Alchemical Litmus 358 – GearAscendancy.com

From: Aiptas Ouroborus 113

This is a subtle, integrated tool that provides a chemical sense to a creature that otherwise relies on sound. One of the creature’s smaller, secondary teeth has been replaced with a porous, chalk-like prosthetic made from a magically reactive mineral composite. After exposing a new surface with its primary incisors, Kastor can deliberately scrape this special tooth against the material. The porous Litmus tooth absorbs trace particles, and a simple chemical and magical reaction occurs. A nutritive or beneficial substance will cause the tooth to generate a steady, low-frequency hum that the creature can hear and feel. A poisonous or cursed substance will cause the tooth to emit a high-pitched, discordant shriek, while inert matter produces no sound at all. It is a simple, go/no-go test for a scavenger in a hazardous environment.

Lore This subtle and ingenious device was not created for adventurers, but for the Royal Tasters of a long-fallen, paranoid empire. In an age of intricate plots and undetectable poisons, the emperor demanded a more reliable method of security than a servant’s life. The Alchemists’ Guild developed the Litmus Tooth, a prosthetic made from a magically reactive mineral composite harvested from deep-earth geodes. New members of the Tasters’ Guild would have a molar removed and replaced with this implant. The sound-based feedback was designed to be imperceptible to anyone but the user, allowing a taster to identify a poisoned dish at a crowded banquet without causing a panic, simply by touching a morsel of food to the tooth.

The history of unit #358 is one of pure chance. It was a fresh, un-implanted tooth being transported in a lead-lined case by a master taster who fled the capital when the empire finally collapsed. This taster eventually died in the deep ruins that Kastor now inhabits. Centuries later, Kastor, in its slow consumption of the ruins, ingested the adventurer’s entire satchel. The lead case was eventually dissolved by Kastor’s powerful digestive juices, releasing the small, chalk-like tooth. Instead of being digested, the tooth’s latent symbiotic magic kept it intact. Over years, it migrated through the creature’s massive body, finally finding a gap in the jaw where one of Kastor’s own teeth had been worn down to a stump. It settled into the socket and, over decades, fused permanently with the bone, an accidental and perfect integration.

Slot: Internal Implant (Tooth)

Requirements:

Must be surgically implanted into the jaw of a living creature, replacing an existing tooth.
The user must possess a sense of hearing to perceive the sonic feedback.
The implantation process requires the user to survive a low-grade magical infusion into their system.

Tier One Stats:

Grants the user the ability to identify if a substance is nutritive, inert, poisonous, or cursed through direct contact.
Provides a significant bonus to any checks made to identify or resist ingested poisons.

Skills Gained:

Proficiency (Alchemical Lore): By constantly testing a wide variety of substances, the user develops a deep, intuitive understanding of chemical and magical compounds, able to recognize common reagents by their unique resonant hum.
Proficiency (Toxinology): A skilled user can learn to differentiate between different poisons and curses by the specific pitch, timbre, and complexity of the discordant shriek the tooth produces.

Passive Magics:

Material Analysis: The tooth’s core function is always active. When scraped against a substance, it produces one of three sounds perceptible only to the user: a low, steady hum for safe, nutritive, or beneficially magical substances; a high-pitched, discordant shriek for poisons, curses, or malevolent magic; and complete silence for mundane, inert matter.
Self-Purging: The porous mineral composite is magically enchanted to break down and eject any absorbed particles after a few minutes. This ensures that each new test is not contaminated by the previous one.
Innate Resistance: The low-level magical field generated by the tooth provides the user with a permanent, minor resistance to all ingested toxins, even if they are consumed without being tested first.

Activatable Magics:

Component Deconstruction: By concentrating while testing a complex mixture (like a potion, a creature’s blood, or a magical soup), the user can will the tooth to analyze its components. Instead of a single sound, the tooth will produce a rapid sequence of distinct hums and shrieks. A skilled user can interpret this “song” to identify the individual ingredients of the concoction.
Curse Identification: When testing a cursed object, the user can focus their will to gain a deeper understanding of the malediction. The discordant shriek will take on a specific character that hints at its nature—a guttural, rattling shriek for a necromantic curse; a dizzying, looping shriek for an illusion-based curse; a sizzling, angry shriek for an elemental curse.
Toxin Absorption (Once per day): By scraping a known poison and then activating this ability, the tooth’s porous structure acts like a sponge, absorbing a significant amount of the toxin’s essence to “learn” its composition. For the next hour, the user’s body is rendered completely immune to that specific poison. This act of neutralization is draining and leaves the tooth’s magical properties completely inert for 24 hours.

