Custom artifacts in your campaigns

[Yora]

I love artifacts, but sadly I never got to include any in my games. The fact that I almost only run low-level campaigns is certainly a factor, but for such cases less powerful artifacts could be created. But mostly, I'm lacking ideas for interesting artifacts and how to use them in a campaign.
So let's share, everyone!

Not sure if the DM actually thought of it as an artifact, but I once was a player in a game that had an item that certainly seemed like one. Unfortunately I wasn't around the day it was introduced.
It was a baatorian dagger that was quite powerful, but drained souls. The warmage who ended up with it went through lengthy negotiations with the devil who had created it to come to an agreement that he would get back ownership of his soul if he managed to capture 100 souls by draining the life force of his victims with the dagger. As an evil character, that was no problem for him, but he ended up being desintegrated by a beholder way before he had reached that quota and even if the party cleric had been inclined to resurrect him, his soul was trapped in hell. And nobody in the party had any intention to free that soul from a powerful devils possession.

[panaikhan]

I (and my fellow players) became the 'victims' of the worst artifact-level item in history.

The GM had built up the awe and wonder of this item - absolutely everyone wanted it, were killing each other to get it, and the PC's ended up with it.
It took us several weeks (in-game time) to figure out how to operate it, and then wished we hadn't.
OOC: the item, when activated, rewrote the universe from D&D2.x to D&D3.0

Recalculating our characters sucked. Our recalculated characters sucked. The campaign lasted a few more sessions before collapsing completely.

[Pink]

I plan on including a minor artifact as loot for my players after they finish beating this cult.

Honestly I would enjoy any feedback on it and further suggestions on it, as right now its basically a pearl of power type item. Don't want it too powerful though, as the party is just on the chap of level 3 right now.

Ritual knife of the bloody dagger chaos cult
Once per day, this dagger can be used to gain additional magic powers at the cost of a blood sacrifice.
By using the dagger to inflict a number of hit points, a caster gains the use of an additional spell. If a caster prepares spells, they may use the ritual knife during spell preparation to prepare an additional spell of a level they can cast. A spontaneous caster may use the ritual knife to gain an additional spell per day of a level that they can cast. These additional spells remain until the next time a character prepares spells or regains their spells per day.
The hit point cost is equal to the square of the spell level gained (minimum 2 points of damage). These hit points may be paid by either the caster, as a standard action that does not provoke AoOs, or by a willing or helpless humanoid as a one minute ritual.
A cleric or Druid may prepare a spell with the chaos or evil subtype as the spell granted by the dagger, even if they they would otherwise be unable. Use of the dagger is an act or worship to the galchutt, and repeated use may cause a shift in alignment or damage a divine caster connection to their patron.
The dagger functions as a +1 vicious dagger in combat.

[gbprime]

I actually gave out an artifact at level 3 in my last campaign... and it was a terrible burden that they dared not make much use of. I started with the idea of a Ring of Elemental Command (seems to be a lesser ring, in this case of Fire Resistance, until it is fully activated) and then upscaled it from there.

As with all things, it's a long story. :smallbiggrin:

The Ring of Kaervas (long story)
Kaervas, Prince of Ash

This tale is a myth, a legend many hundreds of years old, about the fall of the Soldaran Kingdom. It was once the main rival of Imperial Wyrthen, located in the lands to the west of the Skyspire Mountains, and only those mountains kept them from going to war. Now those western lands are barren wastelands of ash and rock, where no water flows and only tribes of nomads roam. The doom that befell this land… is known by the name Kaervas (kay-air-VOSS).

Centuries ago, the Kingdom of Soldara was a prospering realm, nestled against the western slopes of the Skyspire mountains. Though the land was arid, their people thrived along a fertile river valley that ran westward across the plains. Their military history was strong, having to constantly war against the hobgoblin tribes of the steppes. But when the hobgoblins were finally defeated and forced back into the mountains, Soldara soon found itself with a sizable army and no one to fight.

Like so many human lands, they then sought to expand their borders. Bringing the nomad tribes under their command was an easy feat, but the lands to the west (unnamed in this tale) proved a more difficult conquest, and the ruler of the land, King Tulanir III, was vexed. They turned to feats of magic to enhance their armies, for the Summoners of Soldara nearly rivaled the Imperial Magi of Wyrthen themselves. They bound elementals to their forces to aid in battle, beings of fire and cruel intellect, enslaved to the will of the Summoners.

