Shiny, Bearer of the Pokystick
2007-05-14, 05:59 PM
This here's a Legacy Item I created for my character in Fax's campaign, based on my (admittedly limited) experience with Weapons of Legacy. Let me know what you think, folks.
Cloak of The Crystal Cherem
The Cloak of the Crystal Cherem is a shimmering, high-collared cape the gray-blue of leaded glass, seemingly woven of fine threads of crystal.
Nonlegacy Game Statistics:
+2 Cloak of Resistance; cost 4,000 gp, weight 4 lb.
Omen: The wearer of the cloak finds his emotions intensified, especially the strongest passions of love and wrath. When an ally is struck in the wearer’s view, the cloak suddenly sports glowing designs resembling psionic tattoos- any creature who can read celestial recognizes the designs as the verses of an ancient, heartbreaking dirge of rage and grief.
History:
Basiluth would not, if asked, have described himself as an adventurer. While he assuredly affected the accoutrement of that wild breed, the Maenad was happiest in contemplation of romantic poetry or ancient songs, and most troubled in the heat of conflict. However, when the Half-giantess known as Rainbleeder quite literally knocked him off his feet, he felt- understandably, for an individual so steeped in the mythos of love- that he had little choice but to follow her in her wanderings. As time went on, he learned to harness his natural reticence into deathly stealth, and channeled his natural gifts of the mind into fearsome powers- but first and foremost, he would follow his greathearted ladylove, for (so he thought) all time. Ultimately, however, as most such adventurers do, the pair ran afoul of forces more puissant and more vicious than they expected- in the form of an Alhoon, who harrowed the lovers with torments both mental and arcane. At the last, Rainbleeder threw her life away in defense of her naive companion, shattering her crystal blade on the head of the assailant before a mind blast felled her, and Basiluth fled. (DC 15)
After some few nights spent in useless weeping and frenzied lamentation, Basiluth felt the banked fire of his racial anger- a force perhaps more repressed in him than others of his race- rising into an endless tide. As the adage goes, ‘beware the fury of a patient man’; gathering up the shards of Rainbleeder’s blade, the Maenad shifted them painstakingly into spider-fine crystal threads, weaving into his enchanted cloak his last, great lament for his lover- and with it, a portion of his soul and the power to defeat his foe. After weeks of fruitless tracking through cavern and gorge, Basiluth finally caught sight of his chosen prey- the Alhoon, the adversary, and its mind-thralls, a troop of Grimlocks. Casting aside his mastery of the mind, he fought with pure fury, tearing through the aberration’s minions and carving his name into the creature’s very skin as it struggled with him before melting into the dark, leaving his final enemy bereft and alone- as he himself now was. (DC 20; It Cannot Be Loosed)
The following night, Basiluth crept about the Alhoon’s makeshift fortifications, tasting its hatred- tasting its fear. He wounded it once, springing from the ground to take it by surprise; and again, striking from behind. As the creature staggered, he finally ground its flesh down in a hail of strikes, each graceful, methodical…and completely transfigured with rage. As he struck the beast down, he felt his mind overthrown, and sank into a bestial oblivion- satisfied that his vengeance had been achieved. His final scream of triumph echoed down the corridors of the beast’s cavernous final stand, and he tore the creature’s phylactery from its place among the stones, shattering it against his very heart. (DC 25, The Last of Them)
Basiluth, seized by a frenzy of hatred and pain, tore at his flesh with his own blade, until, riven with scars, he fell, dead; but even as his fury spent itself in unbeing, the shockwave of his wrathful, sorrowful life’s ending echoed across the little-understood realm of Dream. Many of those who manipulated the forces of magic, or the powers of the mind, to ill ends, felt its searing power as they slept; burning their minds like white ash- many were never the same again. This last, wordless cry of rage shattered many a malevolent psyche across the planes, but the effort of releasing it utterly consumed the essence of the being once called Basiluth; in the end, his love, his hatred, and his sorrow were locked away in the mantle that bore in shimmering glyphs the name and fate of his beloved. (DC 30, To Cry Into The Dark)
Legacy Rituals
Three rituals are necessary to unlock all the powers of the Cloak of The Crystal Cherem.