Tags: Magical, Tool, Tier One, Ancient, Alchemical, Symbiotic, Implant, Defensive, Utility, Analysis, Warding, Prosthetic, Auditory Feedback, Poison-Sense, Purification, Immunity, Non-Combat, Secret, Diagnostic

The Alchemical Litmus 358 is an item of immense value to a very specific and wealthy clientele: paranoid nobles, spymasters, royal bodyguards, and master alchemists. It is a tool of intrigue and survival, and as such, it would never be found in a common market. Its sale would be a discreet, dangerous, and exceptionally expensive affair.

1. The Court Physician & Royal Alchemist

Example Establishment: This is not a shop, but a professional service offered by a high-ranking individual, such as “Arch-Alchemist Jelani, Personal Physician to the Merchant-Prince of Port Cygnus.” Such a figure would operate out of a state-of-the-art, magically-secured laboratory within a royal palace or guild headquarters.
Method of Sale: One does not simply “buy” the Litmus Tooth here; one commissions a “Total Gustatory Security Procedure.” A client—a paranoid politician or guild-master fearing assassination—would approach the Alchemist through trusted intermediaries. After extensive vetting to ensure the client is not a spy themselves, a contract is drawn up. The Arch-Alchemist then uses their vast resources to source the rare materials, craft a new Litmus Tooth from scratch, and performs the dangerous and delicate implantation surgery. The cost covers the artifact, the surgery, and most importantly, the Alchemist’s unbreakable, magically-enforced vow of silence.
Cost: This is the most expensive but most secure method of acquisition. The price reflects a lifetime of safety from poisoned food and drink. Estimated Cost: 250,000 Gold Sovereigns. Payment is often not made in a single lump sum, but as a lifetime retainer for the Alchemist’s services, ensuring their continued loyalty and discretion.

2. The Espionage Black Market

Example Establishment: “The Lacquered Box,” a seemingly mundane antique shop in the political quarter of a major metropolis. The back room, accessible only via a specific password and a significant bribe, is an emporium for the tools of the spy trade, catering to assassins, intelligence agents, and revolutionaries.
Method of Sale: Here, an un-implanted Litmus Tooth would be considered a crown jewel. It would be kept in a small, lead-lined, magically-dampened case to prevent its detection. A potential buyer would be shown the item only after their identity and intentions have been thoroughly verified by the proprietor, a shadowy figure known only as “The Curator.” The sale is for the tooth alone. Finding a “street surgeon” with the skill to implant it—and the discretion not to blackmail you afterward—is the buyer’s own perilous undertaking, though The Curator can provide a referral for a steep fee. Transactions are conducted in untraceable, magically-cleansed gemstones or ancient, high-purity metal ingots.
Cost: The price is dictated by the cutthroat world of political intrigue. Estimated Cost: 180,000 Gold Sovereigns for the tooth itself. The referral to a reliable underworld surgeon would cost an additional 20,000, paid directly to The Curator as a “finder’s fee.”

3. The Artifact Smuggler’s Ring

Example Establishment: This is not a shop, but a clandestine network of smugglers who specialize in moving rare and often forbidden artifacts out of newly discovered ruins before governments or guilds can lay claim to them. They operate out of secret coves and hidden warehouses in major port cities.
Method of Sale: The Litmus Tooth would likely be part of a larger, unsorted collection of relics from a single dig site. The smugglers may not even know its true purpose, listing it on their secret manifests as a “sentient tooth” or a “warding charm.” They sell to trusted, high-volume buyers who purchase entire lots of un-identified artifacts. A buyer with deep knowledge could acquire a priceless treasure for a fraction of its worth through such a transaction. The sale is a high-risk gamble, conducted at a secret location with immense security, as both the buyers and sellers are operating outside the law.
Cost: The item would be bundled with other artifacts. Estimated Cost: A “Relic Crate,” containing the Litmus Tooth and a dozen other miscellaneous (and possibly cursed or worthless) items, might sell for 70,000 Gold Sovereigns. The buyer is paying for the chance that one item in the crate is a masterpiece, making the risk worthwhile.

Perception of Activation:

(The following perceptions focus on the Alchemical Litmus tooth’s various analytical functions.)