This… was their undoing. On the eve of their greatest campaign, five Summoners joined their power to conjure and enslave a mighty being of fire, an Efreeti Sultan, to serve as a commander in the assault on their remaining foes to the west. The summoning succeeded, but the will of the mages was not enough, for they had underestimated the strength of their slave.

Kaervas was his name, Efreeti of royal bearing and power, and his first act upon this plane was to incinerate the circle that bound him, and indeed the whole of the Nexus of Ways (the guildhouse of the Summoners), in a column of fire that was said to rise “fifty leagues into the sky”. As the molten rock that was once the hillock occupied by the Nexus poured through the streets of the capital, Kaervas sped westward to discover what had become of the others of his kind. He freed the other efreet, and the lesser creatures of fire, and led them against the Soldaran troops they had once marched alongside.

With the capital in flames, and much of it’s military destroyed, Soldara did what it could to prepare for the wrath of the Efreeti Lord. Elementals of water were summoned, alchemical salves were prepared and handed to the troops, and the people around the capital were scattered into the hills so that a battle at the city would not claim many innocent lives. But Kaervas was more cunning than that, and did not attack.

Instead, he vowed that the land would burn. If the magi of this land valued his fiery kinfolk so much, then he would remake the land so that efreet would feel more at home. Beginning at the westernmost edge of the Soldaran kingdom, his Army of Fire razed everything in sight, systematically destroying every grassland, every forest, every farm… in a firestorm that never stopped moving, never rested, and never slept. As the people fled to the kingdoms to the west, or southward past the blazing forests, the Soldaran King watched as his empire literally turned to ash.

But one Summoner, the wizardess Etatha, refused to believe all was lost. She worked feverishly for many nights, using what remaining lore there was, and whispers from the minds of the five dead Summoners who had conjured Kaervas, until she finally devised a prison that could hold him. She created a simple brass ring, and bound into it the true name of the Efreeti Lord, and the strongest protections from his kind she could wield.

Out she rode to meet the Army of Fire, and alone she stood in its path. Her phantom steed stood unmoving as the fiery horde bore down upon her, and it was then that she donned the ring. A gasp, like a great crackle of flame overcame the army as she held out her hand and willed them to stop. Enraged, Kaervas flew to the fore and called upon a great firestorm to smite the mage. When the fire passed, she stood unharmed, and with a quick gesture, forced the Efreeti Lord to his knees. One by one, his army was dismissed, until Kaervas alone remained, and Etatha commanded him that he should never harm another of Soldaran blood again.

With the Efreeti Lord in her command, she returned triumphant to the capital. There, Kaervas was humiliated in the halls of the King, and sent out to plant trees along the riverbank. Many months passed, and the people returned to their normal lives. On and on Kaervas labored, building monuments and roads of fire-blasted rock.

On one of these labors, crafting a road high into the mountains over the Alkire River, Kaervas happened upon a band of trolls. Rather than smite the fearful brutes, he offered to spare them, and even grant them wishes with his mighty sorcery, if they would but do him a service. Kaervas could not harm one of Soldaran blood, but the trolls certainly could…

Kaervas tarried long in the mountain pass, working very slowly. Soon Etatha came to see what was taking her slave so long, and she was set upon by the trolls, concealed from her as they were by Kaervas’ sorcery. She was unprepared to fight beings that only fire could kill, and Kaervas was quite slow in dispatching the trolls that assailed her. The last sight Etatha’s eyes beheld was a troll, chewing on the arm that had been ripped from her shoulder, and the Ring that she had crafted, tumbling into the Alkire River far below.

Kaervas’ revenge was swift. Summoning his court of Efreeti once more, he called down a rain of fire upon Soldara. The land withered and burned to ash, as the clouds themselves pelted the kingdom in flames. King Tulanir gave up all hope, and led his soldiers and remaining people over the Skyspire Mountains in a desperate march to find a new home. (This is a tale unto itself, as remembered in the ballad “The Spire of Scarlet and Flame”)

Now, the lands to the west are a barren wasteland, where even the river valley is dry, as if scoured by some ancient flame. The roads remain, as do some long abandoned fortresses in a plain of ash. The people who yet live here dwell in the places the rain of fire did not touch, in the southern forest or along the icy northern coast. The lineage of Soldaran kings is ended, and the Summoners and their lore are no more.

Of Kaervas, nothing more is known, and the Ring that commands him has never been found… or so it was believed.


