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Search 253 of the Obdurate Ram Plumb Bob

—

by

Dale
in

Lore

  • In the rugged mountain holds and quarry canyons of Saṃsāra, searching is rarely treated as a matter of keen eyesight or airy scrying; instead, it is an exercise in confronting that which is sealed, bricked up, dammed, or deliberately obstructed.
  • Lineage designation 253 descends from the subterranean stone-wardens of the Red Chasm, artisans who recognized that the greatest secrets are always tucked behind heavy cave-ins, mortared walls, iron portcullises, and deep mental blocks.
  • Chiseled from dense, basalt-veined soapstone and reinforced with cast lead collars, this weighted plumb-bob does not search for wide horizons, but resonates exclusively with dead ends, sealed bulkheads, suppressed memories, and jammed mechanisms.
  • When held by a determined wielder, the plumb-bob does not suggest paths of least resistance; it swings stubbornly toward the point of maximum blockage, identifying the structural keystones, stubborn locking-bolts, or emotional denials that must be broken down before true progress can be made.
  • Avatars who bind this implement embody an uncompromising, immovable resolve, viewing every barrier not as an impossible halt, but as a deliberate vault door guarding a truth waiting to be reclaimed.

Description

  • The plumb-bob measures roughly five inches in length, shaped like the blunt, curved horn of a mountain ram terminating in a hardened pyramidal point of dull pig iron.
  • Its central weight is carved from dark, slate-gray soapstone streaked with ochre veins, banded with two heavy cast lead hoops that bear etched masonry marks and mason-ward runes.
  • From the flat crown of the weight extends a stout iron eyelet strung with a four-foot braided cord of soot-blackened bull-sinew, knotted at half-foot intervals to serve as a depth plumb.
  • Set directly into the hollow belly of the carved horn is a Tier 1 magic crystal—an uncut, cloudy chunk of hematite that turns cold as river ice whenever suspended within three paces of an impassable architectural or mystical barrier.
  • When active, the weighted tip does not sway with the breeze; it hangs rigidly toward the exact point of highest density or obstinate obstruction, generating faint crimson stress lines along masonry seams and hidden vault joints.
  • The object carries a sharp, dry mineral scent of pulverized granite, cold lead shavings, damp lime mortar, and old iron rust.

Stats

  • Item Tier: Tier 1 (Common)
  • Item Classification: Carried Tool / Plumb-Line / Search Focus
  • Specific Gear Slot: Off-Hand Slot (Held by the knotted sinew cord in one hand, or wound securely around the forearm or belt hook)
  • Base Item Type: Mason’s Plumb-Bob / Weighted Flail (Can function as an improvised light bludgeoning weapon dealing 1d4 impact damage, utilizing the knotted sinew cord for swinging reach)
  • Armor Check (AC) Modifier: +0 base AC (+1 circumstance bonus to AC and physical saving throws against forced movement, knockdowns, and crushing damage while gripped and held stationary).
  • Item Resilience: 14
  • Item Health Points: Avatar maximum Health Points plus 14 (base avatar max HP plus resilience of 14 multiplied by item tier 1).
  • Structural Integrity: The cloudy hematite core develops white hairline fissures if the item drops to half health points or below; the bull-sinew cord snaps and the stone core splits into powdery rubble if reduced to 0 health points.
  • Item Weight: 1.5 pounds (counts against carried gear weight; loses all weight if placed within an extradimensional haversack).
  • Attunement Requirement: Simple attunement (requires standing motionless before a solid stone wall or impassable barrier for five minutes, dangling the plumb-bob until all swaying ceases entirely, and channeling the Mind’s Eye into the feeling of immovable persistence until the hematite core turns freezing cold to the touch; unattunes immediately if suspended over empty air for more than an hour).
  • Suggested Market Value: 25 silver coins (2 gold coins and 5 silver coins) in mining settlements, stonecutter guildhalls, and quarry towns; increasing to 35 silver coins in besieged fortifications or border passes requiring breach detection.

Tags

  • search, divination, blocked, plumb-bob, hematite, soapstone, lead, barrier, masonry, structural-stress, common, tier-1, keystone-seeker, breach-finder, obstacle-diviner, ram-horn, sinew-cord, structural-weakness, unyielding-focus, masonry-dowsing, lock-breaker, heavy-plumb, off-hand-implement

Passive Magic

  • Scent of the Barricade:
    • When carrying or dangling the plumb-bob within 10 feet of a deliberately mortared-over doorway, collapsed cave-in, secret vault door, or jammed mechanical portcullis, the knotted cord pulls taut as if caught in heavy clay, and the user smells the distinct odor of freshly broken lime mortar.
  • Posture of the Bedrock:
    • The grounding weight of the plumb-bob anchors the wielder’s center of mass; the bearer gains an edge on physical checks to resist being shoved, tripped, bull-rushed, or physically displaced by wind, current, or kinetic force while standing firmly on solid stone or earth.
  • Resolute Mind-Wall:
    • Resonating with sheer, stubborn immobility, the implement bolsters cognitive barriers; the user and companions within 5 feet gain an edge on saves against mental coercion, hypnotic suggestion, or psychic probing intended to pry into repressed or closely guarded thoughts.

Active Magic

  • Dowsing the Keystone:
    • Action Cost: One standard action.
    • Verbal / Casting Requirement: The wielder suspends the plumb-bob by its knot and whispers: “Show where the wall takes the strain.”
    • Effect: The iron tip snaps toward the nearest barrier within 30 feet, pointing unerringly at the weakest structural keystone, primary locking-bolt, hidden masonry seam, or concealed weight-bearing lever. The point of structural stress flares with a deep crimson light for 1 minute, granting clear visual guidance on where to pry, strike, or apply leverage to bypass the obstruction.
    • Cooldown: Usable three times per in-game day.
  • Plumb the Blocked Conduit:
    • Action Cost: One standard action.
    • Verbal / Casting Requirement: The wielder taps the lead collar against a solid surface three times, producing three dull thuds.
    • Effect: The hematite core releases a low-frequency sonic pulse through stone, wood, or packed soil within a 20-foot cone. The pulse returns an intuitive mental map to the wielder detailing what lies immediately on the other side of an impassable barrier (such as a flooded room, hollow vault, air pocket, or structural dead-end up to 5 feet thick).
    • Cooldown: Usable three times per in-game day.
  • Shatter the Stalemate:
    • Action Cost: One standard action.
    • Verbal / Casting Requirement: The wielder strikes the iron point of the plumb-bob hard against a jammed lock, blocked door, or obstructed mechanism while shouting a decree of unyielding progress.
    • Effect: The item discharges an intense shockwave of focused kinetic stress into the target barrier. Jammed pins, rusted hinges, barricade wedges, or stuck bolts are forcefully jolted loose, reducing the difficulty to breach, pick, or batter down the targeted seal by half for 1 round.
    • Cooldown: Usable once per in-game day.

