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Item 662V of Sympathetic Affliction

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by

Dale
in

Lore: In the weeping marshes of Saṃsāra’s lower islands, the “Affliction” is seen not as a curse, but as a shared burden. The first 662-V was crafted by a plague-doctor who realized that by taking a fraction of a patient’s suffering into themselves, the patient might survive long enough for the body to heal. Over time, these items became common among the “Mercy-Keepers”—avatars who believe that strength is found in the endurance of pain, and that by wearing the signs of affliction, one can better understand the frailty of all living things.

Description: The item is a heavy, rusted iron bracer that appears to be fused with petrified, thorny vines. The metal is pitted and dark, smelling faintly of stagnant water and medicinal herbs. When worn, the thorns press gently against the skin—not enough to draw blood, but enough to remain a constant, dull reminder of presence. A single, cracked Tier 1 charcoal-grey crystal is embedded in the center, flickering with a sickly green light whenever the wearer is near a source of illness or decay.

Stats

  • Tier: 1
  • Rarity: Common
  • AC: +1 (Physical)
  • Resilience: 10
  • Item HP: 6
  • Slot: Wrist

Skills Gained (While Openly Worn)

  • Temporary Skill Point: +1 to Medicine when diagnosing infectious diseases or identifying toxins.

Passive Magic

  • The Burden-Bearer: The wearer gains a +2 bonus to Resilience saves against poisoned or diseased environments, as the bracer “filters” the surrounding decay.
  • Miasmic Sense: The crystal pulses when within 30 feet of a poisoned or diseased creature, acting as a sensory compass for affliction.
  • Shared Agony: While the wearer is at less than half their maximum HP, they gain a +1 bonus to all Intimidation checks, as their physical distress manifests as a terrifying, stoic aura.

Active Magic

  • Siphon Ailment (Silent): Once per Long Rest, the wearer can touch an ally suffering from the “Poisoned” or “Weakened” condition. The wearer takes 1d4 True Damage, and the ally gains a new saving throw with Advantage to end the condition immediately.
  • Leper’s Touch (Normal): As a Standard Action, the wearer can cause the thorns to weep a dark fluid. The next successful melee strike delivered by this arm deals an additional 1d4 Poison Damage. This ability can be used twice per Short Rest.

Tags: Wrist, Common, Tier 1, Poison, Decay, Sacrifice, Medicine, Resilience, Iron, Nature, Survival, Frail, Marred, Rust, Thorns, Penance, Blight, Stoic, Filter, Leech, Weeping, Anchor

Acquisition and Trade of the Sympathetic Affliction

In the damp, shadowed corners of Saṃsāra, Item 662-V is a tool of the desperate and the devout. Because its nature is tied to “Sacrifice,” it is rarely found in the glittering boutiques of the upper islands, appearing instead where the air is heavy with the scent of vinegar and old iron.

Methods of Acquisition

  • The Plague-Doctor’s Bequest: These bracers are often left behind in abandoned infirmaries within the “Forgotten Areas.” A Tier 1 avatar might find one still attached to a desiccated leather glove, left by a Mercy-Keeper who finally succumbed to the very miasma they were filtering.
  • Vows of the Marsh-Monks: On the island of Oozing Stone, initiates are gifted these bracers as part of their rite of passage. To obtain one, a traveler might be required to spend a night tending to the “Afflicted” in the mud-shrines, proving they possess the stoicism required to wear the iron.
  • Salvage from the Rust-Heaps: Because the item looks like a piece of discarded junk, it is often overlooked by common looters. An avatar with a keen eye for “Decay” might find it at the bottom of a scrap pile in an industrial slum, disguised by layers of genuine oxidation.
  • Battlefield Remnants: Following skirmishes in the marshlands, these bracers are often the only things that don’t rot. They are frequently pulled from the silt by scavengers who recognize the dull flicker of the charcoal-grey crystal.

Market Dynamics and Retail Locations

Trading in “Affliction” items is a somber business. Merchants who deal in these goods are usually grim individuals who value resilience over aesthetics.

