Soulbound Lantern

From: Admonishing Band Spirit Guardian

Lore: The Soulbound Lantern is a revered artifact that carries a rich history intertwined with the Admonishing Band’s encounters with the spirit realm and the supernatural. Crafted by skilled artisans and infused with ancient enchantments, this mystical lantern is said to have been created during a time of great spiritual unrest. Legends speak of its construction involving a combination of enchanted metals and a crystalline core, a fusion that grants the lantern its unique properties. It is believed that the lantern’s creation was guided by the wisdom of seers and shamans who sought to bring light to the darkness and provide a means of perceiving the ethereal energies that dwell in the shadows.

Use: The Soulbound Lantern serves as both a source of illumination and a tool for detecting and interacting with spiritual and ethereal entities. Its soft, ethereal glow reveals hidden spiritual energies, allowing the wielder to discern the presence of supernatural beings that might otherwise remain concealed. The lantern’s magical light has the power to banish nearby spirits, disrupt illusions created by magical means, and dispel magical darkness. Additionally, it enhances the creature’s connection to the spirit realm, granting them an advantage on Wisdom checks related to detecting and sensing spirits or other ethereal beings.

Stats:

• Level: Tier 1
• Advantage: Wisdom checks related to detecting and sensing spirits or other ethereal beings

Skills:

• Illuminating Glow: The Soulbound Lantern emits a soft, ethereal glow that reveals hidden spiritual energies and illuminates the presence of supernatural entities.
• Spiritual Detection: The lantern enhances the creature’s ability to detect and sense spirits or other ethereal beings, granting them advantage on related Wisdom checks.

Cost: The Soulbound Lantern is a revered artifact, sought after for its ability to perceive and interact with the spirit realm. Its intricate craftsmanship, enchanted materials, and mystical properties contribute to its significant value. At level 1, the estimated cost of the Soulbound Lantern would be 700 gold pieces.

Tags:

• Ethereal: The lantern is attuned to the ethereal realm, allowing it to perceive and interact with spiritual energies and supernatural entities.
• Illuminating: The lantern emits a soft, ethereal glow that illuminates hidden spiritual energies and reveals the presence of ethereal beings.
• Mystical: Crafted with enchanted metals and possessing a crystalline core, the Soulbound Lantern is imbued with mystical properties that enhance the creature’s connection to the spirit realm.
• Rare: Due to its unique capabilities and the skill required to create such a device, the Soulbound Lantern is considered a rare and coveted item.
• Additional: Spiritbound, Divination, Luminary, Banishment, Spectral, Ritualistic, Arcane Focus, Warding, Phantasmal, Insight

In the world of Saṃsāra, the Soulbound Lantern would be a rare and prized artifact, found only in specialized or clandestine shops where mystics, shamans, and scholars of the ethereal gather to exchange knowledge and magical items. Its rarity and connection to the spirit realm make it an item not easily found in common marketplaces but rather in niche establishments. Below are the types of shops where the lantern might be bought and sold, along with the potential costs in each location:

• Ethereal Emporiums (Cost: 800-1000 gold pieces)
  • These are small, dimly lit stores located in hidden corners of large cities or within underground market districts. Ethereal Emporiums are run by mystics, seers, and spirit-touched artisans who deal exclusively in items related to the spirit world and ethereal plane. They offer services like spirit communication, scrying, and soul-bound items. The lantern would be displayed with reverence, surrounded by other ethereal objects such as soul crystals or ghostly trinkets.
• Shamanic Sanctuaries (Cost: 600-800 gold pieces)
  • Located in remote, mountainous regions or dense forests, these sanctuaries are run by spiritual leaders and shamans who seek to preserve ancient wisdom. Often found in villages with strong ties to nature spirits or elemental forces, these shops are frequented by those seeking spiritual guidance or protection. Here, the lantern might be offered as part of a ceremonial exchange, with the buyer required to complete a ritual or spiritual journey before purchasing. The price would be lower due to the simplicity of trade and barter systems in these areas.
• Arcane Curio Cabinets (Cost: 900-1200 gold pieces)
  • Found in bustling trade hubs and magical cities, Arcane Curio Cabinets are upscale, opulent shops where wealthy mages and collectors seek rare and powerful magical artifacts. Run by collectors or high-ranking wizards, these shops cater to the elite. The Soulbound Lantern would be showcased behind glass in a locked case, its glow illuminating other rare items, and it would come with an exorbitant price tag due to the clientele and demand for such rare mystical objects.
• Spirit Markets (Cost: 500-700 gold pieces)
  • These are rare, transient marketplaces that appear only at night, often near locations of high spiritual energy such as ancient battlefields, sacred groves, or temple ruins. Spirit Markets attract all manner of spiritualists, adventurers, and necromancers. The prices here fluctuate wildly depending on supply and demand, as well as the specific knowledge or favor you can offer to the vendor. The lantern could be bartered for services or rare ingredients, and the cost might be lower than in more established markets.
• Monastic Enclaves (Cost: 700-900 gold pieces)
  • In secluded temples and monasteries where monks and spiritual warriors meditate and study the balance of life and death, the Soulbound Lantern could be found as a relic, passed down through generations of monks. These establishments do not advertise their items but occasionally offer them to travelers who prove themselves worthy. The price would include not just gold but a test of one’s spiritual resolve or wisdom, and the lantern may come with a lesson or blessing from the monks themselves.
• Wandering Peddlers of the Veil (Cost: 1000-1300 gold pieces)
  • In Saṃsāra, mysterious peddlers known as “Traders of the Veil” travel between worlds, selling rare and forgotten items. These elusive merchants appear without warning, often at crossroads or in deep fog. The Soulbound Lantern would be considered a premium item, and the peddlers would charge a high price, knowing the rarity and utility of such an artifact. Buyers must often negotiate or prove their knowledge of the lantern’s power before being allowed to purchase.

