Mirror of Role Reflection

From: Actarism

This ornate handheld mirror possesses the power to reveal hidden truths to the viewer. When gazed upon, the mirror shows the viewer their own actions from different perspectives, allowing them to gain insights into the consequences of their choices. The mirror also has the ability to reflect the intentions of others back onto them, helping adversaries understand the impact of their actions before proceeding.

Lore: The Mirror of Role Reflection is a creation rooted in the teachings of Actarism’s philosophy. Legend tells of a wise sage who, after meditating deeply on the cosmic dance, crafted the mirror to serve as a tool for self-discovery and understanding. Actara herself is said to have blessed the mirror, infusing it with the ability to unveil hidden truths. The mirror is a reminder that every role played in the universe’s drama has multiple perspectives, and understanding these perspectives can lead to enlightenment and harmony.

Values and Tier One Stats:

• Perspective Insight: Once per day, the mirror allows the viewer to gain insight into a recent choice they’ve made, granting a +20% bonus to Empathy or Insight skill checks related to understanding the consequences of that choice.
• Reflection Gaze: Once per combat encounter, the mirror can be used to reflect an opponent’s intentions back onto them, causing them to hesitate and miss their next action.

Skills:

• Empathy: The mirror’s ability to show actions from different perspectives enhances the viewer’s empathic skills.
• Insight: The mirror encourages introspection and understanding, enhancing the viewer’s ability to gain insights into the motivations of themselves and others.

Cost and Requirements:

• Cost: 800 gold coins
• Requirements: Must be a recognized follower of Actarism with a deep understanding of the philosophy’s teachings. Approval from the religious authorities of Actarism is required.

Tags:

• Enlightening: The mirror facilitates self-discovery and enlightenment.
• Insightful: The mirror enhances the viewer’s ability to gain insights into actions and intentions.
• Reflective: The mirror can reflect intentions and consequences, promoting understanding.
• Additional: Cosmic Balance, Truthbound, Visionary, Harmonizing, Mind’s Reflection, Fatewoven, Judgmental, Astral Echo, Rolebound, Sentient

Selling and Availability: The Mirror of Role Reflection is a rare and revered artifact. It’s not typically available for public sale but is instead awarded to those who demonstrate exceptional dedication to Actarism’s teachings. It can be granted through ceremonies, rituals, or quests that challenge the recipient’s understanding of the interconnectedness of actions and the consequences of choices.

Environment and Combat Usage: The mirror is most commonly used in serene and contemplative settings, such as meditation chambers or peaceful gardens within Actarism’s temples. Followers of Actarism use the mirror to gain insights into their roles, actions, and choices, seeking a deeper understanding of their impact on the cosmic dance. In combat, the mirror can be used to momentarily reflect an opponent’s intentions back onto them. By showing adversaries the consequences of their actions, it causes them to hesitate or reconsider their next move. This strategic usage aligns with Actarism’s principle of promoting understanding and empathy even in moments of conflict.

Perception of Activation:

