Gralamin
2007-06-29, 05:39 PM
This is an Artifact in the style of the Tome of Artifacts. It is written for an Eberron Campaign.
Changeling’s Fireplace
[hr]
The Tale of the Changeling’s Fireplace
“You requested my Presence Wizard?” the Halfling said. His name was Bill, and he was the current leader of the Thieves guild, for this district.
“Yes I did. I heard you cut my funding.” I was a wizard in his employ, researching magic to help against all sorts of annoyances. Zones of truth, See Invisibility, the lot of it.
He glared at me like I was mad, “Of course I did sugah, you’ve produced no results. You just stare into your fireplace all day, and waste my money.”
The Fireplace. Over the last few months I started enchanting it. But this man knew I had produced results. Indeed, by simply throwing a lock of hair or a finger nail into the fireplace, and saying the owner’s name, you could create a copy of them, a simulacrum, but one that looks the same, no ice or snow in its production.
“If that is all, I’ll be leaving sugah, I can’t waste time on stuff like you. Pack your things and leave in by sunset.”
“No,” I said, “You are not taking this from me!” With that I grabbed the small man, and threw him into the fire. His body burned and the flames turned blue, and next thing I knew, I was asleep.
“Wake up! Bill!”
I woke up, confused. I wasn’t Bill. I’d killed him. Maybe I changed form before he died to cover my tracks?
“Bill, you’re awake! We didn’t think you’d take it into your own hands like that.” A man from the guild was standing over me.
“How did the Dwarf gig go, Rob?” I mumbled. What was I talking about? I somehow knew that this was a bank robbery, but I wouldn’t know anything about this. And I certainly wouldn’t know this man’s name.
“We did it sir we did it.”
That night, I suffered from a nightmare, and I learned anyone within 10 miles of my house did so as well. Many nights later, I died from fear in my bed. The nightmare’s took their toll on me.
Researching the Changeling’s Fireplace
This artifact is all but unknown, indeed because the ones who gain it generally trust no one, and have large ambitions. They also don’t live long. A Knowledge (Local) check may reveal its general area, as well as rumors of its powers.
{table=head]DC|Knowledge Available
10|The Changeling’s Fireplace is an amazing magical item, Hidden somewhere in Sharn.
20|In a house in the Cliffside docks this artifact resides. It was once owned by the Thieves Guild. The fireplace can change to a different house in the district every time the owner dies.
25|It can create copies of people, and can absorb talents from others.
30+|Anyone who has acquired this house has been short lived, and this artifact has been the cause of many nightmares in the district.[/table]
Studying the Changeling’s Fireplace
The Fireplace is undetectable except by trial and error. It does not appear magical, and the only indication of its magic is the blue flame when you toss in a hair or a fingernail.
Appearance wise, it looks to be the same as any fireplace, looking no different then what any would expect.
Powers of the Changeling’s Fireplace
The Changeling’s Fireplace has the ability to take the memories of an individual, as well as to copy individuals. It has another, lesser know ability. It can scry the location of any copy produced by its current owner.
Using the Changeling’s Fireplace
The fireplace first needs to be attuned to a master, by an offering of some part of the creature. This can be a piece of hair, a fingernail, skin, blood, anything. The fireplace immediately glows blue, and the new owner knows how to activate its Scrying and Simulacrum capabilities.
During the next 24 hours, whenever the DM feels there is enough pressure on the character, they may make an intelligence check. Succeeding on this DC 15 check grants knowledge of the Fireplace’s identity stealing abilities.
When an owner dies, the fireplace’s magic is moved to another fireplace in the Cliffside Dock District.
Constant Powers
The Changeling’s Fireplace grants a +4 bonus to Spot and Listen checks, As well as granting Fire Immunity.
Activated Powers
The Fireplace may use simulacrum 3/day. This ability requires only placing a hair or similar object in the fire, and speaking the owner’s name. An alias will cause this ability to fail. This simulacrum is not made of snow and ice, and will heal normally. It Is also treated as having a Disguise Check of 40.
The Fireplace also gives the ability to scry a simulacrum made from it, as long as it was created by the same owner who wishes to scry. This ability functions as Greater Scrying and is useable 1/day.
As a Final Ability, the fireplace allows you to place a creature’s body of Large size or smaller into the fire. Doing so triggers a Power Word Kill spell on the creature, followed by Disintegration. In the aftermath of this, the owner learns all class abilities, spellcasting, extraordinary, spell-like and supernatural abilities the creature possessed. You also gain the target’s skill ranks whenever they are superior to your own, and you learn the memories of the creature (Obscure information (eg many years ago) require a DC 20 check to access). You also gain the ability to Disguise Self as this creature. Only one Identity can be stolen at a time.
Consequences
The Fireplace has a price – whenever you use any ability that you learnt from stealing an identity, you must make a DC 15 Will save (+1 per each successful save). Failure indicates that upon Sleeping, The owner and anyone within 10 miles of the artifact have a Nightmare, which may cause them to be fatigued the next day (DC 10 Will save to stop from being fatigued). The Owner of the Artifact however is subject to the Nightmare spell.
Using the Changeling’s Fireplace in a Campaign
Forthcoming
Adventure Seeds
Forthcoming
Destroying the Changeling’s Fireplace
The fireplace is an ambient magic effect, and therefore cannot be destroyed by weapons. Theoretically destroying all Fireplaces in Cliffside would just cause it to move somewhere else in Sharn.
An owner throwing themselves in the fireplace while stealing an identity overloads the artifact, and destroys it.
Transporting the house that houses the Fireplace to the Elemental Plane of Water would stop the fireplace from workings
Attempting to assume the identity of a Simulacrum banishes the magic for 1d10 years.
