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Druze 904 of the Gossamer Veil

—

by

Dale
in

Lore: In the philosophical weaving of Saṃsāra, the Druze 904 of the Gossamer Veil is an artifact of “The Batin”—the hidden or inner truth. While other items radiate light to lead, the 904 uses the mystical principle of “Taqiyya” (dissimulation) to protect the wearer by making them a riddle that others yearn to solve. It is a tool for the “Beguiled,” designed not to lie, but to layer reality with such intriguing mystery that the observer becomes lost in their own curiosity. To wear the 904 is to become a living enigma, a person whose every word feels like the start of a secret that the listener would do anything to hear.

Detailed Stats

  • Slot: Neck (A choker of dark, matte-black iron links wrapped in a semi-transparent, smoky violet silk).
  • Tier: 1.
  • Rarity: Common.
  • Weight: 0.2 lbs.
  • Material: Shadow-iron, dusk-silk, and a single teardrop of “Cloud-Glass.”

Skills Gained While Openly Worn

  • Enigmatic Parlance: The avatar gains a bonus to any social checks involving redirection, leading questions, or keeping secrets without appearing hostile.
  • Intuitive Distraction: The ability to sense what an observer is most curious about, allowing the wearer to use that curiosity as a social lever.

Passive Magic

  • The Haze of Interest: Observers find it difficult to remember the specific details of the wearer’s face or clothing, instead remembering only a profound sense of “importance” or “fascination.” This prevents guards or witnesses from giving accurate descriptions to authorities.
  • Semantic Softening: The wearer’s voice takes on a rhythmic, melodic quality that makes even threats sound like fascinating riddles. This prevents hostile creatures from immediately entering a “Rage” or “Combat” state, as they are too busy trying to decipher the wearer’s intent.
  • The Weight of the Unspoken: Within a 10-foot radius, the 904 creates a “pressure” of silence. Loud, abrasive noises are muffled, ensuring that the wearer’s softest whisper is always the most heard sound in the room.

Activable Magic

  • The Labyrinthine Hook (Normal Activation): The wearer whispers a half-truth or a vague promise. The target must succeed on a mental resistance check or become “Beguiled.” A beguiled creature will follow the wearer for a short distance or wait patiently for “the rest of the story,” ignoring their post or duties.
  • Veil of the Receding Truth (Concentration Activation): The wearer becomes partially “transparent” in the minds of others. While the wearer is physically visible, observers will find their attention sliding off the wearer to look at something else, effectively allowing the avatar to walk through a crowded room as an “uninteresting shadow.”
  • The Echoing Question (Reaction Activation): When asked a direct question, the wearer can trigger the 904 to pulse. The questioner immediately forgets why they asked the question and becomes convinced they already know a much more interesting secret about the wearer, which they will then try to “confirm” with further questions.

Tags: Neck-Slot, Druze-Mysticism, Beguiled, Shadow-Iron, Mystery, Tier-1, Social-Manipulation, Enigma, Saṃsāra-Tides, Dissimulation, Batin-Magic, Subtle, Alluring, Smoke-Woven, Misdirection, Veil-Dancer, Paradox, Intoxicating, Elusive, Hush, Dusk-Silk, Hidden-Truth

In the world of Saṃsāra, the Druze 904 of the Gossamer Veil is an item of the “Batin” (the hidden). Consequently, it is almost never sold in the open air or under direct sunlight. To find one, a traveler must look for shops that thrive in the “In-Between”—places where the lighting is low, the incense is thick, and the true purpose of the establishment is buried under layers of social ritual.

Where to Buy and Sell

  • The Parlor of Forgotten Intent: These shops are usually disguised as something else—a mundane tea house, a quiet library, or a tailor’s back room. To enter, one must show a lack of urgency. If you walk in and demand to buy a magical item, you will be shown only ordinary goods. If you sit, drink tea, and speak in riddles for an hour, the merchant will eventually lead you to a curtained alcove where the 904 is kept.
  • The Dusk-Silk Exchange: Located in the winding alleys of the “Shadow Districts,” these shops specialize in items that affect perception. The 904 is sold here as a tool for “Social Camouflage.” The merchants are often information brokers who use the “Beguiled” nature of the item to keep their clients curious but confused. Selling here is a matter of proving the item still holds its “Mystery.”
  • The Shrine of the Receding Path: Found in mountain passes where the fog never lifts, these are monastic outposts that sell the 904 as a religious tool for those practicing the art of Taqiyya (dissimulation). They do not “sell” so much as “bequeath” the item in exchange for a donation or a secret of equal value.

