Locket of the Silent Heart 822 – GearAscendancy.com

From: Whispercap Spore Bloom 713

Description: This is an elegantly crafted locket, typically made of silver or polished darkwood, that hangs from a simple leather cord. Its surface is smooth and cool to the touch. The face of the locket is not solid but is a masterfully cut lens of clear, magically solidified resin. Encased perfectly within this transparent prison is a single, small, flawlessly preserved Whispercap Spore-Bloom, its delicate gills and faint, ghostly luminescence captured for eternity. The locket clasps shut with a silent, magnetic catch.

Lore and Crafting: These lockets are the work of artisan-enchanters who specialize in a practice known as “still-binding.” The process requires immense patience. A freshly harvested Whispercap is carefully desiccated in a magical vacuum to preserve its form. It is then placed in a mold and liquid resin, infused with powdered pearl and silver, is poured around it. As the resin hardens over several days, the enchanter must maintain a state of perfect mental tranquility, whispering subtle wards of calming into the piece to seal the fungi’s passive “Emotional Baffle” property into a stable, permanent matrix. It is said a single loud noise or moment of anger during the crafting can cause the mushroom within to instantly turn to dust, ruining the work.

Magical Function: The Locket of the Silent Heart provides a constant and potent version of the fungi’s passive magic. It actively absorbs ambient emotional energy, granting the wearer a profound sense of calm and mental fortitude, making them highly resistant to magical fear, mundane intimidation, and social pressure. Unlike carrying the raw fungi, the locket is designed to prevent “Empathic Saturation.” Tiny, almost invisible runes carved into the locket’s silver frame act as vents, allowing it to slowly and harmlessly dissipate any absorbed negative energies as a faint, cool mist that is only visible in moonlight. This makes it a highly sought-after item for diplomats, negotiators, spies, and anyone whose profession requires a consistently cool head in the face of emotional turmoil.

The Locket of the Silent Heart is the epitome of “still-binding” artistry, an item that doesn’t just contain a magical component, but masters it. It transforms the volatile, absorbent nature of the Whispercap Spore-Bloom into a stable, reliable bastion of tranquility. For the wearer, it acts as a constant, silent companion, filtering the chaotic emotional noise of the world into a state of serene clarity. It is a symbol of poise and control, valued by those who must walk through storms—both political and emotional—without flinching.

Appearance

The locket itself is a masterpiece of subtle craftsmanship. When made of silver, it is often unadorned and polished to a soft, matte finish that does not glint or catch the eye, absorbing light rather than reflecting it. The darkwood versions are carved from the heartwood of ancient Ironwood trees and feel unnaturally dense and warm. The centerpiece is the flawless resin lens, so clear it appears as a drop of perfectly still water. Within, the preserved Whispercap seems to exist in a state of perpetual twilight, its faint, ghostly luminescence pulsing with a slow, steady rhythm that mimics a calm heartbeat. The tiny, almost invisible runes carved along the locket’s edge are only visible when they perform their function, glowing with a faint silver light in the moonlight as they vent absorbed energy.

Tier One Stats

Tier: 1
Type: Wondrous Item, Amulet
Attunement: Requires 1 hour of silent, uninterrupted meditation while wearing the locket.
Weight: Negligible
Base Value: 25 Gold Pieces

Slot: Neck

Tags: Wearable, Magical, Tier 1, Rare, Crafted, Attunement, Psychic, Abjuration, Common, Ammunition, Healing, Undead, Subterranean, Artifact, Single-Use, Symbiotic, Restricted, Sonic

Passive Magics

Serene Aura: While you are wearing and attuned to this locket, it constantly absorbs stray emotional and psychic energies in your vicinity. This grants you a profound sense of inner calm and clarity. You gain a +2 bonus on saves against fear and charm effects. Mundane attempts to intimidate or emotionally manipulate you are significantly less effective.
Psychic Ventilation: The locket is designed to prevent the empathic saturation that affects the raw fungi. The runes along its edge automatically and harmlessly vent any absorbed hostile or negative energies. This manifests as a faint, cool mist that dissipates instantly, visible only in moonlight. You cannot be overwhelmed by the emotions the locket absorbs.