These shops reflect the unique cultural and magical significance of the Soulbound Lantern in Saṃsāra, offering it at varying prices based on the mystique of the establishment and the rarity of the item.

The Soulbound Lantern is an artifact deeply connected to the spirit realm, with both defensive and offensive capabilities. Its use in roleplay can vary depending on the environment and the nature of the encounter. Below are examples of how the lantern might be wielded in different situations, along with roleplay elements that emphasize its power and versatility.

• Defense in Haunted Ruins
  • Environment: Old temples, ruins, or graveyards filled with restless spirits. Roleplay:
  • As your party explores the haunted ruins, the lantern’s soft, ethereal glow banishes magical darkness and reveals hidden phantasms. Shadows move unnaturally, and disembodied whispers chill the air.
  • Defensively, the lantern can be raised to dispel illusory traps or to ward off malevolent spirits trying to manifest. When a ghost or specter approaches, its light flares brighter, causing the spirit to hesitate, unable to get too close without being banished.
  • Roleplay the character focusing their will through the lantern, invoking ancient rituals passed down through the Admonishing Band, drawing on its power to create a barrier of light. The spirits hiss and recoil, unable to enter the radius of light. As a result, the party gains a temporary respite, allowing them to regroup or escape.
  • Mechanics:
    • The lantern dispels magical darkness, making it harder for ambushing creatures to remain concealed.
    • It grants the wielder advantage on Wisdom checks related to detecting and sensing spirits, allowing them to react more quickly and prevent ambushes.
• Offense in a Battle Against Necromancers
  • Environment: An open battlefield where necromancers summon the dead, or within a cursed crypt. Roleplay:
  • As skeletal warriors rise from the earth, the lantern’s glow flickers and then intensifies. The player could raise the lantern high, causing its ethereal light to expand and disrupt the necromancers’ dark rituals. The dead, animated by foul magic, stagger under the lantern’s radiance.
  • Offensively, the lantern can be directed at the necromancer’s summoned undead, unraveling their magic. The player might call upon the spirits bound within the lantern to tear apart the magical bonds animating the creatures. With each swing of the lantern, a flash of radiant energy disrupts their control over the spirits, causing undead to collapse or flee.
  • The lantern might also banish weaker spirits summoned by the necromancers, clearing the battlefield of lesser ethereal beings and putting the enemy at a disadvantage.
  • Mechanics:
    • The lantern has the ability to banish nearby spirits and disrupt illusory effects created by magic, causing the necromancer’s summoned entities to falter.
    • The wielder can direct its light offensively to cause fear or banishment to weaker spirits, removing them from combat.
• Defense in a Magical Duel
  • Environment: Arcane chambers, floating islands, or ancient halls where magical duels are held. Roleplay:
  • During a magical duel with an illusionist or conjurer, the lantern can be used defensively to nullify illusions or obfuscations. As illusions of creatures or harmful spells manifest, the lantern’s light reveals them for what they are—phantoms of magic.
  • Roleplay your character swinging the lantern, and as the glow touches the illusions, they shimmer and dissolve, leaving the enemy’s magical tricks ineffective. The lantern might also protect the wielder from magical darkness, granting clarity in an otherwise disorienting fight.
  • In moments where magical entities summoned to confuse or overwhelm the character are about to attack, the lantern’s light pulses in defense, scattering the magical constructs and revealing the conjurer’s true position.
  • Mechanics:
    • The lantern disrupts illusions created by magical means, granting the wielder clarity and negating an opponent’s attempts to confuse or hide using illusion magic.
