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Finger 1109 of the Protean Coil

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by

Dale
in

Lore: In the shifting biomes of Saṃsāra, where the environment can transition from a humid steam-jungle to a crystalline frost-barren within a single Spire-tier, survival is a matter of molecular speed. The 1109 Model was engineered by the “Variable-Scribes,” a group of nomadic survivors who refused to let the planet’s volatility dictate their mortality. The ring is forged from “Living-Mercury,” a liquid-metal alloy that remains held in a permanent, shifting tension by a micro-gravitic core.

This midi-ring sits above the middle joint, serving as a biological bridge between the environment and the wearer’s cellular response. It does not provide a fixed defense; instead, it “listens” to the external pressures—thermal, chemical, or kinetic—and subtly alters the wearer’s dermal density and respiratory efficiency to match. To wear the 1109 is to embrace a state of permanent flux, ensuring that no matter where the Avatar stands, they are never truly a stranger to the local atmosphere.

Item Specifications

  • Slot: Finger (Midi/Knuckle Position – Left or Right)
  • Tier 1 Stats:
    • Reactive Resilience: Provides a +1 bonus to Saving Throws against extreme temperatures and environmental toxins.
    • Cellular Shift: The ring slightly alters the wearer’s skin texture to better grip local surfaces (rock, ice, or wet metal).
  • Skills Gained (When Openly Worn):
    • Environmental Intuition: You gain Proficiency in Survival. If you already have it, you gain a +2 bonus to Survival checks made to find safe passage or shelter in hostile biomes.
    • Physiological Flexibility: You gain a +2 bonus to Acrobatics checks when squeezing through tight spaces or navigating unstable terrain.
  • Color: Iridescent Chrome. The surface constantly ripples with oil-slick rainbows, shifting its base hue to vaguely mimic the color of the wearer’s immediate surroundings.

Magic Properties

Passive Magics

  • Atmospheric Harmonizer: The wielder can breathe comfortably in thin altitudes or heavy, smoke-filled air without coughing or suffering lung-burn.
  • Thermal Buffer: The ring maintains a 5-degree (Celsius) bubble of temperature regulation around the finger, which slowly spreads to the rest of the limb, preventing frostbite or heat-blisters in mild-to-moderate extremes.

Active Magics

  • Mimic Texture (1 Charge/Long Rest): As a bonus action, the wearer touches a material (stone, wood, metal). For 10 minutes, their skin takes on the superficial properties of that material, granting Advantage on Stealth checks to blend into that specific background.
  • Adaptive Reflex (Concentration): The wearer can “tune” the ring to a specific incoming threat type (Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing). For 1 minute, the wearer gains a +1 bonus to AC against the chosen damage type as their skin temporarily hardens upon impact.

Additional Information

  • Tags: Jewelry, Midi-Ring, Adapt, Tier-1, Common, Survival, Living-Mercury, Evolution, Protean, Flux-Bond, Mercury-Vein, Morph-Glint, Osmosis-Link, Shard-Shift, Tide-Tether, Vapor-Lock, Vernacular-Cell, Versa-Strand, Void-Adapt, Yield-Steel
  • Historical Note: These were originally called “Memory Rings” not because they held thoughts, but because the liquid metal “remembers” the last three environments it encountered, allowing for faster adaptation upon re-entry.
  • Sizing: Because it is made of Living-Mercury, the ring has no fixed size; it flows onto the finger and constricts to a perfect, comfortable fit automatically.
  • Appearance: A fluid, seamless band that looks like a drop of mercury caught in a loop. It feels slightly cool and possesses a faint, rhythmic pulse like a resting heart.

Acquisition: The Fluidity of Chance

  • In the world of Saṃsāra, obtaining a Finger 1109 of the Protean Coil is often a necessity for those traveling between the extreme verticality of the Spires. It is the signature tool of the “Tier-Hoppers”—scouts and merchants who must survive drastic atmospheric shifts in a single day.
  • For a Level 1 Avatar, the most common acquisition is through Environmental Salvage. These rings are often recovered from the “Exo-Skeletons” of long-dead explorers found in the “Buffer Zones” between biomes. Because the Living-Mercury preserves the ring, it is often the only thing that survives the decay of its previous owner.
  • It can also be earned as a Surveyor’s Bounty. Guilds that map the shifting landscapes of Saṃsāra often issue these rings to new recruits as standard-issue survival gear, provided the recruit can survive a “Stress Test” where they must remain composed while the ring rapidly cycles through temperature extremes to bond with their pulse.

