Lore
•These fang caps were first made in the port city of Saltcoil on the island country of Lapita. They come from the Coilwright Troupe, a travelling company of serpentfolk, lizardfolk, and fanged beastkin acrobats who perform high above the wharves on the swaying rigging of anchored trade ships.•The troupe's best-known act is the "Iron Jaw." A performer bites a braided rope and hangs from it by the teeth alone, then spins, flips, and drops between masts while the crowd watches from the docks below.•Their founder, a reincarnated soul named Velisse Coilwright, remembered the act from a former life as a circus performer in another realm. Her serpentfolk avatar kept cracking its fangs on the ropes, so she worked with a local crafter to make protective caps from shed reef-viper enamel set in lacquered silver.•The first set was finished on 8612a3.4.5@14:30, an Abjursday in the Buzzing week of Tyrus. Troupe records say the caps took on a coiling, springing magic after Velisse wore them through forty-nine straight performances without a fall.•Copies were later made for every fanged member of the troupe. Each set is numbered on the inner lining, and set 3817 is one of the later copies, made after the troupe had grown and its craft had spread to other ports in the region.•Coilwright performers say that a fang held steady keeps the body steady. The troupe teaches that balance starts in the jaw and travels down the spine to the tail and feet. People who wear the caps often say their sense of footing feels "anchored at the teeth."•Over the years, sets of the caps have left the troupe through trade, gifts, and theft. They now turn up in many coastal markets, sometimes bought by people who have never seen the performance.•In some ports the caps are valued as a mark of the performer's trade. In others they are treated as thieves' gear, because they help a wearer climb rigging, cross rooftops, and get past guards on high walkways.
Tier 1 Stats
•Item Name: Fangs 3817 of the Tumbling Viper•Item Type: Worn fang caps (a matched pair of enamel and silver sheaths fitted over the upper fangs)•Rarity: Common•Tier: 1•Slot: Fangs. This needs an avatar with natural fangs. It does not use the Mouth slot.•Attunement: Simple attunement (1 minute). Attunement is needed for the active magics. The skills and the first two passives work whenever the caps are openly worn.•Armor Check (AC): +1•Natural Weapon Bonus: The capped fangs count as a light melee weapon.◦Base Damage: 1d4 piercing◦Tier 1 attack and damage: 1d20 + 1d4 tier die + 1 item attack bonus to hit. Damage is 1d4 base piercing plus the 1d4 tier die, carried over from the roll to hit with no second roll.◦Weapon Training: Needs training in the Natural Weapons (Bite) weapon type to be proficient.•Initiative: +1. Under the initiative rules, this is subtracted from the initiative roll so the wearer acts earlier in the turn order.•Movement: +5 feet of movement while climbing or balancing on narrow surfaces•Item Health Points: 10 (resilience 10 times tier 1)•Resilience: 10•Weight: 0.1 pounds for the pair•Charges: 3. All charges return at Helios up each day, normally between 4:00 and 5:59.•Power Source: A tier 1 magic crystal, about the size of a coin, set in the inner silver band of the left cap•Suggested Value: 8 silver. Prices vary by region and depend on what the seller can get.•Maker's Tag: "Originally made by: Velisse Coilwright of the Coilwright Troupe, Saltcoil, Lapita"
Skills Gained When Openly Worn
•The caps must be visible to give these points. If they are covered by a mask, helm visor, muzzle, or veil, the temporary points are not available.•Acrobatics: +2 temporary skill points•Balance: +1 temporary skill point•Climbing: +1 temporary skill point•Together these are 4 temporary skill points, within the Tier 1 cap of 6 temporary points (5 plus tier). They do not count against the wearer's trained maximum in any one skill.
Passive Magics
•Jaw Anchor (works while openly worn):◦The wearer rolls the d20 with advantage on Acrobatics and Balance skill checks made to stay upright on narrow, swaying, slick, or moving surfaces. This includes ropes, ship rigging, rooftop ridges, beams, and wet stone.◦This advantage follows the table's chosen rule for advantage and disadvantage and does not stack with other sources of advantage.•Serpent's Landing (works while openly worn):◦When the wearer falls, the first 15 feet of the fall do no damage.◦If the wearer takes no damage from a fall, they land on their feet instead of falling prone.•Coiled Spine (needs attunement):◦If the wearer would be knocked prone by an attack, shove, trip, or unstable ground, they may make a saving throw (d20 plus the relevant ability bonus, succeeding on a total greater than 15).◦On a success, the wearer stays upright and may shift 5 feet in any direction without using movement.•Steady Grip (needs attunement):◦The wearer can hold an object in their fangs without dropping it, up to about the size of a small dagger, coin purse, or rolled scroll. This does not affect breathing.◦The wearer can still speak in short phrases, which allows Normal (Somatic) spellcasting. Ritual chanting is not possible while something is held in the fangs.
Active Magics
•Whiplash Somersault (1 action, 1 charge, needs attunement):◦The wearer leaps up to 15 feet in any direction, up to 10 feet straight up, spinning in mid-air. This movement may pass over or through spaces held by creatures of the wearer's size or smaller.◦If the leap passes over a foe, the wearer may make a fang attack against that foe as part of the same action. If the attack hits, the target also has disadvantage on its next attack roll against the wearer before the end of the wearer's next turn.◦The normal reduced damage for later actions in the same turn still applies: one half damage on the second action of the turn, one third on the third, and so on.•Strike-and-Spring (reaction, 1 charge, needs attunement):◦Trigger: A foe makes a melee attack against the wearer and misses.◦The wearer flips up to 10 feet away from that foe. This movement does not cost the wearer's own movement for their next turn.◦Only one Strike-and-Spring may be used in each other player's or foe's turn, following the reaction rules.•Iron Jaw Hang (1 action, no charge, needs attunement, may be used once per hour of in-world time):◦The wearer bites onto a rope, beam, ledge, branch, chain, or rigging line and hangs by the jaw alone for up to 1 minute. Both hands, feet, and tail (if any) are left free.◦While hanging, the wearer may use the free limbs to make attacks with held weapons, use items, or swing up to 10 feet to a new hold. A new hold needs an Acrobatics skill check of Medium difficulty for tier 1 (33%).◦The caps can hold the weight of the avatar plus whatever it is carrying, up to about the avatar's own body weight.◦A creature may try to break the hold. This is an opposed save (d20 against d20) using the relevant abilities, and the higher total succeeds.•Troupe Cadence (1 action, 1 charge, needs attunement):◦The wearer hisses a short performer's chant and gives one willing ally within 30 feet who can hear it a +1 temporary Acrobatics skill point for 10 minutes.◦This point still counts toward the ally's own temporary skill cap.◦The chant follows the world's three ways of casting:▪Silent (immediate, no sound): the bonus lasts 5 minutes instead of 10.▪Normal (Somatic, a short hiss with a flourish, under 6 seconds): the bonus lasts the full 10 minutes.▪Ritual (a sung or shouted cadence longer than 6 seconds): the bonus lasts up to 15 minutes. The chant draws attention, and a nearby foe or a chance distraction may disrupt it before it takes effect.
Tags
Fangs, Common, Tier 1, Acrobatics, Piercing, Mobility, Reaction, Charges, Serpentine, Performer, Bite, Agility, Balance, Climbing, Iron Jaw, Lapita, Coilwright, Rigging, Leap, Silver, Enamel, Rooftop
Additional Information
•Slot Requirement: The avatar must have natural fangs to use the Fangs slot. Avatars without fangs cannot wear the caps, and any skill points or magic from them stay inactive while the caps are only held or carried.•Openly Worn Condition: The temporary skill points, Jaw Anchor, and Serpent's Landing work only while the caps can be seen. Anything worn in the Mouth slot that covers the fangs, such as a full mask, muzzle, or mouthguard, turns these effects off until it is removed. A partial mask that leaves the fangs exposed does not.•Crystal Shattering: Each time the last charge of the day is spent, roll a d20. On a 1, the coin-sized magic crystal in the left cap shatters into Crystal Shards of the same weight.◦Until a crafter with the right skills sets a new tier 1 crystal, the caps cannot regain charges.◦The passive magics, the temporary skill points, the AC, and Iron Jaw Hang still work without the crystal.•Item Damage: The caps have 10 Item Health Points. At 5 or fewer they are broken, and nothing on them works.◦A hit from a Targeted Item attack un-attunes the caps. If they were not attuned when hit, they take damage.◦Destroyed caps leave behind their component parts: two cracked reef-viper enamel shells, a bent silver band, and the tier 1 crystal if it had not already shattered.◦Damaged caps must be repaired before they can be attuned again.•Safe Areas: The +1 AC is doubled in somewhat safe areas, tripled in designated safe areas, halved in unsafe areas, and removed in deathly areas, like all worn AC.•Cards of Chance: When the fang attack is made through Whiplash Somersault, the d20 and the tier die follow the normal Cards of Chance rules. A Crit card is drawn for each die that rolls its highest number on a hit, and a Failure card for each die that rolls a 1 on a miss.•Mana Boost: After a fang attack is known to hit, any amount of Mana Boost the wearer has can be added as silver fire spell power. No action penalty reduction applies to this extra damage.•True Name: If the wearer learns a target's true name, speaking it during the Troupe Cadence chant doubles how long the ally's bonus lasts.•Mind's Eye: A passive look with the Mind's Eye shows the item name, its Common rarity, and the maker's tag. An active identify also shows the number of charges left, the crystal's condition, and the item's current Health Points.•Merging and Enhancement: The caps can be merged with another tier 1 item by a vendor or crafter with a skill level of 6 or higher in the right crafting skill, for 15% of the combined value of both items.◦Adding a rune raises the caps to tier 2, which keeps them from being used until the character reaches tier 2.◦The AC can never go above 3 per item tier. Merging cannot push the AC to 10 or more.•Cultural Standing: In Saltcoil and nearby ports of Lapita, wearing a numbered Coilwright set openly may help with performers' guilds and street troupes.◦In some port cities, town guards connect the caps with rooftop thieves and ask the wearer more questions.◦NPC merchants who buy a set often write down the number on the inner lining in their purchase logs.•Duplicates: Because Saṃsāra has no copyright laws, any crafter skilled enough can copy the caps. Some sets on the market carry false numbers or false maker's tags to raise their price or to hide where they came from.
Acquisition and Trade of Fangs 3817 of the Tumbling Viper
How This Item Might Be Obtained
•Purchase from a vendor: Most sets change hands through small shops in port cities, especially in and around Saltcoil on Lapita, where the Coilwright Troupe began. Shops elsewhere get them through resale, trade ships, and travelling performers.•Quest reward from the Coilwright Troupe: The troupe rewards outsiders who help with its problems. Typical quests include:◦Recovering numbered sets stolen by rooftop thieves who use them to climb rigging and walls.◦Rescuing a performer stranded on a high mast or a broken rigging line during a storm.◦Standing in for an injured performer in a rigging show, which needs successful Acrobatics and Balance skill checks before a dockside crowd.◦Guarding the troupe's wagons on the roads between coastal cities and the central city of Lapita, where monsters and robbers wait along the routes that avoid city gates.◦Collecting shed reef-viper enamel from the reefs off Lapita for the troupe's crafters.•Combat reward: Thieves, smugglers, and rooftop raiders sometimes wear the caps.◦If such a foe is a possessed avatar, it vaporizes into sparks on death and leaves the caps on the ground with its other items.◦If the foe is not possessed, the caps can be taken from the body.◦Picking up the caps in combat takes an action.•Possession of an avatar already wearing the caps: A character who possesses a fanged avatar already wearing a set gains the caps along with the avatar's other items. Because of the avatar's Transient Global Amnesia, the character may not know at first what the caps do or where they came from. Those memories come back over time, or the caps can be examined with the Mind's Eye.•Commissioned crafting: A crafter with the right skill can make a new set to order. The buyer often brings the materials to lower the price:◦Two pieces of shed reef-viper enamel, shaped to the buyer's fangs◦A small amount of silver for the bands and lacquer◦One tier 1 magic crystal, about the size of a coin, to hold the charges◦The crafter needs the buyer's fangs measured in person, since the caps must fit closely to work.•Self-crafting: An avatar with enough trained crafting skill, the right tools, a workspace, and the materials above can make a set. Without the troupe's recipe the result may differ from a true Coilwright set, and the maker's tag would show the new maker's name.•Faction advancement: A performers' or acrobats' faction with ties to the Coilwright Troupe may give a set to a member who reaches a new rank. The member then roleplays to the party how they earned it.•Gift or renown exchange: A troupe performer, a grateful ship captain, or a port official may give a set in thanks for a deed. Renown Points may also be traded for a set where the troupe knows and respects the party.•Salvage and discovery: Old sets turn up in sunken trade ships on the reefs, in abandoned performers' wagons, in extradimensional storage crypts, and in ruins near old port cities.•Inheritance through the party: Under the party-inventory rule for tiers 2 through 4, if a party member's possessed avatar dies while wearing the caps, the caps may go to party inventory instead of falling where the avatar died.
Types of Shops Where This Item Might Be Bought and Sold
•Saṃsāra has no large institutional stores, so the caps are mostly found in small family-run shops that each focus on a narrow craft.•Coilwright Troupe stall:◦A covered wagon stall the troupe sets up at the edge of the wharf market during shows in Saltcoil and other Lapita ports.◦Sets bought here are genuine, carry true numbers and maker's tags, and include a fitting by a troupe crafter.◦The stall opens only on performance days and moves with the troupe, so buyers may need to track the troupe's route from port to port.◦Troupe members and members of affiliated performers' factions get the faction discount here.•Toothwright shops:◦Small workshops that fit, repair, and decorate caps, crowns, and rings for fangs, tusks, and teeth of every kind.◦These shops are common in port cities and central cities with large serpentfolk, lizardfolk, beastkin, vampire, or orc populations.◦A toothwright can fit a set bought elsewhere, repair broken caps, and sometimes reset a shattered crystal.◦Toothwrights sometimes buy used sets, refit them for new owners, and sell them again.•Performers' outfitters:◦Shops that sell costumes, rigging rope, juggling gear, stage lacquer, and acrobatic equipment to troupes, street performers, and festival entertainers.◦They often carry used sets bought from retired or travelling performers.◦Owners usually ask a buyer to show a few acrobatic moves before selling, out of pride in their trade.•Enamel and reef-craft carvers:◦Coastal workshops that carve shell, coral, and reef-creature enamel into jewelry, buttons, and charms.◦They sell reef-viper enamel to crafters who want to commission or make a set.◦Some take commissions themselves, but sets from these shops tend to be finely carved and sometimes poor at holding magic.•Crystal setters:◦Small shops that set, test, and replace magic crystals in items.◦A crystal setter is the usual place to fix a set whose tier 1 crystal has shattered into shards. The setter may buy the old shards as part of the price.•Dockside curio and pawn shops:◦Shops near the wharves that buy and sell whatever sailors, travellers, and adventurers bring in.◦Sets here may be genuine, copied, or stolen. The owner rarely knows the history of a set and seldom asks.◦A buyer may want to check a set with the Mind's Eye before paying, since false numbers and false maker's tags are common.•Travelling peddler wagons:◦Covered wagons that travel the roads between coastal cities, towns, and the central city, selling small goods.◦They sometimes carry a set or two for fanged travellers far from Lapita, at higher prices.◦A buyer may find them at village crossroads or rural markets, where no taxes are charged.•Faction quartermasters:◦Performers' and acrobats' factions, and some thieves' factions, keep sets in faction storage for members.◦The buyer must be a member, be in the faction's territory, and have the rank the faction requires.◦The faction discount applies, and the attendant brings the item out of faction storage at the faction's opening location.•Guildhall quest boards:◦The local guild does not sell items. It posts quests from the Coilwright Troupe, ship captains, and port officials that may pay out a set as a reward instead of coin.•Black-market fences:◦Wharf-side fences, back-room dealers, and rigging-loft hideouts deal in stolen numbered sets.◦Thieves value the caps for climbing ship rigging, scaling walls, and crossing rooftops.◦Fences do not keep logs and do not talk about where a set came from.◦All trade with the black market is paid in physical gold coin, not through the World Bank.
