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Item 947 of the Hollow Veil

—

by

Dale
in

Slot: Neckwear

Lore
Long ago, on an island whose cities vanished overnight into mist-choked lagoons, the first Veilbinders forged charms to survive total erasure. They wove silent obsidian beads with threads of shadowed silk, each bead inscribed with forgotten names. The amulet’s final knot is said to have been tied by a lone archivist who wished to remain unseen as marauders burned her library. Those who wear the Hollow Veil feel the comfort of absence — a choice to slip between memory and moment, to watch but not be watched.

Description
A slender black cord bearing seven faintly glossy beads of volcanic glass. At its center dangles a narrow teardrop of smoky quartz, seemingly hollow yet heavy when touched. Faint motes of gray light swirl inside when the user draws breath, then vanish on exhale. The pendant grows cool when silence deepens or when the wearer steps out of another’s notice.

Core Stats
• Durability: 60/60
• Rarity: Common
• Tier Requirement: 1
• Weight: 0.2 lb
• Value: 35–50 silver (varies by seller and region)

Passives
• Veiled Presence — While worn and attuned, reduces the wearer’s noticed presence: enemies and strangers suffer a small penalty (-1) to detect or recall the wearer outside of direct confrontation.
• Muted Echo — Spoken words from the wearer fade faster; attempts to overhear casual conversation gain a slight difficulty increase.
• Mind’s Quiet — Wearer gains +1 on rolls or checks that require mental composure against panic, social anxiety, or interrogation.

Actives
• Slip Between Sight (1/day) — As a swift motion, the pendant chills and the wearer blurs for one minute: advantage on Stealth and attempts to avoid notice; ends if the wearer attacks or shouts.
• Hollow Step (2/day, recharge at dawn) — Instantly dampens footfalls and minor noises for ten seconds; grants +2 to Stealth or Dexterity checks when entering or leaving a space.
• Erased Trace (1/day) — Over ten seconds, cleanses scent, light footprints, and faint magical residue left behind within a 5-foot radius.

Tags
Absence, Shadow, Stealth, Silence, Common, Tier 1, Utility, Social, Espionage, Mind’s Eye Alignment, Concealment, Lorebound, Invisibility, Concealment, Whisperbound, Shadowcraft, Nightwalk, Unseen, Nulltrace, Vanish, Quietude, Phantomstep, Hidden

Perception of Activation

  • User’s perspective: air muffles; heartbeat seems louder; cool draft brushes the nape; time stretches slightly.
  • Observer’s perspective: wearer seems momentarily faded or unfocused; sound dulls as if wrapped in thick cloth.
  • Positives: control of personal presence; protection against being followed or remembered; mental calm.
  • Negatives: faint emotional detachment; allies may lose track of wearer if not careful; after long use, slight chill and fatigue.
  • Extra-sensory: subtle thinning of one’s existence in the Mind’s Eye — colors dull, outlines loosen, like stepping sideways out of reality.

Crafting Notes
Materials: volcanic glass beads, shadow-silk cord, smoky quartz, distilled night dew.
Tools: gem-cutter’s awl, silent-sigil carving stylus, moonlit dye basin.
Steps: shape beads at night, soak in dew under full moon, thread while maintaining complete silence, inscribe the final bead with a word you wish forgotten, bind pendant in still air until dawn.

Roleplay Applications

  • Sneak through urban or dungeon settings unnoticed.
  • Escape social tension by literally softening presence.
  • Symbol of those who prefer watching and listening rather than leading conversation.
  • May cause NPCs to misremember details or hesitate to pursue.

Acquisition & Commerce of Item 947 of the Hollow Veil

1. Whispercloak Curio Stalls
Small shadow-draped market corners in dense cities like Vara-Sul or Dreamtide. Merchants trade secrets and subtle gear. The Hollow Veil appears among small relics meant for messengers or spies.
Typical Price: 42–48 silver

2. Nightglass Lantern Guilds
Hidden workshops within underground arcades or misted ports. Members craft glass charms and low-grade shadow talismans for those in need of discretion. Payment often includes gossip or small magical favors.
Typical Price: 45–50 silver

3. Street-Priests of Silent Gods
Shrines in quiet back alleys where masked clerics sell items tied to silence and withdrawal. The Hollow Veil is treated as a devotional aid for meditation or penance.
Typical Price: 38–46 silver

