Friday, April 13, 2012

X-Ray Specs


A cheap magic item sometimes found in the City, X-Ray Spectacles are apparently mass-produced and sold in the back of lurid pulps and comics.  The item is sold for as little as a single Union dollar--with good reason, as 90% or more are fakes whose only magical power is to appear faintly magical, distort one's vision slightly when wearing them, and cause headaches.  The real X-Ray Spectacles (sold from identical ads as the fake ones) are identical cardboard glasses (not unlike old fashion 3-D glasses in our world ) with swirling, swifting patterns in the thin, plastic lens.

Real X-Ray Spectacles confer the power to see through solid matter, though things seen are not in color and somewhat hazy.  This is uneffected by illumination.  Vision range is 20 feet, and the viewer can see through 1 foot or so of most materials with concentration, though only 1 inch of solid metal, with a round's concentration.  Without concetration, the wearer can see through no more than a quarter of an inch, which mainly makes them good for seeing through clothes.  Even without concetration, they see through illusions of most types.
The unknown manufactures of the spectacles make a shoddy product which extraplanar energies.  Repeated use or extended wear of the spectacles (more than once a day, or for more than 2 mintues) requires a saving throw or else suffering 1 point reduction in Constitution.  Every day the spectacles are in a person's possession (and not kept in a lead-lined or magically warded container) has a cumulative 5% chance of attracting the unwanted attention of malign astral entities.

8 comments:

The Angry Lurker said...

I've always searched for the real ones but no luck so far!

Chris C. said...

Wow, I so totally wanted a set of these as a kid but never got one. If only I had known that there were some real ones out there, I might have badgered my parents until they caved.

Sean Robson said...

So cool. I spent hours ogling the ads in the backs of comics; I wanted it all! Imagine my disappointment when I finally got pair of X-Ray Specs. Was I able to see through girls clothing at school? No. Spy on my sister and her stupid friends and unearth their evil schemes? No. All I saw was a skeletal hand. No matter what I looked at. I felt like Ralphie deciphering his first message with his Little Orphan Annie decoder ring.

And don't even get me started on joy-buzzers. How could cheap novelty crap have let down so badly? Sometimes wanting truly is better than having.

Sub Radar (Mike) said...

I want specs that let me see actual X-ray radiation in the night sky.

Ray Rousell said...

Wish I had a pair!!

Needles said...

Wish I had a pair! Very useful for my work! Maybe I'll ring up Johnson Smith Company & see if their still available! Very cool entry. Keep on keeping on with the City

Justin S. Davis said...

"The unknown manufacturers...make a shoddy product [with] extraplanar energies."

I'm guessing they're the defective cast-offs from the They Live freedom fighters.

Alex Osias said...

I knew it! They sold me a fake one!