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Sufism 313 of The Tasbih of the Depths

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by

Dale
in

Lore The first of these prayer beads were created by a mystic named Zayna al-Bahr, a pearl diver from one of the archipelago’s smaller island communities. She belonged to a fringe Sufi order that saw the endless ocean not as a mere body of water, but as the most tangible manifestation of the divine’s immensity and depth. They did not seek to conquer the sea with large ships, but to understand it, to become one with its rhythm. Zayna spent her life in the water, and in her meditations, she began to perceive the ocean’s “dhikr”—the constant, rhythmic chant of the tides and currents. She crafted the first Tasbih from pearls she had harvested herself and stones worn smooth by the waves, stringing them on a cord of woven sea-kelp. By meditating with the beads, she learned to harmonize her own spirit with the ocean’s, allowing her to dive deeper, hold her breath longer, and find the most beautiful pearls as if the ocean itself was guiding her hand. Her techniques and the crafting of the beads were passed down to other coastal mystics, becoming a common tool for those who sought spiritual truth in the abyss.

Description A string of thirty-three smooth, sea-tumbled stones, each a unique shade of grey, green, or blue. The stones are cool to the touch and feel weighty in the hand. Interspersed between every eleven stones is a single, lustrous white pearl that seems to glow with a faint, internal light. The main “imam” bead at the head of the string is a piece of branching, pale-blue coral, worn smooth by touch but retaining its natural shape. The beads are strung on a dark green, surprisingly durable cord woven from treated kelp fibers, ending in a simple tassel of the same material.

Slot Hands

Detailed Stats

  • Composure: +1

Passive Magic

  • Tidal Sense: While holding or wearing the beads, you are constantly aware of the motion of the nearest large body of water. You can feel the ebb and flow of the tide in your bones and intuitively sense the direction of the prevailing surface currents. This sense functions even when you are far from the shore or deep underground.
  • Water’s Welcome: Simple, non-aggressive aquatic life senses a harmony within you. Small fish, crustaceans, and other such creatures will not flee from your presence and may even approach you with placid curiosity. This effect does not extend to predators or larger, more intelligent sea life.

Activable Magic

  • Song of the Currents: By submerging your hand holding the beads in water and softly chanting, you may ask the water for guidance. For the next five minutes, you perceive the dominant local current as a shimmering, liquid thread of silver light, showing you its precise direction and flow. This can be used to find the fastest path, to see how the water moves through a submerged cave, or to avoid being pulled by an unexpected undertow.
  • The Ocean’s Breath: You may spend one minute in quiet meditation, either in or out of the water, slowly passing the beads through your fingers. Upon completion, your body attunes to the rhythms of the deep. For the next ten minutes, your lungs feel more efficient, and you can hold your breath for twice as long as you normally could. Additionally, the oppressive feeling of water pressure at depth is lessened, reducing discomfort and disorientation. This does not grant the ability to breathe water.

Tags: Aquatic, Divination, Utility, Hands Slot, Mysticism, Common, Tier 1, Buff, Environmental, Exploration, Navigation, Non-Combat, Social, Wearable, Composure

In the myriad ports, coastal towns, and aquatic cities of Saṃsāra, the Sufism 313 of The Tasbih of the Depths is a known, if uncommon, tool for those whose lives are tied to the sea. Its value and the manner of its exchange differ greatly depending on whether it is seen as a sacred instrument, a practical tool, or a mere curiosity.

The Sea-Blessed Sanctuary

  • The Shop: These are not commercial storefronts but the open-air courtyards or simple driftwood halls of the mystical orders who live by the ocean. Found on quiet coves, high sea-cliffs, or even on permanently moored barges, these sanctuaries smell of salt, sea-kelp, and meditative incense. The Tasbih is crafted here, and its sale is handled by an acolyte who likely had a hand in gathering the pearls and stones.
  • The Transaction: The exchange is a soft-spoken and respectful affair. The seller will often ask the buyer why they seek the Tasbih, to gauge their respect for the ocean’s spirit. They are far more likely to trade the item for goods they need—strong rope, sailcloth, waterproof canvas, preserved foods—than to sell it for coin. Haggling is seen as deeply disrespectful.
  • Cost: A requested donation of 12 Silver Pieces, or a trade of goods of equivalent value. The price is about sustaining the community, not generating profit.

