[quote=@Ruler Inc]
Whoever can come up with the coolest artifact for their universe will have said world be the setting for our prologue.
[/quote]

Challenge accepted.

[center][img]https://sorn7art.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/venetian-masks-on-display-1.jpg[/img][/center]

The Masks of Monom.

Metamundus has many Heroes, but the first and greatest of them was Monom the Thousand-Faced. Little is known of Monom's life outside of their adventures, and some doubt they even existed, but everybody knows Monom's stories.

In general, stories of Monom follow a particular pattern. Monom lives a peaceful life, usually in a palace or a similar glorious location, considered to be a reward from an earlier adventure, when people somewhere need their help. Soon after returning to adventuring, Monom gets a mask, either given by a mysterious individual or found by the hero (though sometimes Monom already owns the mask) and puts it on. This mask grants Monom a new skill to accomplish the latest quest, though often the Hero needs to use their wits as well. Afterwards, when the quest is finished, Monom gets their rewards, removes the mask and retires, until the next adventure.

Whether or not Monom was a real person, from time to time on Metamundus appear masks that, when put on, grant the wearer one skill to use. However, each mask can only be used once by a particular wearer. Once the wearer removes it, they can never put it back on. The masks also seem to be addictive. Wearers of the masks have sometimes abandoned their previous lives and gone looking for another mask to wear, even when it ends up futile. Interestingly, wearers of masks often end up fighting a monster or performing some other great deeds. It is yet unknown if this is another side effect of the mask addiction that forces wearers to expose themselves to danger, monsters being drawn towards the wearers, or just a coincidence.