Vodou 802 of the Gedes Garden Trowel

Lore: In the early centuries after the first souls began arriving on Saṃsāra, a small community of people from a place called Haiti materialized on a temperate, jungle-fringed island in the southern archipelago. They brought with them a deep connection to the spirits they served, the Lwa, and a reverence for their ancestors. One of these souls was an old woman, a Manbo, whose greatest joy in her former life had been her garden, where she grew herbs for healing and food for her family.

Upon her arrival in Saṃsāra, she found the world’s magic to be wild and potent. The spirits she knew were present, their essence woven into the fabric of this new reality. She picked up a simple iron trowel and began to garden anew, tilling the strange soil and whispering the names of the Gede—the spirits of life, death, and fertility. Every day, she would leave an offering for them: a splash of fiery rum, a few spicy peppers, a song. The Gede, amused by this mortal’s familiar service in an unfamiliar land, blessed her tool. The trowel became more than wood and metal; it became a conduit for the Gede’s playful, life-affirming, and soil-deep magic. Over generations, the original trowel was lost, but the practice of creating such tools spread quietly among communities that honored the cycle of life and death. These trowels are now found occasionally in old farmsteads or traded in quiet markets, known to bring uncanny luck to those who work the soil.

Description: This item appears to be a well-used, yet perfectly preserved, garden trowel. The handle is carved from a dark, smooth wood, possibly ironwood or mahogany, and is cool to the touch. It is worn smooth from years of use, fitting comfortably in one hand. The handle is painted with rings of black and purple, and if one looks closely, a delicate, looping symbol resembling a heart topped with a cross is subtly burned into the wood near the ferrule. The trowel’s blade is made of dark, unpolished iron, showing no signs of rust or decay despite its apparent age. A faint, pleasant scent of freshly turned earth, spiced rum, and pipe tobacco seems to cling to the tool. When held, it imparts a feeling of gentle warmth that seems to pulse faintly, like a slow and steady heartbeat.

Detailed Stats

Tier: 1
Required Skill: Gardening (Untrained)
Durability: The trowel is supernaturally resilient and does not suffer from mundane wear and tear. It cannot be broken by normal use in a garden setting.
Primary Effect: When this trowel is used for any gardening-related skill checks, such as tilling soil, planting seeds, or removing weeds, the avatar gains a small, favorable circumstance bonus to their action. The soil seems to crumble more easily, roots give way without a fight, and seeds settle perfectly into the earth.

Passives Magic

Soil Empathy: The wielder can instinctively feel the immediate condition of the soil in a small area around the trowel. Without any need for analysis, the avatar can sense if the ground is arid, waterlogged, nutrient-deficient, or compacted. This sensation is a simple, empathic feeling rather than a detailed report.
Gede’s Resilience: Plants that have their soil tilled or are planted using this trowel gain a minor, inherent hardiness. They are noticeably more resistant to common, non-magical wilting from heat, minor pests, and fungal blight. This does not protect against aggressive magical corruption or a dedicated swarm of insects.
Whisper of the Roots: When the avatar is holding the trowel and passes within several feet of a plant that is either edible or has useful alchemical properties, the wooden handle grows slightly warmer. The effect does not identify the plant or its specific properties, but merely signals its potential usefulness to the wielder.

Activable Magics

Animate the Soil: Once per day, the wielder can spend one minute gently turning over the soil in a five-foot square area. By concentrating and whispering a quiet request to the spirits of the land, the soil in that patch becomes temporarily enlivened. For the next hour, the soil will slowly and subtly shift, aerating itself, discouraging slugs and other ground-level pests from entering the area, and providing optimal conditions for root growth. This effect is subtle and slow, not a violent churning of the earth.
Offering for Growth: Once per day, the avatar may perform a small offering to the trowel itself. This involves sprinkling the iron blade with a few drops of a strong alcoholic spirit or leaving a pinch of dried chili pepper or tobacco on it for a moment. Upon doing so, the trowel glows with a faint purple light. For the next hour, any seeds the avatar plants using the trowel will have their germination time magically halved. This effect also ensures a near-perfect success rate for germination, assuming the seeds are planted in suitable soil.

Specific Slot: Held (One Hand)

Tags: Common, Tier 1, Gardening, Voodoo, Spirit Magic, Tool, Roleplay, Wood, Iron, Ancestral, Fertility, Utility, Divination, Buff, Offering, Isekai-Crafted, Ritualistic, Hand-Crafted, Spiritual

In the world of Saṃsāra, an item like the Vodou 802 of the Gede’s Garden Trowel would not be found in a mainstream adventurer’s outfitter or a high-end magical armory. Its acquisition is a matter of seeking out specific, often overlooked, commercial spaces where its unique blend of practical utility and spiritual significance is understood or at least preserved. The cost and method of sale vary dramatically depending on the establishment.

1. The Specialist Agricultural & Alchemical Supplier

Type of Shop: These establishments are often found in the market districts of large cities or in towns that serve as hubs for surrounding agricultural lands. They cater to professional gardeners, alchemists, magical horticulturalists, and wealthy estate owners. A shop might be named something like “The Verdant Hand” or “Root and Stem Supplies.” The interior is typically organized and humid, smelling of rich loam, rare pollens, and the sharp tang of alchemical reagents. Large bins hold soils of varying magical properties, and meticulously labeled drawers contain seeds from across the 73 island countries.

How It Is Sold: Here, the trowel is treated as a professional’s tool. The proprietor, likely a skilled botanist or retired alchemist, would recognize its properties. They would not focus on the spiritual lore but on its practical magical applications. The sales pitch would be direct and informative, describing it as “an excellent tool for encouraging germination in temperamental herbs” or “possessing a minor ward against common blight.” The transaction is a straightforward business deal. The shopkeeper knows its market value as a durable, low-tier magical implement and prices it accordingly.

