Dream 217 of Awkwardness

Lore: The Dream 217 of Awkwardness is a curious artifact forged from the “social static” of the spirit world. It is said to have been created by a lonely hermit who tried to weave the feeling of a missed handshake into physical form. The item is a mismatched tangle of bent copper wire, frayed coconut fiber, and a single piece of sea-glass that never quite sits straight. It doesn’t offer grand prophecies of war or peace; instead, it interprets the subtle, uncomfortable truths of social friction. To wear it is to become a lightning rod for the “unspoken,” making the avatar appear physically clumsy yet socially hypersensitive. The spirit within communicates through sudden, poorly-timed twitches and a persistent feeling of being slightly out of sync with the current conversation.

Detailed Stats

• Slot: Finger (A bulky, asymmetrical ring that is always either a bit too tight or sliding off).
• Tier: 1.
• Rarity: Common.
• Weight: 0.1 lbs.
• Material: Bent copper wire, frayed coconut husk, and a jagged shard of translucent sea-glass.

Skills Gained

• Involuntary Honesty: The avatar gains a bonus to detecting when someone is “faking” a social grace or hiding their true discomfort.
• Stumbling Reflex: The avatar gains a bonus to Acrobatics or Athletics checks made specifically when they have tripped, fallen, or moved unintentionally, turning a “klutz” moment into a narrow escape.

Passive Magic

• The Social Cringe: Any creature attempting to read the avatar’s mind or intentions finds the experience deeply uncomfortable and “cringe-inducing.” This provides a +1 bonus to Mental Defense, as the intruder quickly wants to stop looking.
• Unintentional Distraction: The avatar’s awkward fidgeting—the ring catching on clothing or the sea-glass glinting at the wrong time—causes a -1 penalty to the Passive Perception of those watching the avatar, as they are too busy feeling secondhand embarrassment to notice the avatar’s true actions.
• The Wallflower’s Cloak: When standing still in a group, the avatar becomes “socially invisible.” People subconsciously ignore the avatar to avoid an awkward interaction, making it easier to eavesdrop.

Activable Magic

• The Forced Fumble (Normal Activation): The avatar points the jagged sea-glass toward a target. The target must succeed on a Reflex save or perform a minor social or physical blunder (tripping over a word, dropping a small item, or a loud stomach growl). This breaks the target’s concentration or ruins their “cool” for one round.
• Sympathetic Embarrassment (Area Activation): The avatar deliberately does something extremely awkward (like a loud, misplaced laugh). All creatures within 10 feet must succeed on a Will save or feel a wave of sympathetic embarrassment, suffering a penalty to their next social roll as they lose their confidence.
• Interpretation of the Unspoken (Insight Activation): By focusing on the ring until it pinches, the avatar “interprets” a dream-vision of a target’s most awkward secret or social fear. This provides a specific piece of leverage that can be used later, though the avatar must deliver the news in a blunt, uncomfortable manner.

Tags: Finger-Slot, Dream-Magic, Spiritual, Awkwardness, Copper, Social-Friction, Distraction, Tier-1, Empathy, Uncomfortable, Saṃsāra-Tides, Mismatched, Fidgeting, Clumsy, Unsynchronized, Stuttering, Bumbling, Asymmetrical, Frayed, Peculiar, Tactless, Tangled

In the world of Saṃsāra, the Dream 217 of Awkwardness is rarely featured in high-end boutiques. Instead, it is found in places where the “socially discarded” or the “oddly specific” items gather dust.