  • Apothecary Back-Rooms:
    • These shops are filled with jars of leeches, dried roots, and pungent tinctures. The bracers are kept in heavy lead boxes to prevent the “Miasmic Sense” from upsetting the other customers.
    • Purchase Cost: 10 to 12 Gold. The price is relatively low for a Tier 1 item because most people find the “Shared Agony” passive disturbing.
    • Sale Value: 5 Gold. The apothecary will only buy it if the charcoal crystal is still flickering; a “dead” crystal means the filter is clogged with too much filtered rot.
  • Fetid Pawn Shops (Slum Districts):
    • Found in the low-tide zones of the industrial islands, these shops smell of salt and wet metal. The bracer is likely hanging on a rusty hook near the back.
    • Purchase Cost: 8 Gold. It is cheap here, but it likely comes with the “grime” of a previous owner, requiring a thorough cleaning before the thorns are safe to press against the skin.
    • Sale Value: 3 Gold. The pawnbroker sees only the weight of the iron and the rarity of the cracked crystal.
  • Black-Market Surgeon Stalls:
    • These are mobile carts found in the “Forgotten Areas,” catering to outlaws and those who cannot visit official healers.
    • Purchase Cost: 15 Gold. The price is marked up here because the “Siphon Ailment” ability is an essential life-saving tool in the lawless damp.
    • Sale Value: 7 Gold. These surgeons understand the item’s utility and are willing to pay a premium for a tool that helps them keep their “patients” alive longer.
  • Traveling Sin-Eater Caravans:
    • Nomadic groups that roam the 73 islands taking “burdens” for coin. They view these items as holy relics.
    • Purchase Cost: 11 Gold (or an equivalent trade in medicinal herbs).
    • Sale Value: 6 Gold. They rarely have much coin, but they may offer rare toxins or information about local blights in exchange for the bracer.

Roleplay Dynamics of the Sympathetic Affliction

Roleplaying with Item 662-V requires a commitment to the “Sacrificial Sentinel” archetype. In the world of Saṃsāra, where the body is often seen as a vessel for spiritual karma, the “Affliction” bracer turns the avatar’s physical suffering into a tangible resource for their allies and a deterrent for their foes.

Defensive Roleplay and Environmental Interaction

  • The Miasmic Filter: When navigating the toxic fog of a “Forgotten Area” or a stagnant industrial sewer, the avatar roleplays as a living canary in a coal mine. Using Miasmic Sense, the player describes the charcoal crystal pulsing with a nauseating, rhythmic green light. The avatar doesn’t just “see” the poison; they feel it as a localized chill on their skin. They roleplay leading the party by following the “scent” of decay, warning others to cover their mouths as the bracer begins to vibrate, straining to filter the rot from the air.
  • The Stoic Anchor: In defensive combat, the avatar leans into Shared Agony. When wounded, the player describes their character not as doubling over in pain, but as becoming unnervingly still. They roleplay a character whose thorns press deeper into their wrist as their health wanes, their eyes taking on a hollow, terrifying intensity. They use this “stoic aura” to roleplay holding a line, standing immovable against a charging enemy who finds the avatar’s lack of fear—and their sickly, green-lit silhouette—too disturbing to engage directly.
  • Filtering the Blight: During long-term survival in harsh marshes, the avatar roleplays a “Sieve of Suffering.” They describe the Burden-Bearer effect as the iron bracer turning a dark, weeping black as it pulls the toxins from the avatar’s system. The roleplay centers on the avatar’s increased physical resilience, allowing them to perform tasks—like wading through diseased waters to scout—that would leave others bedridden.