How This Item Is Bought and Sold
•Buying from a shop:◦The buyer pays the full asking price unless they are a member of the guild or faction that runs or supplies the shop.◦A faction or guild member gets a 10% discount for a tier 1 transaction.◦Most shops expect the buyer to try the caps on, since they must fit the fangs closely. A shop may charge extra to refit a set for fangs of a different size or shape.◦A careful buyer checks the set with the Mind's Eye, looking at the name, rarity, maker's tag, remaining charges, the crystal's condition, and Item Health Points before paying.•Selling to a shop:◦An NPC merchant haggling with a tier 1 seller will usually move about 10% from the item's suggested value.◦The money from the sale goes into the seller's World Bank account, where only the seller can see the balance with the Mind's Eye.◦The merchant writes the sale in a log, often including the number on the inner lining of the caps and a description of the seller.◦An official may later ask the seller about the sale, especially if the set's number matches one reported stolen by the Coilwright Troupe.◦No merchant has to buy the caps. A merchant may say they lack the money, do not deal in fang gear, or do not trust where the set came from.•Selling to the black market:◦A fence may pay about what a merchant would, and sometimes up to twice that if they badly want a set for a thief who works the rigging.◦The fence pays only in physical gold coin and stays silent about who sold it.◦Because the fence pays in gold, the seller may need to visit a World Bank location to deposit the coin. The bank charges a fee and asks questions.•Trade between players:◦Party members and other characters can trade the caps freely, since they are not bound to any avatar, party, location, or nation.◦An adventurer pays no tax on goods carried in their personal inventory.
Cost in the World of Saṃsāra
•There is no set price for the caps. Value depends on where they are sold, how many are available, how many fanged buyers there are, and what a buyer will pay. It is a seller's market, and the buyer must be careful.•Tier 1 items are usually priced in silver: 10 copper equals 1 silver, 2 nickel equals 1 silver, and 10 silver equals 1 gold.•Suggested value: 8 silver•Saltcoil and other Lapita ports:◦At the Coilwright Troupe stall, with fitting included: about 6 to 8 silver◦At toothwright shops and performers' outfitters: about 7 to 10 silver•Nearby island countries in the same region: about 10 to 14 silver, because of shipping costs and fewer sellers•Distant island countries, floating cities, underwater habitats, and cave megacities: about 15 to 25 silver or more. Prices there depend on how rare the caps are and how many fanged people live there.◦Shipping east costs about twice as much as shipping west, because sea currents run east to west.◦Shipping toward the equator costs about 25% more, because surface water flows toward the poles.◦These shipping costs raise prices in ports east of Lapita and in ports closer to the equator.•Regions with few fanged peoples: Demand may be so low that merchants refuse to stock or buy the caps at all. When they do, prices may fall well below the suggested value.•Guild or faction member price: about 7 silver 2 copper, after the 10% tier 1 discount on the suggested value of 8 silver•Merchant buying price from a tier 1 seller: about 7 silver 2 copper, haggled about 10% below the suggested value•Black-market buying price: about 1 to 2 gold, paid in physical gold coin. That is equal to 10 to 20 silver, and it may be more for genuine numbered sets.•Black-market selling price to a fence: about 7 silver up to about 1 gold 4 silver for a set the fence badly wants, paid in gold coin rounded to what the fence will hand over•Commissioned crafting:◦Labor and recipe: about 3 to 5 silver◦If the crafter supplies the materials, add the enamel (about 1 to 2 silver), the silver for the bands (about 1 silver), and the tier 1 crystal (about 2 to 4 silver).•Crystal replacement after shattering: about 2 to 4 silver for a new tier 1 crystal, plus about 1 silver for the crystal setter's labor. The setter may take the old Crystal Shards as part of the payment.•Repair of broken caps (5 or fewer Item Health Points): about 1 to 3 silver at a toothwright, depending on the damage•Refitting for a new owner's fangs: about 5 copper to 1 silver•Merging with another tier 1 item: 15% of the combined value of both items, paid to a vendor with the right merging skill. The vendor may still fail the merge on a roll of 1 on a d20.
Taxes and Fees That Affect the Cost
•Sale tax: Goods sold in the central city, a state city, or a town are taxed at 3% of value, about 2 to 3 copper on a set worth 8 silver.•Passing-through tax: Goods carried through a city or town to be sold elsewhere are taxed at 1% of value, about 1 copper. This includes port cities.•State border tax: Goods crossing a state border are taxed at 5% of value, about 4 copper. Goods passing through the central city are taxed at only 1%.•Foreign citizens: Citizens of another island country pay twice the local tax rate on each of these.•Rural markets: Sales in rural areas with fewer than ten residents pay no taxes or fees.•Adventurers: Goods in an adventurer's personal inventory are not taxed. Merchants who carry sets as trade goods must pay.•Gate and port fees: Every individual entering through a city gate pays 1 silver, and every individual passing through a seaport pays 1 silver. These fees can add more to the cost of hunting down a set than the caps themselves cost.•World Bank fees: Each deposit, withdrawal, or exchange costs about 1% of the amount, rounded up to the nearest copper.◦Depositing the 8 silver from a sale costs 1 copper.◦Exchanging black-market gold or foreign non-metal coins also costs 1%, and the bank staff may ask how the coins were earned.•Confiscation: If a merchant carrying sets as trade goods cannot pay the tax at a border or city, the goods are confiscated until the tax is paid.
Roleplay of Fangs 3817 of the Tumbling Viper in Defense and Offense
Ship Rigging and Wharves
•Setting the scene:◦Masts creak and sway with the swell, wet rope hums in the wind, and gulls circle over the rigging.◦The wearer clicks the caps against each other before climbing, a habit Coilwright performers use to steady their nerves.◦The silver bands catch the light of Helios, so the wearer is easy to spot from the deck below.•Defense:◦Jaw Anchor keeps the wearer upright on yardarms and ratlines while the ship rolls. Sailors below may call out in surprise as the wearer walks a spar with arms spread wide.◦When a boarder swings a cutlass and misses, the wearer uses Strike-and-Spring to flip backward along the yard, out of reach. The player can describe the tail or body coiling like a spring and snapping away.◦If knocked off balance by a wave, a cannon blast, or a shove, Coiled Spine gives a saving throw to stay upright. On a success the wearer slides 5 feet along the rope as if it were part of the act.◦If the wearer falls from the lower rigging, Serpent's Landing means no damage from the first 15 feet. The wearer lands crouched on the deck with fangs bared.◦Iron Jaw Hang lets the wearer bite a line and hang beneath the yard, out of a boarder's line of sight. The wearer then waits, hidden by sail canvas, with hands free to ready a held weapon.•Offense:◦Whiplash Somersault carries the wearer over a boarder on a narrow plank. The wearer bites down as they pass overhead, and the foe stumbles, left with disadvantage on their next attack against the wearer.◦While hanging by Iron Jaw Hang, the wearer can attack a boarder climbing below with a held weapon. The swing can be described as a pendulum, using the sway of the line to add force.◦Steady Grip lets the wearer carry a dagger or a rolled boarding signal in their fangs while climbing with all limbs. They can then pass it to an ally on the next yard.◦Troupe Cadence lets the wearer hiss a rhythm from the top of the mainmast. Crew members on the rigging hear it and gain the Acrobatics bonus, and the chant can be roleplayed as a sea shanty sung through clenched fangs.
City Rooftops and Bell Towers
•Setting the scene:◦Slate tiles slick with rain, chimneys trailing steam from the factories below, and clotheslines and wires strung between buildings.◦Town guards on watch towers may recognize the silver caps and raise their lanterns, since thieves have used such sets before.•Defense:◦Jaw Anchor gives advantage on Balance checks along ridge lines and gutter edges. The wearer walks them quickly while guards behind slip and grab at the tiles.◦When a guard's polearm misses on a rooftop, Strike-and-Spring flips the wearer across a narrow alley gap to the next roof.◦Serpent's Landing lets the wearer drop from a second-story eave into a market square without harm. They land on their feet among startled merchants and keep moving.◦Iron Jaw Hang on a gutter, banner pole, or clothesline lets the wearer drop out of sight below a roof edge. They hang still while pursuers run past above.•Offense:◦Whiplash Somersault across a chimney or over a guard on a ridge line can end in a fang strike from above. A dramatic description might include roof tiles skittering into the street below.◦The wearer can hang from a bell rope with Iron Jaw Hang, then swing to strike a sniper or lookout in the tower window.◦The wearer can carry a stolen key or scroll in Steady Grip while running the rooftops with both hands free to climb.◦Players should remember that in somewhat safe areas inside walled towns, AC is doubled for everyone, foes included. Rooftop fights inside the walls may last longer than expected.
Forest Canopy and Jungle
•Setting the scene:◦Vines, hanging moss, thick branches, and the hum of insects in the Buzzing week. Some plants in the canopy may be toxic or hostile, part of the long war between flora and fauna on Saṃsāra.•Defense:◦Iron Jaw Hang on a sturdy vine or branch lifts the wearer above ground predators. The wearer can stay there up to a minute while beasts circle below.◦Coiled Spine helps the wearer keep footing on branches that bend under weight. A failed save can be roleplayed as a branch cracking and dropping the wearer into the undergrowth.◦Serpent's Landing turns a short fall from a low branch into a controlled drop onto the forest floor. The player describes rolling through leaves and coming up ready.•Offense:◦Whiplash Somersault from branch to branch can carry the wearer over a beast's back. The bite lands on the neck or shoulder before the wearer lands on the far side.◦While hanging from a branch, the wearer can strike at a foe climbing the trunk below with a held weapon, using both hands.◦Troupe Cadence can help a party cross a fallen-log bridge over a ravine. The wearer hisses a steady beat so allies cross in rhythm.◦A sharp Game Manager may rule that a vine chosen for Iron Jaw Hang is a hostile plant that tastes bitter or numbs the jaw. This adds a roleplay moment where the wearer must let go and find a new hold.
Caves, Mines, and Underground Megacities
•Setting the scene:◦Dripping stalactites, narrow ledges, mine-cart rails, rope bridges, and steam pipes from underground factories.◦The silver bands catch any lantern light and may give away the wearer's position in the dark. Wearers with Darkvision see the caps as pale gray shapes.•Defense:◦Iron Jaw Hang on a stalactite, a mine-cart chain, or a rope bridge plank lets the wearer hang over a chasm while a foe searches the ledge above.◦Jaw Anchor keeps the wearer steady on wet stone and swaying rope bridges where unsure-footed foes slip.◦Serpent's Landing lets the wearer drop down a short shaft or off a rail bridge to the tunnel floor without harm.◦Strike-and-Spring in a narrow tunnel can flip the wearer behind a pillar or around a corner. Limited space may restrict where the wearer can land, which is the Game Manager's call.•Offense:◦Whiplash Somersault in a high cavern can carry the wearer over a foe guarding a narrow bridge. The fang strike from above catches them off guard.◦Hanging upside down from a stalactite, the wearer can drop onto a foe and bite, describing a viper striking from the dark.◦Steady Grip lets the wearer carry a small light in their fangs while both hands climb. The light may also reveal the wearer to foes.
Mountain Cliffs and Volcanic Slopes
•Setting the scene:◦Loose scree, crumbling ledges, steaming vents, and the deep rumble of shifting magma below the surface.•Defense:◦Coiled Spine helps the wearer stay upright when an earthquake shakes a ledge. A failed save may send the wearer sliding toward the edge.◦Iron Jaw Hang on a root, ledge lip, or piton rope lets the wearer catch themselves after a slip. The player describes the jaw snapping shut on rock just before the drop.◦Serpent's Landing softens short falls between ledges. Anything beyond 15 feet still causes damage, so the cliff remains dangerous.•Offense:◦Whiplash Somersault over a foe on a narrow trail can leave them facing the drop. The fang strike may push them off balance, which the Game Manager may resolve with a saving throw.◦While hanging below a ledge, the wearer can attack a foe's legs or footing with a held weapon.◦Troupe Cadence helps allies cross a narrow cliff path during an eruption, with the wearer hissing calm, steady beats over the noise.
Swamps, Bogs, and Cloud City Bowls
•Setting the scene:◦Mud, reeds, standing water, and floating logs, including the small swamps that form in the floating bowls beneath Cloud City towers.•Defense:◦Jaw Anchor gives advantage on Balance checks across floating logs, roots, and slippery planks.◦Iron Jaw Hang on a reed bundle, mooring post, or tower cable lets the wearer hang above water where swamp creatures lurk.•Offense:◦Whiplash Somersault from log to log can carry the wearer over a swamp creature. The wearer bites as they pass and lands on the next log.◦In the bowls under Cloud City towers, the wearer can strike from a cable strung between towers. Avian residents may stop to watch, since cable acrobatics are familiar to them.◦Players should note that falling from a bowl or cable at 3,000 feet is far beyond the 15 feet Serpent's Landing protects against. The caps give no safety from a fall of that height.