4. Espionage Outfitters
Secretive shops serving couriers, scouts, and thieves. Usually behind false walls or in guild-run safehouses; requires a trusted introduction. Buyers prove reliability before purchase.
Typical Price: 50 silver (sometimes 1 gold if the merchant senses urgency)

5. Scholar’s Shadow Alcoves
Back rooms of archive-houses and magical libraries. Silent scribes barter rare inks or knowledge for protective items like the Hollow Veil.
Typical Price: 40–44 silver

6. Night Bazaar Trinket Weavers
Nomadic caravans that appear along Petrasectus trade roads under moonlight. The Veil sells as a traveler’s amulet for passing unseen and unremembered.
Typical Price: 35–42 silver

7. Secret Brokerages
Discreet market rooms inside gambling halls and performance houses, where shady brokers auction minor concealment charms to spies or diplomats.
Typical Price: 45–55 silver (may spike to 1 gold in tense political climates)

8. Assassin’s Supply Vaults
Hidden behind trapdoors in seedy districts. Only available through underworld contacts; includes veils tested to work under pursuit.
Typical Price: 55–60 silver or 2 electrum

9. Pilgrim Cloisters of Vanishing Paths
Remote monastic shops found near forgotten ruins or cliffside shrines. Pilgrims sell handcrafted Hollow Veils for safe passage.
Typical Price: 36–40 silver

10. Silent Weaver Cooperatives
Communal artisan enclaves in floating or subterranean cities; weavers exchange shadow-silk charms for supplies. Usually fair pricing, but long waiting lists.
Typical Price: 38–44 silver

11. Misted Riverboat Traders
Traveling merchants along hidden tributaries and mist-covered rivers. Often ask for barter: rare herbs, monster parts, or secrets.
Typical Price: 35–45 silver

Market Note:
Though a common rarity item, scarcity and secrecy push price fluctuations. Standard cost is around 35–50 silver, but black-market or urgent purchases can rise to 1 gold or 2 electrum when danger and discretion matter most.

Roleplay Use of Item 947 of the Hollow Veil in Different Environments

Urban Environments

Defense:

  • While navigating alleys or crowded marketplaces, the Veiled Presence passive makes tailing or identifying the wearer harder; watchful guards or bounty hunters may briefly lose track.
  • Slip Between Sight helps retreat from an escalating brawl, melting into crowds or dark corners to break pursuit.
  • In diplomatic or political intrigue, Mind’s Quiet keeps the avatar calm when questioned, helping resist intimidation or coercion.

Offense:

  • Perfect for covert positioning before striking; Hollow Step lets the wearer approach sentries or rivals unheard.
  • Erased Trace covers quick theft or sabotage — no lingering tracks or magical residue after a job.
  • In assassination-style missions, allies can create diversions while the wearer disappears to strike key targets.

Wilderness & Forest

Defense:

  • Against predator beasts or monster scouts, Veiled Presence helps avoid triggering hunts.
  • When retreating from an overwhelming encounter, Slip Between Sight lets the wearer slip into foliage or shadow to break line of sight.
  • During travel, Mind’s Quiet helps withstand fear effects from primal or magical creatures.

Offense:

  • Ambush hunting: use Hollow Step to close distance silently before a decisive attack.
  • Erased Trace removes scent and trail, preventing intelligent monsters or enemy trackers from following after a raid or hunt.
  • Combine with ranged allies to strike and vanish between trees.

Dungeon & Ruins

Defense:

  • Explore without alerting sleeping or dormant monsters; footsteps and whispers vanish with Hollow Step.
  • Evade ancient sentry constructs by slipping into magical dead zones.
  • Survive interrogation traps or mental manipulation rooms with Mind’s Quiet.

Offense:

  • Infiltrate enemy camps or hidden treasure rooms unseen; Slip Between Sight gives precious time before detection.
  • Remove evidence after taking artifacts or disabling traps with Erased Trace.
  • In ambush-heavy areas, turn the tables — vanish mid-fight to reposition or set up surprise strikes.