Cost: The price is stable and reflects its recognized value as a reliable tool. Haggling is minimal. The cost would typically be between 35 to 50 Silver pieces.

2. The Crossroads Curio Shop

Type of Shop: This kind of shop is located in specific neighborhoods within bustling port cities or on islands with a significant population descended from the original Haitian souls. These areas are rich with unique cultural expressions. The shop itself might be a small, dimly lit room in a larger building, identified by chalked symbols on the door rather than a large sign. Inside, the air is thick with the sweet, heavy scent of incense, drying herbs, and rum. Shelves are crowded with colored candles, jars of powders, handmade dolls, beaded necklaces, and other spiritual implements.

How It Is Sold: The sale of the trowel here is a deeply personal and social interaction. The proprietor, who may also serve as a local spiritual advisor, knows the trowel’s history and purpose intimately. They would refer to it not as an “item” but as a vessel for the Gede. They would likely ask the potential buyer about their intentions for it, inquiring about their garden and their connection to the earth. A sale might be refused if the buyer seems disrespectful or frivolous. The exchange is less a purchase and more of an adoption. The owner would provide instructions on its care, such as the need for offerings.

Cost: The price in coin is significantly lower than at a specialist supplier, as the goal is to place the item in worthy hands, not to maximize profit. It might cost between 15 and 25 Silver pieces. The proprietor would also be highly receptive to trade, valuing a bottle of fine rum, a pouch of rare pipe tobacco, or even a heartfelt promise of a future favor more than coin.

3. The Drifter’s Trove or Dockside Pawn

Type of Shop: This is a generalist pawn shop or a sprawling junk stall in a chaotic bazaar, common in the lower levels of a skyscraper metropolis or near the Zeppelin docks. These places are crammed floor-to-ceiling with a random assortment of goods from all over the world: a rusted steam-automaton arm, a box of mismatched gears, old ship lanterns, and dusty tools. The owner is typically a shrewd merchant who deals in volume and may not know the precise nature of every item in their hoard.

How It Is Sold: Here, the trowel would be found by chance, likely in a barrel or crate filled with other mundane gardening or construction tools. The shopkeeper would likely not know its specific spiritual heritage. They would recognize it as magical only because it has not rusted and feels “oddly warm.” Their sales pitch would be based on its most obvious quality: its unnatural durability. They might say, “It’s an old thing, but it’s solid. Never needs sharpening, never rusts. Good for tough soil.” This is the most likely place for a knowledgeable avatar to acquire the item for a bargain, provided they can haggle effectively and not reveal the tool’s true potential.

Cost: The price is highly variable and depends entirely on the owner’s assessment and the buyer’s haggling skill. An unsuspecting owner might sell it as a simple, high-quality tool for as little as 1 Silver and 5 Nickel pieces. A more observant merchant who recognizes the faint magic might ask for 20 Silver but could be haggled down to 10 Silver or less.

The Vodou 802 of the Gede’s Garden Trowel is not a weapon, and an avatar who attempts to use it for direct physical attack would find it no more effective than a simple gardening tool. Its power in defense and offense comes from a creative and indirect application of its spiritual magic, requiring the wielder to act as a partner to the spirits within the tool, not as a commander. The roleplay of its use is one of subtle manipulation, clever tricks, and a deep connection to the environment.

In a Wild Jungle Environment

In the dense, life-choked jungles of Saṃsāra’s uncharted islands, the trowel becomes a powerful sensory tool and an instrument of environmental manipulation.

Defensive Roleplay: An avatar being stalked by one of Saṃsāra’s predatory beasts can use the trowel to gain a crucial advantage. Instead of looking for the hunter, the avatar would find a quiet spot, kneel, and press the flat of the trowel’s blade against the damp jungle floor. Through the Soil Empathy passive, they would feel the normal hum of the earth, the thrum of insects, and the slow crawl of roots. A prayer or quiet whisper to the Gede would attune their senses through the tool. The heavy, rhythmic footfalls of a large creature would then be felt as a distinct, alien vibration in the soil long before it is seen or heard, giving the avatar precious moments to hide or prepare.

As they move, the Whisper of the Roots passive would cause the trowel’s handle to grow warm when passing by certain plants. In a defensive situation, this warmth might signal a thicket of razorvines that could serve as a natural barrier, or a patch of poisonous nettles to be avoided. The roleplay is one of quiet reliance, trusting the tool’s subtle feedback over one’s own panicked senses.

Offensive Roleplay: Direct offense is not the trowel’s purpose, but indirect, trickster-style offense is perfectly aligned with the Gede spirits. If cornered or needing to set a trap, the avatar might find a narrow game trail or a precarious ledge. By activating Animate the Soil, they can ask the spirits for mischief. The avatar would drive the trowel into the earth and whisper their request. The ground would not erupt violently. Instead, the soil under a thick layer of leaves might suddenly loosen into a hidden, foot-trapping mire. The earth beneath a large, precariously balanced boulder could be made to shift and crumble, sending it tumbling down the path. The roleplay involves coaxing the environment to turn against the enemy, creating hazards that appear natural to the untrained eye. It is an act of petitioning the land for aid, using the trowel as the focal point for the request.

In a Gritty Urban Environment

Within the alleys and forgotten rooftops of a sprawling megacity, where soil and plant life are scarce, the trowel’s use requires even more creativity.

