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Daily Use 527 of the Whisper Glass Spectacles of the Guardians Gaze

—

by

Dale
in

Lore and Description

The Whisper-Glass Spectacles are an essential household accessory for the cautious residents of Saṃsāra, particularly those residing in the shadow-drenched lower tiers of the skyscraper metropolises or the edge of the shifting jungle ruins. The frames are crafted from “Memory-Wire,” a flexible silver alloy that remembers the shape of the owner’s face, while the lenses are cut from thin slices of Whisper-Glass—a mineral formed when lightning strikes the sands of the Silent Sea.

These spectacles are designed with a roleplay emphasis on “Phobia.” In Saṃsāra, a phobia is not just a fear; it is a spiritual vulnerability that can manifest as actual shadow-entities. This item acts as a domestic warding tool. It does not cure the fear, but it grants the wearer the ability to see the “truth” behind their phobia, turning paralyzing terror into a manageable, albeit unsettling, tactical observation. It is commonly given to young adults venturing out of their family wards for the first time to help them navigate the world without being overwhelmed by the unseen anxieties that haunt the fringes of reality.

Detailed Stats and Slot

  • Slot: Head (Face/Eyes)
  • Tier: 1
  • Rarity: Common
  • Material: Memory-Wire Silver, Whisper-Glass, Velvet bridge padding.
  • Weight: 0.1 lbs
  • Visual Modification: Slight sepia tint; edges of the lenses distort light into protective runes.

Skills Gained

  • Panic Analysis: The avatar gains the ability to identify the mechanical source of a frightening stimulus. By observing a “terrifying” object through the lenses, the user can determine its level, basic strengths, and one obvious weakness, provided the user is currently suffering from a fear-based debuff or roleplaying a phobic reaction.
  • Steady-Handed Logic: While wearing the spectacles, the avatar gains proficiency in “Reasoning under Pressure.” This allows the user to perform complex tasks (like picking a lock or repairing a circuit) while actively being hunted or confronted by a phobia-trigger.

Multiple Passives Magic

  • The Filter of Truth: When the user encounters the object of their phobia, the Whisper-Glass automatically dulls the sensory input. Loud noises are muffled into whispers, and grotesque imagery is softened into semi-transparent outlines. This prevents the user from being “Paralyzed” or “Stunned” by fear-based magical effects.
  • Runes of the Inner Eye: As long as the user’s heart rate is elevated by fear, the spectacles generate a 2-foot aura of dim light around the user’s head. This light is invisible to others but allows the wearer to see clearly in magical or natural darkness, as if the fear itself were fueling their vision.
  • Inert Storage: When folded and placed in a pocket, case, or pouch, the silver wire loses its tension and the glass becomes opaque. The magical resonance vanishes completely, allowing the item to occupy no slot and remain undetected by mana-detecting sensors.

Multiple Active Magics

  • Focal Point Projection: By tapping the bridge of the spectacles, the user can project a beam of concentrated “Reason” from the lenses. This beam forces a phobia-inducing creature or object to take a physical form for 1 minute, making it vulnerable to standard physical attacks rather than purely mental or magical ones.
  • Gaze of the Stoic: The user can shutter the lenses momentarily to “Record” a frightening image. They can then project this image onto a flat surface later. This is often used for reporting threats to city guards or for studying a monster’s movements in a safe environment.
  • Shatter-Shield: If the user is struck by a mental attack that would cause a permanent “Insanity” or “Phobia” trait, the Whisper-Glass lenses will shatter instead. This absorbs 100% of the mental damage. The spectacles become mundane until the glass is replaced at an alchemical shop.

