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Time 770 of the Spectacles of the Patient Muse

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by

Dale
in

Lore In the sun-drenched city of Cyrillia, famed for its Grand Academy of the Arts, it is understood that true mastery requires not just talent, but time. The academy’s patrons, wealthy merchants who value beauty as much as gold, commissioned the city’s Guild of Arcane Artificers to create a tool for their aspiring students. They did not ask for an item that could create a masterpiece, but one that could grant a student the patience and perception of a master. The result was these spectacles. By weaving minor chronomancy and retrocognitive magic into precisely ground lenses, the artificers created a device that allows a budding artist to see the echoes of the past, slow down the present, and perfect their craft through tireless, time-assisted rehearsal.

Description This item appears to be a simple, elegant pair of wire-frame spectacles. The frames are made of polished copper that has developed a faint green patina in the detailed scrollwork near the hinges. The lenses themselves are perfectly clear and surprisingly lightweight. However, when the light strikes them at an angle, they shimmer with a faint, iridescent sheen like oil on water. To the casual observer, they are indistinguishable from common reading glasses, allowing an artist to use their magic without drawing any undue attention.

Detailed Stats

  • Quality: Common
  • Tier: 1
  • Defense Value: 0
  • Durability: 35/35
  • Attribute Modifier: +1 to attributes related to perception or fine control, depending on the artistic task at hand.
  • Skill Modifier: Provides a +5 bonus to any non-combat skill check related to the creation or study of fine arts (e.g., painting, sculpting, musical performance, appraising art).

Passives Magic

  • Echo of Form: When the wearer looks upon a broken, faded, or incomplete work of art or architecture, the spectacles grant them a faint, ghostly vision of the object in its original, pristine state. This retrocognitive echo allows the artist to understand the original creator’s intent, see the missing pieces of a statue, or perceive the true colors of a faded fresco.
  • Harmonic Perception: The lenses subtly gather and focus light and sound from microseconds in the past and future, layering them into the wearer’s present perception. This grants the user the ability to perceive a slightly expanded range of colors and hear minute, normally inaudible harmonic overtones in music. This enriches their sensory input, providing a deeper well of inspiration.

Activable Magics

  • The Isolated Moment: Once per hour, the user can focus intently on the specific part of their work they are creating—a single clay sculpture, a passage of sheet music, a section of a canvas. For up to one minute, their perception of time narrows and slows dramatically only in relation to their work. The outside world seems to fade to a blur, allowing them to perform incredibly detailed actions, such as painting a single eyelash with a fine brush or executing a flurry of difficult musical notes with preternatural precision.
  • The Rehearsal: Three times per day, if the user makes a mistake in their art—a cracked note, a slip of the chisel, a smeared line of paint—they can activate the spectacles’ ultimate learning function. Their consciousness is pulled back approximately five seconds in time, placing them at the moment just before the error was made, with perfect memory of the mistake they were about to make. This allows them to “rehearse” a difficult passage or a complex brushstroke repeatedly until they can execute it flawlessly.

Specific Slot: Face Slot

Tags: Time Magic, Common, Tier 1, Fine Arts, Utility, Non-Combat, Retrocognition, Artificer-Made, Divination, Rewind, Focus, Academic, Perception, Inspiration, Training, Magi-tech, Wearable

The Time 770 of the Spectacles of the Patient Muse, as a specialized tool for artists and academics, would be found in markets that cater to culture, education, and luxury rather than adventure or subterfuge. Its value is tied not to combat prowess, but to the pursuit of creative perfection.

1. The Academy Art Supply Store

Location and Description: Located on or near the campus of a prestigious institution like Cyrillia’s Grand Academy of the Arts, this shop is clean, well-lit, and smells pleasantly of linseed oil, fresh paper, and the faint, crisp scent of preservative magics. The shelves are neatly stocked with high-quality pigments, fine brushes, uncut marble blocks, and musical instruments. The spectacles are kept behind the counter in felt-lined wooden boxes.

Transaction Method: This is the most common and “official” source for the item. The purchase is a straightforward, albeit restricted, retail transaction. To acquire a pair, a customer must present credentials proving they are a student or faculty member of the academy. The shopkeeper is often a retired scholar or artist who can explain the proper use, care, and limitations of the spectacles. They are sold as a fundamental, if expensive, educational tool.

Cost: The price is standardized by the academy and likely subsidized to be within reach of serious students. A new pair from the academy store would cost a fixed 3 Gold and 5 Silver.

