🔮 New Magic Item: Whisperglass Pendant 🔮

 

Crafted by Charlie Stayton for Behind the Die

Wondrous Item, rare (requires attunement by a spellcaster)

A thin teardrop of smoky crystal encased in silver filigree, the Whisperglass Pendant hums faintly when held to one’s ear. Within its core, flickers of light dance like fireflies caught in mist.

Lore

Once worn by clandestine arcanists in the fractured city-state of Marzaad, the Whisperglass Pendant was a treasured tool for espionage, arcane research, and surviving the cutthroat politics of spellcaster guilds. It is said the pendant holds the echoes of forgotten secrets—spoken once, never meant to be heard again.

Properties

While attuned to the Whisperglass Pendant, you gain the following benefits:

• Whispered Recall. As an action, you can cast the Message cantrip, regardless of whether you know it, without needing verbal or somatic components. When cast this way, the target hears the message in their own voice.

• Captured Secrets. Once per long rest, when you witness a creature casting a spell of 3rd level or lower, you can use your reaction to capture the casting. The next time you cast a spell, you may choose to instead cast the captured spell using your own spell slot. The captured spell fades after 1 hour if unused. You must be able to see and hear the caster, and the spell must be one that is on your class's spell list.

• Echo of Thought. When you cast Detect Thoughts, Identify, or Legend Lore, you may choose to cast it at one level lower than normal (minimum level 1), without expending a spell slot. You can do this once, regaining the ability at the next dawn.

Cursed Variant (Optional)

In some regions, Whisperglass Pendants are known to carry “entangled echoes” of their previous owners. A cursed version of this item may:

• Whisper names or arcane phrases in the wearer’s sleep.

• Reveal fragments of secrets best left buried.

• Cause disadvantage on Insight checks, as the wearer begins to mistrust even their own thoughts.

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Adventure Hooks

• A Whisperglass Pendant is found in the mouth of a dead messenger in a locked room. It still hums faintly with the last message he received.

• A powerful archmage hires the party to retrieve his lost pendant, warning them not to speak into it—or listen too closely.

• A rival adventuring group possesses a Whisperglass Pendant and begins predicting the party’s actions. Is the pendant leaking thoughts?