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THE TRUE
ARCANE STORY
To see through total darkness what lies behind the
massive iron-bound door, to divine what treasures
await inside the hard-won oaken chest, to strip
away the obfuscating robes of the stranger and
reveal the hidden blade; it is to such purposes that
the ring of x-ray vision is employed. While its use
is simple and its powers straight-forward, any true
scholar of the arcane will attest that this ring is an
oddity.
Creation of a ring of x-ray vision requires the
casting of a spell of True Seeing; it is interesting to
note, however, that this spell, in normal usage, in
no way grants the caster the ability to see through
solid objects. Additionally, prolonged use of the
ring can cause serious debilitation, as if it feeds
upon the health or life-force of the wearer, or as
if the magical energies it channels are somehow
distorted in a way that causes harm to living
beings. It is the relation of these two aspects of the
ring’s power that are part and parcel of its mystery.
CREATOR OF
THE RING OF X-RAY VISION
The story of the ring is best understood in context
of the story of its creator, the Great Mystic
Theurge, Xargahl the All-Seeing. At the height
of his powers, he is rumored to have been able
to scry simultaneously up to fourteen locations
across multiple planes without confusion or chance
RING OF X-RAY VISION
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of detection. He is credited with the discovery of
half a dozen spells and as many magical items,
most of which, sadly, have been lost to antiquity.
It is a recorded fact that he was able to pierce the
strongest spells of protection and non-detection, to
see the invisible, ethereal, and even astral traveler
at will, and was wont at times to sell his uncanny
skills to the highest bidder in order to fund his
exhaustive research.
Having parleyed his knack for finding the lost,
exposing the hidden, and knowing the darkest
secrets of the most powerful men of his age into
a vast fortune and a position of nigh unassail-
able power, the All-Seeing Xargahl eventually
fell victim to that enemy of all men who achieve
their ambitions without fail or exception; sheer
and utter boredom. With none to rival his skills at
scrying, he sent word across the land that he would
surrender his entire fortune to any who could
present him a challenge he could not meet.
Wizards and wise men, priests and kings, all
came seeking Xargahl’s prize. Some came from
hubris, others from greed, but none could baffle
the eyes of the All-Seeing. No place was too dark,
too remote, or too hidden to escape the notice
of Xargahl. The Great Mystic Theurge began to
despair of ever again knowing the thrill of mystery
or the joy of discovery; until, one day, a simple
peasant begged his audience. Though turned away
at the gate, the man persisted, and Xargahl, of
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THE REAL ARCANE STORY: RING OF X-RAY VISION
course aware of his presence as he was aware of most He did, however, have the name. After countless experi-
things, became intrigued and admitted him into his cham- ments, he determined that by refracting a combination of
bers. heavily modified spells, including plane shift and multiple
spells of divination, through the heartstone of a Night Hag,
Theories abound as to the true identity of this peasant,
he could produce a beam of invisible light, a ray capable
attributing to him the name of any of a multitude of gods
of penetrating almost any solid matter to reveal what
or heroes of legend; however, if what is recorded of
lay beyond or within. He named this magical emanation
Xargahl’s powers is true, then there existed no disguise so
the Xargahlic Ray, after himself, and proclaimed it the
complete that he could not penetrate it. Perhaps it is galling
crowning achievement of his illustrious career. Following a
to the arcanologist to admit that one of their own could
series of refinements, he was able to create a magical crys-
be so confounded by an ordinary man, but to those with a
talline substance, which he named Xargahlium, capable of
thorough understanding of the principles involved, this is
producing continuous emanations of Xargahlic energy.
the most plausible explanation.
His victory was short-lived, however. Not only had king-
This man, a potter by trade, presented Xargahl with a ball
doms fallen and fortunes been lost in his absence, but the
of clay. He had, he explained, written the names of his
once-verdant countryside surrounding his tower had been
three sons on three separate pieces of leather, placed them
laid to waste by a devastating pestilence that rotted flesh,
face down on his kitchen table, then had his wife remove
poisoned the land, and caused an outbreak of monstrous
two and burn them. His wife did not see the names, nor did
births the extent and magnitude of which had never been
he know which name was written on the remaining piece.
seen before. It was not long after his emergence from his
He then embedded this bit of leather, again without reading
tower that local authorities stormed his estate, destroying
it, in a wad of clay and let it dry, while his wife carefully
the lich’s phylactery and much of his research. While
scattered the ashes of the other two, along with the ashes of
Xargahl himself was too startled to put up a fight, dozens
their hearth, across the nearby countryside. His challenge
died from the effects of exposure to Xargahlic energy.