2. The High-End Art Appraiser & Gallery

Location and Description: In the most opulent district of a major city, this gallery is a quiet, cavernous space with high ceilings and magically lit masterpieces on display. The air is still and reverent. The gallery’s primary business is the sale of fine art and antiquities to nobles and wealthy patrons. They do not stock the spectacles for general sale.

Transaction Method: The spectacles are primarily a tool used by the gallery’s in-house appraisers and historians to verify the authenticity of art and see through forgeries or restorations using the Echo of Form ability. However, a wealthy patron wishing to sponsor a promising artist might privately commission the gallery to procure a pair for their protégé. Furthermore, if a pair once owned by a legendary artist were to come into their possession, the gallery would sell it as a collector’s item in its own right, complete with its history and provenance.

Cost:

  • Procured for a Patron: The gallery would act as a middle-man, charging a significant fee for their service. The total cost to the patron would be around 9 Gold.
  • Sold as a Collector’s Item: A pair with a famous history could be sold for 2 Platinum (20 Gold) or more, its value based on who wore it rather than its function.

3. The Arcane Artificer’s Workshop

Location and description: This is the workshop of an independent master craftsman, a member of the Artificers’ Guild who specializes in creating beautiful, functional magi-tech objects. The workshop is a wondrous place, filled with half-finished self-playing instruments, ever-glowing light sculptures, and intricate clockwork creations. It is a place of meticulous and beautiful work.

Transaction Method: One would acquire the spectacles here through a direct commission. An artist could consult with the artificer to create a bespoke pair. They could choose the material for the frames (copper, silver, or even gold), the style of the scrollwork, and perhaps even have the enchantments subtly tweaked for their specific art form—for instance, enhancing the Harmonic Perception for a musician or the Isolated Moment for a miniaturist painter.

Cost: A custom commission is a luxury. A standard pair in the academy style would start at 6 Gold. A more ornate pair with electrum frames and enhanced enchantments could easily cost 1 Platinum and 4 Gold (14 Gold), reflecting the master’s time and unique skill.

4. The Eclectic Antiques Dealer

Location and Description: Tucked away on a quiet side street, this shop is a treasure trove of history, smelling of old books, dust, and wood polish. It is filled to the brim with forgotten furniture, strange curios, rare tomes, and the occasional piece of minor enchanted jewelry from a bygone era. The owner is often an eccentric historian who loves each item for the story it tells.

Transaction Method: An adventurer would find a used pair of the spectacles here, likely acquired from the estate sale of a deceased artist or scholar. The shopkeeper would know exactly what they are and would delight in explaining their function and history to an interested customer. The sale would be a pleasant negotiation, with the owner more concerned that the item is going to someone who will appreciate it than with maximizing their profit.

Cost: The price would be fair, reflecting the item’s age and function. The dealer would likely ask for 4 Gold, but might be persuaded to accept a trade for another item of historical or artistic interest. Selling a pair to this dealer would net the owner a fair price of around 2 Gold, especially if they can provide a compelling story about where they found them.

The Time 770 of the Spectacles of the Patient Muse is an item designed for creation and perception, not conflict. Its applications in “offense” and “defense” are therefore a matter of immense creativity, relying on out-thinking an opponent or using foreknowledge to manipulate the environment, rather than engaging in direct combat.

Environment 1: An Ancient, Trap-Laden Ruin

In a dungeon or ruin, the spectacles become an unparalleled tool for an archaeologist or explorer, turning their sharp mind into both a weapon against obstacles and a shield against danger.

Offensive Roleplay: Here, “offense” is the act of overcoming the ruin’s ancient defenses. The avatar faces a sealed stone door covered in a complex, eroded puzzle lock. The symbols are too faded to read. By putting on the spectacles and activating Echo of Form, the avatar sees a shimmering, ghostly overlay of the carvings as they were millennia ago, perfectly clear and sharp. They can now solve the puzzle as if it were brand new. Later, they encounter a chasm that is too wide to jump. Looking at the far side with the spectacles, Echo of Form reveals the faint, spectral image of a stone bridge that collapsed centuries ago. Seeing the exact position of the bridge’s supports, the avatar realizes there are stable, hidden footings just beneath the chasm’s edge, allowing them to cross safely.

Defensive Roleplay: Defense is the art of avoiding danger before it can strike. The avatar enters a long hallway and has a bad feeling. They activate The Rehearsal, then take a few steps forward. A pressure plate clicks, and the walls fire a volley of poisoned darts, “killing” them instantly. Time snaps back five seconds. The avatar is now standing at the entrance to the hall, unharmed, with perfect knowledge of the trap’s location and nature. They can now easily disarm it or find a way around. If caught in a sudden cave-in, they can use The Isolated Moment, focusing on the falling debris. To them, the massive, crushing boulders would seem to drift down as slowly as snowflakes, giving them subjective minutes to calmly and precisely weave their way through the hazard to safety.

