Echo of the Martyrs Cry 67104 – GearAscendancy.com

Tier Level: 2

Description: A sonic and psychic attack that forces enemies to experience the caster’s current pain. The caster screams—not a scream of fear, but of revelation. All enemies within a 20-foot cone take Psychic Damage equal to the difference between the caster’s Maximum HP and Current HP (capped at 30 damage). This spell is most powerful when the caster is near death.

Cost: 2 Mana Boost.
Duration: Instantaneous. Roleplay:
Action: You open the book wide, holding it like a choir hymnal. You draw a deep breath, your own injuries glowing with red light.
Chant (Shout): “SEE ME! SEE WHAT YOU HAVE WROUGHT!”
Visual: A shockwave of red ink blasts from the pages. Enemies clutch their heads, their eyes rolling back as they phantom-feel the wounds you are suffering.

Lore of the Shared Agony

Echo of the Martyr’s Cry 67104 is known in the Weeping Order as the “Psalm of Consequence.” The lore posits that violence is a circuit; usually, the attacker sends energy (pain) to the victim, and the circuit ends there. This spell closes the loop. It forces the energy of the trauma back into the aggressor.

It originates from the Sermon of the Silent Scream, where the Saint was tortured by a mute executioner. Since the Saint could not speak to beg for mercy, he projected the sensation of his own flayed skin into the executioner’s mind. The executioner dropped his knife, weeping, not because he was injured, but because he suddenly understood exactly what he was doing. The spell does not deal physical damage in the traditional sense; it overloads the target’s mirror neurons, tricking their brain into believing they have suffered the wounds they inflicted on the caster. It is the ultimate lesson in empathy, delivered at the volume of a thunderclap.

The Use

This is a Tier 2 Desperation Nuke. It acts as a powerful “Comeback Mechanic.” In most TTRPGs, low Hit Points mean you are losing. This spell changes the narrative: the closer you are to death, the more dangerous you become.

The “Death’s Door” Breaker: When the Tank or Paladin is battered down to single-digit HP and surrounded by minions, this spell clears the room. A difference of 30 HP guarantees a massive 30-point hits on multiple targets, often enough to wipe out Tier 1 or 2 mobs instantly.
The Assassin Deterrent: If a rogue enemy strikes you for massive damage in the first round, you can immediately punish them on your turn. You don’t need to roll to hit; you just scream. It punishes enemies for being effective.
The “Blood-Battery”: It synergizes perfectly with the Codex’s passive Sanctified Agony. You take hits to boost your stats, and when you are critically low, you vent that accumulated damage as a sonic weapon.

Specific Stats & Mechanics

Tier: 2 (Retributive Evocation)
School: Enchantment / Evocation (Sonic/Psychic)
Mana Boost Cost: 2
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range: Self (Origin of Cone).
Area of Effect: 20-foot Cone.
Duration: Instantaneous.
Frequency: 1 Use per Day (The throat requires rest after channeling such raw mana).

Tier 2 Scaled Values:

Save DC: 14 (Wisdom or Will Save).
Damage Calculation: (Max HP) – (Current HP).
- Cap: Maximum 30 Damage.
- Scaling: If cast by a Tier 3 character or using a higher slot, the cap increases to 45.
Effect on Failure: Targets take full damage and are Deafened for 1 minute due to the sonic pressure.
Effect on Success: Targets take half damage and are not Deafened.
Property: This damage ignores Armor (AC) and physical Damage Reduction, as it attacks the mind and the ear drums directly. It is resisted by Psychic Resistance.

Requirements:

Skill: Performance (Trained) or Intimidation (Trained) — to project the scream with sufficient force.
Item: Must hold the Codex of the Wounded Saint 519 open with both hands (like a hymnal).
Condition: The caster must be missing at least 5 HP to cast this (you cannot share pain you do not have).