Changeling’s Fireplace
[hr]
The Tale of the Changeling’s Fireplace
“You requested my Presence Wizard?” the Halfling said. His name was Bill, and he was the current leader of the Thieves guild, for this district.
“Yes I did. I heard you cut my funding.” I was a wizard in his employ, researching magic to help against all sorts of annoyances. Zones of truth, See Invisibility, the lot of it.
He glared at me like I was mad, “Of course I did sugah, you’ve produced no results. You just stare into your fireplace all day, and waste my money.”
The Fireplace. Over the last few months I started enchanting it. But this man knew I had produced results. Indeed, by simply throwing a lock of hair or a finger nail into the fireplace, and saying the owner’s name, you could create a copy of them, a simulacrum, but one that looks the same, no ice or snow in its production.
“If that is all, I’ll be leaving sugah, I can’t waste time on stuff like you. Pack your things and leave in by sunset.”
“No,” I said, “You are not taking this from me!” With that I grabbed the small man, and threw him into the fire. His body burned and the flames turned blue, and next thing I knew, I was asleep.
“Wake up! Bill!”
I woke up, confused. I wasn’t Bill. I’d killed him. Maybe I changed form before he died to cover my tracks?
“Bill, you’re awake! We didn’t think you’d take it into your own hands like that.” A man from the guild was standing over me.
“How did the Dwarf gig go, Rob?” I mumbled. What was I talking about? I somehow knew that this was a bank robbery, but I wouldn’t know anything about this. And I certainly wouldn’t know this man’s name.
“We did it sir we did it.”
That night, I suffered from a nightmare, and I learned anyone within 10 miles of my house did so as well. Many nights later, I died from fear in my bed. The nightmare’s took their toll on me.
Researching the Changeling’s Fireplace
This artifact is all but unknown, indeed because the ones who gain it generally trust no one, and have large ambitions. They also don’t live long. A Knowledge (Local) check may reveal its general area, as well as rumors of its powers.
{table=head]DC|Knowledge Available
10|The Changeling’s Fireplace is an amazing magical item, Hidden somewhere in Sharn.
20|In a house in the Cliffside docks this artifact resides. It was once owned by the Thieves Guild. The fireplace can change to a different house in the district every time the owner dies.
25|It can create copies of people, and can absorb talents from others.
30+|Anyone who has acquired this house has been short lived, and this artifact has been the cause of many nightmares in the district.[/table]
Studying the Changeling’s Fireplace
The Fireplace is undetectable except by trial and error. It does not appear magical, and the only indication of its magic is the blue flame when you toss in a hair or a fingernail.
Appearance wise, it looks to be the same as any fireplace, looking no different then what any would expect.
Powers of the Changeling’s Fireplace
The Changeling’s Fireplace has the ability to take the memories of an individual, as well as to copy individuals. It has another, lesser know ability. It can scry the location of any copy produced by its current owner.
Using the Changeling’s Fireplace
The fireplace first needs to be attuned to a master, by an offering of some part of the creature. This can be a piece of hair, a fingernail, skin, blood, anything. The fireplace immediately glows blue, and the new owner knows how to activate its Scrying and Simulacrum capabilities.
During the next 24 hours, whenever the DM feels there is enough pressure on the character, they may make an intelligence check. Succeeding on this DC 15 check grants knowledge of the Fireplace’s identity stealing abilities.
When an owner dies, the fireplace’s magic is moved to another fireplace in the Cliffside Dock District.
Constant Powers
The Changeling’s Fireplace grants a +4 bonus to Spot and Listen checks, As well as granting Fire Immunity.
Activated Powers
The Fireplace may use simulacrum 3/day. This ability requires only placing a hair or similar object in the fire, and speaking the owner’s name. An alias will cause this ability to fail. This simulacrum is not made of snow and ice, and will heal normally. It Is also treated as having a Disguise Check of 40.
The Fireplace also gives the ability to scry a simulacrum made from it, as long as it was created by the same owner who wishes to scry. This ability functions as Greater Scrying and is useable 1/day.
As a Final Ability, the fireplace allows you to place a creature’s body of Large size or smaller into the fire. Doing so triggers a Power Word Kill spell on the creature, followed by Disintegration. In the aftermath of this, the owner learns all class abilities, spellcasting, extraordinary, spell-like and supernatural abilities the creature possessed. You also gain the target’s skill ranks whenever they are superior to your own, and you learn the memories of the creature (Obscure information (eg many years ago) require a DC 20 check to access). You also gain the ability to Disguise Self as this creature. Only one Identity can be stolen at a time.
Consequences
The Fireplace has a price – whenever you use any ability that you learnt from stealing an identity, you must make a DC 15 Will save (+1 per each successful save). Failure indicates that upon Sleeping, The owner and anyone within 10 miles of the artifact have a Nightmare, which may cause them to be fatigued the next day (DC 10 Will save to stop from being fatigued). The Owner of the Artifact however is subject to the Nightmare spell.
Using the Changeling’s Fireplace in a Campaign
Forthcoming
Adventure Seeds
Forthcoming
Destroying the Changeling’s Fireplace
The fireplace is an ambient magic effect, and therefore cannot be destroyed by weapons. Theoretically destroying all Fireplaces in Cliffside would just cause it to move somewhere else in Sharn.
An owner throwing themselves in the fireplace while stealing an identity overloads the artifact, and destroys it.
Transporting the house that houses the Fireplace to the Elemental Plane of Water would stop the fireplace from workings
Attempting to assume the identity of a Simulacrum banishes the magic for 1d10 years.