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Dream 994 of Awful Omens

—

by

Dale
in

Lore: In the sun-bleached wreckage of Saṃsāra’s forgotten reefs, the Dream 994 of Awful Omens is found clinging to the remains of those who sought forbidden truths. While most dream-items are woven with beauty, the 994 is bound to the “Dark Tides”—the collective nightmares of the spirit world. It is constructed from the calcified teeth of deep-sea predators and the jagged, black obsidian glass spit from volcanic vents. The spirit within does not offer comfort; it interprets the “Awful” truth of what is to come. To wear it is to carry the weight of impending disaster, making the avatar a vessel of grim portents. They move with a disturbing, jerky grace, their presence causing the air to chill and the local wildlife to flee in instinctive terror.

Detailed Stats

  • Slot: Neck (Worn as a heavy, jagged gorget or torque held together by rusted iron wire).
  • Tier: 1.
  • Rarity: Common.
  • Weight: 3.5 lbs.
  • Material: Calcified predator teeth, obsidian glass shards, rusted iron wire, and dried kelp-leather.

Skills Gained

  • Morbid Discernment: The avatar gains a proficiency bonus to checks made to detect lies, rot, structural weakness, or the presence of undead and dying creatures.
  • Harrowing Presence: The avatar gains an advantage on social rolls meant to intimidate, disturb, or cause a target to hesitate through dread.

Passive Magic

  • Dreadful Silhouette: Shadows around the avatar stretch and sharpen unnaturally. This grants a +1 bonus to AC as attackers find it difficult to track the avatar’s true form against the “Awful” darkness.
  • Nightmare Fuel: The avatar does not fear the dark; instead, they gain Darkvision up to 60 feet. In total darkness, the obsidian shards on the neck-piece glow with a faint, sickly purple light.
  • Cold-Blooded Certainty: The avatar is immune to non-magical fear effects. The “Awful” nature of their own visions makes mundane threats seem trivial by comparison.

Activable Magic

  • Glimpse of the Abyss (Normal Activation): The avatar grips a jagged tooth on the gorget and describes a terrifying prophecy to a target within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a mental resistance check or become Frightened for one round, their mind flooded with a vision of their own inevitable demise.
  • Manifest Malignancy (Ritual Activation): Over 10 minutes, the avatar can vomit forth a thick, black fog that covers a 15-foot radius. Within this fog, the avatar can shape “Awful” illusions of the targets’ worst fears to provide cover or distraction.
  • Echoes of the Final Breath (Active Identify): By touching a corpse or a broken object, the avatar can see a “Dream-Replay” of the exact moment of its destruction. This provides a clear vision of the “Awful” end the object or person met.

Tags: Neck-Slot, Dream-Magic, Spiritual, Awful, Obsidian, Divination, Fear, Tier-1, Necrotic, Nightmare, Pacific-Gothic, Visceral, Calcified, Foreboding, Abyssal, Jagged, Volcanic, Shuddering, Malignant, Doom-Laden, Ominous, Relentless

In the world of Saṃsāra, the Dream 994 of Awful Omens is a pariah’s tool. It is not found in the brightly lit stalls of the coastal markets; instead, it is found in the places where the “Salt-Gothic” reality of the deep sea is acknowledged.

Where to Buy and Sell

  • The Bone-Picker’s Grotto: These are semi-submerged shops found in the damp underbelly of port cities. They are run by scavengers who sift through the debris of shipwrecks and spiritual “trash.” The 994 is often sold here as a “cursed” curiosity. Buying here is cheap but dangerous, as the merchant may try to offload the “Awful” weight of the item on you just to be rid of it.
  • Shadow-Witch Hovels: Located in the thick, sulfurous mangroves far from the main islands, these shops cater to those who seek the “Grim Truth.” The interior is decorated with dried organs and volcanic glass. These merchants understand the 994’s power; they will buy it from an avatar only if it is “saturated” with the trauma of a recent nightmare, which they use for their own alchemical brews.
  • The Inevitability Exchanges: These are “gray market” auction houses for mercenaries and doom-seekers. They treat the item as a tactical asset for psychological warfare. This is the most professional environment to sell the item, as they value the obsidian’s quality and the sharpness of the teeth over the spiritual “vibe” of the piece.

