Phantasmagoria Incense 209 – GearAscendancy.com

From: Chronicleaf 73

A volatile and dangerous mixture that, when burned, does not grant a vision to the user, but instead projects fragmented images of the past into the physical space as disorienting, ghostly apparitions.

Ingredients:

One fresh, macerated Chronicleaf leaf
A handful of dried, powdered Gloomwood resin (a highly combustible substance)
A shard of a thunder-struck crystal

Activation of Magic and Roleplay: This is a desperate, often tactical, use of Chronicleaf. The character would typically prepare this in a small, throwable packet made of leather or thick cloth. The process is rushed and imprecise. They mash the fresh leaf into a pulp, mixing it with the dark, gritty Gloomwood resin. The final component is the thunder-struck crystal shard, which acts as the igniter and catalyst, holding a charge of raw, chaotic energy.

The magic activates upon a sharp impact. The roleplaying character would throw the packet against a hard surface—a dungeon wall, a cobblestone street, an armored foe. The force of the impact causes the crystal shard to release its stored energy into the volatile resin. The packet doesn’t explode with fire, but with temporal force. A loud CRACK like breaking stone echoes, followed by a rush of cold air.

From the impact point, a thick, teal-colored smoke billows out rapidly, reeking of ozone and damp earth. Within the smoke, the magic of the Chronicleaf manifests violently. Ghostly, translucent figures flicker into existence—not solid, but made of shimmering smoke and distorted light. These are not controllable apparitions; they are echoes of beings who experienced intense emotions in that place. Soldiers reenact the final moments of a forgotten battle, spectral nobles argue silently, or a terrifying beast from a bygone age lunges and dissipates. They make no sound, but the psychic noise is immense. The effect is chaotic and disorienting to all who see it, friend and foe alike, creating a powerful diversion or a terrifying illusion for a brief, crucial minute before the smoke and the ghosts within it fade into nothing.

Lore of the Phantasmagoria Incense-209

The origins of this volatile concoction are not found in the quiet archives of a scholar’s lyceum or the meticulous folios of a Justicar’s workshop. Its recipe was born from desperation during the bloody Siege of the Alabaster Spire. The defenders, a small contingent of the king’s loyalists, were trapped and hopelessly outnumbered. Their chief alchemist-sapper, a man named Kaelen, was tasked with creating diversions—smokescreens and flash powders to cover retreats and sow confusion.

As their supplies dwindled, Kaelen was left with only common alchemical components, chief among them being large stores of highly combustible Gloomwood resin. In the Spire’s small, sacred garden, a patch of Chronicleaf grew, and Kaelen, knowing of its temporal properties, sought to use it. He had no time for the delicate rituals of the seers; he needed a weapon. His initial attempts to simply burn the leaf with the resin produced nothing more than an oddly scented smoke.

The breakthrough came from a moment of violent chance. During a bombardment, a lightning-based siege spell struck the spire’s lightning rod, channeling a surge of raw, chaotic energy into Kaelen’s workshop and shattering a crate of focusing crystals. Grabbing a shard that still pulsed with a captured, violent energy, Kaelen had an idea. He theorized that the gentle heat of a normal fire was insufficient to unlock the herb’s true power. What it needed was a shock—a sudden, violent discharge of raw energy.

He mashed a fresh Chronicleaf leaf into a pulp, mixing it with the gritty Gloomwood resin and embedding the thunder-struck crystal shard within the paste. He wrapped the volatile mixture in a scrap of leather, creating a crude, throwable packet. During the enemy’s next major assault, Kaelen hurled his creation into the thick of their ranks. The impact released the crystal’s energy, but instead of a fiery explosion, it triggered a temporal detonation. The raw power didn’t burn the Chronicleaf’s magic; it shattered it, forcing its stored temporal energy outward. A cloud of teal smoke erupted, and within it, the final, desperate moments of the Spire’s previous defenders—spectral soldiers from a battle centuries prior—rose and charged in silent, terrifying fury.

The enemy broke, screaming of a haunted assault. The recipe, passed on by the siege’s few survivors, was never written down in a proper alchemical text. It was scribbled in the margins of sapper’s manuals and soldiers’ diaries, a desperate gambit known not as a tool of insight, but as the “Screaming Smoke” or “Kaelen’s Gambit.”

Phantasmagoria Incense-209

Tier: 1 Type: Alchemical Grenade

Stats Gained (Temporary – User Only):

Heightened Reflexes: The adrenaline and psychic feedback from unleashing such a chaotic effect sharpens your senses. For the next minute, you gain a +1 bonus to Initiative rolls.
Psychic Resilience: Having willingly exposed yourself to the raw psychic noise, your mind is hardened. For the next minute, you gain a +1 bonus to all checks made to resist fear or confusion effects.

