GearAscendancy.com

Scholarchs Warding Harness 409

—

by

Dale
in

From: Lineage 813 of the Tide Forged Scholarchs

This chest harness is the central piece of Lyra-Vael’s attire. It’s crafted from thick, ink-blue leather that has been magically hardened to resist impacts, yet remains flexible enough for comfort during long hours of study. Over the chest and shoulders, overlapping bronze plates are shaped into the Wave Crest symbol, honoring the Faith of Yirra. At its center, a small, fist-sized Dream Orb is set in a bronze clasp, swirling with faint, milky light. The harness provides basic protection while serving as a minor magical focus, allowing the wearer to channel defensive energy from the orb in moments of peril.

Lore

The Scholarch’s Warding Harness 409 is not merely a piece of armor, but a bespoke creation born from necessity and a mentor’s concern. Before Lyra-Vael departed on her independent quest, she sought the counsel of Elder Kaelen, a reclusive Nga-Tara artisan and a former Scholarch who had retired from university life to pursue a more spiritual connection with the Faith of Yirra. Kaelen saw in Lyra-Vael the same dangerous, unquenchable thirst for truth that had defined his own youth and knew she would not survive her journey with books and theories alone.

Over the course of a month, he crafted the harness for her. The ink-blue leather was sourced from the hide of a Grand River Leviathan, a creature known for its resilience and natural resistance to magical corrosion. The bronze plates were forged with metal reclaimed from a defunct, pre-industrial steam engine, symbolizing the need to build the future upon a clear understanding of the past. Kaelen personally performed the ritual to set the Dream Orb at the harness’s center—an orb that Lyra-Vael had carried since her university days. The ritual attuned the orb not to grand visions, but to the quiet, subtle hum of history and memory, making it a perfect tool for her specific quest. The harness is therefore a unique synthesis of protection, utility, and philosophy: a mentor’s gift designed to protect a scholar’s body so her mind can remain free to pursue the truth.

Item Values

  • Tier One Stats:
    • Provides a base Armor Class of 13.
    • Grants a +1 bonus to saving throws against being frightened or mentally compelled. The calming presence of the Dream Orb helps to focus and fortify the wearer’s mind.
  • Skills Gained:
    • Historical Resonance: The harness is steeped in historical significance and attuned to the past. The wearer gains a +1 bonus to all History checks specifically related to the Faith of Yirra or the Dreamrift cataclysm.
  • Passive Magics:
    • Whispers of the Orb: The Dream Orb is attuned to the echoes of the past. When the wearer is within 30 feet of an object or location of significant, hidden historical importance (at the GM’s discretion), the orb glows with a faint, internal pulse, alerting the wearer that a secret is nearby.
    • Scholar’s Comfort: The harness was magically tailored for a life of study. It subtly adjusts its own weight and pressure, mitigating fatigue. The wearer has advantage on saves against exhaustion caused by long periods of reading, research, or overland travel.
    • Hydromantic Dampening: The enchanted Leviathan leather and the blessing of Yirra provide a natural defense. The wearer has Resistance to acid damage.
  • Activatable Magics:
    • Yirra’s Shielding Wave: The orb’s primary defensive function. As a Reaction when you are hit by an attack, you can activate the Dream Orb to manifest a shimmering shield of watery force. This grants you a +2 bonus to your AC against the triggering attack, which may cause it to miss. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1) per long rest.
    • Dreamlight: As an Action, you can command the Dream Orb to shed a soft, milky light in a 20-foot radius. The light is calm, does not cast harsh shadows, and is ideal for reading. This effect lasts for up to 1 hour and can be used at will.
  • Specific Slot:
    • Chest Harness (This item occupies the torso armor slot).
  • Tags:
    • Nga-Tara, Chest Harness, Armor, Magical, Hydromancy, Dreamweaving, Scholarch, Focus, Wearable, Defensive, Artisan-Crafted, Lore-Bound, Attuned, Warding, Illumination, Leviathan-Hide, Yirra-Blessed, Protective, Rare

You wouldn’t find an item like the Scholarch’s Warding Harness 409 in a common market or general armory. As a unique, artisan-crafted magical item tailored for a specific lineage, its sale and acquisition are restricted to specialized, high-end establishments where value is measured as much in history and purpose as it is in coin.

