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Shades of Magic: Eyes of the Dragon

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Draconic Magic Items

Dragons are known to have a deep connection with magic. Those who seek to understand or emulate this connection study such monsters as others that fear their power or hate their ways incant spell and raise sword in opposition. Some seek to tap the dragon’s well of magic, collecting their body parts, while others deify the wyrms, believing them vessels of cosmic alignment or embodiments of godly might, thereby pursuing their own hunger for knowledge and universal insights in the presence of these cunning, ancient reptiles.

Laevateinn

Weapon (any spear), artifact (requires attunement)

This blade was forged from a piece of a scale found when Veles bit into its own tail. The spear’s original forger is unknown, but its destructive force is clear: kingdoms fall at the stroke of this weapon, making it both feared and coveted. The spear is held close by the gods but always seems to appear—miraculously stolen and found in the hands of a mortal—during times of great change. Laevateinn’s blade is a dark brown, almost pitch-black, and the blade’s rough, scaled surface seems to expand and contract as if still upon a breathing dragon. The spear’s pommel is made from gold with three black talons that hold a clear gemstone eye with a pulsing red center. The center of the hilt is a second gemstone that holds a bluish-white liquid which circles in a discernible whirlpool. The shaft is made from a twig of Yggdrasil with light brown wood that has twinkling stars within the shaft’s grain.

You have a +2 to attack and damage rolls with the magical spear. In addition, when you deal damage with this weapon, you deal an additional 1d6 force damage.

Door to Death: On your turn, you can use a bonus action to allow the blade to take control by channeling your desires. You gain temporary hit points equal to your level and then gain 2 of the following effects:

  • The magical bonus granted by Laevateinn increase from +2 to +3
  • Resolve: Gain temporary hit points equal to your level + Con.
  • Ward: Gain resistances to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing weapons
  • Ferocity: Your weapon attacks with Laevateinn deal an additional 1d8 force damage.
  • Apocalypse: Your next weapon hit with Laevateinn will deal an additional 1d4 fire damage, 1d4 cold damage, 1d4 lightning damage.
  • Insanity: Your channeling cannot end or be disrupted until the end of the battle or you are incapacitated or dead.

At the start of each subsequent turn you are channeling your desires, you take 2d6 psychic damage. You can end your channeling as a bonus action on your turn unless you channel Insanity. Once you use this feature, you cannot use it again until you complete a long rest.
Sentience. Laevateinn is a sentient chaotic neutral weapon with an Intelligence of 12, a Wisdom of 14, and a Charisma of 14. It has darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. The weapon communicates telepathically with its wielder and can speak common. It frequently desires to be soaked in some form of destruction. Whilst attuned to the spear, it can understand every language you can.
Personality. Laevateinn speaks in short sentences, often singular action phrases. It desires to be great and to be heralded as a being of strength. Sometimes it speaks about its creation and the gods who tampered with it.

Locket of Dragon Vitality

Wondrous Item, Very Rare (requires attunement)

Legends tell of a dragon whose hide was impenetrable and so tenacious that only a blow to the heart would kill it and an unnamed hero defeated it and tore its heart into two. The dragon’s name was lost but its legacy remains. The amulet is one of two pieces that were crafted to hold its heart. An intricate engraving of a warrior’s sword piercing a dragon’s chest is detailed along the front of the untarnished silver locket. Within the locket is a clear crystal vial with a pulsing piece of a dragon’s heart. The pulses become more frequent when the wearer is close to death.

Attuning to the locket requires the wearer to mix their blood with the blood within the vial. The vial holds three charges of dragon blood that are passively consumed upon reaching certain health thresholds. Dragon blood charges are regained when slaying any dragonkin and draining their heart’s blood into the vial. Attuned wearers gain the following effects:

  • Upon reaching 0 hit points and not dying outright, the vial will break and the dragon heart will stop pulsing rendering the item broken and unrepairable. Having any charge of dragon blood prevents the vial from breaking, but requires 1d4 + 1 days to activate the following effect: The wearer gains temporary HP equal to Level + Con.
  • Upon reaching half of your HP, you passively consume a charge of dragon blood and gain immunity to any type of blood loss effect for 1d4+1 hours. Any existing blood loss effects end upon this activation.
  • Dragon Heart Ritual: If you are also attuned to the Sword of Volsung, you may drain 3 charges of the locket into the Sword of Volsung, rendering this item broken and unrepairable, but passively gain its effects while attuned to the sword. This requires a long rest where you attune with the new Sword of Volsung.

Phidjetz Spinner

Weapon (dart), Uncommon (requires attunement by a monk)

This throwing star (shuriken) was crafted by the monk Phidjetz, a martial recluse obsessed with dragons. The spinner consists of a golden central disk with four metallic dragon heads protruding symmetrically from its center point. The first dragon head is red; the second: white; the third: blue; and, the fourth: black.

The attuned thrower spins the disk with a pinch grip on its center. Balancing it as it spins (dexterity check, the thrower then chooses a single target and rolls to hit at +2. Phidjetz Spinner then flies at the chosen target. These actions count as 1 attack and use no ki points.