The Second Tale of Kaervas, as pieced together by Master Theolin Starseeker

A little under 300 years ago, most likely in the summer of common year 2721, a half elf by the name of Biarr (Biarr the Black, Biarr the Butcher, and a number of other lovely epithets) and his band recovered the Ring of Kaervas during a trip up the Alkire river valley. It is unknown whether he fished it out of the river or looted it off of someone who did not know what it was. But he discovered its true nature soon enough, and summoned forth the furious efreet lord once more.

Biarr was working in the service of the Amundar, an order of priests and wizards dedicated to the service of a particular bloodline of red dragons. They had set up a temple to their dragon masters in the village of Red Mill, and it is there that Biarr brought the Ring. The cult was overjoyed, and wasted no time in commanding Kaervas to build them a proper temple fortress, one that would serve as a suitable lair for their masters, and project their power throughout the region. The efreet lord built them a grand structure to the south of Red Mill. They named it the Citadel of Fangs and sent a call to Kivrathar, the eldest dragon of the bloodline to come and see what they had made.

Kaervas, meanwhile, was still seeking a way to break free. A clumsy use of a command to move earth and stone gave him the opportunity he needed. With a wave of his hand, he caused the ground to split open in a mighty earthquake, and a great fissure swallowed the fortress he had built. Most of the Amundar were crushed within, including the one who bore the Ring that bound him. With the ring gone once more, Kaervas then burned the village of Red Mill to the ground for fun.

That was where the great red wyrm Kivrathar found him. The beautiful fortress she had traveled so many leagues to see was a ruin at the bottom of a fissure, and all her loyal cultists were either burned or buried alive. Fury and indignation clouded over the dragon’s eyes, and she launched herself at the Efreeti lord. A titanic battle was the result, and the land cracked and burned as the two epic foes blasted one another with mighty magics and rock-shattering blows.

In the end, Kivrathar was victorious. The dragon did not have the power to end the life of such a being as Kaervas, so she chose to imprison him instead. She sucked the life essence out of the efreet lord’s mangled body, and formed a ruby the size of a man’s fist into a prison to hold him. She named the gem The Eye of Fire and imbued it with magical powers so it would be harder to destroy.

The gem became part of Kivrathar’s horde and remained there until her death in 2727 at the hands of Janthraag, Avatar of Kreig. Her offspring came and carted away most of her treasures afterward, and the Eye of Fire passed into the lair of Kivaraxis, atop the ruined Red Tower. It is doubtful the young red dragon ever knew what the gem really was.


The Third Tale of Kaervas, as told by Master Theolin Starseeker

In the spring of the common year 3009, the ruins of the fallen Citadel of Fangs was successfully explored and cleared of goblins by a band of treasure hunters operating out of Wyrthen. Among the treasures they brought back from the sunless fissure was a magical brass ring that they had unearthed from beneath a heavy rock fall. (It took them two full days to unearth, having only noticed the ring’s faint magical signal after they had started removing un-looted corpses from beneath a hall filled with rubble.)

The young sorceress of the band, Meagan Randagale, now a member of this order, claimed the ring as her share of the treasures and brought it to me for identification. Once I discovered what it truly was, she decided that she no longer wanted to keep it, as a growing number of people would covet the reality-changing magics that the efreet within could bring to bear. She decided to trade it to the necromancer Kylee Darkfalcon in exchange for a number of favors and a sizable amount of gold coin.

Kylee intended to use the ring, but she was being quite cautious about it. I knew it wouldn’t work, as Kaervas was still bound within the Eye of Fire, but she didn’t ask about such things, and I am not one to pry into other mage’s business. She determined that the efreet was bound elsewhere on her own, likely somewhere beneath the Red Tower. Meagan Randagale and my own apprentice, Jaust Crann-Coill, had assembled their companions and were intending to travel to the dragon’s lair on diplomatic business already (another story entirely!), and agreed to locate and identify the binding item within the hoard so that she might purchase it later.

They not only identified the item, but they bargained the dragon into trading for it, and returned five weeks later with the Eye of Fire in hand. Kylee then spent several months preparing to use the ring. In September of 3010, she did so with the aid of Jaust and Meagan, and bargained with Kaervas to gain certain immunities and immortality… in exchange for agreeing to not use the Ring again.