Environment 2: A Tense Social or Political Arena

In a courtroom, a noble’s ball, or a high-stakes negotiation, the spectacles allow the wearer to weaponize information and defend against verbal traps.

Offensive Roleplay: “Offense” in this context is the act of deconstructing an opponent’s argument or exposing a lie. An opposing diplomat presents a treaty, claiming it is the same one agreed upon yesterday. The avatar, wearing the spectacles, uses Echo of Form on the document. They see a faint, ghostly afterimage of the previous day’s text, and can clearly spot a single, maliciously altered clause that changes the entire meaning of the pact. They can then expose the deception for all to see. The passive Harmonic Perception might allow them to hear the almost inaudible, high-frequency quaver of anxiety in a liar’s voice, giving them an edge in any negotiation.

Defensive Roleplay: The avatar is on a witness stand, and a rival barrister asks a cunningly worded question designed to trap them. The avatar begins to answer, realizes their mistake halfway through the sentence, and activates The Rehearsal. Time rewinds five seconds. The fatal words are un-spoken. The rival barrister is back to asking the same question, a flicker of déjà vu in their eyes. The avatar, now aware of the trap, provides a carefully worded, perfectly crafted answer that sidesteps the snare completely. This is a defense against social and political attacks, ensuring the wearer never makes a verbal misstep.

Environment 3: A Scholar’s Workshop During an Ambush

When violence unexpectedly finds the artist or scholar in their own workspace, the spectacles become a desperate tool for survival, allowing them to use their intellect to overcome a physical threat.

Offensive Roleplay: An assassin has cornered the avatar in their sculpture studio. The avatar is no fighter. The assassin lunges. The avatar, in a panic, grabs a heavy, half-finished clay bust. They need to throw it with perfect accuracy to have any effect. They activate The Isolated Moment, focusing entirely on the closing assassin. The world slows to a crawl from their perspective, giving them all the subjective time they need to calculate the perfect trajectory and release point. They heave the bust, and it connects with the assassin’s head with impossible, artist-like precision, stunning them and giving the avatar a chance to escape.

Defensive Roleplay: The assassin fires a single, deadly shot from a gunpowder firearm. The avatar has no time to react physically. They use The Rehearsal. They experience the shocking impact and the darkness, and then they are standing where they were five seconds earlier, the assassin just beginning to raise their weapon. They don’t need to be a master acrobat to survive; they just need to take one step to their left. The shot rings out, blasting a hole in the wall exactly where their head just was. They used the magic not to become a warrior, but to simply not be where the attack was going to be. It’s the ultimate defense of pure, temporal knowledge.

Perception of Activation:

Sensory Perceptions

Sight

  • User’s Perspective: The user experiences a gentle, layered vision. The present reality, including their mistake—the smeared paint, the cracked marble—is momentarily overlaid with a shimmering, translucent image of the scene as it was five seconds prior. The world then smoothly and quickly cross-fades back to this past image. The iridescent sheen on the lenses of the spectacles briefly brightens, swirling with soft, opalescent colors.
  • Observer’s Perspective: The effect is designed for subtlety and is nearly impossible to notice. A very keen observer might see the faint, rainbow-like shimmer on the lenses of the spectacles pulse for a second. The user’s eyes might momentarily lose focus, as if they are looking through their work at a distant memory. To most, it simply looks like a brief pause for thought.

Sound

  • User’s Perspective: A soft, melodic chime, like a single, perfect note played on a crystal glass, resonates gently inside the user’s mind. All other sounds become muted and distant for that instant. The discordant sound of their mistake—the jarring screech of a wrong violin note, the grating scrape of a slipped chisel—is audibly reversed into silence.
  • Observer’s Perspective: The activation is completely silent. An observer would hear the user’s mistake, followed by a moment of silence as the user pauses, and would assume the user was simply stopping to correct themself manually.

Smell

  • User’s Perspective: A faint, pleasant, and clean scent fills the senses, like that of cool morning air or old, treasured books. It is a scent of clarity, focus, and potential.
  • Observer’s Perspective: There is no olfactory perception for an observer.

Touch

  • User’s Perspective: The user feels a gentle coolness spread from where the spectacles touch their face. The physical sensation of their error—the jarring vibration of a tool, the stickiness of smeared paint on their hand—is instantly erased. It is replaced by the memory of the correct and intended sensation, as if their hands were guided back to their proper place by an unseen, patient teacher.
  • Observer’s Perspective: There is no tactile perception for a direct observer.

