Vambrace of Ethereal Histories 817

Lore The legendary historian Elysia Loreweave, creator of the original Suckertales Wristband, spent her life deciphering the tangible remnants of Saṃsāra’s past. In her later years, she grew frustrated by the silence of history, yearning to witness the events she could only read about. Her research led her to the obscure arts of spectral artisans, who could bind ethereal mists to physical forms. Acquiring a damaged Mistcaller Lantern from a traveling ghost merchant, she painstakingly disassembled it, learning its secrets. She merged its silver-bound spectral conduit with her own design, creating a vambrace that could bridge the gap not just between present and past, but between the material and the spectral, allowing the wearer to see the very echoes of history as ghostly apparitions.

Description This is a masterfully crafted vambrace of hardened, aged leather that covers the forearm from wrist to elbow. Intricate, swirling filigree of spectral silver is inlaid across its surface, tracing the outlines of five historical symbols etched into the leather. In place of the original sucker motifs are five circular, polished crystals that hum with a faint inner light. Mounted on the back of the vambrace is a larger, multi-faceted crystal lens, housed within a silver gimbal. The entire item is cool to the touch and emits a faint scent of old parchment and damp earth.

Stats

• Rarity: Rare
• Level Requirement: Tier 2
• Ancient History Bonus: +2
• Cost: 1,450 gold pieces

Tags Ancient History, Lore, Storyteller, Historian, Artifacts, Inscriptions, Ethereal Detection, Spectral Illumination, Darkness Dispelling, Exploration Aid, Haunted Realms, Vision Enhancement, Silver Bound, Mystical Artifact, Shadow Counter, Hidden Passage Detection, Spectral History, Echoes of the Past, Vambrace, Worn Item, Psychometry, Spirit Sight, Relic Hunter, Warding, Anti-Illusion, Crystal Focus, Enchanted Leather

Passive Magic

• Echoes of Wisdom: The vambrace constantly feeds the wearer snippets of historical context about their surroundings, granting a continuous +2 bonus to their understanding of Ancient History. The five smaller crystals glow with a soft amber light when near an object of significant historical importance.
• Perpetual Gloomlight: The large crystal lens on the vambrace emits a constant 10-foot radius of dim, pale blue light. This spectral light is cool to the touch and requires no fuel, illuminating the immediate area around the wearer.

Active Magic

• Illuminate the Veil: As an action, the wearer can command the vambrace to project its full power. The large crystal lens flares to life, casting a 20-foot radius of bright, spectral light. This light instantly dispels any magical darkness or mist within the area and forces any invisible or ethereal creatures and objects to become fully visible.
• Glimpse Historical Echoes: By touching an object or standing in a specific location and concentrating for one minute, the wearer can activate the vambrace to reveal the past. A silent, ghostly, and translucent reenactment of a single significant historical event connected to that item or place will play out, visible only to the wearer.

Specific Slot

• Forearms: This item occupies the forearm slot and counts as a single worn item.

Item Durability and Repair

To disable the magic of the Vambrace of Ethereal Histories 817 without destroying the item itself, an opponent would need to overcome its magical integrity, which is measured in Magic Hit Points.

Disabling the Magic The vambrace has 30 Magic Hit Points. This value is separate from the physical durability of the leather and silver vambrace. Attacks or effects must specifically target the item’s magical essence. The item’s magic is resistant to conventional physical damage (slashing, piercing, bludgeoning) but is vulnerable to effects designed to unravel or shatter enchantments.

When the vambrace’s Magic Hit Points are reduced to zero, its powers become dormant. The spectral silver filigree darkens to a dull gray, and the crystal lenses become inert and cloudy. The passive and active magic abilities cease to function entirely, rendering it a non-magical, albeit masterfully crafted, piece of armor.

Repairing the Magic Restoring the vambrace’s shattered magic is a complex process that requires specialized knowledge and resources. There are two primary methods to repair it:

1. Expert Repair: The vambrace can be taken to a Master Enchanter or a rare Spectral Artisan. These individuals possess the unique skills to realign the dormant magical circuits and coax the spectral essence back into the item’s crystals. This process is costly, typically requiring 400 to 600 gold pieces and several days of delicate work in a properly supplied workshop.
2. Ritual of Restoration: A character with proficiency in the Enchanting skill can attempt to restore the vambrace themselves. This requires performing a lengthy ritual (at least 6 hours) in a location with a strong connection to the spectral plane, such as ancient ruins or a haunted sanctum. The ritual also consumes a rare material component, such as a vial of Condensed Ethereal Mist or a Wraithfire Ember, which must be used to reignite the dormant power within the vambrace’s core crystal.

In the high-magic, steampunk-infused world of Saṃsāra, the Vambrace of Ethereal Histories 817 is a rare and coveted item. Its unique fusion of historical insight and spectral detection makes it a specialized tool sought after by elite scholars, adventurers, and occultists. Consequently, it can only be bought and sold in specific, well-established, or clandestine locations that deal in such powerful artifacts.

