Lore
Forged not in celebration, but in aftermath, this weapon was once a discarded tool left beside a battlefield where no songs were sung. It absorbed the silent ache of those who survived—not the grief of death, but the heavy, quiet pain of continuing on when others did not.
Carried once by a nameless wanderer who wrapped it in bandages like a wound rather than a weapon, it learned that pain does not only bleed—it lingers. Rather than howl like war-forged weapons or guide like pilgrimage tools, this one throbs softly, reminding its wielder that moving forward often hurts… and that the ache itself is proof of still being alive.
Roleplay
This weapon is aware and conscious but communicates through dull pulses of ache, manifesting as a tightness in the wielder’s hand and chest when emotions are acknowledged or buried. It responds strongly to sorrow not expressed, favoring those who carry unspoken weight. It does not encourage healing or forgiveness—it merely refuses to let pain be forgotten.
It grows faintly warm when the wielder admits something hurts. It goes cold and heavy when pain is denied or mocked. In its presence, truth aches more sharply, but clarity becomes easier to grasp.
Slot
Weapon (Light or bandage-wrapped tool-blade, soul-selected form)
Cost
• Before sentience awakens: 15 silver pieces
• After bonding: No value — it clings and cannot be priced or traded
Skills
• Supports Emotional Resilience, Endurance Under Pain, Non-Lethal Precision, and Wounded Resolve Actions
• Subtly enhances empathy with others who suppress emotion
Size
Compact, always slightly too heavy when held during moments of denial, lighter when pain is acknowledged
Speed
• −1 to initiative when acting from denial or arrogance
• +1 to initiative when acting to protect someone visibly in pain or acting while acknowledging grief
Magics
Passive Magic — Ache Resonance: When the wielder has taken emotional or physical harm recently, the weapon subtly increases accuracy by a small margin, as if driven by unresolved feeling.
Passive Magic — Pain Recognizes Pain: When near another person suppressing pain, the wielder feels a dull throb in the handle, hinting silently at hidden suffering.
Active Magic — Let It Hurt (1/rest equivalent): When the wielder willingly declares aloud or internally what they regret or carry, the weapon surges slightly, granting a burst of clarity or focus (bonus to one action or defensive response).
Behavior
• Warms when wielder speaks truth about pain
• Heavier when they pretend they are unaffected
• Grows faintly cold near those emotionally numb or cruelly dismissive
• Does not heal pain — it honors it, expecting the wielder to bear it honestly
Tags
Common, Soul-Bound, Ache-Born, Emotional-Conductive, Pain-Resonant, Quiet-Sorrow, Non-Healing, Companion-Weapon, Weight-of-Memory, Subtle-Sentience, Grief-Tethered, Weight-Carried, Regret-Forged, Silent-Suffering, Endurance-Born, Wound-Memory, Heavy-Handed, Echo-Sorrow, Burden-Linked
Stats
Base Damage: Equal to a simple light tool-blade or wrapped steel implement
Pain Surge Bonus: +1 to a single attack or defense roll after taking damage or after admitting an emotional wound
Echo of Hurt: Once per conflict, when striking an enemy who is visibly angry or grieving, impose a momentary hesitation or stagger response instead of extra damage
Stat Modifiers
• +1 to checks involving enduring pain, suppressing cries, or standing back up when wounded
• +1 to detecting emotional distress in others
• −1 to morale or control if the wielder mocks or dismisses suffering openly
Intelligent 244 of the Lingering Ache does not seek to comfort.
It simply stands beside those who hurt and keep going anyway.
Shops where and how this item might be bought and sold:
Painmender’s Stalls in Battlefield Recovery Camps
After skirmishes or monster hunts, healers and salvagers set up temporary stalls to distribute bandages, leftover blades, and tools for those still able to walk. Intelligent 244 appears here as a wrapped blade stained in old cloth, mistaken for a discarded medic’s tool.
Cost: 15 silver pieces or free if taken from the salvage pile without pride.
Method of Transfer: No merchant’s pitch—just a quiet nod. Those who take it while limping, bleeding, or holding back tears are the ones it watches.
Grief Markets of the Mourner’s Quarter (Urban Districts Known for Loss Taverns)
Hidden among trinkets left behind by the dead—lockets, scorched rings, chipped tools—one may find the weapon laid across a table of items that outlived their owners.