It Cannot Be Loosed: This ritual requires you to forgo the usage of psionic or arcane abilities of any kind, including spells, powers, and feats dependent on such abilities. You must also coat your weapons with crystal dust (included in the ritual cost). After these conditions are met, you must enter into a bond of protection with another character or creature; this creature must willing undergo a twenty-four hour ritual of bonding, during which you and you alone protect them from harm- the ward cannot defend themselves, or the ritual fails. If the ward dies or is rendered unconscious by hit point loss, you fail.
Cost: 2,300 GP
Feat Granted: Least Legacy (Cloak of The Crystal Cherem)
The Last of Them: You must, as with all rituals for this item, refrain from use of arcane or psionic abilities while enacting this ritual, and coat your blade with crystal dust (once again, included in the ritual cost). You must hunt down and destroy a creature who has harmed your ward single-handedly, bathing the cloak in its blood while chanting a psionically empowered song of vengeance.
Cost: 12,700 GP
Feat Granted: Lesser Legacy (Cloak of The Crystal Cherem)
To Cry Into The Dark: As part of this ritual, you coat your own body, as well as your weapons, with crystal dust (including in ritual cost), and re-enact Basiluth’s final lament. This ritual deals three points of constitution damage to you, and drains 3d4 HP (which cannot be magically healed). The lament requires eight hours to complete, and you must perform concentration checks to avoid exhaustion and failure (base DC 5, increased by 5 every two hours). Upon completion of the lament, a circular shockwave moves sixty feet outward from you; any creature caught in it is denied use of psionic or arcane abilities of any type, and has their magic items suppressed, for one hour. You yourself fall into torpor for eight hours, and cannot be awakened by any means during that time- your consciousness resides in the cloak, and if the item is destroyed, so too are you.
Cost: 40,500 GP
Feat Granted: Greater Legacy (Cloak of The Crystal Cherem)
{table=head]Character Level|Skill Check Penalty|Save Penalty|Hit Point Loss|Skill Point Loss|Abilities
5th|-|-|-|-|Seek The Heartslayer
6th|-|-|2|3|Shatter The Veil
7th|-1|-1|-|-|-
8th|-|-|-|3|Heartlost Grace
9th|-|-|-|-|-
10th|-|-|2|-|Heartlost Eyes
11th|-|-|-|-|Never Again To Fall
12th|-|-2|-|-|Faithbound Mind
13th|-|-|-|3|Heart's Blade Unshapes
14th|-2|-|-|-|-
15th|-|-|-|-|Mourning Dance
16th|-|-|-|3|Blade of Wrath
17th|-|-|-|-|Heartslayer's Doom
18th|-|-|-|3|-
19th|-3|-|-|-|Arms of The Fallen
20th|-|-|-|3|Deny The Warper
[/table]
Wielder Requirements
The wearers of a Cloak of The Crystal Cherem are of all walks of life; most, however, are rogues or members of other classes that value nimble movement and sure strikes; rangers looking to enhance their ability to hunt down their favored foe also benefit. Arcane and psionic characters almost never choose to wear such a cloak- but only those touched by such powers can.
Cloak of The Crystal Cherem Wearer Requirements
Wisdom 12.
Must have no levels in classes that grant full manifesting or spellcasting benefits.
Must have at least one spelltouched feat, psionic feat, or other ability/feat dealing with the touch of arcane or mental powers.
Must have at least one valued companion.
Legacy Item Abilities
All of the following are Legacy Item Abilities of the Cloak of The Crystal Cherem.
Seek the Heartslayer (Ex):At fifth level, the wearer's weapon attunes itself automatically to the defenses of the foe- whenever the wearer strikes a creature with damage reduction, the weapon adjusts to overcome the damage reduction of that creature (allowing the wearer to functionally ignore DR); in addition, the wearer can detect any creature of that type within 60 ft. by concentrating (a standard action). The location ability functions against any creature struck (even those without DR). While this ability is in use, the wearer's weapon glimmers softly, as if crystalline.
Shatter The Veil (Sp): Once a day at sixth level, the wearer may use See Invisibility, as the spell; their eyes shine with fury when they do.
Heartlost Grace (Ex): The wearer of the cloak gains a +2 insight bonus to Dexterity at eighth level; their movements resemble a funerary dance as they weave in and out of their opponent's blows. When this ability is activated, one of the designs in the cloak's weave glows very faintly, and continues to glow as long as the cloak is worn.