Tags

Vision-Correction, Warding, Mental-Defense, Analytical, Silver-Frame, Light-Weight, Protective, Truth-Seeking, Reactive, Anti-Illusion, Sepia-Vision, Phobia-Dulling, Logic-Enhanced, Memory-Alloy, Spectral-Mapping, Anti-Paralysis, Runed-Lenses, Stress-Reactive, Mental-Buffer, Diagnostic-Sight

In the world of Saṃsāra, the Whisper-Glass Spectacles are considered an essential “stability” purchase, especially for those moving between the extreme light of the sky-isles and the crushing gloom of the lower megacities. They are sold wherever the mental health of the citizenry is prioritized as much as their physical safety.

Where the Item is Bought and Sold

  • Alchemical Opticians: These are clean, quiet shops found in the middle-tiers of skyscraper metropolises. They feature rows of velvet-lined drawers and specialized “Fear-Chambers”—small, dark rooms where customers can test the spectacles against minor, controlled illusions of common phobias like spiders, heights, or isolation.
  • Sanctuary General Stores: In frontier islands plagued by “Shadow-Eaters” or psychic resonance, the local general store always keeps a crate of common Whisper-Glass spectacles. These are often sold in rugged, leather-bound cases to protect them from the harsh environment.
  • University Scriptories: Because the spectacles grant “Steady-Handed Logic,” they are a favorite among students. Campus kiosks sell them as “Study-Aids,” helping young avatars focus on their exams despite the high-pressure academic magic prevalent in Saṃsāra.
  • The “Grey Markets” of the Silent Sea: Nomadic traders who scour the sands of the Silent Sea often sell raw Whisper-Glass lenses. These are cheaper but unmounted, requiring the buyer to find a smith to provide the Memory-Wire silver frames.

How the Item is Sold

  • The Phobia Calibration: A professional optician doesn’t just hand over the item. They use a “Tuning Fork of the Mind” to determine the customer’s specific phobic frequency. They then etch tiny, personalized runes onto the edge of the lenses, ensuring the “Filter of Truth” passive is perfectly keyed to the user’s specific anxieties.
  • Prescription Binding: For adults who already use magic, the spectacles can be “bound” to their personal mana pool. This ensures that only the rightful owner can activate the active magics, preventing thieves from using the “Gaze of the Stoic” to spy on the owner’s recorded memories.
  • The “Shatter-Insurance” Policy: Since the lenses are designed to break to save the user’s mind, many shops offer a subscription service. For a small monthly fee in Copper, a user can bring in a shattered frame and receive a replacement lens at half the cost.

Cost of the Item

The price of a Daily Use 527 reflects the rare mineral components and the precision required in the runic etching.

  • Standard Suggested Value: 10 to 15 Silver.
  • Raw Lenses (Unmounted): 5 Silver.
  • Refurbished / Pre-owned: 6 to 8 Silver. (Buying used spectacles is risky, as the Memory-Wire may still “remember” the previous owner’s face shape or their specific fears).
  • In Dark-Cave Megacities: 20 Silver. The cost is higher here due to the extreme necessity of “Filter of Truth” in environments where phobias can physically manifest in the shadows.
  • Luxury “Philosopher” Frames: 2 Gold. These include gold-leaf runes and a higher-quality Whisper-Glass that provides a sharper “Panic Analysis” readout.

In the world of Saṃsāra, the Whisper-Glass Spectacles of the Guardian’s Gaze serve as a vital bridge between paralyzing dread and cold, mechanical efficiency. Roleplaying with this item involves a shift from being a victim of one’s environment to becoming a clinical observer of it, using the “Filter of Truth” to strip away the supernatural horror of a phobia and reveal the mundane target beneath.