Skills Gained (Temporary – User Only):

Opportunist’s Advantage: The sheer chaos created by the incense is a powerful tool of misdirection. You gain Advantage on the next Intimidation or Deception check you make within the next minute.

Effect:

Temporal Detonation: As an action, this packet can be thrown up to 30 feet, at which point it detonates on impact. A 15-foot-radius cloud of thick, teal smoke erupts from the point of impact. Within this smoke, silent, translucent, ghostly apparitions flicker into existence, reenacting a chaotic and violent event from the location’s past.
Disorienting Cacophony: Any creature (friend or foe) that starts its turn inside the cloud or enters it for the first time on a turn must make a mental resistance check. On a failure, they are overwhelmed by the disorienting psychic noise and visual chaos. For the next round, they have a -2 penalty to all attack rolls and perception-based skill checks. A creature that succeeds on its check is still discomfited but suffers no penalty.
Illusory Phantoms: The apparitions are purely illusory and cannot be harmed or harm others. They are visual and psychic projections, not actual spirits.
Duration: The smoke and the apparitions last for 1d4 rounds before dissipating completely.

Tags: Consumable, Alchemical, Combat, Illusion, Psychic, Area of Effect, Tier 1, Fear, Thrown, Acid, Sonic, Radiant, Force, Aberrant, Celestial, Verbal, Somatic, Reaction

Recipe: Phantasmagoria Incense-209 (Field Preparation)

A formula for tactical misdirection, born of desperation. This is not a task for the steady hand of a laboratory alchemist but for the quick work of a sapper in the field. The process is fast, crude, and dangerous. Precision is secondary to speed and effect. Handle with extreme prejudice.

Ingredients Needed

Primary Reagent: One (1) fresh, whole Chronicleaf leaf. The leaf must be supple and recently picked. A dried leaf lacks the volatile temporal energy needed for this explosive reaction.
Combustion Agent: A heaping handful of dried, coarsely powdered Gloomwood resin. This resin is known for its high flammability and for producing thick, acrid smoke, which serves as the physical medium for the phantoms.
Catalyst: One (1) sharp, unstable shard of a thunder-struck crystal. The shard must still hold a latent charge of raw, chaotic energy; it should feel warm to the touch and occasionally emit a faint, staticky hum. A fully discharged crystal is inert and useless.

Tools Required

Macerating Tool: A simple, heavy, blunt object. The butt of a dagger, a clean rock, or a small field pestle is sufficient.
Mixing Bowl: A sturdy, shallow container. A rough wooden bowl, a leather-lined helmet, or even a hollowed-out stone will serve the purpose.
Wrapping: A scrap of thick, durable material approximately 6×6 inches. Oiled leather is ideal, but thick canvas or multiple layers of cloth will suffice.
Binding: A leather thong, sinew cord, or durable twine to securely seal the packet.

Skill Requirements

Primary Skill: Proficiency with an Alchemist’s Kit or a Sapper’s Kit. This reflects the knowledge of handling volatile and reactive substances under pressure.
Dexterity: The ability to work quickly and decisively. This requires a successful Sleight of Hand check (a moderate DC, determined by the GM) to properly mix and package the unstable components without mishap.
Focus: The preparation is quick, taking no more than five minutes, but requires the user’s full attention. A significant distraction during the process risks a failed mixture. On a critical failure of the skill check, the thunder-struck crystal prematurely discharges, rendering the entire packet an inert lump of useless paste.

Preparation Steps

Step 1: Prepare the Base Place the handful of Gloomwood resin into your mixing bowl, spreading it out to form a coarse, gritty bed. This will absorb the juices from the leaf and ensure an even mixture.

Step 2: Macerate the Chronicleaf Take the fresh Chronicleaf leaf and place it atop the resin. Using your macerating tool, begin to crush and mash the leaf directly into the powder. Do not be gentle. The goal is to violently rupture the leaf’s structure, releasing its temporal energies into the resin. Continue until the leaf is a fibrous, dark green pulp thoroughly mixed with the dark, gritty resin. The mixture will become a thick, sticky, and pungent paste.

Step 3: Arm the Mixture Clear a small depression in the center of the paste. Take the thunder-struck crystal shard with your fingertips, handling it as little as possible. Carefully, but firmly, press the shard deep into the center of the alchemical paste. Ensure it is completely covered. This is the most dangerous step; the crystal is now in direct contact with the volatile reagents.