Specific Gear Slot

  • Off-Hand Slot (Held by the braided bull-sinew cord in one hand, or looped around the wrist/forearm)

Commerce and Acquisition of the Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob in Saṃsāra

  • Quarry Guildhalls, Stonecutter Lodges, and Mason Yards:
    • Physical Location and Structure: Low-slung, cyclopean structures of dressed granite blocks situated near mountain quarries, slate cliffs, and heavy architectural work sites. The air is dry and thick with pale stone dust, the constant ringing of iron chisels on rock, woodsmoke from tool-tempering braziers, and the pungent tang of tallow grease used on block-and-tackle winches.
    • Buying Procedure and Pricing: Master masons, tunnel-shapers, and quarry scouts purchase these implements to detect fault lines, locate structural keystones, and assess blocked shafts before risking a work crew. The standard local price is 25 silver coins (2 gold coins and 5 silver coins).
    • Unaffiliated laborers, wandering avatars, and prospectors pay the full baseline price of 25 silver coins.
    • Indentured guild journeymen, licensed quarry-wrights, or avatars presenting an authorized stone-warden lineage token receive a 10% tier discount (paying 22 silver and 5 copper coins at Tier 1; 20 silver coins at Tier 2).
    • Transactions are hammered into slate tally-tablets or confirmed with a firm clasp of chalk-dusted palms over an anvil.
    • Selling Procedure and Trade Log: Guild artificers suspend the plumb-bob above a slab of dense marble to verify that the braided sinew hangs true without dry rot, and test the hematite crystal with cold chisel-water to ensure its sensory freeze activates properly.
    • Repurchases utilize the standard 10% baseline valuation multiplied by the seller’s tier (granting 2 silver and 5 copper coins for Tier 1; 5 silver coins for Tier 2).
    • Resold weights are brushed clean of clay, chalked with guild inventory marks, and placed on open tool racks.
  • Siege Engineer Depots, Sapper Foundries, and Sapper Arsenals:
    • Physical Location and Structure: Fortified compounds of reinforced timber and river-boulder masonry built within garrisoned frontier keeps, rampart magazines, and river-fortress yards. Filled with iron-banded timber beams, buckets of pitch, stacks of pigs of raw lead, forge sparks, and the smell of sulfur and charcoal.
    • Buying Procedure and Pricing: Field sappers, trench-breakers, and siege tacticians buy these tools to discover blind spots in enemy curtain walls, diagnose mortared-over sally ports, and calculate the best placement for battering rams and breach-hooks. Strong military utility sets the standard price at 28 silver coins (2 gold coins and 8 silver coins).
    • Mercenary skirmishers, independent explorers, and frontier travelers pay the full 28 silver coins.
    • Enlisted siege mechanics, fortress engineers, or avatars bearing defensive garrison commissions receive the 10% tier discount (paying 25 silver and 2 copper coins at Tier 1; 22 silver and 4 copper coins at Tier 2).
    • Selling Procedure and Trade Log: Armorers tap the iron nose against a lead ingot to test the integrity of the point and ensure the soapstone weight has suffered no structural internal splits.
    • Buybacks apply the 10% tier calculation against the 28 silver baseline (paying 2 silver and 8 copper coins for Tier 1; 5 silver and 6 copper coins for Tier 2), recorded in wax ledger-rolls with hot stamp seals.
  • Deep-Mine Caravanserais and Subterranean Supply Outposts:
    • Physical Location and Structure: Rough-hewn cavern stations established at the thresholds of abandoned deep-delvings, salt veins, and subterranean chasm roads. Dominated by flickering tallow lanterns, damp limestone walls, stacks of coarse canvas ore-sacks, and the pervasive smells of cave-damp, wet soot, and stagnant water puddles.
    • Buying Procedure and Pricing: Cave explorers, spelunkers, and tunnel salvage teams rely on the plumb-bob to identify air pockets behind cave-ins, bypass jammed iron doors, and detect collapsing ceiling strata. High logistical isolation and risk increase the price to 30 silver coins (3 gold coins).
    • Free spelunkers, salvagers, and wandering delve-parties pay the standard 30 silver coins.
    • Registered mine surveyors, union shaft-captains, or avatars bearing subterranean transit charters receive the 10% tier discount (purchasing at 27 silver coins for Tier 1; 24 silver coins for Tier 2).
    • Selling Procedure and Trade Log: Outpost factors examine the bull-sinew cord for frays and verify that the lead bands remain tightly clenched around the soapstone body.
    • Payouts follow the standard 10% tier rate against the 30 silver valuation (granting 3 silver coins for Tier 1; 6 silver coins for Tier 2), paid in unrefined silver scrap or stamped lead chits.
  • Frontier Wreckers’ Yards, Scrapper Dens, and Salvage Bazaars:
    • Physical Location and Structure: Sprawling open-air junkyards and shanty-walled workshops situated in borderland passes and ruined quarry settlements. Filled with piles of bent iron railings, broken wagons, rusted portcullises, cracked masonry debris, and the sharp scent of scrap rust, axle grease, and burning wet scrub-oak.
    • Buying Procedure and Pricing: Ruin-scrappers, demolitionists, and tomb-breakers use the tool to crack sealed burial vaults, force jammed bank chests, and safely pull down condemned structures without triggering deadfalls. Scarcity of specialized divination gear in wild borders drives the cost up to 35 silver coins (3 gold coins and 5 silver coins).
    • Unaffiliated ruin-delvers, scavengers, and wandering mercenaries pay the full sum of 35 silver coins.
    • Licensed salvage captains, recognized guild demolitionists, or avatars carrying local reclamation permits receive the 10% tier discount (paying 31 silver and 5 copper coins at Tier 1; 28 silver coins at Tier 2).
    • Selling Procedure and Trade Log: Yard masters hoist the plumb-bob to strike a test boulder, checking that the lead rings do not slide off their seats and that the hematite crystal holds its cold charge.
    • Payouts adhere to the standard 10% tier formula based on the 35 silver value (yielding 3 silver and 5 copper coins for Tier 1; 7 silver coins for Tier 2), disbursed in chipped coin, iron nails, or weighed trade silver.

Tactical Roleplay of the Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob Across the Environments of Saṃsāra

  • Subterranean Delvings, Collapsed Mines, and Buried Tombs:
    • Environmental Context: Crushed rock fall-ins, jammed iron security gates, oxygen-starved chambers, shifting tectonic pressure, and burrowing horrors.
    • Defensive Roleplay:
      • When a sudden tremor triggers a ceiling collapse or a rolling boulder trap threatens to crush the delve party, the wielder plants their feet and grips the knotted cord to activate Posture of the Bedrock. Anchored like deep-seated mountain granite, the bearer stands immovable against sliding rubble and concussive shockwaves, shielding companions huddled behind them from falling stones.
      • In pitch-black subterranean vaults where ancestral tomb-wards probe into the mind with claustrophobic panic or paralyzing despair, Resolute Mind-Wall projects an uncompromising cognitive bulwark, hardening the party’s thoughts against psychic intrusion and fear.
    • Offensive Roleplay:
      • Confronted by an impassable cave-in of massive limestone boulders choking the only escape route, the user suspends the weight and invokes Dowsing the Keystone. The iron-tipped horn swings through the darkness, snapping rigidly toward a specific supporting wedge stone that glows with deep crimson stress-light, showing the party exactly which rock to chisel or pry to bring down the blockage safely without crushing themselves.
      • When facing a massive, rusted vault gate mortared shut centuries ago, the avatar strikes the iron snout against the locking bar with Shatter the Stalemate. The sonic reverberation cracks centuries of mineral calcification and dislodges bent locking pins, allowing the party to pry open the ancient vault in seconds.
  • Besieged Stone Fortresses, Rampart Galleries, and City Gatehouses:
    • Environmental Context: Battering rams, fortified sally ports, heavy portcullises, rain of iron bolts, and brutal corridor chokepoints.
    • Defensive Roleplay:
      • While defending a narrow breach against heavily armored shock troops, the bearer leverages Posture of the Bedrock to brace against shield-slams and line-breakers, anchoring the chokepoint and preventing the frontline from being shoved back onto the battlements.
      • If hostile enchantment-singers attempt to breach the guards’ wills with mass demoralization, the grounding presence of the plumb-bob’s mineral core reinforces mental fortitude, shutting down hypnotic orders to abandon the ramparts.
    • Offensive Roleplay:
      • When breaching an inner keep where the defenders have barred and wedged an iron-studded sally door, the user employs Dowsing the Keystone to immediately spot the concealed cross-timber and floor-bolts holding the barrier firm, directing sappers where to focus their leverage.
      • Approaching an impassable stone curtain wall with no visible entrance, the wielder uses Plumb the Blocked Conduit to pulse sound through the masonry, mentally mapping the hollow guardroom and guard patrols waiting on the other side of the three-foot wall before initiating a breach.
  • Dense Mountain Passes, Scree Slopes, and Narrow Gorge Defiles:
    • Environmental Context: Sheer precipices, crumbling shale, howling downdrafts, avalanche hazards, and fortified toll-redoubts.
    • Defensive Roleplay:
      • As a sudden scree slide or gale-force mountain squall sweeps down the cliff face, the wielder relies on Posture of the Bedrock to remain firmly rooted into the rock ledge, using the weighted cord as a handhold to haul slipping allies back from the edge of the chasm.
      • If hostile skirmishers trigger an intentional rockslide above the trail, the wielder senses the abrupt structural shift through Scent of the Barricade, warning the party seconds before the boulders crash down.
    • Offensive Roleplay:
      • When the mountain trail is terminated by an ancient rockfall or an enemy-constructed drystone barricade, the user activates Dowsing the Keystone to identify the single balance boulder keeping the slide wedged in place.
      • By striking that critical focal stone with Shatter the Stalemate, the wielder jolts the packed debris loose, tumbling the barricade down the gorge face and clearing a path for the caravan to advance.
  • Flooded Caverns, Subterranean Watergates, and Dammed Canals:
    • Environmental Context: Rising floodwaters, submerged grates, silt-choked sluices, drowned masonry, and murky undercurrents.
    • Defensive Roleplay:
      • When sudden flash-floods churn through a drainage conduit, the wielder invokes Posture of the Bedrock, anchoring their feet to the submerged flagstones against the tearing undertow while securing companions with the braided sinew line.
      • When submerged under silt and muddy water, the sharp scent of broken lime mortar cuts through the foul stagnation, giving the user early warning of compromised bulkheads about to burst.
    • Offensive Roleplay:
      • Faced with a submerged portcullis or watergate blocked by waterlogged timber and river silt, the user uses Plumb the Blocked Conduit to map the air chamber and release-levers on the dry side of the wall.
      • Bringing the iron ram-point against the rusted winch mechanism, the avatar releases Shatter the Stalemate underwater; the kinetic shockwave clears the impacted river sediment and snaps the jammed pawl, allowing the gate to grind open and drain the flooded chamber.