Once airborne, Phidjetz Spinner’s red dragon head emits a torch of orange flame; the white one: a blade of blue ice; the blue head: a short bolt of dancing electricity; and, the black one: a tongue of solid greenish acid. After an attack, Phidjetz Spinner flies back to its attuned thrower and is automatically caught/retrieved.

Upon a successful hit, one of the spinner’s dragon heads has pierced the target (regardless of worn armor type). Roll a 1d4 to determine which dragon head has pierced the target:

RESULT

1 – Red: 1d6 fire (burn) damage. Proximate combustible materials on the target ignite, doing 1d4 of damage until the fire is put out.
2 – White: 1d4 cold (freeze) damage. The pierced area suffers the effects of frost burn.
3 – Blue: 1d8 of lightning (electrical) damage. The target is paralyzed for 1 round.
4 – Black: 1d6 acid (corrosion) damage. Proximate materials suffer corrosion damage for 2 rounds.

Soldra’s Staff

Weapon (Staff), Uncommon (requires attunement by a wizard)

Crafted by a skilled wizard and meant to be a spellcaster’s last defense, this staff is five feet tall, made of yew wood that curves at its top, is iron shod at its mid-section, and capped with a silver dragon’s claw that holds a lustrous, though rough and uneven black pearl.

The staff can be wielded as a magic quarterstaff that grants +1 to attack and damage rolls, and has 4 charges. The staff regains charges at dawn, or when the pearl is exposed to direct moonlight for 1 turn.

When used as a weapon, the staff hauntingly howls and whistles like the wind. When its spells are employed, the staff chirps like insects on a hot summer night.

Spells. Faerie Fire (3 charges), Gust of Wind (1 charge).

Sword of Volsung

Longsword or Greatsword, Very Rare (requires attunement by Fighter or Paladin)

Legends tell of a dragon whose hide was impenetrable and so robust that only a blow to the heart would kill it. The legend concludes that an unnamed hero defeated it and tore its heart into two. Though the dragon’s name was lost, its legacy remains. This sword was one of two items that were crafted to hold its heart. The Sword of Volsung’s blade is black and adorned by glittering silver runes, while its guard has a shallow opening at the center and grooves connect it to the first rune. The sword’s pommel is a large clear crystal held fast by silver scales.

You have +2 to attack and damage rolls when wielding this magical sword, you deal damage with this weapon to dragonkin, you deal an addition 1d4 of slashing damage. Attuned wearers gain the following effects:

  • Runes of Courage: Gain immunity to fear.
  • Dragon Heart Ritual: If you are also attuned to the Locket of Dragon Vitality, you may drain 3 charges of the locket into the sword, rendering that item broken and unrepairable, but passively gain its effects while attuned to the sword. This requires a long rest where you attune with the new Sword of Volsung. Upon completing the Dragon Heart Ritual, the Sword of Volsung contains all remaining charges from the Locket of Dragon Vitality. On your turn, you may consume 2 charges to activate Fragment of Gram Awakened. The sword regains charges after the wielder slays any dragonkin.
  • Fragment of Gram Awakened: For 1d2 days, your Sword of Volsung becomes a Fragment of Gram. You have +3 to attack and damage rolls with the magical sword and deal an additional 1d6 of slashing damage. Upon reaching 0 hit points and not dying outright, gain temporary hit points equal to 1d4 + Lvl + Con, this effect cannot be used again until after completing a long rest.

Tarian Graddfeydd Ddraig

Armor (shield), Very rare

This metal shield has an outer coating consisting of hardened shellac (resinous insectoid secretions dissolved in alcohol) embedded with flakes from ground dragon scales collected from various living dragon wyrmlings and one dracolich (information on the undead dragon’s type was lost when the records at the Library of Mux were lost in an all-consuming fire). When artificial or natural light hits Graddfyedd Ddraig, the shield reflects prismatic colors. This shield is considered heavy (large and cumbersome) and requires a minimum Str 16 to wield it. (Consult with your GM for gp value if this shield is to be sold.)

While holding this shield, you have a +2 (+3 vs. dracolichs) bonus to AC, you are resistant to acid, cold, electrical and fire damage imparted by a dracolich’s life drain as well as draconian breath weapons. (Consult with your GM: this could mean damage severity is reduced, such as from deadly to dangerous, if the PC is surprised and only partially covered by the shield or if resistance imparts a saving throw advantage, such as when engaged with an especially powerful dragon, or that the shield offers total resistance, such as if the PC crouches behind the shield while within the cone of a dragon’s breath weapon, or if the draconian foe is younger/smaller.)

When sufficient light is available (consult with your GM: this could mean torch or sunlight), the shield’s dragon scale flakes have reflective qualities which create the following effect during melee, regardless of the opponent:

  • Color Spray: Dazzling array of flashing, colored light springs from your shield. Roll 6d10, the total is how many hit points of creatures this spell can effect. Creatures in a 15-foot cone originating from you are affected in ascending order of their current hit points (ignoring unconscious creatures and creatures that can’t see). Starting with the creature that has the lowest current hit points, each creature affected by this effect is blinded. Subtract each creature’s hit points from the total before moving on to the creature with the next lowest hit points. A creature’s hit points must be equal to or less than the remaining total for the creature to be affected.

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