User’s Perspective (Kastor or another wielder)

Sight: There is no visual change. The activation and perception of this item are entirely internal to the user.
Sound: This is the core of the item’s function. The experience is one of hearing a sound that no one else can, a sound generated directly inside one’s own head.
- Standard Test: A simple touch creates a clear, distinct signal. A low, pleasant, resonant hum for safe/good substances feels comforting. A high-pitched, discordant shriek for poisons/curses feels like a needle in the eardrum, an instantly recognizable “NO.” Complete silence for inert matter is an equally clear “nothing.”
- Component Deconstruction: This is like hearing a word resolve into its individual phonetic parts. A single hum or shriek breaks apart into a rapid, complex “song” of different tones, allowing the user to mentally pick out each “instrument” in the orchestra.
- Curse Analysis: This is the most unpleasant sound. The shriek becomes complex and deeply unsettling, taking on a character of its own—a guttural, rattling sound for necromancy that makes the user feel cold, or a dizzying, looping sound for an illusion that induces vertigo.
Smell: There is no smell associated with the activation itself.
Touch: When testing, there is no physical sensation from the tooth itself. However, when using the Toxin Absorption ability, the user feels the tooth become intensely cold for a moment, a deep, aching cold in their jawbone, as it absorbs and nullifies the poison’s essence.
Taste: The tooth itself has no taste, but because it requires tasting or touching a substance, the user is still subject to the mundane flavors of the material being tested.
Extra-Sensory (Alchemical Sense): The user develops an intuitive, almost synesthetic connection between sound and chemical composition. Over time, they don’t just hear “poison,” they begin to recognize the specific “sound” of arsenic-based poisons versus nightshade-based ones. They develop a new sense entirely.
Extra-Sensory (Magical Sense): The tooth feels like a permanently active, low-level divination sensor. When it detects a curse or magical substance, the user feels a “spike” in the tooth’s magical field, which is what generates the sound. The Toxin Absorption feels like a magical vacuum, a sudden, powerful intake that leaves a void behind.

Observer’s Perspective

Sight: There are no visual cues whatsoever. The user simply touches an object with their finger or a piece of food to their mouth. To an observer, their actions are completely innocuous and indistinguishable from a normal person’s mannerisms. This is the item’s greatest strength.
Sound: There is no sound. The sonic feedback is a magical phenomenon that occurs entirely within the user’s mind.
Smell: There is no smell.
Touch: There is no physical sensation that can be felt by an observer.
Taste: There is no taste.
Extra-Sensory (Magical Sense): A magically-attuned observer would perceive almost nothing. The tooth is a masterpiece of subtle enchantment. They might detect a very faint, constant aura of Divination and Abjuration magic if they were extremely close and actively scanning the user. When the Toxin Absorption ability is used, a powerful magic-user might perceive a sudden, sharp intake of magical energy and a brief, intense flare of transmutation magic, but it would be so fast they might question if they saw it at all.
Extra-Sensory (Psychic Sense): A powerful telepath observing the user during a test might not “hear” the sound, but they would sense the user’s sudden, powerful reaction to it—a flash of alarm from a poison-shriek, or a wave of relief from a nutritive-hum.

Positives

It is the ultimate tool for personal defense against assassination and intrigue, offering a silent, invisible, and foolproof method of detecting poisons.
It allows a user to safely navigate cursed ruins, identifying and understanding magical traps without triggering them.
The Component Deconstruction ability is invaluable for alchemists and investigators, allowing them to reverse-engineer potions or identify the origin of a poison.
The Toxin Absorption ability can turn a deadly, venomous foe into a much more manageable threat by granting temporary, total immunity.
Its subtlety is its greatest asset. No one can know it is being used unless the user chooses to reveal the information they have gained.

Negatives

The user must make physical contact with a substance to test it. It offers no protection from contact poisons, inhaled toxins, or projectile venoms.
The “shriek” of a powerful curse or poison can be mentally jarring and painful for the user, possibly causing them to flinch or recoil at an inopportune moment.
The Toxin Absorption ability has a long cooldown, forcing the user to be highly strategic about which poison they choose to become immune to.
Relying too heavily on the tooth can cause the user’s own natural senses and instincts for danger to atrophy over time.
If an enemy discovered the user possessed such a device, they could specifically target them with non-ingested poisons or simply use brute force, bypassing the tooth’s advantage entirely.

Perception of Activation:

(The following perceptions focus on the Alchemical Litmus tooth’s various analytical functions.)