Active Magics

Focused Calm: As an action, you can touch the locket and draw upon its core of tranquility to sharpen your focus.
- Temporary Skill Gained: For the next minute, you gain the Poise skill. This grants you advantage on all checks made to resist intimidation, persuasion, or deception. Additionally, if you are concentrating on a task or spell, this active ability grants you advantage on the next check you make to maintain concentration. You can use this ability once per day.
Absorb and Purge: If you are under the effect of a magical charm, fear, or other emotion-altering effect, you can use your reaction to force the locket to absorb the hostile magic. You can immediately make another saving throw to end the effect.
- Using this power overloads the locket’s delicate magical matrix. Whether you succeed or fail the new saving throw, the locket’s Serene Aura and Psychic Ventilation cease to function for the next 24 hours as it purges the potent magic. The Whispercap within will appear dark and inert during this time.

The Locket of the Silent Heart is a rare and expensive piece of enchanted jewelry, not a common magical trinket. It’s bought and sold in exclusive circles where poise, discretion, and emotional control are highly valued commodities.

The Artisan-Enchanter’s Studio

Where and How: This is the primary and most direct place to acquire a locket. You’d find these studios in the more affluent districts of major cities or in secluded, quiet communities known for their master crafters. The transaction is a personal consultation, often by appointment. The artisan-enchanter, who views their work as a form of art, will discuss the locket’s properties, the delicate attunement process, and ensure the piece is right for you. Buying from the source guarantees authenticity and the highest quality craftsmanship. An adventurer is more likely to be hired by an enchanter to procure a perfect Whispercap mushroom than to sell a finished locket to them.

Cost:

Cost to Buy: As this is the maker’s price without a middleman, expect to pay between 25 and 30 Gold Pieces. The price varies based on the enchanter’s reputation and the quality of the materials used.
Cost to Sell: An enchanter would not typically buy back their own work unless under special circumstances.

The High-End Auction House

Where and How: In a metropolis like Abbevillian, a locket might appear as a featured item in a prestigious auction house that deals in magical artifacts and the estates of noble families. The process is formal and competitive. Potential buyers, typically wealthy merchants, diplomats, and nobles, would inspect the item beforehand. The sale itself is a public auction, where the final price is determined by the demand in the room. If you’re selling, you would consign the locket to the auction house, which handles its verification and presentation in exchange for a percentage of the final price. Cost:

Cost to Buy: The price is unpredictable. Bidding might start around 20 Gold Pieces, but a bidding war between two rival political figures could easily drive the final price to 40 Gold Pieces or higher.
Cost to Sell: The consignor typically receives the final bid price minus the auction house’s commission (usually 10-20%). Selling a 40 Gold locket might net you 32 to 36 Gold Pieces.

The Diplomatic Supplier

Where and How: In the political heart of a capital city, there are discreet, specialized suppliers who cater exclusively to spies, emissaries, and high-ranking officials. Their shops are often unmarked and require a referral or proper credentials to enter. Here, the locket isn’t sold as jewelry, but as a critical tool for negotiation and espionage. The supplier is a professional who understands its strategic value. They would be very interested in acquiring a locket but would be meticulous in verifying its authenticity before making an offer. Cost:

Cost to Buy: These suppliers serve a clientele where function and discretion are worth more than gold. They apply a significant markup, selling the locket for 35 to 40 Gold Pieces.
Cost to Sell: If you want to sell a locket quickly and quietly to a serious buyer, this is a good option. The supplier knows its value and the cost of commissioning a new one. They would likely offer a firm price between 20 and 24 Gold Pieces.

The Locket of the Silent Heart is a subtle and powerful tool. Its roleplay isn’t about flashy effects, but about the profound contrast between the wearer’s inner state and the world around them. Its defense is a shield of tranquility, and its offense is a psychological scalpel, using that same tranquility to unsettle and outmaneuver opponents.