Copter City Machinery
•Setting the scene:◦Spinning rotors, gears, chains, belts, and windmill blades driving the gnomish flying city through the sky.•Defense:◦Coiled Spine and Jaw Anchor help the wearer keep balance on catwalks that shake with the rotors.◦Iron Jaw Hang on a chain or cable lets the wearer hang clear of a gear drive while a foe searches the catwalk above. The wearer must take care not to bite a moving chain.•Offense:◦Whiplash Somersault over a foe on a catwalk can be described as a leap through gaps between spinning blades, which the Game Manager may treat as a hazard.◦Gnomish engineers may object strongly to anyone using their machinery as an acrobatic playground. This can lead to social encounters or banishment marks.
Underwater Habitats and Reefs
•Setting the scene:◦Coral reefs, kelp beds, and the domes and tunnels of underwater cities. These waters are where reef vipers shed the enamel the caps are made from.•Defense:◦Iron Jaw Hang on coral, kelp, or a dock piling lets the wearer hold position against a strong current. In some waters the current runs east to west and could otherwise carry them away.◦Coiled Spine may help the wearer hold their place when a large sea creature passes and stirs the water.•Offense:◦Fang strikes work underwater as normal. Reef dwellers may recognize the reef-viper enamel and react with respect, fear, or anger.◦The Game Manager decides how far Whiplash Somersault carries the wearer through water. It may be shorter than on land, or full distance for avatars built for swimming.◦Serpent's Landing has no use underwater, though it may soften a dive from a ship's deck into shallow reef water.
Crowded Markets, Festivals, and Performances
•Setting the scene:◦Stalls, carts, awnings, crowds, music, and the smell of street food. On festival days the Coilwright Troupe may be performing nearby.•Defense:◦Strike-and-Spring can flip the wearer onto a market awning or cart roof to escape a pickpocket or attacker. The crowd may cheer, taking it for part of the show.◦Jaw Anchor lets the wearer walk a tent rope above the crowd to get away from pursuers, while the crowd blocks the way below.•Offense:◦Whiplash Somersault over a stall can carry the wearer to a fleeing thief. The fang strike from above can be roleplayed as a showman's flourish.◦Troupe Cadence can be used openly as part of a street performance. The wearer coordinates an ally's acrobatics, collects coins from the crowd, and watches for trouble.◦Players should remember that killing a non-magic child is a terrible crime in most cultures. Fighting in crowded markets carries real social and legal risk if bystanders are hurt.
Designated Safe Areas, Unsafe Areas, and Deathly Areas
•Designated safe areas, such as guarded inns, guildhalls, and rented rooms:◦AC is tripled for everyone, so attacks rarely land.◦The caps' value here is mostly social. Performers show their tricks, guards eye the silver bands, and merchants ask about the set's number.•Unsafe areas, such as monster-infested roads, ruins, and back alleys:◦AC is halved, so the +1 AC from the caps matters less.◦Strike-and-Spring and Whiplash Somersault become the wearer's main defense, getting them out of reach rather than standing their ground.•Deathly areas:◦Every attack hits, so the wearer must avoid being targeted at all.◦Iron Jaw Hang, high ground, and quick escapes through the rigging or canopy become more important than any attack.
Storms, Magic Storms, and the Weeks of Dimming and Darkness
•Wind and rain:◦Wind and rain make every rope, ledge, and roof more dangerous. The Game Manager may raise the difficulty of Acrobatics checks even with Jaw Anchor's advantage.◦Wet ropes may make Iron Jaw Hang harder to hold, which can be roleplayed as the jaw aching against the slick line.•Magic storms:◦During a magic storm, wielders may release magic at random. A Whiplash Somersault could carry the wearer farther than intended, or in an unexpected direction, at the Game Manager's discretion.•The weeks of Dimming and Darkness:◦During these weeks the eclipse brings cold and deep shadow. The silver caps catch little light, which may help the wearer hide on rooftops and in the rigging.◦The cold may stiffen the jaw. A Game Manager may ask for a saving throw to hold an Iron Jaw Hang for the full minute in severe cold.
Roleplay Notes for the Wearer
•Coilwright performers say a fang held steady keeps the body steady. A wearer can use that saying as a character quirk, repeating it before every leap or under their breath while hanging from a line.•Clicking the caps together, hissing a rhythm under stress, or tapping the silver bands with a claw are small habits that make the caps part of how the avatar moves and speaks.•The wearer should describe moves as one performer would to an audience, even in a fight. Spins, coils, snaps, and flourishes bring the troupe's style into each scene.•A player may give the avatar a rule, such as never biting an innocent, as a tribute to the troupe's code. Breaking it can create roleplay tension with any Coilwright performers the party meets later.
Perception of Activation:
Sight (Normal Sight)
•What is perceived: Soft light at the edge of the wearer's own view, low around the mouth.•Description:◦When the wearer looks down past their nose, they see the faint violet glow of the crystal and a sea-green shimmer on the enamel, both rising and fading with each activation.◦During Whiplash Somersault, a thin green trail curves through the edge of vision as the head spins, and the world tilts and rights itself in a smooth arc.◦During Iron Jaw Hang, the view sways gently with the line.•Positives: The glow tells the wearer at a glance that the caps are working. The light trail during a leap helps the wearer track their own path through the air.•Negatives: The glow can distract the wearer in the dark, and it can draw the eye of foes and guards who know what Coilwright caps look like.
Hearing
•What is perceived: Faint sounds that seem to come from inside the jaw.•Description:◦A soft, high hum like a wet finger on the rim of a glass fills the wearer's skull for a moment.◦During Strike-and-Spring, the wearer hears a tight snap like a rope pulled taut, followed by a rush of air.◦During Troupe Cadence, each beat of the hiss echoes slightly louder inside the head than it sounds outside.•Positives: The sounds give the wearer a steady rhythm that helps with timing leaps, flips, and landings.•Negatives: Close by, the hum can mask quiet sounds, such as a soft footstep behind the wearer or a whispered warning.
Smell
•What is perceived: A faint sea smell.•Description: Salt air, wet rope, and a trace of reef water drift up from the caps, much like the Saltcoil wharves where the troupe performs.•Positives: Wearers who remember a former life by the sea often find the smell calming.•Negatives: The smell may cover subtle scents such as smoke, poison, or a hidden creature, especially in close quarters.
Taste
•What is perceived: A metallic, mineral taste on the tongue.•Description:◦When a charge is spent, the wearer tastes cool silver mixed with a sharp tang, like licking a sea-washed stone.◦The taste is strongest where the tongue touches the crystal in the left cap.•Positives: The taste works as a counter. A sharp tang means charges remain, and a flat taste means the crystal is spent.•Negatives: Repeated activation leaves a lingering metallic taste that can dull the taste of food and drink for a few minutes. This may lessen the enjoyment of a meal taken to regain health.
Touch
•What is perceived: Cool tingling, pressure, and a feeling of tension in the body.•Description:◦A cool tingle starts at the roots of the fangs and runs down the jaw, neck, and spine, ending at the tail or feet.◦During Iron Jaw Hang, the wearer feels the full weight of the body pulling through the fangs, but without pain, as if the weight were spread along the spine.◦During Strike-and-Spring, the muscles along the body tighten all at once, like a coiled spring released.•Positives: The tingle lets the wearer feel the magic working without looking, even in total darkness.•Negatives:◦After many activations in a short time, the jaw may ache, and the gums may feel tender for an hour or so.◦Wearers with sensitive teeth may find the cold sensation uncomfortable in winter or during the weeks of Darkness.
Balance and Body Position
•What is perceived: A strong, sharp sense of where the body is in space and which way is down.•Description:◦The wearer feels anchored at the teeth, as if a line ran from the fangs through the spine to a fixed point below.◦The swaying of a ship, a rope, or a branch feels slower and more predictable than it really is.◦During Whiplash Somersault, the wearer always knows where the ground is, even while upside down.•Positives: The wearer feels calm and steady on narrow or moving surfaces and rarely loses track of the ground during flips and falls.•Negatives: After the caps are removed, or when attunement breaks, solid ground can feel strangely still for a few minutes. The wearer may feel slightly dizzy, like stepping off a ship after a long voyage.
Temperature
•What is perceived: Changes of warmth in the jaw.•Description: The crystal feels warm against the tongue when charges are available and cools quickly when a charge is spent. The silver bands stay cool, like metal left in the shade.•Positives: The warmth gives the wearer another way to tell how many charges remain.•Negatives: In very cold weather, the cool bands can make the jaw feel stiff. In very hot weather, the warm crystal can feel uncomfortable against the tongue.
Darkvision
•What is perceived: Gray-toned outlines.•Description:◦The caps show as pale gray shapes at the edge of the view, with brighter silver tips.◦The crystal shows as a faint lighter spot, and the trail of a leap shows as a thin gray streak.•Positives: The wearer can follow their own movements in darkness without needing any light.•Negatives: Fine detail, such as the scale pattern or whether the crystal is cracked, is hard to see under Darkvision alone.
True Sight
•What is perceived: The ultraviolet glow that all magic gives off.•Description:◦The caps glow with modest ultraviolet light, the brightness of a tier 1 item.◦The two serpents on the bands glow brighter than the rest, and a thin thread of light runs from the caps down the spine to the feet or tail.◦During active magics, the thread flares briefly and coils around the body.•Positives: The wearer can see exactly where the balance magic flows and whether it is working. Interference from another source shows up as a flicker or break in the thread.•Negatives: Anyone else with True Sight sees the same glow clearly, which makes stealth harder around such watchers.
Blind Sight
•What is perceived: Changes in echoes around the wearer's head.•Description:◦During activation, the hum inside the jaw sends out faint echoes that briefly outline nearby ropes, beams, ledges, and walls.◦The echoes show as a quick gray picture of the surroundings, much like a single ping.•Positives: The echoes can help the wearer find the next hold for Iron Jaw Hang or a landing spot for Whiplash Somersault in darkness or smoke.•Negatives: The echoes are faint and short. They can also be confused with other sounds in noisy places like busy wharves or factories.
Soul Sight
•What is perceived: A faint presence in the caps.•Description:◦The wearer senses a small, warm echo of the many performers who wore Coilwright caps before. It feels like a crowd watching from far away.◦It is strongest during Troupe Cadence, when the hissed rhythm seems to be answered by a faint chorus.•Positives: The sense of being watched by fellow performers can steady nerves and make the wearer feel less alone during dangerous climbs.•Negatives:◦The presence may feel strange or unsettling to wearers who do not want company in their head.◦Characters with many past-life memories may confuse this echo with their own memories, especially when suffering the Fragmented condition.
Tremorsense
•What is perceived: Vibrations passing through whatever the fangs touch.•Description:◦During Iron Jaw Hang, the wearer feels through the fangs every tremor in the rope, beam, or ledge.◦This includes the footsteps of someone crossing a bridge, the creak of a mast, or the shudder of an earthquake through rock.•Positives: The wearer can sense pursuers or approaching danger through the line they hang from without seeing them.•Negatives:◦A strong vibration, such as cannon fire, factory machinery, or a volcanic tremor, can rattle the jaw unpleasantly and make it harder to concentrate.◦Tremorsense does not work while the wearer is in mid-air during a leap.
Radar
•What is perceived: Only by constructs that have this sense.•Description: A construct with Radar senses its pulses bounce back from the caps more sharply than from the rest of its body, as if the silver tips were brighter points.•Positives: The construct gets a precise reading of where its fangs are in space, helping it aim bites and holds.•Negatives: Radar cannot see around objects. The caps add no help for finding holds hidden behind beams or corners.
Hyper Focus
•What is perceived: All sight types the wearer has, focused in one direction for three seconds.•Description: If the wearer uses Hyper Focus during a leap, the landing spot sharpens and seems to rush closer, while everything else fades into a blur.•Positives: The wearer sees the exact landing point for Whiplash Somersault, even at double range, during the moment of focus.•Negatives:◦For one minute afterward, perception in all other directions is cut in half, and the wearer has a dull headache.◦The headache may combine with the jaw ache from repeated activations.
God-Enhanced Sight
•What is perceived: Unusually clear detail.•Description: A wearer with divine sight sees every scale in the enamel, every line of the engraved serpents, and the slow movement of magic inside the crystal, all with complete clarity.•Positives: The wearer can judge the condition of the caps and crystal with great accuracy, including small cracks or weak points.•Negatives: Such sharp detail may be overwhelming and pull attention away from foes or hazards during combat.
Mind’s Eye
•What is perceived: The caps' stats, shown in the wearer's own language or thoughts.•Description:◦When a charge is spent, the number of remaining charges briefly appears in the wearer's mind, like a tally mark being crossed out.◦The item name and the maker's tag drift past during attunement.•Positives: The wearer can track charges and the item's condition without stopping to identify the caps.•Negatives: If several items activate at once, the stream of information may cause Mind's Eye overwhelm, leading to a short loss of the ability or a brief penalty.
Magic Flow Sense
•What is perceived: The movement of local magic around the wearer.•Description:◦When the crystal refills at Helios up, the wearer feels a gentle pull of magic flowing toward the caps from the surrounding air, ground, or water.◦During a magic storm, the pull may feel ragged and uneven.•Positives: The wearer gains a rough sense of whether the area is high or low in magic, which can warn of magic lulls or storms.•Negatives:◦In areas of wild magic or very low magic, the pull can feel unsettling, and charges may seem to refill more slowly.◦The Guide Manager may decide charges actually refill more slowly in such places.
Gestalt and Shared Senses (Tier 2 and Above)
•What is perceived: Through the character's shared senses, other avatars feel what the wearer feels.•Description:◦A character with more than one avatar may feel the cool tingle and anchored balance as a faint echo in their other avatars.◦This includes avatars without fangs.◦At tier 2, the echo is strong within 20 feet and fades to only a sense of direction beyond 100 feet.•Positives: Other avatars can sense when the wearer is leaping, hanging, or falling, which helps the character coordinate their avatars.•Negatives: The sudden lurch of Whiplash Somersault or Strike-and-Spring can briefly unsettle the balance of other avatars standing nearby.
Danger Sense
•What is perceived: A faint warning in the jaw.•Description: When a foe's melee attack is about to miss, the crystal gives a short warm pulse a moment before the miss lands, just enough to trigger Strike-and-Spring.•Positives: The warning gives the wearer a split-second edge to react.•Negatives:◦The pulse comes only when an attack misses, not when it hits, so it gives no warning of real danger.◦Wearers who come to rely on it may grow careless.