The Marketplace: Where Change is Currency

The Finger 1109 is a piece of high-utility tech-arcana, typically found in markets that cater to travelers, scouts, and those who live on the “Edge-Walks” of civilization.

1. The Outfitter’s Hub (The Scout’s Surplus)

  • These shops are located near the Great Elevators or at the edge of the Wild-Tiers. They are chaotic, cramped spaces filled with climbing gear, oxygen canisters, and weather-hardened clothing.
  • The environment is loud and utilitarian. The shopkeeper is usually a veteran traveler with scarred skin who knows exactly which biome the buyer is heading toward. The rings are kept in pressurized glass jars to prevent them from mimicking the shop’s texture.
  • The sales process is pragmatic. The merchant will submerge the ring in a bowl of acid or ice water and ask the buyer to retrieve it. If the buyer’s finger doesn’t blister or freeze, the “Cellular Shift” is working, and the sale proceeds.

2. The Shifter’s Kiosk (The Liquid-Metal Exchange)

  • Found in the nomadic camps that follow the “Protean-Flows” across Saṃsāra, these kiosks are often portable structures made of mirrors and shifting fabrics.
  • The environment is quiet and eerie, with the smell of ozone and cold metal. The merchants are “Variable-Scribes” themselves, individuals whose skin often carries the iridescent sheen of long-term mercury exposure.
  • Buying here is an art of negotiation. The merchant doesn’t just want coin; they want “Environmental Data.” A buyer can lower the price significantly by providing a “Sample” of a rare biome—a piece of frosted glass from a frozen spire or a vial of steam-jungle sap—which the ring can “consume” to update its memory.

Cost and Trade Value

  • A brand-new Protean Coil from an Outfitter’s Hub costs between 75 and 95 silver pieces. This includes a “Prime-Memory” injection for one specific biome of the buyer’s choice.
  • A “Wild-Found” or “Dull-Chrome” ring found in a nomadic camp costs between 40 and 55 silver pieces. These rings may be “Stubborn,” occasionally shifting to a biome the wearer isn’t currently in until it recalibrates.
  • The sale price to a merchant is typically 30 silver pieces. However, if the ring has “Memorized” a particularly rare or dangerous location, the price can double, as merchants sell that data to high-tier explorers.
  • Within the deep-wilds, the ring is often traded for 10 Liters of Purified Water or a Magnetic Navigation Map.

The Haggle Roleplay Note

  • When bargaining for the Finger 1109, a merchant may watch the ring’s color. Because it mimics the environment, a player who is nervous or lying might cause the ring to “shiver” or turn a muddy, agitated grey.
  • If the player succeeds on a DC 13 Survival or Athletics check, they can demonstrate a “High-Flex” maneuver, showing they can move in ways that take full advantage of the ring’s grip. Impressing the merchant with physical adaptability can lead to a “Traveler’s Discount” of 15 silver pieces.