User’s Perspective (Kastor or another wielder)

Sight: There is no visual change. The activation and perception of this item are entirely internal to the user.
Sound: This is the core of the item’s function. The experience is one of hearing a sound that no one else can, a sound generated directly inside one’s own head.
- Standard Test: A simple touch creates a clear, distinct signal. A low, pleasant, resonant hum for safe/good substances feels comforting. A high-pitched, discordant shriek for poisons/curses feels like a needle in the eardrum, an instantly recognizable “NO.” Complete silence for inert matter is an equally clear “nothing.”
- Component Deconstruction: This is like hearing a word resolve into its individual phonetic parts. A single hum or shriek breaks apart into a rapid, complex “song” of different tones, allowing the user to mentally pick out each “instrument” in the orchestra.
- Curse Analysis: This is the most unpleasant sound. The shriek becomes complex and deeply unsettling, taking on a character of its own—a guttural, rattling sound for necromancy that makes the user feel cold, or a dizzying, looping sound for an illusion that induces vertigo.
Smell: There is no smell associated with the activation itself.
Touch: When testing, there is no physical sensation from the tooth itself. However, when using the Toxin Absorption ability, the user feels the tooth become intensely cold for a moment, a deep, aching cold in their jawbone, as it absorbs and nullifies the poison’s essence.
Taste: The tooth itself has no taste, but because it requires tasting or touching a substance, the user is still subject to the mundane flavors of the material being tested.
Extra-Sensory (Alchemical Sense): The user develops an intuitive, almost synesthetic connection between sound and chemical composition. Over time, they don’t just hear “poison,” they begin to recognize the specific “sound” of arsenic-based poisons versus nightshade-based ones. They develop a new sense entirely.
Extra-Sensory (Magical Sense): The tooth feels like a permanently active, low-level divination sensor. When it detects a curse or magical substance, the user feels a “spike” in the tooth’s magical field, which is what generates the sound. The Toxin Absorption feels like a magical vacuum, a sudden, powerful intake that leaves a void behind.

Observer’s Perspective

Sight: There are no visual cues whatsoever. The user simply touches an object with their finger or a piece of food to their mouth. To an observer, their actions are completely innocuous and indistinguishable from a normal person’s mannerisms. This is the item’s greatest strength.
Sound: There is no sound. The sonic feedback is a magical phenomenon that occurs entirely within the user’s mind.
Smell: There is no smell.
Touch: There is no physical sensation that can be felt by an observer.
Taste: There is no taste.
Extra-Sensory (Magical Sense): A magically-attuned observer would perceive almost nothing. The tooth is a masterpiece of subtle enchantment. They might detect a very faint, constant aura of Divination and Abjuration magic if they were extremely close and actively scanning the user. When the Toxin Absorption ability is used, a powerful magic-user might perceive a sudden, sharp intake of magical energy and a brief, intense flare of transmutation magic, but it would be so fast they might question if they saw it at all.
Extra-Sensory (Psychic Sense): A powerful telepath observing the user during a test might not “hear” the sound, but they would sense the user’s sudden, powerful reaction to it—a flash of alarm from a poison-shriek, or a wave of relief from a nutritive-hum.

Positives

It is the ultimate tool for personal defense against assassination and intrigue, offering a silent, invisible, and foolproof method of detecting poisons.
It allows a user to safely navigate cursed ruins, identifying and understanding magical traps without triggering them.
The Component Deconstruction ability is invaluable for alchemists and investigators, allowing them to reverse-engineer potions or identify the origin of a poison.
The Toxin Absorption ability can turn a deadly, venomous foe into a much more manageable threat by granting temporary, total immunity.
Its subtlety is its greatest asset. No one can know it is being used unless the user chooses to reveal the information they have gained.

Negatives

The user must make physical contact with a substance to test it. It offers no protection from contact poisons, inhaled toxins, or projectile venoms.
The “shriek” of a powerful curse or poison can be mentally jarring and painful for the user, possibly causing them to flinch or recoil at an inopportune moment.
The Toxin Absorption ability has a long cooldown, forcing the user to be highly strategic about which poison they choose to become immune to.
Relying too heavily on the tooth can cause the user’s own natural senses and instincts for danger to atrophy over time.
If an enemy discovered the user possessed such a device, they could specifically target them with non-ingested poisons or simply use brute force, bypassing the tooth’s advantage entirely.

Formulation of the Guardian Tooth

This text describes the alchemical process for creating a symbiotic, poison-detecting prosthetic, based on the recovered formulae of the fallen Empire’s Royal Tasters’ Guild. This is a work of Grandmaster-tier alchemy, requiring access to incredibly rare, potent, and often dangerous magical reagents. The process balances the energies of purity and corruption; a single miscalculation in measurement or procedure can cause the components to violently neutralize each other in a burst of toxic, magical energy.