Buying and Selling Costs

The value of “Awful” items is often depressed by the social stigma attached to them, making them a “budget” option for power-hungry Tier 1 avatars:

  • Bone-Picker’s Grotto (Salvaged/Dirty): To buy, expect to pay 6 to 10 Gold. The price is low because the merchant is likely terrified of the item. Selling here is difficult; they may only offer 2 to 3 Gold just to move it along to someone else.
  • Shadow-Witch Hovel (Empowered/Ritual): To buy, the cost is roughly 80 to 110 Silver. The witch has likely sharpened the obsidian and fed the spirit. They will buy a 994 back for 40 to 50 Silver, provided the avatar shares a “shuddering memory” with them.
  • Inevitability Exchange (Maintained/Polished): Buying here costs 120 to 140 Silver, as the rusted wire has been replaced with reinforced iron. Selling here is a standard transaction, yielding 60 to 70 Silver in coin or credit toward other “tactical” gear.

The Awful Transaction

In Saṃsāra, buying a Dream 994 is a grim roleplay experience. Merchants often wrap the item in leaded cloth or salted kelp-leather to keep the “shivers” from spreading to their other stock. To sell the item effectively, the avatar must lean into the Awful trait; if they appear bothered or scared by the gorget, the merchant will sense weakness and drive the price down. If the avatar wears it with a cold, shuddering confidence, the merchant will respect the “Master of Doom” and offer a fair, albeit fearful, price.

In the world of Saṃsāra, roleplaying with the Dream 994 of Awful Omens requires a shift toward the macabre and the unsettling. While “Awe” is a bright, overwhelming light, “Awful” is the cold, crushing weight of a nightmare that refuses to end. The item uses the “Dark Tides” of the spirit world to erode the resolve of anyone who stands in the avatar’s path.

Defensive Roleplay

  • Safe Areas (Palaces/Temples): In civilized settings, defense is about Social Contamination. The avatar does not blend in; they stand like a jagged shadow in a room of silk. Roleplay involves maintaining an “Awful” stillness. When a noble or guard tries to exert authority, the avatar simply tilts their head, allowing the rusted iron wire of the gorget to creak audibly. The Dreadful Silhouette passive makes people uncomfortable looking directly at the avatar, causing them to cut conversations short and grant the avatar a wide, fearful berth.
  • Normal Areas (Trade Roads/Taverns): When traveling, the avatar utilizes Cold-Blooded Certainty. If a group of bandits blocks the road, the avatar doesn’t reach for a sword first; they simply walk forward with a “shuddering” lack of concern. Roleplay involves describing how the avatar’s presence causes the tavern’s fire to flicker or the pack animals to bray in panic. Defensively, the avatar is a “ghoul” that predators instinctively avoid because they sense a spirit that is far more dangerous than themselves.
  • Unsafe/Deathly Areas: In combat zones, the avatar becomes a Harbinger of Doom. They use the Dreadful Silhouette to appear larger and more monstrous than they are. Roleplay focuses on “Inevitability.” When an enemy strikes, the avatar doesn’t panic; they take the hit with a chilling grin or a hollow laugh, as if the “Awful” end has already been foreseen and accepted, which demoralizes attackers.

Offensive Roleplay

  • Glimpse of the Abyss: This is a psychological assault. The avatar doesn’t just scare the target; they “interpret” the target’s most shameful, terrifying future. Roleplay involves leaning in close enough for the target to smell the sea-salt and volcanic ash of the obsidian. The avatar whispers a specific, “Awful” detail of how the target will fail. The goal is to make the enemy feel that fighting back is a waste of time because the “Omens” have already declared their defeat.
  • Manifest Malignancy: This is used to transform a battlefield into a Nightmare Realm. The avatar doubles over, coughing up the thick, black spirit-fog. Roleplay focuses on “Unmasking the Fear.” As the fog spreads, the avatar describes the “Awful” shapes moving within it—reaching hands, gnashing teeth, or the faces of the target’s deceased loved ones. It is an offensive maneuver designed to break a group’s formation and force them into a blind, screaming retreat.
  • Echoes of the Final Breath: This is “Forensic Terror.” By touching a broken object or a fallen foe, the avatar describes the “Awful” mechanics of how it died. Roleplay involves announcing these details loudly to remaining enemies. Telling a guard, “I can see the way your captain’s heart stuttered before the obsidian took him,” turns the avatar’s insight into a weapon that shatters the morale of anyone still standing.