Coilwright Recipe for Fangs of the Tumbling Viper
Materials Needed
•Two pieces of shed reef-viper enamel:◦Taken from the fang sheaths a reef viper sheds, found on the reefs off Lapita or other warm reefs where reef vipers live.◦Each piece must be whole, uncracked, and at least as long as the fang it will cover.◦Pieces from the same shedding are best, since they match in color and pattern.◦Suggested value: about 5 copper to 1 silver per piece, depending on where they are bought.•Two ounces of silver:◦For the tips and the base bands of each cap. Scrap silver from old jewelry, or silver coins melted down, is commonly used.◦Suggested value: about 1 silver•One tier 1 magic crystal:◦About the size and weight of a coin, to be set in the inner band of the left cap and hold the charges.◦A crystal that has grown longer holds more charges and is less likely to shatter early. A crystal taken from a nimble climbing or leaping creature is preferred.◦Suggested value: about 2 to 4 silver•One vial of reef-viper venom:◦Drawn with a fluid collector from the venom glands of a reef viper's corpse, or carefully milked from a living one.◦The venom is the reagent base that binds the magic of balance into the enamel.◦It must be used within seven days of collection, or kept in personal extradimensional storage, where no time passes.•One vial of mangrove sap:◦Drawn with a fluid collector from coastal mangrove trees.◦Mixed with ground silver dust to make the lacquer that seals the caps.•One length of performer's rope:◦A braided rope, at least ten feet long, that has been used in at least seven performances or climbs by an acrobat.◦It is consumed in the recipe, passing on the memory of balance and the strain of hanging weight.◦A rope from a Coilwright Troupe performance is the traditional choice.•One sacrificial tier 1 magic item with a balance, agility, or acrobatic effect:◦Examples include a common ring, anklet, or charm that grants temporary Acrobatics or Balance skill points.◦The item is consumed in the recipe, and its magic is passed into the caps as the source of the skill points and passives.◦Without this item, the finished caps have no temporary skill points.•A small amount of pumice and fine sand, for grinding and polishing the enamel.•Two small pieces of soft beeswax, for taking impressions of the wearer's fangs.
Tools Required
•Fluid collector: A syringe-style extractor for drawing the reef-viper venom and the mangrove sap.•Fang-impression tray: A small curved tray filled with softened beeswax, pressed over the wearer's fangs to capture their exact shape.•Enamel carving set: Fine picks, gravers, and small files for shaping the enamel sheaths and cutting the scale pattern.•Silversmith's tools:◦A small crucible and furnace, or an elemental fire focus item, for melting silver.◦Molds for the tips and bands, and a jeweler's hammer.◦Engraving points for the serpent design and the inner numbering.•Crystal-setting tools: Small tongs, a bezel pusher, and a setting clamp for fixing the crystal into the left band.•Alchemist's mixing set: A mortar and pestle, glass dishes, and stirring rods for preparing the venom bath and the lacquer.•Enchanter's focus item: Any item that allows the crafter to channel and direct magic into an object. This is required, since no magic can be directed without a focus.•Practice rigging: A rope or beam strung at least ten feet above the ground, used for the final test of the caps.•Workspace: A crafting location with steady light, a hearth or furnace, and room for the practice rigging. A shop, guildhall workroom, or party lair crafting room is suitable.
Skill Requirements
•Jewelcrafting: 4 trained skill points. Used for silver casting, engraving, and crystal setting.•Carving (Bone and Enamel): 3 trained skill points. Used for shaping the reef-viper enamel and cutting the scale pattern.•Alchemy: 3 trained skill points. Used for preparing the venom bath and the silver lacquer.•Enchanting: 4 trained skill points. Used for transferring the sacrificial item's magic and binding the active magics.•Toothwright Fitting: 2 trained skill points. Used for taking impressions and fitting the caps to the wearer's fangs.•Acrobatics: 2 trained skill points, held by the crafter or by the person who tests the caps. The final test must be done by a fanged avatar with this training.•Combining skills: Under the Guide Manager's note on combining skills, closely related skills may be added together for a single check if neither the trained nor the temporary total goes above 10 points. For example, Carving may be combined with Jewelcrafting for the engraving step.•Tier: The crafter must be at least tier 1. A crafter at a higher tier may make the caps, but the result is still a tier 1 item.
Crafting Steps
•Step 1: Gather and prepare fluids:◦Use the fluid collector to draw the reef-viper venom and the mangrove sap.◦Make an Alchemy skill check at Easy difficulty (25% at tier 1).◦On a failure, the fluid is spoiled and a new vial must be collected.◦Time: About 1 hour per fluid, not counting travel to the reef or mangrove shore.•Step 2: Take the fang impressions:◦Soften the beeswax in warm water and press it into the fang-impression tray. Then press the tray over the wearer's upper fangs and hold it steady until the wax sets.◦Make a Toothwright Fitting skill check at Easy difficulty (25% at tier 1).◦On a failure, the impression is uneven, and the step must be repeated with fresh wax.◦Time: About 20 minutes•Step 3: Shape the enamel sheaths:◦Using the wax impressions as a guide, grind and carve the two pieces of reef-viper enamel into sheaths that fit snugly over the fangs.◦Cut the overlapping scale pattern down from the base toward the tip, darkening toward the point.◦Make a Carving skill check at Medium difficulty (33% at tier 1).◦On a failure, roll a d20. On 1 to 5, a piece of enamel cracks and must be replaced. On 6 to 20, the sheath can be reworked with another check.◦Time: About 4 hours•Step 4: Soak the enamel in the venom bath:◦Mix the reef-viper venom with a small amount of crushed pumice in a glass dish, and let the enamel sheaths soak for a full day.◦A full day is 22 hours, from one Helios up to the next.◦Make an Alchemy skill check at Medium difficulty (33% at tier 1) when the sheaths are removed.◦On a success, the enamel takes on its clear sea-green color and becomes ready to hold magic. On a failure, the enamel turns gray and dull, and Steps 3 and 4 must be repeated with new enamel.◦Time: 1 full day of soaking•Step 5: Cast the silver tips and bands:◦Melt the silver and pour it into the molds for the two needle-point tips and the two base bands.◦File the tips to a fine point and fit them over the ends of the enamel sheaths.◦Make a Jewelcrafting skill check at Medium difficulty (33% at tier 1).◦On a failure, the silver must be melted and recast.◦Time: About 3 hours•Step 6: Engrave the bands and the inner lining:◦Engrave a coiled serpent biting its own tail on each band, arranged so the two serpents face each other when the jaw is closed.◦On the inner lining, engrave the set's number and the maker's mark.◦A crafter who is not a Coilwright Troupe member should engrave their own name as "Originally made by:" or "Modified by:" instead of the troupe's mark. Using a false maker's tag may cause trouble with the troupe, officials, or buyers who check with the Mind's Eye.◦Make a Jewelcrafting skill check at Hard difficulty (37% at tier 1).◦On a failure, the engraving is crude, and the caps can still be finished. The finished caps then have only 2 charges instead of 3.◦Time: About 4 hours•Step 7: Set the magic crystal:◦Fit the tier 1 magic crystal into a small bezel cut in the inner side of the left band, where the tongue can touch it.◦Make a Jewelcrafting skill check at Medium difficulty (33% at tier 1).◦On a failure, roll a d20. On a 1, the crystal shatters into Crystal Shards, and a new crystal must be used. On 2 to 20, the crystal can be reset with another check.◦Time: About 1 hour•Step 8: Transfer the magic of the sacrificial items:◦Lay the performer's rope in a coil around the caps, and place the sacrificial tier 1 item at the center.◦Using the enchanter's focus item, chant the transfer in a Ritual casting, reciting or singing for at least 10 minutes. A Ritual casting draws more attention but gives the best result. A Normal casting may be used, but the finished caps then have only 2 charges.◦The rope and the sacrificial item are consumed and vanish into the caps. Their magic passes into the enamel and the crystal.◦Make an Enchanting skill check at Hard difficulty (37% at tier 1).◦On a failure, the sacrificial items are still consumed, but the magic does not hold. New ones must be gathered and the step repeated.◦Time: About 1 hour, including the ritual chant•Step 9: Seal with silver lacquer:◦Grind a pinch of leftover silver into dust and mix it with the mangrove sap to make a lacquer.◦Brush a thin coat over the enamel and silver, and let it dry overnight.◦Make an Alchemy skill check at Easy difficulty (25% at tier 1).◦On a failure, the lacquer cracks while drying, and the caps must be stripped and lacquered again.◦Time: About 1 hour, plus drying overnight•Step 10: Fit the caps to the wearer:◦Fit the finished caps over the wearer's fangs and adjust the bands until they sit tightly without pinching the gums.◦Make a Toothwright Fitting skill check at Medium difficulty (33% at tier 1).◦On a failure, the caps fit loosely. The Guide Manager may require a saving throw to keep them in place during the first Iron Jaw Hang.◦Time: About 30 minutes•Step 11: Perform the testing climb:◦A fanged avatar with the required Acrobatics training wears the caps and performs seven climbs, seven leaps, and seven hangs on the practice rigging.◦This repeats the troupe's tradition that the first set gained its magic through forty-nine performances without a fall.◦Make an Acrobatics skill check at Medium difficulty (33% at tier 1) for the testing climb.◦On a success, the caps awaken, and the crystal glows violet for the first time. On a failure, the tester slips, and the climb must be tried again after a full night's rest.◦Time: About 2 hours•Step 12: Final outcome roll:◦When the caps awaken, roll a d20 once for the finished item.◦On a 1, the magic fails at the last moment. The caps become mundane enamel and silver with no magic, and the crystal shatters into Crystal Shards.◦On a 20, the caps gain an extra feature chosen by the Guide Manager. Examples include a fourth charge, a +1 bonus to the Strike-and-Spring move distance, or a scale pattern that changes color with the wearer's mood.◦On 2 to 19, the caps are complete as a Common, tier 1 set of Fangs of the Tumbling Viper, and the crafter adds a unique number to the name.
Additional Recipe Notes
•Total crafting time: About 3 to 4 in-world days, not counting time spent gathering materials or repeating failed steps.•Approximate cost:◦Materials bought from vendors cost about 5 to 8 silver, not counting the sacrificial tier 1 item. The sacrificial item usually costs as much as the finished caps.◦If a crafter is hired instead, add about 3 to 5 silver for labor.•Coilwright Troupe recipe:◦The troupe keeps the original version of this recipe, with exact notes on venom strength and chant wording.◦The troupe may teach it as a quest reward to a trusted outsider or a member of an affiliated faction. Learning it grants advantage on the Enchanting check in Step 8.•Merging and runes:◦A set made by this recipe can later be merged with another tier 1 item, or have a rune added to raise it to tier 2.◦The AC limit of 3 per item tier, and the rule against merging to 10 or more AC, still apply.
She Who Hung by Mouth
or
How Viper Gave Away Its Shoes of Teeth
Here begins the telling, as it was told by the mouths of the grandmothers to the mouths of the grandchildren, and written by the hand of the writer who did not fully know the old tongue, so forgive the writer where the words have gone sideways like a crab.
In the time before the time that is now, but after the time when the time began [the old word here is like a knot, and may mean “time” or “rope,” the writer has chosen both], there fell from the sky a soul. This soul was hungry like the gull is hungry, like the tide is hungry for the shore. It fell and fell, and it saw the mountains become hills, and the hills become trees, and the trees become the roofs of Saltcoil, which is the city of salt that coils, on the island that is called Lapita, which is to say “the place where the boats lie down” [or perhaps “the place of many aunts,” the writer is not certain].
The soul saw below many creatures glowing purple, and some were already full, and some were empty like a cup that waits. And the soul chose a serpent woman, long of body and green of scale, with two fangs in her mouth like two moons that have fallen asleep. The soul threw its dice of fate, and the dice said “no,” and the soul bounced like a fish on a deck. Then the soul tried another, and was not wanted, and came back to the serpent woman a second time, and the dice said “yes,” and the soul went in, and ate, and the two became one. This one was named Velisse, which in the old tongue is “she who coils at the top” or perhaps “she who is unkindly tall,” the writer finds both written.
Now Velisse woke and did not know herself, for the forgetting sickness was upon her, the sickness of the new body, which takes the memory and gives it back slowly like a miser gives back a borrowed coin. For many days she walked the wharves of Saltcoil and did not remember. But the smell of the wet rope remembered for her. And the sound of the ropes humming in the wind of the ships remembered for her. And one day she looked up at the masts swaying above the water, and the memory fell on her like a bucket of cold water falls on a sleeping uncle.
She remembered. In the life before, in a world that had a tent with stripes and a crowd that ate sugar clouds [the meaning of “sugar clouds” is lost, the writer believes it is a sweet food of foreign lands], she had been a performer of the air. She had hung from a rope by her teeth alone, high in the tent, and spun like a seed spins when it falls from the tree, and the crowd had thrown their voices up at her like flowers. This was called in that world “the Jaw of Iron,” and she had been the best at it, or the second best, the old words disagree, and one of them may only mean “loud.”
So Velisse said in her heart, I will do this thing again in this world. I will hang by the mouth over the harbor, and the sailors will throw their voices up at me like flowers, and also small coins.
She climbed the mast of a great trade ship. The sailors laughed, for a serpent woman on a mast is like a fish on a horse, they said, which is a saying of that place that means something is in the wrong place. And Velisse climbed to the very top and bit down on the rope, and let go with all her body, and hung.
And her fangs cracked.
There was a sound like the sound of a pot breaking in the next house. And Velisse fell, and the fall was long, and she struck the deck with a noise like a sack of grain thrown from a wagon, and her health ran out of her like water from a basket. The sailors laughed again, but also one of them brought her a cup, so they were not all bad sailors.
The master of the harbor came. His name was Old Dunmoor Saltbeard [or “Dunmoor of the Salted Beard,” or “Dunmoor who beards the salt,” the writer has seen all three]. He looked at her cracked fangs and said, “Serpent woman, the teeth of a serpent are for biting, not for hanging. The rope is for hands. Go home and use your hands, as the gods intended, or at least as the gulls intended, for the gulls have no hands and do not hang from ropes, so you see.”
The writer does not understand the harbor master’s argument either, but this is what is written.
Velisse did not go home. Instead she sat on the wharf for three days and three nights, which is sixty-six hours, for the days of Saṃsāra are not the days of other worlds, and she looked at the sea. On the third night a fisherman’s grandmother came and sat beside her. The grandmother was very old and had no teeth at all, and she said, “Child of the scales, if your teeth are too weak, then you must find stronger teeth to wear over your teeth, as a foot that is too soft wears a shoe.”
“Where is there such a shoe for the teeth?” asked Velisse.
The grandmother pointed at the reef, where the water broke white in the dark. “Out there lives the Reef Viper, who is older than this city. Each year she sheds the shoes of her fangs, as all vipers do, and leaves them in the coral. They are harder than stone and smoother than the inside of a shell. But the Reef Viper does not give anything for nothing. She will ask a price.”
“What price?” asked Velisse.
“A price,” said the grandmother, and she went away, for she was a grandmother, and grandmothers in stories do not explain themselves, this is well known.
