Cursed harp originally owned by Princess Thaleia of Laodicea.
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This harp was gifted to the princess Thaleia by her brother, the wise prince Eumaeus of Laodicea who was known for seeing through even the most cunning of lies and cutting through any deceit placed before him. After hearing his sister lament her lack of suitors, prince Eumaeus went out to seek an instrument worthy of her so that her musical skill would shine, and thereby help her find a suitor.
He finally found the harp as it was offered to him by Dolos, who was disguised as a beggar, after he placed offerings at a shrine to Euterpe. The wise prince, knowing of the many trickeries played by the gods, asked many questions of the beggar. Dolos, in his disguise as a beggar, answered the questions of the prince, truthfully stating that the harp will allow his sister to enchant her audience with her performances, attract many romantic partners, and that it will guarantee a marriage. Believing the beggar's gift to come from Euterpe, he returned home to Laodicea, and gifted the harp to his sister.
Unbeknownst to the prince, Dolos cursed the harp to ensure that his sister would never find a husband, while making sure that he could trick the wise prince by speaking the truth about what the harp would do.
Supernatural Quality: The harp grants +2 dice to all Performance rolls while it is being played. Additionally, it lends itself especially well for performances that celebrate love or evoke emotions of attraction. When trying to impress an audience, all performances celebrating love are at a -1 difficulty to play, and all performances intended to evoke emotions of attraction are at a -2 difficulty.
Curse of Dolos: The harp's magic will affect anyone that can hear and see the performer. If the (appropriate Attribute + Performance) roll by the performer scores more successes than the listener's Temperance rating, the listener is affected by the harp's magic.
- If the affected listener is male, he will lose any attraction he has for the performer, and instead find his attentions redirected to nearby women—which will almost certainly be readily available given the second aspect of the curse.
- If the affected listener is female, she is compelled to stay and listen to the full performance. Furthermore, if the listener is a young maiden or an unwed noblewoman, she will feel some attraction to either a suitable man in the audience, or if such are lacking, the performer. The curse of the harp exerts supernatural mental influence, and the effect can be resisted for one willpower.