Sometimes, the simplest things are the ones that get you in trouble...
Full Item Description
Spectral Tablets are small white pills roughly the size of Asprin, so to be easy to swallow. They are simple in form and look, and generally carried in a small container with a cap of some sort.
History
There once was a spiritist named Nap who wished to be able to see and affect the spirits that he could only hear, for their spiritual wavelength was and is beyond what the physical can see and touch. To do so, Nap determined that he would have to change his own spiritual wavelength to match that of ghosts and other spiritual beings. As with all such problems, a perfect solution came to mind almost instantly: create an object to do so. A pill format was chosen, that way the effects will wear off after a short while.
With the help of an alchemist and dark magic, he succeeded in bringing spiritual matter into the physical realm while preserving it wavelength, the most cruicial part of the experiment. Enchantments were woven to keep the spirit matter within the physical realm, for otherwise it would just go back to the realm of it's birth and be of no use. The creation was finished, now it had to be tested.
It worked beyond Nap's wildest dreams, for not only could he see and touch ghosts, but he could manipulate the strings of the spirit world* himself, much like a ghost would, causing effects that no normal eye could see.** More than satisfied, Nap thanked and paid the alchemist for the recipe to continue making the Spectral Tablets, as he called them, and got to work documenting all he could about the spirit world.
The effects of the tablets are short lived, however, for the physical matter of Nap's form soon reverted to it's normal spiritual wavelength, and soon he needed more tablets. Having bought the formula from the alchemist for just this circumstance, he had the means to make his own, and did so. Soon things went downhill.
Whether it was a copy error or something else, perhaps even the spirit world rejecting the unnatural interferance of a mortal, the formula was subtly wrong, and the tablets were miscreated. They performed their intended effect, but they also attracted spirits of the nastiest sort. Demons that had escaped to earth from the Divine War*** were attracted to Nap, and they had much more spiritual muscle than he. The pills from the second batch never seemed to wear off, but though he could constantly see the spirit world, Nap could not affect it without constantly eating the tablets, and soon he was driven to near madness from constantly being on the run from demons who wish to tear his soul to ribbons and feast upon it.
Magic Properties
Spectral Tablets are a simple object that one merely must swallow to gain the effects of. Within a minute, once the spirit matter in the pills is released, it will change the user's spiritual wavelength to a higher state, allowing them to see and affect the spirit realm.
Long term use will, as in the case of Nap, cause the user to be able to constantly see the spirit realm due to a permanent wavelength change. However, the difference in wavelengths is still such that while one can see the spirit realm, one cannot affect it without the pills. Long term use will also attract attention from the 'nastier' denizens of the spirit realm, and such a person will be forever hounded by spirits and demons wishing to eat their soul.
Notes
*The spiritual realm is the spiritual side of the physical realm, where spirits and other supernatural creations reside. Objects within the physical realm can be manipulated through 'spiritual strings' (hence the phrase 'pulling someone's strings') which are invisible to the normal eye, but visible at the spiritual wavelength.
**While one can create and manipulate 'spirit strings' to cause effects, it should be noted that doing so requires spiritual muscles, which most mortals will not have. The only way they can be developed is through manipulation of spiritual matter, much as normal muscles. Anything done in the spirit world requires an equal amount of spiritual effort as a similar physical act would.
***See Coivn for more information about the Divine War.
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I like it, it's original and useful, though not too easily applied out of its setting, which, I might add, I would love to see filled out fully.
Useful if PCs want to talk to ghosts.
I like it, it's great for a world where the spirits are as unreachable as the stars in the sky.
'The only way they can be developed is through manipulation of spiritual matter, much as normal muscles'
Oh and does this mean the user has to lift spirital weights?
Ah, I suppose so. I meant it in that you must do 'spiritual' labor (work with spirit strings) to be able to do more. *shrugs* I'd expect that if a GM wished to include that, he could definitely do so.
I, however, am including these as a part of a character write up, something that deserves to be detailed on it's own, since the characters might encounter it afterwards.
An interesting item, something between a bad acid trip, a trip to the pharmacist, and too long in the indian sweat lodge. I can see them being outlawed in most places since they can be...disruptive.
As I responded to Parah, these are something of a 'unique' item, used only by one NPC. The PCs, however, might get their paws on them In-Game, hence the write-up.
This is one of my favorite subs of your Chaos! Happy Pills! (so to speak)
A great post that I finally voted and commented upon;)
BUMP and HoH.
I get the mental image of one of those "crazies" who yammer on about seeing demons, except that these demons are real. No one would ever believe him, possibly not even the PCs.
To quote one of my favorite characters: 'Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face.'
This is one of those ideas that could either be used as the basis for an entire setting, due to the background details, or just a one-off adventure MacGuffin. I included the details for the former, but I think it would work better for the latter. And if used as such, the characters would almost be obligated to meet the crazy old guy who takes these things regularly.
This reminds me of the whole "Tempo" meta-plot from Shadowrun 4th Ed. (not that I think one had anything to do with the other).
Good effort, and I like the addiction properties added in.
I am curious though, might there be a way to find/reproduce the original formulae?
Mark
These are neat! Simple with lots of possibilities.