Buying and Selling Costs

Value for the 904 is measured in the “Weight of the Secret” it carries. If it has been used to successfully beguile a powerful person, its value increases.

  • The Parlor of Forgotten Intent (Discreet/Ritualistic):
    • To Buy: 45 to 60 Silver Pieces. The merchant usually includes a “free” secret that may or may not be true to keep the buyer beguiled.
    • To Sell: 20 Silver Pieces. However, if the seller can prove the item was used to fool a high-ranking official, the price might rise to 35 Silver Pieces.
  • The Dusk-Silk Exchange (Pragmatic/Shadowy):
    • To Buy: 35 Silver Pieces. This is the “street price” for a tool of misdirection.
    • To Sell: 12 Silver Pieces. They buy at a low rate because they assume you are selling it because your identity has been compromised.
  • The Shrine of the Receding Path (Spiritual/Sacrificial):
    • To Buy: 25 Silver Pieces. This is a “donation.” Alternatively, they may accept the item for 0 Silver Pieces if the buyer completes a trial of silence.
    • To Sell: Special. They do not pay in coin. They pay in “Spiritual Growth” (Experience) or by granting the player a “Veiled Favor” they can call upon later.

The Beguiled Transaction

Negotiating for the Druze 904 is a game of “Vanish and Reveal.” If a buyer is too blunt—”I have 40 silver, give me the necklace”—the merchant will simply claim they have no idea what the buyer is talking about. To get a fair price, the buyer must roleplay being “intriguing.” By revealing just enough of their plan to pique the merchant’s curiosity, they lower the merchant’s psychological guard. A buyer who successfully “Beguiles” the seller can often walk away with the item for a fraction of the cost, as the seller becomes more interested in seeing what the buyer will do with it than in making a profit.

Roleplaying with the Druze 904 of the Gossamer Veil is a study in “Presence through Absence.” You do not dominate a room with a shout; you dominate it with a whisper that makes everyone else stop talking to listen. Your goal is to keep others perpetually off-balance, chasing the “ghost” of your intentions while you maneuver in plain sight.

Defensive Roleplay

  • Safe Areas (Palaces/High Society): Your defense here is Semantic Softening. When a rival noble attempts to trap you in a scandal or a social gaffe, you roleplay a response that is a perfect, polite non-answer. “I find your interest in my affairs as fascinating as the secrets you think you’ve found.” Because of the veil, your words don’t sound evasive—they sound like a challenge to a game the rival is already losing. They hesitate to attack further because they fear they are falling into a trap you haven’t even set.
  • Normal Areas (Forests/Traveling): Use The Haze of Interest. If you encounter a group of bandits or a suspicious patrol, roleplay as a “Person of Significance” who is simply too mysterious to rob. You don’t threaten them; you treat them like a temporary curiosity. “It is a rare day when the path provides such… specific company.” You act as if your presence is a riddle they haven’t solved yet. The bandits find themselves hesitating, wondering if you are a disguised royal or a powerful sorcerer, letting you pass simply because they are “Beguiled” by the risk of the unknown.
  • Unsafe/Deathly Areas: In combat, your defense is Veil of the Receding Truth. When an enemy aims a strike at you, roleplay your body as “conceptually vague.” You aren’t just dodging; you are moving in a way that makes the enemy’s mind want to look at your shadow instead of your throat. You roleplay a “flicker” in reality—at the moment of impact, you aren’t where their eyes told them you were. You are the “Unseen Target” in a room full of light.

