Items & Artifacts 002 - Vampires and Virtue
Last week, the Vampire Cursed Class was published and this week we're following up with the powerful items any vampire would love to wield, and the weapons that can be used to destroy them.
Magic items are gleaned from hoards of conquered monsters or discovered in long-lost vaults. An artifact is a unique magical item of tremendous power, with its own origin and history.
ITEMS
BLADE OF WOE
Weapon (dagger), legendary (requires attunement)
This potent blade appears as a simple, unassuming dagger, but it's true power is coveted by assassins and the Dark Brotherhood.
You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.
This dagger has 7 charges and regains 1d6+1 expended charges daily at dawn. While wielding this weapon, you can use an action to expend 1 or more charges to gain the following benefits.
Demoralize. Whenever you hit a creature with the dagger, you can expend 1 charge to demoralize the target, causing the creature to have disadvantage on attack rolls, and Agility and Strength saving throws, until the start of your next turn.
Expose Will. Whenever you hit a creature with the dagger, you can expend 1 charge to force the creature to have disadvantage on saving throws against the effects of spells.
Decay. Whenever you hit a creature with the dagger, you can expend 1 charge to deal an additional 2d6 necrotic damage.
BLOODWORM HELM
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)
This helm has 5 charges and regains 1d4 expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the helm crumbles into dust and is destroyed.
Turn Undead. You can use an action and expend 1 charge to force an undead creature that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you to make a Willpower saving throw. On a failed save, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.
A turned creature must spend its turn trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can't willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can't take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there's nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.
You can turn one additional creature for each additional charge expended.
Animate Dead. You can use an action and expend 2 charges to cast the 3rd level spell Animate Dead.
BOOK OF LIFE
Wondrous item, very rare
This book is a census kept by the Nords in the early First Era, and its words are charged with magic. If you spend 48 hours over a period of 6 days or fewer studying the book's contents, your Endurance score increases by 2, as does your maximum for that score. The book then loses its magic, but regains it in a century.
DAWNBREAKER
Weapon (longsword), legendary (requires attunement)
Forged in a holy light that breaks upon Meridia's foes, Dawnbreaker is a longsword with a distinctive cross-guard that emanates light.
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls made with this magic weapon, which deals an additional 1d8 sunlight damage.
Whenever you hit an undead, vampire, or lycanthrope with this weapon, you have a chance to create an explosion of sunlight. If your attack roll is a 19 or 20, you deal and additional 2d8 sunlight damage to all undead, vampires, or lycanthropes in a 10 foot radius.
Any undead that is killed by this weapon, or from the explosion, are disintegrated, leaving only a pile of ash.
The sword's luminous cross-guard emits bright light in a 15 foot radius and dim light for an additional 15 feet. The light is sunlight. While holding the blade, you can use an action to expand or reduce its radius of bright light and dim light by 5 feet each, to a maximum of 30 feet each or a minimum of 10 feet each.
DAWNGUARD WEAPON
Weapon (any weapon), rare (requires attunement)
Whenever this weapon hits an undead creature, it deals an additional 1d8 sunlight damage to the target.
Each time the weapon kills an undead creature, the sunlight damage dealt is increased by 1. This additional damage resets each dawn.
DAWNGUARD RUNE HAMMER
Weapon (Warhammer), rare (requires attunement)
This warhammer has 3 charges and regains 1d3 expended charges daily at dawn.
As an action, you can use the warhammer to strike a surface, placing a runic symbol on the surface that the hammer strikes.
The symbol is nearly invisible, requiring an intelligence (Investigation) (DC 16) to find it.
Any creature that comes within 5 feet of the symbol sets of an explosion. You can specify creatures that don't trigger the symbol.
The explosion deals 3d8 fire or sunlight damage (your choice) to all creatures within a 30 foot-radius of the explosion.
DAWNGUARD RUNE SHIELD
Armor (shield), rare (requires attunement)
While holding this shield, you can use an action to create an aura of sunlight that surrounds you in a 10 foot radius, dealing 1d10 sunlight damage to any undead creature within the aura. The aura lasts until you use a bonus action to end the aura.
EBONY MAIL
Armor (breastplate), legendary (requires attunement)
The Ebony Mail is a breastplate created before recorded history by the dunmer goddess Boethiah. It is she who determines who should possess the Ebony Mail and for how long a time. It is Boethiah alone who determines when a person is ineligible to bear the Ebony Mail any longer, and the goddess can be very capricious.