Where to Buy and Sell

• The Curio Corner of Misplaced Things: These are cluttered, cramped stalls located in the back alleys of bustling markets. The shops are often so packed with junk that the customer inevitably knocks something over upon entering. The 217 is usually found at the bottom of a “bargain bin” filled with mismatched buttons and rusted keys. The merchant is typically someone who forgets your name mid-sentence, making the transaction itself a perfect reflection of the item’s power.
• Hermit’s Exchange Ports: Found on small, isolated sandbars or floating huts, these “shops” are run by people who have retreated from society. They don’t value gold as much as they value “interesting distractions.” To buy the 217 here, you might not pay with coin, but by listening to a three-hour rambling story about a dream the hermit once had. Selling here is easy, as the hermits find the item’s “fidgety” energy comforting.
• The Archive of Unspoken Truths: This is a more formal, though equally strange, establishment located in the quiet districts of major cities. It is a library-shop for “Social Alchemists” and spies. They recognize the 217 as a sophisticated tool for eavesdropping and social disruption. They keep it in a velvet-lined box that—true to the item’s nature—has a broken hinge that pinches the fingers.

Buying and Selling Costs

Because the item is “Awkward,” its value fluctuates based on how much the merchant just wants the interaction to end:

• Curio Corner (Unsorted/Dusty): To buy, the price is usually 4 to 7 Gold. The merchant often rounds the price down just to get you to stop fidgeting near their more fragile stock. They will buy it from you for 1 to 2 Gold, usually offered with a sigh and a look of mild pity.
• Hermit’s Exchange (Swapped/Bartered): The “cost” is often 3 Rations and a Piece of Gossip. If you must use coin, it averages 45 to 55 Silver. They will “buy” it back for a Healer’s Kit or 25 Silver, though they’d prefer you just leave a cool-looking seashell instead.
• The Archive (Authenticated/Cleaned): Buying here is the most expensive, costing 90 to 110 Silver. They have verified the “Social Cringe” frequency and ensured the sea-glass is properly jagged. Selling here is the most profitable for the avatar, fetching 50 to 60 Silver, as the archivists value its ability to bypass mental defenses.

The Awkward Transaction

Buying the Dream 217 is never a smooth process. In Saṃsāra, the merchant will likely drop the item twice while showing it to you, or there will be a long, painful silence after you ask the price where neither of you knows who should speak next. To sell the item, the avatar usually has to “accidentally” demonstrate its power—tripping into a display case or making a wildly inappropriate comment—which proves to the merchant that the 994’s “social static” is still fully functional.

In the world of Saṃsāra, the Dream 217 of Awkwardness is roleplayed not as a weapon of power, but as a weapon of friction. It exploits the universal desire for social harmony, weaponizing the “cringe” to make opponents hesitate, look away, or underestimate the avatar.

Defensive Roleplay

• Safe Areas (Banquets/Courts): Defense here is the Aura of Second-Hand Embarrassment. The avatar doesn’t need a shield; they simply need to be unbearable to watch. Roleplay involves misreading social cues so profoundly that guards and nobles find it painful to maintain eye contact. When someone tries to interrogate the avatar, the avatar might pick their nose or recount a very long, pointless dream about a turnip. The “Social Cringe” magic makes the attacker want the encounter to end as quickly as possible, leading them to grant the avatar a “pity pass” or leave them alone entirely.
• Normal Areas (Markets/Docks): The avatar utilizes the Wallflower’s Cloak. By leaning into their “clumsiness,” they become background noise. Roleplay involves dropping things, stumbling over air, or tangling themselves in a merchant’s awning. Because people are conditioned to look away from someone making a fool of themselves to avoid “making it worse,” the avatar effectively vanishes. Defensively, this allows the avatar to stand right next to a conversation they shouldn’t be hearing while everyone else pretends they aren’t there.
• Unsafe/Deathly Areas: In combat, defense is The Stumbling Reflex. The avatar doesn’t “dodge” like a warrior; they trip at the exact moment a blade passes over their head. Roleplay involves frantic, uncoordinated movement—flailing arms, slipping on mud, or accidentally sneezing during a spellcast. The “Awkwardness” makes the avatar’s movements impossible to predict because they aren’t following the “logic” of combat.