Roleplaying its Defensive Uses

Defense with the locket is about becoming an unshakable pillar in the face of emotional or psychological assaults.

1. In a Noble’s Court or Tense Negotiation:

Environment: A royal court filled with veiled threats, honeyed words, and intense social pressure from a powerful noble trying to intimidate you into a bad deal.
Roleplay in Action: While the noble raises their voice or makes a thinly veiled threat, you would describe your character remaining perfectly still. Your breathing is even, your posture relaxed. You feel the noble’s anger like a wave of heat that washes over the locket and vanishes, leaving you untouched. You might use the Focused Calm ability, describing it as “drawing a cool, silent breath from the locket itself,” allowing you to cut through the noble’s bluster and see the lie in their eyes. Your defense is an impassable wall of poise; their emotional attacks simply find no purchase.

2. In the Lair of a Terrifying Monster:

Environment: A dark cavern where the deafening roar of a dragon echoes, its magical aura radiating palpable fear that makes your allies tremble.
Roleplay in Action: As your companions struggle with their fear, you would roleplay your character as an anchor of calm. You’d describe the fear as a tangible force that the locket on your chest seems to absorb, turning it into a faint, cool mist. You would stand your ground, your hands steady, able to think clearly and spot a weakness in the beast’s defenses. If the dragon unleashes a magical fear effect that overwhelms you, you could use Absorb and Purge. You’d describe a flash of brilliant silver light from the locket as it forcibly consumes the magic, your mind snapping back to clarity with a gasp. You are safe from the effect, but you would then have to roleplay the new vulnerability, shouting to your allies, “The locket is dark! I’m on my own now!”

Roleplaying its Offensive Uses

Offense with the locket is about weaponizing your tranquility to break an opponent’s composure, force their hand, and seize control of a situation.

1. In a High-Stakes Game of Cards or Chance:

Environment: A smoky backroom in a gambling den, playing for a fortune against a rival known for reading their opponents’ tells.
Roleplay in Action: The locket makes you the perfect gambler. You’d describe your character as an unreadable statue. When you’re dealt a perfect hand, there’s no triumphant spark in your eye. When you’re bluffing with nothing, there’s no flicker of fear. The locket absorbs your own emotional tells before they can surface. You can use Focused Calm before making a large bet, methodically stacking your chips while holding your opponent’s gaze. Your unnatural calm becomes an offensive weapon, creating an aura of intimidating confidence that goads your rival into making reckless bets or folding a winning hand out of pure uncertainty.

2. As a Tool of Interrogation or Psychological Warfare:

Environment: A stark, gray room where you are interrogating a captured spy who is trained to resist coercion and expects you to use threats and anger.
Roleplay in Action: You subvert their expectations entirely. Instead of shouting, you speak in a calm, quiet, measured tone. The spy’s own anger, fear, and defiance are absorbed by your Serene Aura, leaving them in a sterile, emotionally-draining environment. You never raise your voice, never show frustration. You simply ask your questions with unnerving patience. This relentless, emotionless pressure is a form of psychological offense. The spy, prepared for a battle of wills, finds themself alone in a silent vacuum. Their own emotions have no effect on you, which can be more terrifying than any physical threat, often causing them to break their composure and make a mistake.

Perception of Activation:

This describes the perception of the Locket of the Silent Heart’s most potent active ability: Absorb and Purge. This activation is not a subtle event but a dramatic, last-resort discharge of the item’s power.

