Ruins of Adventure
Gle Mask
A grotesque wooden mask with blackened human teeth set into the mouth and bronze bells around the edges.
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Description:
This simple but grotesque mask made of hand-carved and petrified wood, with blackened human teeth set into the mouth and bronze bells around the edges. Nogian scholars use the term ‘gle’ interchangeably to refer both to the masks and to invisible, supernatural spirit forces that live in the wilds but esteem to enter the civilized world. The only way they can do this, the Noga believed, was through masquerade.
In order for a gle to be embodied during a masquerade, an initiated mystic must have a dream that reveals the exact nature of the gle, its intended function, and the masquerade through which the gle would manifest. To summon the spirit, the wooden gle is accompanied by a full-body costume constructed of teeth, feathers, and fur. It is believed that each gle has its own personality, preferences, and speech patterns and is given a personal name. The wearer of the mask takes on all of these qualities during the masquerade. Having come from a dark, mysterious realm, a gle is believed to be unpredictable.
Worn alone, this mask renders the wearer invisible (as the spell) to all undead creatures. However, the mask also restricts the wearer’s own vision, giving him disadvantage on all Wisdom (Perception) checks.
If the wearer also makes a matching costume (requiring some form of drug-induced trance, vision quest, or magical divination to learn the proper form), he can wear it together with the mask to allow himself to be possessed by the ‘Gle’ spirit it is associated with. Baring such exploratory measures, the name and nature of the spirit remain unknown.