• User’s Perspective:
  • Sight: The mirror’s surface ripples like water, momentarily distorting the reflection before revealing multiple versions of the user—each depicting a different outcome of past choices. The edges of the frame glow with a soft, silvery light, and faint celestial symbols shift across the glass.
  • Sound: A hushed whisper echoes from the mirror, like distant voices speaking in unison. The words are not distinct but carry a tone of recognition, as if the mirror understands the weight of the choices shown.
  • Touch: A cool, tingling sensation spreads through the fingertips and up the arm, as though the mirror is gently pulling at the user’s consciousness. The weight of the mirror feels greater than before, as if burdened by unseen truths.
  • Smell: A faint, almost imperceptible aroma of aged parchment and morning mist drifts from the mirror, evoking a sense of timeless wisdom.
  • Taste: A subtle metallic tang lingers on the tongue, reminiscent of the moment before a thunderstorm.
  • Extra-Sensory Perceptions:
    • Temporal Awareness: The user briefly senses time stretching and contracting, feeling both the past and present as one.
    • Emotional Echo: The emotions tied to past choices—regret, pride, sorrow, joy—surge for a fleeting moment, forcing the user to confront them.
    • Fate’s Gaze: A presence, neither hostile nor kind, seems to observe the user through the mirror, as though the universe itself is watching.
• Observer’s Perspective:
  • Sight: The mirror’s surface glows softly, shifting between clear reflection and swirling patterns of light. The user’s reflection appears to move independently for a moment before realigning with reality.
  • Sound: A low, melodic hum resonates faintly in the air, as if the mirror is vibrating in harmony with something unseen.
  • Touch: If another person touches the mirror while active, they feel a brief sensation of weightlessness, as if stepping between realities.
  • Smell: A fleeting scent of old books and cool night air lingers, disappearing almost as soon as it is noticed.
  • Taste: Nothing distinct, unless the observer is particularly sensitive to magical energies, in which case a slight sweetness may be perceived.
  • Extra-Sensory Perceptions:
    • Disorientation Effect: Onlookers may feel momentarily detached from their surroundings, as though their perception of time and space has shifted slightly.
    • Echoing Reflections: Some may catch glimpses of movement in the mirror that do not correspond to the user, as if past and future versions of them are momentarily visible.
• Positives:
  • Grants deep insight into personal choices, helping the user understand the consequences of their actions.
  • Enhances empathy by allowing the user to experience the emotions tied to different perspectives.
  • Can disrupt aggression by forcing opponents to confront their own intentions.
  • Strengthens intuition and decision-making, making it a powerful tool for negotiation and strategy.
• Negatives:
  • Repeated use can be emotionally overwhelming, making the user hesitant or burdened by self-doubt.
  • Viewing difficult truths may create distress or internal conflict, leading to temporary indecision.
  • Opponents with strong mental fortitude may resist the reflection effect, rendering it ineffective in some cases.
  • There is an unsettling sense that the mirror remembers what it shows, even if the user does not.

Crafting Recipe: Mirror of Role Reflection

• Materials Needed:
  • Astral Silver Frame (1 piece) – A finely worked silver frame infused with celestial energy, forged under a night sky where no clouds obscure the stars.
  • Veilglass Shard (1 slab) – A rare, semi-transparent glass harvested from a plane of hidden truths, capable of reflecting multiple realities.
  • Threads of Fate (3 strands) – Delicate, shimmering filaments spun from the dreams of oracles, used to bind the mirror’s perception to past and future events.
  • Ink of Remembrance (1 vial) – A mystical ink brewed from crushed lapis lazuli and memory-infused water, necessary for etching runes that channel insight.
  • Echoed Whispers (1 captured essence) – A preserved fragment of a moment where a choice altered fate, sealed within an enchanted crystal.
• Tools Required:
  • Celestial Smith’s Forge – Used to shape the Astral Silver Frame without disrupting its attunement to cosmic forces.
  • Ethereal Glass Shaper – A delicate instrument that allows the Veilglass to be cut and polished without shattering its hidden properties.
  • Inscriber’s Needle – A precision tool for engraving the swirling patterns that enable the mirror to reveal unseen perspectives.
  • Dreamcatcher Vessel – A specialized container used to hold and weave the Threads of Fate into the mirror’s structure.
  • Harmonic Chanting Bells – Used to stabilize the crafting process and attune the mirror to the emotions and intentions it will reflect.
• Skill Requirements:
  • Advanced Artifice (Master Level) – Required to assemble and bind the physical components while maintaining their mystical properties.
  • Glassworking (Intermediate Level) – Necessary to cut and shape the Veilglass into a form that maintains its otherworldly clarity.
  • Runic Engraving (Advanced Level) – Used to inscribe the proper symbols along the mirror’s edges, ensuring it channels perspective insight correctly.
  • Divination Weaving (Expert Level) – Required to fuse the Threads of Fate into the mirror, allowing it to reveal choices and consequences.
  • Emotion Attunement (Basic Level) – Helps the crafter align the mirror’s energies so that it reflects emotions and intentions accurately.
• Crafting Steps:
  • Forge the Astral Silver Frame: Heat the Astral Silver in the Celestial Smith’s Forge, shaping it into an ornate frame capable of housing the Veilglass while preserving its resonance with unseen realities.
  • Cut and Shape the Veilglass: Using the Ethereal Glass Shaper, carefully refine the slab into a smooth, flawless pane. Ensure the surface remains unmarred, as any impurity may distort the reflections beyond recognition.
  • Inscribe the Runes of Perception: Dip the Inscriber’s Needle into the Ink of Remembrance and meticulously engrave swirling symbols along the frame, embedding the mirror’s ability to reveal hidden perspectives.
  • Weave the Threads of Fate: Using the Dreamcatcher Vessel, carefully intertwine the strands into the structure of the mirror, allowing them to subtly pulse with energy. This step binds the mirror’s power to the fabric of time and choice.
  • Infuse the Echoed Whispers: Place the captured essence within the mirror’s backing, sealing it behind the Veilglass. This step ensures the mirror carries the weight of decisions and can reflect the consequences of choices made.
  • Harmonic Attunement Ritual: Strike the Harmonic Chanting Bells in rhythmic succession while meditating before the mirror. The vibrations align the energies, stabilizing the mirror’s ability to function without distortion.
  • Final Reflection Test: Hold the completed mirror up to candlelight and gaze into it while recalling a recent decision. If the mirror subtly shifts, showing an alternate view of the choice’s outcome, the crafting is successful.