The Rhythm of Flux: Adaptation in Motion

  • Crystalline Frost-Barrens (Defense): As the temperature drops to lethal levels, the Finger 1109 initiates a “Thermal Buffer.” Roleplay involves the Avatar describing their breath hitching as the air turns to needles, only for the ring to ripple with a deep, cobalt blue light. The wielder describes a sensation of “warm oil” spreading under their skin, insulating their joints so they remain fluid while enemies become brittle and slow. The defense is one of environmental immunity, allowing the Avatar to stand perfectly still and unfrozen in a landscape that claims the life of anything rigid.
  • Crystalline Frost-Barrens (Offense): The Avatar utilizes “Mimic Texture” to turn the terrain into a weapon. By touching a patch of jagged permafrost, the wielder’s hand takes on a “Diamond-Hard” crystalline edge. Roleplay involves a strike that doesn’t just punch, but shears through leather and hide like a glass-cutter. The offense is a surgical application of the environment’s own lethality, using the cold to turn the Avatar’s grip into a sub-zero vice that shatters the armor of those less adapted to the frost.
  • The Humid Steam-Jungles (Defense): In the choking mists of the lower tiers, the “Atmospheric Harmonizer” filters out fungal spores and scalding vapors. Roleplay focuses on the Avatar moving through a green-gold fog that would melt the lungs of a normal human. The wielder describes the ring vibrating against the knuckle, acting as a “Molecular Sieve” that turns poison into breathable oxygen. The defense is a hidden advantage; the Avatar can retreat into toxic clouds where no one can follow, using the jungle’s own breath as a protective veil.
  • The Humid Steam-Jungles (Offense): The wielder uses “Cellular Shift” to exploit the verticality of the jungle. Roleplay involves the Avatar’s palms and fingertips sprouting microscopic, hook-like ridges that mimic the sticky pads of a jungle-glider. They don’t just climb; they “flow” up the slick, moss-covered bark to strike from above. The offense is a total mastery of position, dropping onto targets with a “Grip-Lock” that is impossible to shake off in the damp, slippery heat.
  • The High-Altitude Spire-Walks (Defense): On the narrow, wind-lashed ribs of the upper Spires, the ring provides “Adaptive Reflex.” Roleplay involves the Avatar feeling the “Kinetic Pressure” of a sudden gale or a falling stone. The ring shifts to an iron-grey hue, momentarily increasing the wielder’s “Center-of-Gravity” and dermal density. The defense is a refusal to be moved; the Avatar becomes a heavy, unyielding part of the Spire itself, letting the wind and the strikes of enemies wash over them like water against a cliff.
  • The High-Altitude Spire-Walks (Offense): The Avatar uses “Physiological Flexibility” to navigate the “Impossible Paths.” Roleplay involves the wielder “compressing” their skeletal response to slide through a narrow ventilation slit or a gap in a structural rib that should be too small for a human. The offense is the “Infiltrator’s Strike”—appearing in a fortified position from an angle that logic dictates is impassable, turning the Spire’s own architectural complexity into a series of open doors for the variable wielder.
  • Industrial Smelt-Zones and Furnace-Tiers (Defense): Against the radiant heat of the great forges, the “Protean Coil” mimics the heat-sink properties of the surrounding metal. Roleplay involves the Avatar leaning against a blistering bulkhead, the ring turning a dull, heat-treated orange. Instead of burning, the wielder describes the sensation of “Redirected Energy,” the ring siphoning the thermal shock away from the vitals. The defense is the ability to operate in “Kill-Zones” that force opponents to keep their distance or suffer heatstroke.
  • Industrial Smelt-Zones and Furnace-Tiers (Offense): The Avatar tunes the ring to “Slashing” via “Adaptive Reflex” to counter the jagged scrap and industrial blades found in these sectors. Roleplay involves the wielder parrying a rusted pipe or a serrated blade with their bare forearm, the skin “Crystallizing” into a metallic sheen at the point of impact. The offense is the “Unarmed Counter,” the wielder baiting an opponent into a strike only to break the opponent’s weapon against a suddenly “Living-Mercury” hide.

Perception of Activation: Finger 1109 of the Protean Coil

  • Tactile Perception: Molecular Fluidity
    • Description: As the ring engages, the skin beneath the band feels as though it is turning into a cool, viscous liquid. This “flowing” sensation spreads outward to the fingertips and down to the wrist, mimicking the movement of mercury under glass.
    • Positives: The wearer experiences a total lack of friction at the joints, allowing for impossibly smooth movements and the ability to “slip” out of grapples or tight bindings with ease.
    • Negatives: While active, the wearer may lose the ability to feel fine textures, as their fingertips become too “adaptive” to maintain the rigid sensitivity required for tasks like lockpicking or reading braille.
  • Olfactory Perception: Ozone and Solvent
    • Description: A sharp, clean scent of ozone and industrial solvent fills the wearer’s nostrils, signaling the “Atmospheric Harmonizer” has engaged to scrub the local air.
    • Positives: This serves as a biological early-warning system; the stronger the scent, the more toxic or thin the surrounding air is, allowing the wearer to gauge environmental danger without equipment.
    • Negatives: The scent is pervasive and can mask other important smells, such as the scent of a nearby predator, leaking fuel, or woodsmoke.
  • Visual Perception: The Spectrum-Shimmer
    • Description: The edges of the wearer’s peripheral vision begin to ripple with oil-slick rainbows. Objects in the environment take on a faint “contour glow” that indicates their density and material composition.
    • Positives: Allows the wearer to instantly identify the sturdiest material in a room to mimic, or to spot a structural weakness in an “unadapted” wall or floor.
    • Negatives: The shimmering can cause light-sensitivity and “Chromatic Vertigo,” especially in brightly lit or highly colorful environments like neon-drenched Spire-markets.
  • Extra-Sensory Perception: Kinetic Anticipation
    • Description: A prickling sensation in the marrow of the bones that intensifies just before a physical impact. It feels like a magnetic pull toward the safest “angle of deflection.”
    • Positives: Grants the “Adaptive Reflex,” allowing the wearer to instinctively shift their skin’s density to meet a blade or a blunt force at the perfect millisecond for maximum protection.
    • Negatives: Constant kinetic feedback in a chaotic environment (like a workshop or a battle) can lead to “Sensory Jitter,” making it difficult for the avatar to remain still or focused.
  • Extra-Sensory Perception: Thermal Echo
    • Description: The wielder “sees” heat and cold as a map of blue and orange ribbons stretching across the landscape, even through solid barriers.
    • Positives: The “Thermal Buffer” can be directed toward these ribbons, allowing the avatar to find the “temperate path” through an extreme environment or detect the body heat of a hidden organism.
    • Negatives: Prolonged use causes a “Thermal Lag” where the wearer’s internal thermostat becomes confused, leading to cold sweats or hot flashes once the ring is deactivated.
  • Extra-Sensory Perception: Molecular Memory
    • Description: A sudden “flash” of a previous environment the ring has encountered. When touching a rusted pipe, the wearer might briefly “see” the forge where it was cast or the rain that caused the rust.
    • Positives: Provides the “Mimic Texture” ability with historical accuracy, allowing the skin to take on the properties of a material more deeply than a surface-level scan.
    • Negatives: These flashes can be intrusive and distracting, momentarily pulling the avatar’s consciousness away from the “now” and into a sensory ghost of a different time and place.

