[Magic Items]The Dark Sorcery of an Enslaved Mind
The human sorcerer Valahasis worked in a hidden lab under the Hills of Teridil, as big as several houses clumped together. The "building" itself was crudely dug out of the ground and stone was laid all around the inside. It could be reached by a tunnel called The Warlord's Way, by the few that knew of its existance. The reason for the name was that Valahasis worked in his lab for the evil Warlord Sauoern, General and Ruler of the Nation of Prepixmia, in war with King Trenesis of the Lrodthren kingdom. Wartime conflicts were often and had on plains between these two lands, with casualties amounting to scores of hundreds every gruesome war result. In this war no lord could gain an upper hand. At one time Sauoern seemed cornered and almost beaten, but in a fateful ambush he was able to regain most of his land. This result caused his lands to be desolate. It seemed as if no one would win, for a very, very long time. While King Trenesis was the superior power, Sauoern had no care for his civilians and focused fiercely on military prowess.
Eight years earlier...
Valahasis was traveling from Berastako needed to journey to Lrodthren in order to visit his dear friends and parents. It was a sunny day and Valahasis was kicking up some dust, riding his horse along the rocky dirt path. He was almost at the gates of Lrodthren. With a little more riding, he was there. The guards let him in after he identified himself. Valahasis rode the horse into a stable and stabled him. Afterwards, at his mother's squat house, he learned that Trenesis was waging war on Warlord Sauoern, for Sauoern's troops kept harassing the people on the borders of Lrodthren. Sauoern's war troops, bored with nothing to do, had been raiding Lrodthren's smaller hamlets. The armies of Lrodthren would now combat them, in uniform steel suits, armed with blades forged from the royal blacksmiths. Valahasis thought nothing of the war but hoped Trenesis would win. He made his way to the center of the city where he could practice alchemy.
Three years later...
As the war got on longer and longer, Valahasis with no potions to sell because of wary citizens of the war, Valahasis recruited into the Lrodthrenian army about a year previous. Today was the day Valahasis would fight in a frontal assault at the outermost gates of Prepixmia. He was in the 13th line, along with a few other mages and a long line of bowmen. As the front lines were slain, the 13th line pushed ever forth until rows 14-27, the prime horsemen, charged forth. Valahasis was flinging arcane death upon the walls and enemy forces. While engaged with the casting of an enhanced fireball at the side of one of the Hills of Teredil, accustomed now to the screams of slain soldiers, there was a sharp pain at the back of his head. Feeling blood flow down his neck, he quickly fell unconscious.
Fade out the screen, then fade it back in...
Valahasis has found himself inside a torture chamber. It looks, appropriately, like it was built by Sauoern. There was a hole in one of the bleak stone walls covered by what seemed like a transparent enchantment made to keep things seperate. Behind it was a group of watchers, looking spindly and weak. Multiple watchers were wearing spectacles. Valahasis's exact position was on a table with straps around all his extremities. This was the device commonly known as the rack. A loud blaring voice out of nowhere exclaimed, "JOIN OUR LORD SAUOERN OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES." Now Valahasis had enough Charisma to convince the spirits within him to unleash untold power, so he could convince these people holding him captive to let him go, right? He said, "C'mon, chaps, let's not try and hurt me, but talk this over sensibly like sensible men. I don't talk well under pressure, y'know. I really don't think you have to go to such extremes to talk to me!"
There was no reply.
After a few minutes, the line was repeated asking him to join, and there was a creaking of something mechanical. Valahasis's limbs were stretched out. His scream resounded throughout the stone room. With a mind submissive to pain, he agreed to join Sauoern. With a little more "pain therapy" the idea of loving his lord Sauoern and always working for him hard was burned into Valahasis's mind.
Five more years...
Valahasis's diabolical lab was cluttered with all sorts of strange magic components and devices for creating magical items. He had been working to forge a set of items his lord might use and perhaps some he could use in eradicating the pompous, foolish, arrogant Lrodthrenians. The only material he could use to create his items was Ebony... No wood or steel. Ebony was almost the only material that could be gotten in Prepixmia. Valahasis had created some new items he had been focusing on, with the powers of darkness and evil in them. The magic imbued on these items required dark divine power, provided by Sauoern's second-in-command, which was a powerful cleric of an undergod. With evil otherwordly powers involved, the new ebony equipment would have the power to vanquish great foes. Laughing maniacally, he stared at his new creations...