The Dockside Ship Chandler

  • The Shop: A large, crowded warehouse located on the busiest pier in a port city. The air is thick with the smells of tar, hemp rope, and cured fish. The ship chandler is a pragmatic merchant who sells everything a ship’s captain could need, from anchors and chains to hardtack and navigational charts. The Tasbih is often kept in a glass case alongside compasses and sextants, treated as just another navigational aid.
  • The Transaction: This is a straightforward business deal. The chandler will tout the item’s practical uses, emphasizing its ability to find currents and save on travel time. They know its market value among sailors and are firm in their pricing. They care about its function, not its philosophy.
  • Cost: A firm price of 15 to 18 Silver Pieces. A captain with a good reputation and a large order might get it included for a slight discount.

The Pearl Divers’ & Fishermen’s Co-Op

  • The Shop: This is less a shop and more a communal meeting place on a beach or a dedicated pier where local fishermen and pearl divers mend their nets and sort their catch. It operates on a system of trust and community need. The Tasbih is considered a tool of the trade, and its creation might be a specialized skill of one of the elders.
  • The Transaction: Coin is rarely the primary medium of exchange. A young fisherman might trade a month’s worth of their finest catch to an elder in exchange for a newly made Tasbih. It is an exchange between colleagues, often sealed with a handshake and a shared meal rather than a clink of coin. Strangers would find it difficult to buy one here directly, as they are primarily for the community.
  • Cost: If coin were used, it would be close to its base value, around 10 Silver Pieces. The true cost is in barter and belonging to the community.

The Beachcomber’s Curio Stall

  • The Shop: A rickety table or a blanket laid out on the sand at the edge of a seaside market. The proprietor is often a weathered local who scours the beaches at low tide for anything interesting or valuable that has washed ashore. The Tasbih would be found here tangled amongst sea glass, strangely shaped driftwood, and old bottles.
  • The Transaction: The seller is almost certainly ignorant of the item’s true purpose, seeing it only as a string of pretty pearls and stones. They will sell it as a piece of jewelry or a good luck charm. Haggling is expected and is part of the fun. This is where a knowledgeable buyer can acquire a Tasbih for a pittance.
  • Cost: The asking price might be 5 Silver Pieces, but the seller will likely part with it for as little as 3 Silver Pieces, happy to have sold some “beach rocks” for a few coins.

The Sunken Bazaar

  • The Shop: Located in one of the underwater cities of Saṃsāra, this market is an ethereal and silent place, lit by phosphorescent coral and the glow of bioluminescent life. Stalls are carved from rock or grown from living coral formations. The merchants are often aquatic beings who communicate through signed gestures or telepathy.
  • The Transaction: In this environment, the Tasbih is not a novelty; it is an essential tool for everyday life and navigation within the three-dimensional city. The transaction is efficient and silent. The item’s utility is so well understood that its value is high and non-negotiable.
  • Cost: The price is elevated due to its immediate and vital relevance. It would cost at least 20 Silver Pieces, and it might be sold only in exchange for rare resources from the surface world.

Perception of Activation:

Sight

  • User’s Perspective: The world’s colors become subtly deeper and richer, as if viewed through a thin layer of clear, calm water. The pearls on the Tasbih begin to glow with a soft, pulsating white light, reminiscent of bioluminescent life in the deep ocean. When looking at water, the user can perceive its currents and temperature shifts as faint, swirling patterns of light and shadow.
  • Observer’s Perspective: The pearls on the string of beads begin to emit a gentle, rhythmic white glow, bright enough to be clearly visible in dim light but not dazzling. If the user is wet, the water droplets on their skin might catch this light and seem to shimmer in harmony with the pearls’ pulse.
  • Positives: The visual cues are calming and hypnotic, aiding in meditation. The ability to see currents provides a clear navigational advantage in the water. The glow can serve as a faint, hands-free light source in darkness.
  • Negatives: The gentle, pulsating light can be distracting if trying to focus on a complex, non-meditative task. The visual distortions, while beautiful, could make it difficult to judge distances or spot fine details on land.