Offensive Applications

  • Revealing the Unseen: In environments like the Shifting Jungle Ruins, where predators use psychic camouflage to mimic a traveler’s deepest fears, the Focal Point Projection is a powerful offensive tool. By tapping the bridge, the avatar forces a “Fear-Entity” (which may be a formless psychic pressure) to manifest as a solid, Sepia-tinted physical form. This strips the monster of its “Ethereal” or “Invulnerable” traits, allowing the avatar and their party to strike it with mundane steel or spells.
  • Exploiting Weaknesses: During a confrontation in a Skyscraper Metropolis, the Panic Analysis allows the avatar to see through the “glamour” of a high-tier opponent. While the avatar is roleplaying the physical symptoms of a phobia (shaking hands, sweating), the lenses highlight the enemy’s structural flaws or magical gaps in bright, Sepia outlines. This allows for a “Surgical Strike” that ignores a portion of the enemy’s defense, fueled by the very adrenaline the enemy intended to use as a weapon.
  • Tactical Recording: In the Underwater Megacities, where visibility is often obscured by silt or darkness, the avatar can use the Gaze of the Stoic to “Record” a fast-moving enemy’s attack pattern. Even if the avatar is forced to retreat, they can project this recording later for a tactician or smith to analyze, creating a custom counter-measure for the next offensive encounter.

Defensive Applications

  • Psychic Buffer: In the Dark Cave Megacities, where the environment itself can trigger claustrophobia or nyctophobia, the Filter of Truth passive is the primary defense. It roleplays as a “dimming” of the world; the oppressive walls of the cave appear to recede and become translucent outlines, preventing the avatar from taking penalties to their movement or resolve. This allows the avatar to navigate tight spaces during a retreat that would otherwise trigger a panic attack.
  • The Final Mind-Shield: When facing a “Mind-Shatter” attack from a high-tier entity, the Shatter-Shield is a literal life-saver. The roleplay description involves the avatar feeling a sudden, crushing weight on their mind, followed by the sharp crack of the lenses. As the glass falls away, the mental pressure vanishes. This provides a clean escape window, as the entity’s primary weapon is spent against the Whisper-Glass instead of the avatar’s psyche.
  • Illumination through Anxiety: When an avatar is cornered in a pitch-black alley or ruin, the Runes of the Inner Eye turn their fear into a defensive advantage. The worse the avatar feels, the clearer they can see. This allows them to identify traps or hidden exits that a “braver” character would miss in the dark, effectively allowing the avatar to “out-hide” or “out-maneuver” a pursuer who cannot see in the absence of light.

Roleplay Scenarios by Environment

  • On a Cloud-Piercing Airship: If an avatar has a phobia of heights (Acrophobia), the spectacles don’t just help them cope—they turn the vast, terrifying drop into a series of mathematical vectors. The avatar sees the air currents and safety railings highlighted in sepia, allowing them to perform daring mid-air repairs on a damaged engine while the rest of the crew is too terrified to step onto the catwalk.
  • In an Abandoned Alchemical Lab: When confronted with a “Body-Horror” experiment that triggers a phobia of gore or disease, the lenses soften the imagery. Instead of seeing raw flesh and pulsing veins, the avatar sees a “blueprint” of the creature. This defensive filter allows them to remain calm enough to pick a complex alchemical lock or disable a self-destruct sequence while the creature is actively banging on the door.
  • Within a Crowded Metropolitan Market: For an avatar with a phobia of crowds (Agoraphobia), the spectacles highlight the “Path of Least Resistance.” The sea of people becomes a series of transparent silhouettes, and the “Logic-Enhanced” passive shows the avatar exactly which gaps to slide through to reach their destination without being touched, effectively granting them a supernatural-tier of urban mobility.

Perception of Activation:

Sight

  • Perception: Sepia-Toned “Ghost-Architecture” and Runic Outlines.
  • Description: The world loses its vibrant color, replaced by a calm, tea-stained sepia filter. Frightening details—like the jagged teeth of a beast or the deep shadows of a pit—are smoothed over with glowing, geometric outlines and protective runes that dance at the periphery of the lenses.
  • Positives: Strips away the “visual noise” of horror, allowing the user to focus on the physical form and movement of a threat.
  • Negatives: Color-coded information (like the red or green wires of a bomb or specific alchemical potions) becomes impossible to distinguish.