Completion & Use: Once completed, the Mirror of Role Reflection is a tool of insight and understanding. Those who wield it must be prepared to face the truths it reveals, as the mirror does not lie—it only shows what was, what is, and what could be.

The Glass That Remembered

Long before men knew their faces and before words were carried by breath, there was the one who asked. This one, walking where roads had not yet been made, stood between two rivers. One river was bright, laughing, rushing fast, never looking back. The other was dark, whispering, slow, pulling the past into its deep belly. The one who asked did not know which river to follow, for one would take them forward, and one would take them back, but both led somewhere they could not see.

So the one who asked called to the sky, but the sky had no answer. They spoke to the trees, but the trees only sighed. They asked the earth, but the earth listened and did not speak.

Then, as the sun stretched long behind them, the one who asked found the glass. It was not made by hands, nor shaped by time. It lay half-buried in the dust, as if it had fallen from a place beyond knowing. When the one who asked peered into it, the glass did not show their face—it showed the steps they had taken, the words they had spoken, the moments they had turned away or stood still. It showed their hands opening and closing, their mouth speaking and silent, their feet moving and waiting. It showed them as they were, but also as they could have been.

The one who asked watched, and in watching, they understood. The rivers did not choose the path—the one who walked did. The past did not pull, and the future did not push. The choice was always in the hands of the one who asked.

With the glass in their hands, the one who asked walked neither to the bright river nor the dark, but into the space between, where the two rivers met. And as they walked, the glass carried their questions, so that others who found it would not ask the sky, nor the trees, nor the earth, but would see for themselves.

Moral: The path is not in the river but in the step.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition) Adaptation

Mirror of Role Reflection

• Type: Occult Artifact
• Sanity Cost: 1d4 upon first use (due to the unsettling clarity of one’s own past choices)
• Effects:
  • Perspective Insight: Once per day, the user may gaze into the mirror to relive a past choice from another perspective, gaining +20% to Psychology or Insight rolls when analyzing motives or consequences.
  • Reflection Gaze: Once per combat encounter, the user may reflect an enemy’s intent back upon them. The enemy must make a Power (POW) roll vs. 50 or hesitate, losing their next action.
• Drawback: The mirror does not allow for self-deception—each use requires a SAN check (0/1d6 loss) due to the psychological burden of confronting personal truths.