Defensive Roleplay: When confronted by thugs in a back alley, an avatar with this trowel might find their defense in the most overlooked places. Many alleys have cracked pavement with hardy weeds or neglected, soil-filled planter boxes. Using the Animate the Soil active power, the avatar can point the trowel at the ground. The earth in the cracks could heave, causing the pavement to become uneven and treacherous, potentially tripping a charging assailant. A more dramatic use would be to target a heavy stone planter on a rusty fire escape above. The soil within would shift suddenly, unbalancing the planter and sending it crashing down to create a barrier or a powerful distraction, allowing for an escape. The roleplay here is about seeing the potential for life and movement in a sterile environment and using the trowel to awaken it.

Offensive Roleplay: Offense in an urban setting is about creating inconvenient and disorienting hazards. An avatar being pursued could duck into a small, rooftop garden. By performing the offering ritual for the Offering for Growth active power—splashing the trowel with a bit of alcohol—they can supercharge their next action. They can then use Animate the Soil on the garden boxes lining the rooftop’s edge. The soil would swell and surge, spilling over the edge to rain down on pursuers below. This would not be a lethal attack, but a blinding, sputtering shower of dirt and gravel that would halt a chase and create chaos. The roleplay is that of a quick-thinking trickster, using the city’s forgotten bits of nature as a surprising weapon.

In a Subterranean Cave System

Deep below ground, in the dark and silent cave systems of Saṃsāra, the trowel’s abilities take on a different context, preying on the unique senses of subterranean creatures.

Defensive Roleplay: Many subterranean predators hunt by scent or by sensing vibrations through the rock. The trowel offers defenses against both. By performing the offering for the Offering for Growth power, the avatar isn’t trying to grow anything. Instead, they are using the offering itself—a splash of pungent rum or a pinch of spicy chili pepper. In the still, contained air of a cave, the sudden, alien scent is an explosion to a creature with a sensitive nose. It can mask the avatar’s own scent, confuse the creature’s senses, and act as a non-violent deterrent, making them wary of the strange smell. This roleplay is about using the tool’s ritual components as a tool in themselves.

Offensive Roleplay: The floor of most caves is covered in loose scree, silt, and layers of guano—all forms of soil that the trowel can influence. When facing cave-dwellers, the avatar can use Animate the Soil to destabilize the creature’s footing. A quiet whisper into the trowel while it’s pointed at a patch of loose rock beneath an enemy’s feet can cause the ground to slide and shift, making them stumble. Used on a sloped wall of gravel above the enemy, it could trigger a minor, rattling landslide, not to crush them, but to startle them, block their path, and create a loud diversion that would echo through the cave system, allowing the avatar to slip away in the ensuing confusion. The roleplay is that of a saboteur, using the inherent instability of the environment as their primary weapon.

Perception of Activation:

User’s Perspective

When the avatar holding the trowel wills its power to awaken, the experience is intimate and floods their senses, both physical and arcane.

Touch: The first sensation is a change in the handle. The worn, smooth wood seems to grow even smoother, almost silken, and a slow, deep, pulsing warmth emanates from within. It is not the harsh heat of fire magic but a living warmth, like holding a small, sleeping creature. The pulse matches the rhythm of a slow and steady drumbeat, a feeling that resonates up the user’s arm. The unpolished iron of the blade loses its metallic coldness, feeling neutral and strangely soft, like packed, cool earth.
Sight: The activation is visually subtle. A faint, internal luminescence begins at the ferrule where wood meets metal, not a blinding flash but a deep, bruised-purple glow that seems trapped within the iron itself. This light spreads down the blade, causing the dark metal to look like a piece of smoky quartz with veins of amethyst. The light catches and illuminates the tiny motes of dust, pollen, or moisture in the air immediately surrounding the trowel, making them swirl in a slow, silent vortex.
Sound: There is no loud crack or boom. Instead, a low, resonant hum builds, a sound felt more in the bones of the hand and jaw than truly heard with the ears. It is the thrum of a single bass string or the drowsy buzz of a bumblebee. Layered over this hum, if the user listens closely, is the faint, dry whisper of shifting soil, even if the trowel is held aloft. At times, a soft, dry chuckle, impossibly close, may echo just at the edge of hearing.
Smell: The faint, pleasant scents that cling to the tool—rich potting soil, sweet pipe tobacco, and the sharp tang of spiced rum—blossom into existence. They do not just become stronger; they become layered and distinct, as if the user is simultaneously standing in a freshly tilled garden while someone enjoys a drink and a smoke just over their shoulder.
Extra-sensory (Empathic Link): The user feels a distinct sense of being listened to. A connection opens, and the playful, ancient, and curious consciousness of the Gede spirits focuses upon them. It is not an invasive mental probe but a feeling of potent, patient observation, accompanied by a wave of amusement and a readiness to act.
Extra-sensory (Life Sense): For a few moments, the user’s awareness expands downwards into the earth. They gain a fleeting, tactile understanding of the immediate subterranean environment. They can feel the intricate network of roots, the damp pockets of moisture, the slow, blind journey of an earthworm, and the difference between loose topsoil and compacted clay, all as if the ground itself were an extension of their own body.

Observer’s Perspective

To someone watching nearby, the activation is uncanny and easily missed if one is not paying attention, characterized by subtle environmental disturbances.