Perception of Activation:

  • Visual (Sight)
    • User’s Perspective: The cloudy hematite stone suddenly turns an incandescent, molten cherry-crimson. As the iron point snaps toward the nearest structural impasse, fine, crimson fracture lines trace across the stone masonry, highlighting hidden internal mortar seams, keystone joints, and iron pins through solid rock.
    • Observer’s Perspective: The braided cord goes rigid as if pulled by an invisible, immovable anchor. The carved ram’s horn and iron snout cast sharp, blood-red silhouettes against the floor and walls, and the wielder’s shadow appears broader, heavier, and completely motionless.
    • Positives: Unmistakable, bright geometric outlining of structural weak points, stress fractures, and concealed architectural voids in complete darkness.
    • Negatives: Narrowed, high-contrast tunnel vision; peripheral light drops away into stark blackness, making it difficult to spot peripheral motion or open flanks.
  • Auditory (Sound)
    • User’s Perspective: A deep, subterranean groan vibrates directly through the ear canal, reminiscent of shifting tectonic plates, followed by the dry, distinct echo of a heavy granite portcullis slamming into its stone groove.
    • Observer’s Perspective: A dull, rhythmic percussive thud—like a muffled hammer striking solid iron—rings out once from the core of the plumb-bob, followed by an abrupt, unnatural deadening of ambient echoes in the room.
    • Positives: Auditory confirmation of wall thickness and barrier density via clear, reverberating acoustic feedback.
    • Negatives: Momentary low-frequency ringing that drowns out quiet footsteps, whispered warnings, or distant speech.
  • Tactile (Touch)
    • User’s Perspective: The knotted sinew cord tightens violently in the grip, dragging the user’s hand downward as though the 1.5-pound stone now weighs a hundredweight. A biting, glacial chill radiates from the hematite, numbing the fingertips while the feet feel locked into the stone floor like driven pilings.
    • Observer’s Perspective: The user’s knuckles turn white from the sudden tension on the cord; their shoulders drop slightly, and their stance plants wide and rigid against the ground.
    • Positives: Infallible kinesthetic stability; an overwhelming physical sense of leverage, root, and balance against concussive shock or impact.
    • Negatives: Stiffening joints and forearm cramps caused by the rapid drop in temperature and sheer downward kinetic pull.
  • Olfactory (Smell)
    • User’s Perspective: An acrid, powdery burst of freshly pulverized granite, slaked lime mortar, and ancient stagnant cave-damp floods the sinuses, accompanied by the cold, biting tang of scraped lead.
    • Observer’s Perspective: Those standing near the wielder notice a sudden dry, mineral smell in the air, similar to a stone quarry immediately following a blasting charge.
    • Positives: Immediate olfactory detection of crumbling structural integrity, hidden moisture behind rock walls, or fresh mortar repairs.
    • Negatives: A persistent dry tickle in the throat and coughing triggered by the sensation of breathing phantom stone dust.
  • Gustatory (Taste)
    • User’s Perspective: A gritty, chalky film coats the tongue and roof of the mouth, tasting intensely of dry limestone dust, iron filings, and cold mountain well-water.
    • Observer’s Perspective: The wielder grimaces, working their jaw and swallowing hard to clear dry mouth.
    • Positives: Instant involuntary tightening of the jaw, preventing teeth-chattering or vocal panic in high-stress situations.
    • Negatives: Parched, leathery sensation on the tongue, diminishing thirst perception while leaving a foul mineral aftertaste.
  • Extra-Sensory: Baroception / Tectonic Compression (Mass Awareness)
    • User’s Perspective: The avatar feels the crushing overhead weight of every ton of earth, rock, and timber above and around them as an intuitive physical map, instinctively registering ceiling loads, cavern stress points, and impending deadfalls.
    • Observer’s Perspective: The user instinctively ducks or braces slightly, tilting their head to align with ceiling fault lines without directly looking up.
    • Positives: Early tactile warning of structural collapses, cave-ins, and the exact weight needed to trigger or bypass a deadfall trap.
    • Negatives: An oppressive sensation of phantom claustrophobia, feeling mentally smothered beneath the weight of surrounding stone.
  • Extra-Sensory: Blockade Resonant Scrying (Dead-End Intuition)
    • User’s Perspective: The mind’s eye visualizes invisible barriers as solid, impermeable monoliths. The wielder instantly knows the exact spatial dimensions of the barrier’s thickness and whether the obstruction is caused by natural collapse, deliberate masonry, or an emotional/cognitive refusal to proceed.
    • Observer’s Perspective: The wielder stares directly into blank, impassable rock faces with unyielding, stubborn certainty rather than frustration or confusion.
    • Positives: Complete elimination of false leads; instantly reveals whether a corridor terminates in a natural dead-end or a disguised secret vault.
    • Negatives: Cognitive friction when attempting to pivot or abandon an impossible route; a lingering psychological impulse to break through the obstacle rather than seek a simpler bypass.

