Astrology 505 of Ambivalence – GearAscendancy.com

Lore: Astrology 505 was charted during the “Year of the Grey Earth Goat,” a time when the winds of Saṃsāra ceased to blow and the 73 Islands sat in a state of perfect, unmoving equilibrium. It was forged for the “Heirs of Doubt”—those who realize that choosing one path often means the tragic loss of another. It is said that the first 505 was crafted by a monk who could not decide between the life of a warrior or a scholar, so he forged an item that allowed him to remain perpetually, powerfully undecided.

Description: The item is a Pendulum-Earring made of “Weightless-Lead.” It features a small, stylized goat head holding a dual-colored stone in its mouth: one half is a matte, sucking black; the other is a blinding, polished white. The earring never hangs quite still, even in a vacuum; it sways with a hypnotic, rhythmic motion that mirrors the wearer’s internal debate. When the wearer is faced with a choice, the earring emits a low, vibrating hum that feels like a physical shrug against the soul.

Detail Stats

Tier: 1
Rarity: Common
Material: Weightless-Lead (Earth-Element), Bicolor Jasper
Weight: — (Negligible)
Market Value: 15 Silver
Conduit Type: Abjuration-Zodiac Focus

Slot

Ear Slot: Must be worn in one ear. It draws the wearer’s internal monologue into a rhythmic cycle of “Yes and No.”

Passive Magic

The Shifting Center: Your physical center of gravity becomes fluid. You gain a +1 bonus to Acrobatics and Athletics checks to maintain balance. Because your body “cannot decide” which way to fall, you are harder to knock prone.
Non-Committal Aura: NPCs find it difficult to pin down your intentions. You gain a +1 bonus to Deception checks when withholding information. Detect Motivation or Insight checks made against you suffer a -2 penalty as your “Truth” is constantly oscillating.

Activable Magic

Equilibrium Shrug (Reaction): When you are hit by an attack, you can activate the earring to “halve” the reality of the blow. You take 2 less damage, but your next offensive action deals 2 less damage as you remain “undecided” about retaliating.
Wait and See (Action): You enter a state of total observation. For 1 minute, you cannot take offensive actions, but you gain Advantage on all Perception and Investigation checks. The world seems to pause as the 505 analyzes all possible paths without picking one.

Tags

Astrological, Ambivalence, Earth-Element, Goat, Tier-1, Lead, Ear-Slot, Balance, Neutrality, Hesitation, Perception, Dualism, Grey-Magic, Pendulum, Equilibrium, Uncertainty, Stasis, Observation, Shrug, Weightless, Mediator

In the world of Saṃsāra, where most people strive for the “Right Path” or “Enlightenment,” an item dedicated to Ambivalence is a specialty tool. It is sought by professional mediators, high-stakes gamblers, and spies who need to hide their true convictions. Because the Astrology 505 embodies the “Quiet Middle,” it is rarely found in loud, bustling marketplaces.

1. The Gray-Monk Refectories (Ascetic Exchanges)

Located in the mist-shrouded monasteries of the Earth-Goat, these “shops” are more like quiet libraries. The monks believe that making a choice is a form of spiritual violence, and they sell these earrings to help travelers remain unburdened by decision.

The Experience: There is no price tag. You sit in silence with a monk for an hour. If you can sit perfectly still without fidgeting or speaking, you are permitted to purchase the item.
Buying Cost: 15 Silver. This is considered a “standard donation” for the upkeep of the monastery.
Selling Price: 10 Silver. The monks will take it back, but they will likely ask why you have decided to leave the path of the middle.

2. The Fog-Alley Curiosity Shops (Shadow Markets)

In the neutral ports of Saṃsāra, where the fog never lifts, you can find small, cramped shops tucked between a tavern and a temple. These shops specialize in “Uncertainty Magic.”