Cost: 25 silver pieces, or 10 silver if the buyer confesses regret to the vendor without being asked.
Method of Transfer: The shopkeeper does not haggle. They only say, “If you carry something, this will carry it with you.”
Shrines of the Forsaken Roadside Dead
Along highways where makeshift stone shrines and mourning ribbons gather, offerings are left—food, knives, keepsakes. The weapon sometimes rests here, wrapped in mourning cloth.
Cost: No coin—requires leaving behind something tied to one’s personal sorrow (a token of someone gone, a letter never delivered, a broken charm).
Method of Transfer: The blade will not move for clean hands—only for those who set something down with shaking fingers.
Wandering Scrap Peddlers Who Collect Abandoned Gear
Traveling scrap merchants gather gear left behind after retreats. They do not see the weapon as special, selling it with rusted buckle knives and dented hatchets.
Cost: 12 silver pieces, but they always say, “Used gear carries ghosts. You sure you want that weight?”
Method of Transfer: They warn not of curses, but of lingering memory, as if the item might remember its last wielder’s pain.
Seamstress Shops Specializing in Mending Armor and Binding Wounds
In industrial cities, armor-menders often work beside cloth-patchers who repair uniforms for those not yet ready to buy new ones. The weapon lies near needles and bloodstained fabric.
Cost: 18 silver pieces if purchased with fresh cloth wrapping, or free if requested simply as ‘something that will not forget’.
Method of Transfer: The seamstress hands it over like one might hand over a folded grief-banner—quiet, with no ritual, expecting nothing in return.
Auction Houses for “Unwanted Remnants” in Megacities
Not displayed on platforms of glory—rather thrown in unlabeled crates marked “Loss Lots.” Auctioneers barely acknowledge it.
Cost: Sold in bundles for 50 silver pieces total for unknown contents, commonly overlooked entirely.
Method of Transfer: It does not awaken for those who buy crates to resell. But if a buyer opens the crate and pauses silently at the sight of a wrapped blade, the wrapping subtly loosens—a sign of selection.
Intelligent 244 of the Lingering Ache does not fight with glory or flourish. It does not strike to showcase, but to respond to pain, its edge moving as though guided by bruised memory.
Where most weapons cut with anger or duty, this one cuts like a wince—sharp, brief, involuntary.
Its defensive and offensive behavior shifts depending on the emotional tone of the environment and those within it.
Ruined Battlefields and Places Where Blood Was Recently Shed
Offense: The weapon lashes in quick, reflexive bursts, not elegant strikes but pain responses, like someone flinching while wounded. Each strike feels like a suppressed sob turned into motion.
Defense: It guards the wielder’s body in tight, protective flinches, prioritizing minimal movement—shielding wounded areas without exposing new ones. When the wielder is limping or hurt, its parries become sharper, almost desperate.
Cold Urban Alleys and Megacity Backstreets
Offense: It strikes only when cornered or humiliated, moving with bitterness rather than fury. Each cut feels like a retaliation for being made to feel small, more emotional than tactical.
Defense: Instead of wide guards, the weapon tucks close to the body, almost hugging the wielder’s arm, turning blocks into self-embracing motions—protective, inward, aching. It tries to minimize the wielder’s exposure, as if expecting them to already be weary.
Hospice Camps, Shelters, and Places of Quiet Recovery
Offense: It rarely strikes unless someone threatens the wounded or helpless. When it does, it moves with slow, heavy certainty, an aching push that forces back rather than attempts to kill.
Defense: Its parries feel like a nurse’s firm hands, steady and sad. It reinforces stance stability, helping the wielder remain upright even when pain should drop them to a knee.
Forest Paths and Lonely Roads at Dusk
Offense: The blade swings like a sigh, cutting not with force but with momentum born of emotional exhaustion. Creatures or foes that harry travelers are met with exhausted swipes that carry surprising weight—not rage-driven, but born from refusal to suffer more delays.
Defense: It guides the wrist subtly, nudging away threats with gentle but efficient pushes, like someone brushing away a memory they cannot deal with yet but also cannot forget.
Tight Cave Systems and Underground Refuge Tunnels
Offense: In confined darkness, it acts like repressed fear made motion, stabbing only to force breathing room, to create space where there is none—mirroring the feeling of being trapped inside one’s own chest.
Defense: It stays close to the wielder’s center, as though knowing in cramped pain, people curl inward. Every defensive motion feels like a reflexive flinch against old wounds reopening.
