Damsel Devices
Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting edition of Magic Market, where we bring you new magic items to outfit your legendary heroes and dread villains. This week is Damsel Week here at Necromancers of the Northwest, and so we’ll be looking at a number of devious devices crafted to enhance encounters featuring damsels, whether in distress or simply awaiting a suitable suitor. This handful of exotic equipment will make your next damsel the envy of every fairytale maiden this side of the enchanted forest.
First, let’s start off with a few protective items for sagacious young ladies looking to stay out of distress.
Amulet of Bonds
This elaborate amulet features a massive jewel pendant hanging from a chain of braided silver and gold. Far from being merely fashionable, this amulet conceals an ingenious protective charm which prevents its wearer from being bound by ropes or chains for long periods of time. Whenever the wearer has been tied by rope or chains for a continuous period of one hour, the amulet immediately destroys her bonds. Nonmagical ropes, chains, and manacles are immediately destroyed as though affected by the spell disintegrate, potentially freeing the wearer from captivity. Magical bonds such as a rope of entanglement are entitled to a DC 13 saving throw to avoid this effect. The amulet of bonds has no effect on nets, cages, or other devices which may be used to imprison or bind the wearer.
Rings of Alarm
These golden rings always come in pairs, one set with a deep red ruby and one set with an extremely bright blue sapphire. Connected by magic the wearer of the ruby ring can utter a command word which immediately causes the wearer of the sapphire ring to become aware of the direction and approximate distance of the ruby ring. This effect remains until a second command word is spoken by the ruby ring’s wearer, or the sapphire ring is removed, or the rings come into physical contact with one another. If the wearer of the ruby ring enters an antimagic field or if the ring is destroyed, the wearer of the sapphire ring remains aware of the ruby ring’s last known location, until either the ring leaves the antimagic field or it is reforged.
Scarf of the Wary Maiden
This lovely silken scarf is dyed with an indigo pigment which never fades, and offers a measure of protection against powerful creatures. As long as she wears the scarf, the wearer is invisible to all creatures whose CR is at least 5 higher than her own.
Next, we feature a selection of items for those wicked characters who make it their business to put damsels, and others, in distress, and provide questing heroes with something to do.
Collar of Imprisonment
This heavy steel collar can be fitted around the neck of any living creature and greatly restricts the wearer’s ability to move. Once donned, the wearer cannot move more than 20 feet from her current location. When she reaches this boundary, she immediately becomes aware that she’s about to stray outside the zone of movement allowed by the collar. If she strays beyond this boundary, she must make a Fortitude save every round (DC 15+1 per round she has spent outside the boundary) or suffer one point of Dexterity damage. Once the target runs out of Dexterity, she is dragged by an unseen force back to the point where she donned the collar. While such collars can be removed, they typically come with complex locking mechanisms, requiring a DC 25 Disable Device check to remove.
Elixir of Helplessness
This pale grey liquid is both odorless and tasteless, and any living creature that consumes the liquid becomes helpless for a short time. Living creatures that consume a dose of the elixir of helplessness remain alert and fully aware of their surroundings, but must succeed on a DC 17 Fortitude save or gain the helpless condition for 1d4 rounds.
Finally, we’ve got just a little something for those heroic knights out to rescue the damsels in distress, or perhaps just to impress the damsel who has won his favor.
Lance of the Hero
Forged from a single piece of steel, this weapon gleams with the light of the natural world, gathering sunlight, starlight, and even candlelight and casting it out in a field of radiance with surrounds the wielder. This +3 lance can be wielded in one hand without penalty and deals twice the normal weapon damage (not including extra damage dice from any special abilities the weapon possesses or Strength bonus the wielder might have, but including the weapon’s enhancement bonus) to any creature with a CR at least 2 higher than the wielder.