User’s Perspective

The Known Senses:

Touch: The locket, normally cool against the skin, becomes instantly and intensely cold, like a shard of ice. This profound chill radiates outward in a sharp, clean burst through the chest, a sensation that feels as though it is physically scouring away the warmth of the hostile magic. After the event, the locket feels utterly inert and mundane, just a piece of metal, its familiar subtle vibration gone.
Taste: While the locket is not eaten, the magical discharge causes a sympathetic reaction. The user experiences a sharp, metallic taste of ozone in the back of their throat, the taste of air after a lightning strike.
Smell: The user perceives a sudden, clean scent of ozone and chilled air, overwhelming any other smells in the area. It’s the smell of a powerful static discharge, cleansing and sterile.
Sound: Internally, the user hears a sharp crack, like a crystal shattering under immense pressure. This sound coincides with the moment the hostile magic breaks. This is immediately followed by a profound inner silence, as the constant, subtle, calming hum the locket projects is abruptly cut off. The sudden absence of this psychic sound is more jarring than its presence ever was.
Sight: The moment of activation is accompanied by a brilliant, blinding flash of internal, silver-white light that obliterates the user’s physical sight for a second. Any magical tint or haze affecting their vision (such as a red haze of rage or a shimmer of confusion) is perceived to shatter like glass and dissolve into nothing.

Extra-Sensory Perceptions:

Psychic Void: For the entire time the user has been attuned to the locket, they have existed within its calming aura. When it purges the magic, that aura collapses instantly. The user feels a shocking psychic nakedness, as if a suit of armor they didn’t know they were wearing has just vanished. The raw, unfiltered emotional noise of the world rushes in, a chaotic and overwhelming torrent after the long period of artificial calm.
Forced Cleansing: The user feels the hostile magic not just leaving, but being violently pulled from their mind and spirit. It is a cleansing but scouring sensation, as if a psychic poison is being siphoned out through the locket.
Empathic Severance: The user feels the locket’s magical presence—its “life”—abruptly go dark. The constant, subtle bond between wearer and item is temporarily severed. This can be accompanied by a brief, sharp pang of loss or loneliness, as a familiar and protective presence has just sacrificed itself.

Observer’s Perspective

Sight: An observer witnesses a dramatic event. The locket on the user’s chest erupts in a brilliant, silent flash of silver-white light, bright enough to cause onlookers to squint. The faint, ghostly glow of the preserved mushroom within the locket’s lens flares violently for an instant and then extinguishes completely, leaving it dark and seemingly dead. The user, who may have been acting strangely under the influence of magic, will physically shudder or gasp as their eyes clear and their normal demeanor returns.
Sound: A faint but distinct snap or crack, like a breaking icicle or a powerful static discharge, emanates from the locket at the exact moment of the flash of light.

Positives

The primary benefit is immediate and absolute: the user is given a second chance to instantly break free from a potent and ongoing magical effect that might otherwise have taken them out of a fight or led to a catastrophic failure. It is a powerful “reset” button for the mind.

Negatives

The sensory experience is physically and mentally jarring, a shock to the system that can be momentarily disorienting in its own right.
The most significant negative is the aftermath: the locket becomes completely inert for 24 hours. The user is abruptly stripped of all its passive protections—the bonus to saves, the resistance to intimidation, the general sense of calm—leaving them psychically and emotionally vulnerable, especially in the very high-stress situation that likely forced them to use the ability in the first place.

Artisan’s Process for the Amulet of Inner Stillness 531

This recipe details the demanding and meditative process required to create an Amulet of Inner Stillness, an item that functions identically to the Locket of the Silent Heart. The creation is as much an act of focused will and personal tranquility as it is of physical craftsmanship.

Materials Needed:

Focal Component: One perfect, unblemished Whispercap Spore-Bloom 713, harvested with care and no more than one day old.
Locket Casing: A finely wrought locket casing of either pure, unadorned silver or the polished heartwood of a Silent Ironwood tree. Must be crafted with a recessed well to hold the resin lens.
Binding Medium: A vial of Crystal Sap, harvested from the Slow-Drip Pine, which produces a resin that hardens with magical transparency.
Infusion Powders: A thimbleful of finely powdered freshwater pearl and an equal amount of powdered silver, used to stabilize the enchantment.
Polishing Compound: A small amount of crushed diamond dust mixed with a neutral oil for the final finish.
Cord: A single, supple length of shadow-elk leather, tanned in silence.