So on the next morning, at the time when Helios rises [the writer notes that in the old text Helios “climbs out of the sea like a wet dog,” which the writer has kept because it is pleasing], Velisse swam out to the reef. The water pulled her west, for the water always pulls west, and she had to swim very hard to the east, which costs twice the strength, and she arrived tired.
In the deep coral she found the Reef Viper. The Reef Viper was a monster of great length, coiled around a rock like rope is coiled around a post, and her eyes were the color of the deep water where the light gives up. Now this viper had died many times, and come back many times, always as a viper, always starting small. And over many lives of dying she had learned that killing the people of the land only brings more dying. So she no longer killed them. She only watched them, as one watches the clouds.
“Serpent woman,” said the Reef Viper, “I know why you have come. You want my old fang shoes, so you can hang by your mouth from the ropes of the ships.”
“How do you know this?” asked Velisse.
“The fish talk,” said the Reef Viper. “And the fishermen talk to the fish. And the grandmother talks to everyone.” [Here the writer notes that in a second copy it is written “the grandmother is the fish,” which the writer believes to be an error of the first translator, or possibly a deep secret.]
“Will you give me your fang shoes?”
“I will give them,” said the Reef Viper. “But hear my price. I have lived under the water for many lives. I have never once seen the sky from above. I cannot climb. I cannot fly. When I look up I see only the bottoms of the ships, which are not beautiful. If you hang from the ropes of the ships, you must dance there. And you must dance there every day for one full month of the moon, all seven weeks and all seven days of each week, forty-nine dances. And each dance you must do without falling. And on each day, at the top, you must look down at the water and tell me what you see, so that I may see the sky through your eyes.”
“How will you hear me from the bottom of the sea?” asked Velisse.
“Bite my shoes,” said the Reef Viper, “and hang, and speak with your mouth closed on them. I will hear. A fang knows the fang it came from.”
So the Reef Viper opened her great mouth and showed her fangs. Then from the coral she brought two old fang shoes, shed in the season of the Blooming, green like the sea when the light is in it, smooth as a held breath. And she gave them to Velisse, and Velisse swam back with them held in her mouth, and the current carried her west, and that part was easy.
But the fang shoes were too large, for the Reef Viper was a great monster and Velisse was only a woman of scales. So Velisse went to a crafter of the city. This crafter was a gnome named Tibbet Gearwhistle [or “Tibbet who whistles at gears,” the old tongue makes no difference], and Tibbet was a gnome who did not trust the floating magic, as all gnomes of that time did not trust it, being jealous of the city in the clouds. Tibbet said, “I will carve your shoes. I will put silver on them, tips like needles and bands like rings, and I will set into them a small crystal like a coin, because the crystal is honest, it is a battery, it is a thing of storing, like a jar. But I will put no magic in them. Magic is for people who cannot use a file.”
So Tibbet carved the fang shoes to fit the fangs of Velisse. He ground them with pumice and sand, and he cut a pattern of scales on them, and he soaked them one whole day in the venom of the reef so that they would remember the reef. He cast the tips of silver and filed them sharp, and he made the bands, and on each band he carved a serpent biting its own tail, the two serpents facing each other when the mouth was closed, like two old friends who have nothing left to say. And in the left one he set a small crystal, dull and pale, the color of sea glass on the beach.
Tibbet said, “There. They are shoes for the teeth. They will not crack. That is the whole of it. If they do anything more, it is not my fault.”
And Velisse put them on, and they fit, and they were cool like the morning rope.
Now came the month of Tyrus, which is the month named for the god of justice, and it is said this was chosen because the Reef Viper wished the bargain to be fair [or because it was simply the next month, the old text says both].
On the first day of the first week, the week of Illumination, Velisse climbed the mainmast of the great trade ship. The sailors laughed again, for they remembered the sack of grain. Old Dunmoor of the Salted Beard came out of his office and folded his arms, which is the way of harbor masters everywhere. Velisse bit the rope with her new shoes of the teeth, and let go with her hands, and let go with her tail, and hung.
And the shoes did not crack.
And she spun. And she spun again. And she looked down at the water and said, through her closed mouth, “I see the water like a green bowl with white edges. I see the boats like seeds floating in soup. I see the sailors with their mouths open, like little fish.”
And far below, on the reef, the Reef Viper heard, and was glad.
The sailors did not laugh. They threw small coins.
On the second day she danced again, and on the third, and on the fourth. In the week of Warming she danced in the heat, and the rope burned her mouth, and still she held. In the week of Blooming she danced with the smell of flowers from the hills coming down to the harbor, and she told the Reef Viper of the colors of the hills, which the Reef Viper had never seen, and the Reef Viper wept salt into salt water, which the writer notes cannot be measured. In the week of Buzzing the flies were very bad and one flew into the nose of Velisse, and she did not fall, and this is considered by the people of Saltcoil to be the greatest of all her dances, though it is the least told.
In the week of Passion a sailor fell in love with her and asked her to come down from the mast and marry him. And Velisse said through her teeth, “I cannot come down. I have a bargain with a fish.” [The writer notes that the Reef Viper is not a fish, but this is the word used. Perhaps the old tongue has only one word for all things that live in the water, or perhaps Velisse was teasing.] And the sailor was sad, and went to sea, and the story does not say what became of him, and the grandmothers say this is because he is still at sea.
Then came the week of Dimming, when the great VaporSphere moves across the face of Helios, and the light goes thin like soup that has had too much water added. The ropes went cold. Velisse’s jaw ached. The pale crystal in her left shoe felt warm against her tongue, which it had never done before, and she did not know why. Still she danced, and still she did not fall, and she told the Reef Viper, “The sky has become a gray cloth. The light is like the light inside a shell. Helios is being eaten slowly by the great one.”
And then came the week of Darkness.
In the week of Darkness the cold came down hard, and the wind came with it. A storm rose out of the east, from the direction the water flows from, which is a bad omen in Saltcoil. The ships pulled at their ropes like dogs that wish to be let out. No sailor would climb, and no sensible person would climb, and the harbor master said to Velisse, “Today you will not dance. Today the gods themselves would not dance.”
And Velisse said, “I have danced forty-five days. There are four days left. If I do not dance, the bargain is broken.”
And she climbed into the storm.
On the forty-sixth day the wind took the rope and swung it like a mother swings a rug to beat the dust out. Velisse held. On the forty-seventh day the rain came sideways, and the mast cracked like her fangs had cracked long ago, but it did not break, and she held. On the forty-eighth day there was no light at all, only the dark of the eclipse and the dark of the storm together, the two darks lying one on top of the other like two blankets, and still she held, and she told the Reef Viper, “I see nothing. I see nothing at all. But I hear the sea shouting. I think the sea is angry that it cannot climb.”
And on the forty-ninth day, the last day of the month of Tyrus, the storm was at its worst. On that day there was a child on the docks, a small child who had not yet come to the age of magic, a child with no power of the gods in its body. It had run out after a cat, as children do, and the wind took the child off the edge of the dock and threw it toward the water, where the waves would have taken it under.
The writer pauses to remind the reader that to harm a child who has no magic is the most terrible thing in all the cultures of Saṃsāra. And to let such a child die when one could save it is very nearly the same, the grandmothers say.
Velisse was high above on the rope. She saw the child fall. She did not think. She bit down on the rope, and swung, and let go of the rope with her mouth at the top of the swing, and flew through the storm. She turned once in the air, and twice, like a seed spins when it falls from the tree. And at the bottom of her fall she caught a lower rigging line with her teeth, and hung, and swung low over the water, and caught the child with her tail just before the waves.
And there she hung, in the storm, with the child held in her tail, by her teeth alone, on a single wet rope, while the ship bucked like a goat.
It is said that at that moment, the crystal in the left shoe of the teeth woke up. It glowed violet like the evening before a festival. And the scales carved on the shoes glowed green like sea water with the light in it. And the two serpents on the silver bands, the two old friends who had nothing to say, began to turn slowly around the fangs, as though at last they had something to say after all.
And Velisse felt her body become steady, as though a line ran from her teeth through her spine down to the bottom of the sea, where the Reef Viper held the other end. And the swaying of the storm became slow to her, slow like a cradle. And she did not fall.
She climbed the rope with the child in her tail and her teeth on the line, up and up, to the deck, and gave the child back to its mother, who was weeping, and who was, it turned out, the granddaughter of the grandmother with no teeth. [The writer notes that in stories everyone is the granddaughter of someone.]
Old Dunmoor of the Salted Beard came out of his office in the storm and did not fold his arms. Instead he took off his hat, which is the way of harbor masters everywhere when they are wrong. He said, “Serpent woman, I said the teeth of a serpent are for biting, not for hanging. I was wrong. The teeth of this serpent are for holding.”
And Velisse said, through her closed mouth, to the Reef Viper on the bottom of the sea, “I see a child. I see a mother. I see an old man with no hat. I see that the storm is ending, and the light is coming back, and the great one is letting go of Helios.”
And far below, the Reef Viper heard, and said, “That is the best thing you have shown me. Keep the shoes. The bargain is finished.”
Tibbet the gnome came to look at the shoes of the teeth after, and he saw the glow, and he saw the serpents turning, and he became very cross. He said, “I put no magic in them. I put in honest silver and honest enamel and an honest crystal. Where did this magic come from?”
And Velisse said, “From forty-nine days of not falling.”
And Tibbet said, “That is not a material.” And he went home and was cross for a week, but secretly he kept a small pair of drawings of the shoes under his workbench, and it is said that his grandchildren still make them, though they say it is only silversmithing, and not magic, which is how gnomes are.
After this Velisse made a troupe of all the people with fangs who would come. Serpent folk and lizard folk and beast folk and one bat folk who was not very good but tried very hard. And she named it the Coilwright Troupe, which means “those who make the coils” or “those who are right to coil,” the old tongue cannot decide. Each member wore shoes of the teeth made by the way the first ones were made, and each pair had a number carved inside, so that none would be confused, and so that a thief could be caught, for already then there were thieves who saw the shoes and thought of rooftops.
And it is said that if you wear such shoes of the teeth and hang from a rope over the sea at the time when Helios rises, and close your mouth on the silver, and speak very quietly, sometimes a voice from very deep will answer, and ask you what you see.
And you must tell it. Because the bargain was never really finished. It was only begun again.
Here ends the telling.
Moral of the Story
The grandmothers say it in the old way: “Not the tooth holds, but the holding holds the tooth.” The writer believes this means it is not the strength of a thing that keeps us from falling, but the steady patience of holding on, day after day, through the light and through the dark, and that the greatest strength is the one used to catch someone else before they fall.
Suggested conversions to other systems:
The Coilwright Teeth of Saltcoil
Stat Block
•Name: The Coilwright Teeth of Saltcoil (numbered set 3817)•Type: Minor artifact, worn•Description: A matched pair of long fang sheaths made of shed reef-viper enamel, sea-green with a carved scale pattern. Each has a needle-point tip of lacquered silver and a silver base band engraved with a serpent biting its own tail. A coin-sized pale violet crystal is set in the inner band of the left cap. The number 3817 and a rope-knot maker's mark are engraved inside.•Requirement: The wearer must have fangs or long canine teeth to wear the caps properly. A Keeper may allow a dental fitting for human investigators. In that case the caps work as written, but the first fitting costs 0/1 SAN as the wearer feels the cold of the reef run down their spine.•Charges: 3 "Coils," regained at dawn•Crystal shatter: When the last Coil of the day is spent, roll 1D100. On 01 to 05, the crystal shatters, and the caps stop regaining Coils until a new crystal is set.•Running dry: When no Coils remain, the wearer may spend 2 Magic Points and make a Sanity roll (0/1) to power one more use. The wearer hears a voice from deep water asking what they see.•Value: Keeper's discretion. As a curio in a 1920s antique shop, about $20 to $40. To a collector of the strange, far more.
Skill Effects While Visibly Worn
•Climb: +10 percentiles•Jump: +10 percentiles•Dodge: +5 percentiles•Call of Cthulhu has no Acrobatics skill, so the Saṃsāra Acrobatics, Balance, and Climbing training is converted into Climb, Jump, and Dodge.•These bonuses apply only while the caps are visible. If the mouth is covered by a mask, scarf, gas mask, or diving helmet, the bonuses are lost until it is removed.
Weapon Entry
•Weapon: Bite (Coilwright Teeth)•Skill: Fighting (Brawl)•Damage: 1D4 + damage bonus (DB)•Base Range: Touch•Uses per Round: 1•Bullets in Gun (Magazine): Not applicable•Malfunction: Not applicable•The silver tips count as a piercing weapon for any Mythos entity vulnerable to silver, at the Keeper's discretion. The bite does not impale.
Passive Effects
•Jaw Anchor:◦The wearer gains a bonus die on Climb and Jump rolls made to keep balance on narrow, swaying, slippery, or moving surfaces.◦This includes ship rigging, rooftop ridges, rope bridges, and the deck of a ship in a storm.•Serpent's Landing:◦Reduce the distance of any fall by 10 feet (3 meters) when working out falling damage.◦If no damage is taken, the wearer lands on their feet and may act normally on their next turn.•Coiled Spine:◦When an opponent uses a fighting maneuver to knock the wearer down, the wearer may make a DEX roll in addition to any normal response.◦On a success, the wearer stays standing and may move up to 2 yards in any direction.•Steady Grip:◦The wearer can hold a small object in their teeth without dropping it, such as a knife, a key, a match, or a rolled letter.◦The wearer can still speak short phrases, enough to cast a spell with brief chanting. A spell that needs extended chanting cannot be cast with something held in the teeth.
Active Effects
•Whiplash Somersault (1 Coil, the wearer's action for the round):◦Make a Jump roll.◦On a Regular success, the wearer leaps up to 5 yards in any direction, or up to 3 yards straight up. The leap may pass over a human-sized or smaller opponent.◦If the leap passes over an opponent, the wearer may make one Bite attack as part of the same action. On a hit, the opponent suffers a penalty die on its next attack against the wearer before the end of the next round.◦On a Hard or Extreme success, the wearer also chooses where to land, even on narrow or difficult footing.◦On a failure, the wearer lands awkwardly beside the opponent and gains no attack. The Coil is still spent.•Strike-and-Spring (1 Coil, response to a melee attack):◦When an opponent's melee attack against the wearer misses, the wearer may spend a Coil to flip up to 3 yards away. This happens immediately and does not use the wearer's action.◦The wearer may use this once per round.•Iron Jaw Hang (no Coil, once per hour):◦The wearer bites a rope, beam, ledge, chain, or rigging line and hangs by the jaw alone for up to one minute, with hands free.◦The wearer may use firearms, throw objects, or make Fighting (Brawl) attacks with the hands while hanging. A Keeper may impose a penalty die because of the swaying.◦An opponent may try to break the hold with an opposed STR roll against the wearer's CON.•Troupe Cadence (1 Coil, the wearer's action for the round):◦The wearer hisses a short rhythmic chant. One ally within 10 yards who can hear it gains a bonus die on their next Climb or Jump roll within 10 minutes.◦A whispered chant (Silent) lasts 5 minutes.◦A full round of chanting (Ritual) lasts 15 minutes but draws attention. A Keeper may ask for a Stealth roll if the party is trying to stay hidden.