Materials Needed

Base Medium (1 cup): Finely pulverized Geode Dust, harvested from a “hollow mountain” geode known to have formed around a source of pure, elemental magic.
Toxin Reagent (1): The powdered primary fang of a mature Basilisk. The fang must be hollow and still contain the residual essence of its venom.
Purity Reagent (1): A single, crystallized tear from a Phoenix, harvested at the moment of its rebirth. This contains the essence of pure, untainted life energy.
Malediction Reagent (1 pinch): Spectral Dust gathered from the remains of a destroyed Lich’s phylactery. This contains the resonant echo of a powerful, sentient curse.
Binding Agent (1 drop): A single drop of expertly refined Progenitor Ooze, necessary to grant the final product its ability to form a symbiotic bond with a living host.

Tools Required

An Obsidian Mortar & Pestle: For the grinding of the volatile magical reagents. Obsidian is used for its non-reactive properties.
A Low-Temperature Magical Kiln: A kiln capable of maintaining a precise, low heat for several days, essential for hardening the composite without burning out the magic.
A Magical Resonating Chamber: A sound-proofed container fitted with magical tuning forks and discordance amplifiers, used to attune the tooth to specific sonic frequencies.
An Alchemist’s Glassware Set: Including beakers, stirring rods, and a titration setup for the careful mixing of the base paste.
An Enchanting Syringe: A delicate instrument used to inject the Progenitor Ooze into the finished, porous tooth.

Skill Requirements

Grandmastery of Alchemy: The primary skill. The crafter must be able to handle and mix substances of opposing magical natures without causing a catastrophic reaction.
Expertise in Enchanting (Symbiosis & Warding): Required to handle the Progenitor Ooze and to stabilize the final product.
Knowledge of Magical Harmonics: The crafter must understand the precise frequencies of “purity” and “corruption” to properly attune the tooth in the resonating chamber.
Proficiency in Bio-Surgery or Dentistry: While not part of the crafting, this skill is necessary for the final, dangerous implantation.

Crafting Steps

Reagent Preparation: In the obsidian mortar, the Basilisk fang is carefully ground into a fine, grey powder. The phylactery dust, already fine, is added, and the two are mixed. This creates the “Discordance Base.” The Phoenix tear is kept separate in a state of magical suspension.
Paste Formulation: The Geode Dust is placed in a large glass beaker. The Discordance Base is then added, one milligram at a time, while the mixture is constantly stirred and subjected to a low-level calming enchantment to prevent a premature reaction. Once the base is fully mixed, the suspended Phoenix tear is added all at once. This will cause a brief, violent flash of opposing energies, which must be contained. The result is a thick, chalk-white, magical paste.
Molding and Firing: The paste is carefully pressed into a tooth-shaped mold. The mold is then placed in the low-temperature kiln and fired at a steady, low heat for exactly three days and three nights. This slow process bakes out impurities and hardens the composite into a porous, solid shape while locking the opposing magical energies into a delicate, stable balance.
Sonic Attunement: The hardened tooth is removed from the kiln and placed within the Magical Resonating Chamber. For 24 hours, the chamber is flooded with a pure, low-frequency tone that mimics the resonance of life-giving magic. This attunes the Phoenix Tear component to produce the “nutritive” hum. For the next 24 hours, the chamber is then flooded with a high-frequency, discordant shriek generated from a cursed object, attuning the Basilisk and Lich components to produce the “danger” signal.
Symbiotic Injection: This is the final step in creation. A single drop of Progenitor Ooze is drawn into the enchanting syringe. The needle is inserted into the base of the porous tooth, and the ooze is slowly injected. It will be absorbed into the tooth’s structure, spreading throughout the composite material. This grants the tooth its ability to magically and physically fuse with living tissue. The Guardian Tooth is now complete and must be implanted within one week before the Progenitor Ooze becomes inert.

Tale of Emperor’s Honest Tooth

(What is written here is from the “Gilded Scrolls,” a history of the Second Empire. The script is known, but it speaks of events from a time before, and its words for magic and poison are old and not clear.)

There was an Emperor who ruled the world from a throne of glass. And his lands were many, but his heart was a small, frightened thing. He feared the scorpion in his shoe. He feared the poison in his wine. He feared the shadow that his own hand made upon the wall.