Social & Diplomatic Arenas

Defense:

  • Quietly observe court intrigue without drawing unwanted attention; NPCs may forget the wearer’s presence or exact words.
  • Resist magical attempts to compel speech or force confession through the subtle calming field of Mind’s Quiet.
  • Exit tense meetings with Slip Between Sight rather than escalate.

Offense:

  • Sow subtle doubt: speak once, fade from memory, and allow rumors to grow around distorted recall.
  • Plant evidence or retrieve sensitive documents unnoticed with Hollow Step and Erased Trace.
  • Support allies in negotiations by quietly repositioning or observing unseen.

Naval & Aerial

Defense:

  • On airships or riverboats, Hollow Step quiets deck movement to avoid detection from rival crews or sky pirates.
  • Evade boarding parties by melting into hold shadows or storage compartments using Slip Between Sight.
  • Mind’s Quiet resists panic from aerial turbulence or psychic sea creatures.

Offense:

  • Sabotage enemy rigging, cannons, or magic sails undetected.
  • Plant false signals or messages and vanish; Erased Trace leaves no clue who caused the disruption.
  • Stage silent night raids across ships or floating platforms.

Battlefield Skirmishes

Defense:

  • Slip out of melee or archer focus when overwhelmed — Slip Between Sight creates confusion and broken target locks.
  • Hide among fallen terrain or smoke to heal or regroup.
  • Resist morale-breaking fear auras or chaotic noise with Mind’s Quiet.

Offense:

  • Stalk command figures or enemy mages while unseen.
  • Strike and fade repeatedly — hit key supports, then vanish using Hollow Step.
  • Manipulate battlefield flow: erase tracks to mislead pursuit or lure opponents into ambush.

Roleplay Theme
The Hollow Veil is not raw power but control of presence — stepping out of memory and line of sight at will. It empowers characters who play with perception, positioning, and psychological advantage. Whether slipping past monsters, outwitting inquisitors, or haunting the edges of battle, it turns absence into a weapon and a shield.

Perception of Activation:

User’s Perspective
When the Hollow Veil awakens, the world seems to pull away. Air around the skin goes cool, almost hollow, as if it slips from the lungs. Colors desaturate for a heartbeat. There’s a soft pulling sensation behind the sternum, like a thread gently tugging the wearer sideways. Sounds thin out; shoes seem to lift from the ground without weight. A stillness spreads through the mind — no fear, no noise, only intent.

Observer’s Perspective
For anyone watching, the wearer seems to blur faintly, their outline flickering or softening like a shadow losing its anchor. Footsteps go silent mid-stride; breathing muffles. The pendant’s smoky quartz dims to near transparency and then faintly glows from within with gray motes that fade out one by one. Observers sometimes feel they’ve glanced away for half a moment even if they haven’t.

Positives

  • A profound feeling of control and calm; panic and distraction slide off.
  • Movement becomes soundless and effortless — footsteps vanish, presence folds small.
  • The wearer gains an almost meditative clarity; thought sharpens while emotion dulls just enough to remain steady.
  • Allies who know the effect can use it to reposition or coordinate quietly.

Negatives

  • Emotional detachment lingers after use — a faint sense of isolation or being “half there.”
  • Companions may lose track or even momentarily forget the wearer’s position.
  • Overextended use can cause mild vertigo, as if one’s self is slightly displaced from the body.
  • Sudden return to full presence may feel like being snapped back — jarring sound, bright color, and a rush of heartbeat.

Extra-Sensory Perceptions

  • The Mind’s Eye momentarily sees threads of attention around the user — pale strands from eyes, ears, and memory stretching and then fraying.
  • A ghostlike echo of the self peels away and drifts just behind, a subtle after-image of where the wearer stood.
  • For those sensitive to magic, there’s a pulse like an inhalation of shadow, pulling the user into a thinner layer of existence.
  • A faint spatial warping can be felt — as if footsteps land half an inch off reality until the effect fades.

Crafting Recipe — “Shadowthread Binding of the Hollow Veil”

Materials Needed

  • Volcanic Glass Beads (7 pieces): shards cooled from magically infused lava, ideally from a dormant volcanic island.
  • Shadow-Silk Cord (1 length): silk spun by shade-moths or woven in misted grottoes; supple but resilient.
  • Smoky Quartz Teardrop (1 pendant): naturally grown or alchemically smoked quartz with clarity enough to hold faint mana threads.
  • Distilled Night Dew (1 vial): dew collected under a moonless sky; stabilizes the absence magic during knotting.
  • Quiet Ash Powder (small pinch): burned remains of forgotten scrolls or parchment used to inscribe the beads’ hidden sigils.
  • Binding Wax of Silence (optional, small dab): seals and protects the final knot from fraying under magical strain.

