Chronoscope of the Eleventh Minute

Stats

• Origin: Cult workshop beneath Arkham Asylum
• Sanity Loss: 1d6+3
• Malfunction: Each use forces a random temporal distortion (01-25: lose 1 hour, 26-50: age 1d10 years, 51-75: erase 1d6% SAN, 76-100: no effect)

Description

The Chronoscope is a brass‑cased stereoscope of impossible precision, its lenses etched with sigils that seem to shift when unobserved. When peered through, the scene displayed is not the present but the exact configuration of the room exactly one hour later. Yet the image always shows a small, ominous detail: a price has already been taken, and the clocks on the walls differ by eleven minutes, as if time itself has been bartered.

Powers

• Peer into the immediate future (one hour ahead) and observe any actions, objects, or changes within the room’s bounds. • The device reveals the moment when the unseen price is exacted, allowing the viewer to infer what was taken. • The stereoscope can be used to anticipate threats, solve puzzles, or locate hidden items, but its visions are limited to the space it frames.

Price of Use

Every glance steals a fragment of the viewer’s own timeline. The user immediately loses eleven minutes of personal time, which can manifest as a sudden exhaustion, a missed memory, or a delayed heartbeat. Additionally, the mind reels from the paradox, imposing a Sanity loss of 1d6+3% each time the device is used.

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