The Golden Mirror

At first, this appears to be a mask, approximately 6 inches (15 cm) square, made of gold. It depicts a stylized face, largely made up of blocky geometrical shapes raised from the surface, and is solid, with no eyeholes. The back of the mask is unadorned and polished to a high sheen, allowing it to be used as a mirror.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

• An ancient stepped pyramid on a plateau (The Ruins, page 77, Peru) breaks apart as greasy white tendrils dripping with huge maggots reach upwards from its remains.
• A small man huddled in a corner of a dingy room feverishly painting... something (The Chelsea Serpent, page 215, England).
• Looking out of a train window, sweeping vistas of African plains passing by, accompanied by the strong smell of smoke, then the sound of screaming… (The First Attack, page 398, Kenya)
• Thousands of people, men and women of every race, perform bloody and orgiastic rites atop a great mountain (Ritual of the Birth, page 433, Kenya)
• A series of endless, dark tunnels, filled with the roars and cries of wild beasts (Beneath the Pyramids, page 351, Egypt).
• The investigator sees their own hand, reaching out and touching a large red rock that is warm to the touch. Everything is brightly lit. Next to the rock, a black pit that descends into the depths of the Earth… (The Second Entrance, page 488, Australia).
• The sun goes black and tentacles of darkness spread across the sky, consuming the world (The Full Horror, page 622, Grand Conclusion).
Experiencing such visions of the future provokes a Sanity roll (1D3/1D6 loss). The Keeper should feel free to add more visions if they wish to foreshadow any particular events of the later campaign.
Note: with an Extreme success on the POW roll, the mirror functions as per the Contact Nyarlathotep spell (Call of Cthulhu Rulebook, page 252). De Mendoza uses the mirror in this aspect to communicate with the god in the pyramid.

Significance

A successful Archaeology roll indicates that it is similar in design to artifacts found at Tiwanaku (a pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia). The back of the mask is unadorned and polished to a high sheen, allowing it to be used as a mirror. Those examining the surface for more than a few seconds must make a POW roll: if successful, the viewer is bombarded with a series of visions, almost too quickly to process. The Keeper should choose 2 to 4 from the following list:

Item type

Magical

Weight

2 lbs

Dimensions

6 inches square

Base Price

$660 if melted down