Sound

  • Perception: High-Frequency Harmonic and Muffled Environment.
  • Description: A faint, crystalline ringing sounds in the ears, vibrating at a frequency that matches the user’s pulse. Harsh, sudden noises (screams, explosions) are automatically dampened, sounding as if they are occurring underwater or behind a thick velvet curtain.
  • Positives: Prevents auditory overload and keeps the user from being startled by loud, fear-inducing sounds.
  • Negatives: Directional hearing is compromised; it becomes difficult to pinpoint exactly where a quiet sound (like a whisper or a distant footstep) is coming from.

Touch

  • Perception: Memory-Wire “Hug” and Cool Temples.
  • Description: The silver frames of the spectacles tighten slightly against the temples and the bridge of the nose. This isn’t painful, but rather a firm, reassuring pressure. The metal itself remains unnaturally cool, even in the heat of battle, acting as a heat-sink for the user’s rising body temperature.
  • Positives: The physical pressure acts as a grounding sensation, reminding the user of their own physical presence and safety.
  • Negatives: Prolonged activation can lead to a “tension headache” once the item is removed and the silver wire relaxes.

Extra-Sensory: Threat-Vector Mapping (The Mind’s Eye)

  • Perception: Geometric Safety Paths.
  • Description: The user perceives glowing lines on the floor and walls that represent “The Path of Least Resistance.” In a state of phobia, the spectacles calculate the safest exit or the most logical defensive position, projecting it directly into the user’s spatial awareness.
  • Positives: Allows for perfect navigation through a chaotic environment without the need for conscious thought.
  • Negatives: The user may become over-reliant on the “optimal path,” ignoring sudden opportunities or environmental changes that the logic-engine hasn’t yet calculated.

Extra-Sensory: Analytical Detachment

  • Perception: Emotional Cooling.
  • Description: A strange, “numb” sensation washes over the user’s emotional center. While the physical symptoms of fear (pounding heart, sweating) remain, the feeling of terror is separated from the user’s consciousness, as if they are watching a scary movie rather than living it.
  • Positives: Grants the ability to make logical, life-saving decisions under extreme psychic pressure.
  • Negatives: The avatar may appear sociopathic or cold to companions who are currently suffering, as the spectacles inhibit the user’s ability to express or feel empathy for others’ fear.

Extra-Sensory: Reality-Anchor

  • Perception: Static-Resistant Vision.
  • Description: Illusions and hallucinations “jitter” or appear with jagged digital-like artifacts. The user can perceive the “true” solid edges of the world through magical or psychic distortion.
  • Positives: Makes the user nearly immune to being misled by phantasms or shifting environments.
  • Negatives: Seeing the “ugly truth” behind beautiful or comforting illusions can be mentally draining, causing a sense of profound cynicism.

Blueprint for the Guardian’s Gaze: The Daily Use 527 Spectacles

Materials Needed

  • 2 Slices of Whisper-Glass: Thin, translucent wafers harvested from fulgurite deposits in the Silent Sea. Must be free of occlusions to ensure the “Filter of Truth” remains clear.
  • 6 Inches of Memory-Wire Silver: A flexible, high-purity silver alloy infused with the “essence of home.” This metal must be able to return to its original forged shape regardless of how often it is bent.
  • 1 Dram of Concentrated Reason: A distilled alchemical liquid made from crushed owl feathers and mountain spring water, used to coat the lenses.
  • 0.5 oz Fine Velvet: Sourced from silk-moths; used specifically for the bridge and temple padding to provide the “reassuring pressure” sensation.
  • A Handful of Runic Dust: Ground sapphire and iron filings used to etch the protective border symbols into the glass edges.

Tools Required

  • Precision Gem-Cutter: A fine, diamond-tipped oscillating tool used to shape the Whisper-Glass without inducing micro-fractures.
  • Silver-Smithing Mandrel: A graduated conical tool used to loop and shape the Memory-Wire silver into the circular or rectangular eye-frames.
  • Alchemical Etching Needle: A needle tipped with a minute magical conductor, used to scribe the microscopic runes of the “Inner Eye.”
  • Calibrated Tuning Fork: An instrument set to the “Frequency of Calm” (approximately 432 Hz) to test the glass resonance.
  • Small Vacuum-Bell: Used to apply the “Concentrated Reason” coating in a dust-free environment to prevent visual distortion.