The Master Artisan’s Atelier

  • Type of Shop: This is less of a shop and more of a private, guild-certified workshop, often run by a single, renowned master artisan who is also a devout follower of the Faith of Yirra (much like the item’s original creator, Elder Kaelen). These ateliers are not open to the public; one must be referred or have a significant reputation to even gain an audience. They are found in the quieter, more affluent districts of major cities like Dreamtide.
  • How it’s Bought/Sold: An item like this is almost exclusively acquired here via commission. A prospective owner would consult with the master, detailing their specific needs. The process is a collaborative and lengthy one, often taking months to source the rare materials (like Leviathan-Hide) and perform the necessary attunement rituals for the Dream Orb. Selling such an item back to an atelier would be difficult; they pride themselves on new creations, though they might purchase it for a low price to study its techniques or repurpose its components.
  • Estimated Cost: 850 Gold Pieces (GP). This price reflects the immense cost of the rare materials, the master’s time and skill, and the magical rituals required for its creation.

The High-End Auction House

  • Type of Shop: A prestigious auction house, such as “The Gilded Pedestal” in the capital city of Vara-Sul. These establishments deal in fine art, historical artifacts, and rare magical gear. Their clientele consists of wealthy nobles, guild leaders, and powerful adventurers.
  • How it’s Bought/Sold: Here, the harness would be a prized lot in a quarterly auction. To sell it, the owner would consign it to the house, where its authenticity and provenance would be rigorously verified by a team of Scholarchs. It would then be displayed for a week before the auction, allowing potential buyers to inspect it. The sale itself is a public spectacle of wealth and ambition. Buying requires outbidding the other interested parties. The auction house takes a significant commission (typically 15-20%) from the final sale price.
  • Estimated Cost: Starting Bid: 600 GP; Estimated Sale Price: 900 – 1,500 GP. The price is volatile, depending entirely on the demand and the wealth of the bidders in the room.

The Scholarly Reliquary

  • Type of Shop: This is a very niche establishment, like “The Dreampool Curio” or “The Archivist’s Legacy.” It is a quiet, museum-like shop that deals exclusively in items of significant historical or academic value. The proprietor is almost always a retired scholar or historian.
  • How it’s Bought/Sold: Transactions here are discreet and academic. To sell the harness, the owner must provide a complete history of the item. The proprietor is more interested in its story than its function. To buy it, a potential customer must often prove they are a “worthy” owner who will preserve its integrity. The proprietor may even prefer to trade the harness for another rare item or, more valuable to them, a piece of lost knowledge (like a completed map to a ruin or a translated tome). Haggling is considered an insult.
  • Estimated Cost: 1,200 GP (firm), or a trade of equivalent academic value. The price is high, reflecting the item’s historical and cultural significance, which the proprietor values more than its raw materials or magical power.

The Scholarch’s Warding Harness 409 is a tool for survival and analysis, not direct aggression. Its roleplay in combat and conflict is that of a tactical force multiplier, enabling its wearer, a scholar, to withstand threats long enough to outthink them. Its “offense” comes from creating opportunities and revealing weaknesses, rather than dealing damage.

Environment 1: Ancient, Trap-Filled Ruin

In the oppressive silence of a forgotten tomb, the harness is a scholar’s best defense against the dormant dangers of the past.

Defensive Roleplay

As Lyra-Vael steps on a loose flagstone, a clicking sound echoes, followed by the hiss of nozzles in the walls. A corrosive, alchemical slime sprays across the corridor.

  • Roleplay: Instead of a nimble dodge, Lyra-Vael instinctively raises her arms to shield her face. She grunts as the green slime splatters across the ink-blue leather of her harness. The enchanted Leviathan-Hide steams and sizzles, but the potent acid seems to dilute and run off, leaving the material undamaged and her skin untouched. She’d say, “By Yirra’s waters, that would have flayed the hide from a lesser beast. This old leather still holds its blessing.”

When a hulking stone golem guarding a doorway animates and swings its massive fist, she has no time to retreat.

  • Roleplay: Her eyes widen. As the stone fist descends, she shouts a single, sharp word of Vo-Kara. In reaction, the Dream Orb on her chest flashes with a turquoise light, projecting a shimmering, hexagonal shield of pure, liquid force. The golem’s fist connects with a deafening CRUNCH, not of bone, but of the magical barrier shattering into a spray of harmless, glowing mist. The blow, which should have been debilitating, only shoves her back a few feet, leaving her standing. This is the Yirra’s Shielding Wave in action.