Crafting Recipe: Search 253 of the Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob

  • Materials Needed:
    • 1 pound of dense, fine-grained gray soapstone or chlorite schist, free of soft talc fissures.
    • 6 ounces of refined pig iron or bloomery hearth iron (for the forged nose point and upper eyelet).
    • 8 ounces of soft, unalloyed lead (to cast the two reinforcing weight hoops).
    • 1 Tier 1 magic crystal (a raw, cloudy nodule of red-ochre hematite, approximately the volume of a walnut).
    • 4 feet of braided, tallow-dressed bull sinew cord (split from prime backstrap sinew and soot-blackened).
    • 1 small measure of powdered slaked lime and ground iron scale (for sealing the crystal bedding).
  • Tools Required:
    • 1 Handheld stone-carving gouge and hardened carbon-steel rasps.
    • 1 Sapper’s small hand forge with coal bed and hand-bellows.
    • 1 Heavy iron tongs and anvil or swage block.
    • 1 Lead-melting crucible and small casting ladle.
    • 1 Split soapstone two-part mold (for forming the lead bands and eyelet cap).
    • 1 Iron-pointed drill or hand bow-drill with masonry bits.
    • 1 Leather burnishing strop with fine river-silt abrasive.
  • Skill Requirements:
    • Masonry & Stone Sculpture: Minimum skill rank of 3 (required to hollow, balance, and chisel the ram-horn weight without shattering the stone shell).
    • Primitive Ironmongery & Casting: Minimum skill rank of 2 (required to forge the iron nose and cast lead hoops securely onto the stone body without thermal shock).
    • Sinew-Braiding & Knot-Work: Minimum skill rank of 2 (required to plait and calibrate the depth-marking knots at exact half-foot intervals).
    • Mind’s Eye Divination / Search Magic (Obdurate Discipline): Minimum skill rank of 2 (required to channel unyielding determination, structural grounding, and barrier-breaking focus into the hematite core).
  • Crafting Steps:
    • Shaping the Ram-Horn Weight:
      • Select a dense nodule of slate-gray soapstone and rough out the curving profile of a curled mountain ram’s horn using chisels and coarse rasps.
      • Bore a central internal cavity through the belly of the horn to accommodate the raw hematite crystal, ensuring walls maintain a consistent minimum thickness of half an inch.
      • Cut two shallow circumferential seating grooves around the stone horn—one near the broad top crown and one near the tapering lower snout—to seat the lead bands.
    • Forging the Nose Point and Mounting the Eyelet:
      • Heat the pig iron in the sapper’s hearth and forge a stout, four-sided pyramidal nose point terminating in a sharp, hardened tip with a hollow socket-shank.
      • Forge a heavy circular eyelet with an anchoring root plug to cap the flat top of the stone body.
      • Drive and seat the iron snout socket onto the tapered base of the carved stone horn, pinning it securely through the stone.
    • Bedding the Hematite Core and Casting the Bands:
      • Pack the bottom of the internal cavity with a paste of powdered slaked lime and ground iron scale to cushion the stone.
      • Seat the raw, cloudy hematite nodule firmly into the bedded chamber, positioning it so its natural axis aligns directly between the upper eyelet and the iron point.
      • Clamp the carved stone body within the casting mold and heat the crucible to melt the lead.
      • Pour molten lead into the seated grooves to form the two reinforcing containment hoops and the top collar surrounding the iron eyelet, sealing the hematite crystal permanently within the stone core as the lead cools and contracts.
    • Braiding and Calibrating the Line:
      • Clean and split the bull sinew into even fibers, dressing them in tallow and lampblack soot to repel dampness and rot.
      • Plait the sinew into a tight four-strand round braid four feet in length.
      • Loop and seize the lower end through the iron crown eyelet with an immovable harness knot.
      • Measure out the braided cord and tie small, distinct half-hitch knots at exact six-inch intervals along the line to serve as tactile depth increments.
    • Resonance Attunement and Final Tempering:
      • Suspend the completed plumb-bob from its sinew cord before an unbroken stone wall, masonry foundation, or bedrock cliff face.
      • Strike the iron point against the rock face three times until the lead bands absorb the mechanical shock.
      • Channel stubborn, uncompromising focus through the Mind’s Eye, meditating on immovable barriers and unyielding resolve until the internal hematite core drops to freezing temperature and the stone body hangs dead-level without sway, sealing the enchantments of barrier detection and keystone dowsing.

Mountain with No Mouth and Mason Who Would Not Walk Backwards

In the season when the great hills were still soft like porridge, before the king who had two heads planted the copper boundary markers, there lay a territory termed in the second clay cylinder “The-Place-Where-Nothing-Can-Pass” (though rendered in the older black slates as “The-Stomach-of-the-Blind-Rock”). It was a realm of unbroken basalt cliffs and dead-end defiles, where no wind could blow through because the stone ribs of the world held their arms tightly folded.

In that dry place ruled an overseer of works known to the scribes as “Prince-With-Seven-Hammers.” This overseer was filled with a bitter, rushing impatience; he believed that all things under the clouds were meant to be cracked open instantly by shouting and the striking of bronze picks. Whenever his workers encountered an unyielding seam of dark diorite or a subterranean cave-in, the Prince would beat his own knees with a rod of willow and command: “Strike harder, break your teeth upon it, throw twelve oxen against the gravel!” Yet the rocks remained shut, and ninety quarrymen died of spitting red spit because the stone would not yield to their fury.

Now, deep beneath the floor of the Red Chasm, the Prince sought a fabled reservoir of ancient bitumen and cold iron ore, styled in the archaic tongue “The-Dark-Fat-That-Burns-Without-Straw.” He drove three hundred thralls into a narrow gash in the cliff face. For nine moons they dug with iron bars. But when they had penetrated forty paces into the marrow of the peak, they arrived at a sheer wall of pale, unstratified soapstone bound together with natural veins of cold lead.

The wall was smooth like the thigh of a dead horse. There was no crack to slide a fingernail into; there was no seam where air could whistle.

“Tear it down!” cried the Prince-With-Seven-Hammers. He caused six great timber beams tipped with bronze rams to be brought into the dark passage. Thirty men swung each beam. The wood screamed and split into hairy splinters; the bronze horns bent like wet dough; but the pale soapstone did not drop a single grain of dust. It stood like an ear that refuses to hear a beggar. The Prince commanded that forty jars of rancid tallow be ignited against the face to burn the mountain, but the stone only blackened slightly, like an old pot, and choked twenty sappers with foul smoke.

Sitting upon a basket of lime at the rear of the cavern was a solitary quarry-warden, named in the second translation “The-Man-Who-Sits-Upon-the-Rock” (the first slate marks him only with the sign of the horned sheep and a mason’s line). This warden did not carry an iron pick. His palms were not bloody from swinging timber; his skin was gray with cold quarry-dust, and his knuckles were broad like river pebbles.

From his wrist hung a single curious implement: a five-inch horn of dark soapstone, banded in crude rings of gray lead, carrying a snout of cold pig iron and strung upon four feet of bull-sinew knotted six times. In the belly of the horn slept an uncut nodule of muddy hematite, cold as well-water in the winter freeze.

The Prince-With-Seven-Hammers ran to the quarry-warden and pulled his beard, yelling: “Why do you sit chewing dried barley while my timber shatters and my men drop like beetles? Rise and take up an iron sledge, or I shall mortar your ribs into this very wall!”

The warden did not blink his eyes, which were steady like stagnant water in a stone trough. He rose slowly, his knees making the dry sound of grinding gravel.

“You strike where the stone is thickest,” said the warden (the syntax of the clay is blunt: He-speaks-the-head-hits-the-broad-side). “The mountain is not an enemy that runs away when you bark. It is a locked chest. If you do not ask the key where the bolt sits, the bolt will break your hand.”

The warden walked to the face of the dead wall. He did not raise a sledge. He took the knotted bull-sinew between his thumb and forefinger, letting the heavy ram-shaped weight hang down. The pig-iron point pointed toward the flagstones, motionless as an icicle.

The Prince laughed with a noise like broken pottery. “Will you hang your laundry upon the mountain, old fool?”

The warden held his breath. The translation describes his mind at that moment: “He made his belly like the foundation-stone of a barn; he made his heart like a plug of lead.” He did not look for an open door; he did not hope for a soft path; he threw his whole spirit directly against the cold refusal of the rock.

Then the sign occurred.

The knotted sinew line did not sway with the draft of the mine. It went stiff, as though cast in molten copper. The hematite in the horn’s belly ignited with a dull, subterranean cherry-red fire—not a leaping flame, but the dark, heavy light of hot iron hidden under hearth-ash. The iron snout of the ram did not swing; it was wrenched sideways by an unseen grip, pointing horizontally with such violent force that the warden’s knuckles turned white as chalk.

