Year: 2022

Draconic Power at Your Feet

These red-scaled heavy boots have an intricate wing pattern designed on the ankles. They are surprisingly lightweight and keep your feet warm even in the coldest climates.

Dragon Glide: Bonus Action. The wings on the boots open and let you glide. You gain a flying speed of 15ft until the end of your turn. You must end your turn touching the ground.

Fire Step: Action. Fire columns erupt from the ground as you step on it. When you take this action you can move through the space of other creatures. When you end your movement, fire columns, 10ft high, erupt from the ground you touched with the booths and they last until the end of your next turn. Creatures that start their turn in the columns or move into them must DEX15 or take 4d6 fire damage, half on a success. 

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For all your Critting Needs

A weapon of refined, blackened steel. When agitated it starts to vibrate, building up unstoppable tension that must be released in a dangerous impact.

Improving Critical: After you roll Initiative, at the start of your turn,  the Critical Range of this weapon improves by 1. This makes so on the first round of combat your attacks with this weapon crit on a natural 19 or 20; on the second round on a natural 18, 19 or 20 and so on.

When you exit combat or deal a critical hit with the Fatal Steel Greataxe, its Critical Range resets to 0 (you crit on a 20).

Momentum Strike: Bonus Action. After you hit a creature with a non-critical attack with the Fatal Steel Greataxe, you can add 1d6 to the damage for each point of Critical Range the weapon has accumulated. After the attack the Critical Range resets to 0.

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Escape the Rituals of the Bone-Melters!

You have looked deep enough into the black abyss. Traveled to libraries long erased from all maps. It’s finally yours. The Skull’s Atlas.

Welcome to this new section on the Skull Azure Blog, all about cool Locations, Plot Hooks and Adventures for your game! I will keep the focus on Magic Items, growing the Skull’s Trove, and you’ll still get the occasional Skull’s Insight, but the Atlas will provide you with playable content ready to be explored by your players!

Enough bookkeeping, it’s time to find our way out of the terrible cavern prison known as the Pits of Sheru. 

The Pits of Sheru are designed to be a challenge for characters level 2-4, a perfect starting adventure for level 3 characters that have been taken prisoner in a deep jungle. 

Stats are kept simple for easy reference and adaptability to other DND systems, and don’t require additional material.

Pits of Sheru Map

The Prison Temple of the Saurians

The Pits of Sheru is a sacred site located deep in the jungles of the South. Many Saurian folks live in these places, but one specific tribe makes this prison its church. The common folk call them the Bone-Melters, black-scaled reptilians, shunned by other tribes for their tyrannical ways and weird religious practices. The Bone-Melters are ruled by a shamanic order devoted to Ska, the Venom. Members of the cult regulate their diet and practice sacrificial rituals to grow large, bright-yellow sacks under their chin. These mutations allow the saurians to produce a potent acid, which they use to expand their diet, eating every part of their prey. It is virtuous for some to even eat humanoid prisoners, as well as other saurians.

Prisoners of the Pits of Sheru usually wait long weeks under the scorching sun, visible from the bottom of one of the cylindrical wells. Their only mistake was venturing too deep in the jungle. The lucky ones are picked first, and brought to the inner chambers, their screams will keep the others awake.

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Visions from Within

A simple tiara with a white gem embedded in a silver moon. Pendants resembling lost holy symbols hang from the crown, their movement causes a wary tingling.

Dream Sharing: When you sleep wearing this crown, sleeping creatures around you share your dreams and are independent actors in them. Creatures around you are also able to see mental images, visions and memories that appear in your mind.

Unconscious Visions: The Crown makes you aware of your subconscious and how it speaks to you in symbols. It can also store either a Vision or a Nightmare. Each time you complete a Long Rest, in which you slept, roll a d12. 

On a 12 you have a meaningful Vision, which is stored in the Crown. The DM can describe details of it and communicate events of the past, present or future. Roll a d20 and record the number rolled. You can spend the stored vision to substitute the rolled number to any d20 roll.

On a 1 you have a Nightmare, which is stored in the Crown. You determine the details of it. As a Bonus Action you can spend the stored Nightmare to make a creature relive it. A creature you can see within 30ft of you must WIS15, taking 3d6 psychic damage on a failure.

The Crown of Dreams can either contain one Vision or one Nightmare, if you have a new Vision or Nightmare, it removes the one currently stored.

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Boing

A lightweight leather belt of a silvery color. A blue line traces along its surface, tilting to constantly be parallel to the ground. The buckle resembles a holy symmetrical symbol of order.

Perfect Balance: You have Advantage on Saving Throws against effects that would knock you Prone. If you are Prone, you can stand up as a Bonus Action and, if you do so, you have Advantage on your next attack roll that turn. The Belt propels you forward in a springy motion, giving you momentum..

Balancing Bind: As an Action you can unbuckle the belt and try to wrap it around an enemy’s wrist or limb. Make an Attack Roll against a creature within 5ft of you, using your DEX, you are proficient with the belt. On a hit the belt swings around the target’s chosen limb, giving it Disadvantage on Attack Rolls made with it. The creature can spend an Action trying to free the limb, making a STR13.

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The Fleeting Blade

A ruined scabbard carries a dark blade. It is sealed air-tight with red wax, as if the air itself could instantly rust and ruin the steel. Maybe the protection is not to preserve the weapon itself, but the bearer.