Tools Required

  • Gem-cutter’s Awl: to etch micro runes of absence into the beads and pendant.
  • Silent-sigil Stylus: fine-point arcane engraving tool for imbuing mental quiet runes.
  • Moonlit Dye Basin: bowl for steeping silk in distilled night dew and ash powder infusion.
  • Tension Frame or Knotting Loom: to keep cord taut while beads are threaded and knots locked.
  • Mana-infused Wax Knife: to finish and seal the cord ends without sparking unwanted magical resonance.

Skill Requirements

  • Arcana/Runecrafting: understanding of presence-nullifying sigils and memory interference glyphs.
  • Jewelry Crafting/Threadworking: precise hand control to maintain cord strength while embedding magical silence.
  • Alchemy (Minor): mixing night dew and quiet ash safely to maintain potency.
  • Meditative Focus: the crafter must maintain silent intent; spoken words during knotting can disrupt the Veil’s effect.

Crafting Steps

  1. Purify Materials: soak volcanic beads in distilled night dew overnight; allow impurities and latent “echoes” to dissipate.
  2. Prepare Shadow-Silk: submerge silk cord in the moonlit dye basin mixed with quiet ash; keep completely silent during infusion until the silk darkens and light no longer reflects from it.
  3. Etch Sigils: carve faint absence runes into each bead using the gem-cutter’s awl; trace memory-softening glyphs along the smoky quartz pendant’s inner fractures.
  4. Thread & Knot: string beads onto the cord in precise order, pausing after each to breathe in quiet intent; tie seven silent knots — one after each bead — binding stillness into the cord.
  5. Pendant Binding: attach the smoky quartz to the cord’s center; wrap three silent knots around its neck to tether the user’s presence to the pendant’s hollow resonance.
  6. Infuse Dew Mist: lightly mist the finished amulet with remaining night dew while focusing on the concept of absence; allow to dry in complete darkness.
  7. Seal & Rest: coat the final knot with Binding Wax of Silence; let the item rest for a full lunar cycle or at least three nights of total quiet to mature the enchantment.

Once complete, the Hollow Veil will hum faintly when touched and grow cool at the throat — sign it has anchored its veil of non-presence and is ready to attune to a new wearer.

Vanishing Chronicle of Silent Eressai

It is told, in scroll half-burned and tongue twice-forgotten, that once walked a lone chronicler named Eressai the Listener. She came from no place known; some say from drowned halls beneath the black sea, some say from the sky’s own forgotten stair. She carried a quill made of her own hair and a satchel of sighing pages, and she wandered the new lands of Saṃsāra when the world still whispered half-born names.

In that age, there were cities of noise — caravans howled like storms, forges cracked the night, and gossip cut deeper than any blade. Eressai came not to sing nor to fight, but to remember. For she feared the flood of tongues would drown truth. Her way was simple: watch, record, vanish.

She found a city called Talveth-of-Ten-Lanterns, rising in red clay and brass pipes. Here, lords fought in courts and merchants in alleys; the people had long ceased listening. In the heart of the city, on the Bridge of Smoke, she met a child with no shadow. The child said in broken words, “Noise make me vanish.” Eressai took pity. She cut seven small beads from the child’s lost shadow, black and trembling like cooled pitch. Into each bead she scratched what she had seen: the echo of a scream, the hush of a secret, the memory of a vanished friend.

But the beads refused to hold; noise broke them. So Eressai sought the Night Weaver, an old hermit spider dwelling in forgotten steam tunnels. She bargained — memory for silk. From her own recollection she tore threads of her happiest day and fed them to the Weaver; in return, she gained a cord of shadow-silk, soft but enduring.

She strung the beads upon the silk and tied them with seven silent knots, each made with breath held until the world dimmed. At the last, she hung from it a teardrop of smoky quartz, pulled from the river where drowned words go. When the cord was sealed, the air hushed; even the forge vents paused.