Understandably, with the ring out of the way, the efreet lord did as he pleased, which began with burning a miles-wide swath of ash into the heart of the Dark Forest, near the Andavi Gate. My apprentice decided to claim the Ring for himself and command Kaervas to return to his native realm, effectively banishing him from this plane. The efreet lord was not happy, but certainly not as angry as if Jaust had asked him to serve. Jaust Cran-Coill is the current bearer of the ring, and at my advice wears it at all times to prevent possible retaliation.


The Properties of the Ring of Kaervas

Having had the luxury of ample time to study the Ring, I have examined its magical energies in an attempt to codify and classify them. I must say, Etatha did a remarkable job, especially with the hurried conditions under which she worked. The Ring’s power is drawn partly from Kaervas himself, and as such was substantially less powerful while Kaervas was bound within the Eye of Fire. Presumably, were Kaervas to perish, the Ring would cease functioning altogether. But while the efreet lord lives freely, I have determined the Ring to possess the following powers:

• Elemental Invulnerability – the wearer of the Ring is completely immune to all fire and heat based effects upon his person. The protection seems total, and seems to extend to the wearer’s belongings.

• Elemental Sanctity – the wearer cannot be harmed or affected by any elemental being of fire unless they first attack, harm, or corner said elemental being. Should that occur, the ring adds a +8 dodge bonus and +8 to the saving throws of the wearer against creatures of elemental fire.

• Elemental Command – the ring permits near total control of the Efreet Sultan Kaervas. There is no spell resistance or saving throw for this, only deviousness and poorly worded commands can cause him to slip control. Against any other Native of the Elemental Plane of Fire, the wearer can attempt to Dominate or Banish the creature. Spell resistance does not apply, but a will save of DC (8 + character level) will allow the creature to resist. Should the elemental native succeed on the saving throw, the elemental may then choose to attack the wearer as noted above.

[Qwertystop]

This is one I just thought of:
Ring of Viral Dominate
Wear the ring, cast Dominate Person at-will until someone fails a will save to it. DC is as though you were a Wizard of your level, with your highest stat for the bonus, and Heightened with no cap. That person now, in addition to the normal effects of dominatedness, has an aura that casts Dominate Person, same high DC, on a random target within 30 feet every hour. The people dominated by this gain the same aura, etc.. All who are dominated are directly commanded by the wearer of the ring. If the ring is worn by someone else, all Dominate effects are cancelled.

The Dominate effect is different in a few ways. Firstly, if someone is not given an order, they act normally, as though they were not Dominated. This means that the Sense Motive check to realize they are enchanted is not easier. They do not have any automatic knowledge of their dominatedness. Also, if they are given an order that goes against their nature, they do not get the bonus on their save, and if they make the save, it stops them from carrying out the order, but they must make a second save to break free. Self-destructive orders can be given, but with a +5 bonus to the save, and this save will break them free without a second one. The concentration for preventing a daily save can be done for all controlled people at once.


NOTE: This should not get into player's control unless it is a highly-evil party, or so far into the middle of nowhere that it cannot spread much, or high-epic.

[Funkyodor]

Entered a large Greyhawk campaign where the PC's had found the Sword of Tyr. A custom artifact that if not returned to a shrine 1/2 a world away, Ragnarok would begin. When it was first pulled from the comatose body of Surtur (they thought he was dead, and didn't know he was Surtur) it became whatever sword the wielder wanted. The wielder can't lie, can't turn a blind eye to someone in need, and can't turn a deaf ear to a cry for help. This is etched in Norse on the blade, the other side had something about causing destruction to anyone who doesn't obey. So, that put off some of the players. But on the upside, on a successful hit the opponent must save or be struck blind, deaf, or dumb based on whether or not he lied, turned a blind eye, or deaf ear. (Save or suck). It could be summoned in hand like from a glove of storing. I think it was a +3 or something like that.

[Re'ozul]

I created one for fun for my campaign so far.

Dagger of Life

"It seemed blunt to the touch, our warforged lost his finger"
This plain dagger is made of an unknown substance that is both light but very resilient. It has many different colors but no actual shift in substance could be found.
This dagger automatically resizes itself to the user's size category and does damage as if it was 2 sizes larger than that. Any metallic material it comes into contact with is easily cleaved in two.
When making an attack against an enemy that wears metallic armor, the attacker gets an automatic sunder attempt against said armor as long as he hits the opponent.
If used to attack any organic being the dagger loses all momentum the moment it touches the skin of said being.
Against objects and beings made of metal however it always deals maximum damage and ignores all hardness or DR.
For all other aspects it is a +5 vorpal dagger.