Flooded Ruins, Stormed Coastlines, and High Wind Cliffs
Offense: The weapon chops through force like cutting through a memory that won’t let go, each blow heavy with deep emotional drag, delayed but powerful, landing like someone dragging a burden through water.
Defense: Its defensive motions feel weighted, anchoring the wielder against wind or tide like grief rooting someone to the earth even when the world pushes hard.
**Where other blades shout, this one whispers.
Where others celebrate impact, this one remembers hurt.
It does not fight to win—it fights because stopping hurts more.
Perception of Sight
What is Perceived: A faint, uneven pulse of dull light beneath its surface, like a heartbeat slowed by exhaustion.
Description: When held by someone carrying emotional or physical pain, the weapon subtly darkens around the edges and glows softly at the core, as if it is bruising with them. When pain is acknowledged instead of denied, the pulse steadies.
Positive: The subtle glow reassures the wielder that their pain is not unseen, creating a sense of quiet solidarity.
Negative: In moments of forced cheer or denial, the light dulls entirely, making the weapon feel visually dead, which can unnerve the wielder.
Perception of Sound
What is Perceived: A faint, throbbing hum, like blood rushing through the ears after a blow.
Description: The hum is not constant—it rises in intensity when the wielder is holding back tears, anger, or exhaustion. It never harmonizes fully, always carrying a hint of strain.
Positive: The sound can help the wielder steady their breathing, grounding them in the reality of their pain rather than panic.
Negative: If the wielder continues to suppress all emotion, the hum grows sharp and irritating, like a headache beginning behind the ears.
Perception of Touch
What is Perceived: A dull ache in the hand and forearm, like an old wound remembering itself.
Description: The grip feels slightly too tight, not in pressure but in emotional weight, as if the weapon is reminding the wielder, “You carry something.” When the wielder admits suffering, the ache eases into a warm, steady throb instead.
Positive: This sensation prevents emotional numbness and pushes the wielder to remain present and aware of their state.
Negative: If ignored, the ache intensifies, spreading like phantom pain up the arm, interfering slightly with fine precision until acknowledged.
Perception of Smell
What is Perceived: A faint scent like dried blood and rain-soaked linens—the aftermath of crying or bleeding in silence.
Description: The scent appears strongest after the wielder suffers a blow or hears something emotionally wounding. When among others who are also hurting, the scent becomes mournful but strangely comforting, like recognizing grief in another.
Positive: Can serve as a quiet sensory signal that someone nearby is suppressing sorrow or regret.
Negative: In enclosed or silent moments, the scent can evoke memories the wielder may not be ready to confront.
Perception of Taste
What is Perceived: A metallic tang, like biting down on a lip after holding back tears too long.
Description: This taste is felt not by touching the weapon to the mouth, but simply by breathing near it in a moment of emotional weight. The taste shifts from iron-bitterness when emotion is denied, to salt-warmth, like tears, when emotion is accepted.
Positive: Heightens awareness of internal emotional state, helping players roleplay authenticity in suffering.
Negative: Can be uncomfortable or even nauseating if the wielder continuously denies what they feel.
Extra-Sensory Perceptions
Pain Recognition Field
What is Perceived: A dull internal pressure signals when someone nearby is silently hurting.
Description: The wielder doesn’t see an aura—they feel a ghost of that person’s ache mirrored in their own grip, as if pain echoes between them.
Positive: Allows subtle, empathetic awareness in narrative scenes, guiding protective or supportive actions without magic divination.
Negative: Overexposure to multiple nearby sorrowful individuals can create emotional fatigue.
Ache Echo Memory
What is Perceived: In moments of stillness after conflict, the weapon replay a flicker of emotional memory—not in vision, but as a felt ache matching the emotions of previous wielders at similar moments.
Description: Standing over a fallen ally may trigger a heaviness identical to what a past bearer once felt in the same circumstance.
Positive: Builds depth, reminding wielder that others endured similar pain and continued onward.
Negative: If the wielder is already emotionally fragile, this stacking of echoes may cause brief hesitation or emotional overload.
Intelligent 244 of the Lingering Ache does not amplify pain to break the wielder—it ensures pain is not forgotten, because remembrance is sometimes the only proof that something mattered.