And the Emperor had a hundred servants whose job was to taste his food. And each day a new Taster would eat from the Emperor’s plate. And if the Taster did not fall down, then the Emperor would eat. But his fear was not lessened. He said, “A poison can be a slow snake. It can bite a man today, and he will not die until the moon is new. My Taster’s life is not my life.”

So the Emperor called his Wise Men, the Alchemists of the Court. And he said to them, “You are makers of strange things. Make for me a servant that cannot die. Make for me a way to know the truth of my plate without trusting the life of another man.”

And the Wise Men were very wise. They worked for a year and a day. They took the dust from a happy star that had fallen. They took the venom from the fang of a lizard that turns men to stone. They took the shadow from a curse that was broken. And they mixed these things with great care and quiet songs. And they made a tooth. A white tooth, like any other. But it was a tooth that could not lie.

They brought this tooth to the Emperor’s Chief Taster, a man called Loyal-Mouth. And they took from him one of his own teeth, and put the Honest Tooth in its place. And they said to him, “Now you are the Emperor’s true mouth. When you touch food, this tooth will sing a song in your head. If the food is good and happy, the song will be low and sweet, like a mother’s hum. If the food is bad and angry with poison or a curse, the song will be high and sharp, like a needle in your ear. So you will know the truth.”

And for many years, it was so. Loyal-Mouth served the Emperor. Many times, a dish of fish or a cup of wine was brought. And Loyal-Mouth would touch it, and the Honest Tooth would scream its high, sharp song in his head. And Loyal-Mouth would say, “This dish has an angry heart. It is not for the Emperor.” And the cook or the cup-bearer would be taken away. And the Emperor was safe, and he grew fat, and his fear grew a little smaller. He trusted the Honest Tooth more than he trusted his own brother.

But the Emperor had a Son who wished to be Emperor. And the Son was clever. He saw that no poison could pass the Honest Tooth. So he found a new thing. He found a poison not for the body, but for the spirit. It was a grey powder made from the tears of a man who had lost all hope.

The Son put this powder on the Emperor’s favorite honey-cake. And the cake was brought before Loyal-Mouth. And Loyal-Mouth touched the cake with the Honest Tooth. The tooth did not scream. The poison was not for the body, you see. So the tooth sang its low, sweet song, for the honey and flour were good and happy. But Loyal-Mouth, in his own heart, felt a strange coldness from the cake. A small sadness. He thought, “This is a strange thing.” But he had trusted the tooth for forty years, and it had never been wrong. His own heart could be wrong. The tooth could not.

So he said, “The cake is happy, Great Emperor. It is safe.”

And the Emperor ate the cake. And the poison of despair entered his spirit. And he did not die. But his heart became heavy, and he saw no more joy in his lands or his throne. And the next day, he gave his crown to his Son, and went to live in a small, grey room for the rest of his days.

And Loyal-Mouth, whose honest tool had served a great lie, was banished in shame. And he fled into the wild ruins of the world, with the cursed, truth-telling tooth still in his head.

Moral of the Story: A tool can only tell you the truth it was made to see.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Dungeons & Dragons

The Taster’s Tooth Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

This prosthetic tooth is carved from a strange, porous white mineral. To attune to this item, you must have a dentist or surgeon replace one of your existing molars with it. The attunement process is completed over a long rest as the tooth magically bonds with your jawbone.

You have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned by any substance you ingest.
You gain proficiency with the poisoner’s kit.
As an action, you can touch a small amount of a substance to the tooth. You instantly learn whether the substance is magical and if it is poisoned or bears a curse. If it is magical, you learn the school of magic.
Absorb Toxin (1/Day). When you use your action to identify a poison with the tooth, you can choose to absorb its essence. You become immune to that specific poison for the next 24 hours. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until the next dawn.

Call of Cthulhu

The Imperial Tasting Fang A prosthetic tooth carved from a chalky, bone-like mineral composite of unknown origin. It feels unnervingly porous to the touch. It must be surgically implanted by a physician with a steady hand and questionable morals. It is rumored to be a technology from a decadent, long-dead empire obsessed with assassination.

System Mechanics:

Passive Analysis: The wearer gains a bonus die (add one additional tens die) on any Spot Hidden roll made to notice that food or drink has been tampered with or appears unusual.
Test Substance: By touching the tooth to a substance (liquid or solid), the user automatically learns if it contains any common, mundane poisons or diseases known to medical science.
Unspeakable Tastes: When used on a substance of Mythos origin (e.g., the blood of a monster, an alien fluid, a ritual concoction), the user must make a Sanity roll (1/1D4 loss). The tooth transmits a psychic “shriek” of biological or chemical wrongness directly into their brain. If the Sanity roll is successful, the Keeper may grant them a piece of information about the substance’s nature or its immediate effect on human tissue.

