Rarity: Common
Tier: 1
Roleplay Emphasis: Egg Candler
Slot: Face (Mask)
—
Lore: From the whispering rookeries above the Cliff-Coils of Yentara, it is told that a young avian-tender once pleaded to the ancestral spirits for help in saving a clutch of wind-shaken sky-eggs. The old prayers were hewn into driftwood, lacquered with yolk-resin, and set beside a candle made from the fat of a beast that never saw light. On the third night, the mask was found carved by unseen hands—etched with spirals resembling nest-turns, clutch warmth, and veined shells. The spirits of avian ancestors, it is said, now linger in its hollows, their breath warming even the coldest egg.
—
Description: A pale ochre and smoky-ivory mask shaped like an elongated avian beak, with side panels carved into feathery ridges and cross-hatch spirals mimicking eggshell fracture lines. The nose-bridge bears translucent shell-bone through which faint candlelight passes. Its inner lining is soft brush-wool and fossil-fluff, and when worn near candlelight, the beak emits a warm glow—pulsing in rhythm with any fertile eggs nearby.
—
Stats:
• Weight: Negligible
• Durability: Moderate (resilient to heat, but brittle to crushing force)
• Material Composition: Spirit-hollowed driftwood, shell-bone, candle-resin inlay
• Attunement: Requires 1-minute ritual beside an egg and open flame
• Specific Slot: Face
—
Passive Magics:
• Shell-Glow Sight – When near a flame, allows the wearer to see into eggs up to 3 inches thick, revealing yolk, fracture lines, life-pulse, or signs of illness.
• Warm Breath Field – Emits a gentle heat field extending 6 inches from the mask’s surface when worn during brooding or incubation, reducing egg failure rates.
• Fertile Echo – While in silence and near a nest, the mask resonates faintly when it senses imminent hatching (up to 12 hours in advance).
—
Activable Magics:
• Candle-Bond Whisper (1/day) – While beside a lit candle and holding an egg, the wearer may hear a brief spiritual “flutter” of the soul within the shell. In some rare cases, ancestral memories of the hatchling’s lineage may be briefly glimpsed.
• Veil of Still Heat (1/day) – The wearer may touch an unhatched egg and spend 1 minute in stillness to transfer a protective warmth enchantment. For the next 8 hours, that egg resists cold, vibrations, and misfortune caused by neglect or travel.
• Nest Spirit Calling (1/week) – With three eggs circled around a spirit candle, the wearer may summon a harmless spirit-bird guide (lasts 1 hour) that scouts up to 200 feet and returns with visual impressions only the mask-wearer can interpret.
—
Tags: Malagan, Spirit-Wood, Aviancraft, Candle-Based, Ritual, Egg-Lore, Clutch-Protection, Mask, Facewear, Tier 1 Item, Common Rarity, Nest-Warding, Incubation, Whispered Memory, Warmth Channel, Folk Magic, Saṃsāra-Born, Sensory-Linked
Shops and Trade of Malagan 72 of the Nest-Seer’s Oath in the World of Saṃsāra
This item is not sold in common merchant stalls or general magic shops, but instead travels through quieter circles of ritualistic practitioners and avian-wardens. Trade is conducted through trust, tradition, and mutual respect with the spirit-touched.
1. Cliffroot Incantor-Nests (Floating Aviaries of Verenth-Kul)
Type: Artisan-roost and spiritual aviculture guild
Location: On tethered platforms hung from the underside of floating cities, accessed via pulley-ladders and glider paths
Price: 85 gp or equivalent trade in candle-oil, blessed clutch feathers, or fossilized shell-teeth
Method of Sale: The mask is hung silently among living birds. Prospective buyers must spend one night in the aviary under candlelight. If the mask’s beak glows faintly red while pointed toward them in morning light, the elders offer it in ritual exchange.
2. Spirit-Hatchery Circles (Underroot Caverns of Maluth-Uru)
Type: Communal eggwatch sanctums carved into warm caves
Location: Within the winding hollow-heat tunnels beneath southern island plateaus
Price: 40 gp, or service offering to tend a vigil over five nights for rare eggs
Method of Sale: The mask is gifted as part of a bonding rite to those who prove they can “hear the still flutter”—a sensory alignment with silent eggs under candlelight. Usually sold only to those who have lost a clutch or are in mourning for a failed hatch.