Sound

  • User’s Perspective: The user hears the faint, layered sound of the ocean. It’s not just a generic wave sound, but a complex symphony of deep, resonant currents, the gentle clicking of distant sea life, and the rhythmic sound of a slow, steady tide, all of which seem to emanate from within the user’s own mind. This internal soundscape muffles sharp, sudden noises from the outside world.
  • Observer’s Perspective: There is no discernible sound to an observer, making the activation entirely silent to others.
  • Positives: The internal soundscape is incredibly calming and centering, making it easy to block out distractions and enter a focused, meditative state. It provides a constant, comforting connection to the sea.
  • Negatives: The user is less likely to hear approaching footsteps, a drawn weapon, or a shouted warning. This auditory isolation, while peaceful, creates a significant defensive vulnerability.

Touch

  • User’s Perspective: The sea-tumbled stones become incredibly smooth and cool, while the pearls develop a noticeable, gentle warmth. As the beads are passed through the fingers, the user feels a subtle, rhythmic pulse in the pearls, like a slow, steady heartbeat. If in the water, the user feels the water pressure lessening slightly against their skin.
  • Observer’s Perspective: None. The item’s temperature changes are too subtle to be detected without direct contact.
  • Positives: The tactile feedback is grounding and serves as a physical mantra, focusing the user’s mind through touch. The sensation of warmth from the pearls is reassuring in cold water.
  • Negatives: The contrast between the cool stones and warm pearls can be distracting to some. The rhythmic pulse could be mistaken for the user’s own, potentially causing confusion or anxiety if their actual heartbeat is rapid.

Smell

  • User’s Perspective: The user’s senses are filled with the clean, sharp scent of a fresh sea breeze just after a rainstorm. It is a smell of salt, ozone, and wet sand, so vivid that it can completely overpower any other ambient smells in the area.
  • Observer’s Perspective: None.
  • Positives: The scent is invigorating and purifying, helping to clear the user’s head and focus their thoughts. It can block out foul odors, such as the stench of a swamp or a battlefield.
  • Negatives: This powerful olfactory illusion completely masks all other scents. The user would be unable to smell smoke from a nearby fire, the scent of a hidden predator, or the aroma of poison in their food or drink.

Taste

  • User’s Perspective: A distinct taste of clean, natural salt, as if from a fresh oyster or a mouthful of sea spray, develops on the tongue. It is not overpowering or unpleasant, but it is constant while the item is active.
  • Observer’s Perspective: None.
  • Positives: Serves as a clear, unmistakable indicator that the item’s magic is active. The familiar taste can be a comforting reminder of the ocean’s presence.
  • Negatives: The persistent salty taste can interfere with the flavor of food and drink. It can also be a minor, but constant, distraction from other tasks.

Extra-Sensory: Hydro-Empathy

  • User’s Perspective: The user feels a direct, empathetic connection to the water around them. They can sense its “mood”—whether it is calm, agitated, or stagnant. They feel the weight and pressure of the water not as a hostile force, but as a gentle, firm embrace. This sense extends to simple aquatic life, allowing them to feel the placid, instinctual state of a school of fish or the slow contentment of a crab.
  • Observer’s Perspective: The user’s movements become more fluid and graceful, especially in or near water. They may seem to anticipate the motion of waves or currents, moving with them rather than against them.
  • Positives: This creates an unparalleled sense of belonging and safety in the water. The user is less likely to panic underwater and can intuitively find the path of least resistance when swimming.
  • Negatives: A violent storm or a polluted, “sick” body of water can inflict empathetic distress on the user, causing feelings of nausea, anxiety, or physical pain that mirror the water’s state.

Extra-Sensory: Rhythmic Attunement

  • User’s Perspective: The user’s internal clock and bodily rhythms begin to synchronize with the great tides of the planet. They feel the pull of the moon and the slow, powerful pulse of the planet’s oceans as a deep, internal metronome. This manifests as a profound sense of temporal awareness and a feeling of being a small part of a vast, ancient, and rhythmic system.
  • Observer’s Perspective: The user’s breathing and movements may become noticeably slower, more deliberate, and more rhythmic, even when performing complex tasks.
  • Positives: This provides an unerring sense of time and direction relative to the natural world. It fosters a deep sense of peace and patience, making it difficult to fluster or rush the user.
  • Negatives: This deep, slow rhythm can make it difficult for the user to react quickly to sudden, unexpected events. Their mindset becomes one of slow, deliberate action, which is a disadvantage in a fast-paced crisis that requires immediate, reflexive responses.

