): +2 Defense for one turn.
Downside: After 3 uses per day, roll a Save vs. WIS; failure causes temporary hearing distortion (-1 to Awareness until long rest).
Fate (Core System)
Echo-Glass Whip of Whispered Resonance
Aspect: The Whip That Sings in Silence
Type: Weapon / Focus (Rare Arcane Item)
Invoke: Add +2 when using Create an Advantage or Overcome rolls involving sound, vibration, or resonance (e.g., silencing, shattering, or sonic perception).
Compel: The whip’s hum draws unwanted attention from spirits or ley-sensitive constructs.
Passive Benefits:
• Weapon: +2 to Fight rolls when using slashing or disarming maneuvers.
• Focus: +2 to Crafts or Lore when tuning geomantic or mechanical devices.
• Gain the situational Aspect Resonant Field for one scene after activation; free invoke once per use.
Active Abilities:
• Whisper Disruption (2/session): Spend a Fate Point to nullify magical or sonic effects within a Zone for one round; enemies lose 1 action or advantage token.
• Vibrant Coil (1/session): Spend a Fate Point to gain +2 to Defend rolls vs. ranged attacks for one exchange (as vibrating field deflects projectiles).
Drawback: After heavy use, the wielder gains the temporary Aspect Echo-Sickened—ringing ears, distorted perception. Must overcome with Will or Physique to remove.
Numenera & Cypher System
Echo-Glass Whip (Artifact, Level 6, Cypher Limit Exempt)
Form: A flexible whip of glass-fiber and copper, humming faintly when moved.
Depletion: 1 in 1d10 uses.
Effect:
• Weapon: Medium weapon, inflicts 6 points of damage (ignores 2 points of Armor if target relies on brittle protection or crystal plating).
• Passive: Grants +1 to Intellect defense tasks involving sound, vibration, or focus disruption.
• Active 1 (2/day): Whisper Disruption—emit a sonic pulse in Immediate range; all creatures attempting spellcasting, concentration, or use of cyphers must make a Level 5 Intellect defense task or fail the action.
• Active 2 (1/day): Vibrant Coil—user gains +2 Armor for 1 minute; projectiles or ranged attacks deflect harmlessly due to oscillation.
Additional Effect: When wielded by someone trained in resonance or geomancy, all Intellect Edge costs are reduced by 1 for sonic or vibration-related abilities.
GM Intrusion: The whip harmonizes with unseen forces—attracting energy creatures or opening sonic rifts.
Pathfinder (2nd Edition)
Echo-Glass Whip 1907 of Whispered Resonance
Item Level 5; Price 450 gp; Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk 1
Weapon (martial, finesse, reach, sonic, magical), Rare
Damage: 1d6 slashing + 1d4 sonic; Critical: Target must succeed at a DC 18 Fortitude save or become Deafened for 1 round.
Traits: Finesse, Magical, Sonic, Versatile (piercing).
Passive Abilities:
• You gain a +1 item bonus to Acrobatics and Thievery checks (precision vibration control).
• The whip emits a faint hum that grants a +2 circumstance bonus on Perception checks involving sound.
Activated Effects:
• Whisper Disruption (2/day, 2 actions, Concentrate, Sonic, Occult): 20-foot emanation. Each creature in area must attempt a Will save (DC 18). On a failure, it’s Silenced for 1 round and loses focus on any sustained spell.
• Vibrant Coil (1/day, 1 action, Reaction): Trigger—You are targeted by a ranged attack. The whip forms a resonant shield granting +2 circumstance bonus to AC; if the attack misses, it rebounds with a brief sonic pulse (1d4 sonic to attacker).
Craft Requirements: Expert in Crafting; must possess resonant glass and Khet-Glyph etching tools.
Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)
Echo-Glass Whip 1907 (Unique Magical Weapon)
Damage: Str+d6 (slashing) + 1d4 (sonic).
Weight: 2 lb. | Parry +1 | Reach 2 | Cost 800
Special Abilities:
• Resonant Focus: When used for arcane casting, grants +1 to Spellcasting rolls related to sound, earth, or elemental air.
• Whisper Disruption (2/day): As an action, the wielder emits a sonic pulse in a Medium Burst Template. Targets must make a Vigor roll at –2 or be Shaken and unable to cast powers until next turn.
• Vibrant Coil (1/day): Spend 1 Power Point or Bennie to gain +2 Parry and Armor vs. ranged attacks for 3 rounds.
• Silent Step: The user gains +1 to Stealth checks while the whip vibrates quietly at rest.