3. Traveling Embercarvers (Nomadic Candler-Folk known as the Kindling Wayfarers)
Type: Itinerant spirit woodcarvers, candlewrights, and relic traders
Location: Found along pilgrimage routes to nesting shrines or candle-prayer spires
Price: 70 gp, or three rare types of wax (from beast-fat, glowfruit resin, or storm-gull oil)
Method of Sale: The Embercarver sets the mask in a ring of smoking candles. The buyer must make an offering (egg, feather, or lullaby) and speak a truth whispered only to the unborn. If the mask exhales visible warmth, the trade is accepted.
4. Mourning Flame Archives (Selenith, capital of the Ashen Coast)
Type: Silent monastery and archive of funerary, incubation, and grief-based magical items
Location: Built in basalt on a cliff ledge where sea-birds nest beside urns of the dead
Price: 100 gp flat, or a single written lullaby known to no other soul
Method of Sale: Recorded purchase, no bargaining, always done by candlelight. Archivists refuse to speak during the trade, handing over a wax-sealed scroll alongside the item. Purchasers may not return for another in their lifetime.
5. Shadow-Market Halloweaves (Illicit egg alchemists in outlaw hatching dens)
Type: Underground hatcheries in hidden vaults beneath cities
Location: In the soot-slick underbuildings of market towns where nesting bans are enforced
Price: 30 gp, or the promise of a rare egg delivered within a month
Method of Sale: Risky and informal. These black-market dens sell flawed or imitation versions of the mask, some bearing false spirits. Only the originals hold warmth for the unborn. Most true versions are stolen or passed hand-to-hand.
Summary of Typical Pricing Tiers in Saṃsāra:
- High-Honor Guild Sale: 85–100 gp, with legacy rituals
- Trusted Sanctum Exchange: 40–70 gp, with bonding
- Nomadic or Black-Market Variant: 30–70 gp, risk of counterfeit
- Trade Alternatives: Service, feather, fossil wax, rare egg, or grief offering in place of coin
Trade Notes:
Due to the spiritual resonance of Malagan 72 of the Nest-Seer’s Oath, most honest shops will not sell more than one per customer, and only to those who have shown care for avian life or eggwatch tradition. Counterfeit versions, while physically identical, lack the ember-resonance and spirit-laced activation. Those who try to trade it as a weapon or in markets of war often find the mask’s glow fades permanently.
Roleplay Use of Malagan 72 of the Nest-Seer’s Oath
Common, Tier 1, Roleplay Emphasis: Egg Candler
The mask, shaped with ancestral avian memory and ritual warmth, is not a weapon in the traditional sense—yet within the world of Saṃsāra, where magic and symbolism are inseparable, its influence in both defensive and offensive roleplay is profound. Its strength lies not in harm, but in environmental mastery, aura shaping, spirit invocation, and subtle manipulation of perception and presence.
Defense Roleplay in Different Environments
1. In a Brooding Hollow (Jungle Canopy or Cliff Nest Sanctum):
- Tactical Role: The wearer sets up a perimeter of lit candles, placing themselves at the center while inspecting fragile eggs. The mask generates a protective warmth field.
- Defense Outcome: Predatory beasts sense the ancient spirit field and hesitate to enter. If they approach, the wearer can activate Veil of Still Heat, calming the area, dulling predator instincts, and stalling aggression without violence.
- Roleplay Angle: Protective spirit-guardian, eggwatcher of sacred clutches, seen by villagers as a spirit-tender whose mere presence wards misfortune.
2. In a Frozen Wasteland or Snow-Blanketed Plain:
- Tactical Role: Amidst storms or blizzards, the mask is worn to protect rare beast-eggs or enchanted dragonling ova.
- Defense Outcome: The passive warmth prevents egg death and signals to allies that life persists beneath the cold.
- Roleplay Angle: Symbol of persistence; a soft-hearted survivalist respected for compassion even in hostile regions. The mask may inspire NPCs to reconsider hostile actions, seeing the user as a “caretaker rather than combatant.”
3. During Siege or Battle Aftermath (Urban Ruins):
- Tactical Role: Carried into crumbling shelters to rescue endangered clutchlings or retrieve forgotten heirloom-eggs.