Sight: An observer would see the user suddenly grow still, their posture fixed in intense concentration. The most noticeable visual cue is the faint purple light that seems to make the trowel’s blade absorb the surrounding light rather than reflect it. They would clearly see the dust and pollen begin to spiral around the tool, moved by no discernible breeze.
Sound: From more than a few feet away, an observer would likely hear nothing at all. In a silent environment, a very attentive listener might catch a barely-audible, low-frequency hum, easily mistaken for the sound of a distant steam engine or insect.
Smell: If the observer is standing close or downwind, they may be perplexed by a sudden, fleeting scent of damp earth or spilled rum that has no obvious source, a scent that vanishes as quickly as it appeared.
Extra-sensory (Aura Perception): An observer trained to use their Mind’s Eye would see a distinct magical event. They would perceive the user’s personal magical aura flare slightly and then become intertwined with a second, much older spiritual energy. This external energy would appear purple-black, chaotic yet not aggressive, like a shroud of living shadow wrapping around the user and their tool.
Extra-sensory (Sense of Presence): A mundane observer without magical sight would still feel an abrupt change in the atmosphere. A sudden, localized chill might run down their spine. They would get the distinct and unsettling feeling of being watched by unseen eyes, and the fine hairs on their arms and the back of their neck might stand on end. They would likely attribute the feeling to a sudden draft or a trick of the nerves, yet the feeling of a third party’s presence would be undeniable.

Positives

Subtlety: The activation is not a grand, explosive display of magic. It is quiet and discreet, unlikely to cause panic or draw the unwanted attention of guards or rivals in a populated area. Its effects can be easily dismissed by onlookers as tricks of the light or imagination.
Psychological Impact: The subtle, spooky nature of the activation can be unnerving to observers. The feeling of being watched and the inexplicable sensory phenomena can act as a deterrent, causing superstitious or nervous individuals to back away without a direct confrontation.
Informational Awareness: For the user, the sensory input is a flood of useful information, giving them a detailed, three-dimensional understanding of their immediate environment, especially concerning the ground beneath their feet.

Negatives

Sensory Overload: For an untrained or unprepared user, the sudden influx of extra-sensory information—feeling the movement of every insect and root in the soil—can be disorienting and distracting, making it difficult to focus on other immediate threats.
Misinterpretation and Stigma: An observer who recognizes the spiritual nature of the magic might not understand its nuances. They could mistake the presence of the Gede, spirits of life and death, for malevolent necromancy or dangerous ghost summoning, leading to fear, hostility, and social complications.
Focused State: The act of activation requires a moment of intense inner focus and communion with the spirits of the trowel. During this brief period, the user is mentally turned inward, making them potentially vulnerable to a physical attack from an unexpected quarter.

Recipe: The Gede’s Favor

This crafting process outlines the method for imbuing a mundane garden trowel with a sliver of the Gede’s spiritual essence, creating a tool that bridges the worlds of the living and the dead through the medium of the soil. The process is as much a ritual as it is a physical craft, requiring patience, respect, and the proper offerings.

Materials Needed

The Trowel Blade: One hand-forged iron trowel blade, beaten from a single piece of ore-iron. The iron must be smelted using traditional charcoal methods, not with advanced magical heat sources, as the impurities and history of the metal are important.
The Handle Blank: A solid, seasoned block of dark, heavy wood. Wood from a tree that has stood near a graveyard or a place of great historical loss is preferred. Ironwood, mahogany, or yew are suitable choices.
Spiritual Conduits:
- One handful of rich soil collected at midnight from a graveyard. The soil must be taken from a place where the dead are respected and remembered, not a forgotten or desecrated site.
- A small pouch of high-quality, dark pipe tobacco.
- Three dried, whole chili peppers, preferably of a dark red or purple varietal.
- A small flask of dark, spiced rum of at least 80 proof.
Finishing Components:
- Beeswax for polishing the handle.
- Pigments for creating black and purple paint. These should be made from natural sources: charcoal for black, and a mixture of crushed murex shells or specific berries for purple.
- A single drop of the crafter’s own blood.

Tools Required

Forge and Anvil: A standard blacksmith’s forge, bellows, hammer, and anvil for shaping the iron blade.
Carving Kit: A set of sharp wood carving knives, gouges, and rasps for shaping the handle.
Small Ritual Brazier: A fire-proof bowl or brazier for burning offerings.
Mortar and Pestle: For grinding pigments and other ritual components.
Fine-haired Brush: For applying the decorative paints.

Skill Requirements

Blacksmithing (Apprentice): The crafter must possess the basic ability to heat, hammer, and shape iron into a functional tool. Perfection is not required; the handmade quality is part of the charm.
Woodworking (Apprentice): The ability to carve, shape, and finish a block of wood into a comfortable, ergonomic handle.
Gardening (Trained): The crafter must have a genuine connection to the soil and an understanding of the cycle of planting, growth, and decay. This skill is not for technique, but for empathy with the purpose of the tool.
Spirit Magic (Untrained): The crafter needs a fundamental ability to perceive and interact with spiritual energies. They must be able to open themselves to the presence of spirits and make offerings with sincere intent, but do not need to be a powerful practitioner.

Crafting Steps

Forging the Blade: The process begins at the forge. The iron is heated until it glows a dull red. As the crafter hammers the blade into shape, they must mix the graveyard soil into the charcoal of the forge. The intent is for the spirit of the iron to be infused with the essence of the patient, waiting earth. The blade should be quenched not in water, but by being plunged into a deep bucket of the same graveyard soil, allowing it to cool slowly while absorbing the energies within. The blade will be left unpolished, retaining its dark, matte finish.
Carving the Handle: The crafter moves to the woodworking bench. The handle is carved from the dark wood blank. It should be shaped for comfort and utility. As they work, the crafter should periodically sprinkle a pinch of the pipe tobacco onto the wood, letting its scent permeate the grain. This is an offering to the old, wise spirits. Once the shape is complete, it is sanded smooth and polished with beeswax.
The Ritual of Assembly: This step must be performed at night, preferably under an open sky. A small ritual fire is lit in the brazier using the dried chili peppers as kindling. The crafter assembles the trowel, fitting the blade’s tang securely into the handle. As they work, they must hum or sing a low, slow song—any simple tune about life, death, or memory will suffice.
The Offering and Awakening: The assembled trowel is held over the smoky fire from the brazier. The crafter pours a libation of the spiced rum onto the ground next to the fire, speaking a quiet invitation to the Gede. They must state their name and their intention: to create a tool that honors the cycle of life and death, to serve the soil.
The Blood Anointment: Taking a sharp carving knife, the crafter makes a tiny cut on their thumb and anoints the trowel with a single drop of their blood. This drop must be placed where the metal and wood meet, sealing the bond between the physical components and the crafter’s own life force.
Painting the Veve: Using the naturally sourced pigments, the crafter paints the rings of black and purple around the handle. These are not mere decorations but markers of the Gede’s domain. Finally, using a heated needle or the tip of a fine knife, they carefully burn the looping symbol—the heart topped with a cross—into the wood. This symbol acts as the key, the focal point through which the spirits will channel their influence.
The Burial: The completed trowel is not ready for use. It must be wrapped in a simple cloth and buried in the earth for one full cycle of the moon. This allows the spirits to fully accept the offering and settle into the tool. When it is unearthed, the wood will be cool to the touch, the metal will resist rust, and the faint, layered scents of its creation will cling to it forever. It is now complete.