Offensive Roleplay

• The Forced Fumble: This is used to shatter an opponent’s “cool.” The avatar doesn’t strike the enemy’s body; they strike their dignity. Roleplay involves the avatar pointing the mismatched copper ring and whispering something like, “Is your fly unzipped?” or “You have a massive piece of spinach in your teeth.” The target, gripped by the 217’s magic, becomes hyper-aware of their own perceived flaws, causing them to fumble their weapon or stutter their command, losing their momentum in the fight.
• Sympathetic Embarrassment: This is “Social Area of Effect” (AoE) damage. The avatar performs a massive social blunder—perhaps a loud, wet snort during a moment of silence or a wildly inappropriate joke about a local deity. Roleplay focuses on the feeling in the air; the avatar describes the “weight of the silence” and the “flushed faces” of everyone around them. This creates a moment of paralysis where nobody wants to be the first to speak or act, allowing the avatar’s allies to take advantage of the frozen crowd.
• Interpretation of the Unspoken: This is the most surgical offensive use. During a tense standoff, the avatar uses the ring to “interpret” a target’s secret awkwardness. Roleplay involves the avatar blurting out a private, embarrassing truth—such as the fact that the fearsome warlord still sleeps with a childhood blanket or that the grand mage once practiced kissing on a mirror. By exposing the “human awkwardness” within a powerful figure, the avatar strips them of their “Awe” and makes them vulnerable to more direct attacks.

Perception of Activation:

• Auditory (The Social Static):
  • User’s Perspective: You hear a persistent, high-pitched hum like a mosquito in your ear, punctuated by the sound of someone clearing their throat in a quiet room and the distant, muffled sound of a chair screeching against a floor.
  • Observer’s Perspective: They hear a faint, erratic clicking sound, similar to a fingernail tapping on glass, coming from your direction.
  • Positives: You can hear the physical “telltale” signs of a lie, such as a sudden intake of breath or a dry swallow.
  • Negatives: It is incredibly difficult to focus on a single speaker in a crowd, as the “static” of everyone’s discomfort blends together.
• Visual (The Uncanny Blur):
  • User’s Perspective: Everything looks slightly “off-center”; horizons tilt by three degrees, and you see phantom “after-images” of people’s movements that make them look clumsy.
  • Observer’s Perspective: The ring’s sea-glass catches light in a jagged, annoying way that makes it painful to look at your hand for too long.
  • Positives: You can see “social openings”—gaps in a person’s attention where they are too distracted by their own insecurity to notice you.
  • Negatives: Your depth perception becomes unreliable, making it easy to miss your grip when reaching for an object.
• Tactile (The Itch and Pinch):
  • User’s Perspective: The ring feels like it is constantly alternating between being painfully tight and so loose it is about to fall off; your skin feels “fizzy” or prickly, as if your limbs are falling asleep.
  • Observer’s Perspective: You appear to be in a constant state of minor agitation—fidgeting with your sleeves, shifting your weight, or adjusting the ring.
  • Positives: The “fizzy” feeling makes you hyper-sensitive to changes in air pressure, alerting you to invisible or sneaking enemies.
  • Negatives: You suffer a penalty to fine manual dexterity, such as threading a needle or drawing a map, because your hands won’t stop twitching.
• Olfactory (The Scent of Damp Paper):
  • User’s Perspective: A sudden, overwhelming smell of old, damp library books and cold, stale coffee fills your nose.
  • Observer’s Perspective: Those very close to you might smell something like “dust and nervousness,” an dry scent that makes them want to sneeze.
  • Positives: The scent acts as a mental anchor that prevents you from being affected by magical perfumes or pheromone-based charms.
  • Negatives: The smell is so distracting it can cause a mild, persistent headache during long activations.
• Extra-Sensory (The Cringe-Sync):
  • User’s Perspective: You “feel” the exact moment an interaction becomes uncomfortable for someone else; it hits your stomach like a small, cold wave of nausea.
  • Observer’s Perspective: You seem to flinch or wince at seemingly random moments during a conversation.
  • Positives: You know exactly when someone is vulnerable to a social suggestion or when their resolve is wavering.
  • Negatives: You can “catch” the embarrassment of others, causing you to lose your own confidence if you spend too much time around highly insecure people.
• Extra-Sensory (The Delayed Reaction):
  • User’s Perspective: You perceive the world with a “lag”; you see what happened a split second ago overlaid with what is happening now.
  • Observer’s Perspective: You respond to questions or events a beat too late, making you seem slow-witted or distracted.
  • Positives: This “delay” allows you to re-evaluate a split-second event (like a trap springing) as it is happening, giving you a chance to react more effectively.
  • Negatives: You are almost always the last to act in an initiative order because your brain is processing the “lag.”