Zayna’s Method for the Ocean’s Rhythm

This document details the creation of the Tasbih of the Depths, a process that requires not only skilled hands but a spirit in harmony with the sea. To create this item is to engage in a conversation with the ocean; impatience or disrespect will result in failure. The finished product will be a mere string of stones, devoid of magic.

Materials Needed

  • Stones of Memory: Thirty-three smooth, sea-tumbled stones. These cannot be bought but must be gathered by the artisan’s own hand from a shoreline that holds deep personal or spiritual meaning.
  • Pearls of Accord: Three flawless, moon-white pearls. These pearls must be acquired harmoniously—either found shed naturally, received as a willing gift, or traded for with sincere respect. Pearls taken through violence or from a destroyed oyster will not hold the magic.
  • Coral of Life: One piece of pale-blue branching coral. It must be found already broken from its colony by the sea’s currents, not snapped off by the artisan’s hand.
  • Cord of Tides: A single, continuous length of mature sea-kelp, harvested with reverence from the ocean during the peak of a rising tide.
  • Water of the Abyss: A single vessel of pure seawater, collected from a location so deep or far from shore that the light of the surface world is a distant memory.

Tools Required

  • Workshop Tools:
    • A Bow Drill with a hardened, needle-fine tip (obsidian or diamond dust is recommended).
    • An assortment of polishing cloths, preferably of treated sharkskin or other fine, durable leather.
    • A small, wooden frame for tensioning and weaving the kelp cord.
    • A hand-carved stone bowl, wide enough to hold the finished Tasbih.
  • Mystical Implements:
    • A secluded, natural location where the sound of the ocean waves is the only sound that can be heard.
    • The artisan’s own voice, trained in the wordless chants of the sea.
    • The artisan’s own breath, disciplined in the art of rhythmic meditation.

Skill Requirements

The artisan must be trained in these specific skills. Mastery is not required, but a fundamental understanding is essential, as each skill represents a piece of the necessary spiritual harmony.

  • Artisan: Lapidary (Delicate Drilling): The precise skill of boring a hole through brittle stone, pearl, and coral without causing fractures.
  • Artisan: Natural Weaving: The knowledge of how to properly treat, dry, and braid raw sea-kelp into a strong, pliable cord.
  • Mysticism: Rhythmic Breathing: The foundational ability to consciously sync one’s breathing pattern to the rhythm of the waves, inhaling with the flow and exhaling with the ebb.
  • Mysticism: Sea-Chant: The knowledge of the humming, vowel-based chants that resonate with the spirit of the water.
  • Mysticism: Harmonious Intent: The mental discipline to hold a pure, unwavering focus on a single concept—such as “peace” or “oneness”—while performing physical labor.

Crafting Steps

Step 1: The Gathering Journey The creation begins not at a bench, but with a journey. The artisan must personally seek out the materials as specified. This quest is an act of pilgrimage, a way of asking the ocean for its blessing and its components. Each gathered stone, each gifted pearl, forms a bond between the crafter and the world-sea.

Step 2: Attunement of the Spirit Take the gathered materials to your secluded, wave-washed location. Do not begin work. For one full cycle of the tide, from high to low and back to high, you must sit and perform Rhythmic Breathing. Do nothing but breathe in time with the ocean. This tunes your spirit to the task at hand and makes your presence known to the genius loci of the place.

Step 3: The Piercing of the Heart The most delicate physical stage. Set up the bow drill. Pick up the first stone. As you begin to drill, you must also begin a low Sea-Chant, matching the hum of the drill’s rotation. Your breathing must remain in sync with the waves. Hold the concept of “passage” and “openness” in your mind. A single moment of frustration will shatter the stone. Repeat this for all thirty-three stones, the three pearls, and the coral branch. This may take many hours, or even days.