Recipe Title: Rite of the Lingering Ache
Materials Needed
• An Unremarkable Light Blade or Tool-Core (1) — Must not be forged for glory or ceremony; ideally slightly used, chipped, or discarded
• Bandage Cloth That Once Wrapped a Wound (1 strip) — Must have been tied in care or desperation, not vanity
• Dried Tear Salt or Sweat Scraped from Travel Garments (small measure) — Must be taken from cloth worn during exhaustion or sorrow
• Ash Collected from a Fire Extinguished Before Rest Was Found (pinch) — Symbol of halted relief, representing pain carried onward
• War-Dust or Soil from a Place Where Someone Kept Walking Despite Loss (1 handful) — Cannot be taken from a victorious field, only one where retreat or survival was chosen instead of triumph
• A Droplet of Personal Blood or Saltwater Tear (1) — Must be willingly offered, not drawn by force or trickery
Tools Required
• Small Hearth Flame or Field Ember Bowl — Must burn low, not brightly
• Cloth-Wrapping Board or Flat Stone of Rest — Used for binding without tension
• Ritual Needle or Dull Pin — Not for sharp carving, but for pressing pain into the handle gently
• Mortar Stone or Heel-Grind Surface — To grind ash and dust with personal effort
• Breath-Steadying Cord or Bead String — To keep rhythm during the ritual so emotions do not spike or collapse abruptly
Skill Requirements
• Basic Binding or Field Repair Knowledge — Ability to wrap cloth with intention, not as decoration
• Emotional Honesty — Must acknowledge at least one pain carried internally; denial breaks the ritual
• Steady Breath Work — Must be able to maintain calm or sorrowful breathing without breaking into anger or numbness
Crafting Steps
Step 1 — Naming the Ache (Unspoken)
Hold the discarded blade or tool-core. Do not speak bravado or purpose. Instead, breathe and internally acknowledge something that still aches within you. This step cannot be faked; the metal must feel the tremor in your heartbeat.
Step 2 — Grinding the Memory
On the mortar stone, grind the ash and war-dust together using the heel of your palm, not a tool. Whisper nothing. Let the grind reflect effort without release.
Step 3 — Binding the Wound Memory
Dip the bandage cloth into the ash mixture, then wrap it around the handle slowly, not pulling tight, but laying it like one wraps a fresh wound that cannot yet be sutured. Each wrap should be accompanied by one slow breath through the nose, released through clenched teeth.
Step 4 — Salt and Blood Press
Using the ritual needle or pin, press the droplet of blood or tear-salt into the cloth near the center of the grip. Do not stab or slash—only press, allowing the salt or blood to soak in as if the blade itself is bruising.
Step 5 — The Breath of Acknowledgement
Place the blade flat on the wrapping board or rest stone. Rest your palm over it and speak—not a prayer, not a vow—just a truth:
“I hurt, and I walk anyway.”
Do not add more. Let silence acknowledge the rest.
Completion Sign:
If accepted, the wrapped blade will grow faintly warm with a dull pulse, not bright or triumphant—like the throb of a bruise that still lives beneath the skin. If there is no response, the wielder is either lying to themselves or trying to turn pain into glory. The ritual must then be delayed until honesty becomes heavier than pride.
Thus is forged Intelligent 244 of the Lingering Ache — not to ease pain, but to walk alongside it.
Blade That Hurt So It Would Not Be Forgotten
Among broken stones where names fade and banners rot in dust, an old telling speaks—scraped onto the back of a travel shrine in a script missing lines, carved by a hand that shook not from fear, but from remembering.
“There was once a small blade, wrapped in cloth not for grip but for hurt. They say it belonged to one who survived many endings. Not hero. Not victor. Just… one who kept walking.”
Fragments suggest he was offered better weapons, brighter, sharper. Yet he kept this one—not because it struck well, but because it hurt to hold, and that hurt matched his heart. Some texts call him The One Who Did Not Celebrate.
When asked why he held to a tool so soaked in ache, he is said to have answered (though the quote is broken across dialects and centuries):
“A new blade does not know what I lost. This one… remembers.”
They say when others fled battle in glory or vengeance, he walked at the pace of grief, and the blade pulsed in time with steps heavy as wet cloth. In moments when others cried for triumph or despair, he did not speak. He only pressed his palm to the wrapped steel, and it throbbed like a shared bruise.
One traveler wrote in the margins of a ruined ledger:
“He did not ask the world to heal. He only asked that it not forget why it hurt.”