- Defense Outcome: The mask’s aura soothes grieving spirits; specters or unstable entities may pause aggression if they sense the “promise of new life.”
- Roleplay Angle: Acts as a spiritual barrier—enemies hesitate, allies find clarity, and ambient rage lessens around the wearer. Seen as a “mask of breath,” giving space in combat chaos.
Offense Roleplay in Different Environments
1. Against the Spiritually Vulnerable (Haunted Woodlands or Ghost-Rich Catacombs):
- Tactical Role: While facing echoing spirits or memory-bound haunts, the mask can be activated with Candle-Bond Whisper to speak truths too gentle for ordinary exorcism.
- Offense Outcome: Rather than banish, it stuns or shames spirits into withdrawal, diffusing aggression by offering ancestral resonance.
- Roleplay Angle: Acts not as an aggressor but a “truth midwife,” pulling the enemy’s pain into the open and disabling hostility. Seen as dangerous for what it knows, not what it does.
2. In Political Intrigue (Market Halls or Court Gardens):
- Tactical Role: The mask is worn in public, its appearance and symbolism both unsettling and profound. If placed beside a lit candle, it draws attention and conveys purpose.
- Offense Outcome: Intimidates those who value tradition; forces revelations in those hiding broken oaths tied to family or lineage.
- Roleplay Angle: Used for emotional aggression—shaming cowards, unnerving corrupt figures. In diplomatic disputes, wearing the mask may imply, “I see the egg you crushed.”
3. In Predator-Dense Wildlands or When Facing Beastmasters:
- Tactical Role: Used to manipulate beast behavior, creating confusion or inducing passive responses.
- Offense Outcome: The warmth and rhythm of the mask may cause nesting animals or bonded predators to turn docile, hesitate, or break control.
- Roleplay Angle: Offense through inversion—disabling enemies by removing their advantages rather than striking. Like turning a soldier’s blade into a lullaby.
This mask turns passive magic into situational authority. Its user becomes a candle of still breath—and sometimes, the flame that softens a sword before it strikes.
Perception of Activation:
—
User’s Perspective
Sight: As the mask nears a candle or open flame, the shell-bone at the bridge glows faintly, like sunrise through thin eggshell. The carved cross-hatches ripple with dim internal luminescence. Around fertile eggs, the glow deepens, pulsing in synchrony with unseen rhythms—akin to a hidden heartbeat in wax.
Sound: No true sound, but a faint echo of breath—soft as down brushing parchment—resonates within the beak. At its peak, a whispered susurrus surrounds the ears, akin to ancestral lullabies spoken in languages never learned.
Touch: The brush-wool interior becomes subtly warm, a living heat that draws from the flame without burning. Holding an egg while activated imparts a gentle flutter across the fingertips, as if the unborn inside stirred slightly.
Smell: Clean, earthy warmth mixed with ancient wax and faint ash. A trace of fossilized shell mingles with the sootless scent of burning candle resin—comforting and sacred, not chemical.
Taste: A hint of salt and chalk on the tongue, as if a memory of broken shell lingered in the air.
Extra-sensory:
- A gentle awareness spreads across the mind: the presence and placement of each egg within a 15-foot radius becomes instinctively known.
- In moments of emotional stillness, the user may sense faint impressions from the egg—a sense of contentment, discomfort, or danger.
- Spiritually, the mask opens a small conduit to ancestral broodwatchers. Their presence is not seen or heard, but felt like the unseen warmth of sunlight on closed eyelids.
—
Observer’s Perspective
Sight: The mask glows from within—amber and gold—casting faint lines of light through carved grooves, forming a radiant outline like firefly trails. When near eggs, the glow flickers in pulses that draw attention without flaring.
Sound: Observers hear very little—perhaps a soft hum like air beneath a bird’s wing—but nothing loud. Prolonged observation may induce a gentle hush in ambient sound, as though noise dims around the maskbearer.
Touch: If touched during activation, the mask feels warm but not hot, as if alive. Light tremors pass through it when held close to a viable egg, unsettling to those unfamiliar with its purpose.
Smell: The scent is richer to observers—like distant incense made of crushed bone, warm sand, and melted wax in early mourning rites.