Step 4: Package the Incense Lay your leather or cloth wrapping flat. Scrape the entire sticky mass from the bowl into the center of the wrapping. Work quickly. Fold the edges of the wrapping up and over the paste, forming a tight, compact ball or packet.

Step 5: Secure the Packet Using your leather thong or cord, tightly bind the neck of the packet. The bundle should be secure enough to withstand being thrown against a hard surface without bursting open prematurely. The Phantasmagoria Incense is now armed and ready for immediate use. It is highly unstable and will lose its potency within an hour as the crystal’s charge naturally dissipates.

The recipe for Phantasmagoria Incense-209 is not a scholarly text but a piece of dangerous, practical knowledge. Its trade and use reflect its chaotic nature and military origins.

Where and How the Recipe is Sold

This formula is not found in legitimate marketplaces. It is a piece of restricted military technology or a closely guarded secret of those who live on the fringes. Its trade is a dangerous affair.

1. Military Sappers’ Guilds & Quartermaster’s Offices

Environment: These are not public-facing shops but secure, functional military facilities. The air is thick with the smell of oil, strange alchemical reagents, and the sweat of soldiers. Transactions happen in a quartermaster’s cage behind a thick iron grille or in the gritty workshop of a master sapper.
How it is Sold: The recipe itself is almost never for sale. It is a classified military secret, taught only to trusted field alchemists and sappers. A character might be able to earn the knowledge by performing a great service for a military faction or by gaining the trust of a veteran sapper who is willing to teach them “off the books.” The finished packets, however, might be requisitioned by soldiers for a specific, authorized mission.

2. Black Market Arms Dealers

Environment: A hidden stall in a city’s sprawling under-market, a whispered meeting in the back of a noisy tavern, or a transaction on a foggy dock in the dead of night. The environment is paranoid and tense, where a drawn weapon is never more than a heartbeat away.
How it is Sold: This is the most likely place to buy a copy of the recipe. It is sold as a weapon schematic, likely stolen from a military caravan or copied from a deserter’s notes. The transaction is fast, anonymous, and conducted in untraceable currency. The dealer offers no guarantees of its accuracy and no refunds. They are selling a dangerous secret, and the risk is part of the price.

3. Rebel Hideouts and Insurgent Camps

Environment: A damp cave, a hidden cellar beneath a farmhouse, or a makeshift camp deep in a hostile wilderness. The atmosphere is a mix of fierce loyalty and constant, grinding paranoia.
How it is Sold: The recipe is not sold for coin here; it is a tool of the cause. The knowledge is disseminated freely among trusted members of the cell. An outsider might gain access to the recipe by proving their loyalty, completing a dangerous initiation mission, or bringing other valuable assets (weapons, intelligence, healing supplies) to the rebellion. The knowledge is a symbol of shared trust in a life-or-death struggle.

Cost and Value

The cost of the recipe reflects its status as a restricted, tactical weapon.

Cost of the Recipe:
- On the Black Market, a stolen copy of the recipe would likely cost between 10 and 15 Platinum Pieces. It is cheaper than the more refined alchemical formulas because of its instability and crude nature, but its potent tactical value keeps the price high.
- From a Military or Rebel source, the cost is not monetary but is paid in service, loyalty, or by undertaking a quest of significant danger and importance to their cause.
Value of the Recipe:
- Tactical Value: This is its primary and immense value. The ability to create an area-of-effect diversion and debuff on demand is a game-changer for any group. It can turn the tide of a battle, facilitate a clean escape, or create the perfect opening for an assassination or heist. For an outnumbered or outgunned group, it is a priceless force multiplier.
- Psychological Value: The incense is a weapon of terror. Unleashing spectral, silent horrors on a battlefield is incredibly effective at breaking the morale of superstitious or undisciplined foes.
- Economic Value: An individual who knows the recipe can become a specialized “combat alchemist.” They can sell the pre-made, unstable packets to adventuring parties, mercenary companies, or thieves’ guilds. Since the packets are perishable (losing potency in an hour), this creates a constant demand for a freshly made product right before a mission. A single packet could be sold for 15 to 20 Gold Pieces.

Use of the End Results

The final product, the Phantasmagoria Incense packet, is a single-use tactical grenade with a wide range of applications.