Blades in the Dark

The Courtier’s Molar A discreet prosthetic molar, indistinguishable from a real tooth. It’s a coveted tool for spies and bodyguards in the service of Duskvol’s elite, allowing one to navigate the city’s treacherous social gatherings with a hidden advantage.

Special Abilities:

This is a Fine implant; it costs 0 Load but requires a skilled physician to install.
When you Survey a social event to watch for threats like poison or sabotage, you may gain +1 Effect.
When you Resist the consequences of an ingested poison or drug, you have Potency.
You can push yourself to analyze a substance you touch with the molar. When you do, you can ask a specific question about its composition, such as “Does this contain the venom of the Red Sashes?” or “What is the most expensive ingredient in this wine?” The GM will answer you honestly.

Knave

Litmus Tooth Slots: 0 (Implant) A prosthetic tooth made of a strange, chalky white material. It must be implanted by a surgeon, replacing one of your teeth.

Qualities: Discreet, Alchemical
Mechanics:
- You automatically detect any non-magical poison that the tooth touches.
- You have advantage on all saving throws versus ingested poisons.
- Once per day, after touching a poison with the tooth, you can choose to become immune to that specific poison until the next sunrise.

Pathfinder

Taster’s Molar – Item 9 RARE, MAGICAL, INVESTED, ALCHEMICAL, DIVINATION Usage Worn (surgically implanted); Bulk —

This prosthetic molar is carved from a porous, chalk-white mineral that hums with subtle magic. To invest this item, you must have it implanted in place of one of your own teeth by someone trained in medicine, a process that takes one hour.

While invested, you gain a +2 item bonus to Fortitude saving throws against ingested poisons and a +2 item bonus to Crafting checks to identify alchemical items.

Activate [one-action] manipulate

Effect You touch a substance with the molar. The molar instantly determines if the substance is poisonous or bears a curse. If it is, you learn the name and DC of the poison or curse if it is common. This activation has the effects of a 1st-level Detect Poison spell.

Activate [reaction]

Trigger You ingest a poison that you have identified using this item within the last minute.
Frequency once per day
Effect You immediately neutralize the poison, causing the effect to be nullified for you as if you had critically succeeded on your saving throw. After you use this activation, the Taster’s Molar becomes a mundane, non-magical tooth for 24 hours.

Numenera & Cypher System

The Bio-Litmus Implant Level: 5 Form: A single prosthetic tooth made of a porous, off-white material that seems to absorb light. Effect: This piece of biotechnology acts as a sophisticated chemical and magical sensor. It must be surgically implanted.

Passive: The user gains +2 to their Armor against any poison that is ingested.
Activation (Action): The user can touch the implant to a substance. This is an Intellect-based task. The difficulty is 2 to detect a common poison, 5 to detect a rare alchemical toxin, and 7+ for alien or transdimensional substances. On a success, the user learns if the substance is harmful and the general nature of that harm (e.g., “it damages living tissue,” “it attacks the nervous system,” “it carries a curse that affects perception”).
Activation (1 hour): After successfully identifying a poison with this implant, the user can allow the device to attune their body to it. For the next 28 hours, the user is immune to that specific poison. Depletion: —

Fate

The Emperor’s Truth This is a subtle but powerful Extra, costing 1 Refresh. It is a permanent implant, a prosthetic tooth that looks entirely normal but grants its user an incorruptible sense of what is safe to consume.

ASPECTS: Cannot Suffer a Liar’s Poison, Whispers the Truth of the Cup, Subtle Imperial Relic

STUNTS:

Incontrovertible Analysis: Because the tooth cannot be fooled by mundane poisons, when you Overcome an obstacle related to identifying a non-magical poison in your food or drink, you automatically succeed with a boost. You can describe how you discreetly test the substance.
Reveal the Essence: Because the tooth is attuned to magical properties, when you taste a substance, you can spend a Fate Point to ask the GM a single, direct yes-or-no question about its magical nature (e.g., “Does this carry a curse of madness?”, “Was this made with demonic blood?”, “Is this a genuine healing draught?”). The GM must answer you honestly.

Savage Worlds

The Inquisitor’s Tooth A relic from a past age of intrigue, this prosthetic tooth is said to have been used by high-ranking inquisitors to protect them from assassination. It must be implanted by a skilled surgeon.