    • The lantern’s defensive properties make it difficult for illusion-based enemies to maintain their deceptions, forcing them into a more direct fight.
• Offense in a Spiritual Confrontation
  • Environment: A spectral realm or an ethereal plane where spirits and other supernatural entities roam. Roleplay:
  • When battling hostile spirits in a spiritual confrontation, the Soulbound Lantern takes on an active role in the offensive. The wielder channels its light into a beam that sears through the spirit entities, disrupting their form and sending them screaming back into the spirit realm.
  • The wielder might also invoke the lantern’s power to bind spirits temporarily, freezing them in place long enough for the party to strike. The spirits’ anguished cries fill the air as the lantern’s glow grows fiercer, forcing the ethereal creatures into submission.
  • Roleplay the lantern as a conduit to the spirit world, calling forth protective or vengeful spirits to aid in the fight, turning the tide of the battle by binding or banishing hostile entities.
  • Mechanics:
    • The lantern can be used offensively to focus its light into a banishing beam, causing severe harm to spirits and supernatural entities.
    • The wielder might gain temporary control over weakened spirits, allowing them to use the spirits against the enemy.
• Defense in a Dark Forest
  • Environment: Dense, mystical forests where fae and malevolent spirits hide within the shadows. Roleplay:
  • As the party navigates through the dense, dark forest, illusions cast by mischievous or dangerous fae creatures cloud their path. The lantern’s glow reveals hidden figures darting between trees, and when an ambush occurs, it sends forth a radiant pulse that drives the spirits and illusions away.
  • The lantern becomes a beacon, providing the party a safe zone in the forest where illusions are dispelled and spirits can’t approach. It might also provide defensive support when spiritual traps, like ghostly snares or binding spells, try to catch the adventurers.
  • The character could swing the lantern to break apart ethereal bindings or ghostly apparitions, giving their allies a chance to regroup or counter-attack.
  • Mechanics:
    • The lantern’s glow reveals hidden spiritual energies and entities, making it harder for ambushers to maintain their advantage.
    • It can disrupt illusions and prevent ethereal creatures from getting too close, creating a defensive barrier of light around the party.
• Offense in a Crypt Raid
  • Environment: A forgotten crypt or catacomb teeming with undead or ghostly protectors. Roleplay:
  • During an assault on a cursed crypt, the lantern is used offensively to dispel wards set by necromancers and uncover hidden dangers. As skeletal guards and ghostly sentinels close in, the lantern’s light flares in a brilliant arc, causing them to pause as the spiritual energy disrupts their unnatural existence.
  • The wielder might focus the light into a searing wave that disrupts enchantments guarding the crypt, breaking barriers, dispelling curses, and weakening ghostly defenders. The lantern could also be used to drain the magic animating lesser undead, causing them to collapse.
  • In particularly intense moments, the wielder could swing the lantern in a wide arc, its light burning away the corruption that clings to the crypt’s walls, purging the space of malevolent magic.
  • Mechanics:
    • The lantern can reveal and disable spiritual or magical traps, giving the party an edge in navigating dangerous crypts.
    • Offensively, its glow disrupts weaker undead or spirits, weakening or outright destroying them.

In all these scenarios, the Soulbound Lantern acts as a beacon of spiritual power, capable of driving back the darkness and banishing malevolent forces, while also providing a powerful offensive tool for dealing with spirits, illusions, and magical traps. The wielder’s roleplay can revolve around channeling its ethereal light for both protection and destruction, adapting to the environment and the supernatural threats that emerge.