Blades in the Dark Adaptation

Mirror of Role Reflection

• Item Type: Fine Arcane Tool (Load: 1)
• Quality: Tier III (Requires knowledge of esoteric philosophy or deep introspection)
• Abilities:
  • Perspective Insight: The user may gain improved effect on Consort or Study actions when attempting to understand past events or anticipate consequences.
  • Reflection Gaze: Once per score, the user may activate the mirror’s gaze, forcing an opponent to resist with Resolve or suffer Reduced Effect on their next hostile action.
• Drawback: The mirror resists manipulation—any attempt to deceive oneself or others while using it results in a Desperate Position on the next action.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition) Adaptation

Mirror of Role Reflection

• Wondrous Item, Rare (Requires Attunement by a Cleric, Bard, or Wizard)
• Effects:
  • Perspective Insight: Once per day, the user may reflect on a recent decision. For the next 10 minutes, they gain advantage on Insight and Perception checks related to assessing consequences and hidden motives.
  • Reflection Gaze (Recharge 5-6): As an action, the user may force one enemy within 30 feet to make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become stunned for 1 round, overwhelmed by self-awareness.
• Curse (Optional): Prolonged use may cause the user to experience visions of unmade choices, requiring a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw to avoid disadvantage on Charisma (Deception) checks for 24 hours.

Knave Adaptation

Mirror of Role Reflection

• Type: Wondrous Item
• Effect:
  • Perspective Insight: Once per dungeon delve or major event, the user may gaze into the mirror to gain a +2 bonus to Intelligence-based checks when analyzing past decisions.
  • Reflection Gaze: Once per combat, the user may force an enemy within 10 feet to make a Wisdom save or lose their next action, caught in momentary self-reflection.
  • Encumbrance: Takes up 1 inventory slot.
• Drawback: Overuse of the mirror may cause temporary indecisiveness—after three uses in a short span, the user must pass a Wisdom save or suffer a -1 penalty to all actions for the next hour, as they become lost in contemplation.

Fate Adaptation

Mirror of Role Reflection

• Aspect: Revealer of Hidden Paths
• Function:
  • Perspective Insight: Once per session, the user may invoke this aspect for free to gain a +2 bonus on Empathy or Lore rolls when analyzing past actions and consequences.
  • Reflection Gaze: Once per scene, the user may attempt to Create an Advantage by forcing an enemy to hesitate, rolling Empathy vs. their Will to impose a temporary aspect (e.g., “Doubtful Intent” or “Uncertain Fate”), which can be invoked once for free.
• Compel Effect: The mirror occasionally reveals paths not taken, causing the user to question their own decisions. The GM may compel this aspect to introduce moments of indecision or regret during critical scenes.

Numenera & Cypher System Adaptation

Mirror of Role Reflection

• Level: 6
• Effects:
  • Perspective Insight (1 Intellect Point, Action): The user may gaze into the mirror to relive a recent decision from another perspective, gaining an asset on all Intellect-based checks related to analysis, negotiation, or insight for one hour.
  • Reflection Gaze (2 Intellect Points, Action): The user may focus the mirror on a foe within Immediate Range, forcing them to make an Intellect Defense roll (Difficulty 6) or hesitate, losing their next action.
• Depletion: 1 in 1d20 – The mirror may lose its charge and require a period of deep contemplation (one hour) to recharge.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition) Adaptation

Mirror of Role Reflection

• Wondrous Item, Rare (Invested, Divination, Mental, Divine)
• Effects:
  • Perspective Insight (Passive): The user gains a +2 status bonus to Perception and Diplomacy checks when analyzing past actions or sensing hidden motives.
  • Reflection Gaze (Two Actions, 1/Day): The user may present the mirror to a target within 30 feet, forcing them to make a DC 20 Will save or become Stunned 1 as they are confronted with the consequences of their choices.
• Curse: Repeated use of the mirror may cause the user to experience visions of alternate decisions. After three uses in a day, the user must succeed on a DC 17 Will save or become Fatigued for one hour due to mental strain.