Skill Requirements

  • Optical Alchemy (Novice): The ability to treat glass with liquid reagents without causing the material to cloud or become brittle.
  • Memory-Metal Working: Understanding how to “teach” the silver wire its permanent shape through a process of heat-cycling and rhythmic tapping.
  • Basic Runic Scribing: Knowledge of the “Stoic Alphabet”—a series of symbols designed to suppress emotional feedback and enhance logical processing.
  • Psychic Calibration: A fundamental skill in Saṃsāra used to key an item to the user’s heart rate and nervous system.

Crafting Steps

  • Forging the Frame: Heat the Memory-Wire silver until it glows soft orange. Bend it around the mandrel to the desired shape. While the metal is cooling, the crafter must hum a steady, monotonous tone to instill “Stability” into the silver’s molecular memory.
  • Shaping the Whisper-Glass: Use the precision cutter to trim the Whisper-Glass slices to fit the frames. If the glass cracks during this stage, the material is rejected, as it indicates a “lack of focus” in the crafting environment.
  • The Runic Etching: Under a magnifying lens, use the etching needle to scribe the border runes onto the lenses. These runes must be continuous; a single break in the line will prevent the “Shatter-Shield” from functioning correctly.
  • Applying the Filter: Place the lenses inside the vacuum-bell and introduce the Concentrated Reason. The liquid must bond with the glass until the sepia tint is uniform across the entire surface.
  • Assembly and Tensioning: Snap the lenses into the Memory-Wire frames. The tension should be so precise that the glass “sings” when the frame is lightly flicked.
  • The Stress-Test: To finalize the binding, the crafter must wear the spectacles while exposed to a minor stressor (such as a sudden loud noise or a harmless illusion). If the sepia tint deepens and the runes begin to glow, the item is considered fully activated and ready for daily use.

Glass-Eyes and Man Who Counted Teeth of Fear-Beast

In the days when the sky-fire first kissed the sands of the Quiet-Wet, there was a man named Elro. Elro was a man of the soft-liver; his soul was as a bowl of water that did splash whenever the wind did bark. The things of the shadow were to him as great mountains of the tooth and the claw, and he did hide in the hollow-stones until his bones were as the dust of the shelf.

The scrolls of the forgotten-mud tell of the night the Great Spider of the Void did descend. This beast was not of the flesh, but of the “Mind-Ache.” It did grow larger as the men did scream, feeding upon the wetness of their fear-shivers. Elro did find a piece of the sand-glass, struck by the sky-bolt and cooled by the tears of the moon. He did hold it before his eyes, and the world did turn the color of the old-tea.

Lo! The translation is strange here, for it says: “The monster was no longer the mountain.” Through the glass of the Whisper, the Spider did shrink into a thing of the simple-math. Elro saw that it had exactly eight legs of the brittle-sort and eyes that were but globes of the oily-waste. The glass did muffle the Beast’s psychic-howl into the sound of a cricket in a far-box.

Elro did not run. He did sit upon the dirt and he did count. He counted the hairs upon the Beast’s knee. He counted the drips of the venom. Because he did not splash the water of his soul, the Beast did starve. It could not eat the man who looked at it with the “Cold-Eye of the Number.” The Beast did wither until it was but a dry-husk, blown away by the morning-sigh.

Elro did take the silver of his mother’s cup and bind the glass to his face-bone. He walked then into the caves where the Phobias do nest, and he did not blink. He saw the “Truth-Meat” beneath the “Terror-Skin.” When he died, the spectacles did not break, for he had no more fear to feed the shatter-magic. They were found by the glass-grinders of the high-isles, who did copy the runes so that all of the soft-liver might walk among the shadows as kings of the logic-path.