The Experience: The shopkeeper is often as ambivalent as the stock. They might tell you the item is for sale, then immediately change their mind and say it isn’t, only to offer it again for a different price. The shop smells of damp wool and cold stone.
Buying Cost: 12 to 18 Silver. The price shifts depending on how “decided” you look. If you appear desperate to buy it, the price goes up; if you shrug and walk away, the price drops.
Selling Price: 6 Silver. These merchants know that an ambivalent item is hard to move—most customers want power, not hesitation.

3. The Grand Hall of Mediators (Guild Stores)

The professional guilds of diplomats, lawyers, and truce-bringers keep a stock of Astrology 505s for their apprentices. To them, it is a tool of the trade, ensuring they don’t take sides in a conflict.

The Experience: A very sterile, bureaucratic transaction. You fill out a form, show your credentials, and are handed a velvet box containing the earring.
Buying Cost: 20 Silver. You are paying for a “certified” item that has been calibrated for perfect balance.
Selling Price: 12 Silver. Only if you have the original guild paperwork; otherwise, they treat it as “unregulated” scrap.

4. The Gambler’s Respite (The Floating Casinos)

On the pleasure barges that navigate the 73 Islands, the Astrology 505 is prized by poker players and dice-rollers who want to maintain a “Perfect Poker Face” that defies telepathic or intuitive reading.

The Experience: Usually bought or sold over a drink in the “High-Stakes Lounge.”
Buying Cost: 25 Silver or a “Sizable Debt.” In these environments, the item is seen as a tactical advantage, and the price reflects its utility in cheating or bluffing.
Selling Price: 15 Silver. Gamblers are always looking for more edge, and they know the value of a clean “Non-Committal Aura.”

Roleplaying the Astrology 505 of Ambivalence requires a specific “Zen of Indecision.” While other heroes rush to glory or flee in terror, you occupy the motionless center of the storm. You don’t resist the world; you simply haven’t decided if it exists enough to affect you.

Defensive Roleplay

In High-Stakes Combat (Physical Defense) Defense with the 505 is roleplayed as “Non-Newtonian Movement.” You don’t dodge; you simply aren’t “there” enough to be hit solidly.

Roleplay Hook: When an enemy swings a heavy axe at you, do not flinch. Roleplay the character looking at the blade with a bored, distant curiosity. As the Equilibrium Shrug activates, describe the character’s body becoming “vague” or “soft,” like a reflection in a pond. The axe passes through where your heart should be, but because you haven’t decided to be “solid” in that exact spot, the blade merely pushes you aside like a leaf in the wind.
The Static Sentinel: If being pushed or shoved, the player describes the character’s feet as being “rooted in the Earth-Element.” You aren’t resisting with muscle; you are resisting with the weight of your own hesitation. The enemy tries to move you, but you are a “Stone of Maybe” that refuses to budge until you’ve weighed all options.

In Stealth and Infiltration (Environmental Defense)

Roleplay Hook: When a guard’s torchlight passes over your hiding spot, the player roleplays the Non-Committal Aura. Describe the character standing in plain sight but “fading into the background noise.” Because the character has no intent—no malice, no fear—the guard’s brain fails to categorize them as a “threat.” You are roleplayed as being as interesting as a pile of wet wool or a common rock.

Offensive Roleplay

In Combat and Dueling (Tactical Offense) Offense with the 505 is the “Delayed Strike.” It is the art of hitting someone while they are still waiting for you to move.

Roleplay Hook: The player describes the character standing in a neutral stance, arms at their sides. The enemy is tense, waiting for a tell. The character roleplays “Wait and See.” You stare at the enemy’s elbow, then their knee, then their eyes, describing the “Mental Static” you are projecting. By the time you finally strike, the enemy is exhausted by the psychological weight of your indecision.
The Shrug-Counter: After using the Equilibrium Shrug to absorb a hit, the player describes a “Half-Hearted” counter-attack. “I don’t really want to hurt him,” the player might say, “but it seems like the only logical next step.” The strike is roleplayed as a clinical, detached tap to a pressure point rather than a passionate swing.