The Erudite Antiquarian

• Description: These are not mere bookshops but grand repositories of Saṃsāra’s nine-thousand-year history. Picture a multi-story establishment in a skyscraper metropolis, its interior a labyrinth of towering shelves filled with scrolls, relics, and enchanted artifacts. Steam-powered lifts ascend to private viewing galleries, and magical circuits create shimmering protective fields around the most valuable items. The air smells of aged parchment, polishing oils, and the faint ozone of active wards. The proprietor is typically an ancient, well-respected historian or a gestalt of scholar-spirits who values knowledge above all else.
• Where Found: Exclusively in Designated Safe Areas (where AC is tripled), such as the academic wards of megacities or within the fortified walls of a great library-city. These locations are hubs of knowledge, accessible by airship and frequented by the world’s intellectual elite.
• How Bought and Sold:
  • Buying: The Vambrace would not be on open display. A potential buyer must first prove their scholarly intent and worthiness, often through a rigorous interview or by presenting a letter of introduction from a known academic institution. The proprietor will use their own powerful Mind’s Eye to scrutinize the buyer’s intentions. Once approved, the item is presented in a private, warded chamber. The transaction is recorded on a magically sealed scroll.
  • Selling: An adventurer wishing to sell the Vambrace would be met with intense scrutiny. The antiquarian would use active “identify” abilities, possibly supplemented by focusing artifacts, to verify every detail of the item’s magical signature and historical resonance. They would offer a price based not just on its power but on its historical lineage. Haggling is considered uncouth; the price offered is based on pure academic and magical value.
• Cost:
  • Buying: 1,700 – 1,800 gold pieces. The premium reflects the shop’s impeccable reputation, guaranteed authenticity, and the secure, legitimate nature of the transaction.
  • Selling: 1,200 – 1,300 gold pieces. The antiquarian offers a fair price, knowing they can find a suitable, high-paying client who will cherish the item’s true purpose.

The Spectralist’s Sanctum

• Description: Tucked away in the quieter, mist-shrouded districts of a major city or perhaps in a secluded island monastery, these shops deal exclusively in items related to the ethereal and the spectral. The entrance is often unassuming, marked only by a single, ever-burning silver lantern. Inside, the air is perpetually cool, filled with the scent of rare incense and the faint, whispering echoes of captured spirits. The inventory consists of spirit wards, ectoplasmic reagents, and artifacts that interact with the unseen world. The shopkeeper is often a mystic, a medium, or someone with a deep, personal connection to the ethereal plane.
• Where Found: Typically in Somewhat Safe Areas (where AC is doubled). While legitimate, their business is often viewed with suspicion by the general populace, so they maintain a low profile.
• How Bought and Sold:
  • Buying: The Vambrace is considered a masterwork tool for any spectral investigator. The shopkeeper would be less concerned with academic history and more interested in the buyer’s ability to handle the “voices” of the past the item might reveal. They might require the buyer to undergo a small trial, such as identifying a contained spirit, before selling. Payment is discreet.
  • Selling: A seller would find a knowledgeable appraiser here. The shopkeeper would hold the Vambrace, closing their eyes to feel the “Ethereal Echoes” it contains. They are experts at detecting forgeries or curses tied to spectral items. They would offer a price based on its raw power to interact with the spirit world.
• Cost:
  • Buying: 1,600 – 1,750 gold pieces. The price is high due to the item’s extreme utility in their specific field.
  • Selling: 1,100 – 1,250 gold pieces. They know its value to their clientele and are willing to pay well for a genuine artifact that can command the spectral.

The Grand Adventurer’s Emporium

• Description: Located near the bustling airship docks or griffin roosts of a major trade hub, this is a high-end outfitter for seasoned adventurers. The building is a marvel of steam-powered efficiency and magical convenience, with animated armor displaying gear and pneumatic tubes sending items from vast, magically secured vaults below. They trade in Tier 2 and higher items, catering to heroes and explorers who frequent Saṃsāra’s most dangerous and forgotten corners.
• Where Found: In Somewhat Safe Areas to Normal Areas of major trade cities where adventuring guilds hold significant influence.
• How Bought and Sold:
  • Buying: The Vambrace would be marketed as the ultimate relic-hunting tool. It would be displayed within a magically reinforced glass case, its description etched on a silver plaque. The clientele are trusted regulars, so the buying process is straightforward, though the cost is non-negotiable. They may offer financing through an adventurer’s guild.
  • Selling: The emporium’s appraisers are pragmatic and experienced. They will quickly use their Mind’s Eye to verify the item’s stats and check for any damage or magical depletion. Their offer is based purely on market demand and the item’s utility in the field. They pay fairly but without sentiment, seeing it as another piece of high-quality gear to be resold.
• Cost:
  • Buying: 1,650 gold pieces. The price is standardized, reflecting its value to their high-tier clientele.
  • Selling: 1,000 – 1,100 gold pieces. Their business model relies on a significant profit margin to cover the high overhead of their prime location and extensive security.

The Midnight Market Auction

• Description: This is not a formal shop but a clandestine gathering that occurs in the Unsafe Areas of a city (where AC is halved) or on a remote, uncharted island. Information about the auction is spread through coded messages and trusted contacts. The auction itself takes place in a lavish, hidden location—a repurposed warehouse, an opulent airship, or a magically hollowed-out cavern—heavily guarded by mercenaries and magical constructs. Here, rare and powerful items of questionable origin are sold to the highest bidder.
• Where Found: In Unsafe Areas, far from the eyes of city guards or ruling councils.
• How Bought and Sold:
  • Buying: A potential buyer needs an invitation, usually secured by paying a hefty fee or having a powerful underworld contact. The Vambrace would be a featured item, presented by a charismatic auctioneer who highlights its power and rarity. Bidding is fierce and conducted in platinum and rhodium. The winner takes the item immediately, with no guarantees or refunds.
  • Selling: To get an item into the auction, a seller must go through a broker who takes a substantial cut. The broker verifies the item’s authenticity to ensure the auction’s reputation is maintained. The seller receives their payment after the auction, minus the broker’s commission and house fees. It’s a high-risk, high-reward method.
• Cost:
  • Buying: The final price is determined by the bidders and can fluctuate wildly, from a starting bid of 1,200 gold pieces to a final price of 2,000 gold pieces or more if two wealthy collectors are competing for it.
  • Selling: The seller might receive anywhere from 900 to 1,500 gold pieces, depending on the final bid and the broker’s commission (which can be as high as 30%).

The Vambrace of Ethereal Histories 817 is a versatile artifact whose utility shifts dramatically based on the dangers of the surrounding environment. A character wearing it would adapt their roleplaying from a confident scholar in safe zones to a desperate oracle in the deadliest realms.