Keeper’s Notes
•Lore: The caps were made in the port city of Saltcoil on Lapita, in the world of Saṃsāra. They came to the investigators' world through a hidden Fae Portal in a harbor warehouse. Investigators who learn this may gain a few points of Cthulhu Mythos at the Keeper's discretion.•The Reef Viper:◦The voice heard when Magic Points power the caps belongs to the ancient Reef Viper of the Saltcoil reefs. It is curious rather than hostile and only wants to know what the wearer sees.◦It may become a recurring contact. Over time, a Keeper may treat it as a source of knowledge from deep water.•Balance:◦The bonus dice and the escape effects are strong in chase scenes.◦A Keeper may limit Strike-and-Spring to once per scene, or remove the Magic Point option entirely, for a grimmer game.
Blades in the Dark (1st Edition)
Viper-Silver Jaw Caps
Stat Block
•Name: Viper-Silver Jaw Caps (numbered set 3817)•Item type: Arcane item, fine•Load: 1•Quality: 2 (fine)•Description: Sea-green enamel fang caps with silver tips and serpent-carved bands. A pale violet crystal is set in the left band. Made by the Coilwright Troupe in a port city across a strange sea, they reached Doskvol through a smuggler's warehouse door that should not have opened.•Requirement: The wearer must have fangs or sharp canines. Inhuman characters, Hulls with fitted jaws, or characters with a Ghost-touched jaw may wear them at the GM's discretion.•Coils: 3 boxes, cleared at the start of each score or during downtime•Crystal shatter: When the third Coil is ticked, the GM may offer a Devil's Bargain that the crystal cracks. If accepted, no Coils can be used until the crystal is repaired with a long-term project.
Action Ratings Affected
•Prowl: Climbing, rooftops, balancing on ledges, moving along rigging and wires•Finesse: Leaps, flips, tumbles, and anything needing grace and control•Skirmish: Biting in close combat with the silver-tipped fangs
Special Abilities of the Item
•Jaw Anchor:◦While wearing the caps openly, take +1 effect on Prowl and Finesse rolls to keep your balance on narrow, swaying, wet, or moving footing.◦This includes rooftops in the rain, rope bridges, and the deck of a leviathan hunter in a gale.•Serpent's Landing:◦The caps count as special armor against harm from falling.◦When you fall a short distance, such as a single story, a balcony, or a gantry, you take no harm and land on your feet.◦A longer fall can be reduced by one harm level by marking the special armor box.•Coiled Spine:◦When you resist being knocked down, thrown, or swept off your feet, you may resist with Prowess and take 1 less stress, to a minimum of 0.•Iron Jaw Hang:◦You can hang by your teeth from a rope, beam, chain, or ledge with your hands free.◦While hanging, you do not take reduced effect on actions using your hands, and your position does not worsen because you are hanging.◦This is a permission granted by the item, and no Coil is needed.•Whiplash Somersault (tick 1 Coil):◦When you make a Finesse or Skirmish action that includes leaping over or past a foe, tick a Coil to take +1 effect.◦On a 4 or higher, the next harm you suffer from that foe this scene is reduced by one level.•Strike-and-Spring (tick 1 Coil):◦When you resist a consequence from a melee attack, tick a Coil to resist with Prowess and take 1 less stress.◦You may also reposition to a nearby spot out of the foe's reach.•Troupe Cadence (tick 1 Coil):◦When you assist a teammate's Prowl or Finesse action, tick a Coil to give them +1d without taking stress.◦The hissed rhythm can be heard by anyone nearby. The GM may treat this as a minor complication in quiet situations.
Drawbacks
•Conspicuous:◦When the caps are seen, they are memorable. The GM may add +1 heat at the end of a score where they were used openly in front of witnesses.◦Bluecoats or rival crews may start to connect the caps to the crew.•Voice of the Deep:◦When all three Coils are ticked, the wearer may hear a voice from deep water asking what they see.◦Answering it is a short Attune action. On a success, the voice may give a small piece of information about the waters, canals, or something hidden beneath them, as the GM decides.◦On a failure, take 1 stress or a minor arcane-related complication.
Crafting Notes
•Making a new set is a long-term project using Tinker or Attune.•The clock is 8 segments, plus extra segments if the GM wants a harder craft.•Materials needed are the enamel of a shed reef serpent, which is rare in Doskvol, silver, and a small spark of arcane power or a leviathan blood vial. A pale violet crystal from the far shore is traditional.•A set at quality 2 is fine. A higher-quality set needs better materials or a higher crew Tier.
GM’s Notes
•Lore: In Saṃsāra, the caps were made by the Coilwright Troupe for the "Iron Jaw" act, in which performers hang by the teeth over the harbor of Saltcoil. In Doskvol, a set may belong to a former circus performer, a cat burglar, or a smuggler who works the dock cranes.•Balance:◦The Coils add resources but do not replace stress, which keeps characters spending stress on pushing and resisting.◦If the item feels too strong, reduce Coils to 2, or make Jaw Anchor apply only when the caps are worn openly and visibly.
Dungeons & Dragons (2024 Rules)
Fangcaps of the Tumbling Viper
Stat Block
•Name: Fangcaps of the Tumbling Viper•Item type: Wondrous Item, Uncommon (Requires Attunement by a creature with fangs or a natural Bite)•Rarity note: In Saṃsāra this item is Common. In the 2024 rules, the number of combat features makes Uncommon a better fit. A Common version is described under Balance.•Description: These sea-green caps of shed reef-viper enamel fit tightly over a creature's fangs. Their tips are silver and their bands are carved with a serpent biting its own tail. A pale violet crystal is set in the left band, where it glows softly while the caps hold charges.
While Attuned
•Acrobatic Bonus: You gain a +1 bonus to Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks.•Jaw Anchor: You have Advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks made to keep your balance on narrow, slippery, or moving surfaces, such as ropes, beams, rigging, or a ship's deck in rough water.•Fang Strike:◦You can make an Unarmed Strike with your fangs.◦On a hit, it deals 1d4 Piercing damage plus your Strength modifier instead of the normal damage for an Unarmed Strike.•Serpent's Landing:◦When you fall, reduce the distance used to work out falling damage by 10 feet.◦If you take no damage from the fall, you don't have the Prone condition when you land.•Coiled Spine: You have Advantage on saving throws you make to avoid the Prone condition.•Steady Grip:◦You can hold a Tiny object in your teeth without dropping it.◦This does not stop you from providing Verbal components for spells.
Charges
•The fangcaps have 3 charges and regain 1d3 expended charges daily at dawn.•When you expend the last charge, roll 1d20. On a 1, the crystal shatters, and the fangcaps lose their charges and any property that uses charges.•A DM may allow a jeweler or a crafter with Jeweler's Tools to repair the crystal during downtime, at a cost of about 5 GP.
Properties That Use Charges
•Whiplash Somersault:◦As a Bonus Action, you can expend 1 charge to leap up to 15 feet horizontally or 10 feet vertically. This movement doesn't provoke Opportunity Attacks.◦You can leap over or through the space of a hostile creature that is your size or smaller.◦If you do, the creature has Disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes against you before the end of your next turn.•Strike-and-Spring:◦Trigger: A creature you can see misses you with a melee attack roll.◦Response: You can take a Reaction to expend 1 charge and move up to 10 feet without provoking Opportunity Attacks.•Troupe Cadence:◦As a Bonus Action, you can expend 1 charge to hiss a short performer's chant.◦One creature of your choice within 30 feet that can hear you can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to its next Dexterity (Acrobatics) check made within the next 10 minutes.
Property Without Charges
•Iron Jaw Hang:◦As a Utilize action, you can bite onto a rope, beam, ledge, chain, or branch strong enough to hold your weight, and hang by your teeth for up to 1 minute.◦While hanging, your hands remain free, and you can take actions normally.◦A creature can take an action to try to dislodge you. It makes a Strength (Athletics) check contested by your Strength or Dexterity saving throw (your choice), and on a success you fall.◦Once you use this property, you can't use it again until you finish a Short or Long Rest.
Balance and Adjustment
•Common version:◦Remove Fang Strike, Whiplash Somersault, and Strike-and-Spring.◦Keep the Acrobatic Bonus, Jaw Anchor, Serpent's Landing, Steady Grip, and Iron Jaw Hang. Iron Jaw Hang stays once per Long Rest.◦This version fits the 2024 guidance for Common items and needs no Attunement.•Uncommon version: As written above.•Rare version:◦Add a +1 bonus to Armor Class and to Initiative rolls.◦Increase the charges to 4, regained at 1d4 per dawn.•Saṃsāra rules allow AC and Initiative bonuses on a tier 1 item. In D&D, those bonuses are usually saved for higher rarities, so they are left out at Uncommon.
DM’s Notes
•Lore:◦The fangcaps come from the Coilwright Troupe of Saltcoil, on the island of Lapita in the world of Saṃsāra. They were first made from shed fang sheaths given by an ancient Reef Viper, in exchange for forty-nine performances without a fall.◦A set may cross into another world through a Fae Portal, or be carried by a planar traveler.•Suggested value: About 100 to 200 GP for the Uncommon version. The DM may adjust this for how rare fanged creatures are in the setting.
Reef-Viper Fang Shoes
Stat Block
•Name: Reef-Viper Fang Shoes (numbered set 3817)•Type: Magic item, worn•Slots: 1•Quality: 3. When the item takes damage, reduce Quality by 1. At 0 it is broken and its magic stops working until it is repaired.•Defense: +1 while worn openly, counting as a piece of armor toward the wearer's Defense•Value: About 80 coins. Adjust to the table's economy and the rarity of fanged creatures.•Requirement: The wearer must have fangs. Fangless characters cannot wear them.•Usage: 3 per day, regained at dawn•Crystal shatter: When the last use of the day is spent, roll a d20. On a 1, the crystal shatters, and the item cannot regain uses until a new crystal is set.
Checks and Saves
•Knave uses one check for all risky actions: roll d20, add the relevant ability bonus, and succeed on a total greater than 15. Advantage means rolling 2d20 and keeping the better result.•Saṃsāra's own Saving Throws rules are adapted from Knave, so these mechanics convert directly.
While Worn Openly
•Tumbler's Training: +1 to DEX checks made for tumbling, leaping, and balancing.•Jaw Anchor: Advantage on DEX checks to keep balance on narrow, slippery, or moving surfaces such as ropes, beams, rigging, rooftops, and storm-tossed decks.•Fang Strike:◦The wearer can attack with a bite as a light weapon.◦Damage: d4◦Attack: d20 + STR bonus against the target's Defense•Serpent's Landing:◦Falls of 10 feet or less deal no damage.◦Longer falls deal 1d6 less damage, to a minimum of 0, and the wearer lands on their feet if no damage is taken.•Coiled Spine: Advantage on DEX saves to avoid being knocked down, tripped, or thrown.•Steady Grip: The wearer can hold a small item in their teeth and still speak in short phrases.
Powers (Each Use Spends 1 Usage)
•Whiplash Somersault:◦On the wearer's turn, leap up to 15 feet in any direction, or up to 10 feet straight up, passing over any human-sized or smaller foe.◦If the leap passes over a foe, the wearer may make a Fang Strike against that foe as part of the move.◦On a hit, the foe has disadvantage on its next attack against the wearer.•Strike-and-Spring:◦When a foe misses the wearer with a melee attack, the wearer may spend a use to immediately move up to 10 feet away.◦This does not use the wearer's next action. It may be used once per round.•Troupe Cadence:◦The wearer hisses a short chant on their turn.◦One ally within 30 feet who hears it gains advantage on their next DEX check made within one exploration turn of 10 minutes.
Power Without Usage
•Iron Jaw Hang:◦Bite onto a rope, beam, ledge, or branch and hang by the teeth for up to 1 minute, about 6 rounds, with hands free.◦The wearer may attack or use items while hanging.◦A foe may try to break the hold with an opposed STR check against the wearer's CON.◦Usable once per hour.
Referee’s Notes
•Lore:◦These "shoes for the teeth" were first made for Velisse Coilwright, the serpent-woman acrobat of Saltcoil on Lapita, in the world of Saṃsāra.◦They were carved from the shed fang sheaths of an ancient Reef Viper, in a bargain for forty-nine performances without a fall.◦In a Knave game, a set may be found in a drowned ship, a circus wagon on the road, or a thieves' guild cache.•Balance:◦For a grittier game, reduce Usage to 2 per day.◦Alternatively, have each use cost 1 Hit Point, representing jaw strain.◦If a table uses Knave's slot-based encumbrance strictly, the item stays at 1 slot whether worn or carried.
Fate (Fate Condensed, the Latest Fate Core Rules)
The Tumbling Viper’s Coilwright Caps
Extra Block
•Name: The Tumbling Viper's Coilwright Caps•Extra type: Gear extra, made of an aspect, a permission, and stunts•Refresh cost: 1. This pays for the aspect and two stunts. Each additional stunt costs 1 more refresh, as usual.•Permission: The character must have fangs. This should appear in their high concept or another aspect, such as "Serpent-Woman of the Saltcoil Wharves" or "Fanged Rooftop Thief."•Cost: Narrative. The caps may be earned in play, bought as a story milestone, or given by the Coilwright Troupe.
Aspect
•Aspect name: Coilwright Caps: A Fang Held Steady Keeps the Body Steady•Invoke ideas:◦Gain +2 or a reroll on Athletics when balancing on ropes, beams, rigging, ledges, or moving decks.◦Gain +2 on Fight when biting with the silver-tipped fangs.◦Gain +2 on defend when a flip or tumble would help.◦Use it to justify hanging by the teeth over a long drop.•Compel ideas:◦The caps are recognized by town guards as a rooftop thief's gear.◦The silver tips catch the light and give away a hiding place.◦The crystal cracks at a bad moment.◦A faint voice from deep water asks what you see at the worst possible time.◦The Coilwright Troupe wants its numbered set back.
