Bind Pens

Bind Pens can win wars, creative lucrative trade deals, and allow the existence of the most extreme pen pals.

Description:

Crafted by talented enchanters, Bind Pens are linked to a specific page of paper. No matter where the pen writes; the back of a hand, another sheet of paper, the cover of a textbook, an identical copy of the ink shows on the page that the pen was bound to. This allows for potentially global levels of communication, however, this communication is typically one sided. A scout can report to home base, but wont be able to receive further orders unless the scout is in possession of paper that is bound to a pen back home.
The ink from the pen will fade off of the page of paper after 24 hours. This allows the paper to be reusable, but it also requires constant surveillance or attention in order to make full use out of the Bind Pens. It is possible for multiple pens to be bound to the same piece of paper, but it is not possible for one pen to transfer to multiple sheets of paper. Is that convoluted enough for fantasy? Good.

Price and Range:

Bind Pens can get quite expensive, depending on the range that they are crafted for. They are also very easy to lose. If either the paper or pen is damaged, it will be lost, and the money will be wasted. Short range Bind Pens can be bought as a novelty item, working as a great tool for passing notes in class, or spying on a friend. These typically cost around 10gp, and they can only go about 300ft. The further the pen is from the paper, the more faded the ink appears, until it is eventually impossible to see.
On a larger scale, Bind Pens can traverse nations. These bind pens usually require the enchanter to use rarer resources, like dragon scales or illithid (Mind Flayer) blood. These pens, however, can connect people across nations, making them excellent tools for coordinating both attacks and trade deals. Still, nations must be wise as to who the give their pens to, as any loss of one has the potential to be financially devastating.

Unique Stories:

Dallius's Curse:

Dallius was a thief. He was quite successful in his early twenties, but as he aged, his senses dulled, and he started to lose his intuition. Early into his career, be picked a fight with the leader of the Jade Circle. Dallius would do whatever was in his powers to steal from the Circle and give to the citizens. He'd plan elaborate casino heists, save people from the Circle's mercenaries, and expose high ranking members of the Circle.
Eventually, the Circle caught up to him, and out of immense hatred, the leaders commissioned their sorcerers to bind a thin crimson Bind Pen to Dallius's skin. The ink was blood red, and carved its way onto Dallius's body whenever the Circle wrote with it. At first they used this to embarrass Dallius in public, writing profanities onto his head, or scribbling childish drawings of-- well, you know-- but they eventually devolved into consistent torture. Every morning, Dallius would wake up to paragraphs covering his skin, preaching to him about all of his "crimes." Dallius reported this as the worst pain he has ever felt. It is unknown how much this cost the Jade Circle, and has not been replicated since.

The Battle of the Balen Canyon:

The Battle of the Balen Canyon was the deciding battle during the Crelian War. In this battle, the forces of Crelia forced their enemies, the Kylans, onto the edge of the Balen Canyon and surrounded them. In order to get their enemies to choose their specific route, multiple coordinated appearances of the Crelian army were used to pressure the Kylans. These appearances wouldn't have been possible without the use of Bind Pens, and the battle wouldn't have been winnable without the terrain advantage that the Crelians had.
This was the first ever use of Bind Pens in a military context. It has since become common practice. The original three pens that were used during the Crelian war are now displayed in the kingdom's history museum.

World Crossed Lovers:

One night along the Crystalline Coast, two travelers met, one from Aluvan and one from Crelia. The two of them had the night of their lives, and in a grand stroke of luck (and possibly fate), they won two Bind Pens and two pages. For the next three years, the two of them wrote to each other daily. They'd describe their lives, their hobbies, all the way down to the boring things, like the current weather. It didn't matter to them. Eventually, they even started to forget each other's faces, but their hand writing was unforgettable. Finally, they met again. They made plans to meet on the tallest tower in Fastelan. When they saw each other, they embraced, and one of them proposed. Strangely, even after moving into the same house, they still wrote to each other daily. It was a habit that neither of them wanted to lose.

Item type

Tool