In Social and Political Manipulation (Social Offense)

Roleplay Hook: In a negotiation, the character uses their Non-Committal Aura to drive the opponent mad. The player roleplays a character who agrees with everything and nothing simultaneously. “You make an excellent point,” the character says, “and yet, the opposite is also true.” This roleplay “Offense” is designed to force the NPC to over-extend themselves or offer a better deal just to get a solid “Yes” or “No” out of the character.
The “Grey-Out”: When trying to extract information, the character doesn’t threaten. They roleplay a state of such profound ambivalence that the NPC begins to feel like they don’t matter. The NPC talks just to fill the crushing, undecided silence you provide.

The Burden of the Middle Path

The Decision Fatigue: The player can roleplay a character who genuinely struggles with simple tasks, like picking a meal at a tavern. They might flip a coin for every single choice, showing that the 505 has “eaten” their ability to feel preference.
The “Invisible” Trauma: Over time, the character might start to feel like a ghost. The player roleplays moments where they check their own pulse or touch a wall, just to make sure they haven’t “Ambivalenced” themselves out of physical existence.

Perception of Activation:

User’s Perspective

Sight: The vibrant world undergoes a “chromatic flattening.” Shadows lose their depth and highlights lose their glare, leaving everything in a muted, hazy twilight where no object stands out more than another.
Hearing: A low-frequency binaural hum begins to vibrate within the skull. Sounds of conflict or urgency seem to “drift” away, sounding like they are happening to someone else, miles away.
Touch: A strange sensation of “density-loss” occurs. The user feels as though they are made of thick smoke or cooling gelatin. The physical pressure of their own clothing becomes unnoticeable.
Extra-Sensory (Probability Sight): The user sees faint, translucent “ghost-trails” of multiple futures. They see themselves both turning left and turning right simultaneously, existing in a state of quantum superposition where neither choice has yet been claimed.
Extra-Sensory (Emotional Stasis): A profound “emotional vacuum” fills the chest. Fear, anger, and joy are replaced by a flat, crystalline calm. The user no longer cares about the outcome of the encounter; they simply are.
Extra-Sensory (The Gravity Shrug): The user’s inner ear ignores the pull of the planet. They feel “centered” regardless of their orientation, as if the Earth itself hasn’t decided which way is down.

Observer’s Perspective

Visuals: The pendulum-earring begins to oscillate with such impossible speed that it appears to be a solid, grey blur. The wearer’s edges become “soft,” making them difficult to look at directly, as if the eye is trying to focus on a smudge.
Auditory: A faint, rhythmic clicking—like a distant metronome—emanates from the wearer, matching the pace of a slow, resting heartbeat.
Presence: The wearer radiates a “Zone of Indifference.” Observers often find their own tempers cooling or their excitement dying down. It feels like standing next to a large, unmoving stone; the wearer feels fundamentally “un-interactable.”

Positives

Unshakeable Calm: The user is immune to psychological manipulation or intimidation that relies on triggering a fight-or-flight response.
Perfect Poise: The user can navigate narrow ledges, slippery ropes, or tilting decks with zero risk of losing balance, as their body refuses to commit to a fall.
Bluff Mastery: Because the user truly does not care about the result, their “tell” is non-existent, making them the ultimate deceiver or negotiator.

Negatives

The Inertia of Will: It becomes difficult to initiate aggressive action. The user must fight a mental “sludge” to actually swing a sword or cast a destructive spell.
Social Alienation: Friends and allies may find the user’s sudden coldness and lack of empathy disturbing or even sociopathic.
Lingering Doubt: After deactivation, the user is often haunted by “Choice-Hangovers,” second-guessing every tiny movement they made while under the influence of the Ambivalence.

The Casting of the Undecided Center: Recipe for the Astrology 505

Materials Needed

The Frame: 1 ounce of Weightless-Lead (Lead ore mined from a “Dead Zone” where magnetic poles cancel each other out, refined with powdered slate).
The Stone: 1 Bicolor Jasper (A rare river-stone naturally split into perfect halves of dark obsidian and white quartz).
The Hinge: A single strand of Spider-Wire taken from a web spun across a doorway that is never used.
The Quench: 1 vial of Still-Water collected from a mountain lake on a day without wind or ripples.
The Catalyst: The ash of a burnt “Contract of Choice” (a document where someone was forced to pick between two equal loves).