Offensive (Tactical) Roleplay

Realizing the golem is immune to her simple attacks, Lyra-Vael must find another way.

  • Roleplay: As the golem lumbers forward for another attack, the Dream Orb on her chest begins to pulse rhythmically, its light drawing her gaze to a series of weathered glyphs on the lintel above the door. Her Historical Resonance skill bonus kicks in. “It’s not a guard… it’s a lock! A historical warden!” she realizes. By surviving the initial assault thanks to her harness, she gains the time needed to solve the puzzle, speaking the golem’s command words to deactivate it. The harness’s defense created the offensive opening.

Environment 2: Tense, Urban Negotiation

In a guild master’s opulent office, where threats are veiled and words are weapons, the harness provides a different kind of armor.

Defensive Roleplay

The ruthless guild master she is questioning is known for using subtle enchantment magic to intimidate and mentally dominate his rivals during tense conversations.

  • Roleplay: As he leans in, his voice taking on a dangerously persuasive tone, Lyra-Vael feels the subtle press of compulsion magic against her will. But a cool, calming presence emanates from the Dream Orb on her chest, a steadying anchor in a psychic storm. She feels the foreign influence simply slide away. She meets his gaze, her posture unchanged, and says coolly, “Your terms are interesting, but they lack… substance.” Her harness’s passive bonus to saves against mental compulsion allows her to negotiate on an even footing.

Offensive (Social) Roleplay

The negotiation is over a historical artifact the guild master believes is the key to a treasure. Lyra-Vael needs it for her research, but can’t afford his price.

  • Roleplay: She asks to inspect the artifact. As she gets close, the Dream Orb gives a single, sharp pulse that only she can feel. The Whispers of the Orb passive confirms the item is historically significant, but her own knowledge tells her it’s not what the guild master thinks it is. She uses her Historical Resonance bonus to solidify her theory. “This craftsmanship is exquisite,” she begins, circling the artifact. “A near-perfect replica of a Pre-Dreamrift relic. Unfortunately for you, the magical signature is wrong, and the Vo-Run glyphs use a post-industrial syntax. It’s a masterful, but worthless, forgery.” Her harness didn’t attack, but it gave her the critical information needed to destroy his leverage and win the negotiation.

Perception of Activation:

This describes the sensory experience when the Scholarch’s Warding Harness 409‘s primary defensive ability, Yirra’s Shielding Wave, is activated as a reaction to an imminent attack.

User’s Perspective (Lyra-Vael)

  • Sight: For a split second, the world is viewed through a turquoise, liquid lens. A hexagonal pattern of shimmering, watery force erupts from your chest, seeming to slow the incoming attack as it meets the barrier. The impact is a brilliant flash that resolves into a cloud of dissipating, glowing mist.
  • Sound: The activation is more felt than heard. A deep, resonant thrum vibrates through your bones, like a powerful drumbeat felt from underwater. This is followed by the sharp, clean sound of the barrier shattering like thin ice and a soft hiss, like steam evaporating on cool stone.
  • Touch & Feeling: A profound and sudden coolness spreads from the Dream Orb through your torso, instantly quelling the hot rush of adrenaline. The impact of the blow, if it gets through at all, feels blunted and distant—less like a sharp strike and more like being shoved by a powerful wave.
  • Extra-Sensory (Magical): You feel a pure, controlled surge of hydromantic energy drawn from the orb. It is not a violent release, but a disciplined and ancient power that feels both protective and calming, like being momentarily enveloped by the deepest, stillest part of a sacred river.
  • Extra-Sensory (Mind’s Eye): For a fleeting moment, your Mind’s Eye registers a new status on yourself: [Fleeting Ward: Yirra’s Grace]. You may also perceive a fragmented historical memory from the orb—a split-second vision of a sun-dappled river, an ancestor’s face, or a single, perfect water lily.