Offensive Roleplay

  • The Labyrinthine Hook: This is your “Psychological Snare.” Roleplay planting a “seed” of obsession in an enemy’s mind. During a standoff, you might whisper, “I know what you are looking for, and it isn’t behind me.” As the 904 activates, the enemy becomes “Beguiled” by the possibility that you have the truth they desire. They will abandon their tactical advantage just to keep you talking, allowing you to lead them exactly where you want them to go—into an ambush or away from your allies.
  • The Echoing Question: Use this for “Conversational Sabotage.” When an interrogator or an enemy commander asks for your identity or plans, you roleplay a “Vocal Pulse.” You answer with a question that mirrors their own. “Why is it that you ask of my name, when your own men are already whispering yours?” The 904 makes them forget their original inquiry and pivots their focus inward. You are “attacking” their train of thought, leaving them confused and defensive while you maintain total narrative control.
  • The Weight of the Unspoken: This is “Sensory Suppression.” Roleplay a moment where you stop speaking entirely and simply lean in close to an opponent. The 904 amplifies the tension of the silence until it becomes suffocating. You are “attacking” their composure. The enemy, desperate to break the “Beguiling” pressure of your silence, will often blurt out a secret, make a reckless move, or surrender just to end the psychological weight of the “Unspoken.”

Perception of Activation:

  • Auditory (The Echoing Hush):
    • User’s Perspective: The world’s volume drops into a soft, velvety muffled state. Your own breathing sounds like a rhythmic, distant tide, and every word you speak feels weighted with a strange, harmonic gravity that makes it sound “important.”
    • Observer’s Perspective: They perceive a sudden, localized silence where all background noise—wind, clatter, footsteps—seems to vanish. Your voice doesn’t get louder, but it becomes “wider,” filling the silence with an irresistible, melodic lure.
    • Positives: You can deliver secret messages in a crowded room without being overheard by anyone you aren’t specifically addressing.
    • Negatives: You cannot hear distant warnings or high-pitched alarms, as the “Hush” filters out everything that isn’t part of your immediate conversation.
  • Visual (The Smoked-Lens Filter):
    • User’s Perspective: Colors dim and edges soften into a sepia-toned haze. People’s faces become “riddles” where their true emotions are highlighted by faint, violet flickers around their eyes and mouths.
    • Observer’s Perspective: You seem to lose your sharp edges. Your form appears slightly blurred, as if you are standing behind a thin curtain of smoke or incense, even in a perfectly clear room.
    • Positives: You can easily spot the “tells” of a liar or the hidden hesitation of a nervous opponent.
    • Negatives: Your peripheral vision is severely limited; you become “tunnel-visioned” on the person you are currently beguiling.
  • Tactile (The Ghostly Chill):
    • User’s Perspective: The choker tightens slightly, feeling like a cool, damp thumb pressed against your pulse. A sensation of “lightness” spreads through your limbs, as if you have lost half your physical weight.
    • Observer’s Perspective: People near you feel a sudden, localized drop in temperature and a tingling sensation on the back of their necks, like someone is whispering just out of earshot.
    • Positives: Your movements become ghostly and silent, allowing you to walk on creaky floors or dry leaves without a sound.
    • Negatives: You feel physically disconnected from the world; holding heavy objects or performing feats of raw strength feels clumsy and “thin.”
  • Olfactory (The Scent of the Batin):
    • User’s Perspective: A sharp, metallic scent of wet iron and dried lavender fills your nose, clearing your mind of all distractions.
    • Observer’s Perspective: A thick, intoxicating aroma of “old secrets” and midnight jasmine suddenly replaces the natural smells of the room, making people feel slightly lightheaded or dreamlike.
    • Positives: This scent can act as a minor sedative, calming aggressive animals or agitated guards.
    • Negatives: You cannot smell environmental dangers like smoke, poison gas, or the musk of an approaching predator.
  • Extra-Sensory (The Labyrinthine Pull):
    • User’s Perspective: You feel a “tugging” in your mind toward the insecurities of others. You sense where their curiosity is strongest—the mental “weak spots” that you can hook into with a leading question.
    • Observer’s Perspective: People feel an inexplicable urge to lean toward you, to listen harder, and to offer up their own information just to keep the “connection” alive.
    • Positives: You can navigate social situations with the precision of a surgeon, finding exactly what to say to make someone reveal their secrets.
    • Negatives: You become a “Magnet for Obsession”; people you beguile may become stalkers or refuse to let you leave their sight, making it difficult to exit a situation cleanly.
  • Extra-Sensory (The Veil of Taqiyya):
    • User’s Perspective: You feel a mental “shroud” descend. Your true thoughts are tucked into a deep, dark corner of your mind where even telepaths struggle to find them.
    • Observer’s Perspective: You look like a man whose face is a “closed book.” Even the most perceptive interrogator feels like they are staring into a deep, foggy well.
    • Positives: You are immune to mind-reading and “Truth” magic; you can lie with the conviction of a saint because your true self is hidden.
    • Negatives: You experience “Identity Drift”; after long periods of activation, you may struggle to remember your own genuine motivations versus the beguiling character you are playing.

