The Bell of Borrowed Names
A dying courier offers the characters the bell, insisting they borrow the name of a vanished prince before the prince...
- Attunement Requirements
- By a creature that has willingly used a false name
- Requires Attunement
- Yes
- Once per dawn, you can ring the bell while speaking a name you have heard from its owner. For the next 8 hours, you can introduce yourself using that name, and nonmagical attempts to recall your identity instead recall the borrowed name.
- During this effect, divination magic that would reveal your name reveals the borrowed name instead, unless the caster succeeds on a DC 15 spellcasting ability check.
- The bell does not alter your appearance, voice, memories, or alignment. A creature that knows both names recognizes the deception automatically.
This thumb-sized iron handbell is mottled with green age and hung from a cord of faded red silk. Its clapper is carved from dark horn, and it rings without moving whenever someone nearby speaks a true name.
A dying courier offers the characters the bell, insisting they borrow the name of a vanished prince before the prince's assassins arrive.
The bell was forged for royal spies who needed to negotiate under identities that even magical interrogation could not expose.
It gives a soft, disappointed chime whenever its attuned bearer tells an outright lie unrelated to their borrowed identity.
GM Notes
- Best for infiltration, diplomacy, and evading name-based divination.
- The effect conceals identity, not physical evidence or suspicious behavior.
- The bell reacts to true names spoken nearby, potentially revealing hidden creatures.