Taste

  • User’s Perspective: A clean, refreshing taste, like cool mint or fresh spring water, briefly touches the user’s palate, clearing away any distracting flavors and enhancing their sense of focus.
  • Observer’s Perspective: There is no taste perception for an observer.

Extra-Sensory Perceptions

Chronomancy (Temporal Sense)

  • User’s Perspective: The user feels their personal timeline gently “unspooling” by a few seconds. It is not a violent snap or a disorienting lurch, but a smooth, controlled, and supportive reversal. It feels like being guided backward by a gentle hand, with the full awareness that this is a chance to learn and improve. It’s a feeling of comfort and quiet control.
  • Observer’s Perspective: A magically sensitive observer would perceive a soft, harmonious ripple in the fabric of time. It is not a discordant tear, but a melodic, resolving chord that smooths out a minor imperfection in causality before vanishing. They would sense that a benevolent, minor temporal correction had just taken place.

Aura / Empathic Sense

  • User’s Perspective: The sharp, negative feeling of frustration, anger, or disappointment at having made a mistake is instantly calmed and replaced by a serene sense of patience and renewed focus. It feels like taking a deep, cleansing breath that washes away all artistic anxiety.
  • Observer’s Perspective: An empath would notice a brief spike of a negative emotion in the user’s aura—a flash of red frustration or grey disappointment—be instantly and gracefully smoothed over, replaced by a steady, glowing aura of calm, blue-white concentration. It would appear to be an act of incredible emotional self-mastery.

Perspectives and Ramifications

User’s Perspective The activation is a deeply positive and encouraging experience. It is a safety net that removes the fear of failure, which is often the greatest barrier to artistic progress. It feels less like powerful magic and more like a patient, magical tutor who allows for endless rehearsal without consequence. It fosters a mindset of calm experimentation and perfectionism.

Observer’s Perspective To an outside observer, the user appears to be a prodigy of impossible talent and grace. Their workflow is flawless. They never make a visible mistake. A musician will appear to play a difficult passage perfectly on the first try; a painter will seem to lay down every brushstroke with divine guidance. The user’s artistic process seems unnaturally smooth, efficient, and free of the normal frustrations of creative work.

Positives

  • It is the ultimate tool for learning and practice, allowing for rapid skill development by removing the consequences of trial and error.
  • It promotes a state of calm focus and reduces the anxiety that can stifle creativity.
  • It allows an artist to attempt highly ambitious and complex techniques far beyond their normal capabilities.

Negatives

  • The primary danger is the development of an unhealthy perfectionism. The user might become so accustomed to undoing every minute flaw that they are unable to accept any work as “finished.”
  • It can create a “magic dependency,” where the user’s skill and confidence are entirely reliant on the spectacles. Without them, they might feel insecure and incapable.
  • It encourages a risk-averse mindset in other areas of life, where mistakes cannot be so easily undone. The user may become terrified of making an error in a social or physical situation where their safety net does not apply.

Artificer’s Schematic: The Patient Muse Spectacles

This document outlines the approved process from the Cyrillian Artificers’ Guild for the creation of a standard, Tier 1 educational tool for artists. The procedure is one of immense precision, blending the arts of the lapidary and the jeweler with the subtle science of chronomancy. Success is dependent on a dust-free environment, an incredibly steady hand, and a deep understanding of optical magic.

Materials Needed

  • 2x Optically Perfect Crystal Blanks: Two small, flawless discs of crystal, prepared by an alchemist to be free of any internal cracks, bubbles, or magical impurities that could distort the enchantment.
  • 1x Spool of Polished Copper Wire: Used to create the delicate frames. The copper must be of high purity to prevent unwanted magical reactions.
  • 1x Vial of Chronomancer’s Solution: A specially prepared liquid medium, often distilled water that has been left to sit for a year and a day next to a perpetually slow-moving clockwork device. This solution is capable of holding a temporal charge.
  • 1x Harmonic Catalyst: A small, natural object that represents a single, unique moment of perfection. A perfectly preserved five-leaf clover is traditional, but a single, unflawed pearl or a fossilized water droplet will also suffice. This item is consumed in the process.
  • 1x Jar of Diamond Dust Compound: An abrasive paste used for the ultra-fine grinding and polishing of the lenses.