Heartlost Eyes (Ex): The wearer gains a +2 insight bonus to wisdom at tenth level; their gaze grows focused, intense, and determined. When this ability becomes active, the cloak activates an additional inscribed 'verse' of its glowing dirge.
Never Again To Fall (Ex): At eleventh level, the wearer of the cloak is never considered flat-footed for any reason, so long as they bear the item.
Faithbound Mind (Sp): At twelfth level, the wearer gains the ability to turn mental control against the controller- he or she may use Disobedience three times a day, as the spell.
Heart's Blade Unshapes (Su): At thirteenth level, the wearer can attempt to dispel a lasting magical effect on any target they strike in melee, as if using Dispelling Touch (except that the attack is resolved as a normal melee attack, rather than a touch attack). While this ability is active, the wearer's weaponry glimmers, and yet another verse of the Crystal Cherem begins to gleam.
Mourning Dance (Ex): At fifteenth level, the wearer's insight bonus to Dexterity increases to +4; the verse of the Cherem activated by Heartlost Grace shifts shape slightly.
Blade of Wrath (Su): At sixteenth level, the wearer's weapon becomes a Bane weapon attuned to the creature type or subtype that was last the target of Seek The Heartslayer.
Heartslayer's Doom (Ex): At seventeenth level, the wearer can channel the righteous wrath of Basiluth to destroy those that warp reality. Six times a day, they can make a smite attack against any creature or character who can cast arcane spells or has a power point reserve, adding their Charisma bonus to attack rolls and dealing extra damage equal to their character level. This ability's use activates yet another woven verse of the dirge.
Arms of The Fallen (Sp): At nineteenth level, you can choose to utilize the cloak's power to revitalize your broken body once a day, gaining the benefit of a Heal spell. Activating this ability is a swift action.
Deny The Warper (Su): At twentieth level, you can end the dominion of those that warp reality, and make way for the potency of a righteous, wrathful blade. Once a day, you can make a horrifying loud shout, your voice ringing with the harmonies of the crystal dirge; for ten feet around you, the ground or air is riven with gleaming strands of silver, forming characters in the celestial alphabet. Within this spherical radius, magical or psionic effects are suppressed- summoned creatures wink out, hasted creatures are brought back down to speed, and magic items are simply masterwork. Dispel magic has no effect on the shout-sphere. Spells and items unaffected by Antimagic Field are immune to this effect.
Cloak of The Crystal Cherem
The Cloak of the Crystal Cherem is a shimmering, high-collared cape the gray-blue of leaded glass, seemingly woven of fine threads of crystal.
Nonlegacy Game Statistics:
+2 Cloak of Resistance; cost 4,000 gp, weight 4 lb.
Omen: The wearer of the cloak finds his emotions intensified, especially the strongest passions of love and wrath. When an ally is struck in the wearer’s view, the cloak suddenly sports glowing designs resembling psionic tattoos- any creature who can read celestial recognizes the designs as the verses of an ancient, heartbreaking dirge of rage and grief.
History:
Basiluth would not, if asked, have described himself as an adventurer. While he assuredly affected the accoutrement of that wild breed, the Maenad was happiest in contemplation of romantic poetry or ancient songs, and most troubled in the heat of conflict. However, when the Half-giantess known as Rainbleeder quite literally knocked him off his feet, he felt- understandably, for an individual so steeped in the mythos of love- that he had little choice but to follow her in her wanderings. As time went on, he learned to harness his natural reticence into deathly stealth, and channeled his natural gifts of the mind into fearsome powers- but first and foremost, he would follow his greathearted ladylove, for (so he thought) all time. Ultimately, however, as most such adventurers do, the pair ran afoul of forces more puissant and more vicious than they expected- in the form of an Alhoon, who harrowed the lovers with torments both mental and arcane. At the last, Rainbleeder threw her life away in defense of her naive companion, shattering her crystal blade on the head of the assailant before a mind blast felled her, and Basiluth fled. (DC 15)
After some few nights spent in useless weeping and frenzied lamentation, Basiluth felt the banked fire of his racial anger- a force perhaps more repressed in him than others of his race- rising into an endless tide. As the adage goes, ‘beware the fury of a patient man’; gathering up the shards of Rainbleeder’s blade, the Maenad shifted them painstakingly into spider-fine crystal threads, weaving into his enchanted cloak his last, great lament for his lover- and with it, a portion of his soul and the power to defeat his foe. After weeks of fruitless tracking through cavern and gorge, Basiluth finally caught sight of his chosen prey- the Alhoon, the adversary, and its mind-thralls, a troop of Grimlocks. Casting aside his mastery of the mind, he fought with pure fury, tearing through the aberration’s minions and carving his name into the creature’s very skin as it struggled with him before melting into the dark, leaving his final enemy bereft and alone- as he himself now was. (DC 20; It Cannot Be Loosed)