Woman Who Dug for Her Bones

And it was in the time before the cities of steam, when the souls fell like rain with no memory of the sky from which they fell, that the Woman of Sorrows came to be. She did not fall like the others. She walked out of a shimmer in the air, old and with eyes that held the memory of a green island that was no more. Her skin was the color of rich earth and her hands knew the ways of plants, but her spirit was a dry seed in the strange, loud soil of Saṃsāra.

The magic of this new world was a great noise. It screamed from the rocks and howled in the wind, and in this noise, she could not hear the whispers of her people who had walked before. She could not hear the voices of the hungry shades who had always walked with her, the ones who laughed at life and death. Her path was lost. Her soul had no roots. She would tell the wind, “I have lost my bones. A woman without the bones of her ancestors is just a leaf to be scattered.” And so it was.

She went away from the places of people. She found a quiet place by a dark wood near a river that ran slow. Here, she said, “I will make a garden. Not for food to fill the belly, for my belly is not what is empty. I will make a place of memory, so the unseen folk might know a place of welcome.”

She found a piece of dark wood from a tree that had fallen, a tree that remembered many seasons of death and rebirth. She took a stone of sky-iron, a thing that had fallen from the night sky with great anger, and it was cold. She had no forge of great skill, no tools of fine make. She made a fire with her hands and the strange, crackling magic of the world. She put the sky-iron in the fire and she did not hammer it with skill, no. She hammered it with her sorrow. With each strike, she spoke a name of an ancestor. Clang. “This is for Jean-Pierre, who loved to dance.” Clang. “This is for Cecile, who had seven children.” Clang. And so she hammered her memory into the cold iron until it took the shape of a digger, a trowel, a hand for the earth.

Then she took the wood. She sat for three days and three nights and she carved the handle. She did not use a sharp knife, no. She used a small, sharp stone and she carved with her loneliness. She wept as she worked, and her tears, they were the water for the wood. The wood drank her sorrowful water and became dark and smooth.

And so she had a tool, but it was a dead thing. It was wood and sky-iron. It had no spirit. It could not help her dig for her bones.

She sat and held the tool and knew this. The spirits of this new place, this Saṃsāra, were not like the spirits of her green island. They were powerful, and they were curious, and they were hungry. They demanded a gift. A welcome. She looked in her small pouch, the only thing she had from her home. Inside was a small measure of dark, sweet rum, and a handful of dried tobacco leaves. A drink for the spirits, and smoke for the spirits. Her last memory of home. Her heart was a stone in a dry riverbed, but she knew what must be done.

She built a small fire. She poured the rum onto the soil, a dark stain that smelled of sweetness and memory. She crumbled the tobacco and gave it to the fire, and the smoke rose, a fragrant question sent up into the sky. She sat, and she waited, and she held the trowel in her lap.

Then they came. They did not walk. They appeared in the way a shadow appears when the light moves. The Laughing Ones. The Hungry Folk. The Gede. They were many, and they were one, and their presence was cold and full of life all at once. A voice that was not a voice, but a feeling in her bones, asked, “Why do you spill the sweet water? Why do you burn the fragrant leaf? The others who fall here, they forget. They run to build things of steam and gear. They do not remember to feed the ones who walk behind.”

The Woman of Sorrows held up the tool of her making. She did not look at the shifting shadows. She looked at the soil. “I dig for my bones,” she said, and her voice was a rustle of dry leaves. “The memories of my people are buried, and I cannot find them. This world is too loud. I have made this hand of iron to dig for my home.”

There was a great silence. Then, a feeling like a dry chuckle echoed through the clearing. The voice that was not a voice came again. “A fine answer. A true answer. A foolish mortal seeks not gold, not power, but her own bones. This is a thing of great amusement. We will help you dig.”

And the shadows moved. They breathed upon the trowel she held. It was not a breath of air. It was a breath of night and magic and the smell of graves and nurseries. A faint light, the color of a deep purple flower, bloomed in the trowel. The wood grew warm, pulsing like a heart. The iron hummed with a low song. The tool was no longer a dead thing.

When the Woman of Sorrows next put the tool to the earth, she felt the world change. She felt the roots of the weeds and the flowers. She felt the worms in their dark tunnels. But she also felt other roots, the roots of her own soul, and they were digging deep, finding purchase. And in the hum of the trowel, in the whisper of the soil, she heard them. Faintly, like an echo from her lost green island, she heard the names. Jean-Pierre. Cecile. They were there. She had found her bones.

And so it was that the first of these tools was made, not as a weapon, not for treasure, but to allow a lost soul to tend the garden of her own memory.