Extra-sensory:
- Those attuned to magic or spirits may sense a lull in restless energies nearby, especially among unborn or ghostly presences.
- Anyone recently having suffered loss may feel drawn to it, finding its glow soothing or vaguely tearful.
—
Positives:
- Reveals unseen life within eggs, aiding survival and care.
- Projects calm in otherwise tense environments.
- Emotionally affects NPCs and spirits connected to life, rebirth, or loss.
- Safe to use even in silence, producing no aggressive magical signals.
Negatives:
– Highly visible when activated; concealment is difficult.
– Some undead or entities tied to decay may react aggressively to its presence.
– Extended use near corrupted or cursed eggs may overload the mask with unpleasant spiritual impressions.
– Emotionally draining for wearers with unresolved grief or egg-loss memories, causing distraction or quiet melancholy.
Crafting Recipe: Mask of the Nest-Seer’s Oath
A sacred creation blending spirit-channeling craftsmanship, candle-magic, and ancestral avian reverence
—
Materials Needed:
- Shell-Bone Shard (1) – Translucent calcified fragment from an unhatched egg of a spirit-marked avian or fossil-clutch scavenged from a Windfall Nest.
- Driftwood of Mourning (1 piece) – Weathered wood recovered from a shore where at least one egg was laid and lost. Must be carved within 7 days of retrieval.
- Brush-Wool Tuft (3) – Soft fibrous strands plucked from nesting beasts such as Clifftail Herders, cleaned but not dyed.
- Fossil-Fluff Lining (1 sheet) – Feather-shedding of extinct sky-birds, gathered from cavern hoards or purchased from Spirit-Binders’ markets.
- Spiritwax Resin (1 vial) – Candle-wax extracted from sacred vigil-lanterns or consecrated mourning candles, infused with lullaby ash.
- Candlelight Pearl Dust (1 pinch) – Ground from a pearl grown inside a candle-fish, traded from coastal lantern-trawlers.
- Thread of Hatching Silence (2 yards) – Rare spun linen dyed in oils of brooding herbs and bound under a lunar incubation rite.
—
Tools Required:
• Carving Blade of Bone or Bronze (never iron or steel)
• Spiritwax Melter (small ceramic crucible with wick-fed heat)
• Shell-Bone Press Clamp
• Whispered-Thread Needle
• Nest-Scented Varnish Pot
• Enchantment Brush (goose-feather tip preferred)
• Egg-Candler’s Hood (for meditation during final attunement)
—
Skill Requirements:
• Artisan’s Skill: Woodcarving (Basic), Candlecraft (Moderate), Ritual Weaving (Basic)
• Magical Knowledge: Folk Magic (Avian or Incubation traditions), Candle-Spirit Lore
• Wisdom Check Equivalent: 12+ to avoid resonance warping or spiritual rejection during final chant
• Optional Bonus: Having personally tended to a clutch (real or symbolic) in the past year improves all checks by +2
—
Crafting Steps:
- Ritual Cleansing of Materials:
Begin during twilight. Each material must be passed over candlelight while a short egg-blessing chant is murmured. This binds ancestral attentiveness to the raw pieces. - Carving the Driftwood Form:
Shape the base mask using only bone or bronze tools. Incorporate ridge-feathers, spirals, and egg-fracture motifs into the surface. Leave space at the bridge for shell-bone. - Setting the Shell-Bone:
Heat the press clamp gently while layering Candlelight Pearl Dust beneath the shell-bone. Align it within the mask’s bridge and slowly close the clamp over one hour. The bone should glow faintly when removed. - Lining the Interior:
Stitch the fossil-fluff and brush-wool into the interior using Whispered-Thread and the special needle. The stitches must follow a spiral pattern representing the nesting wind. - Application of Spiritwax Resin:
Using the enchantment brush, trace the candle-runnels along the outer mask. Pour resin into the grooves. Whisper over each one the name of an unhatched or unborn thing—real or imagined. - Final Enchantment & Attunement:
Set the finished mask in a circle of three lit candles and wear the Egg-Candler’s Hood. Meditate in silence for one hour. If done properly, the beak will glow once and the lining will warm. The mask is now spiritually ready. - Optional Enhancement:
If the maker places a fertile egg within one arm’s length during attunement, the mask will retain that egg’s “pulse” for one moon cycle, enhancing Fertile Echo sensitivity temporarily.