Perception of Activation:

  • Auditory (The Grinding Deep):
    • User’s Perspective: You hear the sound of heavy stones grinding together and the wet, rhythmic snapping of jaws underwater.
    • Observer’s Perspective: A sudden, sharp sound of cracking bone followed by an unnatural silence where all birds and insects in the vicinity stop their noise.
    • Positives: You can perfectly track the movements of others through the vibrations of their footsteps.
    • Negatives: High-pitched sounds become physically painful, feeling like needles in your eardrums.
  • Visual (The Shadow-Bleed):
    • User’s Perspective: The world loses its color, turning into shades of bruised purple and charcoal; the “fault lines” of objects (where they are most likely to break) glow with a sickly light.
    • Observer’s Perspective: Your pupils dilate until your eyes are solid black, and the air around your neck seems to “smudge” as if the light is being swallowed by the obsidian.
    • Positives: You ignore all visual penalties from non-magical darkness or fog.
    • Negatives: Bright sunlight or holy light causes temporary “flash-blindness,” leaving you disoriented.
  • Tactile (The Abyssal Chill):
    • User’s Perspective: You feel a freezing, heavy pressure around your throat, as if a giant hand is submerged in ice-water and pressing against your skin.
    • Observer’s Perspective: Frost begins to form on the rusted wire of the gorget, and the avatar’s breath becomes visible as a thick, gray mist.
    • Positives: You become momentarily numb to physical pain, allowing you to ignore the effects of minor wounds.
    • Negatives: Your fine motor skills suffer; your fingers feel stiff and “dead,” making delicate tasks like lockpicking nearly impossible.
  • Olfactory (The Scent of the Trench):
    • User’s Perspective: A powerful smell of stagnant salt-water, old blood, and sulfurous volcanic ash fills your senses.
    • Observer’s Perspective: Those nearby smell the metallic scent of wet iron and a faint, disturbing aroma of decay.
    • Positives: You can “scent” fear or injury on others within a short range.
    • Negatives: The stench is overwhelming, making it difficult to detect subtle smells like cooked food, flowers, or perfumed poisons.
  • Extra-Sensory (The Doom-Pulse):
    • User’s Perspective: You feel a rhythmic “thump” in the back of your skull that synchronizes with the heartbeat of the nearest living creature.
    • Observer’s Perspective: You appear to twitch or sway in time with a rhythm only you can hear, looking like a predator about to pounce.
    • Positives: It is impossible for a living creature to surprise you within 10 feet.
    • Negatives: The constant “thumping” makes it difficult to concentrate on complex academic or magical tasks.
  • Extra-Sensory (The Fragility Insight):
    • User’s Perspective: You perceive the “Awful” ending of everything you look at—the way a wall will eventually crumble or the way a person will eventually die.
    • Observer’s Perspective: You stare at the weakest points of people and structures, making your gaze feel predatory and invasive.
    • Positives: You gain a massive advantage when trying to break objects or demoralize opponents.
    • Negatives: This constant influx of “Awful” information is mentally draining, often leading to a temporary “Gloomy” disposition after use.

Recipe: Forging the Torque of Abyssal Dread

To recreate a vessel capable of housing the Dream 994, the artisan must work in a place where life is absent—a salt-flat at midnight or a volcanic vent—using materials that have been touched by death or the crushing pressure of the deep.

Materials Needed

  • 12 Calcified Teeth of a Deep-Sea Predator: Must be harvested from a creature that died of natural causes in the lightless depths; they must be bleached white by salt and time.
  • 3 Shards of Volcanic Obsidian: Jagged glass spit from a terrestrial or sub-aquatic vent, unpolished and sharp enough to draw blood at a touch.
  • 1 Length of Rusted Iron Wire: Salvaged from a sunken cage or a hangman’s gate; the rust must be deep and “biting.”
  • 1 Strip of Dried Kelp-Leather: Treated in a solution of brine and ash to act as the backing for the jagged components.
  • 1 Vial of “Dark Tide” Residue: Scraped from the hull of a ship that survived a catastrophic storm in which all hands were lost.
  • 1 Essence of a Night-Terror: Captured by placing an obsidian shard under the pillow of a dreamer suffering from a recurring nightmare of drowning.

Tools Required

  • Cold-Iron Pliers: For twisting the rusted wire; the iron must never be heated, or the “Awful” spirit will flee.
  • A Sharpening Stone of Pumice: To ensure the obsidian shards maintain a “hungry” edge.
  • Lead-Lined Gloves: To protect the crafter from the “shivers” (spiritual frostbite) that radiate from the materials during assembly.