Perception of Activation:

• User’s Perspective:
  • Sight: As the lantern activates, its crystalline core intensifies with a pale blue glow, expanding outward to bathe the surroundings in a soft, ethereal light. Wisps of mist swirl within the core, and shadows seem to retreat into the edges of your vision. The light reveals hidden spiritual entities, which materialize as faint figures or hazy apparitions.
  • Sound: A low, resonant hum emanates from the lantern, growing louder as the light flares. It’s a haunting, almost melodic sound that reverberates through the air, similar to wind chimes or distant whispers. The hum syncs with your breathing, creating a rhythmic pulse, and faint ghostly echoes accompany the spirits revealed in the light.
  • Touch: The handle of the lantern vibrates slightly, a warmth flowing through your hand and arm, almost as if it were responding to your energy. The sensation is comforting at first but grows intense as you maintain the lantern’s power, eventually feeling like a weight pressing on your palm. There’s a slight tingling in your fingers, a reminder of the otherworldly force within the lantern.
  • Smell: The air becomes charged with an earthy, ozone-like scent, reminiscent of the atmosphere just before a storm. There’s a subtle hint of burning incense or herbs, which seems to enhance focus and calm your mind, sharpening your connection to the spirit realm.
  • Taste: A metallic tang lingers in your mouth as you breathe deeply, akin to the taste of cold air mixed with iron. It’s a subtle reminder of the lantern’s power and its link to ethereal forces.
  • Extra-Sensory Perception: You feel an immediate connection to the spiritual plane as if a veil has been lifted between the physical world and the realm of spirits. Your awareness extends beyond the present space, allowing you to sense the presence of unseen entities nearby. Spirits may communicate directly with you, their emotions brushing your consciousness, giving you insight into their desires or fears. You may also perceive disruptions in magical energies, detecting illusions or spells in your vicinity.
• Observer’s Perspective:
  • Sight: The observer sees the lantern’s glow intensify, creating a dome of pale blue light around the user. The environment darkens slightly beyond this radius, making the lantern’s glow the primary light source. Shadows dance on the edges of the light, and ethereal figures or phantasms might be visible for moments, flickering in and out of existence.
  • Sound: To the observer, the sound is a low, eerie hum, punctuated by occasional whispers or faint echoes, as if unseen voices are conversing in the distance. The sound becomes stronger the closer they are to the lantern, adding a sense of unease.
  • Touch (Proximity): Standing close to the lantern, an observer might feel a slight pressure, as though the air itself is denser or more charged. The warmth radiates outward from the lantern, but instead of comforting, it feels like a heatwave mixed with a cold draft, creating a sensation of unease or imbalance.
  • Extra-Sensory Perception: If the observer is sensitive to magical or spiritual energies, they might feel an unsettling ripple in the air. The observer could perceive a tugging at the edges of their consciousness, as if something is calling to them from beyond. Unnerved, they may experience fleeting emotions from nearby spirits or feel a sense of being watched by unseen eyes.
• Positives:
  • Enhanced Awareness: The lantern grants the user heightened spiritual awareness, allowing them to detect hidden or invisible entities, sense magical energies, and uncover illusions. This can be crucial for navigating spiritual realms, identifying threats, or dispelling harmful spells.
  • Protection: The light creates a protective barrier against malevolent spirits or magical darkness, banishing weak entities and disrupting hostile forces. It can turn the tide in situations involving necromancers, ghosts, or dark magic.
  • Guidance: The user can communicate or perceive the intentions of spirits, offering opportunities for negotiation, gathering information, or receiving aid from benevolent ethereal beings.
• Negatives:
  • Mental Strain: Prolonged use of the lantern can lead to mental fatigue. The constant influx of spiritual energy, voices, and emotions from the ethereal realm can become overwhelming, causing disorientation or confusion.
  • Attracts Spirits: While the lantern repels weaker spirits, it can attract stronger or more malevolent entities, drawn to the power it emits. The user might inadvertently invite a confrontation with powerful spectral beings that would otherwise remain dormant.
  • Physical Strain: The warm, vibrating energy of the lantern may become physically taxing over time. The longer the user holds the lantern active, the more intense the sensations grow, leading to hand fatigue or numbness.
  • Disruptive Sound: The constant hum and whispers may disturb concentration or sleep, and the sound can also alert enemies or curious entities to the user’s location.
  • Emotional Disturbance: Encountering spirits who harbor negative emotions—rage, sorrow, or fear—can cause an emotional toll on the user. These feelings may bleed over, making the user susceptible to emotional instability or impulsive decisions.

The activation of the Soulbound Lantern creates a powerful and immersive experience, heightening both physical and spiritual senses, while also presenting risks to the user and those nearby.