Designated Safe Areas (AC Tripled)

Environment: A high-society gala in a skyscraper, a university’s restricted library, or a temple’s inner sanctum. Physical threats are minimal, but intrigue and magical duels are possible.

• Defensive Roleplay: During a tense negotiation with a rival guild, the wearer stands by their patron’s side. One of the rival’s aides, a known illusionist, subtly gestures. The wearer feels the Vambrace’s crystals warm and sees them pulse with amber light (Echoes of Wisdom), indicating a powerful historical artifact is nearby—the “invisible” pen the rival is using to sign the treaty. The wearer, suspecting a magically trapped contract, can roleplay a sudden historical observation: “Pardon me, that is a fascinating quill. Reminds me of the ‘Pact-Breaker Pens’ from the Age of Treachery. A clever replica, I’m sure.” This subtle warning, prompted by the Vambrace, allows them to defensively expose the plot without overt aggression. The high AC of the area means the threat is one of trickery, not immediate physical harm.
• Offensive Roleplay: A rival scholar challenges the wearer to a sanctioned duel of wits and magic. The rival wields a family heirloom, a staff of command. During the duel, the wearer uses Glimpse Historical Echoes on the staff. They roleplay this by appearing to be in deep concentration, their eyes unfocused as ghostly images only they can see swirl around the staff. The Vambrace reveals a vision of the staff’s creator being defeated by their apprentice, who used a specific arcane phrase to temporarily sever the master’s connection to it. At a critical moment, the wearer can speak this long-forgotten phrase aloud, causing the rival’s staff to sputter and fail, opening them up for a decisive, non-lethal spell. The offense is surgical and intellectual, fitting the secure environment.

Somewhat Safe Areas (AC Doubled)

Environment: A bustling city market at night, the misty docks of a trade port, or the outer districts of a walled town. Ambushes from thieves or spectral entities are a known risk.

• Defensive Roleplay: While navigating a foggy alleyway, the party feels an unnatural chill. The wearer’s Perpetual Gloomlight cuts a small, eerie blue circle through the thick fog. A character might roleplay clutching their arm, saying, “Something’s wrong. The Vambrace feels like ice.” As spectral pickpockets begin to phase through the walls, the wearer shouts a warning and activates Illuminate the Veil. The alley floods with bright, spectral light, forcing the ghosts into full view and making them vulnerable. The defense is about denying the enemy their environmental advantage and turning a deadly ambush into a manageable fight.
• Offensive Roleplay: The party needs to get past a magically sealed and historically significant city gate after curfew. The guards are vigilant automatons from a bygone era. Instead of fighting them, the wearer places their Vambrace-clad hand on the gate, activating Glimpse Historical Echoes. They see a vision of the gate’s dedication ceremony, where the chief architect spoke its “true name” as part of the consecration. The wearer can then roleplay a powerful chant, weaving the gate’s true name into a ritual spell. This causes the gate’s own magical wards to overload, creating a magical feedback loop that temporarily paralyzes the automaton guards and forces the lock open.

Normal Areas (AC Standard)

Environment: Ancient ruins in a jungle, windswept plains, or the deck of a ship sailing uncharted waters. Danger is expected and frequent.

• Defensive Roleplay: The party delves into a ruin, and the Vambrace’s crystals begin to glow brightly. As the point person steps forward, they trigger a pressure plate. The corridor is plunged into magical darkness, and the hiss of invisible stalkers fills the air. The wearer, already anticipating danger due to the Vambrace’s warning, can roleplay a calm, practiced response. They slam their gauntleted fist into their other palm and activate Illuminate the Veil. The Vambrace becomes a beacon, simultaneously negating the magical darkness and revealing the shimmering forms of the stalkers as they lunge. The character becomes a lighthouse in the storm, a point of stability for the party to rally around.
• Offensive Roleplay: The party confronts a massive, ancient beast that has made its lair in the ruin’s throne room. The creature’s hide is nigh-impenetrable. The wearer focuses on the throne itself, activating Glimpse Historical Echoes. They see a spectral reenactment of the last person to fight the beast: an ancient hero who discovered that the creature was vulnerable to sonic attacks after it was exposed to the throne room’s resonant crystals. The wearer can shout, “Its hide is too thick! But the crystals—aim for the crystals! Shatter them near its head!” They turn their historical knowledge into a direct, actionable battlefield strategy, creating a weakness where none existed.

Unsafe Areas (AC Halved)

Environment: The depths of a monster-infested cave system, a contested borderland, or a magically corrupted forest. Survival is a constant struggle.

• Defensive Roleplay: In the heart of a corrupted forest, the party is hunted by a pack of Blink Dogs that teleport in and out of existence. The halved AC means every hit is devastating. The wearer roleplays being the party’s terrified but essential spotter. They don’t keep Illuminate the Veil on constantly, as it would attract more creatures. Instead, they use it in short, sharp bursts. “There! To the left!” a flash of light reveals a dog mid-teleport. “Behind you!” another flash reveals a pair flanking the healer. The defense isn’t about creating a safe zone, but about providing just enough information for the party to dodge, parry, and survive the next few seconds.
• Offensive Roleplay: To defeat a powerful Hag in her swamp lair, the party must bypass her magical wards, which are fueled by the misery of tormented spirits bound to the area. A direct assault is suicide. The wearer uses Glimpse Historical Echoes on the Hag’s central cauldron. The Vambrace shows them the moment the Hag first bound the spirits, revealing the name of the most powerful spirit among them—a former chieftain. The wearer can then roleplay an appeal, using Illuminate the Veil to make the chieftain visible and calling out its true name, reminding it of its former glory. This incites a spiritual rebellion, causing the Hag’s own wards to turn against her, leaving her exposed and vulnerable to a final, decisive strike.

Deathly Areas (AC Eliminated)

Environment: The heart of a cursed lich’s tomb, a plane of pure negative energy, or an active demonic rift. Every hostile action is a guaranteed hit.