Tools Required

  • Lens Grinder’s Bench: A specialized, often steam-powered or magi-tech-assisted workbench with a series of grinding and polishing wheels designed for optical work.
  • Wire-Frame Jig and Pliers: A set of clamps and specialized tools for bending the copper wire into precise, symmetrical spectacle frames.
  • Aetheric Vapor Chamber: A sealed glass vessel capable of holding a vacuum and nebulizing a magical solution into a fine mist. This is the primary enchanting apparatus.
  • A Set of Harmonic Tuning Forks: At least three forks, tuned to the frequencies of memory (retrocognition), potential (precognition), and the still present.
  • Artificer’s Magnifying Goggles: High-magnification goggles are essential for checking the lenses for microscopic flaws.

Skill Requirements

  • Lapidary / Glassworking (Adept): The most critical skill. The ability to grind the crystal blanks into perfectly matched, optically flawless lenses is the foundation of the entire process. A slight imperfection will cause the time-magic to refract incorrectly, inducing vertigo and nausea instead of clarity.
  • Jewelry Crafting (Adept): Required for the creation of the delicate, yet sturdy and perfectly balanced copper frames.
  • Arcane Engineering (Novice): A basic understanding of how to operate the Aetheric Vapor Chamber and handle enchanted solutions is necessary.

Crafting Steps

Step 1: Frame Forging Using the wire-frame jig and pliers, meticulously bend and shape the polished copper wire into an elegant pair of spectacle frames. This requires a patient hand, as the frames must be perfectly symmetrical and balanced to sit comfortably and hold the lenses without imparting any stress upon them. The decorative scrollwork near the hinges is the last part of this step.

Step 2: The Grinding of Lenses This is the most time-consuming and skill-intensive part of the process. The crafter must use the Lens Grinder’s Bench, starting with coarse wheels and moving to progressively finer ones. Using the diamond dust compound for the final polish, they must shape the two crystal blanks into a pair of perfectly matched, flawless lenses. The artificer’s goggles must be used throughout to check for any microscopic scratches or flaws, which must be polished out completely.

Step 3: Harmonic Attunement Place the finished lenses and the Harmonic Catalyst (e.g., the five-leaf clover) into the Aetheric Vapor Chamber and seal it. Using the tuning forks, strike a complex, three-note chord, holding the vibrating forks against the chamber’s exterior. The resonating frequencies will cause the catalyst inside to sublimate, its essence—the concept of a perfect, unique moment—being absorbed into the crystal lattice of the lenses. The lenses are now attuned to the magic of time.

Step 4: Aetheric Infusion While the lenses are still resonating from the previous step, introduce the Chronomancer’s Solution into the chamber’s nebulizer. The solution will vaporize into a fine, shimmering mist. This magical vapor will deposit an invisibly thin, iridescent layer onto the surface of both lenses. This layer is the enchantment itself, which will refract and manipulate the temporal light that passes through it. Allow the lenses to cool and the enchantment to settle for one full hour within the chamber.

Step 5: Final Assembly With great care, remove the enchanted lenses from the chamber. Using jeweler’s tools, gently set them into the prepared copper frames. The fit must be snug but without pressure. The final act is to meticulously clean the lenses with a silk cloth until they are perfectly clear, the iridescent sheen of the magic only visible at certain angles. The spectacles are now complete.

Last Canvas of Old Lyren

In the city of Cyrillia, where beauty was a currency as valued as gold, there lived a painter named Lyren. In his youth, his skill was a legend. The lines he painted were said to be truer than a king’s word, and the colors he mixed were said to hold the memory of the sky. But the river of time carries all ships to the same shore. In his old age, Lyren’s eyes, which had seen the true shape of beauty, were now clouded with the mists of many years. His hands, which had commanded the line and the color, now followed the shaking command of a palsy.

And a great sadness was in his heart. For in his mind, there was one last painting, a work of great truth and power. He called it The Grand Canvas, and it was to show the founding of Cyrillia, a moment of hope and steam and magic. He could see every detail in his mind’s eye, but his body was a disobedient servant. He would lift his brush, and the line would be crooked. He would reach for the blue, and a tremble would smear it into the white. He sat in his studio amid many ruined canvases, a king of art whose kingdom had crumbled.

One day, a young woman came to his door. She was Elara, an artificer from the city’s guild, and she had grown up looking at the great works of Lyren. She carried with her a small, simple box. She said, “Master Lyren, I have heard of your sorrow. I have brought you a tool, a new thing from my workshop.” And she showed him a simple pair of spectacles, with frames of copper.

Lyren was scornful. His voice was a rasp of dry leaves. “My eyes can still see the truth,” he said. “It is my hands that are traitors. I need no magical glass.”

“It is not for seeing the world, Master,” Elara said, her voice soft. “It is for seeing your own intent.”