Recipe: Crafting the Soulbound Lantern

• Materials Needed:
  • Enchanted Metals (3 lbs) – These metals must be infused with spiritual energy, typically silver, moonsteel, or ethereal alloys. The metals should be sourced from a sacred site or blessed by a spirit guide to hold their ethereal properties.
  • Crystalline Core (1) – A large, translucent crystal (such as spirit quartz or soulstone) capable of storing and channeling spiritual energy. The crystal must be charged in moonlight or near a spiritual nexus for 3 nights.
  • Binding Runes (5) – Special ink made from powdered grave-dust and ectoplasm mixed with blessed water, used to inscribe the runes. The runes themselves must be written by someone versed in necromantic or spiritual languages.
  • Spiritual Essence (1 vial) – Collected from a banished or willing spirit. This essence is the soul-binding force that allows the lantern to interact with the ethereal realm.
  • Incense of Astral Connection (3 sticks) – A specially prepared incense made from rare herbs like dreamroot, ghostflower, and nightshade, used to prepare the ritual space and focus the crafter’s connection to the spirit realm.
  • Tallow of the Divine Flame (1 oz) – A rare, purified tallow taken from a divine or celestial creature, used to coat the crystalline core, enhancing its spiritual connection.
• Tools Required:
  • Forging Hammer – Used for shaping the enchanted metals into the lantern’s frame.
  • Engraving Tools – Fine chisels and styluses for carving the intricate runes onto the lantern’s surface.
  • Alchemical Forge – A forge designed to work with enchanted materials, maintaining the spiritual energy within the metals.
  • Ritual Circle (Spirit-Conductive) – A magically prepared circle to ensure the proper binding of the lantern to the spirit realm.
  • Tongs and Protective Gloves – For handling the crystal and hot metals without absorbing excess spiritual energy.
  • Vial of Ectoplasm – Used to assist in the rune-writing process.
• Skill Requirements:
  • Smithing (Intermediate) – The ability to forge and shape enchanted metals.
  • Runecrafting (Advanced) – Knowledge of spiritual and necromantic runes, including the ability to inscribe them onto magical items.
  • Alchemy (Intermediate) – Understanding of rare ingredients and how to mix binding agents like the powdered grave-dust and ectoplasm ink.
  • Spiritbinding (Advanced) – The ability to capture, handle, and infuse spiritual essence into an item.
  • Arcane Knowledge (Intermediate) – A general understanding of magic, particularly relating to spiritual or ethereal forces.
  • Ritual Magic (Advanced) – The skill to perform and maintain a ritual space conducive to spiritual binding.
• Crafting Steps:
  • Step 1: Preparing the Materials
    • Begin by cleansing the enchanted metals in a bath of blessed water mixed with powdered grave-dust. This ritual ensures that the metals are spiritually attuned and free of negative energies. Heat the metals in the alchemical forge until they glow with an ethereal sheen, keeping the heat balanced so the enchantments do not dissipate.
  • Step 2: Shaping the Lantern
    • Using the forging hammer, shape the enchanted metals into the frame of the lantern. The frame should be designed with intricate curves and spirals, allowing spiritual energy to flow freely. Be sure to leave space for the crystalline core at the center.
    • While the metal is still malleable, carefully inscribe the five binding runes into the surface using the engraving tools. These runes must be perfect, as any imperfection could cause instability or failure of the spiritual connection.
  • Step 3: Infusing the Crystalline Core
    • Take the crystalline core and coat it with the Tallow of the Divine Flame, using tongs to handle it. Place it within a circle of Incense of Astral Connection, lighting the incense to create a focused, spiritual atmosphere. Perform a short ritual, drawing energy from the ambient spirits or the spirit world to charge the core.
    • Once charged, carefully place the core into the center of the lantern’s frame, securing it so that it aligns with the inscribed runes.
  • Step 4: Spiritual Binding
    • In the prepared Ritual Circle, place the nearly complete lantern in the center. Pour the Spiritual Essence over the crystalline core, allowing it to seep into the grooves of the metal and runes. Begin the Spiritbinding ritual by chanting the necessary incantations to bind the essence to the lantern.
    • As the essence bonds with the lantern, you will feel a pull from the spirit realm. The runes will glow faintly, confirming the spiritual connection. Ensure you maintain focus, as a mistake here could release uncontrolled spiritual energy.
  • Step 5: Final Blessing and Sealing
    • Once the essence is fully bound to the lantern, seal the connection by running a thin line of ectoplasm over the runes and igniting it with a spiritual flame (often created through simple arcane fire spells or the divine flame tallow). This seals the runes and finalizes the lantern’s ability to interact with the spirit world.
    • Allow the lantern to rest overnight in the ritual circle to solidify the spiritual connection. The next day, the lantern will be fully functional, ready to detect spirits, banish darkness, and illuminate the ethereal plane.

After following these steps, the Soulbound Lantern will be complete. It will function as a powerful tool for detecting and interacting with spiritual entities, banishing malevolent spirits, and dispelling magical darkness. Its glow will serve as a beacon in both the physical and ethereal realms, and its craftsmanship will reflect your mastery of the spiritual arts.