With this charm about her throat, Eressai walked unseen. She slipped past warring banners, rescued the child, and carried him beyond the city. Yet in doing so, she herself thinned. The noise could not find her — but neither could those who loved her. As she traveled, her figure paled; memory of her name fell from books; even her own hand shook when she tried to write “Eressai.”

The last lines we have are scratched crooked on a slate found deep in a collapsed road:

“To hide is safe. To vanish is not life. Remember me once, stranger, and I will still have been.”

No record says who took the amulet from her silent body, though some whisper she stepped fully out of existence and left it behind. It resurfaced centuries later in the hands of a guild courier who slipped through riots untouched. From there it passed quietly, always to watchers and wanderers, never staying long.

And so the Item 947 of the Hollow Veil endures, passed by those who value silence more than applause, by those who understand absence yet still fight not to be erased.

Moral of the Story: Silence may shield, but when it swallows every trace of self, even the safest hiding can become a quiet undoing. Remember to leave a thread for the world to find you.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu — “Reliquary of the Hollow Veil (Item 947)”

Type: Minor Talisman (Necklace); Rarity: Common; Era: Any; Attunement: 1 POW to bind; Uses: Persistent with risks
Passive Effects:
• Veiled Presence: While not engaged in combat or direct interrogation, you gain a bonus die on Stealth rolls to avoid notice and on Stealth opposed tests to shake pursuit. On Listen or Spot Hidden checks made to detect you at Short/Medium range, opponents suffer a penalty die if you remain still and speak softly.
• Muted Echo: Your spoken words fade; eavesdroppers suffer a penalty die on Listen to catch whispers if they are further than 2 yards away.
• Mind’s Quiet: In Intimidation or Psychological Manipulation (Persuade/Fast Talk/Intimidate) contests against you, you gain a bonus die on POW or INT rolls to keep composure.
Active Effects:
• Slip Between Sight (1/scene): Spend 2 Magic Points; make a POW×5 roll. On success, for 1 minute you are difficult to fixate on: observers suffer a penalty die on Spot Hidden to track you and you gain a bonus die on Stealth and Dodge. The effect ends if you make a violent action (attack or loud shout). Failure costs 1 additional MP and the effect fizzles.
• Hollow Step (2/day): Spend 1 Magic Point to silence your footfalls for one combat round or ~10 seconds; gain an automatic bonus die on a single Stealth test to move quietly or bypass a sentry.
• Erased Trace (1/day): Spend 2 Magic Points and 1 Luck to blur footprints, scent, and minor magical residues within a 2-meter radius; Tracking attempts suffer a penalty die for the next hour.
Backlash: If you end a scene at 0 Magic Points from this talisman, make a SAN 0/1 loss test for dissociation (temporary inability to recall recent interactions).
Keeper Notes: Treat Slip Between Sight as “hard to remember” rather than invisibility; witnesses later recalling the wearer must succeed an INT×5 roll or only remember a vague outline.

Blades in the Dark — “Vanish-Beads of Eressai (Item 947)”

Item Type: Unusual (necklace); Load: 0; Quality: Fine for stealth; Source: Arcane
Passive Effects:
• Veiled Presence: When you Prowl to avoid notice in a controlled or risky position, take +1 effect (you blur at the edge of attention). When you Whisper/Attune to sense ambient attention, you may ask a follow-up question about unseen watchers without extra stress.
• Muted Echo: Your voice is damped. When you Sway/Consort covertly in a quiet space, you may push for +1d at 1 stress (instead of 2) if you whisper and keep it brief.
• Mind’s Quiet: You gain +1d to Resist fear or interrogation consequences that would make you cry out or break cover.
Active Effects:
• Slip Between Sight: Push yourself (2 stress) to become indistinct for one scene; you gain potent effect on Prowl vs. direct observation and may move through a small crowd as if it were light cover. This ends if you make a violent action in clear view.
• Hollow Step: 1 use per score. Mark the use to treat a single movement across a noisy or exposed zone as silent; upgrade position by one step (desperate→risky, risky→controlled) or take +1 effect, your choice.
• Erased Trace: Start a 4-tick “No Trail” clock when you leave a space. While it’s active, pursuers suffer reduced effect on Hunt/Survey to track you. You may fill 2 ticks instantly by spending 1 stress while lingering a few moments to smooth prints and hide signs.
Drawback: Compulsive hush — you sometimes forget to speak above a whisper (GM may tick a 4-clock “Fading Presence” on prolonged overuse in a score).
Acquisition/Crafting: Arcane component (smoky quartz tear), shadow-silk, and a memory-charged scrap; Quality improves the effect tier for stealth actions.

