The Truthkeeper's Pocket Watch

by Frazer 👁 51 views

This palm-sized pocket watch is crafted from dark silver, its lid engraved with a closed eye surrounded by tiny clock hands. A hair-thin crack runs across its sapphire face, though the hands never lose time. Inside, delicate brass gears turn beneath a disk of smoky glass, and the watch's ticking is normally soft and steady. When a nearby creature knowingly lies, the ticking quickens into an unmistakable, urgent rattle. A faded blue ribbon is tied through its chain, bearing the initials "M.V."

Lie-Touched Ticking While holding the watch, you can use an action to study one creature you can see within 30 feet that can hear you. For the next minute, the watch ticks audibly. Whenever that creature knowingly speaks a lie, the watch's ticking becomes twice as fast until the end of your next turn. The watch does not identify which statement was false, cannot detect lies told through magical or mundane means that the creature sincerely believes, and does not function if the creature cannot understand the language being spoken.

A Moment of Certainty Once per long rest, when the watch's ticking accelerates, you can use your reaction to gain advantage on one Insight check made against the creature before the end of your next turn.

Unfinished Business The watch occasionally ticks rapidly in the presence of a creature named Marlowe Venn, its previous owner, even when no lie is being told. Marlowe can sense the watch's general direction while within 1 mile of it and is determined to reclaim it.

Lore

The watch was made for interrogators who needed a subtle warning rather than a magical proclamation. It cannot distinguish malicious lies from harmless ones, but its makers believed that truth leaves a rhythm in the world, and falsehoods disturb the beat.

History

The Truthkeeper's Pocket Watch belonged to Marlowe Venn, a celebrated investigator who used it to expose corrupt magistrates and fraudulent merchants. Marlowe vanished after entrusting the watch to an adventurer during an investigation into a noble family's hidden crimes. The watch was later found in a pawnshop, where Marlowe eventually discovered its trail. He now wants it returned, claiming the watch contains evidence pointing to the person responsible for his disappearance.

Created by Frazer 👁 51 views