Tools Required

Equilibrium Scales: A set of ultra-sensitive scales used to ensure the earring’s weight is distributed with 50/50 precision.
Cold-Forge: A specialized anvil that does not use heat, but rather rhythmic pressure to “shrug” the metal into shape without melting its “memory.”
The Metronome of the Goat: A clockwork device that beats a steady, slow rhythm to keep the crafter in a state of meditative boredom.
Etching Needle of Grey: A needle dipped in a mixture of soot and chalk to carve the “Glyphs of Maybe” onto the lead.

Skill Requirements

Stasis-Smithing (Tier 1): The rare ability to work metals at room temperature using only the force of will and steady pressure.
Neutral Attunement (Earth Goat): The crafter must be in a state of emotional “Flat-Lining.” If they feel too much excitement or anger, the lead will become brittle and shatter.
Bilateral Symmetry Training: The physical skill to use the left and right hands with identical strength and speed simultaneously.
Philosophy of the Void: Understanding that “Doing Nothing” is a valid tactical and spiritual action.

Crafting Steps

The Pressure-Mold: Place the Weightless-Lead on the Cold-Forge. Instead of a hammer, use a heavy press to slowly squeeze the lead into the shape of a goat’s head. This must be done slowly, as if you don’t care if it ever finishes.
The Stone Splitting: If the Jasper is not perfectly divided, use the Etching Needle to score a line of “Perfect Doubt” down the center. Tap it once; the stone must crack exactly in half by its own weight.
The Mouth-Seat: Carve the goat’s mouth so that it is “Agape in Hesitation.” Insert the two halves of the Jasper. They must not be glued; they must stay held together simply by the pressure of the lead “shrugging” inward.
The Pendulum Balance: Attach the Spider-Wire to the top of the head. Hang the piece from the Equilibrium Scales. You must shave microscopic amounts of lead from either side until the scales do not move for ten minutes.
The Still-Quench: Submerge the finished piece into the Still-Water. The water must not ripple when the item enters. If a single circle forms on the surface, the item has “too much intent” and must be melted down.
The Ash-Smear: Take the ash of the “Contract of Choice” and rub it into the eyes of the goat. This grants the item the ability to see all paths without preferring any.
The Final Shrug: Wear the earring yourself. Think of a question you care deeply about. If you suddenly find that you no longer care about the answer, the Astrology 505 is successfully activated.

Great Shrug and Goat Who Lived in Middle

In the “Before-Before” of the “Time-That-Could-Not-Make-Up-Its-Mind,” when the islands were yet “Floating-Maybe-Rocks” and the stars were “Blinking-in-Confusion,” there lived a hermit of the Earth-Goat-Zodiac named “The-One-Who-Says-Eh.” This traveler did not walk “Up-the-Mountain” nor “Down-the-Valley.” He lived on the “Slanting-Side” because he did not wish to “Arrive-at-the-End.”

The ancient dust-scrolls of the “Shoulder-Lifters” (translated as “The Men Who Have No Favorites”) say the hermit sat at the “Crossroads-of-Ugh.” There, the Path of “Do-It” met the Path of “Don’t-Do-It.” The Path of “Do-It” was paved with “Hot-Gold-and-Sharp-Rocks,” and the Path of “Don’t-Do-It” was made of “Soft-Feathers-and-Boring-Sleep.”

The Great Earth Goat, who has a “Chin-Beard-of-Heavy-Stone,” appeared and asked, “Which way do you ‘Put-Your-Feet’?” The hermit looked at both and felt a “Great-Weight-of-Neither.” He said, “O, Square-Eyed-Spirit, to pick one is to ‘Kill-the-Other.’ I wish to stay in the ‘Wait-and-See.’ I want the ‘Power-of-The-Middle’.”