Step 4: The Weaving of the Flow Set up the weaving frame. As you braid the strands of treated kelp, your chant should change to one that mimics the sound of currents flowing around rocks. Your hands must move in a steady, flowing motion. You are not just making a cord; you are weaving the ocean’s own movement into a physical form.

Step 5: The Threading of the Whole Take the finished cord and begin to thread the beads. Start with the coral Imam bead, a moment of silent reverence. Then thread the stones and pearls in their pattern. With each pearl that passes onto the cord, you must whisper a word of gratitude to the ocean. When the final knot is tied, the physical object is complete. It is beautiful, but it sleeps.

Step 6: The Ocean’s Baptism Place the finished Tasbih into the stone bowl. Wait for the tide to be at its peak. Pour the Water of the Abyss over the beads, submerging them completely. Now, stand and perform the most powerful Sea-Chant you know. Hold your Harmonious Intent—the pure thought of “oneness with the sea”—and project it from your heart into the bowl. The ritual is successful when the pearls begin to glow with their own soft light, and the water in the bowl begins to gently rise and fall, creating a miniature tide in perfect time with the great ocean beyond. The Tasbih is now awake.

The Song of the Sorrowful Abyss

And it was in a time that is now salt and dust, there was a village that lived in the pocket of the sea. The people there did not walk on roads of dirt, but on paths of sand, and their calendars were the turning of the tides. Among these people was a woman named Zayna. Her name meant beauty, but the people called her the Water-Listener, for she did not dive for the price of the pearl, but for the feeling of the deep. It was known she could hold her breath longer than any man, for they said her lungs did not steal air, but borrowed the breath of the water itself. Her heart was quiet, and the sea told her its old secrets.

It came to pass that the sea’s face grew sick. A great shadow, a Sorrow of the Abyss, came and made its home in the pearl beds where the village found its wealth. This was not a beast of teeth and anger. It was a creature of immense and silent grief. Where it lay, the water became heavy and cold. The sunlight was afraid to touch the bottom. The oysters, feeling the sadness, closed their mouths and died. The fish, who like happy water, swam away to other seas. The nets of the fishermen came up empty. The pouches of the divers held no pearls. A great hunger began to live in the village.

The strongest men, whose arms were thick with rope-pulling muscles, took their harpoons with sharp metal teeth. They went in their boats to fight the shadow. But the water was so heavy with sorrow that their arms became tired just to row. Their spears, when thrown, sank slow and sad and found no flesh. The shadow was too deep and too sad to be touched by anger. The village elders prayed to the sky gods, but the sky is far away, and their prayers were for storms and sun, and did not know the language of this new deep-water grief.

But Zayna the Water-Listener, when she swam at the edge of the sick water, she did not feel a monster’s rage. She felt a loneliness as wide as the sea itself. The creature’s soul, she felt, was a deep hole where a light had gone out. It was not a trespasser to be killed. It was a lost thing that had forgotten the way home. She knew a spear could not fix a thing that was already broken inside.

So Zayna did not sharpen a spear. She went to the shore where the waves speak secrets to the sand. She gathered stones that had been listening to the tide for a thousand years. She received as a gift three pearls from an old diver, pearls that were found in happy shells long ago. She found a branch of coral that was a home to many tiny fish before it broke off in a playful current. She took the green hair of the sea-kelp and wove it into a string while humming the low song of the deep currents. She made a thing of listening. She made the first Sea-Breathing Beads.

She took the beads and her quiet heart and walked into the sea. She did not swim toward the shadow’s home. She just went into the water until it held her. The water was cold, and the weight of the sorrow was a heavy blanket. She let herself float in the gray stillness, and she began to pass the smooth stones through her fingers. One by one. She did not speak words. She began to chant, her voice a low hum that was not her own, but the sound the ocean itself makes in a deep abyss. She matched her breath to the rhythm of her chant. She matched her quiet heartbeat to the pulse she felt awakening in the glowing pearls.

The beads began to shine with a soft light, like the ghosts of moons. The song she sang, made strong by the listening beads, traveled through the heavy water. It was not a song of challenge or command. It was a song of belonging. It was the music of the turning world, the deep hum of the water itself.