Tale of the Lantern That Spoke with the Shadows

In the days long before, when the world was less firm, and spirits walked like men under the pale sky, there was a village at the edge of a very dark wood. This wood, it was said, was not like other woods—no, this wood had no singing birds, no laughing animals. Instead, the trees whispered in words that no one could understand, and those who went in did not come back.

It was in this time that a man, not quite old but not young, came to the village. His name was lost to us, though some say it was never known. This man carried with him a light, but it was not like any light seen before. The lantern he held was crafted from a cold, shining metal, which did not rust nor bend. At its heart was a crystal, clear as water but full of swirling mists. The lantern did not flicker like fire, but instead glowed like the pale moons, soft and steady.

The man, whose name is lost, told the village elders that he had traveled from a place where the shadows were alive, and that his lantern could speak with the shadows. The village elders were not wise, but they were not foolish either. They did not believe the man’s story, for what light could speak with darkness? But the man only smiled and walked to the edge of the dark wood.

For three days and three nights, the man stood at the border of the wood. The village folk gathered but did not cross, for fear still held them. On the first night, strange sounds came from the wood—whispers that wrapped around the trees like wind but were not wind. The man stood silent, holding his lantern high.

On the second night, the shadows came. They were not shadows of men, but long, twisting shapes like smoke, moving across the ground and through the air. They circled the man, but his lantern glowed brighter, and the shadows stopped as if caught in a net. The village folk who watched trembled, but still the man did not move.

On the third night, a figure emerged. Some say it was a great spirit; others claim it was the very heart of the forest itself. This figure was made of darkness so thick it swallowed all light, but the man held his lantern higher, and the figure was halted. The lantern’s light, now fierce and bright, revealed the shape’s true form—an ancient spirit, twisted by time and the sorrows of men who had wandered too far into the wood. It was said the spirit spoke, but the words are not known, for they were in the language of things older than stone, older than memory.

What is known is that the man, with his lantern that spoke with the shadows, made a pact with the spirit. Some say he promised the spirit rest, others say he banished it to the forgotten places. In the end, the wood grew quiet, and the shadows returned to the earth. The man walked back to the village, but his lantern’s light was no longer steady. It flickered and dimmed, as though it had done its work and would no longer be needed.

The villagers, seeing the dark wood silent and still, begged the man to stay and keep his lantern. But he only shook his head and vanished before the sun rose, leaving behind the lantern, now cold and empty. It was placed at the village shrine, but its light never returned.

Many years passed, and the village forgot much of the tale. But the lantern remained, silent and still. Some travelers claimed that if you held it in the moonlight, you could hear whispers from the shadows. But none were ever brave enough to try again what the man had done. The village stood, and the wood, though silent, remained ever dark.

Moral: The lantern teaches that light alone cannot banish darkness, but light that understands the shadows may speak with them. Shadows are not to be feared, but neither are they to be forgotten.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Soulbound Lantern

• (Mythos Artifact)
• Description: A lantern that allows the user to see into the ethereal plane and communicate with spirits. Created with ancient, esoteric rituals involving spirit binding, it provides advantages in situations involving the supernatural but comes with a high mental cost.
• Sanity Cost: 1D4 for witnessing its light revealing spirits or entities.
• Magic Points: 6 to activate (lasts 1D4 hours).
• Powers:
  • Spiritual Detection: When activated, the user gains the ability to see spirits and other ethereal entities within 30 feet. Spot Hidden checks are made with a +20% bonus when attempting to detect invisible or incorporeal beings.
  • Banish Spirit: The user can attempt to banish a spirit or other ethereal entity by making a successful Power (POW) roll against the target’s POW. If successful, the entity is temporarily driven away (for 1D6 minutes).
• Drawback: Prolonged use of the lantern drains the user’s sanity, with a 10% chance per hour of suffering a long-term effect, such as paranoia or hallucinations involving shadows.