Tools Required:

Artisan’s Bench: A sturdy, clean workbench in a room that can be sealed against all outside noise.
Magical Desiccator: A small, enchanted bell jar capable of creating a magical vacuum to gently and perfectly dry the focal component without causing it to age or crumble.
Jeweler’s Kit: A set of fine jewelcrafter’s or woodcarver’s tools, including delicate pliers, files, and a polishing cloth.
Enchanter’s Scribing Needle: A needle of solidified starlight or a similar fine-pointed magical implement, used for inscribing the ventilation runes.
Alchemical Brazier & Crystal Beaker: A heat source that provides a low, consistent, flameless heat, and a beaker for gently warming and mixing the resin.
Focusing Crystal: A personal meditation aid to help the crafter maintain their mental tranquility throughout the process.

Skill Requirements:

Enchanting (Master): The delicate work of binding a passive, constant effect into an item without overwhelming the focal component requires a master’s touch.
Jewelcrafting or Woodcarving (Adept): The physical locket must be flawlessly constructed to house the enchantment without any physical or magical imperfections.
Alchemy (Journeyman): The proper preparation of the Crystal Sap resin is a crucial alchemical step.
Discipline (Passive Skill): The crafter must be able to enter and maintain a state of profound mental calm for several days. A single moment of strong emotion (anger, fear, even giddy joy) during the “Still-Binding” step will cause the Whispercap to disintegrate, ruining the entire work.

Crafting Steps:

The Sanctum’s Preparation: The process begins by preparing the workspace. The room is sealed, and a vow of silence is often taken by the artisan. The tools are cleansed with purified water and laid out with precision. The artisan spends at least one hour in meditation, using their focusing crystal to achieve a state of inner stillness before beginning.
The Preservation of Form: The fresh Whispercap is placed within the magical desiccator. Over the course of six hours, the device gently draws all moisture from the fungi, leaving it in a state of perfect, preserved animation, its faint glow undiminished.
The Infusion of the Medium: The Crystal Sap is gently warmed in the crystal beaker over the brazier until it becomes fluid. The powdered pearl and silver are stirred into the sap with the silver rod until they are completely suspended within the liquid, giving it a faint, shimmering quality.
The Still-Binding: This is the most critical step. The desiccated Whispercap is carefully placed within the locket’s recessed well. The artisan, maintaining their perfect calm, slowly and steadily pours the infused resin over the fungi until it is completely submerged and the well is filled. No bubbles or imperfections can be allowed. The locket is then placed in a location where it will be bathed only in moonlight for three consecutive nights as the resin hardens.
The Scribing of the Vents: Once the resin is fully cured, the artisan takes up the enchanter’s needle. With immense precision, they inscribe the nearly invisible runes of ventilation around the edge of the locket’s frame. This is not a forceful carving, but a process of gently guiding the magic into the silver or wood, whispering the purpose of each rune as it is scribed.
The Final Blessing: The leather cord is affixed. The artisan performs a final, silent blessing over the completed amulet, breathing a whisper of tranquility into it to awaken its power. The locket is then polished with the diamond dust compound until it radiates a soft, serene lustre, ready for attunement.

Judge’s Burden and Truthsayer’s Bloom

Hearken now to a telling that is cracked and worn, like a river stone, for it has been passed down from a forgotten tongue into a lost one, and now to ours, and its meaning may have shifted as the river’s course.

In a high valley, where the wind spoke often, there was a village of goat-herders and stone-cutters. A great trouble on the village fell, for their Story-Weaver, an elder of much loving, was found silent and cold among the ancestor stones of the sacred grove. His life had been taken by a heavy stone, and blame, which is a poison seed, grew swiftly in the village’s heart.

Suspicion fell upon two men. One was the man of the forge, whose great arms could lift the stone, and who had argued with the elder over a point of honor. The other was the man of the fields, who was owed a debt by the elder, and whose face was dark with secrets. The village was split like a log, one half against the other, and the coming of justice was awaited with a terrible hunger.