Recipe: Tangling the Loop of Social Friction

To recreate a vessel capable of housing the Dream 217, the artisan must work in a cluttered, poorly lit space where they are likely to be interrupted. The item must be crafted with an intentional lack of symmetry, ensuring it never feels truly “finished.”

Materials Needed

• 1 Yard of Non-Conductive Copper Wire: It must be bent by hand into sharp, uneven angles rather than smooth curves.
• 3 Pinches of Frayed Coconut Fiber: Harvested from a husk that was discarded and trampled in a busy thoroughfare.
• 1 Shard of Cloudy Sea-Glass: Must be translucent but “dirty,” containing small air bubbles that distort the light passing through it.
• 1 Vial of “Linger-Mist”: Captured from the air of a room immediately after an argument has ended but before the participants have left.
• 1 Dried Tongue of a Mimic-Frog: Known for its poorly timed croaks, used to anchor the “awkward” spirit.
• 1 Essence of a Missed Connection: Obtained by holding the copper wire between two people who are attempting to shake hands but miss.

Tools Required

• Dull Wire-Cutters: The cuts must be slightly jagged and burred, never clean.
• A Mismatched Pair of Pliers: One needle-nose and one blunt-nose, to ensure the grip is always uneven.
• A Wobbly Stool: The crafter must sit on a surface that threatens to tip over throughout the entire process.

Skill Requirements

• Tinkering (Tier 1): Necessary to wrap the wire around the fiber without snapping the fragile coconut strands.
• Empathy (Social Static): The ability to sense and harness “cringe” energy without becoming paralyzed by it.
• Lore (Minor Spirits): Knowledge of the “Small-Logic” spirits that inhabit misplaced and forgotten objects.

Crafting Steps

1. The Bending: Take the Copper Wire and bend it into a series of “uncomfortable” shapes. It should be sized for a finger, but with an oval rather than a circular opening, ensuring it sits awkwardly on the bone.
2. The Binding: Intersperse the Frayed Coconut Fiber into the gaps of the copper. Do not secure it tightly; allow the ends to stick out so they will catch on the wearer’s clothing.
3. The Setting: Wedge the Cloudy Sea-Glass into the wire frame. It must be set at a slight tilt, so the wearer is constantly tempted to “fix” its position.
4. The Infusion: Coat the Mimic-Frog Tongue in the Linger-Mist and tuck it beneath the glass shard. As the mist evaporates, the tongue will shrink and “lock” the awkward spirit into the wire.
5. The Binding (10-Minute Ritual): The crafter must attempt to explain the “purpose” of the ring to a total stranger. As the stranger becomes visibly confused or uncomfortable, the crafter must funnel that “Social Static” into the ring. When the copper begins to itch the crafter’s palm and the sea-glass turns a dull, flickering gray, the Dream 217 is bound.

Hand-Which-Does-Not-Know-Other and Stumbling Wise-One

In the Early-Before-Times, when the sky was held up by the Columns-of-Certainty, there lived a youth named He-Who-Drops-the-Fruit. He was a student of the Grand-Weaver-of-Quiet-Dignity, yet his feet were as Confused-Tortoises and his hands were as Fish-Out-of-Water.