Blades in the Dark

Soulbound Lantern

• (Item, Tier II)
• Load: 2
• Description: A lantern of ghostly blue light, attuned to the spirit realm. It allows the user to interact with the unseen and unsettled.
• Powers:
  • Ghost Sight: While active, the user can see ghosts, spirits, and other ethereal entities. Gain +1d to Attune rolls to communicate or detect spirits.
  • Spirit Banishment: The lantern’s light can drive away hostile spirits. The user makes an Attune roll; on success, the spirit flees for the remainder of the scene.
• Drawbacks: Using the lantern draws the attention of nearby spirits, increasing the likelihood of a Haunt clock starting, or adding a tick to the clock if it’s already active.
• Usage: 2 ticks per use. Can be used twice before needing to be “recharged” through a dangerous ritual.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Soulbound Lantern

• (Wondrous Item, Rare, Requires Attunement)
• Description: A lantern forged from enchanted metals, housing a crystalline core that emits an ethereal glow, revealing hidden spirits and allowing interaction with the spirit world.
• Properties:
  • Spiritual Light: The lantern emits bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet. While holding the lantern, the user can see ethereal entities within the bright light, as though they were corporeal.
  • Detect Spirits: While attuned to the lantern, the user has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to detect spirits or other incorporeal undead within the light’s radius.
  • Banish Spirit (3/Day): As an action, the user can target one spirit or incorporeal undead within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be banished for 1 minute.
• Drawbacks: Prolonged exposure to the lantern’s light may cause the user to become susceptible to spirit possession (DC 12 Wisdom saving throw after each hour of continuous use).

Knave

Soulbound Lantern

• (Artifact)
• Description: An ancient lantern that glows with a cold, spiritual light, allowing the user to interact with spirits and the unseen.
• Usage: The lantern can be activated for 1 hour, once per day.
• Effects:
  • Reveal Spirits: While holding the lantern, the user can see any ethereal entities within 20 feet. These spirits become visible and cannot hide or remain invisible.
  • Banish Spirit: The user can attempt to banish a spirit by rolling a Wisdom Save against the spirit’s Mind score. On success, the spirit is banished for 1D6 turns.
• Drawbacks: The lantern’s glow can attract nearby spirits. Each time it is used, there is a 1-in-6 chance that an unwanted or hostile spirit will appear within 10 feet of the user.

Fate (Core System)

Soulbound Lantern

• (Aspect: Spiritual Beacon of Light)
• High Concept: A mystical lantern crafted to reveal and interact with the spirit realm.
• Mechanics:
  • Invoking: The lantern can be invoked to grant the user bonuses when interacting with spirits or dealing with supernatural entities. Gain +2 on rolls to create advantages or overcome obstacles involving detecting or communicating with spirits.
  • Compel: The lantern’s light may attract unwanted spiritual attention or disturb dormant supernatural forces, causing complications during encounters (e.g., a spirit may become hostile or restless).
• Stunts:
  • Reveal the Unseen: Once per session, the user can automatically succeed on a roll to detect a hidden spirit or supernatural presence.
  • Banish Spirits: Spend 1 Fate point to banish a hostile spirit for the duration of a scene, forcing it to flee.

Numenera & Cypher System

Soulbound Lantern

• (Level 5 Artifact)
• Form: A lantern made of enchanted metal and a crystalline core that emits a ghostly light, revealing hidden spirits and entities.
• Effect:
  • Spirit Detection: When activated, the lantern reveals all invisible or incorporeal creatures within 50 feet for 1 hour. During this time, the user gains an asset on any tasks to interact with or sense spirits and other ethereal beings.
  • Banish Spirit (Action): The user may focus the lantern’s light on one ethereal or incorporeal creature within 30 feet. The creature must make a Level 5 Intellect defense roll or be banished from the area for 1D6 minutes.
• Depletion: 1 in 1D20 per use.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Soulbound Lantern

• (Wondrous Item, Rare, Requires Attunement)
• Price: 1,500 gp
• Usage: Held; 10 minutes to activate (3/day)
• Properties:
  • Spiritual Light: The lantern casts bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet. While holding the lantern, the user can see and interact with ethereal creatures within the bright light, as though they were corporeal.
  • Detect Spirits: The user gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Perception checks to detect spirits, incorporeal undead, or illusions within the lantern’s light.
  • Banishment (3/Day): As a 2-action activity, the user can target a spirit or incorporeal undead within 30 feet. The target must make a Will save (DC 18) or be banished to its origin plane for 1 minute.
• Drawbacks: Prolonged exposure (over 1 hour) to the lantern’s light causes a cumulative -1 penalty to Will saves to resist possession or spiritual influence.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Soulbound Lantern

• (Magical Item)
• Description: A lantern that emits a pale, mystical light capable of revealing the presence of spirits and allowing interaction with them.
• Properties:
  • Reveal Spirits: The lantern illuminates all spirits and incorporeal beings within a 10″ radius. These entities cannot become invisible or use the intangible trait while within the light’s area of effect.
  • Banish Spirit: The user may attempt to banish a hostile spirit. Roll Spirit opposed by the spirit’s Spirit; if successful, the spirit is banished for 1D4 rounds.
  • Power Points: Activating the lantern costs 2 Power Points and lasts 10 minutes.
• Drawback: Each activation of the lantern attracts spiritual attention, increasing the chance of encountering hostile entities. The GM may roll 1D6; on a 1, a nearby spirit becomes hostile.