To this place of anger was sent a Judge, a woman called Lyra the Just. Young was she, and her belief in the law was a straight and shining spear. She heard the words of the forge-man and the field-man. She looked at the signs and the portents. But the truth was a shy animal and would not show its face. The spear of her belief found no place to strike, for both men seemed equally guilty, and equally not.

Lyra, the Law-Speaker, felt a great weight upon her spirit-shoulders. She knew that to choose wrong was to kill the village with her judgment. In her despair, she walked the high paths and came to the cave of a hermit, an old man whose only talk was with the wind and the rocks. She spoke to him of her burden.

The hermit, after a long time, spoke of a thing. “The earth,” he said, his voice like dry leaves, “does not forget a shout of pain. In the place of a great happening, a small bloom sometimes grows. It is the Truthsayer’s Bloom. Others call it the Whispercap. It drinks the final moments from the soil. If you eat this bloom, you will see what was. But be warned, Law-Speaker. To see an act is not the same as to know its heart.”

So Lyra went to the sacred grove by the dark of the moon. The air was heavy with the village’s sorrow and suspicion. And there, by the ancestor stone where the Story-Weaver had fallen, grew a single, pale bloom, glowing with a light that was not warm nor cold. With a heavy heart, she plucked the Truthsayer’s Bloom and did consume it.

The world dissolved into a flash of terror and surprise. She saw, through the eyes of the Story-Weaver himself, the heavy stone lifted high. She saw the face of the one who held it, a face contorted with a feeling she could not name. And her soul grew cold, for the face was not the forge-man’s, nor the field-man’s. It was the face of the Story-Weaver’s own grandchild, a quiet boy whom all believed was simple-minded, who had loved the old man more than any. The vision ended.

Lyra the Just now held the truth, a perfect and terrible stone in her mind. But the hermit’s words returned to her. She had seen the act, but the boy’s face held not rage, but a sorrow deeper than the valley. The truth was not the simple spear she had hoped for, but a tangled knot.

When she returned to the village, her face was older. She did not point to the boy. She declared that the two accused men were free of the guilt. And she said that the elder’s death was a tragedy born of the sacred grove’s own sorrow, a stone fallen by accident of fate, and that the village’s true crime was the suspicion they had let grow in their hearts. She decreed a month of shared silence and remembrance to heal the rift. The village, wanting peace, accepted her judgment. The truth of the act remained her burden alone.

The moral of this story is: To see an act is not to understand the heart that performs it.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Amulet of Tranquility Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

This silver or darkwood locket contains a magically preserved, glowing fungus suspended in clear resin. It feels cool to the touch and emanates a profound sense of calm.

While wearing this amulet, you have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.

In addition, the amulet has 3 charges. You can expend 1 charge as a bonus action to gain advantage on the next Wisdom (Insight), Charisma (Persuasion), or Charisma (Intimidation) check you make before the end of your next turn. The amulet regains all expended charges daily at dawn.

When you fail a saving throw against a charm or fear effect, you can use your reaction to succeed instead. If you do, the amulet’s magic ceases to function until the next dawn, and you cannot use its charges.

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Amulet of Stilled Whispers

An unsettlingly serene amulet, typically of polished silver or darkwood, containing what appears to be a preserved, faintly glowing specimen of otherworldly fungus. Its origins are unknown, but those who wear it find their minds unnaturally insulated from the emotional turmoil of the world, a state that is both a blessing and deeply isolating.

Mechanics: An investigator who wears and understands the amulet gains one bonus die on all Psychology rolls made to resist intimidation and on all Power (POW) rolls to resist spells or effects that would manipulate their emotions.
Focused Calm: Once per game session, the wearer may choose to automatically pass one POW roll to resist a mental influence.
Purge: If the wearer is overcome by a bout of madness or a powerful mental influence, they can attempt to purge it through the amulet. This is a Hard POW roll. If successful, the effect is immediately ended. If failed, the psychic feedback is catastrophic, and the investigator suffers a loss of 1D6 Sanity points. In either case, the amulet becomes inert and non-magical for one week.