Ambush and Assault: A party of adventurers wants to storm a bandit camp. They throw two packets of incense over the walls into the main courtyard. As the guards are overwhelmed by the chaotic, ghostly apparitions, the party breaches the gate, cutting down their disoriented and terrified foes.
Desperate Escape: Cornered by city guards in a tight alleyway, a rogue throws the incense at their feet. The guards are engulfed in a cloud of swirling, silent phantoms, allowing the rogue to scramble up a wall and escape over the rooftops while their pursuers are confused and panicked.
Monster Hunting: A group is facing a Basilisk, whose petrifying gaze is deadly. The fighter throws the incense at the beast’s feet. The thick, teal smoke and disorienting phantoms completely obscure the Basilisk’s vision, preventing it from using its gaze attack and allowing the party to attack it freely.
Heist and Infiltration: A team needs to get past a heavily guarded checkpoint. They hurl a packet of incense down a side street. As the guards are drawn away to investigate the sudden, ghostly chaos, the team slips through the checkpoint unnoticed.
Psychological Warfare: A small band of rebels is trying to drive a superstitious occupying force from a town. They use the incense near the occupiers’ barracks at night. The soldiers, plagued by visions of ancient, spectral warriors, quickly become convinced the land is cursed, and their morale plummets.

Perception of Phantasmagoria Incense-209

Sight (Visual Perception)

What is Perceived / Description: The avatar sees a small, lumpy, fist-sized packet made of rough, dark leather or thick, stained cloth. It is bound tightly and crudely with a sinew cord. The object is entirely mundane in appearance, showing no outward signs of its magical nature. It could easily be mistaken for a simple pouch of rations or a common throwing stone.
Positives: Its unassuming appearance is a significant tactical advantage. It is easily concealed and will not be identified as a magical threat by a casual glance, making it an excellent tool for ambushes and surprise tactics.
Negatives: Its crude and non-descript look can be a drawback. It looks unreliable, and without any markings, it could easily be mixed up with other, similar-looking pouches in a hurry.

Touch (Tactile Perception)

What is Perceived / Description: The packet feels rough and slightly greasy from the oiled leather. The contents are lumpy and unevenly packed. In the center, a single hard, sharp point can be felt—the embedded crystal shard. The packet has a faint but distinct, intermittent warmth that pulses from its core, a sign of the contained energy.
Positives: It is solid and has a reassuring weight, feeling sturdy enough to be thrown effectively. The warmth confirms that the packet is active and ready to be used.
Negatives: The constant, faint warmth is a source of tension, a perpetual reminder that you are carrying a volatile and unstable object. Handling it for too long can be unnerving.

Smell (Olfactory Perception)

What is Perceived / Description: Even when sealed, the packet gives off a faint but pungent odor. It is a sharp, acrid mix of damp earth, the woody scent of Gloomwood resin, and a distinct metallic tang of ozone that prickles the inside of the nose.
Positives: The unique smell makes it easy for the owner to identify among their gear without looking.
Negatives: The smell, however faint, makes it impossible to carry with complete stealth. Creatures with a keen sense of smell will easily detect its unnatural aroma, potentially giving away the carrier’s position.

Taste (Gustatory Perception)

What is Perceived / Description: This is a tactical explosive, not a potion. Tasting it would be an incredibly foolish act. If an avatar were to lick it, they would taste the acrid, chemical flavor of the oiled leather and a sharp, numbing, electrical tang from the leaking energy of the crystal.
Positives: There are absolutely no positives to tasting this item.
Negatives: The components are highly toxic. Any attempt to consume it would result in immediate sickness, magical corruption, and potentially a premature detonation of the temporal energy.

Hearing (Auditory Perception)

What is Perceived / Description: The packet is mostly silent, but if held close to the ear in a quiet place, a faint, high-pitched crackling or humming sound can be heard. It is the sound of the thunder-struck crystal’s contained energy struggling to escape.
Positives: The sound is a clear auditory confirmation that the crystal is charged and the incense is viable. If the packet is completely silent, it is likely a dud.
Negatives: In a completely silent environment, this faint crackling could betray the user’s position to a creature with sharp hearing. It is a constant, subtle source of noise that can be a liability during stealth operations.

Magical Perception (Aura)

What is Perceived / Description: To a magic-sensitive individual, the aura of the incense is not smooth or stable. It is a jagged, chaotic, and “spiky” field of energy. The power feels raw, poorly contained, and violent—less like a focused tool and more like a magical shrapnel grenade waiting to detonate.
Positives: An avatar with magical senses can immediately recognize it as a potent, single-use offensive item. Its aggressive aura leaves no doubt as to its purpose.
Negatives: The chaotic aura is a beacon for anything that is attracted to magical instability. It can draw the attention of spirits and other magical beings. The “leaking” energy can also subtly interfere with the casting of delicate or precise spells in its immediate vicinity.