The Moral of the Story: The monster is a giant only so long as your eyes are wide with the dark; if you look through the glass of the reason, you will see that every terror has a neck that can be measured and a heart that can be stilled by the one who refuses to tremble.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Daily Use 527: Whisper-Glass Spectacles of the Guardian’s Gaze

  • Item Type: Arcane Protective Gear / Eyewear
  • Benefit: +10% to Library Use and Spot Hidden (only for finding physical flaws/clues).

Specific Game Mechanics

  • The Filter of Truth: When a character fails a Sanity Check, they may choose to look through the spectacles. This converts the Frightened or Panicked state into a “Clinical State.” The Investigator does not flee but instead suffers a -10% penalty to all social skills for 1D4 hours as they become cold and detached.
  • Focal Point Projection: Spend 2 Magic Points to force an invisible or trans-dimensional entity to become visible as a sepia-toned outline. This grants a Bonus Die on all combat rolls against that entity for 1 round.
  • Shatter-Shield: If the user would suffer 5 or more Sanity loss from a single source, the spectacles shatter. The Sanity loss is reduced to 0, but the user gains a temporary “Coldness” mania where they cannot feel empathy for 24 hours.

Blades in the Dark

Whisper-Glass Spectacles (Daily Use 527)

  • Quality: Tier I
  • Load: 0 (Worn)

Specific Game Mechanics

  • Passive: Logic-Driven. When you Study a person or a supernatural horror to find a weakness, you gain +1 Effect.
  • Phobia Buffer: When you take Stress to resist a consequence related to fear, horror, or mental manipulation, the cost is reduced by 1 (minimum 0).
  • Gaze of the Stoic: You may spend 1 Stress to perfectly memorize a scene. This allows you to automatically succeed on a Flashback later in the score to recall a minute detail or a specific guard’s patrol pattern seen while wearing the glasses.
  • Fragile: If you take a “Level 3 Harm” from a mental or psychic source, the item is destroyed but the Harm is reduced to Level 1.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Spectacles of the Guardian’s Gaze Wondrous Item, Common (Requires Attunement)

  • Item Slot: Eyes
  • Weight: —

Specific Game Mechanics

  • Panic Analysis: While wearing these spectacles, you have Advantage on Intelligence (Investigation) checks made to discern the nature of illusions or to identify the damage resistances of a creature.
  • Steady-Handed Logic: You have Advantage on saving throws against being Frightened. If you are already Frightened, you can still take the Help or Search actions as a bonus action.
  • Shatter-Shield: When you fail a saving throw against an effect that would cause the Stunned or Paralyzed condition through mental influence, you can choose to succeed instead. If you do, the spectacles shatter and are destroyed.
  • Inner Eye: You gain Darkvision out to 30 feet, but only while you are at or below half your maximum Hit Points.

Knave (2nd Edition)

Whisper-Glass Spectacles

  • Item Slots: 0 (Worn)
  • Quality: 1 (Glass is fragile)

Specific Game Mechanics

  • Filter of Truth: If you fail a Morale Check, you do not flee. Instead, you must spend your next turn performing a “Logic Task” (counting enemies, checking gear, or mapping the room) before you can act normally again.
  • Analytical Gaze: Any time you spend a full turn observing a monster, the GM must reveal its Armor Class or its highest Save bonus.
  • Shatter-Shield: If you would be reduced to 0 HP by a spell or mental attack, the glass breaks. You remain at 1 HP instead, but you are Blinded for 1D6 rounds as the frames bend and shards fall.
  • Inert: Does not count as an item slot when stowed in a case.