Observer’s Perspective

  • Sight: A brilliant turquoise flash emanates from the orb on the Nga-Tara’s chest. Just before an attack lands, a semi-translucent, hexagonal barrier of shimmering, liquid light forms in the air. The bronze Wave Crest symbols on the harness glow with the same light for a moment. Upon impact, the barrier shatters into a beautiful but instantaneous spray of glowing mist.
  • Sound: An observer hears a low-frequency vwoom as the shield forms, followed by the sharp, resonant CRACK of the barrier breaking. The air smells faintly of ozone and fresh rain in the immediate aftermath.
  • Touch & Feeling: Anyone standing within a few feet of the activation feels a sudden, noticeable drop in temperature and a brief wave of pressure, as if a large volume of water was displaced nearby.
  • Extra-Sensory (Magical): A magically-attuned observer perceives a sudden, potent, and highly disciplined release of Hydromancy and Abjuration (warding) magic. The magical signature is clean and pure, lacking any hint of chaos or destructive intent.
  • Extra-Sensory (Spiritual): A follower of Yirra would instantly recognize the divine signature and feel a comforting, holy presence. An enemy or a follower of a rival deity might perceive the activation as an imposing and alien manifestation of divine power.

Positives

  • Decisive Defense: Its primary benefit is its ability to negate or lessen what could be a devastating or fatal blow, a critical function for a character who is not a dedicated warrior.
  • Mental Fortitude: The calming sensation it imparts cuts through the panic of combat, allowing the user to think clearly and tactically even when under direct threat.
  • Action Economy: As a Reaction, the activation does not cost the user their primary action, allowing them to continue their own turn uninterrupted to cast a spell, solve a puzzle, or retreat.
  • Morale Boost: For allies, especially those who follow the Faith of Yirra, the visible sign of divine intervention is a powerful morale booster.

Negatives

  • Limited Uses: The harness’s power is finite between rests. This forces a difficult tactical choice: is this attack worth expending a precious charge on, or is a more dangerous threat yet to come?
  • Overt Magical Signature: The activation is the opposite of subtle. The brilliant flash of light and powerful magical signature instantly reveal the user’s magical capabilities and divine allegiance to all observers, which is a significant disadvantage in any situation requiring stealth or deception.
  • Spiritual Echo: While not mechanically draining, the user may feel a fleeting moment of spiritual exhaustion as the orb expends its energy, a phantom sensation of being momentarily empty before the power begins to slowly seep back in.
  • False Sense of Security: Over-reliance on this powerful reaction could cause the user to neglect more mundane but equally important defensive tactics like taking cover or maintaining a safe distance from threats.

Artisan’s Schema: The Warding Vestment of the Water-Scholar

This schema details the intricate process for crafting a magical harness in the Nga-Vara tradition, blending physical protection with the divine magic of Yirra. It is a complex undertaking, requiring mastery of both mundane crafts and sacred hydromancy.

Materials Needed

  • Primary Component: One flawless, treated hide of a Grand River Leviathan.
  • Metal Components: 10 lbs. of high-purity Bronze Ingots.
  • Focal Component: One Flawless Aqueous Geode, fist-sized or larger, sourced from a subterranean river.
  • Magical Reagents:
    • A spool of Silver-spun Thread.
    • Two vials of Consecrated Dreampool Water.
    • A pinch of Dust from a Historian’s Tome (must be from a book at least 500 years old).
  • Miscellaneous: Assorted dyes, hardening oils, and polishing compounds (estimated cost of 50 GP).

Tools Required

  • Masterwork Leatherworker’s Tools: For the shaping, hardening, and stitching of the leviathan hide.
  • Masterwork Metalsmith’s Forge & Tools: For the forging and shaping of the bronze plates.
  • Enchanter’s Focus or Altar: A dedicated space for performing the magical rituals and enchantments. Proximity to a natural source of running water or a ley line is highly recommended.
  • Vo-Run Scribing Kit: A set of fine chisels and needles for inscribing the magical glyphs.

Skill Requirements

  • Craftsmanship: The crafter must have proficiency in both Leatherworking and Armorsmithing.
  • Magical Aptitude: The crafter must have proficiency in the Arcana skill.
  • Spiritual Attunement: The crafter must be a follower of the Faith of Yirra, or have otherwise gained access to the secrets of its hydromantic rituals.
  • Experience: The complexity of this undertaking requires a crafter of at least Character Tier 2 or higher.

Crafting Steps

The creation of this harness is a meticulous process that takes a minimum of two weeks of dedicated work.