[Malimar]

My first campaign revolved around defeating and eventually killing a minor god. I left it mysterious as to how this guy had managed to get himself deified (especially at a level weak enough to be defeated by a non-epic party), but it was to be resolved with the revelation that he had acquired a super-powerful artifact that made him (and certain areas under his control) immune to being perceived or affected by any creature with divine ranks. (The party's wizard wanted to kill all gods, so that would have been some nice story synergy, too.) The party wiped and the campaign was lost before they even learned about that artifact.

In my current campaign, I introduced the Evil Encyclopedia of Evil (http://luduscarcerum.blogspot.com/2011/06/evil-encyclopedia-of-evil.html), mostly for the sake of having a handy macguffin when I need one. There are 17 volumes, and an indefinite number of copies of each volume, so there are potentially several BBEGs working on their EEoE collections. (My games are not actually E6, but they almost might as well be; PCs rarely even crack level 10, and most of the more powerful NPCs are half that. So the Apocalypse from the Sky effect isn't something anybody is likely to ever be able to achieve on their own.)

[Milo v3]

My campaign setting is actually named after an artefact so powerful even the gods want it.
It has enough power that it can turn even the weakest mortal into a deity. It is sentient and gains the power of anything it kills. It can change its form to any weapon & armor at the same time. And it makes the user practically invincable.

[big teej]

take a gander at some sci fi.

brew away.

for instance, I have a group that if they ever travel to Archeron (or I if I can lead the plot there)

they're going to find these nifty lil swords.... strange, heavy swords the size of a bastard sword, but with a serated edge, and rune incrusted hilts and pommels.

after fiddling around with it for a bit, the sword emits a shriek like unto a banshee and the serrations begin to move faster than the eye can see, leaving only a blur.

-ahem-
"it seems you've found a chainsword"

[BluesEclipse]

take a gander at some sci fi.

brew away.

for instance, I have a group that if they ever travel to Archeron (or I if I can lead the plot there)

they're going to find these nifty lil swords.... strange, heavy swords the size of a bastard sword, but with a serated edge, and rune incrusted hilts and pommels.

after fiddling around with it for a bit, the sword emits a shriek like unto a banshee and the serrations begin to move faster than the eye can see, leaving only a blur.

-ahem-
"it seems you've found a chainsword"

Chainswords, eh? Sounds fun...

I actually statted out the Chozo Power Suit(from Metroid) as a major artifact for one of my games. I'll have to see if I can find the stats I put together for it at some point...

[Kansaschaser]

Monkey Wrench

This tiny monkey statue has all the normal monkey features, however all the limbs on the monkey seem to be made of tools, including the tail.

Activation: When placed on a machine or in a machine, this tiny monkey statue automatically activates.

Effect: When activated, this statue crawls into the depths of a machine. It wreaks mechanical havoc, causing the machine to stop functioning. An affected machine stops working for 2d6 minutes. The monkey wrench can even stop another artifact from working, as long as the artifact is mechanical in nature.

Aura/Caster: Overpowering Transmutation / 25th

Construction: Animate Object, Awaken Construct, Craft Wonderous Item, Craft Epic Wonderous Item, 250,000 gp, 10,000 xp, 500 days.

Weight: 1lb.

Price: 500,000 gp

Destruction: The monkey wrench must be taken to Mechanus by a Tinker Gnome and spend one full year there without activating.

Background: This monkey was once used on the Clock of Time (another artifact). The Clock of Time prevents time travel and paradoxes. When the monkey wrench stopped the clock, it allowed the adventurers to open a portal through time. The portal only stayed open for as long as the Clock of Time was not working.

[big teej]

I (and my fellow players) became the 'victims' of the worst artifact-level item in history.

The GM had built up the awe and wonder of this item - absolutely everyone wanted it, were killing each other to get it, and the PC's ended up with it.
It took us several weeks (in-game time) to figure out how to operate it, and then wished we hadn't.
OOC: the item, when activated, rewrote the universe from D&D2.x to D&D3.0

Recalculating our characters sucked. Our recalculated characters sucked. The campaign lasted a few more sessions before collapsing completely.

aside from the campaign shattering effects, I would actually find this highly amusing, even in my own game.

[big teej]

Chainswords, eh? Sounds fun...


the idea came to me while reading the DMG's fluffy bits about the planes, it mentioned something along the lines of 'any weapon can be found amongst the carnage and debries of archeron'

and chainswords were the first thing that came to mind.