Blades in the Dark

Still-Heart Charm A rare, enchanted item (Asset)

A locket of darkwood and silver, housing a ghostly, glowing mushroom from the Deathlands. It is said the charm absorbs fear and doubt, leaving its wearer with a cold, unshakable calm. It is a prized possession for schemers, commanders, and high-stakes gamblers.

Passive Effect: You are not affected by the supernatural terror of ghosts and other horrifying creatures. When you would suffer Stress from a supernatural source of fear, you may choose not to.
Active Abilities:
- Cold Focus: When you make a social action roll (like Command, Consort, or Sway), you can suffer 1 Stress to gain +1d to your roll.
- Absorb the Hit: The charm has a 3-tick clock. When you would suffer a psychic or mental consequence (e.g., “Hesitation,” “Terrified,” “Confused”), you can let the charm absorb it instead. Mark one tick on the charm’s clock. When the clock is full, the preserved mushroom inside shatters, and the charm is destroyed.

Knave (2nd Edition)

Still Locket Amulet, 1 inventory slot

This locket, made of silver or darkwood, contains a strange, ever-glowing mushroom. It feels cold and unnaturally calm.

Passive: While wearing this, you are immune to mundane and magical fear. You also have advantage on saves versus effects that would charm or mentally dominate you.
Active: Once per day, you can use the locket to re-roll a single failed save versus any mind-affecting spell or effect. If you use this ability, the locket’s passive immunities cease to function for the rest of the day as its power is exhausted.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Amulet of Serene Resolve Item 5 Price 150 gp Usage worn amulet; Bulk — Category Magical, Abjuration, Invested

This polished silver or darkwood locket contains a magically preserved, glowing fungus. To gain its benefits, you must invest the amulet.

The invested amulet grants you a +1 item bonus to saving throws against emotion and mental effects.

Activate [F] Envision; Frequency once per 10 minutes; Trigger You attempt a Deception, Diplomacy, or Intimidation check; Effect You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to the triggering check as the amulet quiets your tells and anxieties.

Activate [R] Envision; Frequency once per day; Trigger You fail a saving throw against an emotion or mental effect; Effect You get a success on the saving throw instead. The amulet’s passive bonus and 10-minute activation are suppressed for 24 hours as its magic recharges.

Fate (Core System)

The Diplomat’s Heart

This is an enchanted locket of profound calm, containing a perfectly still, glowing mushroom. Its magic doesn’t just protect you; it becomes a core part of your presence.

Mechanics: When you attune to this item, it grants you the character aspect Unflappable Poise.

You can invoke this aspect by spending a Fate Point to gain a +2 or a re-roll on any skill roll where being unnaturally calm and unreadable would be a benefit, such as resisting intimidation (Provoke), maintaining a lie (Deceive), or negotiating under pressure (Rapport).
The GM can compel this aspect by offering you a Fate Point when your unnatural calm would be a social disadvantage (for example, “Your Unflappable Poise makes you seem cold and unsympathetic to the grieving widow, and she refuses to cooperate”).

Stunt: Once per session, when you would be forced to take a mental or social consequence, you can use the locket to absorb the impact, reducing the severity of the consequence by one step (e.g., a Moderate consequence becomes a Mild one).

Numenera & Cypher System

Psychic Governor

Level: 6 Form: An elegant locket of a synth-metal alloy, housing a preserved, bioluminescent fungus in a transparent crystal lens. Effect: While wearing this artifact, all tasks you attempt to resist mental influence, fear, or intimidation are eased. Active Effect: As an action, you can activate the governor to purge a hostile, ongoing intrusion. If you are suffering from a mental effect that was imposed by a failed Intellect defense roll, that effect immediately ends. Depletion: 1–2 on a d20 (check when the active effect is used).

Savage Worlds (Adventure Edition)

The Still-Heart Locket Weight: —; Cost: 15,000

A rare amulet from a high-magic world, containing a strange, glowing mushroom. It grants the wearer an uncanny sense of calm.