Stunts
•Jaw Anchor:◦Because I wear the Coilwright Caps, I get +2 when I use Athletics to overcome an obstacle involving balance, climbing, or leaping on narrow, swaying, or slippery surfaces.•Whiplash Somersault:◦Because I wear the Coilwright Caps, once per scene I can move one zone and make a Fight attack with my fangs in the same exchange, with no extra cost.◦If I leap over the target to do it and succeed, I also create the boost "Thrown Off Balance" on them.•Strike-and-Spring (optional third stunt, costs 1 extra refresh):◦Because I wear the Coilwright Caps, when I succeed with style on an Athletics defend against a close-combat attack, I can move one zone for free instead of taking the boost.◦This movement ignores any situation aspects that would normally make the move harder, such as "Packed Crowd" or "Narrow Walkway."•Troupe Cadence (optional fourth stunt, costs 1 extra refresh):◦Because I know the Coilwright performer's chant, once per session I can create an advantage with Rapport without a roll.◦This places the aspect "In the Troupe's Rhythm" on one ally, with one free invoke, usable on any Athletics roll they make in that scene.
Permissions Granted by the Caps
•Iron Jaw Hang:◦The character can hang by the teeth from any rope, beam, chain, or ledge strong enough to hold them, with hands free, for as long as the scene needs.◦No roll is needed unless there is opposition.◦Trying to knock the character loose is an Athletics or Physique overcome or attack against the character's Physique defense.•Serpent's Landing:◦Short falls, such as a single story, a balcony, or a ship's yardarm, do not cause harm. The character lands on their feet as part of normal movement.◦Longer falls are handled as an attack, at Fair (+2) or higher opposition depending on the height.•Steady Grip: The character can carry small objects in their teeth and still speak in short phrases.
Stress, Consequences, and Damage to the Caps
•The caps do not have stress boxes of their own.•When the GM wants the caps to break, it is a compel: "Cracked Coilwright Crystal," or "Bent Silver Band."•Until repaired, the stunts stop working, but the aspect stays.•Repairing the caps is a Crafts overcome against Fair (+2) opposition, or a scene with a toothwright or crystal setter.
GM’s Notes
•Lore:◦The caps come from the Coilwright Troupe of Saltcoil on Lapita, in the world of Saṃsāra. They were first made from shed fang sheaths given by an ancient Reef Viper, in exchange for forty-nine performances without a fall.◦In other Fate settings, the caps may have crossed through a hidden Fae Portal, or been brought by a planar traveler.•Balance:◦The aspect and the two core stunts are about as strong as a normal Fate stunt package.◦The optional stunts add flexibility in combat and should cost refresh to keep Fate's usual balance.◦For a light-hearted game, the voice of the Reef Viper can be a recurring character with its own aspects.
Numenera and the Cypher System (Cypher System Rulebook, Second Edition; Numenera Discovery and Destiny)
Coilwright Jaw-Sheaths of the Drowned Reef
Artifact Block
•Name: Coilwright Jaw-Sheaths of the Drowned Reef•Level: 1d6 + 1•Form:◦A pair of sea-green enamel sheaths fitted over the fangs, with silver needle tips and silver base bands carved with a serpent biting its own tail.◦A coin-sized pale violet crystal is set in the left band.◦In Numenera, the "enamel" is a prior-world synth that changes color when activated, and the crystal is a small energy cell of unknown origin.•Requirement: The wearer must have fangs or long sharp teeth. A GM may allow a fitting for other characters, with the caps working as written once fitted.•Depletion: 1 in 1d10, checked each time an active effect is used. When depleted, the crystal cracks, and the active effects stop working until it is replaced.•Price (Cypher System): Moderately expensive, about 100 currency units, adjusted to the setting•Salvage (Numenera): Can be salvaged for 1 unit of responsive synth and 1d6 shins at the GM's discretion
Effects While Worn
•Jaw Anchor:◦Tasks to keep balance on narrow, swaying, slick, or moving surfaces are eased by one step.◦This includes climbing ship rigging, crossing a rope bridge, and running a rooftop ridge in the rain.◦It stacks with training in Balancing or Climbing.•Fang Strike:◦The wearer can bite as a light weapon, dealing 2 points of damage.◦As with all light weapons, the attack is eased.•Serpent's Landing:◦The wearer treats any fall as 10 feet (3 m) shorter when working out falling damage.◦If they take no damage, they land on their feet.•Coiled Spine: Speed defense tasks to avoid being knocked down or thrown are eased.•Steady Grip: The wearer can hold a small object in their teeth without dropping it, and can still speak in short phrases.
Active Effects (Each Use Requires a Depletion Roll)
•Whiplash Somersault (an action):◦The wearer leaps a short distance in any direction, passing over any creature of their size or smaller, and lands in a chosen spot.◦As part of the same action, the wearer may make a Fang Strike against any creature they passed over.◦On a hit, that creature's next attack against the wearer is hindered.•Strike-and-Spring (no action, once per round):◦When a melee attack against the wearer misses, the wearer may immediately move an immediate distance away from the attacker.◦This does not count as the wearer's action and does not provoke a free attack.•Iron Jaw Hang (an action, no depletion roll, usable once per hour):◦The wearer bites a rope, beam, ledge, or chain and hangs by the teeth for up to one minute, with hands free to act.◦Tasks using the hands while hanging are not hindered by the hanging position.◦A creature trying to break the hold makes a Might task with a difficulty equal to the artifact's level.•Troupe Cadence (an action):◦The wearer hisses a rhythmic chant. One ally within short range who can hear it has their next balance, climbing, or jumping task eased by one step, if made within ten minutes.◦If the wearer applies a level of Effort, the duration extends to one hour.
GM Intrusions
•The crystal cracks mid-leap, and the wearer must make a Speed defense roll to land safely.•The silver tips catch the light, and a guard, abhuman, or visitant spots the wearer on the rooftops or rigging.•A faint voice from deep water asks the wearer what they see. Answering is an Intellect task with a difficulty equal to the artifact's level.◦On a success, the voice gives one useful piece of knowledge about nearby water, a buried ruin, or something hidden beneath the surface.◦On a failure, the wearer is dazed, and their next task is hindered.
GM’s Notes
•Lore:◦The sheaths were made by the Coilwright Troupe of Saltcoil, on the island of Lapita in the world of Saṃsāra, for the "Iron Jaw" act.◦In the Ninth World, they may have arrived through an unstable gate left by a prior world. Their maker's mark and inner number 3817 are as puzzling as any numenera.◦In other Cypher settings, they may arrive through a portal, be found in a circus wagon, or be pulled from a sunken ship.•Balance:◦The combination of Speed defense easing, an eased bite, and escape movement is strong at low tiers.◦A GM may limit Strike-and-Spring to once per encounter, or raise the depletion to 1 in 1d6, for a harder game.
Pathfinder (Second Edition, Remaster: Player Core and GM Core)
Coilwright Fang Shoes
Item Stat Block
•Coilwright Fang Shoes — ITEM 3•Traits: Invested, Magical•Price: 55 gp•Usage: Worn (fang sheaths)•Bulk: —•Requirement: The wearer must have fangs or a jaws unarmed attack.•Description:◦These sea-green sheaths of shed reef-viper enamel fit tightly over the fangs. Each has a silver needle tip and a silver base band carved with a serpent biting its own tail. A coin-sized pale violet crystal is set in the left band.◦While the fang shoes are invested, you gain a +1 item bonus to Acrobatics checks.◦You also gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Acrobatics checks to Balance on narrow, uneven, or moving surfaces, such as ropes, beams, rigging, or a ship's deck in rough water.◦If you have a jaws unarmed attack, it gains the finesse trait while you wear the fang shoes.◦If you don't have a jaws unarmed attack, the fang shoes grant one: a jaws unarmed attack in the brawling group that deals 1d6 piercing damage and has the finesse and unarmed traits.◦When you fall, treat the fall as 10 feet shorter.◦You can hold a light item in your teeth without dropping it. This does not stop you from casting spells with verbal components or speaking.
Activations
•Activate—Whiplash Somersault (two actions, concentrate)◦Frequency: once per hour◦Effect: You Leap up to 15 feet horizontally or 10 feet vertically. This movement doesn't trigger reactions.◦You can move through the space of one enemy your size or smaller during the Leap.◦After moving, you can make a jaws Strike against that enemy.◦On a hit, the enemy takes a −2 circumstance penalty to its next attack roll against you before the start of your next turn.◦This counts as two attacks for your multiple attack penalty.•Activate—Strike-and-Spring (reaction, concentrate)◦Frequency: once per 10 minutes◦Trigger: A creature you can see misses you with a melee Strike.◦Effect: You Stride up to 10 feet. This movement doesn't trigger reactions.•Activate—Iron Jaw Hang (one action, manipulate)◦Effect: You bite onto a rope, beam, ledge, or chain that can support your weight, and hang by your teeth.◦You can remain hanging for up to 1 minute, with your hands free.◦While hanging, you aren't off-guard due to your position, and you can make Strikes and other actions with your hands normally.◦A creature can attempt an Athletics check against your Fortitude DC as an action to dislodge you.•Activate—Troupe Cadence (one action, auditory, concentrate, linguistic)◦Frequency: once per day◦Effect: You hiss a short performer's chant.◦One ally within 30 feet who can hear you gains a +1 status bonus to Acrobatics checks for 10 minutes.
Crafting and Adjustment
•Craft Requirements: Supply two pieces of shed reef-viper enamel, a vial of reef-viper venom, and a length of rope used in at least seven performances or climbs.•Crystal shatter (optional GM rule): When you use Whiplash Somersault, roll a flat check DC 2. On a failure, the crystal cracks, and the fang shoes lose their activations until repaired with a successful Repair check (DC 18).•Level 1 version:◦Remove the +1 item bonus to Acrobatics.◦Reduce Whiplash Somersault to once per day.◦Set the Price at 20 gp.◦The +1 item bonus to a skill is normally given by level 3 items, so this version better matches level 1 item guidance.•Lore: The fang shoes come from the Coilwright Troupe of Saltcoil on Lapita, in the world of Saṃsāra. On Golarion, a set might arrive through a hidden Fae Portal, a planar storm, or a traveling circus from the First World.
Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)
Reef-Viper Silvertooth Caps
Item Block
•Name: Reef-Viper Silvertooth Caps (numbered set 3817)•Type: Arcane device, worn•Weight: —•Cost: About 400 in local currency. Adjust to the setting's economy. In fantasy settings using gold pieces, about 400 gp.•Requirement: The wearer must have fangs. Without fangs, the caps cannot be worn.•Arcane Skill: d6. The device uses its own arcane skill to activate powers, rather than the wearer's.•Power Points: 5, recovered at dawn•Crystal shatter: When the arcane skill die rolls a Critical Failure (a 1 on both the skill die and the Wild Die), the crystal cracks. The device loses its Power Points and powers until repaired.
Passive Effects While Worn Openly
•Jaw Anchor: +2 to Athletics rolls made to keep balance or climb on narrow, swaying, or moving surfaces.•Fang Strike: The wearer gains a bite natural weapon dealing Str+d4 damage.•Serpent's Landing:◦Reduce the distance of any fall by 10 feet when working out falling damage.◦If the wearer takes no damage, they don't fall prone.•Coiled Spine: +2 to rolls made to resist being knocked prone. This includes Agility or Strength rolls against Push and Tests meant to topple.•Steady Grip: The wearer can hold a small object in their teeth and still speak in short phrases.
Powers (Each Uses the Device’s Arcane Skill and Power Points)
•Whiplash Somersault (1 Power Point, action):◦The device's arcane skill roll lets the wearer leap up to 3" in any direction, or 2" straight up, passing over any creature of the wearer's Size or smaller. This does not trigger a free attack for Withdrawing from Melee.◦After moving, the wearer may make a Fighting roll for a Fang Strike against a creature they passed over, as part of the same action, at no multi-action penalty.◦On a success, the creature is Distracted until the end of its next turn.◦With a raise on the arcane skill roll, the leap distance is doubled.•Strike-and-Spring (1 Power Point, free action):◦When a creature's Fighting roll against the wearer fails, the wearer may move up to 2" away immediately.◦This does not trigger a free attack for Withdrawing from Melee. It may be used once per round.•Troupe Cadence (2 Power Points, action, as the boost Trait power):◦One ally within 12" who can hear the chant gains +1 to Athletics rolls for 5 rounds, or +2 with a raise.◦The chant can be maintained for 1 Power Point per additional 5 rounds.◦It counts as an obvious Trapping. Hearing the hiss can alert nearby guards.
Power Without Power Points
•Iron Jaw Hang (action, once per hour):◦The wearer bites a rope, beam, ledge, or chain and hangs by the teeth for up to 1 minute, with hands free.◦Actions using the hands while hanging suffer no penalty for the hanging position.◦A creature may make an opposed Strength roll against the wearer's Vigor to break the hold.
Benny Option
•The wearer may spend a Benny to restore 2 Power Points to the device.•This is described as the pale violet crystal flaring as a voice from deep water asks the wearer what they see.
GM’s Notes
•Lore:◦The caps were made by the Coilwright Troupe of Saltcoil, on Lapita in the world of Saṃsāra.◦The first set was made from fang sheaths shed by an ancient Reef Viper, given in exchange for forty-nine performances without a fall.◦In other settings, a set may arrive through a hidden Fae Portal, be found in a sunken ship, or be worn by a rooftop thief.•Balance:◦The +2 bonuses are standard for Savage Worlds situational modifiers.◦Whiplash Somersault makes the target Distracted, which works like a Test result without the extra roll.◦If the caps are too strong in a low-power campaign, reduce Power Points to 3, or remove the free Fang Strike from Whiplash Somersault.
Shadowrun (Sixth World Edition)
Coilwright Qi Fangs of the Drowned Metaplane
Item Block
•Name: Coilwright Qi Fangs of the Drowned Metaplane (numbered set 3817)•Type: Qi focus, worn (fang sheaths)•Force: 1•Availability: 4L (licensed as a magical focus in most jurisdictions)•Cost: About 3,000¥ at Force 1. Adjust for the local magical goods market and for how rare a fanged buyer is.•Bonding: Must be bonded like any focus, for a Karma cost at the GM's discretion.•Requirement:◦The wearer must have fangs. This includes shapeshifters, SURGE-changed characters with fang traits, ghouls, or characters with fang-style cyberware or bioware.◦The full qi effects work only for adepts or mystic adepts. Mundane characters gain only the physical features of the caps.•Description:◦Sea-green enamel caps with silver tips and serpent-carved silver bands. A pale violet crystal is set in the left band.◦To astral perception, the caps glow with a steady sea-green aura shaped like a coiled serpent, and a thin thread of light runs from the jaw down the spine.