The following night, Basiluth crept about the Alhoon’s makeshift fortifications, tasting its hatred- tasting its fear. He wounded it once, springing from the ground to take it by surprise; and again, striking from behind. As the creature staggered, he finally ground its flesh down in a hail of strikes, each graceful, methodical…and completely transfigured with rage. As he struck the beast down, he felt his mind overthrown, and sank into a bestial oblivion- satisfied that his vengeance had been achieved. His final scream of triumph echoed down the corridors of the beast’s cavernous final stand, and he tore the creature’s phylactery from its place among the stones, shattering it against his very heart. (DC 25, The Last of Them)
Basiluth, seized by a frenzy of hatred and pain, tore at his flesh with his own blade, until, riven with scars, he fell, dead; but even as his fury spent itself in unbeing, the shockwave of his wrathful, sorrowful life’s ending echoed across the little-understood realm of Dream. Many of those who manipulated the forces of magic, or the powers of the mind, to ill ends, felt its searing power as they slept; burning their minds like white ash- many were never the same again. This last, wordless cry of rage shattered many a malevolent psyche across the planes, but the effort of releasing it utterly consumed the essence of the being once called Basiluth; in the end, his love, his hatred, and his sorrow were locked away in the mantle that bore in shimmering glyphs the name and fate of his beloved. (DC 30, To Cry Into The Dark)
Legacy Rituals
Three rituals are necessary to unlock all the powers of the Cloak of The Crystal Cherem.
It Cannot Be Loosed: This ritual requires you to forgo the usage of psionic or arcane abilities of any kind, including spells, powers, and feats dependent on such abilities. You must also coat your weapons with crystal dust (included in the ritual cost). After these conditions are met, you must enter into a bond of protection with another character or creature; this creature must willing undergo a twenty-four hour ritual of bonding, during which you and you alone protect them from harm- the ward cannot defend themselves, or the ritual fails. If the ward dies or is rendered unconscious by hit point loss, you fail.
Cost: 2,300 GP
Feat Granted: Least Legacy (Cloak of The Crystal Cherem)
The Last of Them: You must, as with all rituals for this item, refrain from use of arcane or psionic abilities while enacting this ritual, and coat your blade with crystal dust (once again, included in the ritual cost). You must hunt down and destroy a creature who has harmed your ward single-handedly, bathing the cloak in its blood while chanting a psionically empowered song of vengeance.
Cost: 12,700 GP
Feat Granted: Lesser Legacy (Cloak of The Crystal Cherem)
To Cry Into The Dark: As part of this ritual, you coat your own body, as well as your weapons, with crystal dust (including in ritual cost), and re-enact Basiluth’s final lament. This ritual deals three points of constitution damage to you, and drains 3d4 HP (which cannot be magically healed). The lament requires eight hours to complete, and you must perform concentration checks to avoid exhaustion and failure (base DC 5, increased by 5 every two hours). Upon completion of the lament, a circular shockwave moves sixty feet outward from you; any creature caught in it is denied use of psionic or arcane abilities of any type, and has their magic items suppressed, for one hour. You yourself fall into torpor for eight hours, and cannot be awakened by any means during that time- your consciousness resides in the cloak, and if the item is destroyed, so too are you.
Cost: 40,500 GP
Feat Granted: Greater Legacy (Cloak of The Crystal Cherem)
{table=head]Character Level|Skill Check Penalty|Save Penalty|Hit Point Loss|Skill Point Loss|Abilities
5th|-|-|-|-|Seek The Heartslayer
6th|-|-|2|3|Shatter The Veil
7th|-1|-1|-|-|-
8th|-|-|-|3|Heartlost Grace
9th|-|-|-|-|-
10th|-|-|2|-|Heartlost Eyes
11th|-|-|-|-|Never Again To Fall
12th|-|-2|-|-|Faithbound Mind
13th|-|-|-|3|Heart's Blade Unshapes
14th|-2|-|-|-|-
15th|-|-|-|-|Mourning Dance
16th|-|-|-|3|Blade of Wrath
17th|-|-|-|-|Heartslayer's Doom
18th|-|-|-|3|-
19th|-3|-|-|-|Arms of The Fallen
20th|-|-|-|3|Deny The Warper
[/table]
Wielder Requirements
The wearers of a Cloak of The Crystal Cherem are of all walks of life; most, however, are rogues or members of other classes that value nimble movement and sure strikes; rangers looking to enhance their ability to hunt down their favored foe also benefit. Arcane and psionic characters almost never choose to wear such a cloak- but only those touched by such powers can.