  1. Step 1: The Foundation of Resilience (3 days): The Grand River Leviathan hide must be carefully tanned and shaped. During the hardening process, one vial of Consecrated Dreampool Water is worked into the leather, imbuing it with a natural resistance to corrosion and magical decay.
  2. Step 2: Forging Yirra’s Protection (4 days): The bronze ingots are melted down and forged into a series of interlocking plates, each meticulously shaped into the Wave Crest symbol. Each plate, while still hot from the forge, is quenched in a basin of consecrated water, trapping a sliver of protective magic within the metal.
  3. Step 3: The Weave of Knowledge (2 days): The cooled plates are stitched onto the hardened leather harness using the Silver-spun Thread. On the inner side of the largest plate, directly over the wearer’s heart, the artisan must meticulously inscribe Vo-Run glyphs for “warding,” “memory,” and “clarity.”
  4. Step 4: Awakening the Orb (3 days): This is a delicate ritual. The Aqueous Geode is submerged in a bowl with the second vial of Consecrated Dreampool Water. The Dust from a Historian’s Tome is sprinkled over the surface. For three days, the artisan must gently chant the history of the Nga-Vara, allowing the geode to absorb the latent memories and transform into a true, albeit unenchanted, Dream Orb.
  5. Step 5: The Final Unification (1 day): All components are brought to the Enchanter’s Focus. The newly formed Dream Orb is set into its clasp on the harness. The artisan must then perform an eight-hour ritual, channeling their own magical power through the harness to awaken all of its latent abilities and bind them together. This final step requires a Difficult Arcana check (DC 18).
    • On a success, the item is created with all its magical properties intact.
    • On a failure, the magic fails to bind. The Dream Orb shatters, and the harness becomes a masterwork, but mundane, suit of leather armor. All magical components are lost.

Scholar’s Shell and Water Un-Stirred

Attend, for the telling is of Onus the Wise, him of the Scholarch-people, in the age before the age that is now remembered. Onus, his mind-box was full of questions, like a cup full of holes is full of air. He did not seek gold-stones or bright-metals. He sought a truth, a truth older than the oldest Nga-Tara, older than the oldest tree. He wished to put his eyes on the First Dream of Yirra, the memory-water that birthed all the people of Aboriginal.

To the high mountains, where the steam of the world is born, Onus did make travel. He came to the workshop of the Oldest Hand, an artisan of great making and few words. The Oldest Hand worked hides of river-beasts that drank acid, and forged bronze that remembered the heat of its making.

Onus, he did speak with a voice full of letters and books. “Great Hand, make for me a skin of protection. A chest-wrap for a scholar, not a soldier. I go to a place of great thinking, and I must be safe from the world so my thoughts can be big.”

The Oldest Hand looked with eyes that were like deep, still pools. “A body can be wrapped. A mind cannot. Where do you walk that books cannot go?”

“I seek the Core-Pool,” Onus said. “I seek the First Dream.”

The Oldest Hand put down his hammer. The sound of not-hammering was very loud. “The First Dream is the First Water. To stir it is to make a flood in the soul-head. This is a bad walking. Do not go.”

But Onus, his want was a fire in his belly. “Make the skin,” he said. “And I will pay with a story of what I see.”

So the Oldest Hand worked. For a moon, he worked. He took the hide of a Leviathan that light did not touch. He took bronze that slept near a ley line. He took a stone that was birthed from a geode full of dream-water. He made the Scholar’s Shell. He gave it to Onus. “This will guard the meat and bone of you,” the Oldest Hand said. “The rest is your own trouble.”

Onus did put on the harness. It was a good fit. He walked until the jungle-trees wept with glowing moss and the air was thick like honey of dreams. Beasts of many legs and acid-spit did spring forth to stop him. But the chest-wrap, it drank the acid-spit like water and was not hurt. From the dark places, mind-shadows did rise, ghosts of thoughts that were never finished. They screamed silent-screams at his soul-head, trying to fill it with fear-thoughts. The seeing-stone on his chest gave a cold, calm light, and the screams became only whispers. He was protected.

At last, he came to the Core-Pool. It was a circle of water that was black and full of stars, though it was deep in a cave. This was the place where Yirra first did wake. This was the water of the First Dream.

Onus stood at the edge. The protection of the harness made him brave. He looked into the water. He spoke the Vo-Kara, “Show the beginning. Show the First Dream.”

The water showed.

It was not one dream. It was all dreams. It was the truth. The truth was not a beautiful water lily, as the priests say. The truth was a storm. He saw a billion billion worlds breaking. He saw stars dying and gods falling into dust. He saw souls torn from their homes of flesh, screaming as they were pulled across the great nothing. The arrival on Saṃsāra was not a gentle summons; it was the desperate landing of countless shipwrecked spirits, clinging to the first solid thought they could find. It was a dream born of infinite terror.