Offensive Roleplay and Strategic Sabotage

  • Siphon Ailment (The Martyr’s Strike): Roleplaying the activation of Siphon Ailment is a moment of intense emotional drama. The avatar touches a poisoned ally, and the player describes the dark veins of the “Affliction” visibly leaping from the ally’s skin into the bracer. The avatar roleplays the sharp gasp of True Damage, a momentary shudder of pain as they “eat” the ally’s sickness. This leads to a counter-offensive roleplay where the healed ally, reinvigorated by the avatar’s sacrifice, strikes back with renewed fury.
  • Leper’s Touch (The Corrosive Strike): When using Leper’s Touch, the avatar roleplays a “Walking Contagion.” The player describes the rusted iron thorns weeping a viscous, black fluid that smells of iron and old medicine. They roleplay a character who doesn’t just strike their enemy; they pollute them. Every punch or grab is roleplayed as an attempt to pass on the weight of the “Affliction,” with the dark fluid smoking against the enemy’s armor or skin, representing the 1d4 Poison Damage.
  • The Intimidating Rot: In social or stealth-offensive scenarios, the avatar uses their scarred appearance to sabotage an enemy’s morale. The player describes the avatar walking through a crowded guard post, the bracer’s Shared Agony aura making the air feel heavy and “unhealthy.” They roleplay a character who whispers threats while the green light of the crystal casts long, sickly shadows on the wall, convincing the guards that the avatar is a carrier of a terrible plague and that fighting them is a death sentence for all involved.

Perception of Activation:

  • User’s Perspective
    • Upon securing the bracer, the avatar feels a cold, sinking sensation in the marrow of their arm, as if the limb were being submerged in icy, stagnant water.
    • The thorns do not pierce, but they exert a “phantom pressure” that creates a constant, dull thrumming in the wearer’s pulse, synchronized with the flickering of the crystal.
    • Extra-Sensory: The avatar experiences “Miasmic Sight,” where the air becomes streaked with faint, sickly yellow-green vapors that highlight pockets of infection, rot, or airborne toxins.
    • When Siphon Ailment is used, the avatar feels a sharp, hot “pull” behind their navel, followed by a metallic taste in the mouth—the literal flavor of the ally’s sickness being metabolized by the bracer.
  • Observer’s Perspective
    • Observers see the rusted iron of the bracer darken to a bruised purple-black, while the petrified vines appear to “constrict” slightly around the wearer’s arm.
    • The charcoal-grey crystal flares with a bioluminescent, pulsating green light that casts long, jittery shadows resembling skeletal fingers.
    • A faint, chilling draft usually emanates from the wearer during activation, accompanied by the distinct, sharp smell of antiseptic vinegar and wet earth.
    • During Leper’s Touch, a thick, tar-like ichor visibly bubbles from the pits in the iron, dripping slowly and dissolving small patches of organic matter on the ground.
  • Positives
    • The Miasmic Sense provides a “Danger Radar” for invisible threats; the avatar knows a room is toxic before they even take a breath, allowing for life-saving warnings.
    • Shared Agony grants a “Grim Clarity.” The more physical trauma the avatar takes, the less they feel the “fluff” of social anxiety or fear, making them a terrifyingly focused presence in negotiations.
    • The Burden-Bearer effect acts as a “Secondary Immune System,” effectively allowing the wearer to act as a scout in blighted zones where others would collapse within minutes.
  • Negatives
    • Ghost Pain: Even after the bracer is removed, the avatar may suffer from “Phantom Thorns” for several hours, making delicate manual tasks slightly more difficult.
    • Social Ostracization: The sickly glow and smell of decay make it nearly impossible to roleplay a “Charming” or “Elegant” character; NPCs will instinctively recoil or assume the avatar is a plague-carrier.
    • Empathetic Overload: If the avatar is near a mass-casualty event or a dying creature, the Miasmic Sense can become overwhelming, causing a “Sensory Migraine” that hinders concentration.
    • Toxin Accumulation: Using Leper’s Touch too frequently can leave the wearer’s arm feeling numb and “dead” for a day, as the corrosive fluid leeches a small amount of vitality from the limb.