—
Completion Notes:
Crafting takes approximately 5 days with proper materials and rest between each step. The mask may only be crafted once per lunar cycle per artisan, as ancestral attentiveness thins with repetition. Failure in the process results in an inert item, lifeless and cold. Success brings forth a delicate yet powerful bond with the spirits of clutch and cradle.
Nest-Glow That Cried Beneath the Stone Candle
—as poorly translated by the Candle-Priest Heirun from a crumbled eggshell-scroll found in the root-vaults of Far Sūkuh-Moah, itself thought transcribed from a now-lost feather-language of pre-reckoning bird-tongues—
And so began with wind beneath the feathers of no sky, in the Days-That-Were-Not, when the Sun had not yet made his journey twice, and eggs had not learned stillness.
A woman, called neither name nor echo, lived near the hollow of where stars once fell. She was keeper of a cracked beak and called her task brood-singing—a noise for the not-alive to hear. Her hut was of waxed roots, and within it slept only candles, unburned and unwept.
She wore not mask nor word, only soot of sorrow. Her arms bore no children, only feathered shadows that whispered when the moon failed to glow. This woman (who was neither mother nor maid) would hum to shells fallen too soon, placing each in beds of sand and telling them, “You are not broken; you are merely paused.”
The Mountain came then. Not a mountain of stone, but of foot and claw and firebelch—the Great Thing That Eats All Songs. It came, chasing those who still held light. Candles were smothered. Songs turned to stone. And the woman, who had been ignored by Time, looked up as the Mountain roared, and did not hide.
Instead, she carved.
She took driftwood from her own roof, and the breath of her quietest song, and the curl of a feather from a bird never born—and with these she shaped a mask. Its beak was long, for silence to hide inside. Its ridges spiraled like questions unanswered. She set one pearl within it: a bead of bone never burned.
And when she placed the mask upon her, and leaned over the egg the Mountain had crushed in fury, it glowed. Not with fire, but with breath—the breath of all unborn things, forgotten but not gone.
The Mountain paused.
The woman said no word, but the candle beside her flared with memory. The Mountain stepped back, for it saw in her not fear, but stillness wrapped in warmth. It could not eat what had no edges.
So it fell into sleep beside her, and from its belly spilled not flame—but eggs, thousands of them, stolen from the nests of ruined skies. The woman, with mask aglow, placed each into a circle of wax and watched them hum.
From those eggs came birds with smoke in their bones and lullabies on their tongues. They carried fire not as death, but as light for the way back.
And though the woman cracked with age, her mask did not. It passed to the next, and then the next, always glowing near those who tended what was not yet alive. Even now, when an egg pulses in silence, the Nest-Seer’s Oath listens.
And sometimes, when worn by one who truly waits—not wants, but waits—the mask will hum a breath that never was born.
Moral: That which is unhatched is not unfinished; it waits for the one who will believe in warmth even when there is no fire.
Suggested conversions to other systems:
Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)
Item Name: Eggseer’s Candle Mask (Malagan 72 of the Nest-Seer’s Oath)
Type: Minor Magic Item
Description: A bone-beaded driftwood mask used in rites of incubation and spirit appeasement.
Effects:
- When worn near a lit candle, the wearer may detect viable eggs within 10 ft (no roll).
- Once per day, the wearer may perform a 10-minute focus ritual to receive vague impressions from a nearby egg (viability, agitation, spiritual residue).
- If used in a séance or dream-quest, the mask grants +5% to Occult and +10% to Insight if the topic involves birth, legacy, or undeveloped potential.
Sanity Cost: 0 for normal use. 1d2 if used to read corrupted or cursed eggs.
Mythos Tie: Minor — believed to have once calmed an avatar of Byakhee nesting rage.
Blades in the Dark
Item Name: Nest-Seer’s Oath (Malagan 72)
Item Type: Fine Arcane Implement
Load: 1
Description: A waxed driftwood mask that pulses with candlelight near fertile eggs or latent life.
Effects:
- Counts as a fine item when attempting rituals, tracking unborn spirits, or performing brood-related augury.