to Xargahl was to tell him, without breaking the ball and
without resorting to miracles or wishes, what name was In the end, the potter’s inheritance consisted of a blasted
concealed inside. wasteland with a ruined tower at its center, a few samples
of Xargahlium sealed in lead-lined boxes, and a handful
A simple enough question; yet Xargahl had no answer. At
of Xargahl’s notes. While the land did not recover in the
least, none that sprang immediately to mind. It was fortu-
potter’s lifetime, or in that of his sons, he was able to sell
nate, then, that he had never set a time-frame in which he
the other items to a college of arcane researchers, many
was required to respond. He sent the potter off, lading him
of whom died horribly while attempting to unlock the
with sufficient gold to keep him in comfort for the rest of
secrets of Xargahlic energy. The Xargahlic Ray, the name
his days, and promised him that should the name remain
later shortened to x-ray, was deemed far too dangerous
undiscovered the vast wealth of the All-Seeing would be
to living creatures to be safely used, and further research
bequeathed to him or his surviving heirs. With a joyful
would have been abandoned were it not for the persistence
heart, the Great Xargahl took the ball and locked himself
of a young healer with an obsession for the study of living
away in his tower.
internal anatomy.
When he emerged, fifteen years later, the world had
changed. Without Xargahl to inform them of the secrets
of their enemies, entire kingdoms fell. Without Xargahl HISTORY OF THE RING OF X-RAY VISION
to plumb the depths of the oceans, shipwrecked treasures Allandra Rehann was gifted with an array of qualities that
were lost. Without Xargahl, lines of communication with made her uniquely equipped to tame the destructive forces
the outer planes were cut, and the study of magic, both of Xargahlic energy. She was wealthy, though not given
arcane and divine, slowed to a listless crawl. Xargahl to the indolence often found among the privileged classes.
himself had changed as well. His body, riddled by a strange She was passionately devout, but not over-zealous or close-
and devastating disease, was covered in festering sores, minded. She was brilliant, but her razor-sharp intellect
and his skin hung loose and shriveled from his bones. He did nothing to dull her compassion for her fellow beings.
was, in fact, no longer technically living; he had resorted to Above all, she was stubborn, an attribute which kept her
lichdom in order to complete his work. in dogged pursuit of her desires when those of softer will

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THE REAL ARCANE STORY: RING OF X-RAY VISION
would have ceded to defeat. Allandra gathered together the
best minds of her day to tackle the problem of harnessing
Xargahl’s discovery, and, after decades of work, helped to
create the first true ring of x-ray vision. The awful effects
of Xargahlic energy, while still remaining, were diminished
and made temporary. They were also contained; no longer
did baleful emanations cause bystanders harm, instead only
the wearer of the ring bore any risk, and that only after
prolonged use. Allandra Rehann went on to become her
generation’s foremost authority on physiology, responsible
for profound advances in magical and non-magical healing
alike.
Once a tool of humanitarian research, the ring is now most
often employed to spy and to plunder. While still a useful
aid to the healer, it is frequently found in the hands of the
rogue. Rare samples of Xargahlium have turned up in the
hands of assassins, and undead suffused in toxic Xargahlic
energy have been found on occasion in the dens of evil
Xargahlium can also be ground into lenses, conferring
priests and necromancers. Allandra Rehann would be heart-
upon the wearer continuous x-ray vision able to penetrate
broken to see how her hard work has been put to use.
triple the material penetrable by the ring of x-ray vision.
NEW SPELL
XARGAHLS PENETRATING RAY
Evocation
Level: Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: Ray of Xargahlic energy
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude half
Spell Resistance: Yes
A ray, barely visible as an undulating ripple in the air,
springs from your outstretched hand. On a successful
ranged touch attack, the target creature or object becomes
briefly transparent. Creatures struck by the ray take one
point of Constitution damage plus one additional point for
every two caster levels (maximum 20th level).
Focus: The Heartstone of a Night Hag
NEW MATERIAL
XARGAHLIUM
Fabricated by alchemical and magical means from the
heartstone of a Night Hag, uncut Xargahlium is a dull gray
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PAGE 3
ovoid crystal, smooth-sided, and approximately two inches
in diameter. This extraordinarily rare substance can be cut
or ground into multiple shapes and is used to both produce
and focus Xargahlic energy. It is an exceedingly dangerous
material to work with; for which reason its handling is
generally left in the care of constructs or undead, who are
immune to its effects.