He waved her away. But she left the box. For a week, it sat unopened, a silent reproach in the dusty studio. Finally, in a moment of deep despair, Lyren opened the box and put on the spectacles. He looked at his own trembling hand. And a wonder occurred. He saw his shaking hand, yes, but through it, as if through water, he saw another hand—a faint, steady ghost of the hand of his youth. He looked at a canvas where he had smeared a line, and he saw the faint, perfect ghost of the line he had meant to paint. The spectacles did not make him young. They showed his old eyes the memory of his own mastery.

And so, he began to work on The Grand Canvas. The work was a slow miracle. To paint the fine scrollwork on a banner, his hand would begin to shake. But the spectacles showed him the path of the steady hand, the ghost of his own past skill, and he learned to trace it. The paint followed the ghost, and the line was true.

One day, he made a mistake, a deep blue spilling into a sunlit yellow. His heart fell. But he remembered the artificer’s words. He activated the magic of the spectacles. And the world became a soft chime. He saw the spill, and he saw the moment before the spill, both at once. Then the moment of the spill faded like a dream, and his brush was clean again, hovering over the canvas, the blue and yellow still separate. He had been given a second chance not to learn, but to remember.

To paint the eye of the first king, a detail no bigger than a pearl, he used the spectacles’ deeper magic. He entered the Isolated Moment. The sounds of the city outside his window fell away. The dust motes in the air stood still. For Lyren and the canvas, time became a slow, thick honey. He had all the moments in the world to make that single, perfect dot of light in the king’s eye.

He finished the painting after a year of this strange collaboration, this partnership between his old mind, his young ghost-hand, and the magic of the spectacles. When The Grand Canvas was unveiled, the city gasped. They saw a work that had the impossible fire of a young man’s hand, but the deep, knowing soul of an old man’s eyes. It was his masterpiece.

And Lyren, when they asked him how he had conquered the palsy of his age, did not hide the truth. He held up the simple copper spectacles. “We are all trapped between the memory of what we could do, and the vision of what we wish to do,” he told the crowd. “These are not a crutch. They are a bridge. A bridge between the artist’s heart and the artist’s hand.” And from that day on, the spectacles were not seen as a tool for novices, but as a key, capable of unlocking the masterpiece trapped inside any artist, young or old.

The moral of the story is this: The truest art is not in the strength of the hand, but in the clarity of the vision. A tool that clears the path to the heart’s intent is no crutch, but a key.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Spectacles of the Artisan Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement)

These elegant spectacles feature polished copper frames and remarkably clear, lightweight lenses that shimmer with a faint iridescence.

While wearing these spectacles, you have advantage on any ability check you make that uses artisan’s tools or a musical instrument.

Additionally, the spectacles have 3 charges. You can expend a charge to activate one of the following properties:

  • Echo of Form. As an action, you can expend 1 charge while looking at an object within 5 feet of you. You see a shimmering, ghostly image of the object as it existed in a past, more complete state. This effect can reveal the original appearance of a broken object or expose a forgery. The vision lasts for 1 minute.
  • Patient Rehearsal. When you make an ability check using an artisan’s tool or musical instrument and fail, you can use your reaction to expend 1 charge to undo your mistake. You can treat the d20 roll as if you had rolled a 10.

The spectacles regain 1d3 expended charges daily at dawn.

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

The Restorer’s Spectacles A pair of handsome, copper-framed spectacles from the late 19th or early 20th century. The lenses are exceptionally clear but possess a strange, oily sheen. They are a tool for artists and antiquarians, allowing them to perceive an object’s history, but looking too closely at the past can be dangerous.

Game Mechanics:

  • Passive Effect: The wearer’s senses are refined, allowing them to notice details others miss. The wearer gains one bonus die on all Art/Craft and Appraise rolls.
  • Active Effect (See the Past): By concentrating on an inanimate object for one minute, the wearer can attempt to see its past. The Investigator must make a POW x 5 roll. If successful, they see a ghostly overlay of the object as it was in a previous, significant state (e.g., a broken vase appears whole, a burned document reveals its text).
    • Risk: If the object has a disturbing or violent history (it was a murder weapon, used in a Mythos ritual, etc.), witnessing its past forces a Sanity roll (0/1d4 SAN loss).
  • Active Effect (Undo Mistake): When failing an Art/Craft or Repair (Electrical/Mechanical) roll involving fine detail work, the wearer may spend 2 Magic Points to rewind their own actions by a few seconds, allowing them to reroll the failed skill check.