Requirements: Installation requires a successful Healing roll at -2. Mechanics:

Resilience: The user adds +4 to any Vigor roll made to resist an ingested poison, drug, or disease.
Test Substance (Action): The user can touch a substance to the tooth and make a Smarts roll.
- Success: The user learns if the substance is poisonous, diseased, or magical in nature.
- Raise: The user also learns the specific name and the game effects of the poison, disease, or spell.
Immunize (Action): Once per day, after successfully identifying a specific poison with the Test ability, the user can spend a Bennie to become completely immune to the effects of that same poison for the next 24 hours.

Shadowrun

Shiawase “Taster’s” Nanoware A highly discreet and expensive form of cultured bioware, this system infuses the user’s mouth with a colony of sophisticated nanites. The colony replaces a single molar with a porous ceramic data-port that provides constant, real-time chemical analysis of anything ingested or touched by the tongue.

Type: Cultured Bioware
Rating: 5
Essence Cost: 0.3
Availability: 16R
Cost: 80,000 Nuyen
Mechanics:
- Passive: The user gains a +3 dice pool bonus to any test to identify a chemical, drug, or poison. The nanoware colony also functions as a Rating 5 Toxin Extractor for ingested toxins only, giving the user 5 extra dice to resist their effects.
- Active Analysis (Minor Action): The user can deliberately touch a substance to the data-port tooth. The nanoware performs a rapid analysis. The user may then make a Biotechnology + Logic [Mental] (2) test. On a success, they learn the exact chemical composition, purity, and magical signature (if any) of the substance. With 3 or more net hits, they also learn the typical physiological effects.

Starfinder

Alchemical Litmus Augmentation – Level 9 SLOT Augmentation (Dental); PRICE 13,500 credits; BULK —

This prosthetic tooth is crafted from a magically reactive mineral composite that analyzes substances on contact. It is a piece of hybrid technology, blending alchemical principles with advanced bio-integration, favored by diplomats and corporate executives in dangerous postings.

System: Hybrid Augmentation
Mechanics:
- You gain a +4 insight bonus to Fortitude saves against ingested poisons and diseases.
- When you touch a food, drink, or other consumable substance to the tooth as a move action, you instantly learn if it is poisoned, diseased, or under the effect of a curse.
- 1/day (Standard Action): After successfully identifying a specific poison with the tooth, you can command the augmentation to synthesize a temporary antitoxin. For the next hour, you are immune to that specific poison.

Traveller

Chemical Analysis Implant (TL-16) A sophisticated piece of high-tech medical and espionage equipment. The device is a prosthetic tooth, indistinguishable from a normal one, but integrated with a subdermal processor and a suite of micro-sensors capable of detailed chemical analysis.

Tech Level (TL): 16
Weight: — (integrated)
Power: Bio-electric (user’s own body)
Cost: Cr 250,000
Mechanics:
- Passive: The wearer gains DM+3 on any Medic or Science (chemistry) check made to identify a substance.
- Automatic Detection: When a substance is touched to the implant, the internal computer automatically cross-references its composition against a comprehensive library of known toxins, drugs, and pathogens up to TL-15. The user is alerted via a subvocal murmur if a match is found.
- Antitoxin Dose: The implant contains a single dose of a wide-spectrum, universal antitoxin. The user can release this dose as a Free Action at any time. This provides DM+4 on the next check to resist any single poison. The antitoxin takes one week to be re-synthesized by the implant’s internal mechanisms.

Warhammer

The Inquisitor’s Molar This grim artifact is a prosthetic molar carved from the fossilized fang of a creature that fed on Chaos itself. It is said that the tooth still hungers for corruption and shrieks in its presence. It must be hammered into the jaw by a barber-surgeon with strong nerves and a stronger stomach.

Qualities: Magical, Fine, Corrupting
Encumbrance: 0
Mechanics:
- The wearer gains a +20 bonus to any Perception Test made to notice something amiss with food, drink, or alchemical concoctions.
- When the wearer touches a substance to the molar, they must make a Challenging (+0) Cool Test. On a success, they learn if the substance is tainted by mundane poison, disease, or the energies of Chaos.
- A Taste of the Warp: If the test reveals a chaotic taint, the user immediately gains 1 Corruption point. However, they also learn the specific nature of the taint (e.g., “The wine boils with the rage of Khorne,” “This bread festers with the blessings of Nurgle”).
- If the Cool Test to use the molar is fumbled, the user is afflicted by a minor but unsettling mutation as the tooth’s corrupting influence takes hold.