Tags: Sonic, Psychic, AoE-Cone, Desperation-Attack, Low-HP-Synergy, Mind-Affecting, Codex-Spell, Retribution, Crowd-Control, True-Damage, Mirror-Pain, Inverse-Scaling, Forced-Empathy, Sanguine-Resonance, Vocal-Burst, Bio-Feedback, Last-Resort

Roleplay & Tactics

The Caster’s Experience: This is not a battle cry; it is a purge.

The Breath: As you inhale, you feel the pain in your body migrate to your lungs. Your cuts stop stinging, your bruises stop throbbing, because you have gathered all that sensation into a ball of red light in your chest.
The Release: When you scream, it doesn’t hurt your throat. It feels like vomiting up hot ash. You feel a sudden, euphoric lightness as the pain leaves you and enters them.

The Victim’s Experience:

The Mirror: The enemies in the cone don’t just hear a noise. For a split second, they become you. The goblin feels the arrow in your shoulder; the orc feels the bruise on your ribs. Their brain screams, “I AM DYING,” triggering a biological panic response.
The Visual: The “Red Ink” shockwave looks like blood mist mixed with sheet music. It passes through armor like X-rays.

Tactical Applications:

The “Fake-Out”: Deliberately provoke an Attack of Opportunity to lower your own HP before your turn. This maximizes the damage delta before you cast the spell.
Clearing the Swarm: Use this when surrounded by low-health enemies. Since the damage is reliable (even on a save, half of 30 is 15, which kills most minions), it is a guaranteed way to buy breathing room.
The “Martyr’s Finish”: If you are fighting a Boss and you are both near death, this is the most dramatic way to end the fight. It is a spell that says, “If I go down, you are coming with me.”
Bypassing High AC: If you are fighting a heavily armored Knight or a creature with a hard shell that you cannot hit with weapons, use this. It targets Wisdom/Will, completely bypassing their physical defenses.

Activation Perception of “Echo of the Martyr’s Cry”

Standard Senses

Sight (Visual)

What is Perceived: A cone of materialized anguish and the glowing topography of trauma.
Description: As you open your mouth to scream, the air in front of you distorts into a cone of translucent, ruby-red shockwaves. It looks like blood dispersed in water, suspended in the air. For a split second, your own wounds (cuts, bruises, burns) glow with a blinding white light, which then shoots out of your mouth to strike the enemies. The victims do not just flinch; their bodies jerk and spasm in perfect synchronization with the injuries you currently possess (e.g., if you have a broken leg, their leg buckles).
Positives: The visual confirmation of the “transfer” is absolute; you can see exactly which enemies have received your pain, allowing for immediate target prioritization of those who are reeling.
Negatives: The flash of white light from your own wounds is blindingly bright to your own eyes, causing a “flashbang” effect that leaves sunspots in your vision for the next few seconds.

Sound (Auditory)

What is Perceived: A polyphonic scream of a thousand voices and the breaking of silence.
Description: The sound that leaves your throat is not merely your own voice. It is a layered, harmonic cacophony of every cry of pain you have ever uttered, played simultaneously. It sounds like a choir singing a discordant chord of pure agony. Overlaid on this is the wet, tearing sound of the enemies’ psyches fracturing under the load.
Positives: The sheer volume and unnatural quality of the scream commands attention, often stopping other combats on the battlefield momentarily as all eyes turn to the source.
Negatives: The acoustic pressure is so high that it can temporarily rupture the caster’s own eardrums or cause tinnitus, muffling the sounds of enemy movement immediately after the cast.

Touch (Tactile/Somatic)

What is Perceived: A violent purge and a drop in internal pressure.
Description: You feel the pain in your body physically migrate. The throbbing in your side, the stinging in your arm—it all rushes upward through your chest and forces its way out of your throat. It feels like vomiting up a solid object or a hot coal. The recoil of the scream is physical, pushing your head back and straining your neck muscles against the force of the expulsion.
Positives: The immediate aftermath brings a rush of endorphins and a sensation of “lightness,” as if the burden of your injuries has been momentarily lifted (even if the HP is not actually restored).
Negatives: The physical act of the scream shreds the throat lining. You feel a raw, scraping burn in your windpipe, making it painful to speak or swallow for the rest of the encounter.