Blades in the Dark

The Muse’s Spectacles Fine Personal Item, Arcane

These elegant spectacles are said to have been crafted by a reclusive Iruvian artisan. The lenses are ground from ghost-quartz, allowing the wearer to perceive echoes and harmonies that are normally hidden from mortal senses. They are highly valued by artists, spies, and forgers.

Game Mechanics: This item is a fine item that uses 1 load. When you wear these spectacles, you can perceive the world with unnatural clarity. You can activate the following abilities:

  • Glimpse the Echo: When you Study a person, object, or location, you see ghostly impressions of its past. You may ask one extra question as if you had rolled a critical success.
  • Isolate the Moment: When you perform a delicate, non-combat task under pressure (forging a document, playing a violin at a noble’s party, disabling a complex lock), you may suffer 2 Stress to achieve a masterful result. You gain +1 effect on your action.
  • The Perfect Rehearsal: Once per score, when you make an action roll for a Tinker, Finesse, or Sway action, you can choose to rewind the moment just before your attempt. Erase the result of your roll and re-roll it, but the new roll is a 4d6 dice pool (you do not add your action rating). You must accept the result of this new roll.

Knave (2nd Edition)

Artificer’s Eyeglasses Item, 1 Inventory Slot

A pair of spectacles with polished copper frames and unusually clear lenses that shimmer faintly. They feel cool and steady on the face.

  • Passive Effect (Echo of Form): When you carefully examine a broken, faded, or damaged object of artistic or mechanical value for one minute, the GM will give you a clear, detailed description of what the object looked like and what its purpose was when it was in pristine condition.
  • Active Effect (Moment of Perfection): Once per day, you may declare that you are activating the eyeglasses to perform a single, delicate task with inhuman precision. This could be painting a miniature portrait, setting a tiny gem, transcribing a document without error, or disarming a complex, non-magical trap. You automatically succeed on any one skill check required for this task, as if you had all the time in the world to get it right.

Fate Core System

Eyes of the Patient Muse

This item’s subtle power is best represented as a Stunt that enhances a character’s creative and perceptive abilities.

  • Stunt: Eyes of the Patient Muse Because I wear the Spectacles of the Patient Muse, I get a +2 bonus when I use the Crafts skill to create a work of art or the Investigate skill to appraise an object or spot a forgery. In addition, once per session, I can declare that I am using the spectacles to perfect my work. I can change the outcome of a failed Crafts roll into a success with a minor cost. I must narrate how the spectacles granted me a vision of my mistake, allowing me to rewind the moment and correct my error just in time.

Numenera & Cypher System

Optic Chrono-Scanner

  • Level: 4
  • Form: A lightweight pair of spectacles with polished copper frames and lenses that shimmer with a faint, oily iridescence.
  • Effect: This device scans objects and feeds a stream of temporal data directly into the user’s visual cortex. The primary function is diagnostic and creative.
    • Passive (Form Echo): When the wearer studies a broken, faded, or incomplete object for one minute, they see a ghostly schematic of the object as it was in its original, complete form. This provides one level of Ease to any task to repair, recreate, or identify the object.
    • Active (Temporal Focus): As an action, the wearer can hyper-focus their perception on a single, delicate, non-combat task they are performing. For the next minute, any action involved in that specific task is Eased.
  • Depletion: 1 on a d20.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Artisan’s Spectacles – Item 3 Uncommon, Divination, Invested, Magical

  • Price 60 gp
  • Usage worn eyepiece; Bulk —

These copper-framed spectacles have lenses that are ground with magical precision, allowing the wearer to perceive details related to craftsmanship across time. You must invest the spectacles to benefit from their magic.

While invested, you gain a +1 item bonus to Crafting checks and a +1 item bonus on Perception checks to notice flaws, forgeries, or hidden details in objects.

  • Activate [Reaction] Foresee Flaw; Frequency once per 10 minutes; Trigger You are about to attempt a Crafting check.
  • Effect You gain a flash of insight, foreseeing a potential mistake in your work. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to the triggering Crafting check. If you roll a critical failure on this check, it becomes a normal failure instead.

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE)

The Maestro’s Monocle

A single, elegant eyepiece with a copper frame and a lens that seems to shimmer. It is a tool for perfectionists, artists, and engineers, allowing them to take the time needed to get their work just right.

  • Effect: The wearer’s eye for detail is uncanny. They gain a +1 bonus to Notice rolls made to spot hidden details in objects, flaws in craftsmanship, or clues related to forgery.
  • Patient Practice: The monocle’s true power is in granting the user the benefit of rehearsal. When making any non-combat skill check related to a trade (such as Performance, Repair, Crafting, etc.), the character may choose to double the normal time required for the task. If they do, they may re-roll a failed skill check for that task (though Bennies can still be spent on either roll). This ability can only be used once per task.