Skill Requirements

  • Scavenging (Tier 1): Necessary to identify and extract the most “unlucky” materials from wreckage or ruins.
  • Tinkering (Tier 1): Required to bind the teeth and glass into a rigid, throat-hugging shape without snapping the brittle wire.
  • Lore (Maleficence/Spirit-Binding): Knowledge of “The Bitter Path” to ensure the spirit within the teeth accepts the new master.

Crafting Steps

  1. The Preparation of the Teeth: Lay the calcified teeth in a circle on the kelp-leather. As you place each one, recount a different fear or failure you have witnessed. This “seeds” the item with the necessary weight.
  2. The Obsidian Lashing: Using the Rusted Iron Wire, lash the obsidian shards to the center of the gorget. The glass should be positioned so that it occasionally pricks the skin of the wearer, keeping them “awake” to the omens.
  3. The Salt-Bath: Submerge the entire assembly in a bowl of the Dark Tide Residue. Leave it for three hours. The metal will hiss, and the teeth will absorb the dark brine, turning a sickly, off-white color.
  4. The Night-Terror Infusion: Take the obsidian shard containing the Night-Terror and crush it into a fine dust. Rub this dust into the grooves of the teeth until the item begins to emit a low, grinding vibration.
  5. The Binding (10-Minute Ritual): The crafter must don the gorget while it is still wet with the brine. They must stand in total darkness and face their own “Awful” future without flinching. When the avatar feels the “Abyssal Chill” settle into their bones and the shadows in the room begin to sharpen, the Dream 994 is fully manifested.

Throat-Which-Bites-Light and Scavenger of Black-Vents

In the times before the First-Dry-Walkers, when the sea was a mouth that never closed, there was a man named He-Who-Counts-the-Sunken. He was a gatherer of the Things-Not-Wanted. He lived in a cave where the air was made of Stone-Smoke (the sulfur) and the floor was made of the Sharp-Black-Bones-of-the-Earth (the obsidian).

One night of the Small-Sickly-Moon-Which-Hides, a great beast of the Trench-Without-Bottom died. Its teeth were not teeth, but Hooks-of-the-End. The man took these teeth and he was not afraid. He took the Iron-That-Bleeds-Brown (the rust) and he bound the teeth to his neck. He said to the spirits of the Dark-Cold-Water, “Give me the eyes that see the Rotting-of-the-Future.”

The spirit of the Awful-Nightmare entered the torque. It did not give the man a song; it gave him the Grinding-of-the-Jaws. When the man walked into the Sun-Place (the village), the grass beneath his feet turned into Gray-Dust. The children did not laugh, for they saw in the man’s shadow the Shape-of-the-Things-That-Break.

The man looked at a great ship and saw it as Splinters-on-the-Reef. He looked at the Great King and saw him as Food-for-the-Crabs. He spoke the Awful-Omens, and the people’s hearts became as Lead-in-the-Chest. They could not strike him, for the Obsidian-Glow made their hands shake with the Shivers-of-the-Deep.

But the tablets of the Lost-Scribes are eaten by the salt here. It says the man became so full of the Doom-Which-Is-Coming that he forgot the Now-Which-Is-Good. He looked at his own reflection in a pool of Volcanic-Water and saw his own Final-Breath. He was so captured by the Beauty-of-the-End that he sat down and became a Statue-of-Salt, forever wearing the teeth of the beast.

The Moral of the Story

He who seeks to know the darkness of the future will surely lose the light of the present; for to look upon the ending of all things is to begin the ending of oneself.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Unique Name: Gorget of Awful Omens Item Type: Wondrous Item, Common (Requires Attunement)

  • Slot: Neck
  • Dreadful Silhouette: While wearing this gorget, you gain a +1 bonus to AC. Your shadow seems to move independently, unsettling those who strike at you.
  • Morbid Discernment: You have advantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks to determine if a creature is lying or if it is suffering from a hidden disease or curse.
  • Glimpse of the Abyss: As an action, you can force a creature within 30 feet that can see you to make a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature is Frightened of you until the end of its next turn as it sees a vision of its own death. Once used, this property cannot be used again until you finish a long rest.

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Unique Name: The Scavenger’s Jagged Torque Item Type: Cursed Artifact

  • Slot: Neck
  • Echoes of the Final Breath: By spending 1D4 Sanity, the wearer can touch a corpse or a broken object to witness its final moments. This grants a +20% bonus to Forensic Medicine or Spot Hidden regarding the cause of destruction.
  • Abyssal Chill: The wearer gains a +10% bonus to Intimidate rolls. However, the coldness of the item makes them suffer a -10% penalty to Charm or Persuade rolls against anyone not accustomed to the occult.
  • Harrowing Presence: Any human attacker must pass a SAN check (0/1) before initiating melee combat with the wearer. If they fail, they suffer a penalty die on their first fighting roll due to the overwhelming dread radiating from the obsidian shards.

