The Harrowed Compass

Device · 1920s

A grim magic item for Call of Cthulhu.

It points not to north, but to the promise that will shatter.

Stats

  • Origin: Miskatonic University occult workshop, 1925
  • Sanity Loss: 1d6
  • Malfunction: 30% – on a failed roll the compass spins wildly, inflicting 1d6 damage and 1d4 Sanity loss

Description

A brass compass-orrery of intricate gears and ticking mechanisms, its needle forged from a dark alloy that seems to drink the light. The device hums faintly, and the air around it smells of old vellum and damp stone. When held, the compass feels cold, as if remembering a forgotten oath. The numbers etched on its face are indecipherable, and each rotation of the gears whispers a distant echo of a broken vow.

Powers

The Harrowed Compass points toward the nearest "promise" that is on the brink of breaking – a covenant, a plan, or a foretelling about to collapse. The holder may, once per scene, roll a Spot Hidden test at +20%; on success, the compass needle points in the direction of that impending rupture, revealing the location within a mile. The revelation may be a subtle clue, a shiver of dread, or an audible sigh. If the test fails, the device misleads, directing the holder toward a place of false hope, and the user suffers an additional 1d4 Sanity loss.

Price of Use

Each activation of the compass exacts a mental toll: the user loses 1d4 Sanity simply by witnessing its needle shift. Moreover, the device demands a personal secret – the user must confess a truth they have hidden from others, or the compass will turn cold and refuse to work until the confession is made. The act of confession also incurs a further 1d4 Sanity loss, representing the horror of one's own hidden self.

Tags: artifact, cursed, promise, compass, orrery, midnight

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