Dungeons & Dragons — “Amulet of the Hollow Veil (Item 947)”

Wondrous item (neck), common; requires attunement
Passives:
• Veiled Presence: You have a +1 bonus to Dexterity (Stealth) checks to hide from creatures relying on sight or hearing. Creatures making Wisdom (Perception) checks to notice you at a distance of 30 feet or more have disadvantage if you are motionless and not speaking above a whisper.
• Muted Echo: When you speak softly (free), creatures farther than 10 feet have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to overhear you.
• Mind’s Quiet: While you are hidden, you have advantage on saving throws against being frightened and on ability checks to remain calm under interrogation.
Actives:
• Slip Between Sight (1/long rest): As a bonus action, for 1 minute you become lightly obscured and difficult to focus on. During this time you have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks and you can’t be tracked by nonmagical means. The effect ends early if you make an attack, cast a spell, or shout loudly.
• Hollow Step (2/short rest): When you initiate a Dexterity (Stealth) or Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check, you can invoke the amulet (no action) to gain advantage on that single check and silence your footfalls until the check resolves.
• Erased Trace (1/long rest): As an action, you suppress tracks, scents, and minor traces within a 5-foot radius sphere centered on you; for the next hour, tracking you by nonmagical means is made with disadvantage, and existing mundane tracks within the area are obscured.
Attunement Note: The amulet’s magic functions only for creatures not wearing medium or heavy armor that imposes disadvantage on Stealth.
Flair: When activated, the smoky quartz cools and gray motes swirl within it.

Knave — “Shadow-Thread Beads (Item 947)”

Type: Wearable charm; Slot: 1 inventory slot (neck); Rarity: Common
Passives:
• Veiled Presence: +1 on tests to avoid notice when you remain still or move at a slow pace; creatures attempting to detect you from a distance suffer −1 to their checks.
• Muted Echo: Your whispers cannot be heard beyond Near range unless a listener is actively straining to hear.
• Mind’s Quiet: Advantage on Morale or similar checks to keep calm while hidden or questioned.
Actives:
• Slip Between Sight (1/day): For 10 minutes you are dim and forgettable. You have advantage on tests to hide or slip past guards. The effect ends if you make an overt attack or shout.
• Hollow Step (2/day): Before making a single check to move silently, gain advantage and ignore noisy surfaces for that move.
• Erased Trace (1/day): Spend a Turn to smear traces within a Close area. Tracking suffers disadvantage for the next hour unless aided by strong magic or hounds.
Limits: If you end a day having used all three actives, make a WIL save; on a failure, you feel “faded” the next morning until you speak your name aloud to an ally (no mechanical penalty beyond fiction).
Notes for Referees: Treat “advantage” as rolling two d20 and keeping the better (or your table’s equivalent), “disadvantage” as the worse; adjust to your Knave edition’s stealth/omni-test language as needed.

Fate — “Necklace of the Hollow Veil (Item 947)”

Aspect: A Shadow Drawn Thin
Permission: Must be attuned (character devotes one Refresh or narratively bonds with the amulet’s silence)
Cost: 1 Refresh or GM-approved milestone acquisition

Passive Effects:
• Veiled Presence — +2 on Overcome actions with Stealth when you remain still or whisper.
• Muted Echo — Opponents suffer +2 difficulty to Create Advantage attempts using sound or gossip against you.
• Mind’s Quiet — Gain +2 to Defend against mental or emotional attacks that attempt to rattle your focus.

Active Effects:
• Slip Between Sight (1/session): Invoke the item’s aspect for free once per session to create the situational aspect Blurred and Forgettable with one free invoke.
• Hollow Step (2/session): Spend a Fate Point to instantly gain +2 and success with style on a single movement-based Stealth Overcome (e.g., crossing a guarded hall).
• Erased Trace (1/session): Spend a Fate Point to place the situational aspect No Trail Left on a zone; lasts until scene ends or intense magical scrutiny removes it.