Blades in the Dark

Unique Name: The Obsidian Shard-Collar Item Type: Arcane Fine Item (1 Load)

  • Slot: Neck
  • Quality: Fine (+1 Tier for effectiveness when using the Ghost Field to intimidate or sense decay).
  • Morbid Intuition: You gain Potency when you Survey a scene to find structural weaknesses, hidden bodies, or signs of a struggle.
  • Awful Aura: You may spend 1 Stress to ignore the “Terrified” or “Shaken” status effects. The horrors you see through the collar make mundane fear irrelevant.
  • Special Ability (Glimpse of the Abyss): When you Command or Compel an NPC by showing them their “Awful” future, you deal +1 stress to their resolve. If this causes them to break, they flee in a blind panic.

Knave (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: The Tooth-and-Glass Torque Item Type: Magic Item (1 Slot)

  • Slot: Neck
  • Dreadful Silhouette: Your Armor is 12 + your WIS bonus (max 15). The shifting shadows make you a difficult target to hit clearly.
  • Nightmare Fuel: You can see in total darkness as if it were dim light.
  • Glimpse of the Abyss: Once per day, you may target one creature. It must make a WIS Save. On a failure, it is stunned for 1 round by a vision of a volcanic apocalypse.
  • Awful Weight: You cannot use the “Sneak” or “Hide” actions effectively in quiet areas, as the rusted wire and teeth constantly creak and grind (Disadvantage on stealth rolls involving sound).

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Torque of Awful Omens Item Type: Item 1, Invested, Divination, Magical, Occult

  • Slot: Neck
  • Usage: Worn; Bulk: L
  • Dreadful Silhouette: While invested, the jagged obsidian creates a warping effect in the shadows around you. You gain a +1 item bonus to AC against creatures that rely on sight.
  • Morbid Discernment: You gain a +1 item bonus to Perception checks to sense motives (specifically to detect lies) and to Medicine checks to determine a cause of death.
  • Glimpse of the Abyss [One-Action] (Emotion, Fear, Mental, Visual):Frequency: Once per hour. You channel a horrific omen into the mind of a creature within 30 feet. The target must attempt a DC 15 Will save.
    • Success: The creature is unaffected and is temporarily immune for 24 hours.
    • Failure: The creature is Frightened 1.
    • Critical Failure: The creature is Frightened 2 and Fleeing for 1 round.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Unique Name: The 994 Abyssal Torque Item Type: Enchanted Item

  • Dreadful Silhouette: The wearer’s distorted shadow provides a -1 penalty to be hit by Fighting or Shooting attacks.
  • Morbid Discernment: The wearer gains a +2 bonus to Notice rolls when searching for traps, hidden bodies, or structural flaws.
  • Cold-Blooded Certainty: The wearer gains a +2 bonus to Fear checks.
  • Glimpse of the Abyss (Power): As an action, the wearer can force a target to see their own demise. This functions as the Fear power using the wearer’s Spirit as the arcane skill. If the target fails, they are Distracted in addition to the standard Fear effects.

Numenera & Cypher System

Unique Name: Doom-Gorget 994 Item Type: Artifact (Level 1d6)

  • Form: A heavy collar of calcified teeth and razor-sharp obsidian glass.
  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20
  • Constant Effect (Dreadful Silhouette): The wearer gains an Asset to Speed Defense tasks as shadows mask their vitals.
  • Effect (Nightmare Fuel): The wearer can see in total darkness as if it were dim light.
  • Effect (Glimpse of the Abyss): The wearer spends 2 Intellect points to stare at a target. The target must succeed on an Intellect defense roll or be Dazed (increasing the difficulty of all their tasks by one step) for one minute due to horrific visions.
  • Effect (Echoes of the Final Breath): The wearer spends 3 Intellect points to touch a dead creature or ruined object. They receive a brief, sensory vision of the “Awful” moment of its destruction.