While wearing the armor, you gain the following benefits:
You are resistant to fire damage.
You have advantage on saving throws made against spells.
At the beginning of each dawn, you gain temporary hit points equal to twice your character level. Any remaining hit points from the previous day are lost.
EBONY MAIL (VARIANT)
Armor (breastplate), legendary (requires attunement)
The Ebony Mail is a breastplate created before recorded history by the dunmer goddess Boethiah. It is she who determines who should possess the Ebony Mail and for how long a time. It is Boethiah alone who determines when a person is ineligible to bear the Ebony Mail any longer, and the goddess can be very capricious.
While wearing the armor, you gain the following benefits:
You gain proficiency in Stealth. If you are already proficient in Stealth, you gain advantage on Stealth (Agility) attribute checks.
Any creature of your choice that is within 10 feet of you takes 1d6 poison damage on the start of your turn.
MACE OF MOLAG BAL
Weapon (mace), rare (requires attunement)
A fearsome weapon steeped in the ancient evil of its master. Also known as the Vampire's Mace, the Mace of Molag Bal drains its victims of strength and magicka and gives it to the bearer.
Whenever you damage a living creature, the creature must make a Willpower saving throw (DC 12). On a failed save, the mace drains one point from the creature's strength and 1d4 magicka points and transfers it to the wielder (increasing to a maximum of 24 strength and to your maximum magicka points) until the wielder finishes their next short rest. Creatures brought to 0 Strength by this feature are slain.
MEHRUNES' RAZOR
Weapon (dagger), legendary (requires attunement)
This mythical artifact is capable of slaying any creature instantly.
You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.
When you roll a 20 on your attack roll against a creature that has 100 hit points or fewer, the target must make an Endurance (DC 18) saving throw. On a failed save, the creature dies instantly.
RING OF EIDOLON'S EDGE
Ring, rare (requires attunement)
While wearing this ring you gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with long blades and short blades, and you gain a +1 bonus to AC if you are holding a shield.
RING OF NAMIRA
Ring, rare (requires attunement)
While wearing this ring, when you take damage from an attack or a spell that targets only you (not an area of effect) and the spell is 7th level or lower, you can use your reaction to reflect half the damage taken back at the attacker, using the attack roll, or spell slot level, spell save DC, attack bonus, and spellcasting attribute of the attacker.
Beasts and spriggans are immune to the reflected damage, as they are creatures of nature. Daedric creatures only take half of the reflected damage, as they are supernatural creatures. Undead creatures take twice the amount of reflected damage, as they are unnatural creatures.
Once you use this property of the ring, you can't use it again until the next dawn.
RING OF NAMIRA (VARIANT)
Ring, uncommon (requires attunement)
While wearing this ring, you have an insatiable hunger for flesh. You can use an action to feast on a recently deceased humanoid corpse (no more than 1 hour) to regain 1d4 hit points.
RING OF SUNFIRE
Ring, uncommon (requires attunement)
While wearing this ring, you gain resistance to disease and shadow damage. A magical ward on this ring prevents vampire's from wearing it.
ROBE OF THE LICH
Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)
While wearing this robe, you can use an action to regain magicka points at the cost of your health. For each magicka point restored, you lose twice the amount of hit points. Once you use this property of the robe, you can't use it again until the next dawn.
RUEFUL AXE
Weapon (battleaxe), rare (requires attunement)
The axe was created for Sebastian Lort, who prayed to Clavicus Vile for a cure to his daughter's lycanthropy. Vile presented Sebastian with the axe as his “cure”.
You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.
This battleaxe has 10 charges and regains 1d6+3 charges daily at dawn. If you expend the last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the battleaxe is shrouded in shadow and returns to Oblivion.
Whenever you hit a creature with the axe, you can expend 1 charge to fatigue the target, causing the creature to have disadvantage on attack rolls, and Agility and Strength saving throws, until the start of your next turn.
SCOURGE
Weapon (warmace), legendary (requires attunement)
The Daedric Scourge is a mighty mace forged from sacred ebony in the Fires of Fickledire. The legendary weapon of Mackkan, it was once a fierce weapon used in the Battlespire to send spirits of black back to Oblivion. It has since been corrupted and has the ability to summon dangerous creatures from Oblivion.