Temporal Perception

What is Perceived / Description: Unlike the still, deep feeling of the pure herb, the incense feels temporally “jittery.” Holding it gives the sensation that time in its immediate vicinity is vibrating or stuttering rapidly. It feels like a plucked string humming with a discordant, unstable frequency.
Positives: This confirms the temporal component is active and ready to be explosively released.
Negatives: The constant temporal vibration is nauseating. Carrying the packet for an extended period can lead to mild headaches, dizziness, and a lingering sense of being out of sync with the world.

Empathic/Psychic Perception

What is Perceived / Description: The packet is a psychic bomb. It does not radiate a chorus of emotions, but a single, loud, compressed psychic “scream.” It is the raw, undifferentiated emotional agony, fury, and terror of the past event, mashed together and waiting to be unleashed.
Positives: An empath can immediately understand the devastating psychological impact this weapon will have when it detonates. They can sense its potential to cause fear and chaos.
Negatives: The psychic noise is painful. Holding it causes a constant, low-level mental static that makes it difficult to concentrate or perceive more subtle empathic or psychic signals. It is the psychic equivalent of a shrieking alarm.

Mind’s Eye Perception

What is Perceived / Description:
- Passive Activation: The Mind’s Eye instantly identifies the object as “Phantasmagoria Incense” and provides the tags: “Alchemical, Combat, Thrown, Area of Effect, Illusion.” It is accompanied by a strong intuitive flash of a single word: “Unstable.“
- Active Activation (“Identify”): A successful “Identify” action reveals its tactical function: [Effect: Creates a 15-foot radius cloud of smoke and disorienting phantoms.], [Debuff: Inflicts penalties on foes within the cloud.], [Duration: 1d4 rounds.] However, this is extremely risky.
Positives: A successful scan provides a clear understanding of the item’s tactical use, allowing for precise deployment.
Negatives: Attempting to actively “Identify” this item is like trying to magically scan a live, unstable grenade. There is a significant risk that the focused mental energy of the scan could prematurely detonate the thunder-struck crystal, causing the incense to go off in the user’s hand.

Tale of Screaming Smoke

And it is written in the chronicles of the Siege of the Alabaster Spire that the enemies of the King were as many as the locusts in a famine year, and they beat against the white walls like a hungry sea. Inside the Spire, the defenders were few, and their hope was a guttering candle flame.

Their commander went to the alchemist-sapper, a man whose name was Kaelen, and said, “Kaelen, Maker of Smokes and Loud Noises, our swords are dull and our arms are weary. You must make for us a great fear, a confusion to fall upon our enemies, so we may have a moment to breathe the air of a new day.”

Kaelen went to his workshop, but the shelves were bare. He had no fire-salts, no thunder-powders. He had only the common things: the black, sticky resin of the Gloomwood that made a thick smoke, and in the high garden of the Spire, the strange herb called Chronicleaf, which the seers said held the feelings of old times.

And so Kaelen first tried to be wise. He took a leaf and burned it with the resin, hoping to make a smoke of fear. But the smoke was only smoke, and its smell was only strange. The memories within the leaf slept on.

Then it came to pass that the enemy mages threw a great storm of lightning at the Spire. A bolt of magic struck the high tower and a great crystal of focusing was shattered. Later, as Kaelen walked through the rubble, he found a shard of that crystal. It was not cold. It was warm in his hand and it hummed like an angry bee, for it had drunk the anger of the sky-fire and held it prisoner.

In that moment, Kaelen understood. He had tried to coax the memory from the leaf with gentle fire, as a scholar would. But he was not a scholar. He was a soldier. He knew that some things do not whisper their secrets. You must break them open to hear them scream.

And so he did not use the fine tools of the alchemist. He took a stone and mashed a fresh, wet Chronicleaf into a green paste. He mixed this paste with the black Gloomwood resin. And into the heart of this sticky lump, he pushed the angry, humming crystal. He took a scrap of hard leather and wrapped the mixture in it, and tied it shut with a strong cord. It was a crude thing.

When the enemy next charged the gate, Kaelen stood upon the wall. He did not throw fire. He threw his lumpy packet into their ranks. It hit the stone path with a loud CRACK, not of fire, but of a great bone breaking. A wind, cold as the grave, rushed out. From the packet a thick, teal smoke boiled forth.

