Orb of Venerable Memory

Wondrous item, rare

An indistinct darkened core lies at the center of this fist-sized sphere of dull gray crystal. These orbs are said to hold the memories (though not the personality or soul) of revered elders, with the center of the orb now a distilled reflection of their cognizant mind. When the bearer holds the orb and stares into it as an action he or she receives fragments of insight and acumen garnered over the long lifetime of this elder, granting her a bonus based on her age category on the next Intelligence or Wisdom she makes within the next minute. This bonus is +3 if the user is an adult or younger, +2 if middle-aged, and +1 if in the old age category. This bonus can be used once per day by an old wielder, twice per day by a middle-aged wielder, or three times per day by an adult or younger wielder, though never more than three times per day in any case.

The wielder may invoke this insight after making such a check, causing the bonus to apply retroactively to a single Intelligence or Wisdom check made since the beginning of her last turn.

If this bonus changes the result of the check, the wielder gains new information as appropriate.

Once per day as an action, the wielder can focus on a situation or predicament she faces and receive insight from the orb. She gains information as if someone with her memories had made an appropriate Intelligence or Wisdom check and achieved a check result of 20. Even in situations where a skill check might not provide answers the orb’s bearer may, at the GM’s discretion, still receive useful guidance to potentially resolve the situation.