It pointed not at the center where the timber rams had battered the rock, but at a low, forgotten corner near the wet floor, where two slabs of stone met beneath a crust of dry mud.

The warden knelt. Where the iron point aimed, fine threads of crimson light crawled across the rock like red ants, mapping a hairline fracture that no human eye could perceive. It was the keystone—the single, obstinate wedge of dolomite that locked the entire subterranean arch in place, bearing twelve thousand tons of overhead pressure upon a single tongue of rock no larger than a child’s forearm.

“Bring no bronze rams,” the warden spoke into the silence. “Bring only one small iron wedge and a mallet of soft lead.”

The Prince cursed, but he had no timbers left that were not broken. A boy brought a small wedge of bloomery iron. The warden seated the wedge directly upon the red glowing seam where the plumb-bob pointed. He did not strike it with fury; he tapped it three times with measured, rhythmic thuds, like an old sheep butting a fence post.

Tock. Tock. Tock.

At the third tap, a groan rose from the bowels of the mountain—a sound like a giant swallowing a boulder. The crimson light flared bright as fresh blood and died away. A clean, straight fracture line leaped from the floor to the vaulted ceiling like a streak of white lightning. With a dull sigh, the impassable wall of soapstone slid aside along a natural grease-seam, rolling back by three paces and revealing a vast, dark cavern behind it where the black pitch lay pooled in quiet pools of stone.

The Prince-With-Seven-Hammers gave a great shout of greed and rushed forward to seize the oil-cisterns, his boots clattering on the broken rubble.

“Hold your foot,” said the warden, his hand still clutched around the taut, icy sinew cord. “The mountain has only turned its head; it has not fallen asleep.”

The Prince did not listen. He leaped past the threshold.

Instantly, the hematite stone in the plumb-bob flared not with soft crimson, but with an angry, blinding scarlet, and the knotted cord dragged the warden’s hand down with the weight of forty anvils. An invisible shockwave of settling rock shuddered through the chamber. The ceiling of the chasm slipped; a mass of ten thousand tons of granite began to drop like a descending hammer.

The warden did not run backward into the daylight. He planted his sandals wide upon the threshold flagstones. He struck the iron nose of the plumb-bob hard against the floor-joint, crying the word that means Hold-the-Arch.

The translation states: “His bones became like pillars of cedar that do not bend in the cyclone.” The kinetic fury of the mountain’s collapse met the unyielding resistance channeled through the lead-banded horn. The descending ceiling halted six inches above the Prince’s helmet, caught upon the invisible pillar of sheer, stubborn immobility that radiated from the tool. The dust rose so thick that the men outside believed the world had been crushed to flour.

For the space of sixty breaths, the old quarry-warden held the weight of the peak upon his sinew cord and his locked knees, while the trembling sappers dragged the Prince backward by his heels out of the mouth of the breach.

Only when the last man had crawled past the threshold into the daylight did the warden lift the iron point from the floor-joint. He stepped back one single pace into the sun. Behind him, the breach slammed shut with a concussive roar that blew the torches into ash, sealing the black pitch and the ancient chambers beneath an eternity of dead rock.

The Prince-With-Seven-Hammers sat in the dirt, his fine garments coated in lime and his knees knocking together like dry bones. He looked at the sealed cliff face, then at the warden, who was calmly wrapping the four feet of knotted bull-sinew around his forearm.

“The treasure is blocked forever,” wept the Prince, tearing his mantle. “We have spent three hundred men and nine moons, and the mountain is as shut as a dead man’s eye!”

The warden wiped a smear of pulverized stone from the hematite nodule and answered (here the ancient clay grammar retains its heavy, unadorned meter): “The mountain was shut before you were born; it will be shut after your worms have eaten you. It is no shame for a wall to be a wall. But he who knows where the block sits can walk through the heart of the stone whenever he carries his own foundation with him.”

The warden picked up his wooden bowl, turned his back upon the Prince, and walked slowly down into the quarry to eat his cold barley, the heavy ram’s horn bumping softly against his thigh with the steady, quiet certainty of the bedrock beneath his feet.

Moral of the Story

He who attacks an obstacle with wild fury and blind impatience breaks only his own tools and brings the ceiling down upon his head; but the soul that meets a barrier with unyielding patience, seeking out the hidden keystone of resistance rather than raging against the face, shall find that the most stubborn wall can be unlocked by a single quiet blow, and that true strength lies not in breaking the world, but in standing immovable when the world descends.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu

Search 253: The Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob

Enchanted Artifice / Divination & Structural Dowsing Implement

  • Item Profile:
    • Base Skill: Spot Hidden, Mechanical Repair, or Navigate
    • Hands: 1-handed (off-hand implement; suspended on a 4-foot braided bull-sinew cord from the fingers or wrapped around the wrist)
    • Form: A five-inch carved ram’s horn of dense slate-gray soapstone reinforced with cast lead bands, terminating in a pyramidal pig-iron snout. Houses a cloudy, raw hematite nodule in its hollow belly. Continuously smells of pulverized granite, damp lime mortar, and cold iron rust.
    • Sanity Cost: 0 Sanity to handle, dangle, or attune.
  • Passive Traits:
    • Scent of the Barricade: When carried or dangled within 3 yards of a sealed doorway, collapsed cave-in, secret vault, or jammed portcullis, the cord pulls rigid and the user smells fresh lime mortar, granting a +10% bonus or a Bonus Die on Spot Hidden and Mechanical Repair checks to detect or inspect the barrier.
    • Posture of the Bedrock: The grounding mass anchors the investigator’s center of gravity; the bearer gains a Bonus Die on STR or DEX checks to resist being knocked prone, shoved, or physically displaced while standing on solid stone or earth.
    • Resolute Mind-Wall: Resonating with sheer immobility, the bearer and allies within 2 yards gain a +10% bonus on Sanity and POW checks to resist hypnotic suggestions, telepathic probing, or coercive psychic control.
  • Active Powers:
    • Dowsing the Keystone:
      • Cost: 1 Magic Point.
      • Mechanics: The user dangles the plumb-bob and whispers into the cord. The iron snout locks toward the nearest barrier within 10 yards, pointing at the primary locking-bolt, concealed masonry seam, or structural keystone. That focal point glows cherry-red for 1 minute, granting a Bonus Die on subsequent Mechanical Repair or STR checks to breach or dismantle the obstruction.
    • Plumb the Blocked Conduit:
      • Cost: 2 Magic Points.
      • Mechanics: The user taps the lead collar three times against a solid barrier. A low-frequency acoustic vibration transmits through up to 2 yards of solid stone, wood, or earth, feeding an intuitive mental blueprint of any hollows, air pockets, or adjacent rooms on the other side.
    • Shatter the Stalemate:
      • Cost: 2 Magic Points.
      • Mechanics: The user strikes the iron snout hard against a jammed lock, barricade wedge, or stuck portcullis. A concussive shockwave rattles the mechanism, dropping the required difficulty tier to bypass or break the lock by one step (e.g., Extreme becomes Hard, Hard becomes Regular) for 1 round.