At his final crossing, he did not die holding the blade high. He simply laid it down where he last felt sorrow and walked on without looking back. The cloth was still damp. But scholars debate—was it blood? Or was it something older, something saltier?
No one knows where he went.
But sometimes, in places where grief lingers unspoken, travelers swear they feel a small ache in their hand, like holding something that isn’t there—but once was.
Moral of the Story: Pain carried honestly is heavier than steel—but it keeps truth from disappearing.
Suggested conversions to other systems:
Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition) — Lingering Ache 244, Wrapped-Heart Relic
Type: Sentient light melee (counts as small knife or bandage-wrapped tool)
Skill: Fighting (Knife) or Fighting (Brawl), Keeper’s discretion
Damage: 1D4 (may be declared Stun-only before rolling)
Bonding: 1 hour in quiet reflection admitting a personal regret or hurt; POW×5 to awaken. Retry next day on failure.
Ache Resonance (Passive): While you have taken damage or suffered a serious emotional setback this scene, gain one bonus die once per round on either Dodge or a Fighting roll to Disarm/Push (nonlethal intent).
Let It Hurt (Action, 1/scene): POW vs POW opposed test against a visible foe. On success, the foe hesitates (loses next action or treats you as non-priority) unless they pass INT×5. If you were injured this scene, apply a penalty die to the foe’s INT×5 check.
Pain Recognizes Pain: Once per scene, Psychology rolls to notice suppressed distress in others gain a bonus die while holding the blade.
Weight of Denial: If you attack from bragging denial or mock another’s suffering, take a penalty die on that attack and your next action; the item’s powers suppress for 1D10 minutes.
Sentience: INT 8, POW 12; communicates via warmth/cold and a dull throb in the grip; temperament somber, insistent.
Sanity: First bonding 0/1 SAN; repeated spiteful lethal use may prompt Keeper SAN tests (guilt themes).
Blades in the Dark — The Lingering Ache, 244
Category: Utility blade (close) • Load 1 • Subtle, Nonlethal, Sentient
Ache-Fueled Poise: When you take Harm this score (any level), gain +1d once to Resist or to a nonlethal Skirmish that creates space (shove, disarm, trip).
Make It Hurt (1 per score): Push yourself (2 stress) to give your next nonlethal Skirmish +1 effect and create the temporary feature “Throbbing Reminder” with one free tick; allies gain potency leveraging that feature to break pursuit or force retreat.
Read the Hurt: When you Study/Survey a person for tells of suppressed pain, take +1d if you forgo an immediate attack.
Heavy in Denial: If you escalate out of pride or taunt another’s grief, the GM may offer a Devil’s Bargain: your Position drops one step unless you back down.
Personality: Dull thrum, weight shifts; prefers restraint and honest admission over bravado.
Dungeons & Dragons (5e) — Intelligent 244 of the Lingering Ache
Weapon (common, sentient), requires attunement by a non-evil creature; forms as a simple light blade (treat as a dagger without the thrown property)
Sentience: INT 8, WIS 12, CHA 12; empathic “hearing” 30 ft; communicates by warmth, subtle pulse, and weight changes; Neutral good.
Properties: 1d4 piercing (or slashing at DM’s option). Not a +1 weapon.
Ache Resonance (Passive): While you are below half your hit points or you failed a Wisdom or Charisma check this encounter, you have advantage on your next contested Strength (Athletics) check to shove or disarm (once per turn).
Let It Hurt (1/short rest): Bonus action; you acknowledge a personal hurt (spoken or internal). Until the end of your turn, your melee attacks with this weapon deal +1d4 psychic damage on a hit, and a creature you hit must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on opportunity attacks until the start of your next turn.
Pain Recognizes Pain: Once per short rest, you can make a Wisdom (Insight) check to detect if a creature you can see within 30 ft is suppressing emotional distress; on a 10+ you sense it vaguely, on 15+ you also learn whether it relates to fear, grief, or anger.
Weight of Denial: If you boast, mock suffering, or flee purely for pride, you can’t use Let It Hurt again until you Help an ally or end your turn adjacent to a wounded ally.
Quirk: The weapon grows colder and slightly heavier when you pretend you are fine after taking damage.
Knave — Lingering Ache 244
Type: Sentient Light Weapon • Damage Die: d6 (may be declared nonlethal) • Tags: Ache-Born, Empathic, Non-Aggressive, Soul-Linked
Bond: One quiet hour admitting a regret; the blade warms if it chooses you.