• Defensive Roleplay: In a chamber where every attack is lethal, the party is hunted by an unkillable, ethereal horror that drifts through solid stone. Fighting is not an option; survival is. The wearer, roleplaying through sheer terror, presses the Vambrace against the central sarcophagus, desperately activating Glimpse Historical Echoes. They see a vision of the tomb’s original priests performing the binding ritual for the horror, and learn its one limitation: it cannot cross a line drawn with the dust of a crushed soul gem. This knowledge is the only defense. The party can then sacrifice a gem to create a small, temporary circle of safety, turning certain death into a desperate puzzle of survival.
• Offensive Roleplay: The party confronts the Lich that rules the tomb. It is incorporeal and regenerates almost instantly. The wearer knows that the only way to win is a single, overwhelming alpha strike. They ignore the Lich itself and focus their final use of Glimpse Historical Echoes on the pulsating phylactery on a nearby altar. The Vambrace shows them a traumatic vision: the moment the Lich trapped its own soul, and they learn the soul’s original, mortal name. The wearer can then roleplay the ultimate act of defiance, shouting the Lich’s mortal name—a name of love and loss from a forgotten life. This name, when used in a spell, creates a moment of psychic feedback that forces the Lich into a tangible form for a few critical seconds, allowing the entire party to unleash everything they have in a single, coordinated, all-or-nothing attack.

Perception of Activation:

Sight

• User’s Perspective: The instant of activation is a blinding flare of pale blue light from the large crystal lens, causing a momentary afterimage on your vision. The world within a 20-foot radius is then bathed in a stark, spectral light that seems to emanate from the air itself. Shadows deepen unnaturally at the edge of the light. Ethereal and invisible beings shimmer violently into existence, their forms translucent and writhing as the light pins them to the material plane. The five smaller crystals on the vambrace pulse with a warm, amber light, and the silver filigree seems to trace paths of living energy.
  • Positives: Provides immediate and absolute clarity in even the most obscured environments. Reveals all hidden threats, turning an ambush into a known confrontation.
  • Negatives: The initial flash can be disorienting. The intense glow makes you an unmistakable beacon, drawing the attention of every hostile creature in the vicinity.
• Observer’s Perspective: A sudden, brilliant flash of blue light erupts from the user’s forearm, illuminating the area more effectively than a torch. The light is eerie and cold, casting sharp, dark shadows. They can clearly see previously invisible or ghostly figures now made solid and visible by the light. The user themselves appears as a silhouette at the center of this magical radiance, their eyes possibly reflecting the spectral blue glow.
  • Positives: The area is instantly illuminated, and hidden dangers are revealed to all allies, allowing for a coordinated response.
  • Negatives: The sudden flash can temporarily blind observers. The light immediately gives away the party’s position to any creature with line of sight.

Sound

• User’s Perspective: Activation is accompanied by a sharp, resonant chime that seems to ring inside your skull, followed by a rushing wave of sound. This coalesces into a chorus of faint, overlapping whispers—the voices of history. The whispers are clearer than usual, often speaking in fragmented phrases related to the location or the revealed ethereal beings, providing cryptic context or hints of their nature.
  • Positives: The chime provides clear audible feedback. The whispers can offer invaluable, intuitive clues about an enemy’s weakness or a location’s secrets.
  • Negatives: The sheer volume of whispers can be mentally overwhelming and distracting, making it difficult to hear allies or approaching physical threats.
• Observer’s Perspective: They hear a clear, metallic chime that cuts through the ambient noise. Following this, a low, constant hum emanates from the user’s vambrace. If standing very close, they might hear an unsettling, unintelligible murmur, like hundreds of people whispering from a great distance.
  • Positives: The sound is a distinct signal to allies that the item’s powerful ability has been activated.
  • Negatives: The sound is unnatural and eerie, potentially unnerving allies and alerting enemies who may recognize the sound of spectral magic.

Touch

• User’s Perspective: A shocking, biting cold instantly radiates from the vambrace, spreading up your arm and into your core. It feels like plunging your limb into an icy river. The aged leather tightens, and the spectral silver filigree vibrates with a high-frequency hum that you can feel in your bones.
  • Positives: The intense physical sensation provides undeniable confirmation of activation and can sharpen the senses with a jolt of adrenaline.
  • Negatives: The intense cold can be painful, causing your arm to feel numb and clumsy, potentially imposing penalties on tasks requiring fine dexterity.
• Observer’s Perspective: The air temperature around the user drops noticeably. If an observer touches the user, they will feel the unnatural chill. They may also see frost briefly form on the vambrace’s silver components before sublimating into mist.
  • Positives: The dramatic temperature drop is a clear visual and tactile cue of the magic’s power.
  • Negatives: The sudden cold can be startling and uncomfortable for nearby allies.

Smell

• User’s Perspective: The familiar scent of old parchment and damp earth is momentarily overwhelmed by the sharp, sterile smell of ozone, like the air after a lightning strike. The two scents then mingle, creating a unique aroma of ancient power being violently discharged.
  • Positives: The smell is distinct and serves as another powerful sensory confirmation of the activation.
  • Negatives: The ozone smell can be acrid and overpowering, causing the nose and throat to sting.
• Observer’s Perspective: A strong smell of ozone suddenly fills the air around the user, a scent widely associated with powerful arcane discharges. It is sharp and unmistakable.
  • Positives: The scent immediately alerts anyone with magical knowledge that a significant spell or effect has been unleashed.
  • Negatives: The smell is unnatural and can put mundane creatures or animals on edge.

Taste

• User’s Perspective: A strong, unpleasant metallic taste, like holding silver coins under your tongue, floods your mouth. It is accompanied by the tingling sensation of static electricity.
  • Positives: Serves as a final, personal confirmation that you are channeling the item’s full power.
  • Negatives: The taste is jarring and unpleasant, which can be a minor but persistent distraction.
• Observer’s Perspective: No direct perception.