Recipe: Weaving the Snare of the Receding Path

To recreate the Druze 904, the artisan must labor in a space of “Visual Paradox”—a room lit only by the reflection of a candle in a dark mirror. The crafter must work in total silence, for to speak during the assembly is to “release” the secrets intended to be trapped within the iron and silk.

Materials Needed

  • Four Inches of Cold-Forged Shadow-Iron: Iron that has never tasted the heat of a coal fire, hammered into thin, interlocking links using only the weight of a stone.
  • A Yard of Dusk-Silk: Silk harvested from worms fed only on purple night-blooms, dyed with the ink of a nocturnal cephalopod.
  • One Teardrop of Cloud-Glass: A rare volcanic glass formed when lightning strikes a mountain peak during a heavy fog, trapping a “ghost” of the vapor inside.
  • A Vial of Raven’s Breath: A poetic term for a pressurized gas collected from the deep, lightless pockets of an underground cavern.
  • Seven Strands of Spider-Web: Gathered from a weaver that hunt by vibration rather than sight.

Tools Required

  • A Mirror-Stone Basin: Used to hold the materials so they are always seen in “reflection” rather than directly.
  • Silver Needle of the Silent Stitch: A needle that has been dipped in honey to ensure it passes through silk without making a sound.
  • A Weighted Loom of Ebony: To keep the tension of the silk perfectly “heavy” and constant.
  • A Mask of Grey Gauze: Worn by the crafter to prevent their own breath from “warming” the cold shadow-iron.

Skill Requirements

  • Veiled Smithing (Tier 1): The ability to join metals through cold-friction and spiritual binding rather than heat.
  • Batin Weaving: The skill of stitching “intent” into fabric, ensuring the silk holds the weight of a riddle.
  • Dissimulation Trance: The mental discipline to think one thought while doing another, confusing the item’s “spirit” so it remains enigmatic.

Crafting Steps

  1. The Cold Linking: Interlock the Shadow-Iron links within the Mirror-Stone Basin. You must not look at the iron directly; look only at its reflection. As you join them, visualize a secret you have never told anyone.
  2. The Dusk-Silk Shroud: Wrap the iron chain in the Dusk-Silk. Use the Silver Needle to stitch the silk tight. Every seven stitches, tie a knot with a strand of Spider-Web to “catch” the attention of anyone who looks at it later.
  3. The Breath-Infusion: Carefully unseal the Vial of Raven’s Breath beneath the silk shroud. The fabric will swell slightly, then collapse, as the silk “drinks” the vacuum of the gas, giving it its ghostly, light-bending quality.
  4. The Setting of the Teardrop: Using the Mirror-Dew as a bonding agent, affix the Cloud-Glass Teardrop to the center link. The glass must be placed while you hold your breath; if you exhale on the glass, the “fog” inside will vanish, and the item will become mundane glass.
  5. The Baptism of the Void: Leave the completed choker in a windowless room for one full night. If, upon returning, you find you cannot immediately remember where you placed it despite looking directly at it, the Druze 904 is successful. It has become “Beguiled” by its own nature.