Blades in the Dark

The Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob

Arcane Implement / Delving Focus, 1 Load (held in off-hand or bound to forearm)

  • Item Profile:
    • Load: 1 (includes carved soapstone horn, lead bands, hematite core, and knotted sinew line)
    • Appearance: A heavy, ram-horn plumb-bob of dark soapstone banded with lead, tipped with an iron point and strung on knotted, soot-blackened sinew. Emits a faint red glow when aligned with dead ends.
    • Affinity: Resistance, obstacles, masonry, breach detection, immovable resolve.
  • Passive Traits:
    • Scent of the Barricade: When within close range of a walled-off passage, hidden cache, or barred security door, the line pulls taut; gain +1d to Survey or Tinker rolls to locate and analyze physical obstructions.
    • Posture of the Bedrock: Take +1d to resistance rolls against physical knockback, crushing debris, or being forcibly moved when braced upon stone or packed earth.
    • Resolute Mind-Wall: Take +1d to resistance rolls against mental coercion, mind-reading, or supernatural panic that attempts to compromise your secrets.
  • Active Arcane Abilities:
    • Dowsing the Keystone:
      • Cost: 1 Stress.
      • Action: Survey or Tinker.
      • Effect: You steady the cord and let the iron tip align with the barrier. The weakest structural seam or primary locking pin flares crimson, granting Potency on any immediate action roll to demolish, bypass, or breach the obstruction.
    • Plumb the Blocked Conduit:
      • Cost: 1 Stress.
      • Action: Attune.
      • Effect: You rap the lead collar against the obstruction. Sound reverberates through solid walls, granting you immediate sensory insight into what lies directly behind the blockage (structural layout, void spaces, or lurking threats up to a few paces deep).
    • Shatter the Stalemate:
      • Cost: 2 Stress.
      • Action: Wreck.
      • Effect: You smash the iron point against a jammed gate, deadbolt, or blocked door. A concussive burst jolts the mechanism, immediately advancing any relevant obstacle-clearing clock by 2 ticks.

Dungeons & Dragons

Search 253 of the Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob

Wondrous Item, Common (Requires Attunement by an Avatar)

  • Item Profile:
    • Item Category: Wondrous Item / Divination Implement / Spellcasting Focus
    • Weight: 1.5 lbs.
    • Gear Slot: Off-Hand (held by the knotted cord in one hand, or wound around the forearm)
    • Description: A five-inch soapstone weight carved like a ram’s horn, banded with lead, capped with an iron pyramidal point, and suspended from a four-foot braided bull-sinew cord. Houses a cloudy hematite nodule that freezes when suspended near an impassable wall.
  • Passive Traits:
    • Scent of the Barricade: While dangling or gripping the plumb-bob, the line pulls taut when within 10 feet of a concealed vault, secret door, or mortared-over archway, granting advantage on Intelligence (Investigation) and Wisdom (Perception) checks to locate and evaluate physical barriers.
    • Posture of the Bedrock: While standing firmly on solid stone or earth, you have advantage on saving throws and ability checks against effects that would knock you prone or push you against your will.
    • Resolute Mind-Wall: You and friendly creatures within 5 feet of you have advantage on saving throws against effects that read your thoughts, compel truthfulness, or charm you.
  • Active Features:
    • Dowsing the Keystone (3/Day): As an action, you suspend the plumb-bob before an impassable barrier within 30 feet. The iron point snaps toward the barrier’s structural keystone, locking-bolt, or hidden hinge, illuminating it with crimson light for 1 minute. Attacks or checks made to force or dismantle the barrier at that spot have advantage.
    • Plumb the Blocked Conduit (3/Day): As an action, you tap the lead band against a barrier up to 5 feet thick. The hematite pulses with acoustic vibrations, transmitting an intuitive mental layout of any open chambers, passages, or voids directly on the other side.
    • Shatter the Stalemate (1/Day): As an action, you strike the iron tip against a jammed mechanism, barred door, or stuck lock. A shockwave rattles through the barrier; the DC required to pick, force open, or break the barrier is reduced by 5 for 1 minute.

Knave

Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob

Item / Delving Focus (1 Slot, Hands: 1 [Off-Hand])

  • Item Profile:
    • Inventory: Occupies 1 item slot.
    • Durability: 4 Quality.
    • Weapon Trait: Can be swung by its cord as an improvised bludgeon (1d4 damage, Bludgeoning).
    • Appearance: A heavy ram’s-horn weight carved from gray soapstone and banded in lead, carrying a sharp pig-iron point, an uncut hematite stone, and a knotted sinew cord.
  • Item Rules:
    • Barricade Scent: When within 10 feet of a secret panel, mortared passage, or sealed door, the line stiffens and points toward it, granting Advantage on Wisdom checks to detect hidden compartments and architectural dead ends.
    • Bedrock Root: Roll with Advantage on Strength saves to avoid being knocked down, shoved, or swept away while standing on solid stone or rock.
    • Iron Mind: Roll with Advantage on Wisdom and Charisma saves against mental tampering, fear, and psychic probing.
    • Keystone Dowsing (3/Day):
      • Spend an action to suspend the weight before a blocked doorway or wall.
      • The iron nose points to the exact keystone or primary bolt, outlining it in glowing red light for 1 minute. Physical checks to pry or break this point are rolled with Advantage.
    • Sound the Conduit (3/Day):
      • Spend an action tapping the lead collar three times against a wall up to 5 feet thick.
      • You receive sensory feedback detailing whether a hollow space, water, or solid rock lies on the opposite side.
    • Stalemate Breaker (1/Day):
      • Spend an action striking the iron point against a jammed gate or stuck lock.
      • The mechanism shudders loose, granting an immediate free attempt to force or pick the lock with Advantage.

Fate

Search 253: The Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob

Extra (Aspect and Stunts)

  • Item Profile:
    • Aspect: Unyielding Plumb of the Keystone
    • Description: A five-inch curved weight carved from slate-gray soapstone into the likeness of a ram’s horn, banded with cast lead collars and tipped with an iron pyramidal point. Suspended on a four-foot soot-blackened bull-sinew cord knotted at half-foot intervals, it encases a cloudy hematite nodule that turns freezing cold near impassable stone barriers. Smells of crushed granite, slaked lime mortar, and old iron rust.
  • Stunts and Mechanical Rules:
    • Scent of the Barricade: When entering a zone containing a hidden compartment, mortared doorway, collapsed tunnel, or jammed mechanism, the cord pulls rigid and points toward it; gain a +2 bonus to Notice or Investigate rolls to detect and assess physical obstructions.
    • Posture of the Bedrock: While standing on solid earth or stone, gain a +2 bonus to Physique to defend against physical pushes, knockdowns, or forced movement.
    • Resolute Mind-Wall: You and allies in your immediate zone gain a +2 bonus to Will to defend against psychic probing, hypnotic coercion, and mental attempts to compromise guarded secrets.
    • Dowsing the Keystone: Once per scene, spend an action to suspend the weight before an impassable barrier within your zone. Roll Investigate or Crafts with a +2 bonus to create an advantage, immediately placing the situational aspect Exposed Keystone with one free invoke on the barrier’s critical stress point or primary locking pin.
    • Plumb the Blocked Conduit: Once per scene, spend an action to tap the lead collar against a solid wall or door. Gain a +2 bonus to Notice to learn what lies on the other side (such as void spaces, hollow rooms, structural dead ends, or lurking hazards up to a few paces deep).
    • Shatter the Stalemate: Once per session, spend 1 Fate Point and an action to strike the iron nose hard against a jammed lock, gate, or barricade. You place the aspect Jolted Structure with two free invokes on the obstacle, drastically reducing the effort needed to demolish or force it open for the scene.