And the Sorrow of the Abyss, which had lived for ages in a silence broken only by its own grief, it felt the song. It was a song it knew, but had long forgotten. The heavy water around it stirred. The great shadow moved, not with anger, but with a slow and ancient turning. It moved toward the feeling of the song. The beads glowed brighter as Zayna sang the water’s truth. The creature did not flee from her. It followed the song, out of the bay, past the reef, and into the great deep ocean where such songs are born. It was not driven away. It was reminded of its home.

When Zayna came out of the water, the sea behind her was clear and light. The sun touched the bottom once more. The next day, the fish returned. In the weeks that followed, the oysters opened their mouths again. The hunger left the village. Zayna, the woman who listened to water, taught the making of the beads to the others, so they would learn to listen, too.

The Moral of the Story: A sharp harpoon can only wound what is there. A true song can guide what is lost.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu, 7th Edition

Beads of the Drowned Prophet

These prayer beads, strung on a cord of what appears to be human hair, are carved from thirty-three pieces of sea-worn stone and interspersed with three unusually pale, cold pearls. They are attributed to a prophet of a forgotten sea cult who was said to have preached to the things in the deep. The beads grant a disquieting harmony with the ocean, allowing one to move within it with ease, but at the cost of opening one’s mind to the whispers that rise from the abyssal depths.

Game Mechanics:

  • Soothing Waters: When holding the beads, the Investigator gains one Bonus Die on all Swim checks.
  • Ocean’s Breath: As a free action, the user may spend 1 Magic Point to triple the amount of time they can hold their breath. While this power is active, they hear faint, unintelligible whispers whenever they are submerged in water.
  • Read the Currents: By concentrating for one minute, the user can make a POW x5 roll to understand the movement of the water around them. On a success, they learn the direction of all major currents in the area, a great aid in navigation. However, this act of listening to the sea requires a Sanity roll (0/1d2 loss), as one does not just hear the water, but the ancient memories it holds.
  • Unwanted Attention: Each time an active power of the beads is used in the open ocean, there is a cumulative 5% chance of attracting the attention of a nearby Deep One or other aquatic horror, who recognize the beads’ psychic signature.

Blades in the Dark

Drowner’s Beads

A string of smooth, dark stones and three corpse-pale pearls on a woven cord of kelp-fiber. They feel cold and damp, even when dry. Smugglers who ply the black canals of Duskvol whisper that these beads let you borrow the breath of the drowned and ask the water for its secrets. The cost is hearing the whispers of those who lie at the bottom of the canals, a sound that can unnerve even the most hardened scoundrel.

Game Mechanics:

This is a piece of Occult Gear.

  • Passive Use: When you hold these beads, you can sense the general flow of the canals and the ghost-tides. You get a general sense of which way the water is moving without needing to test it.
  • Active Use: When you enter the water, you can spend 1 Stress to not just swim, but flow with the water’s essence. For the rest of the scene while you remain in the water, you gain the following benefits:
    • Take +1d to Prowl or Finesse rolls made to move through the water.
    • You can hold your breath for an unusually long time (as long as is dramatically interesting, within reason).
  • Devil’s Bargain / Complication: When you activate the beads, the GM can offer you a Devil’s Bargain such as, “You can hear the whispers of the drowned in the canal, and one of them will tell you about the hidden underwater grate you’re looking for… but its ghostly voice will get stuck in your head. Start a 4-segment clock labeled ‘Haunted by the Drowned’.”

Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition

Mariner’s Prayer Beads Wondrous item, uncommon

This string of 33 smooth, sea-tumbled stones is interspersed with three white pearls. The cord is a tough, dark green fiber woven from sea-kelp. The beads feel cool to the touch and are favored by mystics, sailors, and smugglers who make their living on the water.

  • While holding these beads, you always know the direction and strength of the tide and any major aquatic currents within 1 mile of you.
  • As an action, you can present the beads to a body of water. For 1 minute, you can see the main currents within 60 feet of you as faint, shimmering lines of light.
  • You can use an action to activate the beads’ deeper magic. For the next 10 minutes, you can hold your breath for twice as long as normal. This property can’t be used again until the next dawn.

Knave, 2nd Edition

Current-Whisper Beads Item, 1 Slot

A string of smooth, grey-green stones and a few lustrous pearls on a tough, kelp-fiber cord. Holding them gives one a strange sense of connection to the rhythm of the sea.