Well that backstory was long, but the theme is kinda weak. Wouldn't you think?
Evil Ebony Suit
This +3 spiked full plate has an aura of evil and its wearer must be evil in order to wear it. If the wearer is neutral, the suit bestows 2 negative levels. If the wearer is good, the suit bestows 4 negative levels. Blah blah blah, other rules for evil-armor, such as actual levels aren't affected, the effect is dead once you take it off. The armor also has the following effects: The concentrated evil in the gauntlet allows you to gain +1 attack and +1 damage. The wearer's weapon (gauntlet or anything wielded in hand) is treated as evil for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction/evil. The armor also has DR 2/-, a quality of the material it is made out of (if the enchantment is dispelled, it does not lose DR 2/-)
Strong enchantment [Evil]; CL 12; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Magic Weapon, inflict light wounds, desecrate; Price 45,260
Doomstar Ebony Greatsword
This +2 keen greatsword is able to deal +1d6 extra damage of any of the following elements: sonic, cold, fire, and electricity. The element is decided as part of your attack action, by a quick gesture or spoken word of the choice of the caster. Its second ability is, when a succesful critical hit occurs, it bestows one negative level on the victim, Fort save DC 18, as well as critical damage. Lastly, if one attempts to sunder a weapon with a Doomstar Ebony Greatsword, s/he gets her Strength bonus to the check to determine whether you're allowed to attempt to deal damage to a held object/weapon. This is a quality of the material the sword is made out of, and thus cannot be dispelled.
It is evil-aligned and thus bypasses the corresponding damage reduction. It deals an extra 2d6 points of damage against all of good alignment. It bestows one negative level on any good creature attempting to wield it. The negative level remains as long as the weapon is in hand and disappears when the weapon is no longer wielded. This negative level never results in actual level loss, but it cannot be overcome in any way (including restoration spells) while the weapon is wielded.
Strong evocation [Evil]; CL 12; Craft Magic Weapons and Armor, flame blade, flame strike, or fireball, chill metal or ice storm, call lightning or lightning bolt, blindness/deafness, unholy blight, enervation. Price 182,160
Amulet of Great Ebony
Valahasis was using his greatest efforts to stuff huge amounts of Ebony into an amulet's gem-hole. Using spells of great strength, he was able to somehow, through a plothole, have a spell with infinite strength which for an instant fit all the ebony into the amulet. The ridiculous amount of ebony collapsed on itself and formed an extradimensional gem.
This is a simple gold chain with a gold circle attached. Inside the circle is a misty swirl of purple and black. Wearing this amulet allows the wearer to cast darkness as a spell-like ability, caster level 10, once per day. Also, infinite times per day, the wearer may use a move action to call forth from the shadow-gem 3 ebony shards at once. Each shard acts as a +2 shuriken. To summon the shurikens the wearer must use somatic components and verbal components and take Concentration checks when distracted or jostled as if casting a spell-like ability. However, for reasons unknown, some say because the components are to convince the ebony shards to launch forth, the amulet's shard-throwing power works under antimagic fields and can't be dispelled (the +2 quality can be removed, though).
Moderate conjuration; CL 12; Craft Wondrous Item, Bigby's forceful hand (SRD forceful hand), darkness Price 25,903
Ebony Ring of Death
This black ring is covered in prism-like studs.
Anything within 5 feet of the wearer of an Ebony Ring of Death instantly is affected as if a weakened slay living had been cast on it (DC 12 Fort save, 2d6+0 damage). This effect can be turned on and off with a command word stated by the creator. Also, once per day, the wearer can use slay living as a spell-like ability at will (DC 18, 3d6+12 damage).
Moderate necromancy [Evil]; CL 15; Forge Ring, slay living Price 86,250
Ebony Ring of Blight
The first function of this ring allows a wearer to imbue 10 per day of his or her strikes to infect a victim with filth fever (Fort save DC 12) as if hit by a contagion spell (no incubation period). The second function is to pollute land. As a standard action, the wearer can turn any square of (5x5 ft.) land within 25 ft. (+5 per HD) into blighted land. Blighted land attracts 2d4 vermin such as rats within 1 minute, summoned from a plothole (They act naturally/freely). The land is instantly blackened and it is impossible to cultivate it for farming or otherwise. Digging animals are unable to dig blighted land. (The blight is actually a 5x5x5 ft. cube, so if one dug deeper than 5 ft. below one could get around the blight).