Numenera & Cypher System

Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob

Artifact (Level 2)

  • Item Profile:
    • Level: 2
    • Form: A five-inch ram-horn-shaped soapstone weight banded in lead, tipped with an iron snout, and hung from a knotted bull-sinew line, housing an uncut hematite stone.
    • Classification: Delving Focus / Structural Implement (Held in 1 hand / Off-Hand, or looped around forearm)
    • Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (checked only upon activating Dowsing the Keystone, Plumb the Blocked Conduit, or Shatter the Stalemate).
  • Passive Effects:
    • Scent of the Barricade: Perception, search, and salvage tasks to locate mortared-over doors, collapsed voids, or jammed structural mechanisms within immediate range (10 feet) are eased by one step.
    • Posture of the Bedrock: Might defense tasks against being knocked down, shoved, or physically moved by kinetic force while standing on solid stone or bedrock are eased by one step.
    • Resolute Mind-Wall: Intellect defense rolls made by the wielder and allies within immediate range to resist mental tampering, psychic reading, or telepathic intrusion are eased by one step.
  • Active Powers:
    • Dowsing the Keystone (Action):
      • The user dangles the plumb-bob before an obstruction within short range (up to 50 feet). The iron snout locks toward the barrier’s structural keystone, locking bar, or primary weakness, illuminating it with crimson light for 1 minute. Might or crafting tasks made to dismantle or breach the barrier at that spot are eased by two steps. Check for Depletion.
    • Plumb the Blocked Conduit (Action):
      • The user taps the lead collar against an impassable barrier up to 5 feet thick. The hematite core discharges an acoustic pulse, granting an intuitive mental map of any open chambers, structural voids, or hazards immediately on the other side. Check for Depletion.
    • Shatter the Stalemate (Action):
      • The user strikes the iron tip against a jammed lock, rusted portcullis, or wedged barrier. A focused shockwave loosens pins and shakes out mineral calcification; all attempts to breach or pick the targeted obstacle are eased by two steps for 1 minute. Check for Depletion.

Pathfinder

Search 253 of the Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob

Item 2

Divination, Earth, Occult

  • Item Profile:
    • Price: 30 gp
    • Usage: Held in 1 hand (off-hand implement)
    • Bulk: L
    • Description: A five-inch ram’s horn carved of dense slate-gray soapstone, banded in cast lead with a pyramidal pig-iron snout and suspended on a four-foot knotted bull-sinew cord. Houses a cloudy hematite nodule. Carries the scent of pulverized stone, slaked lime mortar, and old iron rust.
  • Passive Effects:
    • Scent of the Barricade: When within 10 feet of a concealed vault, mortared-over passage, or jammed mechanism, the cord pulls taut, granting a +1 item bonus to Perception checks to Seek or inspect physical barriers and structural dead ends.
    • Posture of the Bedrock: While standing firmly on solid stone or earth, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your Fortitude DC against Shove, Trip, and Reposition actions.
    • Resolute Mind-Wall: You and allies within a 5-foot emanation gain a +1 status bonus to Will saving throws against mental effects that probe thoughts, compel truthfulness, or inflict mental coercion.
  • Active Abilities:
    • Dowsing the Keystone (Two Actions):
      • Frequency: Three times per day.
      • Traits: Detection, Divination, Occult.
      • Effect: You suspend the plumb-bob before an impassable barrier within 30 feet. The iron point locks toward the primary locking-bolt, concealed masonry seam, or weight-bearing keystone, outlining it in glowing crimson light for 1 minute. Athletics checks to Force Open the barrier at that point receive a +2 circumstance bonus.
    • Plumb the Blocked Conduit (Two Actions):
      • Frequency: Three times per day.
      • Traits: Divination, Earth, Occult.
      • Effect: You tap the lead band three times against a barrier up to 5 feet thick. An acoustic reverberation reveals the structural layout, voids, and presence of creatures or open air directly on the opposite side.
    • Shatter the Stalemate (Two Actions):
      • Frequency: Once per day.
      • Traits: Evocation, Force, Occult.
      • Effect: You strike the iron snout against a jammed lock, wedged gate, or stuck barrier. A focused concussive tremor rattles the mechanism, reducing the DC of Thievery checks to Pick the Lock or Athletics checks to Force Open the barrier by 2 for 1 minute.

Savage Worlds

Search 253: Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob

Minor Arcane Relic / Delving & Barrier-Dowsing Implement

  • Item Profile:
    • Weight: 1.5 lbs.
    • Gear Slot: 1 Hand (Off-Hand / suspended by knotted sinew cord or wound on forearm)
    • Traits: Minor Artifact / Divination & Earth Focus
    • Description: A five-inch soapstone weight carved like a ram’s horn with lead hoops and a pig-iron point, dangling from a four-foot knotted sinew cord and containing a cloudy hematite crystal.
  • Passive Abilities:
    • Scent of the Barricade: When within 2 inches (4 yards) of a mortared-over doorway, collapsed mine shaft, secret vault, or jammed portcullis, the cord pulls rigid, granting a +2 bonus to Notice rolls to find and evaluate physical barriers.
    • Posture of the Bedrock: While braced on solid stone or bedrock, you gain a +2 bonus to resist Push, Knockout, and grappling maneuvers intended to displace you.
    • Resolute Mind-Wall: The bearer and all allies within a Small Blast Template gain a +2 bonus to Spirit rolls to resist telepathic probing, mind-reading, and mental puppet-strings.
  • Active Powers:
    • Dowsing the Keystone:
      • Cost: Action.
      • Frequency: 3 times per day.
      • Trapping: Glowing crimson stress lines on structural rock.
      • Effect: Point the plumb-bob at an obstruction within 5 inches (10 yards). The tool points directly at the keystone, locking bolt, or weakest seam, outlining it in red light for 1 minute; attacks or Strength rolls made to demolish or breach the barrier at that focal point gain a +2 bonus and AP 2.
    • Plumb the Blocked Conduit:
      • Cost: Action.
      • Frequency: 3 times per day.
      • Trapping: Low acoustic pulse through solid mass.
      • Effect: Tap the lead collar against a barrier up to 1 inch (2 yards) thick. You receive an intuitive mental layout of what lies directly behind the wall (void spaces, chambers, or lifeforms).
    • Shatter the Stalemate:
      • Cost: Action.
      • Frequency: Once per day.
      • Trapping: Concussive sonic impact.
      • Effect: Strike the iron point against a jammed lock, barricade wedge, or stuck portcullis. A concussive shockwave rattles the mechanism loose, granting a +2 bonus on Thievery or Strength rolls to open or force the barrier for the next 3 rounds.

Shadowrun

Search 253: Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob

Enchanted Focus / Sustaining Focus (Force 2 / Detection & Manipulation Affinity)

  • Item Profile:
    • Type: Sustaining / Enchanted Tool Focus (Detection & Manipulation Affinity)
    • Force: 2
    • Availability: 4R
    • Cost: 7,500¥
    • Weight: 0.7 kg
    • Form: A five-inch carved ram’s horn of dense slate soapstone reinforced with cast lead bands, tipped with a pyramidal pig-iron snout, and suspended from a four-foot braided, knotted bull-sinew cord. Houses an uncut cloudy hematite nodule in its hollow belly. Carries the scent of pulverized granite, slaked lime mortar, and old iron rust.
    • Astral Signature: Heavy, immovable, mineral-dense aura radiating stubborn density, grounded physical mass, and structural rigidity.
  • Passive Traits:
    • Scent of the Barricade: When carried or dangled within 3 meters of a reinforced blast door, bricked-over conduit, hidden safe, or jammed security gate, the cord snaps taut and the user smells fresh lime, granting a +2 dice pool modifier on Perception Tests to locate or inspect physical barricades and structural dead ends.
    • Posture of the Bedrock: The grounding mass anchors the runner’s center of gravity; grants a +2 dice pool modifier to resist Knockdown, Ramming, and physical displacement tests while standing on solid pavement, concrete, or bedrock.
    • Resolute Mind-Wall: Resonating with immobility, the bearer and all friendly runners within 2 meters gain a +1 dice pool modifier on Composure Tests and resistance tests against mental manipulation, psychic interrogation, and mental commands that compel secrets.
  • Active Features:
    • Dowsing the Keystone:
      • Action: Simple Action
      • Cost: 1 Drain (Stun)
      • Mechanics: The user suspends the plumb-bob before an impassable barrier within 10 meters. The iron snout locks toward the barrier’s load-bearing keystone, structural bolt, or primary weld seam, outlining it with glowing crimson stress lines for 1 combat turn. Demolition, Engineering, or Strength-based tests targeting that focal point gain a +2 dice pool modifier and +1 AP.
    • Plumb the Blocked Conduit:
      • Action: Complex Action
      • Cost: 1 Drain (Stun)
      • Mechanics: The user taps the lead band against a barrier up to 2 meters thick. A low-frequency acoustic vibration transmits through the mass, feeding an intuitive mental blueprint of any hollows, security rooms, or hidden air shafts on the other side.
    • Shatter the Stalemate:
      • Action: Complex Action
      • Cost: 2 Drain (Stun)
      • Mechanics: The user strikes the iron snout against a jammed mechanical lock, sealed security hatch, or wedged barricade. A concussive shockwave rattles through the barrier, reducing the threshold on Locksmith or Engineering Tests to breach or force the obstruction by 2 for 1 combat turn.