  • Passive: You always know if the tide is rising or falling. Simple, non-hostile aquatic animals (small fish, crabs, etc.) are calm in your presence.
  • Ocean’s Breath (Active): Once per day, you may activate the beads to allow yourself to hold your breath for a full Turn (10 minutes).
  • Current Sight (Active): When submerged, you can concentrate for a moment to cause the major currents around you to become visible as shimmering lines of light. This effect lasts as long as you concentrate.

Fate Core System

The Sea’s Own Rhythm

This string of sea-tumbled stones and pearls is an Extra that represents a character’s deep, mystical connection to the ocean. It is not just an item they carry, but a core part of their identity.

Game Mechanics:

  • Item Aspect:Attuned to the Constant Tide
    • Invoke: You can invoke this Aspect to gain a +2 bonus or a re-roll on an Athletics roll to swim long distances, a Physique roll to resist the effects of cold water, or an Investigate roll when searching for something lost in the water. This represents you using the beads to find a rhythm and harmony with your environment.
    • Compel: The GM can compel this Aspect to bring your deep connection to the water to the forefront at an inopportune time. You might become so focused on the slow, patient rhythm of the tide that you hesitate for a crucial moment in a fast-paced fight, or you might feel an empathetic echo of a creature’s drowning that distracts you from your goal. Accepting the compel grants you a Fate Point.
  • Stunt: Path of Least Resistance
    • Once per session, you may spend a Fate Point while on or in the water to declare a story detail related to finding the perfect path. You don’t need to roll. For example: “I use the beads to listen to the harbor’s currents, and I declare that we find a hidden, deep channel that lets our small boat slip past the blockade without being seen.”

Numenera & Cypher System

Hydro-Synchronicity Nodules

These thirty-three smooth, grey-green nodules are strung on a cord of synthetic fiber that is incredibly durable and always feels damp. The three larger, pearl-like nodules glow with a soft internal light when submerged. This is a bio-kinetic device from a prior world that attunes the user’s autonomic functions to the rhythm of a planet’s tidal forces and hydrosphere.

Game Mechanics:

  • Level: 3
  • Form: Wearable string of nodules
  • Effect: Grants the user a harmonious connection with water.
    • Passive: The difficulty of any task related to swimming, resisting the effects of cold water, or navigating surface currents is decreased by one step.
    • Active (Depletion): The user can concentrate for a round, fully submerging the nodules in water. For the next hour, they can breathe underwater as if it were air. Their bodies also automatically adjust to pressure, allowing them to function comfortably at depths up to 500 feet (152 m).
  • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (When a 1 is rolled on a d20 after an active use, the device’s bio-interface shorts out, rendering it inert until it can be repaired).

Pathfinder, 2nd Edition

Pearls of the Wavespeaker Item 2 Uncommon Divination Invested Magical Water Price 30 GP Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L

This string of 33 smooth, sea-tumbled stones is interspersed with three glowing white pearls. To invest this item, you must submerge it in natural seawater for at least one hour.

While invested, you gain a +1 item bonus to Athletics checks to Swim and you always know which direction is downstream or down current in any body of water you are in.

Activate [one-action] envision; Frequency once per 10 minutes; Effect You focus on the beads, attuning your body to the water. For the next minute, you can hold your breath. This duration is cumulative with other effects that extend how long you can hold your breath.

Activate [two-actions] interact, concentrate; Frequency once per day; Effect You trail the beads in a body of water and ask for guidance. You cast a 1st-level guidance spell on yourself, but the bonus can only be used on a check made to navigate on or through water.

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE)

The Drowner’s Friend

This is a string of smooth, dark stones and pearls on a tough, kelp-fiber cord. Sailors and river-folk consider it a powerful charm, a tool that asks the water for its cooperation rather than commanding it.

Game Mechanics:

  • Passive Bonus: While holding the beads, the character gains a +1 bonus to their Athletics (Swimming) rolls.
  • Active Power: The beads hold a reservoir of harmonizing magic. Once per day, the user can activate the beads to gain the following effects for 10 minutes:
    • The user can breathe underwater.
    • The user is unaffected by normal underwater pressure (this does not protect against extreme depths, a GM call).
    • The user’s Pace is not halved when swimming underwater.