Smell (Olfactory)

What is Perceived: Hot copper and fever-sweat.
Description: The air in the cone instantly smells of atomized blood (a metallic, coppery tang) and the sour, distinct scent of a high fever breaking. It is the olfactory signature of a hospital ward compressed into a weapon.
Positives: The scent is primal and terrifying to beasts, often causing animals (like wolves or bears) to flee from what smells like a dying—and dangerous—apex predator.
Negatives: The smell is sickeningly thick and cloying, potentially inducing nausea in the caster if they have a weak stomach.

Taste (Gustatory)

What is Perceived: Bile, salt, and iron.
Description: Your mouth fills with the taste of bile (from the force of the diaphragm contraction), salt (from tears, either yours or the sympathetic tears of the Saint), and the overwhelming iron taste of blood bubbling up from the lungs (metaphysically).
Positives: None.
Negatives: The foul taste is distracting and lingers, requiring water to clear.

Extra-Sensory Perceptions

The Pain-Link (Empathic/Psychic)

What is Perceived: The sudden clarity of the enemy’s suffering.
Description: For the duration of the scream, the barrier between “Self” and “Other” dissolves. You feel the enemy’s confusion and horror as they experience your pain. You feel their mental defenses crumble. It is not a sensation of victory, but of profound intimacy; you know exactly how much they hurt because it is your hurt.
Positives: You gain a supernatural understanding of the enemy’s pain tolerance. You know instantly which enemies are “soft” (low Will/Wisdom) and which are hardened veterans based on how they process the influx of trauma.
Negatives: This forced empathy prevents you from dehumanizing the enemy. You feel their fear as if it were your own, which can cause hesitation or remorse if you are not mentally steeled.

The Hollow Vessel (Spiritual/Void)

What is Perceived: The emptiness left behind.
Description: As the pain leaves you to enter them, you feel a spiritual vacuum in your chest. You feel “hollowed out,” as if you are a bell that has just been struck. You perceive your own soul as a vast, echoing chamber that is temporarily empty of all sensation, floating in a grey void.
Positives: This state of “Hollowness” grants a brief immunity to further emotional manipulation; you cannot be frightened because you feel too empty to care.
Negatives: The sensation is akin to dissociation or depersonalization. You might feel detached from reality, viewing your own body from a third-person perspective for a moment, which can be disorienting.

The Red Tether (Proprioception/Spatial)

What is Perceived: A physical connection to the victims.
Description: You feel invisible, taut lines of tension connecting your wounds to the minds of the enemies in the cone. When they clutch their heads, you feel a “tug” on your own injuries, as if they are pulling the pain out of you. You sense the exact distance and direction of every target caught in the blast by the tension on these tethers.
Positives: Allows you to target invisible or hidden enemies within the cone; if the tether connects, you know they are there even if you cannot see them.
Negatives: The “tug” can be jarring, threatening to pull you off balance if a large number of enemies are affected simultaneously.

Parable of Throat That Vomited Truth
(Scraped from the copper-plates of the Asylum of the Deaf)

Read the writing of the Time-of-Binding.

There was the Saint-of-Thin-Skin. He walked in the city of the Iron-King. The Iron-King said, “Pain is the law. If I hurt you, I own you.” The Saint said, “No. Pain is a bridge. If you hurt me, you walk across the bridge to meet me.” The Iron-King did not like this word. He put the Saint in the Room-of-No-Windows.

He sent the Man-Who-Cuts. The Man-Who-Cuts had no tongue. He could not speak. He could only make others scream. He wanted the Saint to sing the Song-of-Begging. The Man-Who-Cuts took the Knife-of-Slow-Hours. He cut the arm. The Saint did not scream. He looked at the Man. He held the Book-of-Scars tight to his chest. He breathed in the hurt. He did not let it out. He kept the hurt inside his belly.