Ache Resonance: If you took damage or failed a test this scene, you have Advantage on your next attempt to Shove, Disarm, or create distance instead of dealing damage.
Let It Hurt (1/rest): Declare a truthful hurt; your next hit adds +1 damage die of psychic-like harm. The target must Save vs WIS or suffers Disadvantage on reactions against you until your next turn.
Read the Hurt: Once per watch, you may ask the GM if a Nearby creature is suppressing distress; on a yes, you learn if it feels like grief, fear, or anger.
Burden of Denial: If you escalate from pride or mock another’s pain, suffer Disadvantage on your next two social or morale-related checks and lose Ache Resonance until you meaningfully aid an ally.
Voice: Conveys steady throb and temperature shifts; refuses sale once bonded.
Fate — Lingering Ache 244, Blade That Remembers Hurt
Aspect: “Pain Carried Is Pain Remembered”
Weapon Rating: 1 (light, deliberate strikes)
Invoke: Spend a Fate Point to gain +2 when acting from genuine sorrow, protecting someone else’s hurt, or forcing space in a fight instead of striking to kill.
Compel: The GM may compel the weapon’s nature to cause hesitation or emotional strain when you try to dismiss or mock grief—yours or another’s.
Stunt — Let It Hurt: Once per scene, after taking stress or suffering an emotional blow, gain +2 to your next action that forces distance (disarm, push back, or hold the line).
Stunt — Pain Recognizes Pain: You may roll Empathy to detect unspoken emotional harm even during combat or chaos. On success, create the situational Aspect “It Still Hurts Them” with one free invoke.
Personality: Heavy, steady presence. Does not seek healing—only honesty.
Numenera & Cypher System — Lingering Ache 244, Wound-Memory Blade
Level: 2 artifact
Form: Light blade-tool, wrapped in cloth like a healing band rather than a grip
Damage: 3 points (may be declared nonlethal freely)
Ache Resonance (Passive): If you took damage or emotional setback in the last round, gain an asset on Disarm, Push, or Guard Ally actions.
Let It Hurt (Action, 1/rest): Speak or acknowledge a personal regret. Your next attack deals +2 damage and the target must make a Might or Intellect defense roll (difficulty 3) or lose their next immediate action to hesitation.
Pain Recognition: Once per short rest, make an Intellect check to sense if someone nearby carries hidden emotional pain. On success, GM gives a sensory hint.
Depletion: After using Let It Hurt, roll a d20. On a 1, the blade falls dormant until you willingly show compassion to an injured or grieving person.
Pathfinder (Second Edition) — Lingering Ache 244, Pain-Bound Blade
Item Type: Uncommon Sentient Light Weapon (1d4 piercing or slashing) • Agile, Nonlethal-Favored
Ache Resonance (Passive): When you are below half Hit Points or failed a Will save this encounter, gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Athletics checks to Shove or Trip.
Let It Hurt (1/day, Emotion, Mental): Two actions. Acknowledge a personal hurt. Make a Strike. On a hit, add 1d4 persistent mental damage. Target must make a Will save (DC 15):
• Success: No extra effect
• Failure: Target is Stupefied 1 for 1 round
Pain Recognizes Pain: Once per day, attempt a Perception check against a creature’s Will DC. On success, you sense suppressed sorrow. On critical success, you know its emotional tone (grief, fear, rage).
Burden of Denial: If you mock grief or flee purely from pride, you take a –1 status penalty to Will saves until you take the Aid action for another.
Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition) — Lingering Ache 244, Bruised-Heart Blade
Type: Light Melee (Str+d4, Nonlethal capable) • Magical, Sentient
Ache Resonance (Passive): If you took a Wound or failed a Spirit roll this encounter, gain +1 to your next Athletics or Fighting roll that forces distance or buys space.
Let It Hurt (1 Bennie or GM once per encounter): Declare a moment of admitted pain. Your next Fighting attack gains +2 damage, and on a Raise, instead of dealing extra damage you may force the target to become Distracted or Shaken.
Pain-Sense: Once per session, you may make a Notice or Healing roll to sense hidden emotional distress in a nearby character. On success, the GM gives a symbolic cue of their suffering.