Fate (Core/Condensed)

Unique Name: The Obsidian Shard of Doom Item Type: Stunt/Extra

  • Aspect: Vessel of the Dark Tides
  • Stunt (Dreadful Silhouette): Because I am shrouded in unsettling, jagged shadows, I gain a +2 to Defend using Stealth or Provoke in physical combat, provided I have not moved during my turn.
  • Stunt (Glimpse of the Abyss): Because I can share my awful visions, once per scene I may use Provoke to make a mental attack against an opponent by forcing them to witness their own tragic end.
  • Stunt (Morbid Discernment): I gain a +2 to Create an Advantage using Empathy when I am trying to uncover someone’s secret fears, trauma, or physical weaknesses.
  • Cost: The item carries the Flaw: Shuddering Presence. The GM may compel this aspect to make the avatar fail at social interactions involving grace, kindness, or comfort, as their presence is inherently “Awful” to others.

Shadowrun (6th World Edition)

Unique Name: Dream 994 “Abyssal-Link” Torque Item Type: Combat/Detection Focus (Rating 3)

  • Slot: Neck
  • Dreadful Silhouette: The obsidian shards bleed mana that interferes with digital and biological tracking. Increase your Defense Rating by +2. Astral attackers perceive you as a jagged, light-consuming void.
  • Morbid Discernment: The wearer gains a +2 dice pool bonus to Perception and Biotech tests when used to determine causes of death or identifying the “Health” status of a target.
  • Glimpse of the Abyss: As a Major Action, the wearer can force a target within 10 meters to resist a Willpower + Intuition (3) test. Failure imposes the Dazed status for a number of rounds equal to the net hits, as their AR-feed or biological sight is flooded with “Awful” prophetic glitches.
  • Wireless Bonus: The item monitors the ambient “stress” of the environment. You gain a +1 bonus to Initiative rolls in “Deadly” or “Dangerous” locations.

Starfinder (2nd Edition / Playtest)

Unique Name: 994 Doom-Woven Gorget Item Type: Level 1, Magic Item

  • Slot: Neck
  • Bulk: L
  • Dreadful Silhouette: You gain a +1 status bonus to AC against melee attacks. The calcified teeth seem to snap at incoming blades, and the shifting shadows make your vitals hard to pinpoint.
  • Echoes of the Final Breath [2-Actions]: You touch a destroyed object or a corpse. You witness a sensory replay of its destruction. This grants an Asset to your next check to identify the attacker or the method of destruction.
  • Glimpse of the Abyss [1-Action] (Emotion, Fear, Mental): You project a fragment of an abyssal nightmare. One creature within 30 feet must succeed at a Will save (DC 15) or become Frightened 1.
  • Nightmare Fuel: You gain Darkvision out to 60 feet. If you already have Darkvision, its range increases by 30 feet.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Dream 994 Psionic Damper/Focus Item Type: TL 12 Psionic Artifact

  • Weight: 1.5kg
  • Cost: Cr 8,000
  • Description: A heavy collar of volcanic glass and bone. It is often used by “Dirge-Walkers” to navigate the wreckage of derelict starships.
  • Dreadful Silhouette: The obsidian shards absorb light and sensor pings. Any ranged attack made against the wearer suffers a -1 DM.
  • Morbid Discernment: The wearer receives a +2 DM to Medic and Investigate checks when performing autopsies or examining the wreckage of vehicles.
  • Glimpse of the Abyss: If the wearer possesses a PSI rating, they may spend 3 PSI points to induce a “Panic Pulse.” Every living creature within 5 meters must pass a Difficult (10+) END or PSI check or suffer the Bane penalty on all rolls for 1D6 rounds due to sheer terror.
  • Social Penalty: The item is visibly disturbing. The wearer suffers a -2 DM to all Persuade and Carouse checks with non-occultists.

Warhammer (40,000 Roleplay: Wrath & Glory)

Unique Name: The Penitent’s Obsidian Torque Item Type: Worn Relic (Unholy/Sacred depending on interpretation)

  • Value: 4 (Rare)
  • Keywords: [IMPEDIMENTA], [SPIRITUAL], [DREAD]
  • Dreadful Silhouette: You gain +1 Defense. Enemies find it difficult to focus on your form as it seems to “jitter” with the energy of a localized nightmare.
  • Cold-Blooded Certainty: You gain +2d6 to Resolve Tests against Fear and Intimidation. You have seen the worst the warp has to offer; mundane threats do not move you.
  • Glimpse of the Abyss (Action): You spend 1 Ruin (if an NPC) or 1 Glory (if a PC) to force an enemy within 10 meters to make a DN 4 Willpower Test. On a failure, the target is Terror-Struck until the end of their next turn.
  • Morbid Discernment: You gain +1d6 to Awareness (Int) tests to find hidden enemies or traps, as the item pulses warmly when “Awful” things are near.