Extra-Sensory Perceptions

• Historical Resonance (User’s Perspective): You experience a dizzying, compressed flood of historical impressions from the illuminated area. It’s not a clear vision, but a chaotic rush of emotions, sounds, and momentary images connected to the revealed spirits or the location’s past. You might feel a spirit’s ancient sorrow, see a flash of the battle where it died, or hear the echo of a long-forgotten name.
  • Positives: Can provide a powerful, intuitive understanding of the situation, revealing an enemy’s motivation or a location’s tragic history in an instant.
  • Negatives: This psychic backlash is mentally and emotionally exhausting. It can cause disorientation or leave the user shaken, burdened by the weight of the past.
• Ethereal Pressure (User’s Perspective): You feel a tangible sense of pressure against your mind and spirit, as if you are physically pushing through the veil that separates the material and ethereal planes. You can distinctly feel the “presence” and location of every revealed entity as a point of cold pressure in your mind’s eye.
  • Positives: This awareness is more reliable than sight alone, allowing you to track ethereal foes even if they move to the edge of the light or try to obscure themselves.
  • Negatives: The mental pressure can cause severe headaches or a feeling of spiritual vertigo, making it difficult to concentrate on complex tasks.
• Planar Thinning (Observer’s Perspective): An observer with any magical or psychic sensitivity will feel the fabric of reality become thin and taut in the area around the user. The barrier between the material and ethereal planes feels fragile and unstable.
  • Positives: Alerts magically-aware allies that planar boundaries are being manipulated, allowing them to prepare synergistic spells or abilities.
  • Negatives: This instability can interfere with other forms of delicate magic, such as divination or illusion spells, and may be deeply unsettling to psychically sensitive individuals.

Recipe: Vambrace of Ethereal Histories

This advanced crafting process details the intricate ritual required to merge the historical attunement of a Suckertales Wristband with the spectral power of a Mistcaller Lantern, resulting in a rare and powerful Tier 2 artifact.

Items Merged

• 1x Suckertales Wristband
• 1x Mistcaller Lantern

Additional Materials Needed

• Hardened Wyrm-Hide (2 sq. ft.): Leather from a mature wyrm, specially treated to serve as durable, yet flexible, light armor.
• Spool of Spectral Silver Wire: A fine-gauge wire drawn from the same silver alloy as the lantern, required for creating new, more complex magical circuits.
• Flawless Focusing Crystal (1): A large, perfectly cut crystal, often sourced from geologically ancient caves, capable of amplifying and projecting spectral energy.
• Matched Amber-Gems (5): A set of smaller, specially prepared amber stones, known for their ability to resonate with historical echoes.
• Vial of Condensed Ethereal Mist: A potent alchemical reagent created by distilling the raw essence from the Mistcaller Lantern, used as a magical binding agent.
• Crushed Soul-Gem Dust (1 pouch): A fine, shimmering powder used to polish and sensitize magical crystals to a crafter’s enchantments.

Tools Required

• Enchanter’s Lectern: A stabilized workbench inlaid with runes and channels, designed to hold an item steady and focus magical energy during complex enchantment rituals.
• Ethereal Furnace: A magical forge capable of safely melting down spectral metals without damaging their inherent enchantments.
• Tier 2 Magical Circuit Inscriber: An advanced enchanting tool used to etch intricate magical pathways and inlay conductive silver wire.
• Arcane Chisel: A set of delicate chisels used to carve the new binding runes that will govern the merged item’s functions.
• Leatherworker’s Armoring Kit: A set of specialized tools for cutting, shaping, and stitching hardened leather into a functional piece of armor.

Skill Requirements

• Enchanting (Tier 2): Essential for handling the delicate fusion of two disparate magical signatures into a single, stable matrix.
• Leatherworking (Tier 2): Required to construct the vambrace frame and integrate the original wristband’s leather with the new wyrm-hide.
• Arcana (Tier 2): Necessary to understand the theoretical principles of merging historical and spectral magic without causing a catastrophic failure.
• Runesmithing (Tier 2): Needed to design and inscribe the complex new runes that allow the item’s passive and active abilities to function in harmony.

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Crafting Steps

1. Ritual Deconstruction: The process begins by carefully dismantling the two source items. The Mistcaller Lantern’s casing must be opened to extract the Wraithfire Flame (which is consumed) and distill its Ethereal Mist Essence into the Condensed Ethereal Mist. The Suckertales Wristband must be unstitched, preserving the five historical symbols carved into its aged leather.
2. Constructing the Vambrace Frame: Using the Leatherworker’s Armoring Kit, the Hardened Wyrm-Hide is cut and shaped into the form of a vambrace. The preserved leather sections bearing the historical symbols are skillfully integrated into the new frame, creating a foundation that respects both sources.
3. Forging the Spectral Conduits: The spectral silver from the lantern’s frame is melted down in the Ethereal Furnace. This molten silver, along with the Spectral Silver Wire, is used with the Magical Circuit Inscriber to create an intricate filigree across the vambrace. This new network of circuits connects the five historical symbols to a new central housing mount.
4. Setting the Crystals: The Flawless Focusing Crystal is carefully set into the main housing on the back of the vambrace. The five Matched Amber-Gems are then set within the filigree, directly over the historical symbols from the original wristband, and polished with Crushed Soul-Gem Dust to attune them.
5. Inscribing the Binding Runes: The vambrace is secured to the Enchanter’s Lectern. Using the Arcane Chisel, the crafter must meticulously carve a new set of binding runes along the silver circuits. These runes are the critical component that translates the passive historical awareness of the wristband into the active spectral sight of the lantern.
6. The Ritual of Merging: This is the most dangerous step. The crafter must anoint the runes and crystals with the Condensed Ethereal Mist. Then, they must begin a lengthy ritual chant, channeling their own magical energy through the lectern. The goal is to coax the “memory” of the Suckertales Wristband to flow through the new amber crystals while simultaneously forcing the “vision” of the Mistcaller Lantern to focus through the new central lens. The vambrace will grow intensely cold and hum violently as the two enchantments resist each other before finally harmonizing into a single, stable entity.
7. Sealing and Finishing: Once the humming stabilizes and the crystals emit a steady glow (amber for the small gems, pale blue for the main lens), the enchantment is sealed. A final polish is applied to the vambrace to protect the runes and prepare the item for its first attunement.