Moral of the Story: That which is truly lost is not buried in the ground, but in the heart. A tool is only as powerful as the truth of the hand that wields it.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu

The Ghede’s Spade

This appears to be a well-used but sturdy garden trowel with a dark mahogany handle and a blade of unpolished, rust-free iron. Faint rings of black and purple are painted on the handle. It feels unnaturally warm to the touch. It originates from Haitian communities that syncretized their Vodou beliefs with darker, chthonic forces they encountered. The Ghede spirits to which it is dedicated are tied to the cycle of life and death, and using the spade invites their fickle and often unnerving attention.

Game Mechanics:

Weapon: Can be used as an improvised weapon. Damage 1D3 + db.
Skills: Provides one bonus die (roll 2d10, take the lower result for the tens digit) on any Botany or Natural World roll used to analyze soil or identify plants.
Ritual of Insight: By spending 10 minutes concentrating and making a small offering (a splash of rum, a pinch of spices), the wielder may attempt to commune with the spirits of the land. This requires a successful POW x5 roll and costs 1 Magic Point. If successful, the wielder gains a brief, overwhelming vision of the most significant event of life or death that occurred on that specific patch of ground within the last year. This vision costs the Investigator 0/1D2 Sanity points to witness.
Disturb the Earth: By spending 1 Magic Point and succeeding on a POW x5 roll, the wielder can cause a 5-foot patch of loose earth to churn and reveal what is just beneath the surface. This provides one bonus die to any Archaeology or Spot Hidden roll to find a buried object in that patch. A fumble on the POW roll may cause the earth to disgorge something unsettling (e.g., a writhing nest of worms, a half-decayed corpse), costing 1/1D3 Sanity.

Blades in the Dark

The Reaper’s Garden Hand

A heavy, dark iron trowel with a handle of petrified wood, wrapped in stained purple and black cords. It feels cold, like grave soil, even in the warmth of a fire. Whispers say these tools were first crafted by a cult that cultivated spirit-attracting flora in the deathlands and now find use among those who tend to the forgotten gardens and weedy corners of Duskvol. It hums with a quiet energy, hungry for ghosts and soil alike.

Game Mechanics:

Load: 1
Item Type: Ritual Tool, Implement
Passive: When you Survey or Hunt in an area with significant plant overgrowth or a graveyard, gain +1d to your roll. You are able to spot unusual patterns in the decay and growth that others miss.
Active (Setup Action): Prepare the Grave. You can spend time during a score tending to a small patch of earth, a planter box, or even a thick patch of dust. When you do, describe how you are inviting the local spirits to inhabit it. This is a setup action. You can then spend 1 Stress to activate it later from a distance; the spirits cause a sudden, spooky effect. This could create a distraction or block a path (a shower of dirt, grasping roots, a sudden wilting of nearby plants). The effect has a Potency equal to your Attune rating.
Ritual (Downtime Activity): Commune with the Soil. You may perform a ritual over a patch of earth that has seen recent activity. This costs 1 Coin worth of ritual supplies (rum, rare spices, grave dust). Roll Attune. On a 6, you gain a clear vision of the last significant person to pass through and their intent. On a 4/5, the vision is murky; you get a detail about their appearance or their emotional state, but not both. On a 1-3, the ritual attracts a restless or hungry ghost tied to the location, leading to a new entanglement.

Dungeons & Dragons

Trowel of the Grave Garden Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement)

The handle of this trowel is carved from smooth, dark wood painted with purple and black rings, while its spade-like blade is made of dull, rustproof iron. A symbol of a heart topped by a cross is subtly burned into the wood. The trowel feels perpetually warm and hums with a faint, spiritual energy.

Game Mechanics:

While holding this trowel, you have advantage on Wisdom (Nature) and Intelligence (Investigation) checks made to analyze soil or identify plants.
The trowel has 3 charges and regains 1d3 expended charges daily at dusk. You can expend charges to gain the following benefits:
- Gravebloom (1 Charge): As an action, you touch the trowel to the corpse of a beast, humanoid, or monstrosity that has been dead for no longer than 24 hours. A single, non-magical flowering plant of your choice instantly sprouts from the corpse, growing to full maturity in 1 minute. The flower is beautiful but smells faintly of decay and has a color associated with the deceased creature’s state of mind at the moment of death (e.g., deep red for anger, pale blue for sadness).
- Animate Soil (1 Charge): As an action, you can target a 10-foot square patch of loose earth you can see within 30 feet. The soil writhes and grasps for 1 minute. That area becomes difficult terrain. When a creature enters the area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be restrained by grasping roots and spectral hands until the start of its next turn.
- Speak with Roots (2 Charges): As an action, you can use the trowel to cast Speak with Plants, but you can only question plants and roots growing in earth that contains buried or decayed humanoid remains.

Knave

Spirit Tiller

A heavy trowel with a dark wooden handle and an iron blade that never rusts. It takes up 1 inventory slot. It feels warm, as if it were just lying in the sun.

Game Mechanics:

Passive: When you hold the blade of the trowel to a patch of earth, you learn its general condition (e.g., fertile, barren, recently disturbed, poisoned, consecrated, desecrated).
Active:
- If you spend your turn digging at a patch of loose earth, it becomes a hazard. Any creature of human size or smaller that moves into that space must make a successful Dexterity saving throw or fall prone.
- By pouring a ration of alcohol or making a similar valuable offering onto the trowel (consuming the item), you may ask the soil a single question about a creature that has died on or been buried in it. The GM will give a one-word answer or a short, cryptic phrase (e.g., “Betrayal,” “Claws,” “Fled North,” “Waits Below”). Using this ability may attract the attention of whatever spirit answered.