Physical Features (All Wearers)
•Fang Strike: The wearer can bite using Close Combat (Unarmed).◦Damage Value (DV): 2P◦Attack Rating (AR): 6/—/—/—/—◦Range: Close•Steady Grip: The wearer can hold a small object, such as a commlink, credstick, or knife, in their teeth and still speak short phrases.
Qi Effects (Bonded and Active, Adepts and Mystic Adepts Only)
•Jaw Anchor:◦Gain 1 Edge on Athletics + Agility tests to balance or climb on narrow, swaying, or moving surfaces.◦This includes fire escapes, cable lines, rooftop ridges, and the deck of a boat in rough water.◦This counts toward the normal limit of 2 Edge gained per combat round.•Serpent's Landing: Reduce falling damage by treating the fall as 2 meters shorter. If no damage is taken, the wearer lands on their feet without needing an Athletics test.•Coiled Spine: Gain 1 Edge on tests to resist being knocked down.
Activated Qi Powers (3 Uses per Day, Regained at Dawn)
•Whiplash Somersault (Major Action, 1 use):◦Make an Athletics + Agility (2) test.◦On a success, the wearer leaps up to 5 meters horizontally or 3 meters vertically, passing over any metahuman-sized or smaller target.◦The wearer may then make a Close Combat (Unarmed) bite attack against a target they passed over as part of the same action.◦On a hit, the target cannot gain Edge on its next attack against the wearer this combat round.•Strike-and-Spring (Minor Action, 1 use):◦When a melee attack against the wearer fails to hit, the wearer may move up to 3 meters immediately.◦This does not count as the wearer's normal Movement.•Iron Jaw Hang (Minor Action, no use spent, once per hour):◦The wearer bites a rope, cable, beam, or ledge and hangs by the teeth for up to 1 minute, with hands free.◦A character can try to break the hold with an opposed Strength + Body test against the wearer's Body + Willpower.•Troupe Cadence (Minor Action, 1 use):◦The wearer hisses a performer's chant. One ally within 10 meters who can hear it gains 1 Edge on their next Athletics test within 10 minutes.
Drawbacks and Complications
•Crystal shatter: When the last use of the day is spent, roll 1d6. On a 1, the crystal cracks, and the qi powers stop working until the crystal is replaced by a talismonger.•Astral signature: The caps leave a visible aura and an astral signature when activated. Astral security may notice an awakened intruder using them on a run.•Voice from the Metaplane:◦When the last use of the day is spent, the wearer may hear a voice from deep water.◦Answering it calls for a Willpower + Logic (2) test.◦On a success, the voice gives a small piece of useful information about nearby water or something hidden below.◦On a failure, the wearer takes 2S damage from the strain.
GM’s Notes
•Lore:◦The caps were made by the Coilwright Troupe of Saltcoil, on Lapita in the world of Saṃsāra.◦In the Sixth World, Saṃsāra may be treated as a distant metaplane reached through astral space or a hidden Fae Portal. The caps may have been brought back by a traveler, a free spirit, or a talismonger with unusual contacts.•Balance:◦Edge-based bonuses fit Sixth World's design better than extra dice.◦For a grittier game, reduce uses to 2 per day, or allow Whiplash Somersault only once per combat.
Coilwright Fangguards
Item Stat Block
•Coilwright Fangguards — ITEM 3•Traits: Hybrid, Invested•Price: About 550 credits. Adjust to the setting's economy.•Usage: Worn (fang sheaths)•Bulk: —•Requirement: The wearer must have fangs or a jaws unarmed attack.•Description:◦Sea-green sheaths of shed reef-viper enamel fit tightly over the fangs. Each has a silver needle tip and a serpent-carved silver band.◦A coin-sized pale violet crystal in the left band works as both a magical focus and a power cell.◦While invested, you gain a +1 item bonus to Acrobatics checks.◦You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Acrobatics checks to Balance on narrow or moving surfaces. This includes catwalks, cables, starship hull handholds, and the deck of a ship under fire.◦If you have a jaws unarmed attack, it gains the finesse trait. If you don't, you gain a jaws unarmed attack that deals 1d6 piercing damage, in the brawling group, with the finesse and unarmed traits.◦When you fall, treat the fall as 10 feet shorter. In low gravity, apply this before adjusting for gravity.◦You can hold a light item in your teeth without dropping it, and you can still speak and use comm units normally.
Capacity and Usage
•Capacity: 3. Usage: 1 per activation, except Iron Jaw Hang.•The crystal recovers all charges after 8 hours. It can be recharged at a charging station in 10 minutes, at the GM's discretion.
Activations
•Activate—Whiplash Somersault (two actions, concentrate)◦Frequency: once per hour◦Effect: You Leap up to 15 feet horizontally or 10 feet vertically. In zero gravity, you can push off any surface to travel up to 30 feet. This movement doesn't trigger reactions.◦You can move through the space of one enemy your size or smaller during the Leap, then make a jaws Strike against it.◦On a hit, the enemy takes a −2 circumstance penalty to its next attack roll against you before the start of your next turn.◦This counts as two attacks for your multiple attack penalty.•Activate—Strike-and-Spring (reaction, concentrate)◦Frequency: once per 10 minutes◦Trigger: A creature you can see misses you with a melee Strike.◦Effect: You Stride up to 10 feet. This movement doesn't trigger reactions.•Activate—Iron Jaw Hang (one action, manipulate)◦Effect: You bite onto a cable, beam, ledge, or hull handhold that can support your weight, and hang by your teeth for up to 1 minute, with your hands free.◦In zero gravity, this anchors you in place.◦While anchored or hanging, you aren't off-guard due to your position, and you can Strike and act with your hands normally.◦A creature can attempt an Athletics check against your Fortitude DC as an action to dislodge you.◦This activation uses no charge.•Activate—Troupe Cadence (one action, auditory, concentrate, linguistic)◦Frequency: once per day◦Effect: You hiss a short performer's chant. One ally within 30 feet who can hear you gains a +1 status bonus to Acrobatics checks for 10 minutes.◦The hiss can be transmitted over a comm unit, letting it reach an ally outside your line of sight within the same range.
Adjustment
•Crystal shatter (optional GM rule): When you spend the last charge, roll a flat check DC 2. On a failure, the crystal cracks, and the fangguards lose their activations until repaired with a successful Crafting check (DC 18).•Level 1 version:◦Remove the +1 item bonus to Acrobatics.◦Reduce Whiplash Somersault to once per day.◦Set the price to about 200 credits.•Lore: The fangguards come from the Coilwright Troupe of Saltcoil on Lapita, in the world of Saṃsāra. In the Pact Worlds, a set might arrive through a drift beacon, a rift in space, or a traveling circus from a planet no one can find again.
Traveller (Mongoose Traveller, Second Edition, Updated Core Rules)
Coilwright Bio-Resonant Jaw Sheaths
Equipment Block
•Name: Coilwright Bio-Resonant Jaw Sheaths (numbered set 3817)•TL: 10 equivalent. This is alien manufacture of unknown origin. Local technicians cannot repair or copy it without study.•Mass: 0.05 kg•Cost: Cr2000 as a curiosity. A collector of alien artifacts, or a starport circus troupe, may pay much more.•Requirement: The wearer must have fangs, such as an Aslan, Vargr, or uplifted animal species, or another sophont with long canines. Characters without fangs cannot fit them.•Description:◦Sea-green sheaths of an organic enamel-like composite that responds to the wearer's movement, with silver needle tips and serpent-carved silver bands.◦A pale violet crystal in the left band acts as a power cell. Psionic characters may sense a faint mind-pull from it.•Power: 3 uses, recharged after 24 hours. A psionic character may spend 1 PSI point to power one extra use.
Passive Effects While Worn
•Jaw Anchor: DM+1 to Athletics (dexterity) checks to balance on narrow, swaying, or moving surfaces. This includes catwalks, gantries, hull handholds, and the deck of a ship in rough water.•Fang Strike: The wearer can bite using Melee (natural).◦Damage: 1D+1◦Traits: None•Serpent's Landing:◦Treat any fall as 2 metres shorter when working out falling damage.◦In low gravity, apply this before adjusting for gravity.◦If no damage is taken, the wearer lands on their feet.•Coiled Spine: DM+1 to checks to avoid being knocked prone or thrown.•Steady Grip: The wearer can hold a small object, such as a comm, a credit chip, or a datawafer, in their teeth and still speak in short phrases.
Active Effects (Each Uses 1 Charge)
•Whiplash Somersault (Significant Action):◦Make an Average (8+) Athletics (dexterity) check.◦On a success, the wearer leaps up to 6 metres in any direction, or 3 metres vertically, passing over any human-sized or smaller target. In zero gravity, the wearer travels up to 12 metres.◦The wearer may then make a Melee (natural) bite attack against a target they passed over, as part of the same action.◦On a hit, the target suffers a Bane on its next attack against the wearer during the next round.◦An Effect of 6 or more lets the wearer choose exactly where they land, even on difficult footing.•Strike-and-Spring (Reaction):◦When a melee attack against the wearer misses, the wearer may move up to 3 metres immediately.◦This reaction does not apply the usual DM−1 penalty to the wearer's next round.•Iron Jaw Hang (Minor Action, no charge, once per hour):◦The wearer bites a cable, beam, ledge, or hull handhold and hangs by the teeth for up to 1 minute, with hands free.◦In zero gravity, this anchors the wearer in place.◦A creature can try to break the hold with an opposed STR check against the wearer's END.•Troupe Cadence (Minor Action):◦The wearer hisses a rhythmic chant.◦One ally within 10 metres who can hear it, or within comm range, gains a Boon on their next Athletics check within 10 minutes.
Complications
•Crystal shatter: When the last charge is used, roll 2D. On a 2, the crystal cracks, and the active effects stop working until a suitable replacement crystal is found.•Psionic contact:◦A psionic character with PSI 6 or higher who wears the sheaths may hear a voice from deep water asking what they see.◦Answering is a Difficult (10+) PSI check.◦On a success, the voice gives one useful piece of information about a nearby ocean, a buried ruin, or something hidden beneath a planet's surface.◦On a failure, the character suffers 1D damage to END from the strain.
Referee’s Notes
•Lore:◦The sheaths were made by the Coilwright Troupe of Saltcoil, on Lapita in the world of Saṃsāra.◦In the Third Imperium, a set may be found in an Ancients site, a derelict ship, or the luggage of a traveler from a world not in any database.◦The world named in its markings matches no record, which may draw the attention of scholars, collectors, or the Scout Service.•Balance:◦Traveller avoids large bonuses, so the DM+1 effects and the Boon or Bane fit the setting.◦For a harder game, reduce uses to 2 per day, or allow only one Whiplash Somersault per combat.
Warhammer (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, Fourth Edition)
The Coilwright Viper-Teeth of Saltcoil
Trapping Block
•Name: The Coilwright Viper-Teeth of Saltcoil (numbered set 3817)•Type: Magical trapping, worn•Encumbrance: 0•Availability: Exotic•Price:◦8/– as a mundane curio in a coastal pawnbroker's shop.◦Those who know what the teeth are may pay 8 GC or more, or refuse to touch them for fear of the Witch Hunters.•Requirement: The wearer must have fangs. In the Old World, this usually means Beastmen, Vampires, or characters touched by mutation. The GM may allow a fitting for a human performer.•Description:◦A pair of sea-green enamel sheaths with silver needle tips and silver base bands carved with a serpent biting its own tail.◦A pale violet crystal is set in the left band.◦Those with the Second Sight see a coiled serpent of sea-green light around the teeth when they are active.
Weapon Entry
•Weapon: Bite (Coilwright Viper-Teeth)•Group: Brawling•Price: —•Encumbrance: 0•Availability: Exotic•Reach: Personal•Damage: +SB+1•Qualities and Flaws: Fast, Precise
Effects While Worn Openly
•Jaw Anchor: +10 to Athletics and Climb Tests to keep balance or climb on narrow, swaying, or moving surfaces. This includes ship rigging, rooftop ridges, rope bridges, and a riverboat deck in a storm.•Serpent's Landing:◦Treat any fall as 3 yards shorter when working out falling damage.◦If no damage is taken, the wearer does not gain the Prone Condition.•Coiled Spine: +10 to Tests to resist being knocked down or gaining the Prone Condition.•Steady Grip: The wearer can hold a small object in their teeth without dropping it, and can still speak short phrases.
Activated Powers (3 Uses per Day, Regained at Dawn)
•Whiplash Somersault (Action, 1 use):◦Make a Challenging (+0) Athletics Test.◦On a success, the wearer leaps up to their Movement in yards in any direction, passing over any human-sized or smaller opponent. This does not count as Disengaging.◦The wearer may then make a Melee (Brawling) bite attack against an opponent they passed over, as part of the same Action.◦If the attack hits, the wearer gains +1 Advantage, and the opponent loses 1 Advantage.•Strike-and-Spring (Free, 1 use):◦When the wearer wins an Opposed Test to defend against a melee attack, they may move up to 4 yards away.◦This does not count as Disengaging and needs no Advantage to be spent.•Iron Jaw Hang (Action, no use spent, once per hour):◦The wearer bites a rope, beam, ledge, or chain and hangs by the teeth for up to 1 minute, with hands free.◦A creature can try to break the hold with an Opposed Strength Test against the wearer's Endurance.•Troupe Cadence (Action, 1 use):◦The wearer hisses a performer's chant.◦One ally within 10 yards who can hear it gains +10 to their next Athletics or Climb Test within 10 minutes.
Complications and Corruption
•Crystal shatter: When the last use of the day is spent, roll 1d10. On a 1, the crystal cracks, and the activated powers stop working until the crystal is replaced.•Voice from the Deep:◦When the last use of the day is spent, the wearer may hear a voice from deep water asking what they see.◦Answering it calls for a Challenging (+0) Cool Test.◦On a success, the voice gives a small piece of useful information about nearby water or something hidden below.◦On a failure, the wearer gains 1 Corruption point.•Witch Hunters:◦Open use of the teeth in Imperial towns may draw the attention of Witch Hunters or watchmen, who may suspect mutation or forbidden magic.◦A GM may call for a Charm or Cool Test to talk past a suspicious official.
GM’s Notes
•Lore:◦The teeth were made by the Coilwright Troupe of Saltcoil, on Lapita in the world of Saṃsāra.◦In the Old World, a set may have come by ship from Marienburg, been brought across from the Aethyr by a traveler, or found in the luggage of a circus wandering the Reikland.◦The troupe's mark may lead the characters into strange encounters with performers who claim to come from a land beyond the seas.•Balance:◦Advantage-based effects fit Fourth Edition's combat flow.◦For a grittier game, reduce uses to 2 per day, or make every activation, not only the last of the day, call for the Cool Test against Corruption.