Blueprint: Suspending the Finger 1109 of the Protean Coil

  • Materials Needed
    • Living-Mercury (3 Ounces): A rare, bio-tuned isotope of mercury that remains in a liquid-crystalline state. It must be stored in a pressurized magnetic vial to prevent it from evaporating or “fleeing” toward the nearest heat source.
    • Micro-Gravitic Core: A tiny, stabilized shard of “Weightless-Iron” that generates a localized gravity field to hold the liquid metal in its ring shape.
    • Iridescent Flux-Catalyst: A chemical agent used to program the mercury’s “Environmental Memory” and facilitate the oil-slick color shifts.
    • Conductive Silver-Silk: Used to weave the interior “Nerve-Ribs” that translate the wearer’s biological needs into the ring’s physical adaptations.
  • Tools Required
    • Magnetic Suspension Chamber: A vacuum-sealed box that uses electromagnetic coils to float the metal in mid-air during the shaping process.
    • Precision Pipette (Tungsten-Tipped): To inject the Flux-Catalyst into the center of the liquid-metal globule without breaking the surface tension.
    • Gravitic-Calibrator: A hand-held device used to “tune” the micro-gravitic core to the specific weight and mass of the wearer’s finger.
    • Spectrum-Scanner: To verify the ring’s ability to mimic at least three different material textures (stone, metal, and organic).
  • Skill Requirements
    • Fluid-Dynamics: Understanding how the liquid metal moves and responds to pressure and temperature changes.
    • Gravitic Alignment: The ability to seat a micro-core within a fluid without causing a “collapse” of the ring’s physical form.
    • Environmental Survivalism: A deep, first-hand knowledge of various biomes to properly “seed” the ring’s memory.
  • Crafting Steps
    • The Void-Forming: Release the Living-Mercury into the Magnetic Suspension Chamber. Use the magnetic coils to spin the metal into a perfect, rotating torus (ring shape).
    • The Core Insertion: Carefully guide the Micro-Gravitic Core into the center of the rotating liquid. Once seated, the core will take over the task of holding the metal together, allowing the magnetic coils to be deactivated.
    • Seeding the Memory: Use the Precision Pipette to inject the Flux-Catalyst. While doing so, the crafter must place samples of three distinct environments (e.g., a frost-shard, a volcanic pebble, and a jungle leaf) against the exterior of the suspension chamber. The ring will “ripple” as it absorbs the data.
    • Weaving the Nerve-Ribs: Integrate the Conductive Silver-Silk into the interior circumference of the band. This creates a “Bio-Bridge” that will eventually link the ring to the wearer’s meridian lines and nerve endings.
    • The Spectrum Calibration: Using the Spectrum-Scanner, cycle the ring through several lighting conditions. Adjust the micro-gravity tension until the iridescent surface mimics the surrounding textures with less than a 2% variance.
    • The Atmospheric Scrubbing: Expose the ring to a series of toxic gases and temperature extremes within the chamber. If the “Atmospheric Harmonizer” successfully neutralizes the threats, the ring will emit a sharp scent of ozone.
    • The Adaptive Bond: The final step requires the crafter to reach into the chamber and allow the ring to “flow” onto their finger. The ring must instinctively adjust its size and density to match the wearer’s pulse. If the ring stabilizes without leaking or hardening prematurely, the craft is successful.