Fate

The Loa’s Connection

In Fate, this item is best represented as an Extra, a special quality your character has that is defined by Aspects, Skills, and Stunts. It grants narrative permission and mechanical bonuses.

Aspect: Gardener in Tune with the Gede Permissions: This item allows you to interact with the spirits of soil, plants, and the recently deceased. You can use Skills like Empathy or Investigate in situations where they normally wouldn’t apply, such as reading the emotional residue in a garden or discerning the history of a patch of earth.

Stunts:

Whispers of the Soil: When you use the Investigate skill to carefully examine a patch of ground, you get a +2 bonus to your roll. A successful roll can create situational Aspects like Recently Disturbed Ground, Lingering Spiritual Sorrow, or Eager for an Offering.
Gede’s Mischief: Once per session, you can invoke the trowel’s trickster spirits to create an environmental hazard. You can declare that a patch of nearby soil, a planter box, or a tangle of roots suddenly becomes a problem for an opponent. This automatically creates a situational Aspect (e.g., Grasping Roots, Blinding Shower of Filth, Unstable Footing) on the scene with one free invocation for you to use.
An Offering of Memory: You can spend a Fate Point and make a small, meaningful offering (a splash of strong drink, a story whispered to the soil) to ask the spirits of a place a single, specific question about a death that occurred there. The GM will answer you honestly, though the spirits’ perspective may be strange or metaphorical.

Numenera & Cypher System

Analeptic Tiller

This device appears as a trowel made of a dark, resilient synthetic material that feels like petrified wood. Its blade is a dull, grey metal that never corrodes or dulls. When active, circuits within the handle glow with a soft purple light. It is an artifact that interacts with localized data-traces in the soil and the faint biological energy signatures of the deceased.

Level: 4 Form: A one-handed gardening tool. Effect (Passive): The wielder gains an asset on any task related to identifying flora, analyzing soil composition, or horticulture. (The difficulty of the task is decreased by one step). Effect (Active): You can activate the tiller, causing it to hum and glow. * Function 1 – Soil Analysis: You can spend one action to analyze the recent history of a short-range area of ground. This is an Intellect-based task with a difficulty of 4. On success, you learn one significant piece of information about an event that occurred in that spot within the last 28 hours (e.g., the size and number of creatures that passed through, the nature of a powerful energy release, the location of a recently buried object). * Function 2 – Localized Terrain Deformation: You can spend one action to cause a short-range area of ground to writhe and grasp. For the next hour, the difficulty of all Speed-based tasks for other creatures within that area is increased by one step. Depletion: 1 in 1d10 (check for depletion each time a function is activated).

Pathfinder

Boneyard Trowel – Item 3 Traits: Uncommon, Divination, Necromancy, Invested, Magical Price: 60 gp Usage: Held in 1 hand Bulk: L

This trowel has a handle of dark, polished wood with purple and black rings painted on it. Its spade is made of a dull black iron that never rusts. When you invest the item, it feels warm, and you occasionally hear faint, dry whispers when you are near graveyards or fallow fields.

Passive: While this trowel is invested, you gain a +1 item bonus to Nature checks to identify plants and to Survival checks.

Activate [one-action] (Interact); Effect: You touch the trowel to a plant or a 5-foot patch of soil. You learn the general condition of the subject, such as its health, the presence of any non-magical diseases, or its relative fertility.

Activate [two-actions] (Interact, Manipulate); Frequency once per 10 minutes; Effect: You whisper a prayer to the spirits of decay and rebirth, targeting a 5-foot square of loose earth within 30 feet. The ground churns with grasping roots and spectral hands. The square becomes difficult terrain for 1 minute. A creature that ends its turn in the square must attempt a DC 17 Reflex save.

Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature is clumsy 1 for 1 round.
Failure The creature is immobilized for 1 round.
Critical Failure The creature is immobilized for 1 minute or until it Escapes (DC 17).

Savage Worlds

The Grave Hand

This is an old but unnaturally well-preserved trowel made of dark wood and dull iron. It is considered a sacred tool among some old communities who venerate their ancestors. They believe it allows the wielder to listen to the stories the earth remembers.

Requirements: Novice, Spirit d6+ Passive Bonus: The wielder gains a +1 bonus to Common Knowledge, Notice, or Survival rolls related to plants, soil, and finding things buried in the earth.

Special Abilities:

Whispers from Below: The wielder can spend a Bennie and touch the trowel to the ground to ask the spirits of the dead a question about a death that occurred at this location. The GM will provide a short, often cryptic, answer. Using this ability in a place with a violent or troubled history may anger the spirits, causing the GM to draw from the Action Deck—a Joker means a powerful and hostile spirit manifests.
Grasping Ground (Power): The wielder can use this item to cast the Entangle power, even if they do not normally have access to it. This is done by making a Spirit roll. The trappings are grasping spectral hands and thorny roots erupting from the ground. A success works as normal, and a raise makes the ground difficult terrain in addition to the power’s other effects. Using this ability more than once per hour inflicts a level of Fatigue on the wielder.

Shadowrun

La Marassa Geotactile Probe

In the Sixth World, where the lines between technology and magic have blurred into nothing, this item appears as a high-end piece of geotechnical survey equipment. The trowel’s blade is a matte-black modern alloy, while the handle is polished, stabilized darkwood inlaid with subtle silver circuitry that spirals in patterns reminiscent of a serpent. It’s a rare tool used by magicians of the Vodou and other chthonic traditions to commune with the spirits of the urban soil, from the polluted dirt of the Barrens to the manicured gardens of corporate enclaves.