Schematic 662-V: Forging the Bracer of the Mercy-Keeper

  • Materials Needed
    • 1 Tier 1 Charcoal-Grey Shard: Must be a “Dull” or “Cracked” variety, preferably sourced from a site of a recent blight or a burnt-out apothecary.
    • 3 Pounds of Impure Iron: Sourced from old, discarded medical tools or rusted shackles to retain the resonance of confinement and healing.
    • 1 Handful of Petrified Thorny Vine: Collected from a marshland where the plants have “drunk” from stagnant, mineral-rich waters.
    • 1 Vial of Concentrated Bile or Slum-Water: Used as a tempering agent to infuse the metal with the “Affliction” frequency.
    • 1 Strip of Salt-Cured Leather: For the interior lining, ensuring the thorns press but do not easily migrate through the metal.
  • Tools Required
    • Pit-Forge: A low-temperature forge that uses peat or damp coal to create a “dirty,” smoky heat.
    • Corroded Anvil: A weathered striking surface that helps transfer pitted textures to the new iron.
    • Iron Tongs: Specifically coated in lead to prevent the smith from absorbing the miasma during the heating process.
    • Etching Needle (Rusted): Used to carve the “Siphon” sigils into the cooling metal.
  • Skill Requirements
    • Trained Skill: Heavy Metalworking (Level 2): Necessary for shaping the thick iron plates and fusing them with the petrified vines without shattering the brittle plant matter.
    • Trained Skill: Toxicological Alchemy (Level 1): Required to safely handle the tempering bile and bind the poison-weeping property to the thorns.
    • Trained Skill: Medicine (Level 1): Essential for understanding the anatomical “pressure points” where the thorns must sit to interact with the wearer’s lymphatic system.
  • Crafting Steps
    • Phase 1: The Dirty Melt: Heat the impure iron in the pit-forge until it reaches a dull, sluggish orange. Do not skim the dross; the impurities are necessary for the “Affliction” tag.
    • Phase 2: Vine Integration: While the iron is soft, lay the petrified thorny vines across the surface and hammer them into the metal. The iron must “swallow” the vines until only the thorns protrude.
    • Phase 3: Seating the Shard: Create a jagged cavity in the center of the bracer. Place the charcoal-grey shard inside and use a hammer to “pinch” the iron around it, intentionally cracking the crystal further to release its internal glow.
    • Phase 4: The Miasmic Temper: Quench the hot iron in the vial of bile or slum-water. This must be done in a ventilated area, as the resulting steam carries the “Leper’s Touch” toxins.
    • Phase 5: The Sigil of Sacrifice: While the metal is still warm and weeping, use the rusted needle to etch the Siphon sigils on the interior. These must be deep enough to catch the wearer’s sweat and skin oils.
    • Phase 6: The Blood-Bond: The crafter must wear the bracer for one hour while performing a task of physical labor. The item is only considered “Finished” once the first 1d4 of True Damage has been taken, awakening the crystal’s flickering green light.

Wrist-Jail That Eats Body-Weeping

In the turnings of the very-old, before the sky-ocean was choked by the black-clouds of the smoke-makers, the seventy-three swimming mountains were places of the many-mysteries. On the swimming mountain that floats lowest to the below-dark, there was a place called the Wet-Dirt-Flats. The people of the Wet-Dirt-Flats were the mud-steppers. They ate the fish-meats and sang the wet-songs to the water-spirits.

But then, from the deep-stink-holes, came the Rot-Wind.

The Rot-Wind was the invisible-bite. It did not have the many-teeth of the shadow-beasts, but it ate the mud-steppers from the inside-places. When the Rot-Wind touched a mud-stepper, their breathe-bags filled with the bad-water. Their skin-wrappings turned the color of the bruised-plum. Their face-holes leaked the yellow-slime, and their inside-fires became too hot, cooking their own thinking-jellies. The tents of the Wet-Dirt-Flats became filled with the loud-ouch noises. The mud-steppers were becoming the stiff-wood, one by one by one.

In this tribe lived a man whose name in the skin-scrolls is He-Who-Mixes-The-Bitter-Leaves. He was the health-bringer. He knew the secrets of the green-plants and the root-meats. When the Rot-Wind came, he boiled the bitter-water. He forced the sick-ones to drink the bitter-water. But the Rot-Wind laughed a silent-laugh. The bitter-water did not kill the invisible-bite. The great not-having of answers filled the chest-meat of He-Who-Mixes-The-Bitter-Leaves. He sat in the mud and wept the sad-water.

He spoke to the nothing-air: “The invisible-bite is too greedy. It eats the life-juice and does not care for the bitter-leaves. The sick-math is unbalanced. To make the breathe-bags empty of the bad-water, another meat-sack must agree to drink the bad-water. I must build a trap for the invisible-bite, a tiny-prison that drinks the ouch.”