Ever-Changing Skin of Nomad and Rain of Many Faces

It is scratched-deep upon the Walls-of-the-Wet-Cave, where the “Time-Rust” does eat the iron-words. In the “Era-of-the-Thousand-Skies,” the people of the Hive were “Brittle-as-Glass.” If the wind did turn “Sharp-and-Cold,” they did freeze like the “Still-Statue.” If the air did turn “Heavy-with-Smoke,” they did “Cough-out-the-Spirit.” They were “Prisoners-of-the-Same,” and the “Change-of-the-World” was their “Great-Slayer.”

The translated-skins tell of the First-Vagabond-of-the-Mist, who did possess the “Body-of-Water.” This one did look at the lizard that turns “Green-to-Brown” and say, “The skin is not a wall, it is a Moving-Door.” The Vagabond did go to the Lake-of-Silver-Tears and did catch the Living-Mercury as it did dance upon the “Ground-that-Hates-Weight.” They did trap a “Spark-of-the-Void” inside a loop of the silver-water until the metal did learn to “Remember-the-Everywhere.”

They did forge the Finger 1109, the “Hoop-of-the-Protean-Will.” It was placed upon the Middle-Joint-of-the-Path-Finder, for the finger that points must be the finger that “Knows-the-Way-of-the-Air.” When the Vagabond did climb the Ice-Spires-of-Glass, the ring did “Ripple-the-Ripple-of-Heat.” It did tell the blood, “Be thou as ‘Thick-as-Oil’, so the frost cannot ‘Bite-the-Flow’.” The Vagabond did walk through the “Storm-of-Knives” as if it were a “Warm-Bath.”

One time of the “Great-Eruption-of-the-Steel-Floor,” the air did turn to “Lava-Breath” and the ground did turn to “Slick-Grease.” The people did fall and “Burn-in-the-Heat,” but the Adaptive-Avatar did stand where the “Fire-was-Brightest.” They did touch the Finger 1109, and the Spectrum-Shimmer did wash over their skin like a “Rainbow-Shield.”

The Avatar did not “Fight-the-Heat,” but did “Become-the-Heat.” Their skin did turn to the “Color-of-Burnt-Copper,” and their feet did sprout the “Grip-of-the-Lizard.” They did lead the unburned people through the “Choking-Vapors” by breathing the “Poison-as-if-it-were-Honey,” for the ring did “Scrub-the-Sky” inside their chest. When the “Falling-Rocks” did try to smash the Avatar, the Mercury-Skin did turn “Harder-than-Diamond” at the “Touch-of-the-Blow.”

The translated-skins say the Vagabond did vanish into the “Forest-of-Nothing” because the ring did make them “Too-Much-Like-the-Empty.” They did prove that “Survival-is-a-Dance” and that “The-Fixed-Heart-is-a-Grave.” The ring did show that the “World-is-a-Mask” and the survivor is the one who “Wears-Many-Faces.” Because of the 1109-Model, the Hive did learn to “Bend-the-Bone” and “Mock-the-Climate.”

Moral: He who stands “Stiff-as-the-Oak” shall be “Snapped-by-the-Gale,” but he who “Flows-like-the-Mercury” upon his knuckle shall find the “Perfect-Home” in the “Heart-of-the-Chaos,” for the “Skin-that-Changes” never “Knows-the-Death-of-the-Stranger.”

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu

The Protean Membrane-Band

  • Item Type: Artifact / Survival Device
  • Skill: Survival or Science (Biology)
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Atmospheric Harmonizer: The wearer is immune to the effects of extreme temperatures (Heat or Cold) and mundane airborne toxins or thin altitudes.
    • Mimic Texture: By spending 2 Magic Points, the investigator can alter their skin to match their surroundings. This provides a Bonus Die to Stealth checks for 1 hour, provided they remain in that specific environment.
    • Adaptive Reflex: When taking damage from a physical source (Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing), the investigator may spend 1D4 Sanity to gain Armor 3 against that specific attack as their skin momentarily hardens.
    • Sanity Loss: 0/1D4. The sensation of one’s skin turning into liquid metal is deeply alienating.