And from within the smoke came the shapes of soldiers long dead. They were the first defenders of the Spire, from a battle five hundred years past. They wore armor of mist and carried swords of shadow. Their faces were twisted in silent screams and they charged with no sound. The enemy soldiers were brave men who did not fear the steel of living men. But they were not brave against the silent charge of ghosts. They dropped their swords and they fled, shouting that the Spire was cursed, that its very stones had sent its dead to defend it.

Kaelen had not made a potion for seeing the past. He had made a bomb out of a memory.

Moral of the Story: To make a memory whisper, you must listen carefully. To make a memory scream, you must first shatter it.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu, 7th Edition

Kaelen’s Gambit

A crude, leather-wrapped packet containing a volatile alchemical mixture. When thrown against a hard surface, it does not explode with fire but with psychic force, releasing a cloud of smoke filled with silent, terrifying apparitions from the location’s past. The phantoms are harmless, but the psychic shock of witnessing them can shatter the sanity of even a hardened observer. Its formula is a closely guarded secret of military sappers and desperate occultists.

Game Mechanics: Crafting a packet of Kaelen’s Gambit requires a rare formula, the Chronica folium herb, and a successful Hard (1/2 skill) Occult or Demolitions roll. The process takes five minutes.

As an action, an investigator can throw the packet up to their STR/5 in yards. Upon impact, it creates a 15-yard-radius cloud of thick, teal smoke for 1d4 rounds.

Any character (investigator or non-player character) who can see the apparitions within the smoke must immediately make a Sanity roll (1/1d6).

Additionally, any character who begins their turn within the cloud or enters it must succeed on a POW x3 roll or be overcome by the disorienting psychic chaos. A failed roll means the character is stunned by terror and confusion; they can take no action other than to stumble away from the smoke on their turn.

The apparitions are illusory and cannot be physically interacted with. The smoke heavily obscures vision.

Blades in the Dark

Echo Bomb

A tightly-bound leather packet, a crude alchemical device from a desperate conflict. When it bursts, it releases the compressed psychic trauma of a place in a cloud of smoke and phantoms. It’s not a weapon for killing, but for sowing terror and chaos—a perfect tool for a clean getaway or a brutal ambush. It’s loud, psychically speaking, and tends to draw unwanted attention from the ghost field.

Game Mechanics: The Echo Bomb is a rare, single-use Alchemical tool. Crafting it requires a special formula and the Chronicleaf herb as a rare ingredient.

When you throw an Echo Bomb to create a diversion or sow chaos, you can make a Wreck or Skirmish action. It affects an area roughly the size of a large room. The result determines the quality of the chaos.

On a 6: The effect is devastatingly effective. Your enemies are completely panicked and disoriented by the silent, ghostly horrors. You and your crew have a clear opportunity to act.
On a 4/5: You create chaos, but with a consequence. The enemy is disoriented, but the GM chooses one: the psychic shriek attracts a powerful, angry ghost to the scene; the effect is shorter-lived than you hoped, giving you only a moment’s advantage; you or an ally are caught on the edge of the effect and take 2 Stress from the psychic backlash.
On a 1-3: It’s a disaster. The bomb’s effect is uncontrolled and chaotic. Perhaps it affects your crew just as much as the enemy, or it enrages them into a frenzy instead of making them flee. The GM will inflict a serious consequence.

Alternatively, you could use it to Set Up a future action, creating a Situation Aspect like Terrified and Confused Guards with a +1 effect.

Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition

Incense of Screaming Echoes Wondrous item, rare

This crude, fist-sized packet of leather is bound tightly with sinew. It feels warm to the touch and smells faintly of ozone and damp earth.

As an action, you can throw the packet up to 60 feet. The packet detonates on impact and is destroyed. It creates a 20-foot-radius sphere of thick, swirling teal smoke centered on that point. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area is heavily obscured. It lasts for 1 minute or until a wind of moderate or greater speed (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses it.

When the cloud appears, silent, translucent, ghostly apparitions of soldiers, beasts, or other beings from the location’s past rise within it, appearing to fight, die, and scream in a chaotic, looping pantomime.

When a creature enters the smoke’s area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, that creature must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature becomes frightened of the apparitions for 1 minute. A frightened creature must take the Dash action and move away from the smoke by the safest available route on each of its turns, unless there is nowhere to move. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Knave, 2nd Edition

Packet of Echoing Dread Potion, 1 Slot

A crude leather packet, warm to the touch. When thrown, it bursts in a 20-foot radius cloud of teal smoke filled with silent, terrifying ghosts from the past. The cloud lasts for 1d4 rounds and heavily blocks vision.