The youth wished to make a Circle-of-Marriage (the ring) for the daughter of the King-of-Many-Polished-Words. He sought the Spirit-of-the-Center, but he tripped upon a Sleeping-Dog-of-Fate. His copper became Smashed-and-Angry, and his coconut-hair became Tangled-like-the-Mind-of-a-Liar. He found a piece of Sky-Dropping (the sea-glass) that was crooked and would not sit in the Middle-Place.

When he gave the Ugly-Tangled-Thing to the King’s daughter, the Silence-That-Hurts fell upon the court. The King’s daughter did not scream; she looked at her feet and felt the Itch-of-Not-Knowing-What-to-Say. But the Dream-Power inside the ring was strong. Because the ring was so Wrong-in-the-Eyes, it saw the Wrong-in-the-Hearts.

The youth looked at the Grand-Advisor and saw through the ring that the Advisor was wearing his Under-Garments-Backwards. He looked at the General-of-Iron and saw that the General had forgotten the Name-of-his-own-Mother. When the General tried to strike the youth for his Un-Beauty, the youth tripped over a Rug-of-Mercy, and the General’s sword hit only the Empty-Air.

The people were so full of the Second-Skin-Shame (the embarrassment) that they could not fight. They let the youth go, for to look at him was to feel the Sweat-of-Small-Mistakes. The youth wandered the islands, and wherever he went, the Lies-of-Grace were broken by the Truth-of-the-Fumble. It is written on the Broken-Shells that he died while trying to bow to a tree, hitting his head, and in that moment, he saw the Face-of-the-All-Spirit, who was also laughing awkwardly.

The Moral of the Story

The man who walks with a straight back and a silver tongue may hide a thousand daggers, but he who trips over his own shadow forces the world to drop its mask; for in the shared shame of a stumble, no man can truly remain a stranger.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

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Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Unique Name: Ring of the Uncomfortable Truth Item Type: Wondrous Item, Common (Requires Attunement)

• Slot: Finger
• Unintentional Distraction: While you are fidgeting with this ring, you gain a +1 bonus to AC as enemies find your spasmodic movements and lack of eye contact difficult to read.
• The Wallflower’s Cloak: You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks to hide in plain sight, provided you are within a crowd of at least four people. Observers subconsciously look away to avoid your awkward presence.
• The Forced Fumble: As an action, you can point the ring at a creature within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 11 Charisma saving throw. On a failure, the creature suffers Disadvantage on its next attack roll or ability check as it becomes hyper-aware of a perceived social or physical blunder. Once used, this cannot be used again until the next dawn.

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Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Unique Name: The Static-Copper Band Item Type: Artifact of Social Friction

• Slot: Finger
• Social Cringe: If an entity attempts a magical or psychic probe of the wearer’s mind, the wearer may make a Hard POW Check. Success causes the intruder to experience a wave of social nausea, ending the probe immediately and costing the intruder 1 Sanity point.
• Stumbling Reflex: Once per combat encounter, the wearer may replace a Dodge roll with a Luck roll. This represents “falling out of the way” of an attack by accident.
• Interpretation of the Unspoken: By spending 1D2 Sanity, the wearer can intuit a target’s most embarrassing secret. This grants a Bonus Die to the next Intimidate or Psychology roll against that target, provided the wearer blurts out the secret in an inappropriate manner.

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Blades in the Dark

Unique Name: The Fidgeter’s Sea-Glass Loop Item Type: Fine Item (0 Load)

• Slot: Finger
• Quality: Fine (+1 Tier for effectiveness when Swaying or Consorting through pity or distraction).
• The Wallflower’s Cloak: You gain Potency when you use Prowl to blend into a social gathering or “hide” in a room full of people.
• Sympathetic Embarrassment: You may spend 1 Stress to perform a massive social blunder. All NPCs in the immediate area are Hesitant (a temporary status), giving you or an ally a window to act while they look away in embarrassment.
• Flaw: While wearing the ring, any attempts to act with “Cool” or “Command” are at a -1 Effect penalty.

