In her sane days before her daughter's tragic death, Queen Yocasta was very interested in securing justice is criminal cases.It was one thing to throw the people who she saw as threats to her rule into prison without trial, but the prisons would be crammed to bursting if she did the same to alleged criminals.So she looked for a solution to stop people lying in court.
Full Item Description
An Amulet of Truth is made of a small carved piece of amythest encased in a shell of elegantly carved amber, held on a silver chain. It glows in darkness, so the unknowing might think it was a magical torch and nothing more.
History
After Queen Yocasta of Vallermoore used her guile to ascend to the throne, she decided that one of the ways she could make herself more popular with her subjects, and therefore more secure, would be to try and bring the crime rate down.
Arresting people at random would have the wrong effect, so she ordered her court mages to focus on the perjury problem.
Too many people, because of fear or bribery or just because they were the ones who had been accused, were telling lies in court. The mages created fifteen Amulets of Truth, one for each Crown Court of Vallermoore. The accused and witnesses would have to wear the amulet when giving evidence or pleading guilty or innocent. When wearing it they would be forced to tell the truth.
In nearly all cases the guilty found themselves forced to plead guilty, whilst on the few occasions when the guilty genuinely thought themselves to be innocent, the witnesses allways told the truth and sorted things out. Crime fell by a quarter as a result. When Queen Yocasta's regime fell and Amber took her place, there was looting and most of the amulets fell into criminal hands.
Magic/Cursed Properties
Apart from casting a soft glow and being warm to the touch, the wearer of such a amulet is forced to tell the truth no matter what it is, and will find it hard to himself or herself to get the amulet off, although another may take it off without trouble.The amulet only controls what is said, not the body itself.
Plot Hooks
A group of grave robbing PCs find a dead body in a tomb with a softly glowing amulet around it's neck.Do they take it?
OOC-This is not an uber-powerful item, I created it as something that PCs can have without totally destroying the game. It can either get them into trouble, or be used by them to uncover infomation without stooping to the use of torture. It can be a blessing or a curse.
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Certainly a useful item to have, and one that the local authorities would very much like to have in their possession. There could be plans for similar items to be created in lieu of the missing amulets. this could also be something that the more liberal seek to destroy as by distrust of magic.
'The amulet only controls what is said, not the body itself.'
Does this mean that you can lie using sign language/in writing?
Yes, but that would not normally be allowed when giving evidence in court.
This is one of those Perfect Solution items. Someone comes up with a need, creates an item that solves it perfectly, Nice. Neat. No Drama.
Deletion of drama is not a good thing in my mind, and forcing characters to confront the realities of how to obtain information while being true to their convictions, if any, is far better then simply waving it away.
Lie detector machines can be bested. Truth serums can kill. Tortured people can still lie.
I would, at the very least, have this amulet do damage to the victim's sanity, even if they are innocent, so one must take care using it. The more they resist answering with the truth, the greater the stress upon their mind. Good folk would not be able to use this item without having to balance the pros and cons.