Any creature that starts its turn in the cloud or enters it must make a WIS save. On a failure, the creature is stunned with fear for 1 round and cannot act. On a success, the creature can act normally but all attacks it makes are at a disadvantage while in the cloud.

Fate Core System

Bomb of Screaming Memories

This is not a weapon, but a narrative device of tactical chaos. The formula for this crude, leather-wrapped packet creates a tool that doesn’t damage bodies, but shatters nerves and rewrites the battlefield for a crucial few moments. When it bursts, it unleashes a silent, terrifying pantomime of a location’s traumatic past.

Game Mechanics: Using the Bomb of Screaming Memories is an action to Create an Advantage. A character with the appropriate narrative background (a sapper, a desperate alchemist, a rebel) can use a skill like Crafts to justify its creation.

When thrown, the user makes a Provoke roll to create chaos and fear, or a Shoot roll for a difficult throw.

On a Success (Tie or beat the difficulty): You create a new Situation Aspect on the scene, such as Cloud of Terrifying Phantoms or Echoes of the Last Stand. This Aspect comes with one free invocation.
On a Success with Style (Succeed by 3 or more): You create the Aspect with two free invocations, representing a perfectly placed and devastatingly effective psychological attack.

Once the Aspect is in play, any character (including the GM for NPCs) can invoke it by spending a Fate Point to describe how the ghostly chaos interferes with an action. The creator can use their free invocations. The Aspect can be overcome with a successful Will roll if a character tries to steel their nerves and ignore the phantoms. The Aspect lasts for the scene or until it is overcome.

Numenera & Cypher System

Phantom Ejector (Cypher)

This appears to be a crude, fist-sized packet of tough, fibrous material, bound with sinew. It feels slightly warm. When thrown against a hard surface, the packet ruptures and releases a cloud of teal smoke that instantly fills with silent, translucent, and terrifyingly violent apparitions.

Level: 1d6 Usable: An action to throw at a point within short range. Effect: The packet creates a cloud of smoke in an immediate area for 1 minute. The smoke obscures vision, making all tasks that require sight within or through it hindered by two steps.

More importantly, the cloud is filled with disorienting phantoms. Any creature that enters the cloud or starts its turn there must make an Intellect defense roll. On a failure, the creature is overwhelmed by the psychic chaos. All of its actions are hindered by one step while it remains in the cloud and for one round after it leaves.

Pathfinder, 2nd Edition

WRAITH PLUME BOMB ITEM 3 RARE ALCHEMICAL BOMB CONSUMABLE FEAR ILLUSION MENTAL Price 14 gp Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L Activate [one-action] Strike

This crude leather packet feels warm and hums with a faint, static energy. When this bomb hits a square, it detonates in a 10-foot burst of thick, teal smoke and silent, ghostly apparitions reenacting a violent historical event. The bomb deals no physical damage. The cloud remains for 1 minute or until dispersed by a strong wind. The area within the cloud is concealed, and all creatures are concealed to creatures outside the cloud.

Any creature that enters the cloud or starts its turn there must attempt a DC 17 Will save.

Critical Success The creature is unaffected. Success The creature is frightened 1. Failure The creature is frightened 2. Critical Failure The creature is frightened 3 and must spend its next action to Escape the cloud.

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition

Terror Bomb Weight: 1; Cost: 300

This is a single-use alchemical device consisting of a tightly-wrapped leather packet. When thrown, it bursts on impact, creating a swirling cloud of teal smoke filled with silent, ghostly phantoms.

Game Mechanics: A character can throw a Terror Bomb using the Throwing skill. It has a range of 3/6/12.

On a successful hit, the bomb affects everyone in a Medium Blast Template. The area is immediately filled with smoke and is considered Obscured (-2 penalty to most actions) for 1d4 rounds.

Furthermore, every character within the template (friend and foe) must immediately make a Spirit roll.

Failure: The character is Shaken.
Critical Failure: The character is Stunned.
Success: The character is unaffected by the phantoms.

If the initial Throwing roll was made with a Raise, the target’s Spirit roll is made at a -1 penalty due to the perfect placement of the terrifying effect.

Shadowrun, 6th World

Mnemonic Shrapnel Grenade

A specialized alchemical grenade developed from military psychological warfare schematics. It contains a volatile mixture of psychoactive compounds and rare reagents, including a synthesized form of the “Chronicleaf” herb. Instead of a physical explosion, it detonates with a burst of astral and psychic energy, creating a cloud of smoke filled with localized, terrifying historical echoes. It’s a non-lethal but potent tool for area denial and sowing chaos.