The Goat spat out a “Grey-Seed” that was half-dark and half-bright. He forged it into the 505, saying, “Wear this ‘Dingle-Dangle-on-the-Ear.’ It will make your heart as ‘Flat-as-a-Table.’ You will be ‘Safe-from-Picking,’ but you will also be ‘Hidden-from-Winning’.”

The hermit entered the “War-of-the-Two-Kings.” The Red King said, “Fight for me and get ‘Shiny-Coins’!” The Blue King said, “Fight for me and get ‘Pretty-Land’!” The hermit put on the 505 and his face became like “Grey-Porridge.” He looked at the swords and they looked like “Pointy-Toys.” He looked at the gold and it looked like “Yellow-Rocks.”

Because he was “So-Decidedly-Undecided,” the soldiers could not “Find-a-Reason-to-Poke-Him.” He walked through the “Rain-of-Arrows” as if it were “Rain-of-Dust.” When a general shouted, “Who are you with?” the hermit replied, “I am ‘With-the-Air’.” The armies became so “Confused-by-his-Eh” that they stopped fighting to “Think-About-Their-Lives.”

The story ends with the hermit “Turning-into-a-Statue-of-Mist,” leaving the earring on a “Perfectly-Level-Fence-Post.” It is said that if you find it, you will never “Fall-Down-a-Hole,” but you might also “Never-Reach-the-Feast.”

The Moral of the Story: He who refuses to choose the “Wrong-Side” or the “Right-Side” will never be “Bitten-by-the-Snake,” but he must also learn to be “Full-on-the-Taste-of-Nothing.”

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Unique Name: The Pendulum of Indifference

Item Description: A heavy, leaden earring in the shape of a goat’s head. Its swaying motion is hypnotic, slowing the wearer’s pulse to a steady, rhythmic crawl regardless of the horrors surrounding them.

Game Mechanics:

Cost: 15 Credit Rating.
Non-Committal Aura (Passive): The Investigator gains a Bonus Die to Deception when withholding information or lying about their allegiances. NPCs suffer a Penalty Die on Psychology checks against the wearer.
Equilibrium Shrug (Active): When taking damage from a physical attack, the user may spend 2 Magic Points to “shrug” the impact. Reduce the damage by 2 (minimum 0), but the Investigator’s next offensive action suffers a Penalty Die as they hesitate to commit to the violence.
The Negative: The wearer’s total lack of urgency can be off-putting. The Investigator suffers a Penalty Die to all Persuasion and Fast Talk rolls where passion or sincerity is required.

Blades in the Dark

Unique Name: The Mediator’s Shrug

Item Description: A Tier I fine accessory. It feels heavier than it looks, exerting a stabilizing force on the wearer’s soul.

Game Mechanics:

Tier: I (Common Fine Item).
Load: 0 (Worn).
Passive – Shifting Center: You gain +1d to Resistance Rolls against being moved, knocked down, or forced into a position against your will.
Active – Wait and See: Spend 1 Stress to take the Gather Information action in the middle of a tense situation without ticking a clock or alerting enemies. You simply observe the “Wait-and-See” flow of the room.
Active – Equilibrium Shrug: Spend 1 Stress to reduce the Severity of a physical harm by one level (e.g., Level 2 becomes Level 1). However, your next action is limited to Standard Effect or less, as you cannot fully commit to a decisive follow-up.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Unique Name: Earring of the Unfettered Middle

Item Description: Wondrous Item, Common (Requires Attunement). This leaden earring features a goat holding a two-toned stone. It feels cold and strangely comforting against the skin.

Game Mechanics:

Passive – The Shifting Center: You have advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks made to balance or resist being knocked prone.
Passive – Non-Committal Aura: Wisdom (Insight) checks made against you are made with Disadvantage.
Active – Equilibrium Shrug (Reaction): When you take damage, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage taken by 1d4. If you do so, you have disadvantage on the first attack roll you make before the end of your next turn.
Active – Wait and See (Action): For 1 minute, you gain a +5 bonus to your Passive Perception. During this time, you cannot take the Attack action or cast spells that deal damage.