- Grants potency when using Attune to communicate with spirit-echoes of future life.
- When worn, grants +1d to rolls to pacify animal spirits, soothe nesting ghosts, or conceal activities related to quiet incubation.
Notes: Especially favored by Whisper cultists who watch over sacred clutch-vaults.
Dungeons & Dragons (5e)
Item Name: Malagan 72 of the Nest-Seer’s Oath
Wondrous Item, Common (requires attunement by a spellcaster or druidic figure)
Slot: Face (mask)
Properties:
- While within 10 feet of a viable egg or embryonic lifeform, the mask glows softly and provides the wearer with a comforting warmth.
- Once per long rest, the wearer may cast Detect Life (homebrew spell: like Detect Magic, but for life signs of undeveloped beings) centered on themselves.
- The wearer has advantage on Animal Handling checks involving nesting beasts or egg-bearing creatures.
- While attuned and within candlelight, the wearer cannot be surprised by beasts or oozes.
Flavor: When the mask is near a lit candle and unhatched life, a pulsing glow passes through the shell-bone bridge, gently illuminating the surroundings.
Knave (Ben Milton)
Item Name: Mask of Brooding Sight (Malagan 72)
Item Type: Magical Gear
Usage Slot: Headgear
Description: A sacred driftwood mask carved in ancient avian style, faintly glowing in the presence of viable eggs.
Effects:
- While worn, the user automatically senses the presence of unhatched life within 30’ (no roll).
- Once per rest, can use the mask to meditate silently for 10 minutes; afterwards, the wearer learns one truth or danger related to the nearest egg.
- If used while tending to a clutch, any healing, incubation, or protection efforts gain advantage or +1 (GM’s discretion).
Rarity: Common Magical Item
Weight: 1 slot
Fate Core System
Item Name: Nest-Seer’s Oath Mask (Malagan 72)
Aspect: Ancient Mask of Candlelight and Clutch-Watch
Invoke To:
– Sense nearby viable eggs or unborn creatures.
– Calm nesting animals or spirit-bonded beasts.
– Channel ancestral guidance from brood spirits.
Compel To:
– Draw attention from brood-hunters or egg-cursed entities.
– Overwhelm wearer with sorrowful echoes of failed nests.
Stunts (choose one to activate per session):
• Candle-Warm Insight: Once per session, gain +2 to any roll when attempting to nurture, protect, or divine knowledge from unhatched life.
• Egg-Flare Defense: Once per session, create an advantage when lit by candlelight that grants +2 to resist ambush or surprise attacks.
Refresh Cost: 0
Numenera / Cypher System
Item Name: Malagan 72 of the Nest-Seer’s Oath
Level: 1 Cypher (Wearable Artifact, Common)
Form: A carved driftwood mask with fossil-fluff lining and a glowing shell-bone bridge.
Effect:
- When near any viable egg or unborn creature (within 20 feet), the mask glows gently, revealing its presence to the wearer.
- Once per day, the wearer may ask one question about an egg’s health, nature, or danger potential. GM answers truthfully but vaguely.
- If meditating in candlelight for 10 minutes, user gains +1 Edge to Intellect for the next hour (affects checks related to animal empathy or incubation).
Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (roll after each use of a major function)
Wearable: Headgear
Pathfinder (2e)
Item Name: Malagan 72 of the Nest-Seer’s Oath
Item Level: 1
Rarity: Common
Type: Worn Item (Mask, Magical)
Slot: Worn (face)
Price: 3 gp
Bulk: L
Activation: 1 Action (Interact), once per hour
Effect:
- When activated while near an open flame, the mask reveals the presence of viable eggs or unborn lifeforms within a 15-foot radius.
- Grants +1 item bonus to Nature checks related to egg-bearing creatures.
- If worn during a 10-minute rest near a candle, restores 1d4 HP to any egg-bearing familiar or creature under your care (once per day).
Passive Traits: While worn, the mask emits soft light in a 5-foot aura when within range of unhatched life.
Traits: Magical, Divination, Auditory, Visual
Savage Worlds (SWADE)
Item Name: Nest-Seer’s Oath (Malagan 72)
Type: Magical Gear – Mask
Requirements: Spirit d6+
Cost: $200 (equivalent value)
Effects:
- Passive: While worn and in presence of any viable egg or embryo, the mask softly glows and wearer gains +1 to Notice checks involving living things.
