Soundstones
Eskaphus as infused with magic and used to record the sounds around it.
Standard soundstones, being stones of the Magic Rocks stuff that have been etched with certain runes, can hold a recorded sound for up to ten years. Most expire after a year, with the sounds becoming degraded past recognition and jumbling frequently. Too much contact with other soundstones can cause degradation as well, and scrambling contamination. Can hold up to a day's worth of sound, but navigating that much of it with what amounts to 'skip forward' and 'skip backward' is difficult.
A refined soundstone can hold sounds for up to a hundred years, and up to fifty without any trouble. They can be kept with others without contamination. It can hold up to a week's worth of sound. The use of them is slightly more intuitive, and the user can usually find a desired clip by imitating a sound for it to locate. One's own voice is acceptable, but sound effects can mark chapters or noted spots for others, and if you can't make any of the noises, you're just stuck going the slow 'skip forward' way.
In addition to sounds, there is a "speech to text" effect that allows the words spoken to appear projected above the stone (no set side of the stone itself), scrolling along as they are spoken. The more refined the stone, the more words can show. All words will be in the original language and alphabet of the speaker. (Which is to say, Nond is in Nond with all Nond letters, Falne is also in Nond letters but will be arranged to shape the Falne words, Elkhar is in a completely different alphabet composed in symbols, will be spelled out in Elkhar, and scrolls up, etc.) Names and onomatopoeias will be guessed at by the stone and will occasionally use a 'default' alphabet that no one can read except me, actually, because magic. Background noises are either dismissed or placed as a 'top note' in smaller letters if it's loud/pronounced enough. (cheering, screaming, water crashing)
Superrefined, though no one has bothered making one of these, can hold a full month's worth of sound for millenia. Navigating these is as difficult as the first, but mostly for the amount of time on the things, scanning can be difficult unless you have a direct quote big enough to pick out a part.
Standard soundstones, being stones of the Magic Rocks stuff that have been etched with certain runes, can hold a recorded sound for up to ten years. Most expire after a year, with the sounds becoming degraded past recognition and jumbling frequently. Too much contact with other soundstones can cause degradation as well, and scrambling contamination. Can hold up to a day's worth of sound, but navigating that much of it with what amounts to 'skip forward' and 'skip backward' is difficult.
A refined soundstone can hold sounds for up to a hundred years, and up to fifty without any trouble. They can be kept with others without contamination. It can hold up to a week's worth of sound. The use of them is slightly more intuitive, and the user can usually find a desired clip by imitating a sound for it to locate. One's own voice is acceptable, but sound effects can mark chapters or noted spots for others, and if you can't make any of the noises, you're just stuck going the slow 'skip forward' way.
In addition to sounds, there is a "speech to text" effect that allows the words spoken to appear projected above the stone (no set side of the stone itself), scrolling along as they are spoken. The more refined the stone, the more words can show. All words will be in the original language and alphabet of the speaker. (Which is to say, Nond is in Nond with all Nond letters, Falne is also in Nond letters but will be arranged to shape the Falne words, Elkhar is in a completely different alphabet composed in symbols, will be spelled out in Elkhar, and scrolls up, etc.) Names and onomatopoeias will be guessed at by the stone and will occasionally use a 'default' alphabet that no one can read except me, actually, because magic. Background noises are either dismissed or placed as a 'top note' in smaller letters if it's loud/pronounced enough. (cheering, screaming, water crashing)
Superrefined, though no one has bothered making one of these, can hold a full month's worth of sound for millenia. Navigating these is as difficult as the first, but mostly for the amount of time on the things, scanning can be difficult unless you have a direct quote big enough to pick out a part.
Item type
Magical
Weight
>1 lbs
Dimensions
Roughly big enough to fit in someone's palm
Base Price
15 (currency)
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