Knave (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: The Goat’s Balance

Item Description: A pendulum-earring that hums with a grey light. It makes the wearer feel like a statue in a world of frantic movement.

Game Mechanics:

Inventory Slots: 1 Slot (Ear).
Passive – Shifting Center: You cannot be knocked down or moved against your will unless the attacker rolls a Critical Success.
Passive – Grey Presence: You are immune to magical effects that would force you to speak the truth or reveal your alignment.
Active – Equilibrium Shrug: Once per combat, you may ignore the first hit you take. However, you must skip your next turn as you contemplate the necessity of the fight.
Penalty: You always act last in the initiative order. Your hesitation to act is a physical weight that slows your reflexes.

Fate (Core/Condensed)

Unique Name: The Earring of the Grey Earth Goat

Item Description: A pendulum of weightless-lead that sways with a hypnotic, non-committal rhythm. It anchors the wearer in the “space between,” where no choice is ever final.

Game Mechanics:

Aspect: Rooted in the Middle Path. You may invoke this aspect to resist any attempt to force you into a decision or to remain standing when the ground is shaking. You may compel this aspect to reflect your character’s inability to act quickly when a decisive choice is required.
Stunt – Equilibrium Shrug: Once per session, when you take physical stress, you may reduce the stress value by 2. If you do, your next offensive action is at -2 as you remain “undecided” about your retaliation.
Stunt – Non-Committal Aura: You gain +2 to Empathy rolls made to defend against someone trying to discern your true motives or “Read a Person” on you.
Cost: 1 Refresh.

Numenera & Cypher System

Unique Name: Pendulum of the Oscillating Mind

Item Description: A leaden earring that features a stylized goat head. It emits a low-frequency hum that dampens the user’s emotional spikes, keeping them in a state of clinical observation.

Game Mechanics:

Level: 1d6 (Minimum 3).
Form: Earring.
Effect (Passive): The wearer gains an Asset to all tasks involving balance, poise, and resisting being moved against their will.
Effect (Active): By spending 1 point from your Intellect Pool, you can “Wait and See.” For 10 minutes, you gain an Asset to all Perception and Investigation tasks, but any attack you make during this time has its difficulty increased by one step.
Effect (Active): By spending 2 points from your Speed Pool as a reaction, you can “Shrug” an incoming physical attack. You gain +2 Armor against that specific hit, but your next action is hindered by one step.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Astrology 505: Earring of the Patient Goat

Item Description: This Tier 1 magical conduit is a lead and jasper earring resonant with the Earth element and the sign of the Goat.

Game Mechanics:

Level: 2; Price: 25 gp.
Usage: Worn (Ear); Bulk: —.
The Shifting Center (Passive): You gain a +1 item bonus to Reflex saves and Acrobatics checks made to Balance. Your DC to resist being Shoved or tripped increases by 1.
Non-Committal Aura (Passive): You gain a +1 item bonus to Deception checks to Lie. The DC for others to Sense Motive against you increases by 2.
Activable Magic – Equilibrium Shrug (Reaction): [Trigger: You take physical damage]. You gain Resistance 2 to all damage from the triggering attack. You become Enfeebled 1 until the end of your next turn as your commitment to the fight wavers.
Activable Magic – Wait and See (Action): [Two-Actions] (Concentrate, Earth, Scrying). You enter a state of total observation. You gain a +2 status bonus to Perception and Seek actions for 1 minute, but you are Pacified (cannot take hostile actions) for the duration.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Unique Name: The Leaden Pendulum of Maybe

Item Description: A rhythmic leaden earring that anchors the soul in a state of absolute equilibrium.

Game Mechanics:

Rank: Novice.
Attributes: Agility +1 (Die type) for the purpose of Athletics rolls made to balance or stay on one’s feet.
Non-Committal Aura (Passive): Opponents suffer a -2 penalty on Notice or Psychology rolls made to read the wearer’s true intent or detect their presence in a crowd.
Equilibrium Shrug (Active): As a Reaction, the wearer may spend a Benny to automatically soak 2 points of damage from a physical source. If they do so, they are Distracted until the end of their next turn.
Wait and See (Active): The wearer may choose to go last in the initiative order regardless of their Action Card. If they do, they gain a +2 bonus to all Notice rolls and their first Trait roll during that turn.