He-Who-Mixes-The-Bitter-Leaves wrapped his walking-appendages in the thick-leathers and walked away from the crying-tents. He walked deep into the places where the water does not move and smells of the old-death.

First, he looked for the ancestor-metal. He found the iron-sticks left by the before-people. The iron-sticks had forgotten how to be strong and shiny; they were covered in the metal-that-bleeds-orange, which the moderns call the rust-rot. He knew this metal was good, for it already knew how to be sick.

Second, he looked for the angry-ropes. He waded into the dark-water and found the plant-teeth, the vines that grew in the poison-mud. These vines had turned to hard-stone from drinking the bad-water. They were covered in the sharp-bites. He knew these angry-ropes were good, for they knew how to survive the poison.

Third, he looked for the memory-of-fire. He found a place where the sky-spear, the lightning, had struck a great tree many turnings ago. Only a single piece of the dead-wood-rock remained. It was the color of the rain-cloud, the charcoal-stone. He knew this rock was good, for it was empty and waiting to be filled with a new fire.

He-Who-Mixes-The-Bitter-Leaves brought the sick-metal, the angry-ropes, and the dead-wood-rock back to his fire-that-melts. He did the heavy-hits with his hammer-stone. He bent the sick-metal into a circle, wide enough for the arm-branch. He took the angry-ropes and beat them into the sick-metal, making the metal swallow the vines until only the sharp-bites stuck out. In the middle of the wrist-jail, he crushed the dead-wood-rock into a tight-hole.

The wrist-jail was ugly. It smelled of the stagnant-end.

He-Who-Mixes-The-Bitter-Leaves took a deep breath of the good-air. He slid his left arm-branch into the wrist-jail. The sharp-bites of the angry-ropes pressed into his skin-wrapping. The red-river flowed, but only a little. A great coldness walked up his arm-bone, but he did not make the ouch-noise.

He walked to the tent of a dying-young-one. The young-one’s breathe-bags were rattling like the dry-seeds. Their skin-wrapping was the color of the dead-fish. The mother of the young-one was weeping the endless sad-water.

He-Who-Mixes-The-Bitter-Leaves knelt in the mud. He placed his left hand, the hand wearing the sick-metal wrist-jail, upon the chest-meat of the dying-young-one. He closed his seeing-orbs and commanded the metal with his spirit-voice: “Drink the rot-wind! Eat the body-weeping! I am the strong-meat, I will carry the heavy-ouch!”

Suddenly, the dead-wood-rock in the wrist-jail remembered the fire. But it was not the red-fire of the sun-Helios. It flared with the sick-green-light of the swamp-ghosts. The wrist-jail vibrated with a terrible hungry-noise.

The mother gasped the shock-breath. From the nose-holes and the mouth-hole of the dying-young-one, a black-mist was pulled. The invisible-bite was being dragged out by the angry-ropes. The black-mist flowed down the arm-branch of He-Who-Mixes-The-Bitter-Leaves and sank into the sick-metal.

The young-one opened their seeing-orbs. The dead-fish color left their skin-wrapping. They took a great, deep breath of the good-air. The rattle was gone. The stiff-wood had been cheated.

But He-Who-Mixes-The-Bitter-Leaves fell backward. A terrible weight crashed into his own meat-sack. The sick-green-light of the wrist-jail pulsed with the rhythm of his own blood-pump. The sick-metal began to weep the black-tears of tar. He felt the Rot-Wind inside his own arm-branch, trying to travel to his chest-meat. But the angry-ropes bit his skin, acting as a fence, keeping the Rot-Wind trapped in the wrist-jail and the arm-branch. He suffered the great-ouch, but his face-hole made the smile-shape.

He did not sleep. For seven turnings of the sun-Helios, He-Who-Mixes-The-Bitter-Leaves walked from tent to tent. He touched the spear-holders, the fish-catchers, the old-ones, and the young-ones. At every tent, the sick-green-light flared. At every tent, he drank the bad-water. At every tent, he stole the Rot-Wind.