Moderate necromancy [Evil]; CL 10; Forge Ring, desecrate, summon swarm, contagion Price 25,000
Well I like it.
Give your comments, this is the first time I've created magic items, give me your input on my items (try not to tone them down but rather change the requirements at the bottom).
First edit: Added details to BG about cleric, divine power. Added contagion to required spells for Ring of Blight. Toned down Ring of Death.
Second edit: Slay living stuff, like price and weakening. Blight ring now has a little more info on itself.
Third edit: Prices, evermore prices! Some more blight corrections and clarifications.
Fourth edit: Prices! For the first, second and third items. Also changed spell reqs.
Re: [Magic Items] Dark Sorcery of an Enslaved Mind
Ring of Blight might want to have contagion in the list or reqs. too.
Ring of death has turned a touch spell into a continous area effect - I'd say that change warrants more CL increase than three.
You might allso want to add the cleric supplying all the clerical stuff to the backstory in some way - very few of your prerequisites are such as could be cast by an arcanist ;)
Re: [Magic Items] Dark Sorcery of an Enslaved Mind
Okay, well I was thinking the divine spells would be supplied with one of Sauoern's evil Clerics, simple as that.
Contagion, why didn't I think of that!
Now, I know continuous area was really powerful, so I turned down the power... but I guess automatic 3d6 damage is pretty powerful. I dunno whether to up the CL or lower the damage... Nah, I'll up the CL. Would 3 more CL and lessen the area to 5 ft. work well?
Re: [Magic Items]The Dark Sorcery of an Enslaved M
Maybe use a command word to turn it (The Ring of Death) on and off at will. Right now it'd be impossible to move through a crowd or buy stuff (well, you could, but it'd leave a trail of bodies ;D).
Is the name of your evil villain just a coincidence, or is there meaning in the anagram?
Re: [Magic Items] Dark Sorcery of an Enslaved Mind
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adghar
Now, I know continuous area was really powerful, so I turned down the power... but I guess automatic 3d6 damage is pretty powerful. I dunno whether to up the CL or lower the damage... Nah, I'll up the CL. Would 3 more CL and lessen the area to 5 ft. work well?
I'd suggest looking at the only area-death spells - "Circle of Death" (CL11) and "Wail of the Banshee" (CL17) for slightly inspiration and maybe better balance with death or unharmed as option. (Circle kills 0-8HD only)
The reduced area (10' or less) and reduced save-DC is still valid to keep costs down, since a constant death effect, much like a ring of invisibility, should carry a substantial cost increase unless nerfed, since it is so d*rn useful.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/circleofDeath.htm
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wailoftheBanshee.htm
Slay living as an action could be supplied by unnamed priests (I just got the impression from flavor text about labwork that he did all alone) and is a nice thing in a ring [img]devil-smiley-003.gif[/img]
Re: [Magic Items]The Dark Sorcery of an Enslaved M
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Glyphstone
Maybe use a command word to turn it (The Ring of Death) on and off at will. Right now it'd be impossible to move through a crowd or buy stuff (well, you could, but it'd leave a trail of bodies ;D).
Is the name of your evil villain just a coincidence, or is there meaning in the anagram?
Nah, I was just trying to steal a cool and popular name without copyright infringements.
Well y'see with the ring of death, it's a focus of evil, and all this stuff is for evil people, so would you really care if you leave a trail of dead bodies? But I'll add that effect just for the heck of it. Though any paladin, some clerics, and some wizard/sorcerers would still attack you on sight because of your evil nature.
Re: [Magic Items]The Dark Sorcery of an Enslaved M
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adghar
Nah, I was just trying to steal a cool and popular name without copyright infringements.
That makes two of us. ;D
Quote:
Well y'see with the ring of death, it's a focus of evil, and all this stuff is for evil people, so would you really care if you leave a trail of dead bodies? But I'll add that effect just for the heck of it. Though any paladin, some clerics, and some wizard/sorcerers would still attack you on sight because of your evil nature.
True, but remember that evil isn't static. Chaotic evil, for instance, might feel like you describe. Lawful Evil, on the other hand, aren't really evil so much as selfish and uncaring. They're not going to want to leave trails of dead bodies, because angry adventurers/militia members/whatever tend to slow down whatever they're trying to do.