The Man-Who-Cuts was angry. He wanted the sound. He cut the leg. He broke the finger. He burned the skin. The Saint became pale. His Life-Cup [Hit Points] was almost empty. The pain was a heavy water filling him up to his eyes. The Man-Who-Cuts smiled. He thought, “One more cut, and the dam will break. He will cry like a baby.”

The Man raised the knife for the killing stroke. The Saint opened his eyes. They were not eyes of fear. They were eyes of a mirror. The Saint opened his mouth. He did not cry for help. He did not cry for mother. He gathered all the broken bones, all the burnt skin, all the cut meat. He made them into a ball of red thunder in his throat.

He screamed. “SEE ME!”

The air turned into red glass. The sound was not a sound. It was a shape. The Man-Who-Cuts did not hear the scream with his ears. He heard it with his blood.

Suddenly, the Man-Who-Cuts dropped the knife. He grabbed his own arm. He screamed the silent scream of the tongue-less. He felt the knife in his own meat. He felt the fire on his own skin. He felt the bone crack in his own hand. There was no mark on the Man. The skin was whole. But the Ghost-of-the-Pain entered him. The Saint had given the pain back.

The Saint stood up. He was weak, but he was light. The heavy water was gone. The Man-Who-Cuts lay on the floor. He curled like a worm in salt. He rolled his eyes back. He was learning the lesson of the knife from the other side.

The Iron-King came to the door. He saw his torturer weeping on the stones. He saw the Saint standing with the open book. The Saint whispered: “I am the cup. When you pour poison into me, do not be surprised when I spill it back onto your boots.”

The Man-Who-Cuts never picked up a knife again. He starved, because he could not cut bread without feeling the bread scream.

Moral of the Story: Do not think that the one who strikes the blow is safe from the wound; for violence is a circle, and if you hit the drum hard enough, the vibration will shatter the hand that holds the stick.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Spell: Echo of the Martyr’s Cry Cost: 8 Magic Points; 1D6 Sanity points. Casting Time: Instantaneous. Range: 10-yard Cone.

Overview & Mechanics: A desperate, damaging incantation that weaponizes the investigator’s injuries against Mythos entities or cultists.

Damage Calculation: The spell inflicts damage equal to the caster’s Maximum Hit Points minus their Current Hit Points.
The Attack: The caster screams. All living targets within the cone must make an Opposed POW Roll.
- Failure (Target Loses): The target suffers the full calculated damage as their nervous system is overloaded with phantom pain. They are Stunned for 1 Round.
- Success (Target Wins): The target suffers half damage and is not Stunned.
Restriction: This spell cannot be cast if the investigator is at full health.
Horror: If this spell kills a target, their death appears indistinguishable from a heart attack caused by sheer terror. Witnesses lose 0/1D3 Sanity.

Blades in the Dark

Special Ability: The Psalm of Consequence Source: Codex of the Wounded Saint (Artifact) Cost: 2 Stress to activate.

Overview & Mechanics: A “Desperate” maneuver used when the character is battered and cornered. The effectiveness scales with how badly the user is hurt.

Action Roll: Command or Attune (Desperate position).
Effect: You unleash a sonic/psychic scream.
- If you have No Harm: The effect is Limited. You might distract enemies or cause hesitation.
- If you have Level 2 Harm: The effect is Standard. You inflict Level 2 Harm (“Psychic Shock”) on a small group of enemies or drive them back.
- If you have Level 3 Harm: The effect is Great. You inflict Level 3 Harm (“Catatonic”) or incapacitate a group of enemies instantly.
Collateral: The scream is incredibly loud. It generates 2 Heat immediately and alerts everyone in the district to your location.

Dungeons & Dragons (2024 / 5th Edition)

Spell: Echo of the Martyr’s Cry Level: 3rd-Level Enchantment Casting Time: 1 Action Range: Self (30-foot cone) Components: V (A scream of revelation), S (Holding the Codex open) Duration: Instantaneous

Overview & Mechanics: A high-risk “nuke” spell that rewards playing at low health.