Blades in the Dark

The Variable-Scribe’s Mercury-Coil

  • Item Type: Gear (Fine, Small)
  • Load: 0
  • Mechanics:
    • Environmental Edge: This is Fine quality gear. When you Prowl or Survey in hazardous environments (acid rain, death-lands, freezing vaults), you gain Potency to your action.
    • Protean Shift: You may take 1 Stress to ignore a complication arising from environmental terrain (slick floors, narrow gaps, extreme heat).
    • Infiltrator’s Grip: You gain Potency when Clambering or scaling walls, as the ring adapts your grip to the specific surface.

Dungeons & Dragons

Finger 1109 of the Protean Coil

  • Item Type: Wondrous Item (Ring), Common
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Reactive Resilience: While wearing this ring on a finger between the first and second knuckle, you have advantage on Saving Throws against extreme heat, extreme cold, and inhaled poisons.
    • Mimic Texture: As an action, you can touch a non-magical material. For 10 minutes, you have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide against that material. Once used, this property cannot be used again until you finish a short or long rest.
    • Adaptive Reflex: When you take bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, you can use your reaction to gain resistance to that instance of damage. Once used, this property cannot be used again until you finish a long rest.
    • Climber’s Adaptation: You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.

Knave

The Living-Mercury Hoop

  • Item Type: Jewelry (0 Slots)
  • Mechanics:
    • Environment-Proof: The wearer is never harmed by mundane weather or poor air quality.
    • Surface-Mimic: If the wearer remains still against a surface for 1 round, they become nearly invisible. Enemies suffer a -4 penalty to spot them.
    • Liquid-Limbs: The wearer can squeeze through any gap wide enough for their head without slowing down.
    • Hardened Shell: Once per day, the wearer may treat their Armor as 18 (regardless of what they are wearing) for a single combat round as their skin mimics steel.

Fate

The Variable-Scribe’s Protean Band

  • Item Type: Adaptive Utility Extra
  • Aspect: Always Local, Never a Stranger. This aspect can be invoked to survive in hostile climates, bypass security by blending into walls, or slip through restraints. It can be compelled when the “Texture-Lag” makes the wearer’s hands too slippery to hold a weapon or when the ring’s “Environmental Memory” causes them to react to a climate that isn’t there.
  • Mechanics:
    • Protean Shift: You gain a +2 bonus to Stealth rolls when staying still against a material the ring has mimicked.
    • Atmospheric Harmony: You can spend a Fate Point to ignore any scene aspects related to environmental hazards (e.g., Choking Smog, Sub-Zero Winds) for the duration of the scene.
    • Reactive Hardening: Once per session, you can use your Survival skill to defend against a physical attack, as your skin momentarily mimics the density of the striking weapon.

Numenera & Cypher System

Finger 1109 (The Fluidic Adaptor)

  • Level: 1d6 (Typically Level 3)
  • Form: A liquid-metal midi-ring that pulses with iridescent, oil-slick rainbows.
  • Effect: The wearer’s biology becomes highly responsive to the surrounding world.
  • Specific Mechanics:
    • Environmental Acclimation: All tasks involving Survival or navigating hazardous terrain are eased by one step.
    • Mercury Grip: The wearer can climb any surface (even glass or wet metal) as if it were a ladder.
    • Mimic Material (Depletion): The wearer touches a material. For 10 minutes, their skin gains the Hardness of that material, granting +2 to Armor. This has a depletion roll of 1 in 1d20.
    • Osmotic Breath: The wearer can breathe in any atmosphere (including underwater or in heavy smoke) for up to one hour per day.

Pathfinder (2E)

Finger 1109 of the Protean Coil

  • Item Level: 2; Price: 30 Gold Pieces
  • Usage: Worn (Midi-Ring); Bulk: —
  • Description: This living-mercury band allows the wearer to thrive in the volatile biomes of Saṃsāra.
  • Specific Mechanics:
    • Environmental Ward: You gain a +1 item bonus to Fortitude saves against environmental hazards and extreme temperatures.
    • Mimic Texture: [one-action] (Concentrate, Transmutation). You touch a non-magical surface. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks to Hide or Sneak against that surface for 10 minutes.
    • Adaptive Reflex: [reaction] (Frequency: once per day; Trigger: You take physical damage). You gain Resistance 5 against the triggering damage type (Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing) for that specific instance as your skin densifies.
    • Fluid Escape: You gain a +2 item bonus to Acrobatics checks to Squeeze or Escape.