Shadowrun (6th World Edition)

Unique Name: Qi-Pendulum: The Grey Goat’s Pivot

Item Description: A seemingly mundane leaden earring that acts as a low-level Qi Focus. It modulates the user’s bio-energetic field to a state of constant, rhythmic flux, making their physical and mental presence difficult to “lock onto.”

Game Mechanics:

Focus Category: Qi Focus (Requires Adept or Mystic Adept).
Bonding Cost: 3 Karma.
Passive – The Shifting Center: The user gains a +1 dice pool bonus to all Athletics tests involving balance or resisting Knockdown.
Passive – Non-Committal Aura: Any NPC attempting to use Judge Intentions or Truth Analysis magic/tech against the user suffers a -2 dice pool penalty. The user’s aura appears “muddy” and undecided.
Active – Equilibrium Shrug: When the user takes Physical or Stun damage, they may spend a point of Edge to reduce the damage by 2. If they do, they suffer a -2 dice pool penalty to their next Attack or Offensive Spell as their “Combat Intent” wavers.

Starfinder (2nd Edition / Playtest)

Unique Name: Astrology 505: Pendulum of the Quantum Shrug

Item Description: A lead-alloy earring etched with micro-circuitry that mimics the gravitational pull of Saṃsāra’s Earth-Goat cycle. It keeps the wearer’s molecules in a state of slight, vibratory indecision.

Game Mechanics:

Level: 2; Price: 375 Credits.
Usage: Worn (Ear); Bulk: —.
Passive – Non-Committal Aura: You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Deception checks. Enemies using the Sense Motive skill against you find the difficulty (DC) increased by 2.
Active – Equilibrium Shrug (Reaction): [Trigger: You take damage from a kinetic or energy attack]. You gain Resistance 2 against the triggering damage. However, you are Suppressed (you cannot use reactions) until the start of your next turn.
Active – Wait and See (Action): [One-Action]. You gain a +2 status bonus to Perception checks until the start of your next turn, but you cannot take any Hostile Actions during this period.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Inertial Dampener “Goat-Head” Stud (TL-11)

Item Description: This TL-11 piece of jewelry contains a miniature internal inertial compensator. While intended for high-G maneuvers, this specific “Saṃsāran” model is tuned to keep the wearer psychologically and physically “centered.”

Game Mechanics:

TL (Tech Level): 11.
Weight: —.
Passive – Shifting Center: The wearer receives a DM+1 to any check involving balance or staying upright in zero-G or high-G environments.
Passive – Grey Presence: In social encounters, any character attempting to read the wearer’s intentions via Psychology or Broker suffers a DM-2.
Active – Equilibrium Shrug: If the wearer takes damage, they may choose to “Shrug.” They reduce the damage taken by 2, but their next Initiative roll is reduced by 4 as they hesitate to re-engage.

Warhammer (Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition)

Unique Name: The Leaden Earring of the Hesitant Monk

Item Description: Forged from lead found in the silent valleys of the Earth-Goat, this earring is often worn by those who wish to avoid the notice of both Gods and Daemons by being profoundly uninteresting.

Game Mechanics:

Price: 1 Gold Crown.
Encumbrance: 0.
Passive – Non-Committal Aura: The wearer gains the Blather Talent. If they already have it, they gain +10 to Gossip tests when trying to mislead someone about their destination or intent.
Active – Equilibrium Shrug (Action): When hit in combat, the wearer may spend 1 Fortune Point to reduce the Damage characteristic of the incoming blow by 2 (after SB and AP). However, on their next turn, they cannot use the Charge or All-Out Attack actions.
Active – Wait and See: The wearer may choose to delay their turn to the very end of the Round. If they do, they gain a +20 bonus to their next Perception or Intuition Test.