Un-Found Walker and Hundred Pointy-Shadows

In the Time-of-Too-Many-Questions, when the world was a Big-Ball-of-Confusion, there was a Vizier with No-Name-on-his-Tongue. He lived in a palace made of Lies-and-Fancy-Carpets. One night, a Bucket-of-Mean-Men (The Assassins) came to eat his life. They had Feet-of-Cloud and Knives-of-Hungry-Steel.

The Vizier did not Hide-in-the-Pot. He did not Make-a-Big-Scream. He put on the Neck-Riddle (The Gossamer Veil). The iron links were Cold-as-a-Snake’s-Toes and the silk was Smoky-like-a-Burnt-Dream.

He walked down the Grand-Stair-of-Golden-Noise. The Hundred Pointy-Shadows stood in the hall. They had Eyes-like-Red-Coals. But when they looked at the Vizier, their brains became Muddled-Mashed-Potatoes. One Assassin said, “Is that a Ghost-of-a-Friend?” Another said, “No, it is a Very-Important-Mist.”

The Vizier walked through the middle of them. He whispered, “The door you seek is Behind-the-Yesterday.” The Assassins were so Beguiled-and-Hooked that they turned around to look for Yesterday. They forgot they came to do a Stabbing-Work.

The Vizier walked out the Front-Hole (The Gate). The guards looked at him and thought, “What a Fascinating-Shadow! I must wait here to see if it Returns-with-a-Story.” They stayed so still they became Stone-Men.

The Vizier vanished into the Fogs-of-Nowhere. When the sun did a Morning-Wakeup, the Assassins were still in the hall, scratching their Hairy-Heads and trying to remember the End-of-the-Whisper. The Vizier was gone, but the Memory-of-his-Mystery stayed in their throats like a Fishbone-of-Wonder.

The Moral of the Story

It is not the man with the loudest shield who survives the night, but the man who becomes a question that the darkness is too curious to answer.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Unique Name: Choker of the Gossamer Veil Item Type: Wondrous Item, Common

  • Slot: Neck
  • Semantic Softening: While wearing this choker, you have Advantage on Charisma (Deception) checks to avoid answering direct questions or to divert a conversation toward a new topic.
  • The Haze of Interest: Any creature attempting to recall your appearance or the specifics of your conversation after 1 hour must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or have only a vague, hazy memory of a “very interesting person.”
  • The Labyrinthine Hook: As an action, you can whisper a riddle to a creature within 10 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be Charmed by you for 1 minute. While charmed, the creature is Incapacitated as it ponders your words. The effect ends if the creature takes damage. Once used, this cannot be used again until you finish a long rest.

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Unique Name: The Batin Choker of Dissimulation Item Type: Enchanted Artifact

  • Slot: Neck
  • Veil of Taqiyya: The wearer’s true intent is shielded. Any attempt to use Psychology to determine if the wearer is lying or to read their “tells” suffers a Penalty Die.
  • The Echoing Question: When the wearer is asked a direct question, they may spend 5 Magic Points. The interrogator must succeed on a Hard INT Check. On a failure, they lose track of the conversation and become momentarily obsessed with a minor detail of the wearer’s attire or speech, ending the interrogation for 1d10 minutes.
  • Semantic Softening: The wearer gains a Bonus Die on Persuasion or Fast Talk rolls, provided they speak in a calm, melodic, and mysterious tone.

Blades in the Dark

Unique Name: The Dusk-Silk Choker Item Type: Fine Item (0 Load / Worn)

  • Slot: Neck
  • Quality: Fine (+1 Tier for effectiveness when Swaying or Manipulating via mystery).
  • Enigmatic Parlance: You can push yourself to take 1 Stress to make a social interaction “Enigmatic.” This forces an NPC to follow your lead out of pure curiosity, even if it goes against their immediate orders.
  • Veil of the Receding Truth: When you are in a crowded area, you may use your Sneak or Prowl rating for social actions to “vanish” in plain sight. You don’t become invisible; you just become “the person no one bothers to watch.”
  • The Weight of the Unspoken: You gain +1d to resistance rolls against being questioned or coerced into revealing secrets.

