The Sheared Crucible

Half-buried in scorched sand, a massive metallic sphere rises from the desolate earth like a fractured moon. Cracked open by an unknown force, its surface bears jagged heat-scored runes, and the sands surrounding it are glassed into shimmering fields of obsidian-like sheets. The inside of the sphere hums with a faint, rhythmic pulse—its labyrinthine forge glows faintly, filling the air with a strange, metallic haze.
Deeper: The Crucible exudes a creeping blight, a poisonous vapor that clings to the lungs and seeps into the skin. Prolonged exposure causes weakness, burns that refuse to heal, nausea, and confusion—sometimes worsening into delirium or blindness. Those who venture too deep often return with strange illnesses or afflicted minds, muttering feverishly of “stars breaking.” Scarred plants and small animals near the sphere exhibit twisted, unnatural growths, hinting at the blight's corrupting nature.
Machinery within the sphere is modular, bizarrely intricate, and seemingly incomplete—each piece fitting together like fragments of a forgotten design. However, extracting these components is perilous. The Crucible’s forge chambers are bathed in the blight's invisible fumes, and attempting to dislodge machinery without specialized tools or trained hands risks fractures, collapses, or contaminating the components further. Tools corrode, skin burns and workers may find their senses _fractured_, memories split between past and present moments.
A brilliant but reclusive alchemist, Aldra Venesch, has developed a method to cleanse the blighted modules recovered from the Crucible. Combining distilled mineral salts with an infusion of rare desert blooms, she has devised a volatile purging agent that renders the machinery safe for use—though her methods remain guarded.
Aldra has developed a fascination with these alien devices and believes that the modules are fragments of a more significant celestial mechanism, each part carrying a forgotten purpose. Through tireless experimentation, Aldra has deciphered several functions and activated a handful of the tools she believes should not exist in a world like this. Her workshop, a series of tents and reinforced wagons near the Crucible’s edge, hums with unnatural energy, filled with humming devices, disassembled relics, and sealed flasks of her purging agent.
Aldra pays well for recovered modules but grows hostile toward any who might outpace her in the search for the Crucible’s secrets. Her breakthroughs have given her power but also paranoia. Rival scavengers and jealous guilds whisper of taking her research by force, and some suspect the modules’ true nature is driving her to madness.

Purged Modules from the Shifting Crucible

Below is a list of modules that adventurers may encounter that have been recovered. Each module is fragile, complex, and often dangerous in the wrong hands.

1. Pulse Shard: Emits a low hum that repels blighted air within a 10-foot radius for one hour. Overuse causes the shard to fracture, releasing a violent, dissonant hum before crumbling into useless fragments.
2. Void Fuser: Welds or repairs metal seamlessly without heat or tools. Drains energy from the user, causing fatigue and tremors with repeated use.
3. Gravity Coil: Temporarily reduces the weight of objects or individuals within a small radius. Misfires can intensify gravity, pinning targets to the ground or crushing fragile items.
4. Lensing Prism: Amplifies ambient light into a focused, searing beam capable of cutting through stone or metal. Repeated use causes fractures, and the prism risks shattering in uncontrolled energy.
5. Resonance Key: Unlocks or activates mechanical devices by attuning to their internal frequency. Incompatible devices emit a screeching feedback noise, which can alert nearby enemies or trigger traps.
6. Aetheric Repeater: Projects a calming field of light and sound, suppressing hallucinations caused by blight exposure. Prolonged activation weakens its effect, rendering it temporarily useless.