Game Mechanics:

Type: Qi Focus (Rating 3)
Attunement: This focus must be bonded, costing 3 Karma. It can only be bonded by a character following a magical tradition that acknowledges ancestor or earth spirits (such as Vodou, Black Magic, or some Shamanic paths).
Passive: When the focus is bonded and active, the user gains a +1 dice pool bonus to any Outdoors or Arcana Tests related to identifying magical plants, analyzing soil, or tracking on natural ground.
Active (Geomantic Assay): The user may take a Complex Action to press the probe into the ground and channel their mana through it, requiring a Magic + Intuition (3) Test. The number of net hits determines the amount of information gained about the recent history of a 5-meter radius area.
- 1 Net Hit: Detects the presence and general type of any residual magical signatures.
- 2 Net Hits: Reveals the number and metatype of any individuals who have passed through the area in the last hour.
- 3+ Net Hits: Provides a brief, hazy vision of the most significant event that occurred in the area within the last 24 hours.
Astral Signature: The probe has a potent and complex astral signature, blending geomancy with faint traces of necromancy. It is highly visible on the astral plane and may attract the attention of local spirits or astral-patrolling mages.

Starfinder

Psychopomp Tiller Level 4 Price 2,100 credits Bulk L Category Hybrid Item

This elegant tool resembles a high-quality gardening trowel crafted from polished darkwood and a blade of durable, lightweight crysteel. When grasped, fine circuits inlaid in the handle glow with a soft purple light. Prized by Eoxian necrobotanists and xenogardeners on worlds with strange flora, the tiller acts as an interface between a user’s bio-signature, the latent energies of the soil, and the spiritual residue left by the living and the dead.

Game Mechanics:

Passive: The wielder gains a +4 insight bonus to Life Science checks to identify unknown or unusual flora and a +4 insight bonus to Mysticism checks to identify or understand nature spirits or undead tied to a specific location.
Psychometric Analysis (Active): Once per day, you can spend 10 minutes in physical contact with a patch of ground (no larger than a 20-ft. square) while holding the tiller. You receive a brief, psychometric vision of the most significant event to have occurred there within the past 24 hours. This functions as the spell augury, but the result is always a visual and sensory flash rather than a cryptic phrase.
Entangling Field (Active): As a standard action, you can expend 1 charge from a standard battery powering the tiller. A 10-foot square of ground you can see within 30 feet writhes with purple, spectral energy for 1 minute. This area is considered difficult terrain. Any creature starting its turn in the area must succeed at a DC 13 Reflex save or gain the entangled condition for 1 round.

Traveller

Ancient’s Tiller (Artifact) TL 16

This object is a simple, one-handed tool resembling a trowel or small spade. It is constructed from a single piece of a matte-black, seamless alloy that is impossibly light, utterly immune to damage, and never holds a speck of dirt. Its origins are unknown, but its technological level far exceeds Imperial standards, suggesting it is a remnant of the Ancients. It is typically found on worlds with deep ruins or strange ecosystems and is often mistaken for a simple tool or a religious relic by low-tech inhabitants.

Game Mechanics:

Nature: The tiller is a highly advanced geological and biological analysis tool that interfaces directly with the user’s nervous system. Finding one is a significant discovery.
Passive: An individual holding the tiller feels a subtle, almost instinctive guidance. This grants Advantage (roll 3d6, drop the lowest die) on any Survival (foraging), Recon (detecting disturbed ground), or Science (botany, geology) check that involves direct interaction with soil or plants.
Psionic Interface (Active): A character with a Psionic Strength of 9+ can attempt to consciously interface with the device. This requires passing a Difficult (10+) Psionics check.
- Success: The user can choose one of two functions:
  1. Chronological Trace: The user can target a specific spot of ground and receive a single, clear sensory impression (a sound, a smell, a fleeting visual) of the last living creature to have died there, regardless of how long ago.
  2. Soil Restructuring: The user can alter the molecular density of a 2-meter square of loose earth, making it as hard as concrete or as loose as mud for one hour.
- Failure: The psionic feedback from the Ancient-level technology is jarring, inflicting 2d6 damage on the user. The device becomes inert for 1d6 days.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

The Morr-Garden Trowel

This is a heavy, practical tool made of blackened iron and weathered dark oak. It is unadorned save for a deeply carved Gate of Morr on its handle. These trowels are crafted by the priests of the god of death and dreams to tend to the hallowed soil of the Gardens of Morr. The work is both practical and spiritual; they ensure the gardens are neat and peaceful, which in turn ensures the dead within them rest easy, their souls guided correctly and their bodies free from the corrupting touch of necromancy or the Winds of Magic.

Game Mechanics:

Qualities: Magical, Holy (Morr)
Passive: The wielder gains a +10 bonus to Lore (Herbalism) Tests when identifying or gathering herbs in a consecrated graveyard. Furthermore, they gain a +1 SL to any Pray Test made to a deity of death, earth, or gardens.
Bless the Grave-Soil (Active): By spending one hour in uninterrupted, quiet work tending to the earth in a single area (up to 10 yards square) and passing a Challenging (+0) Pray Test, the user blesses the soil. For the next 24 hours, any Undead creature attempting to enter or act within this area suffers a -10 penalty to all Tests. Any Daemon or Mutant finds the ground abhorrent and will not enter it unless they pass a Hard (-20) Cool Test.
A Question for the Quiet One (Active): By kneeling at a specific grave, pressing the trowel to the earth, and passing a Challenging (+0) Pray Test, the user may ask one question concerning the deceased’s death. The GM provides a short, cryptic answer in the form of a sudden insight, a whisper on the wind, or a vision in a puddle’s reflection. Fumbling this Test angers the slumbering spirit, either inflicting 1 Corruption point on the user from the spiritual backlash or causing a minor supernatural phenomenon, such as all the flowers in the graveyard instantly wilting.