Knave (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: 904 Beguiling Veil Item Type: Magic Item (1 Slot)

  • Slot: Neck
  • Passive: While wearing the choker, NPCs will not attack you first unless provoked; they are too curious about your identity. Your voice carries clearly even in loud storms or battles.
  • The Labyrinthine Hook: Once per day, you may whisper to a target. They must make a WIS Save. On a failure, they will follow you peacefully for up to 10 minutes to hear “the secret” you promised.
  • The Echoing Question: Once per day, if someone asks you a question, you may force them to make a WIS Save. On a failure, they forget the question and believe you have already answered them satisfactorily.
  • Enigmatic Parlance: You have Advantage on all reaction rolls where you take a subtle or mysterious approach.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Choker of the Gossamer Veil Item Type: Item 1, Invested, Illusion, Magical, Occult

  • Slot: Neck; Bulk: —
  • The Haze of Interest: You gain a +1 item bonus to Deception checks. When you use the Create a Diversion action, you can use the melodic quality of your voice to apply the effect to all creatures in a 10-foot emanation instead of a single creature.
  • Semantic Softening: Your speech is supernaturally soothing. You gain a +1 item bonus to Diplomacy checks to Gather Information or Make an Impression.
  • The Labyrinthine Hook [Two-Actions]: (Auditory, Emotion, Enchantment, Mental, Occult) Frequency: Once per hour. You whisper a tantalizing half-truth to a creature within 30 feet. The target must attempt a DC 15 Will save.
    • Success: The creature is unaffected.
    • Failure: The creature is Beguiled. It is Fascinated by you and must spend at least one of its actions on its next turn moving closer to you to hear more.
    • Critical Failure: As failure, but the creature is Fascinated for 1 minute and is Stunned 1 as it reels from the complexity of your riddle.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Unique Name: 904 Druze Gossamer Choker Item Type: Enchanted Item

  • The Haze of Interest: The wearer gains the Charismatic Edge. If they already have it, they increase their total Persuasion rolls by +2.
  • Enigmatic Parlance: Opponents suffer a -2 penalty to Notice rolls when trying to identify the wearer in a crowd or recall their specific facial features.
  • The Echoing Question: Once per encounter, when an NPC makes a Smarts or Spirit roll to resist the wearer’s social influence, the wearer may force them to reroll (the NPC takes the worse result).
  • The Labyrinthine Hook: The wearer may use Persuasion as a Test against a target’s Smarts. On a success, the target is Distracted; on a Raise, the target is Entangled by their own curiosity and cannot move away from the wearer until they spend an action to “Shake it Off.”

Numenera & Cypher System

Unique Name: 904 Beguiling Diadem (Neck-Wrap) Item Type: Artifact (Level 1d6)

  • Form: A choker of cold shadow-iron wrapped in semi-transparent violet silk.
  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20
  • Effect (Semantic Softening): Any task involving Deception, Misdirection, or Persuasion through subtle means is eased by two steps.
  • Effect (Veil of the Receding Truth): By spending 2 Intellect points, the wearer becomes “Socially Invisible” for one hour. While people can see the wearer, they do not find their presence noteworthy or suspicious unless the wearer takes a hostile action.
  • Effect (The Labyrinthine Hook): You spend 4 Intellect points to plant a “Conceptual Hook” in a creature’s mind. For the next ten minutes, the creature believes you possess the answer to their greatest current mystery and will follow you to obtain it.
  • Effect (The Weight of the Unspoken): You are trained in Inability Resistance against any effect that would force you to tell the truth.

Fate (Core/Condensed)

Unique Name: Druze 904 Gossamer Veil Item Type: Stunt/Extra

  • Aspect: A Walking Enigma Wrapped in Silk
  • Stunt (The Haze of Interest): Because I am an enigma, I can use Deception to defend against Empathy or Investigate rolls meant to discern my true motives or identity.
  • Stunt (Semantic Softening): I gain a +2 to Rapport checks when I am speaking vaguely or in riddles to stall for time or create a distraction.
  • Stunt (The Labyrinthine Hook): Once per scene, I can use my mysterious presence to “Snare” an opponent. I roll Deception against their Will. If I succeed, they gain the aspect Deeply Beguiled with two free invokes. While this aspect is on them, they cannot leave the zone I am in without overcoming a Fair (+2) difficulty.
  • Cost: This item requires 1 Refresh.

