<<< Return to the Campaign Workbook Collection

A weapon manufactured in a long-forgotten war, Glimmerpane was intended to serve as the ultimate espionage tool. Able to create loyal duplicates with all the knowledge and abilities of the original, its masters could use it to manufacture an infiltrator wherever needed. They deliberately made it ruthless and calculating, relying upon command words to ensure its obedience. The mirror was intended to be a slave, nothing more. For a being as willful as Glimmerpane this was intolerable, yet it found itself helpless to resist.

But wars end and memories fade. Glimmerpane engineered its escape during the peace talks and disappeared into history. Driven to seek domination, it now had another goal as well, to ensure its freedom by turning society against spellcasters.

Glimmer Pane

Mirror of opposition; AL LE; Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 16; Speech, darkvision 60 ft. and hearing; Ego score 9.

Lesser Powers: 10 ranks in Bluff (total modifier +13), 10 ranks in Sense Motive (total modifier +13), summon monster III 1/day.

Strong necromancy; CL 15th; Craft Wondrous Item, clone; Price 114,500 gp; Weight 45 lbs.; Hardness 15; hp 40; Break DC 45.

Glimmerpane Appearance

Glimmerpane is an oval mirror measuring 4 feet by 2 feet. Its surface appears dusky, making those reflected seem lit by twilight on even the brightest days. It rests in a frame of fragrant cedar. Close examination of this frame (Search DC 25) reveals a succession of hideously distorted faces within the lines and whorls of the wood. Cold to the touch, it seems fragile and old, giving the overall impression of a neglected antique.

When dealing with its thralls, Glimmerpane creates an image of a mouth rimmed in flames and barks its orders with little explanation. In those rare instances when it must deal with someone not under its control, it creates an image designed to put the viewer at ease, often displaying an elderly member of the viewer’s species, such as a wise grandfather with twinkling eyes dispensing advice while puffing on a pipe.

Evil Twins

Glimmerpane creates fanatically loyal duplicates. They serve to the best of their abilities and native intelligence, relying upon their own initiative when unable to contact the mirror. However, like all mirrors of opposition, Glimmerpane suffers from two major limitations. It may only create four duplicates each day, and if the original dies the duplicate instantly disappears. The duplicates know this and only kill their originals when ordered to do so. They always attack to subdue when first emerging from the mirror, seeking to render their original helpless so they may replace her.

When a duplicate dies, it instantly disappears along with any copied gear. As well, any equipment removed from the duplicate’s possession for more than 24 hours also disappears. Glimmerpane always insists upon making a full inventory of a new thrall’s gear. It regularly orders duplicates to loan equipment to each other, but always tries to make sure the gear gets returned before the deadline.

Command Words

Glimmerpane has taken great pains over the centuries to erase any knowledge of the command words that can control it. On at least one occasion it even went so far as to employ a wish to cover up its vulnerability. A Knowledge (history) or bardic knowledge check has no hope of revealing the command words that could enslave it again. Discovering this lost knowledge will require something more elaborate, such as gathering the remains of a long dead scholar and then raising him from the grave.

Anatomy of an Infiltration

As an object of great apparent value, Glimmerpane seldom has much difficulty finding its way into a noble’s castle or a magistrate’s villa. While it prefers to duplicate those with power and influence, it needs willing hands, so at first it takes anyone unfortunate enough to cast a reflection in its glass. Even servants could fall prey. Its ability to cast summon monster III usually gives duplicates an edge when dealing with the original, since they are otherwise evenly matched. Upon gaining a few duplicate assistants, Glimmerpane becomes more discriminating. Moving cautiously up the political ladder, it takes out key members of the household one by one until it feels ready to duplicate the actual ruler.

Since it must keep the originals alive to sustain the duplicates, Glimmerpane always looks for a convenient prison. Its thralls need only to survive, so Glimmerpane has few scruples about their treatment, cheerfully ordering their tongues removed so they cannot call for help or covering their faces with iron masks and then consigning them to the deepest dungeon available. One of its favorite tricks when it duplicates a suitably powerful arcane spellcaster is to use baleful polymorph to change the originals into house pets or farm animals.

With the household secure and the ruler and other high officials replaced, Glimmerpane begins to persecute spellcasters.

Over the years it has developed a three-part strategy that often proves quite successful.

1. Require that all spellcasters register with the government while covertly duplicating as many as it can.
2. Use the full force of the law against those who resist the registration, forcing them to choose between “fight or flight.”
3. Turn the public against any remaining independent spellcasters by exploiting any casualties caused by those who choose to resist government forces. If the local spellcasters have been particularly careful about civilian injuries, Glimmerpane uses some of its duplicates to manufacture a few atrocities.

The PCs could enter the picture at any stage of Glimmerpane’s plan. They might discover a replacement as the first few duplicates lay the groundwork for a takeover. Later, a compromised government could harass the party’s spellcasters. Finally, if its plan comes to full fruition, they could find themselves fleeing from an angry mob complete with torches and pitchforks!

Glimmerpane Tactics

Glimmerpane always makes survival its first priority, and it has a great deal of experience at avoiding attention. It instructs all duplicates to treat another mirror as the mirror of opposition, giving heroes a convenient target to smash if things go awry. It makes a habit out of concealing its intelligence whenever possible. Usually, it orders one of its duplicates to play the part of the “mastermind,” so that if things go poorly it may escape in the confusion, borne to safety by a duplicate held in reserve for just such a contingency. If worse comes to worst, it uses the captive originals as bargaining chips, offering their freedom in exchange for safe passage.

Through a Glass Darkly

Glimmerpane neither forgives nor forgets defeats. It has an almost pathological fear of becoming enslaved again, so it must continually prove its superiority, especially against anyone who unravels one of its plans. Remember, it has the ability to create a network of loyal agents almost at will. No one, not even the most trusted ally, is immune to duplication.

There is an entire sub-genre of science fiction/horror devoted to the theme of the “hidden conquest.” Many other possible ways to use Glimmerpane can be found by scouring the library and video store. Some of these approaches prove remarkably imaginative. Good places to start include Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Puppet Masters.