Magical Mack's Helm of Nuh-uh

[Mack]

So here's another one that's been kicking around my head for a while. Nothing cosmic here--just a little insanity mitigation.

Magical Mack’s Helm of Nuh-uh

A few years ago, a rather sullen Crazy came into Magical Mack’s Ye Old Techno-Wizard Shoppe. It seemed that in the previous week he suffered a bit of a rage and completely destroyed a very nice bathroom in very nice hotel. While a formidable warrior, the mad-man reluctantly admitted that he occasionally suffered episodes where he would lose control. He friends insisted he find a way to manage his outbursts or they would be forced to abandon him. Thus, the sad soul crossed the Shoppe’s threshold and asked for some magical help. The following helm was created for the Crazy, who went on to rejoin his cabal and participated in several modestly successful explorations before being eaten by a dinosaur.

The Helm of Nuh-uh can be based on any number of modern body armor helmets (buyer’s choice). It’s modified with two simple spell invocations: Carpet of Adhesion and Trance. Both spells are simultaneously activated via remote control, which is typically carried by a trusted friend (or two, or three). The Carpet of Adhesion spell (RGMG p99) securely fixes the helm to the wearer’s head, making it nigh impossible to remove. The Trance spell (RGMG p105) puts the raging wearer into a hypnotic-like daze, nullifying all previous behavior. However, since the wearer could resist the magical trance (successfully save versus magic) the helm holds five Trance charges, which it automatically activates one after the other (one per melee action). Magical Mack estimates there’s less than a 2% chance of the wearer resisting all five applications.

Function 1 – Carpet of Adhesion, Device Level 2
Duration: 5 Minutes
Activation: 5 PPE
Payload: 1 activation(s) stored in 0.25 carats of Diamond
Construction: 100 PPE & 20 hours
Gem carats: 2.10 Amethyst
Build Cost: 6,600 credits

Function 2 – Trance, Device Level 1
Duration: 5 Minutes
Activation: 3 PPE (but fires 5 times sequentially)
Payload: 5 activations stored in 0.75 carats of Diamond
Construction: 60 PPE & 6 hours
Gem carats: 1.92 Opal (black)
Build Cost: 13,000 credits

Somewhat unexpectedly, this item has sold much better than Magical Mack originally thought. While few Crazies voluntarily purchase one, many law enforcement officers and bounty hunters have found it indispensable to their line of work.

Manufacturer's Recommendation: It's highly advisable to disarm and constrain the wearer BEFORE the trance elapses. In some cases, the wearer will immediately resume their previous actions. In others, they become extraordinarily hostile to whoever activated the helm. This can occur even if the wearer was peaceful prior to activating the helm.

Sale price: 40,000 credits.

[Vincent Takeda]

Trance can be broken by star lord failing his judgement check and punching the wearer in the face.

[Sir_Spirit]

Trance can be broken by star lord failing his judgement check and punching the wearer in the face.

So?

[Killer Cyborg]

Nice idea, Mack!

[Shark_Force]

...

man, Mack better be *very* choosy about who he sells this to. it is so open to abuse it is not even funny. i'm sure more than a few of these have found their way into the hands of unscrupulous people and are used for all manner of unethical uses no matter how careful he's been (and, truth be told, i wouldn't be the tiniest bit surprised to discover that he got his first prototype *from* some of those unscrupulous people, and then reverse-engineered it possibly with a few tweaks).

oh, and uhhh... sorry to bring this up, but you may want to do a quick proofreading of the flavour text Mack.

[Mack]

Nice idea, Mack!

Thank you. I try to come up with stuff that satisfies a practical need, instead just more magic guns.

man, Mack better be *very* choosy about who he sells this to. it is so open to abuse it is not even funny. i'm sure more than a few of these have found their way into the hands of unscrupulous people and are used for all manner of unethical uses no matter how careful he's been (and, truth be told, i wouldn't be the tiniest bit surprised to discover that he got his first prototype *from* some of those unscrupulous people, and then reverse-engineered it possibly with a few tweaks).

Rest assured, dear patron, that Magical Mack's Ye Olde Techno-Wizardry Shoppe maintains the highest standards of ethical conduct, all while worshiping at the electronic alter of the almighty credit!

oh, and uhhh... sorry to bring this up, but you may want to do a quick proofreading of the flavour text Mack.

I blame my kids. And my wife. And possibly the dog that I don't have.