Cut Xargahlium, when exposed to light, emits a burst of
Xargahlic energy with effects identical to that of a twelfth
level casting of Xargahl’s Penetrating Ray. A cut crystal
can produce three such rays within a twenty-four hour
period. In this form it is generally stored within a shuttered
lead container. The lead shielding around a cut Xargahlium
crystal must be at least an eighth of an inch thick to fully
contain the Xargahlic energy. Opening and closing the
shutter is a standard action, unless it is spring-loaded, in
which case it is a move equivalent action.
Additionally, powdered Xargahlium can be administered
like a poison. A single stone yields ten doses. A creature
ingesting or inhaling the colorless, odorless Xargahlium
powder must make a single DC 23 Fortitude save or be
afflicted with Xargahlic fever as if exposed to a nine
HD Xargahlic Creature (see below). Any living creature
exposed to an unshielded Xargahlium crystal must make a
DC 19 Fortitude save for each full round of exposure, or
suffer the same effects.
The formulas for creating raw Xargahlium have been lost
or destroyed. The only remaining sources are the original
samples taken from Xargahl’s tower and a few stones
created shortly afterward for research purposes.
A single Xargahlium crystal costs 75,000 gp.
NEW TEMPLATE
XARGAHLIC CREATURE
A Xargahlic Creature is an undead, construct, or other
non-living corporeal creature that has either Xargahlium
as an element in its construction or has been exposed to
Xargahlic Rays to such an extent that its body is now
suffused with and emanates these rays.
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THE REAL ARCANE STORY: RING OF X-RAY VISION
“Xargahlic” is an acquired template that can be added to
any corporeal creature that does not have a Constitution
score, such as Constructs or Undead.
A Xargahlic creature uses all the base creature’s statistics
and special abilities except as noted here. Size and type are
unchanged.
SPECIAL ATTACKS
A Xargahlic creature retains all the special attacks of the
base creature and also gains the following.
XARGAHLIC ENERVATION (SU)
A Xargahlic creature’s melee attacks deal 1 point of
Constitution damage on a successful hit. A Fortitude save
negates this effect. The Fortitude save DC is equal to the
creature’s hit die plus 10.
SPECIAL QUALITIES
A Xargahlic creature has all the special qualities of the
base creature, plus the following.
A Xargahlic creature’s natural weapons as well as any
weapons it wields are treated as magic weapons for the
purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
LEVEL ADJUSTMENT
Same as base creature +2.
VARIANT RULES
SKILL CHECK BONUS
Use of a ring of x-ray vision confers a +2 circumstance
bonus on the following skills:
• Disable Device, when the device in question is
mechanical in nature.
• Heal, when used to stabilize a dying character.
• Open Lock, when the lock is of Average quality or
higher.
• Appraise, when the value of an item depends on
whether it is constructed of a solid material; for
example, a solid gold figurine.
• Search, when objects are within or under objects pene-
trable by ring’s powers.
• Use of a ring of x-ray vision confers a +4 circumstance
bonus when making a search roll opposed to sleight of
hand to conceal a weapon or other small object.
Written by Christine M. Doering

XARGAHLIC FEVER (SU) All mechanics on all pages is Open Game Content as
Xargahlic fever is treated as a disease for the purposes defined by the Open Gaming License. See page 5 for more
of healing, immunities, incubation and damage. Each information.
round after the first that a character is within five feet
of a Xargahlic creature, that character must make a
Fortitude save on his or her initiative or suffer the effects
of Xargahlic fever. The Fortitude save DC is equal to the
creature’s hit die plus 10. The incubation period and consti-
tution damage is based on the creature’s hit die
HD Incubation Period Initial & Secondary Damage.
1-2 1 day 1d4–2 Con*
3-4 4d6 hours 1d6–2 Con*
5-6 3d6 hours 1d6–1 Con*
7-8 2d6 hours 1d6 Con
9+ 1d6 hours 2d6 Con
* Minimum damage 0 Con.
Each day after the first, on a failed save, an afflicted crea-
ture must immediately succeed on another Fortitude save
or take 1 point of Constitution drain.

CHALLENGE RATING
HD 4 or less, as base creature +1; HD 5 to 8, as base crea-
ture +2; HD 9 or more, as base creature +3.

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loudhfisporterjrtd
OPE N G A ME LIC ENSE VERSION 1. 0A
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Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the
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John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on original material
by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
The True Arcane Story: Ring of X-Ray Vision Copyright 2007, Louis
Porter Jr. Design, Inc.