I've yet to stat them out but it'll be something along the lines of

"as a bastard sword, but 2d8 damage and 18-20x2 crit"

that sounds okay for a minor artifact weapon doesn't it?

[Kansaschaser]

I (and my fellow players) became the 'victims' of the worst artifact-level item in history.

The GM had built up the awe and wonder of this item - absolutely everyone wanted it, were killing each other to get it, and the PC's ended up with it.
It took us several weeks (in-game time) to figure out how to operate it, and then wished we hadn't.
OOC: the item, when activated, rewrote the universe from D&D2.x to D&D3.0

Recalculating our characters sucked. Our recalculated characters sucked. The campaign lasted a few more sessions before collapsing completely.

I would have asked if the artifact could update the D&D world to 3.5 or Pathfinder, but not 3.0. Other than that, I would love that artifact.

Especially if it could rewrite the game settings. If my DM decided to play in Ravenloft, I would use the artifact to change it to Eberron or Forgotten Realms. Ravenloft needs to go the way of the Dodo bird.

[Pink]

I actually gave out an artifact at level 3 in my last campaign... and it was a terrible burden that they dared not make much use of. I started with the idea of a Ring of Elemental Command (seems to be a lesser ring, in this case of Fire Resistance, until it is fully activated) and then upscaled it from there.

As with all things, it's a long story. :smallbiggrin:

The Ring of Kaervas (long story)
Kaervas, Prince of Ash

This tale is a myth, a legend many hundreds of years old, about the fall of the Soldaran Kingdom. It was once the main rival of Imperial Wyrthen, located in the lands to the west of the Skyspire Mountains, and only those mountains kept them from going to war. Now those western lands are barren wastelands of ash and rock, where no water flows and only tribes of nomads roam. The doom that befell this land… is known by the name Kaervas (kay-air-VOSS).

Centuries ago, the Kingdom of Soldara was a prospering realm, nestled against the western slopes of the Skyspire mountains. Though the land was arid, their people thrived along a fertile river valley that ran westward across the plains. Their military history was strong, having to constantly war against the hobgoblin tribes of the steppes. But when the hobgoblins were finally defeated and forced back into the mountains, Soldara soon found itself with a sizable army and no one to fight.

Like so many human lands, they then sought to expand their borders. Bringing the nomad tribes under their command was an easy feat, but the lands to the west (unnamed in this tale) proved a more difficult conquest, and the ruler of the land, King Tulanir III, was vexed. They turned to feats of magic to enhance their armies, for the Summoners of Soldara nearly rivaled the Imperial Magi of Wyrthen themselves. They bound elementals to their forces to aid in battle, beings of fire and cruel intellect, enslaved to the will of the Summoners.

This… was their undoing. On the eve of their greatest campaign, five Summoners joined their power to conjure and enslave a mighty being of fire, an Efreeti Sultan, to serve as a commander in the assault on their remaining foes to the west. The summoning succeeded, but the will of the mages was not enough, for they had underestimated the strength of their slave.

Kaervas was his name, Efreeti of royal bearing and power, and his first act upon this plane was to incinerate the circle that bound him, and indeed the whole of the Nexus of Ways (the guildhouse of the Summoners), in a column of fire that was said to rise “fifty leagues into the sky”. As the molten rock that was once the hillock occupied by the Nexus poured through the streets of the capital, Kaervas sped westward to discover what had become of the others of his kind. He freed the other efreet, and the lesser creatures of fire, and led them against the Soldaran troops they had once marched alongside.

With the capital in flames, and much of it’s military destroyed, Soldara did what it could to prepare for the wrath of the Efreeti Lord. Elementals of water were summoned, alchemical salves were prepared and handed to the troops, and the people around the capital were scattered into the hills so that a battle at the city would not claim many innocent lives. But Kaervas was more cunning than that, and did not attack.

Instead, he vowed that the land would burn. If the magi of this land valued his fiery kinfolk so much, then he would remake the land so that efreet would feel more at home. Beginning at the westernmost edge of the Soldaran kingdom, his Army of Fire razed everything in sight, systematically destroying every grassland, every forest, every farm… in a firestorm that never stopped moving, never rested, and never slept. As the people fled to the kingdoms to the west, or southward past the blazing forests, the Soldaran King watched as his empire literally turned to ash.

But one Summoner, the wizardess Etatha, refused to believe all was lost. She worked feverishly for many nights, using what remaining lore there was, and whispers from the minds of the five dead Summoners who had conjured Kaervas, until she finally devised a prison that could hold him. She created a simple brass ring, and bound into it the true name of the Efreeti Lord, and the strongest protections from his kind she could wield.