It was too much seeing for one mind-box. The harness, it did its job. It protected his body. A wave of pure horror erupted from the pool to unmake him, but the orb flashed, and the wave became mist. His flesh was safe. But the wise-part of Onus, the scholar-soul of him, it was poured out into that terrible, truthful water.

They found him, many days past, sitting at the edge of the Core-Pool. His eyes were wide with seeing-nothing, for they had seen everything. The orb on the harness pulsed with a soft, chaotic light of broken stars and forgotten memories. He was alive, but Onus was gone.

The moral of the story is that a shield for the body is no shield for the soul. Some knowledge is a poison that the spirit cannot drink, even from a protected cup.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition

Harness of the Tidal Scholar

Armor (Breastplate), Rare (Requires Attunement)

This harness consists of magically hardened leviathan hide fitted with ornate bronze plates. At its center is a fist-sized orb filled with swirling, milky-white liquid.

  • Armor Class: The harness provides a base Armor Class of 14 + Dexterity modifier (maximum +2).
  • Mental Fortitude: You have advantage on saving throws against being frightened or charmed.
  • Historical Resonance: You have a +1 bonus to Intelligence (History) checks.
  • Yirra’s Shielding Wave: When you are hit by an attack, you can use your reaction to activate the orb. A shimmering barrier of watery force appears, granting you a +2 bonus to your AC against the triggering attack, potentially causing it to miss. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
  • Dreamlight: As an action, you can speak the item’s command word to cause the orb to shed bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet. This effect lasts until you use an action to speak the command word again.

Blades in the Dark

The Drowned Scholar’s Aegis

An ancient, water-stained harness of leviathan hide and bronze plating. Its central orb seems to breathe with a slow, placid light. It feels strangely calming to wear. (2 Load)

This is a special suit of armor. You may tick one of the armor boxes on your character sheet when you resist a consequence. In addition, the aegis has the following abilities:

  • Warding Dream (3-segment clock): When you would suffer a physical consequence, instead of using armor or resisting, you may tick one segment of the clock. You describe how a shimmering barrier of watery force erupts from the orb to intercept the blow, negating the harm entirely. The clock can be repaired with a Tinker action during downtime.
  • Still Waters: You gain +1d to your Resolve resistance rolls against supernatural fear or mental intrusion.
  • Whispering Orb: When you Study a historical artifact or location, the GM will tell you a specific, hidden detail you notice that others would miss.

Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition

Vestment of the Sunken Scribe

A strange, heavy vestment of unknown hide and greenish bronze, clearly of non-human craftsmanship. The milky orb set in its chest is unnerving to look at, and seems to swirl with half-forgotten memories. Sanity Loss: 0/1d4 SAN to attune to the vestment.

  • Armor: Provides 3 points of armor against physical attacks.
  • Mental Fortitude: The wearer gains a Bonus Die on Power (POW) rolls to resist psychological compulsion and the effects of the Bout of Madness table.
  • Forbidden Lore: The wearer gains a Bonus Die on History or Cthulhu Mythos rolls related to ancient, non-human aquatic civilizations or water-aspected entities.
  • Barrier of the Deep: As a reaction to a physical attack, the wearer may spend 3 Magic Points and make a Sanity roll (0/1d2). If the roll is passed, a shimmering, geometric barrier of force erupts from the orb, absorbing 1d10 points of damage from the attack. Using this ability reveals a fundamental and terrifying truth about the fluid nature of reality. The first time this is used, the Keeper should award the wearer +2 Cthulhu Mythos.

Knave 2nd Edition

Scholarch’s Harness

A heavy harness of dark, resilient hide and bronze plates, with a strange, water-filled orb set over the heart.

  • Defense: Provides a Defense of 14.
  • Slots: Takes up 2 inventory slots.
  • Bulky: You have disadvantage on all checks related to stealth and acrobatics.
  • Warding Orb: The orb has 3 charges. As a reaction when you are hit by an attack, you can expend 1 charge to gain +5 Defense against that attack. The orb regains 1d3 charges at dawn.
  • Still Mind: You have advantage on saves against spells that would charm or frighten you.
  • Dreamlight: You can cause the orb to glow on command, providing light equal to a torch and freeing up an inventory slot that would otherwise hold a light source.