Shadowrun (6th Edition)

Soulbound Lantern

• (Magical Focus, Rating 3)
• Type: Magical Item (Focus), Attuned to the Astral Plane
• Description: A lantern that bridges the physical and astral realms, allowing the user to detect and banish spirits or astral entities.
• Attributes:
  • Astral Perception: While activated, the user can see into the astral plane, detecting spirits, dual-natured entities, or other astral phenomena within 30 meters. The user gains +2 dice to Assensing rolls.
  • Banish Spirit (Complex Action): The user can attempt to banish a spirit (Force ≤ Lantern’s Rating). Roll Magic + Banishing opposed by the spirit’s Force + Willpower. If successful, the spirit is banished from the astral plane for 1D6 minutes.
  • Drain: Each use of the banishing ability requires a Drain Resistance test (Stun) with a DV equal to half the spirit’s Force (round up).
  • Bonding Cost: 9 Karma (Rating 3).
• Drawback: Prolonged activation attracts unwanted attention from the astral plane. For every hour of continuous use, there is a 1-in-6 chance that an astral entity will manifest and interact with the user, potentially hostile.

Starfinder

Soulbound Lantern

• (Magic Item, Level 7)
• Price: 6,500 credits
• Slot: Held
• Aura: Divination and Abjuration
• Description: An ancient, mystic lantern that reveals ethereal entities and allows interaction with spirits and other incorporeal creatures.
• Properties:
  • Reveal Spirits: When activated, the lantern emits bright light in a 20-foot radius. The user can see invisible and incorporeal creatures within the light as though they were visible and corporeal.
  • Banishment (2/Day): As a standard action, the user can target one ethereal or incorporeal creature within 30 feet. The target must succeed at a Will save (DC 18) or be banished to the Ethereal Plane for 1D6 rounds.
  • Detect Spirits: The user gains a +2 insight bonus on Perception and Mysticism checks related to spirits, undead, or incorporeal creatures while holding the lantern.
• Drawback: Activating the lantern for extended periods (over 1 hour per day) causes the user to suffer a -1 penalty on Will saves due to the mental strain of interacting with ethereal forces.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Soulbound Lantern

• (Artifact)
• Tech Level: Ancient
• Description: A relic from an unknown, ancient civilization, the Soulbound Lantern allows its bearer to perceive and interact with ethereal entities, including spirits and incorporeal beings.
• Attributes:
  • Spirit Sight: When activated, the lantern allows the user to see invisible or incorporeal creatures within 10 meters. This sight extends into the alternate dimensions or planes where such creatures reside.
  • Banish Entity (Action): The user may attempt to banish an incorporeal entity by making a Psionic Strength check against the entity’s Endurance. If successful, the entity is banished for 1D6 minutes.
  • Power Source: The lantern requires a rare energy crystal (Tech Level 15) to function, and the crystal lasts for 10 hours of continuous use before needing replacement.
• Drawback: Prolonged use (over 2 hours) without resting can cause mental strain, leading to a -1 penalty on Intelligence-based rolls until a full rest is taken.

Warhammer (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition)

Soulbound Lantern

• (Rare Magical Item)
• Encumbrance: 1
• Description: An enchanted lantern used by witch hunters, priests, and exorcists to reveal and confront spirits, daemons, and ethereal creatures lurking in the shadows.
• Properties:
  • Spirit Vision: When activated, the lantern emits bright light in a 15-yard radius. The user can see ethereal entities, such as spirits, ghosts, and daemons, as if they were physical creatures. The light can penetrate through magical darkness and invisibility.
  • Exorcism (2/Day): As an action, the user can cast Exorcism (WP vs Willpower Test) on any one spirit or ethereal creature within the lantern’s light. On a successful test, the entity is driven back to its origin for 1D10 rounds.
  • Detect Spirits: The user gains +10 to Perception and Intuition tests when interacting with ethereal entities while the lantern is active.
• Drawback: Prolonged exposure to the lantern’s light causes mental fatigue. After 1 hour of continuous use, the user must pass a Willpower Test or suffer from Fatigue. Additionally, using the lantern in cursed or haunted areas increases the risk of attracting hostile spirits.