Fate Core / Fate Condensed

Daily Use 527: Whisper-Glass Spectacles of the Guardian’s Gaze

  • Type: Extra / Utility Item
  • Aspect: Analytical Detachment from Dread

Specific Game Mechanics

  • Passive: The Filter of Truth. You gain a +2 bonus to Defend against mental attacks or attempts to Create an Advantage using fear, intimidation, or illusions.
  • Active: Panic Analysis. When you are in a scene with a terrifying creature or environmental hazard, you may use Investigate instead of Will to overcome fear-based obstacles. On a success, you discover or create a situational aspect representing a technical flaw in the threat.
  • Active: Shatter-Shield. Once per session, when you would take a Mental Consequence, you may choose to have the spectacles shatter instead. The stress is negated, but the spectacles are useless until repaired during a downtime scene.
  • Active: Gaze of the Stoic. Spend a Fate Point to perfectly recall any visual detail seen through the lenses. This counts as an automatic success on a Notice roll related to past events in the current scenario.

Numenera & Cypher System

Whisper-Glass Spectacles (Daily Use 527)

  • Level: 1d6
  • Form: Silver-wire frames with sepia-tinted glass that vibrates slightly near danger.
  • Type: Artifact (Depletion: 1 in 10; checked only when the Shatter-Shield is triggered)

Specific Game Mechanics

  • Effect (Passive): The user gains an Asset on all Intellect-based tasks involving logic, observation, or identifying the weaknesses of creatures, provided they are in a high-stress situation.
  • Filter of Truth (Passive): The difficulty of all Intellect defense tasks against fear, panic, or confusion is reduced by one step.
  • Focal Point Projection (Active): The user can spend 2 points from their Intellect Pool to reveal the true form of an invisible or disguised creature within short range. The difficulty to attack that creature is reduced by one step for all allies for one minute.
  • Shatter-Shield (Active): If the user fails an Intellect defense roll and would suffer a mental disability or permanent trauma, the artifact automatically triggers its depletion roll. If successful, the user ignores the effect entirely as the glass breaks.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Spectacles of the Guardian’s Gaze Item 1 | Abjuration, Invested, Magical, Mental

  • Price: 15 gp
  • Usage: worn (eyepiece); Bulk: —

Specific Game Mechanics

  • Steady-Handed Logic (Passive): You gain a +1 item bonus to Will saves against Fear effects and Illusions. If you are Frightened, you do not take the status penalty to Perception or Intelligence-based skill checks.
  • Activation [A] (Concentrate): Panic Analysis. Requirement: You are in a state of high stress or facing a creature with a Fear aura. Effect: You attempt a check to Recall Knowledge about a creature you can see. On a success, you also learn the creature’s lowest saving throw modifier.
  • Activation [R] (Envision): Shatter-Shield. Trigger: You fail a saving throw against a mental effect that would leave you Controlled, Fascinated, or Paralyzed. Effect: You pass the save instead, and the spectacles are destroyed.
  • Inner Eye (Passive): While your current Hit Points are at half or lower, you gain Darkvision out to 30 feet.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Whisper-Glass Spectacles (Daily Use 527)

  • Type: Adventuring Gear
  • Weight: —
  • Cost: $150 (Approx. 15 Silver)

Specific Game Mechanics

  • Filter of Truth (Passive): The wearer receives a +2 bonus to all Fear checks. Additionally, they ignore 2 points of penalties to Notice or Research rolls caused by environmental distractions or mental stress.
  • Panic Analysis (Active): As a Limited Action, the wearer can make a Research or Notice roll (at +2) to identify a specific weakness or Resistance of a creature they can see.
  • Focal Point Projection (Active): As an action, the wearer taps the frames to project a beam. Any invisible or magically disguised creature hit by the beam (using an Athletics roll) is revealed and loses its Invisibility or Disguise benefits for 3 rounds.
  • Shatter-Shield (Active): If the wearer would suffer a Mental Wound or a long-term Insanity result from a Fright Table roll, the spectacles shatter. The result is negated, and the spectacles are rendered broken (Quality 0).