Drawback: Overuse triggers a compel — the user may drift from conversation or allies forget details about them until reminded.

Numenera & Cypher System — “Hollow Veil Charm (Item 947)”

Level: 3 cypher-equivalent (artifact, depletion 1 in 1d20 per day of use)
Form: Necklace with seven obsidian beads and smoky quartz pendant

Passive Effects:
• Veiled Presence — +1 Armor vs. detection; reduces difficulty of Speed-based stealth tasks by one step.
• Muted Echo — Reduces difficulty of communication-based deception or quiet speech by one step if whispering.
• Mind’s Quiet — +1 Intellect Edge while hidden or resisting fear/intimidation.

Active Effects:
• Slip Between Sight: (1 Intellect point, action) Become “forgotten” for one minute — creatures make an Intellect defense roll (Level 3) to notice or recall you; attacking ends effect.
• Hollow Step: (Free, 2 uses per day) Lower the difficulty of a single movement-based stealth or escape task by one step.
• Erased Trace: (2 Intellect points, 1/day) Suppress sensory traces in Immediate area; tracking or scrying is one step harder for one hour.

Depletion: Each day you activate any power, roll 1d20; on a 1, the charm’s magic unravels and must be ritually rewoven.

Pathfinder — “Amulet of the Hollow Veil (Item 947)”

Wondrous Item, Neck Slot; Level 3; Price 40 gp; Bulk —; Rarity: Common; Usage worn

Passive Effects:
• Veiled Presence — Item bonus +1 to Stealth checks while not in combat and while speaking at a whisper or quieter.
• Muted Echo — Creatures farther than 10 feet take a –1 circumstance penalty to Perception checks to hear you.
• Mind’s Quiet — +1 item bonus to Will saves vs. emotion and fear effects while you are hidden or attempting to avoid notice.

Active Effects:
• Slip Between Sight (1/day): [Concentrate] [Exploration or Encounter] You become concealed for 1 minute while avoiding notice; ends if you attack, cast an offensive spell, or shout.
• Hollow Step (2/day): [Free Action] Trigger: You attempt a Stealth check to move silently or sneak past. Effect: Gain a +2 circumstance bonus to that Stealth check.
• Erased Trace (1/day): [Two Actions] Create an effect that obscures tracks and scent in a 5-foot burst; Survival DC to Track increases by +2 for 1 hour.

Craft Requirements: volcanic beads, shadow-silk cord, smoky quartz worth 5 gp; Craft (Arcana or Occultism) DC 17; must spend one day of silent work and invest 4 gp of reagents.

Savage Worlds — “Hollow Veil Pendant (Item 947)”

Gear Type: Wondrous Item (Neck); Rank: Novice; Cost: 200 credits equivalent (40 gp); Weight: negligible

Passive Effects:
• Veiled Presence — +1 Stealth when standing still or whispering; penalties to be detected by normal senses at Short/Medium range.
• Muted Echo — Opponents take –1 on Notice rolls to overhear conversations if more than 5” away.
• Mind’s Quiet — +1 Spirit to resist Fear or Intimidation while hidden or sneaking.

Active Effects:
• Slip Between Sight (1/day): Spend 1 Power Point or Bennie; gain +2 Stealth and become obscure for 3 rounds. If you attack, effect ends.
• Hollow Step (2/day): Free action before a Stealth roll to ignore 2 points of penalties from noisy or unstable surfaces.
• Erased Trace (1/day): Spend 1 Power Point; clear tracks/scent in a Small Burst Template; Tracking rolls suffer –2 for one hour.

Notes: Overuse may cause GM-imposed Hindrance (Mild Phobia of Being Seen or social “fading” complications).

Shadowrun — “Hollow Veil Lattice (Item 947)”

Type: Foci (Qi Focus), Rating 1; Category: Neckwear; Availability: 4; Cost: 2,000¥; Essence: —

Passive Effects:
• Veiled Presence — While worn and bonded, you gain +1 dice pool to Sneaking Tests when not in combat or direct spotlight.
• Muted Echo — Apply –1 dice to Perception Tests to overhear your whispered speech beyond 5 meters.
• Mind’s Quiet — +1 dice pool to Composure Tests (Willpower + Charisma) when resisting fear or social manipulation while unseen.