Drawbacks: If a critical failure occurs during combat, the whip’s harmonics backfire—inflicting 1d6 sonic damage on the wielder and imposing a –2 penalty to Hearing-based Notice rolls for 1 hour.
Shadowrun (6th Edition)
Echo-Glass Whip 1907 of Whispered Resonance
Weapon (Exotic Melee / Resonant Focus), Availability 10R, Cost 9,500¥
Damage: 6P (Physical) + 2S (Sonic, resisted by Body + Armor).
Reach: 2.
Accuracy: 6.
AP: –2 (vs brittle or ceramic armor, doubled).
Modes: Melee / Geomantic Focus.
Passive: While wielded, the user gains +1 dice pool to all Resonance or Geomantic Channeling tests (similar to an adept focus).
Active:
• Whisper Disruption (2/day): Area (10m radius). All active spells or sustained effects must roll Force + Magic vs. the user’s Willpower + Resonance. Failure ends the effect. Technomancers may treat this as a resonance dampener, nullifying one Complex Form.
• Vibrant Coil (1/day): Free Action. Grants +2 Defense dice vs. ranged or sound-based attacks for 1 Combat Turn.
Special: Counts as both weapon and focus (Rating 3).
Fluff: Originally smuggled through Amratian trade routes, this weapon’s glass filaments are tuned to ley-sound, a resonance uncommon in the Sixth World. Only Resonance-aware artificers can attune it safely.
Starfinder (Latest Edition)
Echo-Glass Whip 1907 (Hybrid Weapon, Level 5)
Weapon Type: Advanced Melee | Category: Hybrid | Cost: 4,600 credits | Bulk: 1
Damage: 1d6 slashing + 1d4 sonic.
Critical: Staggered (1 round).
Special: Disarm, Reach, Operative, Powered (10 charges, 1 per attack).
Item Level: 5.
Passive Effects: +2 circumstance bonus on Engineering and Mysticism checks related to resonance or harmonic energy.
Active Abilities:
• Whisper Disruption (2/day): As a move action, unleash a 20-foot burst of resonant sound. Targets must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 17) or be silenced and flat-footed for 1 round.
• Vibrant Coil (1/day): Reaction—gain 20% concealment against ranged attacks until start of next turn.
Power Cycle: Recharge using 1 Resolve Point to restore 5 charges.
Lore: The whip’s sand-glass filaments were imported from Amratian dunes, infused with liquid crystal resonators that translate desert ley-song into harmonic energy.
Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)
Echo-Glass Whip 1907 (Experimental Sonic Blade)
Type: Melee (Uncommon / Advanced) | TL 13 | Cost: Cr12,000 | Weight: 1 kg
Damage: 3D + 1 sonic / slashing (AP 2).
Traits: Reach 1.
Power: Microcapacitor charge, 10 uses per cell.
Special Rules:
• Whisper Disruption: Once per day, release a harmonic burst (10m radius). All electronic sensors, communicators, or psionic concentration attempts suffer DM –2 for 1D3 rounds.
• Vibrant Coil: User may activate resonance field as a Reaction, granting DM +1 to Melee (Parry) and DM +2 to Dexterity checks for 1 round.
• Passive: Counts as a psionic focus when used by Telepaths or Sensors, granting +1 DM to telepathic projection or awareness rolls.
Description: Forged from desert glass and treated with superconductive mesh, this hybrid weapon hums softly when moved—producing near-invisible arcs of resonance. Often carried by nobles or psion-trained diplomats as both symbol and deterrent.
Warhammer (Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition)
Echo-Glass Whip 1907 of Whispered Resonance
Weapon (Rare, Arcane)
Weapon Group: Flails.
Encumbrance: 1 | Availability: Rare | Value: 230 GC
Damage: SB + 4 (slashing/sonic).
Qualities: Fast, Defensive, Magical, Damaging.
Special:
• Whisper Disruption (2/day): Spend 2 Advantage or 1 Fortune Point to emit a pulse (10 yards radius). All ongoing spells or channeling tests within area suffer –20 penalty until next round; enemies may be Stunned (1).
• Vibrant Coil (1/day): As a defensive stance, roll Cool; on success, gain +10 to Dodge/Parry and ranged attacks against you suffer –10 for one round.
• Passive: You gain +10 to Lore (Magic) and Perception (Hearing).
Miscast Risk: On a roll of doubles when using the whip to channel, it resonates uncontrollably, inflicting 1d10 damage to user and forcing a Minor Miscast.
Lore: Crafted in the Amratian forges of Sandhaven, its harmonics are said to echo the voice of Zephara herself—swinging it carelessly risks waking the desert’s ancient song.