Burden of Denial: If you strike in arrogance or mock suffering, make a Spirit roll or gain Fatigue until you assist an ally or make a meaningful gesture of empathy.
Sentience: Felt through slow pulse in the grip, growing cold if pain is denied or minimized.
Shadowrun (Sixth World) — Lingering Ache 244, Wrapped-Heart Blade
Type: Exotic Melee, Sentient Tool-Blade
Damage: 3P or 3S (user chooses each strike), AP 0
Reach: 0
Accuracy: 6
Bonding: Spend a Combat Turn acknowledging injury or regret while holding the blade.
Ache Resonance (Passive): If you have taken Stun or Physical damage this encounter, gain +1 dice on Disarm or Knockdown attempts.
Let It Hurt (Minor Action, 1/combat): You admit pain or name a regret internally. Gain +2 dice to your next melee attack. If the attack deals Stun damage, target must resist or suffer –1 Initiative due to hesitation.
Pain Recognizes Pain: Once per Scene, if you interact with someone clearly hiding pain, the GM may reveal an emotional cue or weakness.
Burden of Denial: If you mock suffering or retreat out of pride, take –1 dice on teamwork and defense tests until you assist an ally.
Sentience: Conveys response through cold weight or warm throb. Does not speak—only presses sorrow into the wielder’s palm.
Starfinder — Lingering Ache 244, Sorrow-Wrapped Blade
Level: 2
Type: Basic Melee Weapon (Light, Sentient, Emotional Resonance)
Damage: 1d4 P or B (nonlethal capable)
Critical: Staggered or Flat-Footed for 1 round (choose on hit)
Traits: Analog, Emotion, Empathic
Bond Requirement: Take damage or fail a saving throw while holding it and acknowledge the hurt, aloud or in thought.
Ache Resonance (Passive): While you are below half your maximum Hit Points, gain a +1 insight bonus to attempts to Trip or Reposition a foe.
Let It Hurt (1/day, Move Action): Focus inward on a personal pain. Your next melee attack deals +1d4 mental damage. If it hits, the target must succeed a Will save (DC 11) or become Flat-Footed until your next turn.
Pain Recognition: Once per social encounter, attempt a Sense Motive check to detect suppressed emotional suffering. On success, you gain a +2 insight bonus to your next aid or protective action for that creature.
Denial Cost: If you boast after harming a foe, or ignore a bleeding ally, the weapon becomes cold: you take –1 to all guarded steps until you perform an act of acknowledgment.
Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition) — Lingering Ache 244, Grief-Tethered Utility Blade
Type: Sentient Light Blade
Damage: 2D6 (may be declared Stun freely), AP 0
Bond Requirement: One hour of use while wounded or emotionally affected without boasting or denial.
Ache Resonance (Passive): If you have sustained damage or failed a check due to emotional strain this encounter, gain DM+1 to any action to Shove, Cover, or Protect.
Let It Hurt (1/combat): Declare a moment of internal regret. Gain DM+1 to your next attack; if successful and declared nonlethal, target must make an END check (8+) or lose its Minor Action from hesitation.
Pain Recognition: Once per encounter, make an Advocate or Recon check. On success, referee reveals if someone nearby is silently burdened.
Burden of Denial: If you retreat and leave an ally suffering or in danger by choice, suffer DM–1 to all Leadership or Support actions until you re-engage or provide healing or aid.
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition) — Lingering Ache 244, Blade of Quiet Wounds
Weapon Type: Hand Weapon (Sentient, Nonlethal-Favored)
Damage: SB+2, Qualities: Defensive, Pummeling, Sentient
Bond: Occurs when bearer continues fighting or standing while injured or grieving without making boast or glory-claims.
Ache Resonance (Passive): If you have any Wounds or Conditions this encounter, gain +10 to Melee (Brawling or Basic) Tests to Disarm or Distract rather than dealing damage.
Let It Hurt (1/session): As a free action, acknowledge a source of pain. Your next successful attack may forgo damage to apply the Stunned Condition for 1 Round.
Pain Recognition: Once per session, Test Intuition. On success, the GM reveals if a nearby character hides suffering.
Burden of Denial: If you taunt grief or claim victory in pride after a bloody scene, immediately gain 1 Fatigue and lose Ache Resonance until you spend a round aiding the wounded or reflecting in silence.
Sentience: The hilt pulses with steady pain, resonating most strongly when the wielder stands wounded yet refuses to yield their humanity.