Lore: This is a pair of gloves, intricately embroidered with arcane sigils that shimmer with a pale, ghostly light. The gloves were created by a mage whose work centered around the concept of “absence,” aiming to bridge the gaps between reality and nothingness. The gloves are worn by those who wish to master the evasive arts, blending in with their surroundings until they are almost as if absent.
Stats:
- Defense: +2 AC
- Attack: Adds +1 to unarmed strikes
Roleplay: Wearing these gloves will make the user adept at avoiding confrontations and deft at disappearing from sight. Roleplay opportunities could include always being the one who’s not noticed in a crowd, or becoming incredibly hard to find when hiding. The character might develop a personality trait that reflects a preference for avoiding conflict or, conversely, becoming more adept at ambush tactics.
Slot: Hands
Costs:
- Gold: 50
- Mana/Magic Charge: Requires tier die of mana to charge its special magic each week.
Shops and Costs for Phenomenon 113 of Absence in Saṃsāra:
- Arcane Emporiums
- Location: Found in major cities like the Floating City of Zephyrstone or coastal hubs such as Coralhaven.
- Specialty: Sell rare and magical gear for adventurers and scholars.
- Cost: 75–100 gold, depending on the city’s wealth and the rarity of magical goods.
- Availability: Often showcased behind protective glass or sealed cases, requiring the shopkeeper’s permission to inspect.
- Hidden Curio Shops
- Location: Tucked away in alleyways of large cities or within wandering caravans.
- Specialty: Carry mysterious and potentially cursed items of unknown origin.
- Cost: 60–80 gold, possibly negotiable, especially if the shopkeeper is eager to unload rare, misunderstood items.
- Availability: Often unmarked and require a local guide or secret knowledge to locate.
- Guild Halls
- Location: Associated with thief guilds, mercenaries, or mage enclaves, such as the Veilbreakers Guild in mountainous regions.
- Specialty: Reserved for members or sold at a premium to outsiders.
- Cost: 120–150 gold for non-members; 75–90 gold for guild members.
- Availability: Restricted to trusted individuals; may require completing a quest or proving loyalty to the guild.
- Wandering Traders
- Location: Found on trade routes between remote villages and larger settlements.
- Specialty: Sell rare items gathered from dungeons or chaos dungeons.
- Cost: 50–70 gold, but prices can spike to 90–100 gold depending on demand and rarity.
- Availability: Unpredictable; traders often barter for rare materials or artifacts instead of gold.
- Ethereal Marketplaces
- Location: Magical marketplaces accessible only through enchanted doorways or rituals, such as the Shimmerveil Bazaar.
- Specialty: Cater to rare magical needs, offering hard-to-find items like Phenomenon 113 of Absence.
- Cost: 90–120 gold or equivalent value in rare magical components (e.g., Moonstone dust or elemental essences).
- Availability: Items here are often one-of-a-kind, and buyers must act quickly before the market shifts or vanishes.
- Relic Hunters
- Location: Found in adventurer outposts near ruins or dungeons, such as those in the Overgrown Valleys or Whispering Caves.
- Specialty: Sell recently recovered relics, often unpolished or with lingering magical traces.
- Cost: 55–70 gold, with discounts for explorers willing to share maps or guide relic hunters to their next find.
- Availability: Sporadic, depending on recent expeditions and discoveries.
- Auction Houses
- Location: Grand cities like Lumenshade or aristocratic hubs with ties to nobility.
- Specialty: Host exclusive auctions for rare magical gear, with bidding wars among nobles and adventurers.
- Cost: 150–300 gold, depending on the demand and reputation of the auctioneer.
- Availability: Limited to high-profile events, requiring an invitation or significant influence to attend.
- Black Markets
- Location: Operate in secret within cities under the influence of criminal organizations.
- Specialty: Sell stolen or forbidden items, including dangerous or cursed gear.
- Cost: 40–60 gold but may require additional favors or services for the seller.
- Availability: Requires connections with unsavory characters and involves significant risk.
Additional Notes:
- Negotiation Opportunities: In smaller towns, shopkeepers are more open to bartering, while urban locations often stick to fixed pricing.
- Component Exchange: Some shops prefer rare magical components, such as Elemental Essences, to reduce the cost.
- Authentication: Buyers should ensure the item’s authenticity, as counterfeit Phenomena are not uncommon, especially in black markets and hidden curio shops.
Magics:
- Invisibility: The user can turn invisible for up to 30 seconds per tier per day.
- Phase: The user can pass through solid objects but not living beings, for up to 5 seconds, per tier per day.
