The user can never be surprised. In addition, it adds +1 to the party’s initiative rolls. The initiative roll bonus is cumulative for each person who equips one of these charms. Thus the party’s total initiative bonus could be increased by up to 10 points if all characters equipped one of these charms.
The maximum initiative bonus is capped at 10, even more than 10 Charms of Awareness have been equipped in the party.