Starfinder

Search 253: Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob

Hybrid Tech/Magic Breach Implement, Level 2

  • Item Profile:
    • Item Level: 2
    • Price: 750 credits
    • Bulk: L
    • Gear Slot: Held in 1 hand (off-hand focus, or wound around forearm)
    • Capacity: 10 charges (Usage: 1 to 2 charges per activation)
    • Description: A dense composite soapstone-and-lead ram’s horn weight tipped with a hardened pig-iron nose cone, suspended on four feet of braided sinew-fiber filament knotted at calibrated intervals. Fitted with an acoustic resonant hematite crystal node that chills when pointed at reinforced blast bulkheads.
  • Passive Traits:
    • Scent of the Barricade: When held within 10 feet of a welded airlock, reinforced blast door, structural dead end, or collapsed bulkhead, the line pulls rigid toward it, granting a +2 insight bonus on Perception and Engineering checks to examine and analyze structural obstructions.
    • Posture of the Bedrock: The artificial gravimetric ballast of the weight stabilizes your stance; you gain a +2 insight bonus to your KAC against Bull Rush, Reposition, and Trip combat maneuvers while planted on solid deck plating or planetary rock.
    • Resolute Mind-Wall: You and allies within 10 feet gain a +1 insight bonus on Will saving throws against mind-affecting effects, telepathic interrogation, and psychic compulsion.
  • Active Systems:
    • Dowsing the Keystone:
      • Activation: Standard Action
      • Battery Cost: 1 charge
      • Mechanics: The plumb-bob locks onto an impassable barrier within 30 feet, projecting a crimson thermal-stress contour over the critical support pin, locking bolt, or primary weld seam for 1 minute. Attacks or Engineering checks targeting that spot ignore 5 points of the barrier’s Hardness.
    • Plumb the Blocked Conduit:
      • Activation: Standard Action
      • Battery Cost: 1 charge
      • Mechanics: You tap the lead band against a solid bulkhead up to 5 feet thick. The hematite node discharges an acoustic-ultrasonic sonar sweep, returning an intuitive layout of the compartmental volume, atmospheric pressure, and life signs directly behind the barrier.
    • Shatter the Stalemate:
      • Activation: Standard Action
      • Battery Cost: 2 charges
      • Mechanics: You strike the iron nose cone against a jammed bulkhead lock, bent hatch dog, or reinforced barrier. A focused kinetic shockwave jars the latching pins, reducing the DC of Engineering checks to disable or bypass the lock by 5 for 1 minute.

Traveller

Search 253: Obdurate Resonant Plumb-Bob

TL 10 Grav-Acoustic Structural Dowsing Implement

  • Item Profile:
    • Tech Level: TL 10 (High-Density Schist / Lead Dampener / Piezo-Hematite Node)
    • Mass: 0.7 kg
    • Form: A five-inch curved soapstone-and-lead horn weight with an iron kinetic point, suspended on a four-foot knotted polymer-sinew tether.
    • Sensor Profile: Passive gravimetric mass detector and acoustic-seismic resonator; vibrates with high resistance when aligned against heavy structural dead ends and collapsed voids.
  • Passive Traits:
    • Bulkhead Mass Sensor: The plumb-bob draws toward high-density structural obstructions within 3 meters, granting DM+2 on Investigate and Mechanic checks to detect sealed doors, welded maintenance access points, or structural dead ends.
    • Inertial Ballast Anchor: The unit’s subtle grav-harmonic mass stabilizes the wielder, granting DM+2 to Athletics (endurance or strength) checks to resist being knocked prone, thrown by explosive decompression, or displaced by kinetic shock.
    • Neuro-Shielding Dampener: Grants DM+1 on SOC or EDU checks to resist psionic probing, interrogation, and psychological coercion when gripping the tether.
  • Active Features:
    • Dowsing the Keystone:
      • Time: Minor Action
      • Mechanics: Suspended toward a bulkhead or obstruction within 10 meters. The point aligns with the structure’s primary stress concentration, projecting a visible red laser-stress outline for 1 round; Engineer or Explosives checks to breach the obstacle at that point receive DM+2.
    • Plumb the Blocked Conduit:
      • Time: Significant Action
      • Duration: Instant
      • Mechanics: The user raps the lead band against a hull plate or rock face up to 2 meters thick. Emits a low-frequency sonar pulse, providing detailed data on cavity depth, void pressure, and structural layout on the far side.
    • Shatter the Stalemate:
      • Time: Significant Action
      • Mechanics: The user strikes the iron tip against a jammed mechanical dog, rusted blast hatch, or barred pressure door. Emits a sharp kinetic vibration that frees jammed pins, granting DM+2 on Mechanic or Athletics checks to force the door open during the next 3 combat rounds.

Warhammer

Search 253: The Obdurate Ram Plumb-Bob

Curio / Blessed Talisman (Red Chasm Stone-Warden Focus)

  • Item Profile:
    • Item Type: Talisman / Divination Implement
    • Availability: Scarce
    • Encumbrance: 1
    • Location: Carried in 1 hand (off-hand focus, or looped around the wrist)
    • Weapon Profile: Can be swung by the sinew cord as an improvised weapon (Damage: SB+1, Impact, Primitive).
    • Description: A five-inch ram’s horn carved from slate-gray soapstone, secured by lead bands, tipped with pig iron, and dangling from a knotted bull-sinew cord. Encases a raw, cloudy hematite stone. Smells of crushed granite, wet lime, and iron rust.
  • Passive Traits:
    • Scent of the Barricade: When within 4 yards of a mortared-over doorway, collapsed mine shaft, secret vault, or barred portcullis, the cord pulls taut, granting a +20% bonus to Perception and Trade (Masonry or Engineering) Tests to find and evaluate physical barriers.
    • Posture of the Bedrock: You gain a +20% bonus to Athletics and Dodge Tests to resist being Knocked Down, Grappled, or Shoved while standing on solid stone or bedrock.
    • Resolute Mind-Wall: You and all allies within 4 yards gain a +10% bonus to Cool and Willpower Tests to resist Intimidation, telepathic scrutiny, and magical coercion that seeks to extract secrets.
  • Active Abilities:
    • Dowsing the Keystone:
      • Action: Half Action
      • Test: Average (+20%) Perception Test
      • Mechanics: You suspend the plumb-bob before a blocked portal or wall within 10 yards. The iron snout points directly at the primary locking-bar, hidden hinge, or central keystone, outlining it in a red glow for 1 round; subsequent Athletics or Strength Tests to batter or breach that spot gain a +20% bonus and +2 Damage.
    • Plumb the Blocked Conduit:
      • Action: Half Action
      • Test: Challenging (+0%) Intuition Test
      • Duration: Instant
      • Mechanics: You tap the lead collar three times against a wall up to 2 yards thick. An acoustic vibration reveals whether hollow rooms, flooded chambers, or solid earth lie on the other side.
    • Shatter the Stalemate:
      • Action: Half Action
      • Test: Average (+20%) Trade (Smith) or Strength Test
      • Mechanics: You strike the iron snout against a jammed lock, barricade wedge, or stuck portcullis. A concussive shockwave loosens the fittings, granting a +20% bonus on Pick Lock or Athletics Tests to force or open the barrier until the end of your next turn.