Arm that Sees Yesterday

It is told, from a telling that is old, that in the age of mists, there was a woman. Her name, it is not one name, for the translation is poor. Some scrolls name her Elysia the Lore-Spinner. Others, the Weaver of What-Was. She was a woman of knowing, and her mind was a great library where the ghosts of deeds were kept on shelves. She walked the seventy-three islands, and the lands between, and she read the histories from the bones of the world.

But this woman, her sorrow was great. For her knowing was great, but her seeing was small. She would touch a king’s crown, and know the years of his rule. But she could not see the worry that creased his brow. She would stand on a battlefield, and know the number of the fallen. But she could not hear the cries that stained the silence. The past was a book to her, a book of words with no pictures, and she wept for the pictures she could not see.

The Weaver of What-Was said, “I will find a second sight. A way to look upon the face of yesterday.”

Her search took her to places of sorrow, to the ruins where the grief-mist is thick. She went to a fallen fortress, a place the maps call the Citadel of Whispers, where it is said the sky still weeps for the battle that broke it. There, in the deepest stone heart of that place, she found not a smith, but a light. It was a lantern, made of silver like a spirit’s tear, but it was broken. Its light was a sad, blue heart that beat weak in the dark.

And with the light was a guardian. A shape of a knight, thin like smoke, and bound to the lantern. It was a spirit, and its pain was a cold wind. It spoke no words, but with her Mind’s Eye, Elysia saw its memory. The knight saw only one thing, again and again. A brother’s sword. A falling banner. The taste of betrayal. The knight was a prisoner of its own yesterday.

Elysia, the knower of things, saw the truth. The lantern was a spectral anchor, its magic a chain that held the knight to its moment of death. She tried to mend the lantern, to soothe its light, but the sorrow was too deep in the silver. Its purpose was only to see ghosts, and so the ghost could never leave.

So she thought, a new thought. “This light sees only sorrow. My wrist-band knows only facts. The two are halves of a whole thing. A fact without feeling is a lie. A feeling without fact is madness.”

She brought forth her own magic thing, the band of leather with the signs of knowing. She began the work, the merging. It was not a crafting of metal and hide, but a weaving of magics. She built a new body for the two spirits of the items, a frame of hard skin from a wyrm. She un-spooled the silver of the lantern and, like a spider, wove new paths upon the leather. These were the veins for a new kind of sight. She set new eyes of amber and crystal into the arm.

For many days she worked. The spirit knight watched, its silence a heavy blanket. When the Arm that Sees Yesterday was built, she did not put it on. She went to the knight of smoke and held it out. An offering.

The translation is most poor here. It says she spoke to the knight, saying, “Your light sees only your end. My leather knows only the reason. Let them be one. Let your pain have a story, and let my story have a heart.”

When she put on the Vambrace, the light did not just shine out. It shone in. And Elysia screamed. For now she saw. She saw the Citadel of Whispers not as ruins, but as it was. She saw the knight, not as a spirit, but as a captain, proud and strong. She saw his brother, his face twisted by jealousy. She felt the cold shock of the betrayal, the warmth of blood, the fading of the light. She saw it all, felt it all, as the knight had for a thousand years.

She fell to her knees, weeping, not with her sorrow, but with the knight’s. And through her tears, she spoke the knight’s true name, and the name of his brother, and she told the story she now saw. She was the first to know his whole truth.

The telling of the truth was a key. The spirit knight looked at her, and for the first time in an age, its eyes were not filled with the memory of death, but with peace. The shape of smoke nodded, once, and then it became a cloud of sparks and was gone, leaving only the Vambrace, now quiet on her arm.

Elysia, the Woman Who Now Saw, left that place with a power far greater than she had sought, and a burden heavier than any stone. She could now look upon any place, any thing, and see the ghosts of its past, feel the echoes of its joy and its pain. The pictures in the book of history were now hers to see, but she learned that every page was stained with tears.

Moral of the Story: To truly know the past, one must be willing to bear the weight of its heart. Knowledge without feeling is a blind eye, but to see all is to carry all sorrows.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Vambrace of Spectral Histories Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

This masterfully crafted vambrace is made of hardened, dark leather reinforced with swirling filigree of an unknown silver-like metal. Five amber gems are set along its length, and a larger, multi-faceted crystal lens is mounted on the back of the forearm. The vambrace feels cool to the touch and constantly sheds dim blue light in a 10-foot radius.

You have advantage on Intelligence (History) checks made while wearing this vambrace.

The vambrace has 3 charges and regains 1d3 expended charges daily at dawn. You can expend its charges to activate the following properties:

• Illuminate the Veil (1 Charge). As an action, you can raise the vambrace and cause the central crystal to flare with brilliant spectral light. The radius of dim light it sheds increases to 20 feet of bright light for 1 hour. Any magical darkness within the bright light is dispelled. Additionally, any invisible or ethereal creatures and objects within the bright light are revealed as if under the effects of the faerie fire spell.
• Glimpse Historical Echoes (2 Charges). As an action, you can touch an object or stand in a location and focus on it for 1 minute. At the end of this time, you witness a silent, ghostly, and translucent reenactment of a single significant historical event connected to that item or place. This vision is personal to you and lasts for up to 1 minute.

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Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Loreweaver’s Psychometric Vambrace Artifact

An exquisitely crafted leather and silver vambrace from an unknown culture, warm to the touch despite its metallic components. A large, unsettling crystal lens is mounted on the forearm, surrounded by five amber stones that seem to watch the holder. The item allows the wearer to perceive what is not meant to be seen, both across time and through the veil that separates worlds, though such insight always comes at a price.