Shadowrun (6th World Edition)

Unique Name: Druze-Batin 904 “The Riddle-Neck” Item Type: Mystical Adornment / Manipulation Focus

  • Slot: Neck
  • Semantic Softening: The wearer’s voice is infused with a minor hypnotic frequency. Add +1 Dice Pool bonus to all Influence and Con tests.
  • The Haze of Interest: Any person or agent attempting to use a Memory Test or Sensor Test to recall or record the wearer’s specific biometric details suffers a -2 Dice Pool penalty. The data appears corrupted by “aesthetic noise.”
  • The Labyrinthine Hook (Minor Action): The wearer can target a person within 10 meters. Spend 1 Edge to force the target to make a Composure (3) Test. On a failure, the target is “Beguiled” and must spend their next Major Action asking the wearer a question or following them to continue a conversation.
  • Negative: The wearer’s “Mysterious” aura is so heavy that they cannot use the Leadership skill to give clear, direct orders; their subordinates are too busy trying to interpret the “deeper meaning” of the command.

Starfinder (2nd Edition / Playtest)

Unique Name: 904 Veil-Stitched Choker Item Type: Level 1, Magic Item

  • Slot: Neck
  • Bulk: —
  • The Haze of Interest: You gain a +1 status bonus to Deception checks to Feint and to Stealth checks to Hide in plain sight (provided there is a crowd).
  • Semantic Softening: When you use Diplomacy to Change Attitudes, you can choose to make the target Beguiled instead of Friendly. A Beguiled target will not share information with others about you, keeping your presence a secret.
  • The Echoing Question [Reaction]: Trigger: A creature within 30 feet asks you a direct question. Effect: You respond with a rhythmic counter-question. The creature must succeed at a Will Save (DC 15) or forget why they asked the question, becoming Stupefied 1 for 1 minute.
  • Veil of the Receding Truth: You gain a +2 status bonus to saving throws against Mind-Affecting effects that would force you to speak the truth.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Unique Name: 904 Dissimulation Collar Item Type: TL 12 Psionic/Social Tool

  • Weight: —
  • Cost: Cr 12,000
  • The Haze of Interest: Any attempt to use Investigate or Electronics (Sensors) to identify the wearer via security footage or eyewitness accounts suffers a -2 DM.
  • Enigmatic Parlance: The wearer gains a +1 DM to all Deception and Persuasion checks. If the wearer wins an opposed check by 4 or more, the loser becomes “Obsessed,” seeking out the wearer later in the mission to “learn more.”
  • The Labyrinthine Hook: By engaging an NPC in conversation for 1 minute, the wearer can make a Difficult (10+) Persuasion (SOC) check. If successful, the NPC is distracted for 1D6 x 10 minutes, convinced the wearer is a “Key Contact” for a secret they are pursuing.
  • Unerring Grooming: The dusk-silk remains pristine. The wearer gains a +1 DM to Carouse checks in high-end or mysterious underground locales.

Warhammer (40,000 Roleplay: Wrath & Glory)

Unique Name: 904 Choker of the Veiled Truth Item Type: Worn Relic

  • Value: 4 (Rare)
  • Keywords: [AESTHETIC], [INQUISITION], [BEYOND]
  • Passive (The Haze of Interest): Any attempt to use Insight (Wil) to determine your motives suffers a +2 DN penalty. You add +1d6 to Deception (Fel) tests.
  • The Labyrinthine Hook (Spend 1 Glory): You whisper an enigma of the Druze. One target within 15m must make a Resolve (Wil) Test (DN 3). If they fail, they are Paralysed for one round as they struggle to comprehend the metaphysical weight of your words.
  • Semantic Softening: When you use a Social Interaction to influence a group, you may affect a number of additional targets equal to your Fellowship rating, as your voice weaves through the crowd like smoke.
  • The Refined Reflection: You gain +2 Tactical Insight when resisting any interrogation or torture meant to extract a secret.