Fate Core

Harness of the Weeping Past

This item is an Extra that takes the form of a magical harness.

  • Aspects: As a piece of equipment, it has the high concept Aspect Warding Vestment of a Forgotten Age. This can be invoked for defensive purposes or compelled when its ancient, sorrowful history would complicate a social situation.
  • Armor: 1: When you are hit by a physical attack, you can reduce the stress inflicted by 1.
  • Stunts:
    • Yirra’s Shielding Wave: Once per session, when you would take a physical consequence, you can spend a Fate Point to instead reduce the severity of the consequence by one level (for example, a moderate consequence becomes a mild one, or a mild consequence is negated entirely). This appears as a shimmering shield of water that erupts from the orb to intercept the blow.
    • Still Waters of the Mind: You gain +2 to Defend against attempts to create mental advantages on you, such as Intimidated or Mesmerized, using the Will skill.
    • Whispering Orb: The orb glows faintly when near unenlightened historical artifacts or locations. You gain +1 when you Create an Advantage using the Lore skill to analyze the history of an object or place.

Numenera & Cypher System

The Hydro-Chronos Latticework

  • Level: 6
  • Form: A heavy harness of tough, ink-blue hide and bronze plates, with a central orb containing a swirling, milky liquid.
  • Effect: This artifact provides a constant +1 to Armor. The wearer is also Eased on all Intellect-based tasks related to history and archaeology. While worn, the central orb can be activated as a part of another action to emit a soft glow, illuminating an immediate area. Its primary function can be activated as an Action. The wearer is enveloped in a shimmering barrier of fluid energy that lasts for one minute. While this barrier is active, the wearer is Eased on all Speed Defense rolls. The barrier shatters and the effect ends after it negates the damage from one successful attack against the wearer.
  • Depletion: 1-2 in 1d100 (Check each time the primary function’s barrier is activated).

Pathfinder 2nd Edition

Tidal Scholar’s Aegis – Item 4+

RARE | ABJURATION | DIVINATION | MAGICAL Price 90 GP Usage worn armor; Bulk 1

This suit of +1 explorer’s clothing is crafted from magically hardened leviathan hide and fitted with bronze plates in the shape of wave crests. Its central feature is an orb filled with water from a holy site, which acts as a divine focus. It functions as a suit of light armor.

  • AC Bonus +2; Dex Cap +3; Check Penalty -1; Speed Penalty 0; Strength 12; Group Leather
  • Effect: You gain a +1 item bonus to saving throws against emotion and mental effects. You also gain a +1 item bonus to Society checks to Recall Knowledge about ancient history.
  • Activate [Reaction] (abjuration, divine, water)
    • Frequency once per day
    • Trigger You are targeted by an attack from a creature you can see.
    • Effect A shimmering barrier of watery force intercedes. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your AC against the triggering attack.
  • Heightened (8th) The price increases to 450 GP. The item bonus to saves and Society checks increases to +2. The AC bonus from the reaction increases to +2 and its frequency becomes once per hour.

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE)

Scholarch’s Warding Harness

A masterwork harness of leviathan hide and bronze plating, built around a magically attuned Dream Orb.

  • Armor: +3
  • Weight: 15
  • Notes:
    • Warding Orb: Once per session, the wearer may negate all damage and effects from one successful attack without spending a Bennie. This manifests as a shimmering barrier of water that shatters on impact.
    • Iron Will: The harness grants the wearer the Iron Will Edge, providing +2 to Spirit rolls to resist Intimidation and opposed magical effects.
    • Historian: The harness grants a +1 bonus to Academics or Research rolls related to ancient history.
    • Dreamlight: On command, the orb can be made to glow, providing illumination equivalent to a torch in a Medium Burst Template.
    • Resistant: Damage from acid-based attacks is reduced by 2.

Shadowrun, 6th Edition

Aegis of Azania “Tidal” Armored Vest

A masterwork armored vest crafted from the synth-leather hide of a genetically engineered leviathan. The bronze plating conceals modern composite materials, and the central orb is a sophisticated bio-luminescent housing for a powerful spell focus.