Effect: You project a scream of psychic anguish in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a Wisdom Saving Throw.
Damage Calculation: Calculate the difference between your Hit Point Maximum and your Current Hit Points.
Failure: A creature takes Psychic damage equal to the calculated amount (Maximum 30 damage). Additionally, the creature is Deafened for 1 minute.
Success: The creature takes half as much damage and is not Deafened.
Immunity: Constructs are immune to this spell.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the damage cap increases by 10 for each slot level above 3rd.

Knave (1e / 2e Compatible)

Spell: Scream of the Flayed Soul School: Thaumaturgy / Psionics

Overview & Mechanics: A “panic button” spell for when the dungeon crawl has gone wrong.

Casting: The caster screams at a group of enemies.
Effect: Measure the caster’s Wounds (Max HP minus Current HP). All enemies within a nearby cluster (20ft area) take that amount of direct Mental Damage.
The Save: Enemies may make a Spirit/Wisdom Save (DC 15). If they succeed, they take half damage. If they fail, they drop their weapons and clutch their heads, losing their next action.
Cost: Casting this spell strains the vocal cords violently. The caster takes 1 damage immediately after the spell resolves (this damage cannot be used to boost the spell’s effect).
Restriction: If the caster has full HP, the spell fails and the caster just screams awkwardly.

Fate Core System

Stunt: Echo of the Martyr’s Cry Requires: Will or Provoke (Good +3) and a Consequence slot filled. Cost: 1 Fate Point per use.

Overview & Mechanics: This stunt turns your injuries into a weapon, allowing for a devastating comeback attack.

Action: Attack using Will (Psychic Scream).
Target: All enemies in your Zone (Sonic/Psychic blast).
Effect: You make a single attack roll against all enemies in the zone. You gain a Weapon Rating equal to the value of your highest currently filled Physical Consequence.
- Mild Consequence: Weapon:2
- Moderate Consequence: Weapon:4
- Severe Consequence: Weapon:6
Secondary Effect: If you succeed with Style, the targets are also placed under the Situation Aspect Deafened by Revelation, preventing communication.

Numenera & Cypher System

Ability: Scream of the Martyr Tier: 4 Cost: 5 Intellect Points

Overview & Mechanics: A powerful Area of Effect attack that scales based on where the user sits on the Damage Track.

Action: Action to initiate.
Area: Short range cone.
Effect: You project a wave of psychic feedback. All creatures in the cone take 6 points of Intellect damage (ignores Armor).
Pain Scaling:
- If you are Impaired, the damage increases to 9 points.
- If you are Debilitated, the damage increases to 12 points.
Status Effect: Targets who take damage move one step down the Damage Track due to the shock of the shared pain.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition Remaster)

Spell: Echo of the Martyr’s Cry Rank: 3 Traits: Enchantment, Mental, Sonic, Emotion, Visual Traditions: Divine, Occult Cast: [two-actions] Somatic, Verbal Range: 30-foot cone; Area: Cone

Overview & Mechanics: You vocalize your trauma, forcing enemies to endure the wounds you currently suffer.

Effect: Calculate the difference between your Maximum Hit Points and your Current Hit Points. Enemies in the area take Mental damage equal to this amount, up to a maximum of 30 damage.
Saving Throw: Basic Will save.
- Critical Success: No damage.
- Success: Half damage.
- Failure: Full damage and Deafened for 1 minute.
- Critical Failure: Double damage, Deafened for 1 minute, and Stunned 1.
Heightened (+1): The damage cap increases by 10.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Power: Burst (Echo of the Martyr’s Cry) Rank: Veteran Power Points: 4 Range: Cone Template Duration: Instant

Overview & Mechanics: A Trapping of the Burst power that rewards the caster for being Wounded.

Trappings: “Red Shockwave.” A scream that sounds like tearing flesh.
Effect: Place a Cone Template. All targets within make an opposed Agility roll (to cover ears/mind) vs the Caster’s Psionics or Faith skill.
Damage: 2d6.
Modifier – Desperation (+0 PP): This specific version of the spell adds +1d6 Damage for every Wound level the caster currently suffers (up to +3d6).
Modifier – Deafening (+1 PP): Victims who fail the Agility roll are also Distracted (-2 to Trait rolls) until the end of their next turn due to ringing ears.