Savage Worlds

Living-Mercury Protean Coil

  • Type: Survival Gear
  • Rank: Novice
  • Weight: —
  • Specific Mechanics:
    • Environmental Harmony: The wearer ignores all Fatigue penalties from Extreme Heat or Cold. They are also immune to mundane inhaled toxins.
    • Texture Mimicry: If the wearer takes a “Hold” action against a surface, they gain a +2 to Stealth rolls.
    • Adaptive Density: As a free action, the wearer can spend a “Benny” to gain the Resilient Edge for the duration of an encounter, representing their skin adapting to incoming trauma.
    • Protean Grip: The wearer treats all surfaces as having “Handholds” for the purpose of Athletics (Climbing) rolls, and they do not suffer penalties for slick or wet surfaces.
    • Unstable Form: On a Critical Failure during an Athletics roll, the ring “over-liquefies,” and the wearer is Distracted until the end of their next turn.

Shadowrun

The Chameleon-Fluidic Adaptor (Model 1109)

  • Category: Survival Gear / Electronics
  • Rating: 1
  • Availability: 10
  • Cost: 1,200¥
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Atmospheric Scrubbing: The user ignores the effects of Pollutants or Inhaled Toxins with a Power equal to or less than the ring’s Rating x 2.
    • Adaptive Texture: When the user takes a Take Aim action to hide against a surface, they gain a +1 die pool bonus to Sneaking Tests.
    • Temperature Compensation: The ring grants the user the Cold Resistance and Heat Resistance qualities at Rating 1.
    • Micro-Grip: The user receives a +1 dice pool bonus to Athletics Tests involving climbing or maintaining grip on slick or unconventional surfaces.

Starfinder

Protean-Coil Memory Band

  • Item Level: 2; Price: 475 Credits
  • Category: Technological Item (Worn, Finger)
  • Bulk: —
  • Capacity: 20; Usage: 1/hour
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Environmental Shielding: While the ring is active, you treat extreme heat and cold as normal conditions. You also gain a +4 circumstance bonus to saving throws against inhaled poisons and environmental radiation.
    • Reactive Surface: As a move action, you can spend 2 charges to touch a material. You gain a +4 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks to hide in an area primarily composed of that material for 10 minutes.
    • Adaptive Reflex (Ex): Once per day as a reaction when you take damage from a weapon, you can spend 5 charges to gain DR 2/— against that attack.
    • Fluid Mobility: You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Acrobatics checks to Escape or squeeze through narrow spaces.

Traveller

TL 13 Living-Mercury Survival Loop

  • TL: 13; Weight: —; Cost: Cr2,500
  • Description: This highly advanced liquid-metal band uses micro-gravitics to bond with the wearer, altering their dermal and respiratory response to match the local atmosphere.
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Environmental Adaptation: The wearer is immune to the effects of Extreme Heat, Extreme Cold, and Thin/Dense atmospheres (up to Pressure 12).
    • Texture Mimicry: Grants a DM+2 to all Stealth checks when the wearer is stationary against a solid surface the ring has sampled.
    • Kinetic Resilience: The wearer gains Armor +1 against all physical attacks as the liquid metal “hardens” on impact.
    • Adaptive Grip: The wearer never suffers a DM penalty for climbing slick, wet, or frozen surfaces and gains DM+1 to Athletics (Dexterity) checks involving climbing.

Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay (Wrath & Glory)

The Chameleoline Protean-Ring

  • Value: 4 (Rare)
  • Keywords: [IMPERIUM], [ADVENTURING GEAR], [UNNATURAL]
  • Game Mechanics:
    • Universal Adaptation: You ignore all penalties to Attributes or Skills caused by environmental conditions (Extreme Cold, Heat, or Choking Smog).
    • Mimic Material: When you use the Hide Action against a surface you have touched, you gain +2d to your Stealth (A) Test.
    • Hardened Form: Once per combat, when you suffer a Wound from a physical attack, you may spend 1 Glory to reduce the damage by an amount equal to your Tier.
    • Protean Reflex: You gain +1 to your Defense against environmental hazards (falling debris, collapsing floors) as the ring shifts your center of gravity.