By the end of the seventh turning, the village of the Wet-Dirt-Flats was singing the happy-songs again. Nobody was the stiff-wood.

But He-Who-Mixes-The-Bitter-Leaves was no longer a normal mud-stepper. His left arm-branch was black and swollen, dripping the poison-tar. The sick-green-light was so bright it cast the scary-shadows on the tent walls. He smelled of the stagnant-end and the bitter-sickness. When he walked near the healthy-meats, they felt the cold-shiver of the grave, for he was carrying the sickness of a hundred mud-steppers inside his wrist-jail.

He knew the sick-math. He was too full of the bad-water. If he stayed, the wrist-jail might break, and the Rot-Wind would explode back into the tribe.

In the middle of the dark-time, while the tribe was doing the sleep-breathing, He-Who-Mixes-The-Bitter-Leaves packed a small bag of the green-leaves. He wrapped his terrible, glowing arm-branch in the thick-leathers so it would not scare the night-beasts. He walked away from the Wet-Dirt-Flats, stepping into the fog-that-hides. He became the forever-wanderer, the Mercy-Thief who carries the pain of others so they may walk in the sun-Helios.

He left behind only the stone-scratches, the instructions on how to beat the sick-metal and the angry-ropes, so that if the Rot-Wind ever blew again, another mud-stepper could choose to wear the heavy-ouch.

Moral of the Story: The greatest strong-meat is not the warrior who hits the enemy-meat the hardest, but the friend-meat who is willing to put their own arm-branch into the sharp-bites to drink the invisible-bite of their brothers.

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Unique Name: The Plague-Eater’s Manacle

  • Classification: Enchanted Artifact / Medical Curio
  • Sanity Loss: 1/1d4 Sanity points to witness the “Siphon” activation.
  • Stats: Medicine: Provides a +20% bonus to Medicine or Science (Biology) checks to identify poisons, diseases, or chemical agents.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • The Burden-Bearer: The wearer gains a Bonus Die on CON rolls made to resist the effects of environmental toxins, gases, or infectious outbreaks.
    • Siphon Ailment: The wearer may spend 1d6 Hit Points to grant an afflicted ally an immediate second CON roll to overcome a poison or illness. This second roll is made with a Bonus Die.
    • Miasmic Sense: The crystal pulses when within 10 yards of a creature carrying a contagion or supernatural rot.
  • Syntax: +20% Medicine/Biology; Bonus Die on CON vs. Toxins; Spend 1d6 HP to grant Ally Bonus Die CON roll.

Blades in the Dark

Unique Name: The Leper’s Vow

  • Item Type: Arcane Implement (1 Load – Worn)
  • Tier: I
  • Game Mechanics:
    • The Burden-Bearer: You gain Potency when resisting consequences related to sickness, poison, or “The Weeping Death.”
    • Leper’s Touch: When you Skirmish or Scuffle, you may take 2 Stress to coat your strike in corrosive ichor. If the attack hits, the target suffers an additional level of Harm (“Corroded/Poisoned”).
    • Shared Agony: While you have at least 2 segments of Harm marked, you gain +1 Effect to Command or Intimidate actions as your stoic endurance unnerves your opposition.
  • Syntax: Potency vs. Sickness/Poison; 2 Stress for +1 Harm Level; +1 Effect on Command/Intimidate while Wounded.

Dungeons & Dragons (2024 Edition)

Unique Name: Bracer of Sympathetic Affliction

  • Item Type: Wondrous Item, Common
  • Weight: 2 lbs.
  • Attunement: Required
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Burden-Bearer: You have Advantage on Saving Throws against being Poisoned or contracting diseases.
    • Siphon Ailment (1 Charge): As an Action, you touch a creature within 5 feet that is Poisoned. You take 1d4 Force Damage (this damage cannot be reduced), and the target is no longer Poisoned. The bracer regains this charge at dawn.
    • Leper’s Touch: When you hit with an Unarmed Strike or a Melee Weapon attack using the arm wearing the bracer, you can deal an extra 1d4 Poison Damage. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, regaining all uses after a Long Rest.
  • Syntax: Advantage vs. Poison/Disease; 1/Day Action: Take 1d4 Damage to Cure Poison; PB/Day: +1d4 Poison Damage on hit.