Out she rode to meet the Army of Fire, and alone she stood in its path. Her phantom steed stood unmoving as the fiery horde bore down upon her, and it was then that she donned the ring. A gasp, like a great crackle of flame overcame the army as she held out her hand and willed them to stop. Enraged, Kaervas flew to the fore and called upon a great firestorm to smite the mage. When the fire passed, she stood unharmed, and with a quick gesture, forced the Efreeti Lord to his knees. One by one, his army was dismissed, until Kaervas alone remained, and Etatha commanded him that he should never harm another of Soldaran blood again.

With the Efreeti Lord in her command, she returned triumphant to the capital. There, Kaervas was humiliated in the halls of the King, and sent out to plant trees along the riverbank. Many months passed, and the people returned to their normal lives. On and on Kaervas labored, building monuments and roads of fire-blasted rock.

On one of these labors, crafting a road high into the mountains over the Alkire River, Kaervas happened upon a band of trolls. Rather than smite the fearful brutes, he offered to spare them, and even grant them wishes with his mighty sorcery, if they would but do him a service. Kaervas could not harm one of Soldaran blood, but the trolls certainly could…

Kaervas tarried long in the mountain pass, working very slowly. Soon Etatha came to see what was taking her slave so long, and she was set upon by the trolls, concealed from her as they were by Kaervas’ sorcery. She was unprepared to fight beings that only fire could kill, and Kaervas was quite slow in dispatching the trolls that assailed her. The last sight Etatha’s eyes beheld was a troll, chewing on the arm that had been ripped from her shoulder, and the Ring that she had crafted, tumbling into the Alkire River far below.

Kaervas’ revenge was swift. Summoning his court of Efreeti once more, he called down a rain of fire upon Soldara. The land withered and burned to ash, as the clouds themselves pelted the kingdom in flames. King Tulanir gave up all hope, and led his soldiers and remaining people over the Skyspire Mountains in a desperate march to find a new home. (This is a tale unto itself, as remembered in the ballad “The Spire of Scarlet and Flame”)

Now, the lands to the west are a barren wasteland, where even the river valley is dry, as if scoured by some ancient flame. The roads remain, as do some long abandoned fortresses in a plain of ash. The people who yet live here dwell in the places the rain of fire did not touch, in the southern forest or along the icy northern coast. The lineage of Soldaran kings is ended, and the Summoners and their lore are no more.

Of Kaervas, nothing more is known, and the Ring that commands him has never been found… or so it was believed.


The Second Tale of Kaervas, as pieced together by Master Theolin Starseeker

A little under 300 years ago, most likely in the summer of common year 2721, a half elf by the name of Biarr (Biarr the Black, Biarr the Butcher, and a number of other lovely epithets) and his band recovered the Ring of Kaervas during a trip up the Alkire river valley. It is unknown whether he fished it out of the river or looted it off of someone who did not know what it was. But he discovered its true nature soon enough, and summoned forth the furious efreet lord once more.

Biarr was working in the service of the Amundar, an order of priests and wizards dedicated to the service of a particular bloodline of red dragons. They had set up a temple to their dragon masters in the village of Red Mill, and it is there that Biarr brought the Ring. The cult was overjoyed, and wasted no time in commanding Kaervas to build them a proper temple fortress, one that would serve as a suitable lair for their masters, and project their power throughout the region. The efreet lord built them a grand structure to the south of Red Mill. They named it the Citadel of Fangs and sent a call to Kivrathar, the eldest dragon of the bloodline to come and see what they had made.

Kaervas, meanwhile, was still seeking a way to break free. A clumsy use of a command to move earth and stone gave him the opportunity he needed. With a wave of his hand, he caused the ground to split open in a mighty earthquake, and a great fissure swallowed the fortress he had built. Most of the Amundar were crushed within, including the one who bore the Ring that bound him. With the ring gone once more, Kaervas then burned the village of Red Mill to the ground for fun.

That was where the great red wyrm Kivrathar found him. The beautiful fortress she had traveled so many leagues to see was a ruin at the bottom of a fissure, and all her loyal cultists were either burned or buried alive. Fury and indignation clouded over the dragon’s eyes, and she launched herself at the Efreeti lord. A titanic battle was the result, and the land cracked and burned as the two epic foes blasted one another with mighty magics and rock-shattering blows.