Shadowrun (6th World Edition)

Daily Use 527 Whisper-Glass Spectacles [Gear / Eyeware]

  • Item Type: Optical Enhancement / Mental Defense
  • Availability: 2 (Legal)
  • Cost: 850¥ (Approx. 9 Silver)

Specific Game Mechanics

  • Filter of Truth: When the user is subjected to a Fear-based magical effect or a Social Stress test (Intimidation), the spectacles provide a +2 dice pool bonus to the Resistance test.
  • Panic Analysis: Minor Action. While under fire or in a high-tension scene, the user can scan an opponent. This provides a +1 Attack Rating bonus against that specific target as the lenses highlight structural weaknesses.
  • Shatter-Shield: If the user would take Stun damage from a Mana-based spell or a direct mental attack, the glasses shatter. All damage from that specific attack is negated. The item is destroyed.
  • Inert State: When folded and placed in a pocket, the item has zero Object Resistance toward the user’s personal stealth and does not appear on active Matrix scans.

Starfinder (2nd Edition / Compatibility)

Whisper-Glass Spectacles (Daily Use 527)

  • Level: 1
  • Price: 125 Credits
  • Bulk: — (Negligible)
  • Category: Magic Item / Eyepiece

Specific Game Mechanics

  • Steady-Handed Logic: You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Will Saves against Fear and Illusion effects. You can use Intelligence instead of Wisdom for Sense Motive checks while the spectacles are active.
  • Focal Point Projection (Standard Action): You spend 1 Focus Point (or Resolve). A 30-foot line of sepia light reveals any invisible or concealed creature. The creature loses the benefits of Concealment or Invisibility against your attacks for 1d4 rounds.
  • Shatter-Shield (Reaction): Trigger: You fail a save against a Mind-Affecting effect. Effect: You succeed instead, but the spectacles gain the Broken condition and cannot be used until repaired with a Crafting check (DC 15).
  • Inner Eye: You gain Low-Light Vision. If you already have it, you gain Darkvision 30 ft. while your Stamina is at 0.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Saṃsāra-Pattern “Whisper-Glass” Specs

  • TL: 4 (Alchemical-Optical)
  • Weight: —
  • Cost: Cr 200

Specific Game Mechanics

  • Phobia Buffer: Whenever the traveler is required to make an INT or EDU check to resist panic, they receive a +1 DM to the roll.
  • Panic Analysis: By spending a Significant Action to observe a threat, the traveler makes an Investigate (INT) check (8+). Success identifies the target’s highest armor value or a specific environmental weakness.
  • Gaze of the Stoic: The glasses act as a TL 10 Camera and Data-Storage unit. They can record up to 10 hours of sepia-toned visual data which can be downloaded to a ship’s computer.
  • Shatter-Shield: If the traveler suffers a Psychic Attack or extreme mental trauma, the glasses shatter. The traveler ignores the effect but is Dazed (suffers a -2 DM to all actions) for the next 1-6 minutes.

Warhammer (WFRP 4th Edition)

The Whisper-Glass Spectacles of the Guardian’s Gaze

  • Price: 12 Silver
  • Encumbrance: 0
  • Availability: Rare (Metropolitan Opticians)

Specific Game Mechanics

  • Traits: Precise, Special (Filter of Truth)
  • Filter of Truth: The wearer receives a +10 bonus to all Cool Tests involving Fear, Terror, or Intimidation. If the wearer is currently under a Fear effect, they do not lose their Action; they merely suffer a -10 penalty to all tests.
  • Panic Analysis: On a successful Perception (Intelligence) Test, the wearer learns one Trait of a creature they are observing (e.g., Armour 2, Undead, or Weakness: Fire).
  • Shatter-Shield: If the wearer would receive one or more Mental Corruption points or gain a new Psychological Disorder, the spectacles shatter. The points/disorder are negated, but the user receives the Stunned condition for 1 round.
  • Inertia: Does not count toward Encumbrance and is undetectable by “Witchsight” when stored in a lead-lined or rune-stitched pouch.