Knave (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: The Rusted Thorn-Grip

  • Item Slots: 1 Slot
  • Durability: 6 (Resilience)
  • Value: 400gp
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Miasmic Sense: The wearer always knows if food, water, or air within 30 feet is toxic or spoiled.
    • Siphon Ailment: The wearer may choose to automatically succeed an ally’s failed CON save against poison. If they do, the wearer takes 1d6 Damage and the ally is cured.
    • Shared Agony: If the wearer is at 5 HP or less, they gain a +2 bonus to all rolls made to frighten or coerce others.
  • Syntax: Detect Toxins (30ft); 1d6 Damage to Auto-Succeed Ally CON save; +2 to Intimidation at 5 HP or less.

Fate (Condensed/Core)

Unique Name: The Iron Vow of the Burden-Bearer

  • Item Type: Extra (Cost: 1 Refresh)
  • Aspect: Strength Born of Suffering
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Miasmic Sense: You can use Provoke or Notice to detect the presence of toxins, diseases, or supernatural decay in a scene.
    • Shared Agony: Once per session, when you take a Consequence, you may immediately gain a free invocation on an Intimidation-based advantage against an opponent who can see you.
    • Siphon Ailment: Once per scene, you may clear a physical Mild Consequence from an ally by taking a 1-point Stress hit and transferring a similar, temporary Aspect (e.g., “Sickly Pallor”) to yourself for the remainder of the scene.
  • Syntax: Notice/Provoke for Toxin Detection; 1/Session: Consequence grants Free Intimidation Invoke; 1/Scene: Clear Ally Mild Consequence for 1 Stress.

Numenera & Cypher System

Unique Name: Crustacean Miasma Bracer

  • Level: 1d6 (Internal Level 3 recommended)
  • Form: A rusted iron cuff with weeping, organic thorns and a flickering charcoal-grey nodule.
  • Effect:
    • Passive Asset: You have an Asset on all tasks involving Identifying or Resisting diseases and poisons.
    • Siphon Ailment (Active): You spend 2 points from your Might Pool. You touch a creature to remove one negative condition caused by poison or disease. You immediately suffer 2 points of ambient damage that ignores Armor.
    • Leper’s Touch (Active): You spend 1 point from your Speed Pool. Your next melee attack is hindered by one step, but on a hit, it deals 2 additional points of Poison damage and moves the target one step down the damage track if they fail a Might defense roll.
  • Syntax: Asset vs. Disease/Poison; 2 Might to Cure Condition (Suffer 2 Damage); 1 Speed for +2 Poison Damage/Track Move.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Unique Name: Mercy-Keeper’s Throned Gauntlet

  • Item Rank: 1
  • Usage: Worn (Wrist); Bulk: L
  • Traits: Invested, Magical, Necromancy, Poison
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Miasmic Sense: You gain a +1 status bonus to Perception checks to Sense Motive against creatures who are ill or poisoned, and to detect environmental hazards involving rot.
    • Burden-Bearer: You gain a +1 status bonus to Fortitude saves against poisons and diseases.
    • Activate [A]: Interact; Frequency: Once per day; Effect: You touch a creature afflicted by a poison. You take 1d6 persistent bleed damage, and the target immediately attempts a new saving throw against the poison with a +2 circumstance bonus.
    • Activate [AA]: Envision; Frequency: Once per 10 minutes; Effect: The bracer weeps black ichor. Your next successful Athletics (Grapple) check or Unarmed Strike deals an additional 1d4 Poison damage.
  • Syntax: +1 Perception (Rot/Sickness); +1 Fortitude vs. Poison; 1/Day: Suffer 1d6 Bleed to grant Ally +2 Save; 1/10 Mins: +1d4 Poison Damage.