• Historical Insight: The wearer gains a bonus of +20% to their History and Occult skill rolls.
• Glimpse the Past: By focusing on an object or location for 1 minute, the wearer may attempt to witness a key event from its past. This requires spending 4 Magic Points and making a POW x 5 roll. On a success, the Keeper describes a significant, ghostly vision. Witnessing this unnatural phenomenon costs 0/1d4 Sanity points. If the vision is of a particularly traumatic or Mythos-related event, the SAN loss may be greater.
• Spectral Illumination: As an action, the wearer can will the central crystal to life, spending 2 Magic Points. The crystal projects a 20-foot radius of eerie blue light that lasts for 1 hour. This light negates any unnatural or magical darkness. Any invisible entities (such as Star Vampires) or beings on other planes are made visible within the light, forcing a Sanity roll appropriate to the creature (e.g., 1/1d8 for a Star Vampire).

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Blades in the Dark

Vambrace of the Echoing Veil Arcane Implement, Tier III

A relic from before the cataclysm, this armored vambrace is fashioned from hardened leviathan leather and inlaid with intricate silver tracery. Its crystals pulse with a quiet, cold light from the ghost field. It is said a historian bound the spirit of a library into the device to help her see the city’s hidden past.

• Special Qualities:
  • Echoes of the Past: You gain +1d to Study or Survey action rolls when attempting to discern the history of an item, spirit, or location.
  • Veil-Piercing Light: The vambrace constantly sheds a dim, spectral light. As an action, you can cause it to flare, creating a zone of bright light that reveals all spirits and counters supernatural darkness in the area for the scene. This grants potency to any action taken to interact with, harm, or exorcise the revealed spirits.
• Special Action: Glimpse the Echo: When you Study a person, place, or thing, you may take 2 Stress to ask the GM a single, specific question about its past. You receive the answer in a fleeting, ghostly vision that may be disturbing or incomplete.

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Knave (2nd Edition)

Historian’s Ghost-Vambrace Item Slot: 2 (one for each arm), Armor: 1

A heavy leather and silver vambrace with a large crystal on the back of the hand. It is unnervingly cold and sheds a constant, dim blue light in a 10-foot radius.

• By concentrating on a single object or location for a full turn (10 minutes), you are granted a ghostly, silent vision of a significant event from its past. After the vision, you must make a Spirit save. On a failure, a harmless but distracting phantom from the vision follows you for the rest of the day, occasionally whispering unintelligible phrases.
• Once per day, you can command the vambrace to shine brightly for one hour. This creates a 20-foot radius of bright, spectral light. Any magical darkness in the light is canceled, and all invisible or ghostly creatures are made clearly visible.

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Fate Core System

The Loreweaver’s Echo Lens

This is an elegant vambrace of dark leather and polished silver, with crystals that pulse with a soft, internal light. It acts as a conduit to the echoes of the past, allowing the wearer to see and feel what has been left behind.

• Aspect: Conduit to the Echoing Past
  • Invoke: You can invoke this aspect to gain insight into a location’s history, understand the context of an ancient artifact, or add weight to a social action by referencing a long-forgotten truth.
  • Compel: The vambrace can flood your senses with distracting or tragic visions from the past at an inopportune moment, or its spectral light might attract unwanted attention from spirits or those who hunt them.
• Stunts:
  • Echoes of Wisdom: Because I wear the Loreweaver’s Echo Lens, I get a +2 to Lore rolls to Create an Advantage whenever I am investigating the history of a person, place, or thing.
  • Illuminate the Veil: Because I wear the Loreweaver’s Echo Lens, I can see in supernatural darkness and perceive invisible spirits. When I Create an Advantage by using its spectral light to reveal hidden threats, I gain a second free invocation on that advantage if I succeed.
  • Glimpse the Ghost of a Moment: Once per session, I can spend a Fate Point to ask the GM a specific question about an object or location’s past. The answer comes in a ghostly, personal vision, and I can declare a story detail based on what I saw.

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Numenera & Cypher System

The Psychohistorical Vambrace

• Level: 5 (Artifact)
• Form: A sleek vambrace of hardened, dark leather and synth-steel. It has five amber nodules that glow warmly and a large, multi-faceted crystal projector on the forearm.
• Effect: This device acts as a passive and active sensor array, attuned to extradimensional and temporal echoes left on physical matter.
  • Passive Effect: The vambrace constantly sheds dim light in an immediate area.
  • Active Effect 1 (Illuminate Veil): The wearer can activate the projector (an action). It then sheds bright light in a short-range area for one hour. The light is composed of particles that interact with transdimensional energy, negating effects like darkness fields and causing invisible or phased creatures and objects to become visible.
  • Active Effect 2 (Psychometric Glimpse): The wearer can touch an object or structure and activate the vambrace’s psychometric sensors (an action). The wearer experiences a brief, disorienting vision of a single significant event from the object’s past. In addition to the narrative information gained, the wearer has an asset on their next task directly related to this information.
• Depletion: 1 in 1d10 (Each time an active effect is used, roll a d10. On a 1, the artifact is depleted and ceases to function.)

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Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Lorekeeper’s Spectral Vambrace Item 6+ Uncommon, Divination, Evocation, Magical, Worn Price 230 gp Usage worn vambrace; Bulk L

This vambrace is crafted from hardened dark leather and inlaid with intricate spectral silver filigree. Five amber gems are set along its length, and a larger crystal is mounted on the forearm. The vambrace grants you a +1 item bonus to Occultism and Society checks to Recall Knowledge. It also constantly sheds dim light in a 10-foot radius.

Activate [A] Interact; Frequency once per hour; Effect You cause the vambrace to project bright light in a 20-foot radius (and dim light for the next 20 feet) for 10 minutes. This light counteracts magical darkness of 3rd level or lower. All invisible and ethereal creatures within the bright light become visible for as long as they remain in the area.

