A demon was on the rampage, and dozens of children were found dead with their eyes and hearts ripped out...
Why? Pure malevolence? No, not simple as that? Sustenance? Neither.
The demon killed out of compassion, ending the existence of mistreated children before hatred, despair and cynism could taint their souls and condemn them to hell...it also killed cruel caretakers, rapist parents and brutal slavers, but those retained their eyes.
The investigators were hard pressed to find the beast to end its rampage, as they called in, and sooner or later every one of them found a teddy bear or plush dino or fluffy puppy in his room, that had there unbelievably real eyes and was always warm, and seemed even to have a harbeat if you took it with you to bed and listened carefully while falling asleep...they were puzzled both by the presents they got and by the ease with which the demon eluded them, until one found out that the plush critters walked around and moved their eyes! When the detectives began probing the plushies, they weeped real tiers and cried like kids, until no-one could endure it any longer.
A hired wizard was called for aid, and discovered the connection - all those toys were linked to a demonic being and infused with its power, but also with tiny shards of children's souls...and other plushies began to pop up in the toy boxes of kids all over the duchy even as more children died...
What has come to pass here? Well, the demon made those to keep an eye (or two) on both the investigators and nice kids who might need aid or comfort - and the freed children have given a tiny piece of their souls as a thanks for the rescue and to aid other kids, animating the plushies carrying their eyes and hearts!
With the mage's aid, the detectives managed to steal a toy from the demon's influence, and force it to spy on its maker, thus tracking down the demon.
An epic battle ensued, and severy outnumbered and badly wounded, the demon fled.
Long, there was nothing to be heard of it, and the people thought it dead for good, bled to death in some gutter and eaten by rats, when ... another child was found dead, eyes and heart missing...
Magical Properties:
The toy is able to move on its own as well as its form allows, and can transmit any visual impression to the master - who may be the mysterious fiend, or a wizard who has gained the control of a plushie.
It cannot hear, but one can use lip-reading to discern what was said.
One holding the toy and concentrating can send thoughts to the master of the plushie if he has some inborn talent or knows a few communication spells, whithout a range penalty ... but his does not work for mind-control or mind-reading.
The master of the toy can always intuit its location with a precision of 1/100 of his distance from it, and can use a teleport spell or ability to teleport to it with significant reductions of difficulty and/or mana cost.
The master can play-back anything the toy has seen in the last 4 hours, and can show it to others without error if he knows a simple illusion spell.
The teddy is most difficult to destroy, for you must destroy the soul-shard within, otherwise it will reform within 24 hours (so, if you burn it, the ashes will first form a tiny whirlwind around the soul-bit, then become pink and solid again, finally regrowing the eyes and heart again.
What does such a teddy mean? Either, a wizard is spying on you, or, more probably, the self-appointed angel of mercy has taken interest in you...
A child owning such a toy will be under the protection of the creature, and should you harm it, prepare to have your ass torn out, for the thing thinks itself an angel, but is NOT nice to people who harm kids...you hit a kid, it drops its pretty teddy, and the toy stares at you with weeeping eyes, and later that night, a clawed hand grasps your neck, and a motherly female voice speaks with regret: 'I am most disappointed with you. Now, burn in hell!' as the clawed hands, sharp teeth and wicked horns rip the life out of you.
Of course, a variant of this could exist: a golem given the eyes of a cild, devoted to the protection of some kid.
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? Responses (11)
I was reminded of this when reading the previous item ... my players were freaked out quite a bit! They finally got the demon, but in another campaign, it could be the stuff of legend, still around, spreading fluff.
Disturbing...
Wow...that was very descriptive. Well done.
*shudders*
Evil toys...
4/5.
I really like these items! Much better than my cork gun that shot walls of force.
5/5 - but really creepy
Yes Echo i know, we got the demon thet my charakter has rebor with little help from one little runic disk and then we have eat him with my PC friendin.
This is a pefect item for a Garage Sale from Hell.
Go for the eyes, the eyes, *mutters incessantly*
No Puerile Plushie this! pleasantly disturbing.
Did I mention disturbing? Quite inspiring with Halloween around the corner again!
Very dark, but well done.