Echo of the Unseen Moment

Stats

• Cost: 2 MP, 1d4 Sanity
• Casting Time: 1 round
• Participants: Caster alone

Effect

When the caster invokes the Echo of the Unseen Moment, they immediately suffer a minor wound (1d4 damage) that is held in a temporal echo. The next time the caster would make a physical attack or is about to be struck, they may release the echo. At the moment of release a faint metallic chime is heard half‑second before the motion. The caster gains a +20% bonus to the attack roll (or a +20% chance to avoid the incoming blow) and the stored wound is transferred to the target, dealing the same damage the caster originally took. The echo can be held for up to one hour of game time; if not released, the stored wound returns to the caster as normal damage.

Consequences

Each use of the echo gnaws at the caster’s mind. The caster loses an additional 1d6 Sanity on every activation, and the lingering resonance grants a permanent -5% penalty to Spot Hidden and Listen checks. Repeated use may cause the echo’s sound to manifest uncontrollably, alerting unseen entities and drawing unwanted attention.

Deeper Magic

For double the cost (4 MP, 2d4 Sanity) the caster can bind up to three echoes at once, extending the anticipatory chime to a full second before the action. Each additional echo imposes an extra -2% penalty to mental skills and risks the permanent loss of a sense (DM’s discretion).

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