Shadowrun (6th Edition / Sixth World)

Spell: Echo of the Martyr’s Cry Category: Combat (Direct, Area) Type: Mana Range: Cone (Template) Duration: Instant Drain Value: 6

Overview & Mechanics: A high-risk Direct Mana spell that bypasses armor by attacking the target’s pain receptors directly.

The Cast: Make a Sorcery + Magic test opposed by the targets’ Willpower + Intuition.
The Martyr’s Bonus: Before rolling, calculate the caster’s current Physical Damage. For every 3 boxes of damage filled on the caster’s Condition Monitor, add +1 to the Spell’s Base Damage Value (DV).
The Damage: The base damage is (Magic / 2)S (Stun). Add the Net Hits and the Martyr’s Bonus. Damage is applied to the Stun Condition Monitor of all targets in the cone.
Deafening: If the spell inflicts any damage, the targets gain the Deafened status for (Net Hits) Combat Rounds.
Amp Up: You may increase the Drain by +2 to shift the damage from Stun to Physical (making heads explode from the pressure), provided you have taken at least 6 boxes of Physical damage yourself.

Starfinder (2nd Edition Playtest)

Spell: Echo of the Martyr’s Cry Rank: 2 Traits: Enchantment, Mental, Sonic, Emotion, Visual Traditions: Divine, Occult Cast: [two-actions] Verbal, Somatic Area: 20-foot cone

Overview & Mechanics: You project a cone of psychic resonance that forces enemies to feel your current injuries.

Damage Calculation: Calculate the difference between your Maximum Hit Points (HP) + Stamina Points (SP) and your current total HP + SP.
Effect: Enemies in the cone take Sonic/Mental damage equal to this difference, up to a maximum of 30 damage.
Saving Throw: Basic Will save.
- Success: Half damage.
- Failure: Full damage and Deafened for 1 minute.
- Critical Failure: Double damage (up to 60), Deafened for 1 minute, and Stunned 1.
Restriction: You cannot cast this spell if you are at full HP/SP.
Heightened (+1): The damage cap increases by 10.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Psionic Power: Echo of the Martyr (Empathic Overload) Talent: Telepathy (Assault) Learning DM: -2 Cost: 4 PSI Points Range: Short (Cone)

Overview & Mechanics: A telepathic broadcast of raw trauma.

Check: Average (8+) Telepathy check.
Damage Calculation: Determine the total number of points the Psion has lost from their END and STR characteristics combined.
Effect: All biological enemies within the cone suffer Psionic Damage. The damage is 2D + the calculated Injury Modifier. This damage ignores Armor but is reduced by Psionic Shielding.
Shock: Any target that takes damage must make an END check (Difficulty 8). If they fail, they are Stunned (cannot act) for one round as their nervous system processes phantom wounds.
Cost: Using this power is exhausting; if the Psion fails the check, they suffer 1D damage to their PSI characteristic.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

Spell: The Scream of the Flayed Lore: Lore of Death (Shyish) or Religious Miracle (Flagellant) CN (Casting Number): 8 Range: Self (Cone Template) Target: AoE Duration: Instant

Overview & Mechanics: You unleash a scream that carries the weight of your own mortality.

Damage Calculation: Calculate your total Wounds lost (Max Wounds – Current Wounds).
Effect: Place the Cone Template. All Living creatures within the template suffer a Magic Missile hit.
- Damage: The Damage of the hit is equal to your Wounds Lost (capped at your Willpower Bonus x 3).
- Penetration: This damage ignores Armor Points and Toughness Bonus, as it is a direct assault on the soul.
Deafening: Targets who take damage gain 1 Deafened Condition.
Terror: If you are Heavily Wounded (below 0 Wounds/Critical Wounds active), the spell also causes Fear (2) in all targets.