Shadowrun, Sixth World (6th Edition)

Manadyne Oceanic Sustaining Focus

Marketed by Manadyne under their “Natural Magicks” line, this focus appears as a string of cultured pearls and smooth, sea-green stones strung on a cord of synthetic kelp-fiber. It is popular among shamans following a Sea or Water Mentor Spirit and is often used by eco-activists and corporate assets operating in aquatic environments. While it has minor utility for the mundane, its primary function is to help a spellcaster maintain control over water-aspected mana.

Game Mechanics:

This is a Sustaining Focus (Water).

  • Rating: 2
  • Availability: 8R
  • Cost: 14,000 Nuyen
  • Effect: This focus is designed to help sustain spells with a water or aquatic descriptor (such as Water Breathing, Control Water, etc.). When sustaining such a spell, the focus’s Rating (2) is added to your dice pool for any tests to resist the spell fading due to background count or other magical interference.
  • Passive Attunement: A character with a Sea or Water Mentor Spirit gains a +1 Edge bonus on any social tests made to interact with water spirits while holding the focus.

Starfinder Roleplaying Game

Tidal Node Magic Item Level 3 Price 1,400 credits Bulk L

DESCRIPTION This device is a string of thirty-three grey-green nodules made from a resilient, coral-like substance, interspersed with three larger, pearl-white spheres. It is typically worn as a necklace or bracelet. The nodules are products of advanced bio-engineering from a water-world, designed to create a sympathetic resonance between the wearer’s biology and a planet’s hydrosphere.

ABILITIES This item must be worn for 24 hours to attune to the user’s biology. Once attuned, it grants the following benefits:

  • You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Athletics checks to swim.
  • The Tidal Node has 3 charges, which replenish each day. As a standard action, you can expend 1 charge to activate one of the following effects:
    • For the next hour, you can hold your breath for twice as long as normal.
    • For the next 10 minutes, you can see the direction and strength of any currents within 60 feet as visible, shimmering lines of blue light.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Amphibian’s Aid (TL 11)

A rare piece of alien bio-tech, the Amphibian’s Aid is a string of semi-organic nodules that, when held, create a minor psycho-kinetic link with the user, subtly altering their physiology for aquatic environments. Its origin is unknown, though it is highly prized by explorers and scientists surveying water-worlds. The device is a single item and cannot be replicated with Earth technology.

Game Mechanics:

  • Weight: 0.1 kg
  • Cost: Cr 25,000 (black market)
  • Effect: A character holding or wearing the device gains the following benefits:
    • Passive: Gain DM +1 on any Athletics (swim) or Survival (foraging/tracking in aquatic environments) checks.
    • Active: Once per day, the user may concentrate for one minute to activate the device’s core function. For the next hour, the user’s metabolism is altered, allowing them to hold their breath for up to 15 minutes. This prolonged activation is taxing and inflicts 1d3 damage upon the user at the end of the hour as their system reverts to normal.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, 4th Edition

Witch-Beads of the Reik Magical Artefact

These are a string of thirty-three smooth, dark river stones, interspersed with three pearls scavenged from the shells of Reik-clams. It is said the first of these were made by the river-witches of the upper Reik to help them guide their barges through the treacherous currents. They are cool and slimy to the touch, and constantly drip a small amount of brackish water, no matter how long they have been dry. They smell faintly of mud and fish.

Game Mechanics:

  • Passive Effect: The wearer finds themselves more at home in the water. They may ignore the first Fatigued Condition they would otherwise gain from swimming in cold water or for extended periods. They also gain a +10 bonus to Sail Tests when navigating a river.
  • Active Effect: Once per day, the wearer can trail the beads in a river or other body of water and make an Average (+20) Pray Test.
    • If successful: The character gains a blessing of watery guidance. For the next hour, they cannot become lost while navigating on water and can automatically find the strongest, safest current. Furthermore, they gain one Fortune Point which can only be used on a Test made while swimming or submerged.
    • If a Fumble is rolled: The spirits of the river are angered. The character is immediately afflicted with a bout of cramping and sea-sickness, gaining one Prone and one Fatigued Condition. The beads cannot be used again until the next sunrise.