Effect:

The wearer gains a +2 bonus to Spirit rolls to resist Fear.
The wearer gains a +2 bonus to opposed rolls when resisting Taunt or Intimidation.
Focused Calm: Once per session, the wearer may choose to re-roll a failed Persuasion test.
Purge: Once per session, when an opponent succeeds on a roll to affect the wearer with a power that causes a mental or emotional effect (such as confusion, fear, or slumber), the wearer may spend a Benny to negate the effects entirely. If they do, the locket’s other bonuses are lost for the remainder of the scene.

Shadowrun (6th World)

Psychometric Resonator

This device appears to be a smooth, dark grey river stone, but is actually a sophisticated magical focus. A powdered, astrally-active compound is sealed within, allowing a user to “listen” to the resonant echoes of an object’s history. These are often used by corporate investigators and magical detectives to pull information from crime scenes.

Type: Magical Focus (Object Reading)
Rating: 3
Effect: You can use this focus to perform psychometry even if you do not have the power. As a Complex Action, press the resonator against an object and make a Magic + Intuition [Astral] (Threshold determined by the GM) test. The number of net hits determines the clarity of a vision from the object’s past. If you already have the Psychometry power, this focus adds its Rating to your dice pool for the test.
Feedback: Channeling an object’s history is draining. After the test, you must resist Stun damage with a Drain Value equal to the number of hits you achieved. Each use of the resonator also risks destroying it; roll a number of dice equal to its Rating. On a glitch, it cracks and becomes mundane.

Starfinder

Mnemonic Scanner Level 6; Price 1,200; Hands 1; Type Hybrid Item; Bulk L

A handheld device shaped like a smooth, polished stone. When activated, it emits a low hum and a faint blue light, sending out a hybrid tech-magical field to scan the mnemonic residue on a single object.

The Mnemonic Scanner has 3 charges, which replenish daily. As a full action, you can press the scanner against one inanimate object to expend 1 charge. You receive a brief but clear vision of a significant event from the object’s past, as described by the GM.

After receiving the vision, you are overwhelmed by the psychic feedback and gain the Confused condition for 1 round.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Psychohistorical Imager

An extremely advanced sensor device from a high-tech world, appearing as a simple, dark grey stone. It functions by exciting chronon-particle residue on an object, generating a data-stream that the user’s brain interprets as a sensory memory. It is a prized, and often illegal, tool for psions and forensic specialists.

Type: Advanced Sensor
TL: 15
Cost: Cr 250,000
Effect: A user with the Electronics (Sensors) 2+ or Psionics (Clairvoyance) 1+ skill can press the imager against an object for one minute and attempt a Difficult (10+) skill check. Success grants a fragmented vision of a significant event in the object’s history. The Effect of the roll determines the vision’s clarity and length.
Power & Risk: The device contains a power cell with enough energy for 5 uses. If the object being read has a particularly violent or traumatic history (Referee’s discretion), the user must make an Average (8+) Endurance check or suffer 1D6 radiation damage from psychic feedback, which ignores armor.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

Stone of Sorrows

A small, cold, dark grey stone, polished smooth by a river that no longer flows. It is hollowed out and filled with the dust of a rare, psychically-resonant fungus. It is said the stone does not show you memories, but forces you to share in the object’s pain.

Type: Magical Item
Cost: 5 GC; Enc: 0; Availability: Very Rare
Effect: To use the stone, you must press it against an object of significance and make a Challenging (+0) Pray Test or Challenging (+0) Channeling Test. If you succeed, the GM describes a powerful, emotionally charged vision from the object’s past. The number of Success Levels scored determines the vision’s clarity.
Corruption: Such insight is not without a heavy price. Each time you use the stone, you must make a Difficult (-10) Cool Test or gain 1 Corruption Point as the raw, unfiltered emotions of the past scour your soul. If the memory is particularly vile, the GM may ask you to test against gaining 2 Corruption Points. The stone has 1d3+1 uses before the dust within becomes inert.