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

Unique Name: The Scourge of Sympathy

  • Item Type: Minor Artifact
  • Game Mechanics:
    • The Burden-Bearer: The wearer gains a +2 bonus to Healing rolls made to treat poison or disease, and a +2 bonus to Environmental Resistance against the same.
    • Shared Agony: When the wearer has at least one Wound, they gain the Menacing Edge. If they already have it, their Intimidation rolls gain an additional +1.
    • Siphon Ailment (Active): As an action, the wearer may touch a Poisoned or Debilitated ally and make a Spirit roll. On a success, the condition is transferred to the wearer. The wearer may then attempt to recover from it on their next turn as normal.
    • Leper’s Touch: The wearer may spend a Bennie to cause their next successful melee attack to cause the target to check for Vigor or become Distracted by searing pain.
  • Syntax: +2 Healing/Resistance (Poison/Disease); Wound grants Menacing Edge; Spirit roll to Transfer Condition; Bennie for Distracted hit.

Shadowrun (6th Edition)

Unique Name: Miasmic Filter Bracer

  • Item Type: Rating 1 Health Focus (Talisman)
  • Object Resistance: 9
  • Astral Signature: Bruised Purple with sickly green veins.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Burden-Bearer: The wearer gains a +1 dice pool bonus to Toxin Resistance tests.
    • Shared Agony: If the wearer has at least 3 boxes of Physical damage marked, they gain a +1 dice pool bonus to all Intimidation tests.
    • Siphon Ailment: As a Complex Action, the wearer may touch an ally to transfer one level of a “Poisoned” or “Ill” status to themselves. The wearer immediately takes 2 boxes of Unresisted Stun Damage.
  • Syntax: Rating 1 Focus; +1 Toxin Resistance; +1 Intimidation (if 3+ Physical Damage); Transfer Status (Complex Action, 2 Stun).

Starfinder (2nd Edition / Playtest)

Unique Name: Bracer of the Toxic Martyr

  • Item Level: 1; Price: 440 Credits
  • Bulk: L; Slot: Wrist
  • Traits: Magical, Necromancy, Poison
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Miasmic Sense: You gain a +1 item bonus to Perception checks to detect poisons or creatures with the “Plague” or “Ooze” traits within 30 feet.
    • Leper’s Touch [A]: Frequency: Once per Short Rest. Your next successful melee attack deals an additional 1d4 Poison Damage.
    • Siphon Ailment [A]: You touch an ally suffering from the Sickened or Poisoned condition. You take 1d4 True Damage, and the ally may immediately attempt a new saving throw with a +2 circumstance bonus.
  • Syntax: +1 Perception (Toxic/Ooze); 1/SR: +1d4 Poison Damage (Action); Action: Take 1d4 Damage to grant Ally +2 Save.

Traveller (MgT2)

Unique Name: TL-12 Bio-Hazard Sink

  • Item Type: Medical/Protection
  • Weight: 0.5 kg
  • Cost: Cr 1,500
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Filter Matrix: Provides DM+2 to all END checks made to resist biological pathogens or inhaled toxins.
    • Bio-Feedback Flare: If the wearer has suffered at least 2 points of damage to any physical characteristic, they receive DM+1 to Persuade (Intimidate) checks.
    • Transference: Once per encounter, the wearer may spend a Significant Action to administer an “Inverse Dose.” The wearer takes 1 point of STR damage to grant an ally DM+2 on their next END check against a current ailment.
  • Syntax: DM+2 END vs. Toxins; DM+1 Intimidate (if damaged); 1/Encounter: 1 STR Damage for Ally DM+2 END.

Warhammer (4th Edition)

Unique Name: The Penitent’s Iron Manacle

  • Item Type: Trinket
  • Availability: Rare
  • Encumbrance: 0
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Stoic Endurance: The wearer gains a +10 bonus to Heal Tests to diagnose or treat infections and a +10 bonus to Toughness Tests against Poison.
    • Shared Agony: While the wearer has the Bleeding or Injured condition, they gain the Menacing Talent. If they already have it, they gain +10 to Intimidate Tests.
    • Siphon Ailment (Active): Once per session, the wearer may touch a diseased or poisoned ally. The wearer takes 1 Wound (ignoring Armor/Toughness), and the ally may immediately remove one Poisoned or Infected Condition.
  • Syntax: +10 Heal/Toughness (Poison); Gain Menacing Talent when injured; 1/Session: Take 1 Wound to Cure Ally.