In the end, Kivrathar was victorious. The dragon did not have the power to end the life of such a being as Kaervas, so she chose to imprison him instead. She sucked the life essence out of the efreet lord’s mangled body, and formed a ruby the size of a man’s fist into a prison to hold him. She named the gem The Eye of Fire and imbued it with magical powers so it would be harder to destroy.

The gem became part of Kivrathar’s horde and remained there until her death in 2727 at the hands of Janthraag, Avatar of Kreig. Her offspring came and carted away most of her treasures afterward, and the Eye of Fire passed into the lair of Kivaraxis, atop the ruined Red Tower. It is doubtful the young red dragon ever knew what the gem really was.


The Third Tale of Kaervas, as told by Master Theolin Starseeker

In the spring of the common year 3009, the ruins of the fallen Citadel of Fangs was successfully explored and cleared of goblins by a band of treasure hunters operating out of Wyrthen. Among the treasures they brought back from the sunless fissure was a magical brass ring that they had unearthed from beneath a heavy rock fall. (It took them two full days to unearth, having only noticed the ring’s faint magical signal after they had started removing un-looted corpses from beneath a hall filled with rubble.)

The young sorceress of the band, Meagan Randagale, now a member of this order, claimed the ring as her share of the treasures and brought it to me for identification. Once I discovered what it truly was, she decided that she no longer wanted to keep it, as a growing number of people would covet the reality-changing magics that the efreet within could bring to bear. She decided to trade it to the necromancer Kylee Darkfalcon in exchange for a number of favors and a sizable amount of gold coin.

Kylee intended to use the ring, but she was being quite cautious about it. I knew it wouldn’t work, as Kaervas was still bound within the Eye of Fire, but she didn’t ask about such things, and I am not one to pry into other mage’s business. She determined that the efreet was bound elsewhere on her own, likely somewhere beneath the Red Tower. Meagan Randagale and my own apprentice, Jaust Crann-Coill, had assembled their companions and were intending to travel to the dragon’s lair on diplomatic business already (another story entirely!), and agreed to locate and identify the binding item within the hoard so that she might purchase it later.

They not only identified the item, but they bargained the dragon into trading for it, and returned five weeks later with the Eye of Fire in hand. Kylee then spent several months preparing to use the ring. In September of 3010, she did so with the aid of Jaust and Meagan, and bargained with Kaervas to gain certain immunities and immortality… in exchange for agreeing to not use the Ring again.

Understandably, with the ring out of the way, the efreet lord did as he pleased, which began with burning a miles-wide swath of ash into the heart of the Dark Forest, near the Andavi Gate. My apprentice decided to claim the Ring for himself and command Kaervas to return to his native realm, effectively banishing him from this plane. The efreet lord was not happy, but certainly not as angry as if Jaust had asked him to serve. Jaust Cran-Coill is the current bearer of the ring, and at my advice wears it at all times to prevent possible retaliation.


The Properties of the Ring of Kaervas

Having had the luxury of ample time to study the Ring, I have examined its magical energies in an attempt to codify and classify them. I must say, Etatha did a remarkable job, especially with the hurried conditions under which she worked. The Ring’s power is drawn partly from Kaervas himself, and as such was substantially less powerful while Kaervas was bound within the Eye of Fire. Presumably, were Kaervas to perish, the Ring would cease functioning altogether. But while the efreet lord lives freely, I have determined the Ring to possess the following powers:

• Elemental Invulnerability – the wearer of the Ring is completely immune to all fire and heat based effects upon his person. The protection seems total, and seems to extend to the wearer’s belongings.

• Elemental Sanctity – the wearer cannot be harmed or affected by any elemental being of fire unless they first attack, harm, or corner said elemental being. Should that occur, the ring adds a +8 dodge bonus and +8 to the saving throws of the wearer against creatures of elemental fire.

• Elemental Command – the ring permits near total control of the Efreet Sultan Kaervas. There is no spell resistance or saving throw for this, only deviousness and poorly worded commands can cause him to slip control. Against any other Native of the Elemental Plane of Fire, the wearer can attempt to Dominate or Banish the creature. Spell resistance does not apply, but a will save of DC (8 + character level) will allow the creature to resist. Should the elemental native succeed on the saving throw, the elemental may then choose to attack the wearer as noted above.


Nobody has said it yet, so allow me to say that you've written a very good and awesome story and fitting artifact to go with it. Well done.