Shadowrun, Sixth World

Evo ‘Muse’ Smart Spectacles A high-fashion pair of eyeglasses from the arts-and-culture megacorp, Evo. The sleek, copper-colored frames contain a powerful sensor suite and a restricted, experimental micro-chroniton processor that provides predictive feedback to the wearer, making them an unparalleled tool for artists, designers, and forgers.

  • Device Rating: 3
  • Availability: 10R
  • Cost: 18,000 nuyen
  • Wireless Bonus: When operating with a wireless connection, you can access Evo’s art history databases, gaining a +1 dice pool bonus to knowledge tests related to art and architecture.
  • Game Mechanics: The spectacles contain Vision Enhancement Rating 3 and Flare Compensation. In addition, they have the following properties:
    • Artisan Suite: The onboard analysis VIs provide constant feedback on aesthetics and material composition. You gain a +2 dice pool bonus to all Artisan skill tests and to Perception tests made to evaluate or appraise an object.
    • Precognitive Correction: The spectacles’ chroniton processor constantly buffers your recent actions. Once per hour, if you fail an Artisan, Engineering, or Biotech test involving fine detail work, you may immediately reroll that test. You must accept the result of the second roll.

Starfinder

Historian’s Chrono-lenses

  • Level 4; Price 2,100 credits
  • Hands –; Bulk L
  • Type Technological Item; Armor Slot eyes

These sophisticated spectacles are a common tool for xenohistorians and art appraisers working for the Starfinder Society. The frames contain a powerful scanner suite and a chronometric data visualizer.

  • Game Mechanics:
    • Multispectrum Analysis: The lenses contain a suite of advanced sensors. You gain a +4 item bonus on Culture checks to appraise the value of art, identify forgeries, or determine an object’s cultural origin.
    • Chronological Scan: Once per day as a standard action, you can activate the lenses’ primary function and target one inanimate object within 30 feet. For the next 10 minutes, you see a shimmering, ghost-like overlay of that object, revealing its appearance when it was first created. While this effect is active, you gain a +4 item bonus to any Crafting or Engineering checks made to repair or replicate that object.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Curator’s Spectacles (TL-16) An extremely rare piece of technology, believed to be Precursor or advanced Ancient in origin. These lightweight spectacles appear to be made of a seamless, copper-colored alloy. The lenses are perfectly clear but can project complex data directly onto the user’s retina. It is a tool for analysis and creation beyond the scope of Imperial technology.

  • Tech Level: 16
  • Weight: 0.1 kg
  • Power: Internal (Power cell, 24 hours of continuous use)
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Material Analysis: The spectacles grant the wearer unparalleled insight into craftsmanship. The wearer gains DM+2 to any Art, Craft, or Science (for material analysis) checks made to appraise or authenticate an object.
    • Holographic Echo: Three times per day, the user can perform a deep scan of an object, which takes one minute. After the scan, the spectacles can project a perfect, stable, to-scale holographic image of the object as it appeared in its original, undamaged state.
    • Predictive Feedback: When undertaking a delicate task requiring a Formidable (12+) Art or Mechanic check, the user can link the spectacles to their nervous system. The device runs micro-simulations and provides haptic feedback, warning of imminent mistakes. This grants the user one re-roll on the skill check, but drains 4 hours of the device’s power.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

Altdorf Engineer’s Auteur Glass This single eyepiece, or monocle, is a masterwork of magical engineering from Altdorf. The lens is ground with impossible precision by the Engineer’s Guild, and the copper frame is inscribed with minute, barely visible runes of clarity from the College of Light. It is a tool for master artisans who demand absolute perfection.

  • Magical Item: This is a non-aligned magical item.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Eye for Detail: The enchanted lens reveals the tiniest of flaws. The wearer gains a +10 bonus to all Perception Tests made to appraise items, find hidden structural weaknesses, or detect forgeries.
    • Vision of the Past: By spending a full minute studying an object, the wearer can attempt to see its original form. The wearer must make a Challenging (+0) Perception Test. If successful, they see a brief, shimmering vision of the object in its pristine state, granting them a +1 SL bonus to any subsequent Trade (Artisan) Test to repair or replicate it.
    • A Moment’s Rehearsal: Once per day, when attempting a difficult Trade (Artisan) or Sleight of Hand Test, the wearer may declare they are using the eyeglass’s guidance before they roll. They gain +1 Advantage immediately before making the test. If they then fail the test, they do not lose the Advantage point they just gained (though any others they may have risked are still lost).