You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.
This warmace has 5 charges and regains 1d4+1 charges daily at dawn. If you expend the last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the battleaxe is shrouded in shadow and returns to Oblivion.
While wielding the mace, you can expend 1 or more charges to summon one of the following powerful daedric creatures for 1 minute: banekin (1 charge), clannfear (3 charges), dremora (5 charges), scamp (2 charges), or winged twilight (3 charges). The creature disappears when it is reduced to 0 hit points or after 1 minute has passed.
SWORD OF THE CRUSADER
Weapon (longsword), rare (requires attunement)
You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon, and deals an additional 1d8 fire damage on a hit. Undead creatures take twice as much fire damage from this attack.
VAMPIRE'S SWORD
Weapon (any sword), very rare (requires attunement)
You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.
When you attack a creature with this magic weapon and roll a 20 on the attack roll, that target takes an extra 10 shadow damage if it isn't a construct or an undead. You also gain 10 temporary hit points.
VAMPIRE LORD'S SWORD
Weapon (any sword), legendary (requires attunement)
You gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.
This sword has 7 charges and regains 1d6+1 charges daily at dawn. If you expend the last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the sword bursts into flames and is destroyed.
When you hit a creature with melee attack using this magic weapon, you can expend expend 1 charge to deal an additional 2d6 shadow damage, and you regain a number of hit points equal to half that shadow damage.
VAMPIRIC RING
Ring, Legendary (requires attunement)
One of the more deadly and rare artifacts in Tamriel is the Vampiric Ring. It is said that the Ring has the power to steal its victim's health and grant it to the wearer. The exact nature and origin of the Ring is wholly unknown, but many elders speak of its evil creation in long, long ago by a cult of Vampire followers. The Vampiric Ring is an extremely rare artifact and is only seen every few hundred cycles of the moons.
This ring has 2 charges, and all expended charges are regained daily at dawn. While you wear the ring, you can use an action and expend one charge to to touch a target and force the creature to make a DC 17 Endurance saving throw. On a failed save, the creature suffers from one of the following affects of your choice:
Drain Life. The target takes 4d6 shadow damage, and you regain a number of hit points equal to half that shadow damage.
Exhaustion. The target gains one level of exhaustion.
ARTIFACTS
NECROMANCER'S AMULET
Wondrous item, artifact (requires attunement)
The legendary Necromancer's Amulet is the last surviving relic of the mad sorcerer Mannimarco, also known as the King of Worms. The amulet is an exquisitely crafted sterling silver pendant with a eerie glowing skull emblazoned upon it.
Popular among mages, the amulet instantly bestows the wearer with wisdom far beyond their years, and is mystically fortified to provide the same protection as heavy armor without the restriction of movement.
One the greatest flaws of the amulet is it's instability. It is forever doomed to fade in and out of existence, reappearing at locations distant from that of its disappearance.
Random Properties. The Necromancer's Amulet has the following random properties:
2 minor beneficial properties
1 major beneficial property
2 minor detrimental properties
1 major detrimental property
Protection. Your AC can't be less than 17 while wearing the amulet, regardless of what kind of amor you are wearing.
Increased Intelligence. While wearing the amulet, your Intelligence score increases by 2, to a maximum of 24. Additionally, your maximum magicka points increase by half your character level, rounding down.
Enlightened Necromancy. While wearing the amulet, any necromancy spell you cast counts as one level higher.
Bane of Undeath. After 1d20 days of wearing the amulet, you begin to acquire the physical traits of undeath. You may become unnaturally gaunt, or appear to have a grotesque disease that marks your skin. Your skin, fur, or scales might lose all natural coloring and become pale, or you body temperature is always cold to the touch. Or perhaps your eyes have glossed over in pure black, you've lost all facial features, or some other unholy feature the DM chooses. The bane grants you advantage on Personality (Persuasion) checks made to interact with evil creatures and Personality (Intimidation) checks made to interact with non-evil characters.
Destroying the amulet. The Necromancer's Amulet is incredibly unstable and is known to fall in and out of existence at its own unpredictable impulse. The only way to temporarily destroy the amulet is by bringing it to a temple of Arkay and participating in a ritual which banishes the amulet for 1d100 years. It then reappears in a random location on Nirn.