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Knave (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: The Asymmetrical Coil Item Type: Magic Item (1 Slot)

• Slot: Finger
• Dreadful Fumble: Once per day, you may force an enemy attacking you to re-roll their attack and take the lower result, as they are distracted by your clumsiness.
• Involuntary Honesty: You gain a +2 bonus to checks made to detect if an NPC is hiding a secret or feeling uncomfortable.
• The Stumbling Reflex: If you fall from a height of 20 feet or less, you take no damage, provided you land in a way that looks profoundly embarrassing to those watching.
• Awkward Burden: Any roll to Persuade or Lead a group of “cool” or “high-status” NPCs is made at Disadvantage.

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Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Coil of the Fumbled Truth Item Type: Item 1, Invested, Divination, Magical, Occult

• Slot: Ring
• Usage: Worn; Bulk: —
• The Social Cringe: You gain a +1 item bonus to Will saves against mental effects that would compel you to act with dignity or reveal secrets, as your own “awkward” thoughts act as a buffer.
• Unintentional Distraction: You gain a +1 item bonus to Deception checks to Feint, but only if you describe your feint as a clumsy accident, such as dropping your weapon or sneezing.
• Interpretation of the Unspoken [One-Action]:Frequency: Once per hour. You observe a target’s subtle discomfort. Attempt a Perception check against the target’s Will DC.
  • Success: You learn one minor, embarrassing fact about the target. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your next social roll against them.
  • Failure: You blurt out something nonsensical and embarrassing about yourself; you take a –1 penalty to social checks with that target for 1 hour.

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Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Unique Name: Ring of the Stumbling Fool Item Type: Enchanted Item

• The Wallflower’s Cloak: When you are not the primary focus of an encounter, enemies suffer a -1 penalty to Notice you, as they subconsciously avoid your uncomfortable presence.
• Stumbling Reflex: You gain the Dodge Edge, but it only applies if you describe your movement as accidental (tripping, slipping on a loose stone, etc.).
• Sympathetic Embarrassment (Power): As an action, you can spend 2 Power Points to perform a “Social AoE.” This functions as the Stun power, but instead of physical shock, the targets are paralyzed by secondhand embarrassment. Use your Spirit as the arcane skill.
• Minor Hindrance: The wearer gains the Clumsy Hindrance while the ring is equipped. If they already have it, the penalty to Athletics and Stealth increases to -4.

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Numenera & Cypher System

Unique Name: Static-Glass Loop 217 Item Type: Artifact (Level 1d6+1)

• Form: An uneven copper wire ring with a jagged sea-glass shard that catches on fabric.
• Depletion: 1 in 1d10
• Effect (Unintentional Distraction): You gain an Asset on any task to remain unnoticed in a social situation, as others actively look away to avoid interacting with you.
• Effect (Forced Fumble): You spend 2 Intellect points to cause a target within short range to make an Intellect defense roll. If they fail, they drop whatever they are holding or trip, losing their next action.
• Effect (Interpretation of the Unspoken): You spend 3 Intellect points to “read the room.” The GM tells you the most socially awkward person in the vicinity and what is causing their discomfort.
• Hindrance: All Interaction tasks involving charm, leadership, or etiquette are hindered by one step.

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Fate (Core/Condensed)

Unique Name: The Uncoordinated Band Item Type: Stunt/Extra

• Aspect: I’m Not Supposed To Be Here
• Stunt (The Stumbling Reflex): Because I am strangely lucky when I lose my balance, I gain a +2 to Defend using Athletics whenever I describe my defense as an accidental fall or a clumsy stumble.
• Stunt (The Wallflower’s Cloak): Because people avoid my awkward gaze, I gain a +2 to Stealth when I am trying to remain unnoticed in a public or crowded place.
• Stunt (Sympathetic Embarrassment): Once per session, I can cause everyone in my zone to feel a wave of cringe. I create a “Debilitating Social Tension” aspect with two free invokes that can be used to hinder any NPC’s social or mental actions.
• Cost: The item carries the Flaw: Social Friction. The GM can compel this to make the avatar accidentally insult someone, trip over an important object, or ruin a delicate negotiation.