Activate [Three Actions] (concentrate, divination); Frequency once per day; Effect You touch an object or location and focus for 1 minute. You receive a brief, silent vision of a significant event from its past, gaining the effects of an Object Reading spell. The GM may grant you a +2 circumstance bonus on your next check that is directly related to the information you learned from the vision.

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Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

The Historian’s Ghostlight Arcane Item

This is a finely crafted leather and silver vambrace with a large crystal set upon the back of the hand. It is cool to the touch and seems to whisper with the weight of ages.

• Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background
• Power Points: 5 (Recharges daily)
• Powers:
  • Passive Abilities: The wearer gains a +2 bonus on Academics and Research rolls related to historical events or ancient artifacts. The vambrace constantly sheds dim light in a 4″ radius.
  • Illuminate the Veil: As an action, the wearer can spend 2 Power Points to cause the vambrace to project bright light in a Medium Burst Template for 5 rounds. This light negates any magical darkness and reveals all invisible or ethereal foes within the template, removing the benefits of the Invisible ability.
  • Glimpse History: Once per session, the wearer can focus on an object or location for one minute to receive a vision of its past. This automatically activates the Object Reading power with a Raise.

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Shadowrun (6th Edition)

Elysian Psychometric Bracer Enchanting Focus, Force 4

This device appears as a sleek, armored bracer of hardened synth-leather and polished silver, favored by corporate historians and artifact recovery specialists. Its crystal components glow with a soft, ethereal light when active. While it appears high-tech, it is a potent magical focus that attunes the wearer to the echoes of the past and the astral plane.

• Availability: 12R
• Cost: 80,000¥
• Focus Type: Enchanting
• Mechanics:
  • Academic Insight: When making an Academics or Magical Theory Test, the wearer may add the Focus Force (4) to their dice pool.
  • Psychometry: The bracer acts as a Psychometry Focus. When using the Psychometry metamagic to read the history of an object or location, the wearer adds the Focus Force to their Assensing + Magic test.
  • Astral Sight: As a Complex Action, the wearer can activate the bracer’s main crystal. For the next hour, they gain the effects of the Astral Perception spell, allowing them to see into the Astral Plane. This does not require the user to be a spellcaster, but the visions can be jarring for the unenlightened.
  • Veil Disruption: The bracer functions as a Force 4 Counterspelling Focus specifically for Illusion spells, including magical darkness and invisibility.

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Starfinder

Lore-Keeper’s Xeno-historical Vambrace Level 6 Price 4,100 credits Slot forearm Bulk 1

This hybrid item is a fusion of advanced technology and magic. The vambrace is constructed from hardened polymers and intricately engraved silver alloys. Five amber gemstones glow with a soft light, while a larger crystal lens is mounted on the forearm.

You gain a +2 insight bonus to Culture and Mysticism checks made to identify the origins or purpose of ancient artifacts or understand historical events.

As a standard action, you can activate the vambrace’s primary function for 10 minutes. The crystal lens projects a 20-foot radius of bright light. This light negates and dispels any magical darkness effect of 2nd level or lower. Any creature within the light that is invisible or on the Ethereal Plane is revealed. This ability can be used three times per day.

Once per day, by concentrating on an object or location for 1 minute, you can trigger a brief, silent, holographic vision of a significant event from its past.

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Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

The Curator’s Stasis-Echo Vambrace Ancient Artifact (TL-18)

This artifact from the mysterious Ancients appears as a seamless vambrace of dark, matte-finished metal and leather-like material. It is lightweight and comfortably attunes to the wearer’s arm. It is believed to be a xeno-archaeological or investigative tool.

• Mass: 0.5 kg
• Cost: Priceless (estimated value Cr 2,000,000+)
• Power: Internal power source; recharges over 24 hours.
• Mechanics:
  • Psychometric Playback: By placing the vambrace against an object or structure and concentrating for 10 minutes, the device activates its primary function. It generates a silent, high-fidelity holographic recording of a single, significant event from the target’s history. This provides the Referee with a narrative tool and grants the user DM+2 on any subsequent Investigate checks related to the vision’s content.
  • Phase-Field Projector: As a standard action, the wearer can activate the vambrace’s projector. It emits a field of specialized particles in a 10-meter radius that sheds dim light. This field interacts with advanced stealth technology, causing any active cloaking fields of TL-15 or lower to fail. It also causes any out-of-phase entities or objects within the radius to fluoresce, making them visible and targetable. The projector can be active for up to 1 hour per day.

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Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

Vambrace of the Mourning Cairns Magical Item

Crafted from hardened leather and gromril, this grim-looking vambrace is cold to the touch and feels heavy with the weight of ages. Five polished pieces of amber are set along its length, and a large, smokey quartz crystal is mounted on the back. It is said to have been crafted by a Grey Wizard to better understand the nature of the unquiet dead.

• Enc: 1
• Availability: Very Rare
• Properties:
  • Lore of the Ages: The wearer feels the weight of history and gains +1 SL on all successful Lore (History) Tests.
  • Glimpse the Sorrowful Past: Once per day, the wearer may touch an object or stand in a location and attempt to witness its past. This requires a successful Average (+20) Channeling (Shyish) Test. On a success, the wearer receives a brief, silent, and often disturbing vision of a significant event. Witnessing this psychic trauma requires a Challenging (+0) Cool Test to avoid gaining 1 Corruption point.
  • Light of the Barrow: As an action, the wearer may make an Average (+20) Channeling (Azyr) Test to activate the vambrace’s main crystal. If successful, it sheds a 10-yard radius of eerie blue light for a number of rounds equal to the SL. This light counts as Magical and dispels any mundane or magical darkness. Furthermore, all Ethereal creatures within the light lose the Ethereal trait and may be harmed as normal. A Fumble on the Channeling test may result in a Minor Miscast.