Active Powers:
• Slip Between Sight (1/day): Free Action, costs 1 Karma or 1 Magic Point from bonded user. For (Magic x 2) Combat Turns, observers resist noticing you with Perception vs. your Sneaking + Magic; if they fail, you count as having Partial Light/Obscured cover until you attack.
• Hollow Step (2/day): Simple Action, grants +2 dice to a single Sneaking Test and negates environmental noise penalties for one Move.
• Erased Trace (1/day): Complex Action; clear astral and mundane tracks within 3m radius. Assensing or Tracking suffer –2 dice for one hour.

Bonding: Costs 2 Karma.
Glitch Risk: Overusing Slip Between Sight can cause minor Astral Echo — GM may roll 1d6; on 1, brief presence-fade imposes –1 to Social dice pools for next hour.

Starfinder — “Necklace of the Hollow Veil (Item 947)”

Item Level 2; Price 950 credits; Bulk L; Slot: Neck

Passive Effects:
• Veiled Presence — You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks while standing still or whispering.
• Muted Echo — Sound-dampening: creatures farther than 10 feet take –2 to Perception to overhear you.
• Mind’s Quiet — +1 insight bonus to Will saves vs. fear and emotion effects while hidden or unnoticed.

Active Functions:
• Slip Between Sight (1/day): Standard action. For 1 minute, you’re treated as if under disguise self but for memory: enemies have a 20% miss chance to recall details and –2 Perception to spot you unless directly attacked. Ends if you attack or shout.
• Hollow Step (2/day): Reaction. Trigger: You roll Stealth or Acrobatics to cross hazardous/noisy space. Effect: Roll twice and take the better result.
• Erased Trace (1/day): Standard action. Suppress tracks and scents in 10-ft radius; Survival DC +5 to track you for 1 hour.

Requirements: Must not have bulky armor (no heavy or powered).
Fizzle: If daily limit exceeded, wearer is shaken for 1 round due to dissociative feedback.

Traveller — “Absence Lanyard (Item 947)”

Tech Level: 9; Mass: Negligible; Cost: Cr 1,500; Slot: Clothing/neck; Rating: Common

Passive Effects:
• Veiled Presence — DM+1 to Stealth when remaining motionless or whispering.
• Muted Echo — Opponents suffer DM–1 to detect or overhear you at Medium/Long range.
• Mind’s Quiet — DM+1 to resist intimidation, fear, or panic while hidden.

Active Features:
• Slip Between Sight (1/day): Minor action. For 1 minute you are DM–2 to be detected or targeted by ranged attacks relying on sight (until you attack or shout).
• Hollow Step (2/day): Free action before any stealth/athletics move; DM+2 to avoid noise detection for that move.
• Erased Trace (1/day): Takes 1D combat rounds; wipes environmental trace, increasing Track/Investigate difficulty by +2 DM for one hour.

Drawback: Repeated daily use requires END check 8+ or suffer –1 DM on all Social rolls for the next hour due to emotional disconnection.

Warhammer (Fantasy Roleplay 4e) — “Charm of the Hollow Veil (Item 947)”

Encumbrance: negligible; Availability: Rare (Common magic); Craft: Arcane/Shadow; Price: ~12 gc

Passive:
• Veiled Presence — +10 to Stealth (Hide) Tests when remaining still or speaking softly.
• Muted Echo — Opponents suffer –10 Perception to overhear whispers beyond 3 yards.
• Mind’s Quiet — +10 Cool Tests vs Fear, Terror, or Intimidation while not in direct melee.

Active:
• Slip Between Sight (1/day): Half Action. For WPB minutes, gain the Blurred Condition (count as being in partial cover; foes suffer –10 to ranged attacks and –10 to track you after). Effect ends if you attack.
• Hollow Step (2/day): Free action before an Agility-based Test to cross noisy or unstable ground; gain +20 to that Test.
• Erased Trace (1/day): Full Action; destroy or dull tracks and scent in a 3-yard radius. Tracking attempts suffer –20 for WPB minutes.

Miscast/Backlash: Each day after last charge is spent, roll Willpower +10; failure inflicts 1 Corruption and a momentary “fading” (GM may apply –10 Fellowship for next hour).