- Active (Once per Day): Spend 1 Power Point to detect all unhatched life within a Medium Burst Template (no Power skill roll needed).
- Additional Use: Wearer gains +1 bonus to Persuasion or Survival when tending to brooding creatures or defending nesting sites.
Drawback: On a roll of 1 on the Trait die during activation, the mask attracts unwanted spirit attention, causing Shaken.
Notes: Especially revered among tribal Beastcallers and candle-priests near the Sea of Spirals.
Shadowrun (6th Edition)
Item Name: Nest-Seer’s Oath Mask (Malagan 72)
Category: Magical Gear (Worn / Headgear)
Availability: 2
Cost: 750¥
Essence Cost: None
Description: A driftwood-and-resin mask embedded with an unmeltable wax-bead, designed to resonate with ambient candlelight and embryonic life.
Mechanics:
• When worn, grants +2 to Assensing Tests to identify living auras with a developing, embryonic pattern (eggs, unborn spirits, sealed clones).
• If within 2 meters of a viable egg and a flame source, user receives a +1 dice pool bonus to all Perception and Animal Handling tests.
• Once per day, may cast Detect Life (limited to embryos or eggs only) as a Rank 2 Ritual (Magic + Willpower vs. Threshold 2).
• Drawback: Wearing the mask during astral projection leaves a glowing beacon in the astral plane (duration 1 hour), attracting Awakened fauna.
Starfinder
Item Name: Malagan 72 Mask of the Brood-Glow
Item Level: 1
Price: 320 credits
Slot: Head
Bulk: L
Category: Magical
Description: A carved avian-style mask infused with bioluminescent shell-bone. It glows faintly near viable unhatched organisms and pulses in candlelight.
Activation: Standard action; 1/day
Effect:
• Grants low-light vision when within 20 feet of any egg, spawn sac, or gestating entity.
• When activated, detects the location of up to 3 viable embryonic life forms within 30 feet (Will save DC 12 negates for hidden/sentient eggs).
• Grants a +2 circumstance bonus to Life Science or Survival checks relating to hatching cycles or brood-care while worn.
Special: If used in zero-gravity bioculture environments, the glow stabilizes micro-vibration detection (+2 to Piloting checks to avoid bumping sensitive nests).
Traveller (Mongoose 2e)
Item Name: Nest-Seer’s Mask (Malagan 72)
Type: Artifact Mask
Tech Level: TL2 (High Ritual Precursor)
Cost: Cr650
Mass: Negligible
Traits: Ritual, Biopsychic, Primitive-Reverent
Effect:
• Grants a +1 DM to Science (Biology), Animals, or Recon when identifying or protecting embryonic organisms or performing nesting observation.
• When worn during candlelight vigil or incubation rituals, the user can make a Routine (6+) INT or SOC check to detect ambient threats to unhatched life in the immediate area (10m radius).
• Rarely, the mask transmits vivid visions (Referee’s discretion) of ancestral spirits guiding egg-care, interpreted via Language (Ancient), Meditation, or Dreams.
• Misuse or neglect of the mask (e.g., exposure to artificial gestation labs) risks temporary loss of SOC due to ancestral dissonance (−1 SOC for 1d6 hours).
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)
Item Name: Malagan 72 – Brood-Seer’s Mask
Item Type: Magical Item (Facewear)
Encumbrance: 0
Rarity: Rare (Common among egg-tenders of the East Drēlt Marshes)
Price: 6 Gold Crowns
Effect:
• While worn and exposed to an open flame, the user can make an Average (+20) Perception Test to detect the presence of eggs, young, or latent life in the area.
• Gain +10 to Charm Animal or Lore (Beasts) when dealing with nest-bound creatures.
• Once per day, during a candle ritual, you may re-roll a failed Endurance or Animal Care Test related to incubation, nesting, or fetal protection.
Drawback: Fails entirely in magical darkness or if flame source is artificial (alchemy-based or arcane). Must be consecrated once per moon under open sky or loses magic.
Special: Some folk whisper it allows the dead unborn to whisper warnings to the living through heatless flickering candlelight.