Tags: Evasion, Stealth, Phase, Invisibility, Void, Arcane, Ghostly, Concealment, Etherspace, Spatial Manipulation, Shadowed, Ethereal Ward, Vanishing, Transience
Defense and Offense in Different Environments:
- Urban: In urban settings, these gloves allow the wearer to slip through crowds unseen and pass through walls to evade capture or position themselves for a stealthy strike.
- Forest: In a forest setting, the gloves could make the wearer blend in with the foliage, making them almost invisible to predators or enemies.
- Desert: In the harsh conditions of the desert, the magic of the gloves might focus more on offense, allowing the user to land critical strikes on enemies by phasing through their defenses.
- Mountain: In mountainous regions, the ability to phase through rock can help the user find shelter or escape from threats.
- Ocean: While underwater, the gloves could help in evading aquatic predators by turning the user invisible or allowing them to phase through underwater obstacles.
Thus, Phenomenon 113 of Absence serves as both a defensive and offensive item adaptable to a variety of settings, always emphasizing the theme of “absence” in its magical effects.
Perception of the Five Senses:
- Sight:
- What is Perceived: The gloves appear almost ethereal, shimmering with arcane sigils.
- Description: The color is a muted grey, but the arcane sigils glow softly.
- Positives: Visually intriguing, easy to spot in a pile of gear.
- Negatives: The glowing sigils might attract unwanted attention.
- Touch:
- What is Perceived: The gloves feel soft yet sturdy.
- Description: Made from a blend of silken fabric and enchanted leather.
- Positives: Comfortable to wear for extended periods.
- Negatives: Sensitivity to touch is somewhat reduced due to the magical fabric.
- Smell:
- What is Perceived: A faint smell of ozone.
- Description: The smell is akin to the air after a thunderstorm.
- Positives: Some find the smell refreshing.
- Negatives: The scent may be too strong for those sensitive to smells.
- Taste:
- What is Perceived: Not applicable, as the item is not meant for ingestion.
- Sound:
- What is Perceived: A faint whisper when magic is activated.
- Description: Sounds like soft murmuring of an incantation.
- Positives: Adds to the mysterious aura of the gloves.
- Negatives: May alert keen-eared foes when magic is used.
Extra-Sensory Perceptions:
- Mana Sensing:
- What is Perceived: A reservoir of magical energy.
- Description: Feels like a well of untapped potential.
- Positives: Allows user to gauge the remaining magic charges.
- Negatives: Those sensitive to magical fluctuations may sense the item’s power.
- Emotional Resonance:
- What is Perceived: A sense of loneliness or absence.
- Description: Those in tune with emotions might feel a void when touching the gloves.
- Positives: Could help in role-playing or interpreting the theme of “absence.”
- Negatives: May induce feelings of isolation.
- Spatial Awareness:
- What is Perceived: Subtle shifts in surrounding space when phasing.
- Description: A brief ripple in the fabric of space-time.
- Positives: Helps the user understand when the phasing ability is in effect.
- Negatives: May be disorienting for those unused to manipulating space.
The perception of the Phenomenon 113 of Absence through different senses and extra-sensory abilities adds layers of complexity and utility, with both positive and negative implications.
Crafting Recipe: The Forging of Phenomenon 113 of Absence
- Materials Needed:
- Ethereal Silk: 2 yards
- Enchanted Leather: 1 square foot
- Arcane Sigils Ink: 1 vial
- Moonstone Gem: 1 small piece
- Elemental Water: 1 flask
- Elemental Fire: 1 flask
- Ozone Essence: 3 drops
- Tools Required:
- Enchanter’s Needle
- Magician’s Quill
- Alchemist’s Flask
- Rune-etched Hammer
- Arcane Workbench
- Skill Requirements:
- Tailoring Skill Level: Basic
- Enchanting Skill Level: Intermediate
- Alchemy Skill Level: Basic
- Rune Crafting Skill Level: Basic
- Crafting Steps:
- Preparation:
- Lay out all the materials and tools on the Arcane Workbench.
- Purify the workspace with Elemental Water to remove any residual magic.
- Cutting and Stitching:
- Use the Enchanter’s Needle to cut and stitch the Ethereal Silk and Enchanted Leather into the shape of gloves.
- Runes and Sigils:
- Using the Magician’s Quill and Arcane Sigils Ink, inscribe the necessary magical patterns onto the gloves.
- Moonstone Placement:
- Use the Rune-etched Hammer to gently fix the Moonstone Gem into the center of the gloves, taking care to align it with the inscribed runes.
- Elemental Infusion:
- Mix Elemental Water and Elemental Fire in the Alchemist’s Flask to create a steamy magic solution.
- Submerge the gloves in this solution for exactly 13 minutes and 13 seconds.