Cloak of The Crystal Cherem Wearer Requirements
Wisdom 12.
Must have no levels in classes that grant full manifesting or spellcasting benefits.
Must have at least one spelltouched feat, psionic feat, or other ability/feat dealing with the touch of arcane or mental powers.
Must have at least one valued companion.
Legacy Item Abilities
All of the following are Legacy Item Abilities of the Cloak of The Crystal Cherem.
Seek the Heartslayer (Ex):At fifth level, the wearer's weapon attunes itself automatically to the defenses of the foe- whenever the wearer strikes a creature with damage reduction, the weapon adjusts to overcome the damage reduction of that creature (allowing the wearer to functionally ignore DR); in addition, the wearer can detect any creature of that type within 60 ft. by concentrating (a standard action). The location ability functions against any creature struck (even those without DR). While this ability is in use, the wearer's weapon glimmers softly, as if crystalline.
Shatter The Veil (Sp): Once a day at sixth level, the wearer may use See Invisibility, as the spell; their eyes shine with fury when they do.
Heartlost Grace (Ex): The wearer of the cloak gains a +2 insight bonus to Dexterity at eighth level; their movements resemble a funerary dance as they weave in and out of their opponent's blows. When this ability is activated, one of the designs in the cloak's weave glows very faintly, and continues to glow as long as the cloak is worn.
Heartlost Eyes (Ex): The wearer gains a +2 insight bonus to wisdom at tenth level; their gaze grows focused, intense, and determined. When this ability becomes active, the cloak activates an additional inscribed 'verse' of its glowing dirge.
Never Again To Fall (Ex): At eleventh level, the wearer of the cloak is never considered flat-footed for any reason, so long as they bear the item.
Faithbound Mind (Sp): At twelfth level, the wearer gains the ability to turn mental control against the controller- he or she may use Disobedience three times a day, as the spell.
Heart's Blade Unshapes (Su): At thirteenth level, the wearer can attempt to dispel a lasting magical effect on any target they strike in melee, as if using Dispelling Touch (except that the attack is resolved as a normal melee attack, rather than a touch attack). While this ability is active, the wearer's weaponry glimmers, and yet another verse of the Crystal Cherem begins to gleam.
Mourning Dance (Ex): At fifteenth level, the wearer's insight bonus to Dexterity increases to +4; the verse of the Cherem activated by Heartlost Grace shifts shape slightly.
Blade of Wrath (Su): At sixteenth level, the wearer's weapon becomes a Bane weapon attuned to the creature type or subtype that was last the target of Seek The Heartslayer.
Heartslayer's Doom (Ex): At seventeenth level, the wearer can channel the righteous wrath of Basiluth to destroy those that warp reality. Six times a day, they can make a smite attack against any creature or character who can cast arcane spells or has a power point reserve, adding their Charisma bonus to attack rolls and dealing extra damage equal to their character level. This ability's use activates yet another woven verse of the dirge.
Arms of The Fallen (Sp): At nineteenth level, you can choose to utilize the cloak's power to revitalize your broken body once a day, gaining the benefit of a Heal spell. Activating this ability is a swift action.
Deny The Warper (Su): At twentieth level, you can end the dominion of those that warp reality, and make way for the potency of a righteous, wrathful blade. Once a day, you can make a horrifying loud shout, your voice ringing with the harmonies of the crystal dirge; for ten feet around you, the ground or air is riven with gleaming strands of silver, forming characters in the celestial alphabet. Within this spherical radius, magical or psionic effects are suppressed- summoned creatures wink out, hasted creatures are brought back down to speed, and magic items are simply masterwork. Dispel magic has no effect on the shout-sphere. Spells and items unaffected by Antimagic Field are immune to this effect.