Game Mechanics: This is an Alchemical Grenade. Crafting it requires a formula and a successful Alchemy + Magic [Astral] (7, 1 hour) Extended Test.

Type: Grenade (Alchemical) Blast: 10m Radius Damage: — AP: — Special: The grenade creates a thick cloud of smoke that blocks line of sight. Any character who is within the blast radius when the grenade detonates or who enters the cloud must make a Willpower + Intuition (4) Test.

On a failure, the character is overwhelmed by the psychic chaos. They suffer the Disoriented status effect for 1d3 Combat Rounds.
On a glitch, the character is Disoriented and the disturbing visions linger, inflicting a -1 penalty to all Social tests for the next hour.
On a critical glitch, the character suffers a full-blown psychotic break. They are immediately subjected to the Stunned status effect and the GM should assign a temporary negative quality (such as Paranoia or Phobia) related to the visions.

Availability: 16R Cost: 1,500 nuyen

Starfinder Roleplaying Game

Chronal Smoke Grenade Level 5 Hybrid Item Price 450 credits Bulk L Capacity 1 Usage 1

This grenade is a complex hybrid of alchemical reagents and temporal technology. When it detonates, it releases a cloud of teal smoke and unleashes a localized temporal shockwave, projecting silent, ghostly images of a traumatic or violent event from the area’s past.

Game Mechanics: As a standard action, you can throw this grenade. It has a range of 20 feet and explodes in a 20-foot-radius cloud of smoke. The cloud functions as fog cloud, providing concealment. The cloud lasts for 1 minute.

Any creature that starts its turn in the cloud or enters it for the first time on a turn is assaulted by terrifying psychic phantoms. The creature must succeed at a DC 15 Will save or become frightened for 1d4 rounds. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected by the phantoms from this grenade again for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting, fear effect.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

“Spectre” Area Denial Device

A sophisticated, single-use psionic weapon, designated the “Spectre” by its black-ops military designers. It is not an explosive. Upon impact, the device releases a cloud of aerosolized neuro-agents laced with a psionically-active compound derived from a rare alien plant. The compound forces a cascade of shared hallucinations in those affected, projecting terrifying images seemingly drawn from the location’s own history. It is an incredibly effective, and highly illegal, terror weapon.

Game Mechanics: TL: 15 Cost: Cr 25,000 (Black Market) Legality: Highly Illegal (Law Level 13+)

The device can be thrown up to 20 meters. Upon impact, it affects a 10-meter radius for 1D minutes. The cloud blocks line of sight.

Any character within the cloud without a sealed suit and advanced psychic shielding must make a Difficult (10+) PSI or SAN check at the beginning of each of their turns within the cloud.

Effect 2+ (Success): The Traveller resists the effect for that round.
Effect 0-1 (Marginal Success): The Traveller is overwhelmed by the visions. They suffer a -2 penalty to all checks for that round.
Effect -1 or less (Failure): The Traveller’s mind is shattered by the psychic assault. They are stunned and can take no action that round. Furthermore, they must make a Difficult (10+) END check or suffer 1D temporary PSI damage from the extreme neural stress.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, 4th Edition

The Ghast-Bomb

A heretical alchemical device, whispered to be crafted by rogue sappers from the Imperial Gunnery School who dabbled in forbidden lore. It is a clay pot, sealed with wax, containing a volatile mixture of Gravebloom petals, warpstone dust, and Gloomwood resin. When shattered, it releases a cloud of cloying, teal-colored smoke that writhes with the silent, screaming spectres of those who died violently in that place. Its use is an affront to Morr and is sure to attract the attention of Witch Hunters.

Game Mechanics: Rarity: Very Rare Enc: 10 Price: 15 GC Traits: Dangerous, Unreliable

As an action, a character may throw the Ghast-Bomb up to their Strength Bonus x3 yards. It affects a Large area of effect (6-yard diameter). The cloud of smoke obscures vision and lasts for 1d3 rounds.

Any character within the blast radius when it detonates must make a Challenging (+0) Cool Test.

On a Success: The character steels their nerve against the horrifying apparitions.
On a Failure: The character gains 1d2 Broken Conditions.
Astounding Failure (Fails by 4+ SL): The character is utterly terrorized, gaining 1d5 Broken Conditions and must make a Test to resist gaining a Minor Mental Corruption.

Regardless of the Test result, any character who witnesses the unholy apparitions gains 1 Corruption point for trafficking with the echoes of the dead.