- Ozone Essence:
- Add three drops of Ozone Essence to the magic-infused gloves to solidify the enchantments.
- Final Enchanting:
- Channel your Mind’s Eye to focus your intent and will on the gloves.
- Complete the enchantment by speaking the ancient incantation for “Absence.”
- Cooling and Binding:
- Remove the gloves from the magic solution and let them air dry on the Arcane Workbench.
- Once dry, the Phenomenon 113 of Absence is ready for use.
- Preparation:
By following these crafting steps carefully, you’ll successfully forge the Phenomenon 113 of Absence, a unique gear piece suffused with both tangible and metaphysical attributes.
Fable of the Forgotten Gloves
In the long-passed days when light and shadow first made their covenant, the tale of Phenomenon 113 of Absence was whispered in the corridors of time. Even before humankind and their ilk walked upon the land of Saṃsāra, the deities and celestial beings knew of an artifact that bore the weight of the very concept of absence.
The tale recounts Elarian, the ancient god of emptiness and void. Tired of the ceaseless cacophony of creation, Elarian crafted gloves imbued with an enigma—Phenomenon 113 of Absence. He wove the fabric from the sighs of lonely winds, carved the runes with the tears of forgotten souls, and sealed the enchantment with the echoes of silence. These gloves were a conduit to absence, an antithesis to the very essence of existence.
Elarian wore them with great content, for their magic made him invisible to the dramas and sagas that unfolded amongst the gods. But soon, he realized that the absence he so craved became a curse. His own brethren forgot him, his sanctuaries eroded from the memories of worshippers, and he became an absent god, neither dead nor alive.
In his desolation, Elarian met Lythra, the goddess of memory and recollection. “What would you give to be remembered again?” she asked. Longing for his lost existence, Elarian bestowed the gloves onto Lythra, who, with her divine touch, altered their enchantment. From that moment, the Phenomenon 113 of Absence became a tool, not just of disappearance, but of selective presence.
Lythra gifted the gloves to the mortal realm. Whoever wore them realized that the act of becoming absent granted them the power to observe, to learn, and ultimately to choose where they wished to be present. Over the eras, many a soul has donned the gloves, each for their own reason, each learning their own lesson. Thus, the gloves became an artifact of duality, symbolizing the balance between absence and presence, void and existence.
Moral of the Story: The Phenomenon 113 of Absence teaches us that absence is not merely a lack but a space for potential, a choice that holds its own form of power and wisdom. To be absent is not to be forgotten, but to find where one truly belongs.
Suggested conversion to other systems:
Call of Cthulhu
Phenomenon 113 of Absence
- Artifact – Gloves
- Sanity Loss: 1D4/1D8
- Special: Upon wearing, the wearer becomes undetectable to senses for 1D6 rounds. However, using this ability requires a SAN roll.
- Charges: 5
Dungeons & Dragons 5e
Phenomenon 113 of Absence
- Wondrous item, gloves, common (requires attunement)
- AC: +1
- Ability: Once per long rest, you can become invisible as per the spell ‘Invisibility’ for one minute.
- Roleplay Note: User feels a sense of existential loneliness when activated.
Knave
Phenomenon 113 of Absence
- Gloves – Common Item
- Effect: Wearer gains +1 to Defense and can vanish from sight once per day for 10 minutes.
- Drawback: For the duration of the effect, the user is unable to make any noise.
- Slots: 1
Numenera & Cypher System
Phenomenon 113 of Absence
- Artifact – Level 1
- Effect: Grants the user an asset for hiding or avoiding detection for 28 hours.
- Depletion: 1 in 1D6
Pathfinder 2e
Phenomenon 113 of Absence
- Gloves – Common – Invested – Magical
- AC Bonus: +1
- Activate: [one-action] command; become invisible for 1 round.
- Price: 50 gp
Savage Worlds
Phenomenon 113 of Absence
- Equipment – Gloves
- Armor: +1
- Special: Provides the “Invisibility” power once per day for 3 rounds.
- Cost: 200 silver pieces
Shadowrun
Phenomenon 113 of Absence
- Armor Accessory
- Armor Rating: +1
- Ability: Activate to gain the benefits of the ‘Improved Invisibility’ spell for 1 minute.
- Essence cost: None
Starfinder
Phenomenon 113 of Absence
- Magic Item – Gloves – Level 1
- AC: +1 EAC and KAC
- Ability: Once per day, become invisible for 1 round.
- Price: 200 credits
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay
Phenomenon 113 of Absence
- Arcane Item – Gloves
- Effect: +10 to Stealth tests.
- Special: Once per session, the wearer can become invisible for 1 turn.