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Shadowrun (6th World Edition)

Unique Name: Dream 217 “Cringe-Code” Loop Item Type: Social/Manipulation Focus (Rating 2)

• Slot: Finger
• Unintentional Distraction: The ring emits a low-level mana interference that mimics “user error.” When an observer uses a Sensor or Perception test to spot you, they suffer a -2 dice pool penalty as their attention is subconsciously deflected by your “clumsy” signature.
• The Wallflower’s Cloak: You gain a +2 dice pool bonus to Sneaking tests in “Public” or “Crowded” environments. Security guards subconsciously categorize you as a “non-threat” or “embarrassing civilian.”
• Forced Fumble: As a Minor Action, you can spend 1 Edge to force a target within 10 meters to resist a Willpower + Intuition (2) test. Failure causes them to experience a “glitch” in their AR or physical coordination, inflicting the Unsteady status for one round.
• Flaw: You suffer a -2 dice pool penalty to any Influence test involving Leadership or Impersonation; you simply cannot look “cool” or “in command” while the ring is active.

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Starfinder (2nd Edition / Playtest)

Unique Name: 217 Static-Woven Ring Item Type: Level 1, Magic Item

• Slot: Finger
• Bulk: —
• Stumbling Reflex [Reaction]: Trigger: An enemy misses you with a melee attack. Effect: You trip into the enemy’s space. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to AC against that enemy until the start of your next turn as you become an unpredictable, flailing obstacle.
• The Wallflower’s Cloak: You gain a +1 status bonus to Stealth checks made to Hide or Sneak in urban or populated environments.
• Sympathetic Embarrassment [1-Action] (Emotion, Mental, Visual): You perform a confusingly awkward gesture. One creature within 30 feet must succeed at a Will save (DC 15). On a failure, the target is Sickened 1 by a wave of secondhand embarrassment.
• Skills Gained: You gain a +1 item bonus to Culture checks made to find “taboo” or “embarrassing” information about a local society.

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Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Dream 217 “Social-Lag” Band Item Type: TL 11 Psionic Tool

• Weight: —
• Cost: Cr 2,500
• Description: A mismatched coil of copper and sea-glass that disrupts the “flow” of social interaction.
• The Wallflower’s Cloak: In a crowded environment (starport, crowded bar, busy street), any Law Level checks or guard searches are directed away from you on a 2D6 roll of 8+.
• Interpretation of the Unspoken: If the wearer has the Telepathy talent, they may spend 1 PSI point to automatically detect the “Social Weakness” of a target (e.g., they are lying about their credentials, they are nervous about a bribe, etc.). This adds a +2 DM to the next Deception or Persuade check against them.
• Stumbling Reflex: Once per combat, you may ignore the effects of being knocked Prone. You instead describe it as a “tactical stumble” that places you behind cover or out of a line of sight.
• Social Penalty: All Admin and Diplomat checks suffer a -2 DM while wearing this item.

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Warhammer (40,000 Roleplay: Wrath & Glory)

Unique Name: The Penitent’s Fumbling Coil Item Type: Worn Curio

• Value: 2 (Common)
• Keywords: [UNALIGNED], [SPIRITUAL], [AWKWARD]
• Unintentional Distraction: Enemies find your jerky, uncoordinated movements baffling. You gain +1 Resilience against ranged attacks made within Short range.
• The Wallflower’s Cloak: You gain +2d6 to Stealth (Agi) tests made to blend into a crowd of Imperial citizens or low-level workers.
• Forced Fumble (Action): You target one enemy within 15 meters. Spend 1 Glory. The target must pass a DN 3 Willpower Test. If they fail, they drop their held weapon or item as their hands momentarily lose coordination.
• Morbid Discernment (Awkwardness): You gain +1d6 to Insight (Wil) tests. You have a supernatural knack for sensing when a high-ranking official is being dishonest or is deeply uncomfortable with their orders.