Hatter’s Hat
The Hatter’s Hat was a sentient top hat worn by the so-called Mad Hatter. It was created using an early version of the technology which would later power the mind-controlling Imperial Hats of Oz, but this prototype was never meant for extended use. As a result, though the hat granted the Hatter long life and access to an inexhaustible well of knowledge, it slowly drove him insane.
Construction
It was during the Second Age that the Hatter, a dwarven milliner and resident of The Reek, was contracted by the government to develop a technology for regulating the moods of hardened criminals. But though the project would succeed eventually, the Hatter wouldn’t be there to see it.
Eager to test his first prototype and finding no volunteers, the Hatter tried the hat on himself. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Abilities
The artificial intelligence within the hat was designed to aid in rehabilitating murderers, rapists, and other menaces to society. What the Hatter didn’t count on was what the hat would do when worn by someone who wasn’t in need of rehabilitation.
Once set upon the Hatter’s head, the hat malfunctioned and determined that “rehabilitate” in this case meant “make better.” It then connected to the EdenNet and began to download the collected knowledge of six-hundred and sixty-something failed iterations of reality into the ill-prepared brain of its wearer.
And it’s been trying to elevate him to a higher state of consciousness ever since.
Cost
All of one’s marbles, and then some.
Limitations
As with its successors, the Imperial Hats, the Hatter’s hat was programmed specifically to interact with his consciousness. Because of this, it will never be more than an ordinary hat if worn by someone else.
Well, that's kind of horrifying. Poor Hatter.
Yeah, I feel bad for him now that I've figured out what drove him mad. But, that said, I feel like I'll be able to write him from a place of understanding once he turns up in the story.