  • Armor Rating: 14
  • Availability: 16R
  • Cost: 95,000 nuyen
  • Focus: Sustaining Focus (Health), Rating 3
  • Abilities:
    • Mental Fortitude: The focus is attuned to the wearer’s bio-signature, adding its Focus Rating (3) as a dice pool bonus to any tests to resist magical or technological mental manipulation (e.g., Control Thoughts spell, social adept powers, mind-altering tech).
    • Tidal Ward: Once per Combat Turn, when defending against a physical attack, the wearer may add the Focus Rating (3) as a dice pool bonus to their Defense Test. Using this ability does not cause Drain.
    • Academic Databank: The vest is linked to a private academic database. The wearer gains a +2 dice pool bonus on Academics or Magical Theory knowledge skill tests related to history or magical traditions. The central orb can also function as a low-light flashlight.

Starfinder

Hydro-Chronos Aegis

LEVEL 5; PRICE 3,100 credits CATEGORY Light Armor EAC BONUS +6; KAC BONUS +7 MAX DEX BONUS +4 ARMOR CHECK PENALTY -1; SPEED ADJUSTMENT — SLOTS 1; BULK 1

This suit of light armor appears to be an artifact, blending masterfully preserved leviathan hide with bronze alloys that function as sophisticated circuitry. The central orb swirls with an otherworldly light.

  • Upgrade Slot: 1 (Can accept one armor upgrade).
  • Resistances: The wearer gains Acid Resistance 5.
  • Mental Fortitude: The wearer gains a +2 insight bonus to saving throws against mind-affecting effects.
  • Historical Database: The armor’s orb contains a historical database. The wearer gains a +4 competence bonus on Culture checks to recall knowledge about ancient history. The orb can also function as a flashlight.
  • Tidal Barrier (3 charges): As a reaction when you are hit by an attack, you can expend one charge to gain a +2 circumstance bonus to your AC against the triggering attack. This armor regains all expended charges each day after 8 hours of rest.

Traveller, Mongoose 2nd Edition

Ancient Hydro-Kinetic Vest

This appears to be a perfectly preserved piece of combat armor from the time of the Ancients, TL 16+. It is made of a dark, impossibly tough yet flexible material, with greenish-bronze plates that seem to absorb light. The central orb is inert but glows faintly when near a power source. It is an artifact of immense value and rarity.

  • Protection: 8 (Counts as Combat Armor)
  • Tech Level: 16
  • Cost: Cr 2,000,000+
  • Mass: 4 kg
  • Abilities:
    • Psionic Baffles: The vest’s internal psionic dampeners grant the wearer DM+2 on all rolls to resist psionic attacks.
    • Kinetic Wave Dampener (One Use): The vest contains a one-shot kinetic absorption field. As a reaction to being hit by any physical attack, the wearer may activate it. The dampener negates all damage from that single attack. Once used, the dampener module is destroyed and can only be replaced or repaired at a specialized TL 16+ facility.
    • Ancient Databank: The vest contains a partial database from its time of origin. The wearer gains DM+1 on Administer or Science (Archaeology) checks related to the Ancients.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, 4th Edition

The Scholar’s Water-Stained Jack

This +1 Leather Jack appears simple, but it is unnervingly supple and always feels cool and damp to the touch, regardless of the weather. The bronze clasps are shaped into strange, wave-like patterns, and the polished river stone set in the chest sometimes seems to whisper when no one is listening.

  • Armor: Leather Jack (Body Location)
  • AP: 1
  • Qualities: Magical, Protective +2
  • Flaws: Unreliable
  • Abilities:
    • Orb of Shielding: The harness is imbued with protective magic. Thanks to the Protective +2 Quality, once per round, the wearer may gain a +20 bonus to a defensive Melee or Ranged Test. However, the item is also Unreliable. If the wearer rolls a 96-100 on the defensive test when using this bonus, the orb’s magic fails for the remainder of the day.
    • Resolute Mind: The spirit of the scholar who was originally interred in this harness lends you their resolve. You gain a +10 bonus to all Cool and Willpower Tests to resist Fear, Terror, and psychological manipulation.
    • Whispers of the Past: The orb whispers secrets of forgotten history. When making a Lore (History) Test, you may add one Bonus SL to your result. However, doing so may attract the unwanted attention of those who guard such secrets, at the GM’s discretion.

Comments

One response to “Scholarchs Warding Harness 409”

  1. Lineage 813 of the Tide Forged Scholarchs – GearAscendancy.com

    […] Scholarch’s Warding Harness 409 […]