Savage Worlds Adaptation

Mirror of Role Reflection

• Type: Wondrous Item
• Rarity: Rare
• Effects:
  • Perspective Insight: The user gains +2 to Persuasion and Notice rolls when analyzing past events or gauging the intentions of others.
  • Reflection Gaze (Action, 1/Scene): The user may force an enemy within Medium Burst Template to make a Spirit roll (TN 6) or become Shaken as they momentarily see the weight of their actions.
• Drawback: The mirror occasionally surfaces unwanted memories—if used more than three times in a day, the user must make a Spirit roll (TN 4) or suffer Fatigue for one hour due to emotional overload.

Shadowrun (6th Edition) Adaptation

Mirror of Role Reflection

• Type: Magical Item (Foci, Rating 4)
• Effects:
  • Perspective Insight (Complex Action): The user may gaze into the mirror to relive a past decision, gaining +2 dice on Judge Intentions, Negotiation, or Con tests for the next 10 minutes.
  • Reflection Gaze (Simple Action, Magic + Charisma vs. Willpower + Intuition): The user may reflect an enemy’s intent back at them. The target must resist or suffer a -2 dice pool penalty on their next action, hesitating in uncertainty.
  • Drain Value: 3
• Drawback: Extended use (more than three activations per day) requires a Willpower + Logic test (Threshold 2) or causes the user to suffer a temporary -1 penalty to all mental skill tests for an hour, overwhelmed by conflicting insights.

Starfinder Adaptation

Mirror of Role Reflection

• Item Level: 8
• Type: Magic Item
• Slot: Held
• Effects:
  • Perspective Insight (Standard Action, 1/Day): The user may reflect on a recent decision, gaining a +2 insight bonus to Perception, Sense Motive, and Diplomacy checks for one hour.
  • Reflection Gaze (Standard Action, 1/Combat): The user targets an enemy within 30 feet, forcing them to make a DC 18 Will save or become staggered for 1 round, caught in self-reflection.
  • Usage: The mirror has 3 charges per day and regains all charges at dawn.
• Drawback: If used too frequently, the user experiences emotional overload, suffering a -1 penalty to Will saves for one hour.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition) Adaptation

Mirror of Role Reflection

• Type: Experimental Artifact
• Effects:
  • Perspective Insight (Passive, Once per Hour): The user gains a +1 DM bonus to Investigate and Persuade checks when analyzing past actions.
  • Reflection Gaze (Action, 1/Day): The user may present the mirror to a target within Short Range, forcing them to make an Average (8+) Intelligence or Endurance check or suffer a DM -2 penalty to their next action as they hesitate.
  • Limitations: The mirror does not function in low-tech societies where introspection is not culturally emphasized.
• Special: Scholars believe the artifact was created by an ancient race that viewed multiple realities simultaneously, using it as a tool for guidance.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP 4E) Adaptation

Mirror of Role Reflection

• Type: Magical Relic
• Encumbrance: 1
• Effects:
  • Perspective Insight (Passive): The user gains +10 to Charm and Intuition tests when analyzing motives or reflecting on past actions.
  • Reflection Gaze (Action, 1/Scene): The user may force all enemies within 10 yards to pass a Challenging (+0) Willpower Test or suffer a -10 penalty to their next action, overwhelmed by self-awareness.
• Drawback: The mirror reveals truths, even unwanted ones—each use requires a Challenging (+0) Cool Test or the user gains 1 Fatigue Level due to emotional strain.

Warhammer 40K (Wrath & Glory) Adaptation

Mirror of Role Reflection

• Type: Relic (Sacred Artifact)
• Keywords: Imperial, Relic, Warp-Touched
• Effects:
  • Perspective Insight (Continuous, 10m Radius): The user gains +1 bonus die to Scholar and Leadership tests when attempting to understand motives or resolve conflicts.
  • Reflection Gaze (Once per Battle, Action): All creatures within 10 meters must make a DN 3 Willpower test or gain the Hindered Condition for one round, distracted by visions of their own choices.
• Corruption Risk: The mirror’s revelations can be mentally taxing—after each battle, the user must pass a DN 2 Corruption test or gain 1 Corruption Point, burdened by the weight of too many possibilities.