Short-lived Lethality: This weapon is a +5 Dagger, giving you +5 to hit and damage rolls. Once the dagger is removed from its scabbard, breaking the wax seal, the weapon starts to dissolve in the air, becoming silvery smoke. The weapon lasts for 1d4 rounds.

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Why Magic Items

Now that the Trove is starting to grow, it’s time I ramble a bit about why I choose to focus on Magic Items for these articles. Afterall, there are many parts of the game we can tweak, adapt and play with. Monsters, NPCs, Adventures, Classes, Sub-Classes or even Ancestries are all very common supplements to the game that people in the hobby seem to seek. While I don’t want to shine from them (apart from Ancentries maybe, not my thing), all of these tools are mostly read by DMs and rarely used at the table. Why items? I want to inject cool design ideas into your games.
Are you a Player? Wouldn’t you like something to make your character cooler? Don’t you feel the tight grip of what the manuals tell you you can and can’t do?

Are you a DM? Here’s some cool, wild things you can throw in your game and watch them take a new, amazing direction, it simply being the smile on your player’s face when they use a new cool ability, or the amazing story YOU came up with to fit this idea into your unique world.

Magic Items are small pebbles that you can throw on top of your gaming table, easily ignoring them if awful, or placing them near your character’s sheet if you fall in love with them. They can carry a small or titanic weight, give you a simple idea or altering your entire campaign. They are the most versatile tools we have, let’s make more.

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10 Magic Arrows to Keep them at Range

Sometimes in these posts I present huge campaign-bending artifacts, because that’s fun. Other times we just need a list of cool arrows to spice up our gameplay, here they are.

Splitting Arcane Bolt

This metal arrowhead reflects shades of purple, it seems cracked.

When shooting this arrow, make an attack against a target creature and roll as normal against its AC. If the attack hits, the arrow instead splits mid-flight in 1d4+1 purple arcane darts. Each dart hits one different creature within 60ft of the original target and it deals damage as if hit by your attack plus an extra 1d4 as force damage.
If you don’t hit the original target creature with a dart, the arrow splits in arcane darts right in front of it, making it stumble. It is Frightened by you until the end of your next turn.

Tracker

When moving this dark wood arrow around it seems to emit a faint blue smoke from the tip.

After you hit a creature or an object with this arrow, you start seeing a faint trail of blue smoke coming from your quiver and leading to the target. This smoke is only visible by you 

and lasts 24 hours. If the target moves out of sight the smoke keeps leading to it without traversing solid objects, the path can slightly change and adapt to new obstacles but remains a quick way to the target. 

On a Critical Hit the effect lasts for 2d4 days instead.

Lingering Slasher

This long and sharp arrowhead has elvish runes inscribed in it, they faintly glow green when the arrow is nocked.

After you damage a creature with this arrow, it doesn’t get stuck on it but starts flying around the target, leaving a green trail in its arcs. For 1 minute on each of your turns you can use a Bonus Action to make an attack with the flying arrow. The target must be within 30ft of the creature it last struck. You don’t add your Dexterity modifier to the damage of this attack, otherwise it’s as if shot with the weapon you made the first attack with.

Matchmaker

Heart shaped silver point, this elegant arrow feels heavier than it looks.

After hitting a creature with this arrow, it keeps going forward in a straight line, in the same direction it was shot. If the arrow doesn’t hit something before having travelled for 60ft, nothing else happens and you roll damage as normal for the attack.

When the arrow hits another target it binds the two points together and pushes them toward each other:

If the arrow hits a solid object, heavier than the creature, the creature falls prone and is pushed until it comes within 5ft of the object. Roll the attack damage plus an extra 1d6. If the object is lighter than the creature it counts as another creature.

If the arrow hits another creature, they both fall prone and are pushed simultaneously toward each other, travelling the same distance until they meet in the middle. Roll the attack damage plus an extra 2d6, both creatures take damage from your attack.

Any creature damaged by this arrow is bound by a silvery cord that doesn’t stretch more than 5ft, pinning them to an object or to another creature. Two creatures can still move together but never move away from each other more than 5ft. This cord lasts 1 minute.

Bright Sun

A golden sun is depicted on the steel, the point of the projectile shines white.

This arrow shines bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet.

When you shoot this arrow with an attack and it hits a creature or an object, it creates a burst of white light. The arrow also stops and bursts if it travels 60ft without strucking anything.
When the arrow bursts it becomes a 10-foot radius sphere of light, it sheds bright light for 60ft and dim light for an additional 60ft. The sphere of light persists for 10 minutes and can’t be moved from the point the arrow landed. Furthermore, any creature that sees the burst: WIS14 or be blinded for 1 minute, Save Ends. A creature that knows about the arrow can use its Reaction to avert their eyes and automatically succeed the saving throw.

Shrouderer

A black arrow that doesn’t seem to reflect light and does not emit sounds when shot.

Shooting this arrow while concealed doesn’t reveal your position. A creature damaged with this arrow becomes invisible for 1 minute. When the creature attacks or uses an action to interact with another creature it can WIS14 to stop being invisible on a success. A willingly creature can choose not to try and become visible again.
You can otherwise use one of your attacks to shoot the arrow in a point within range, a black thick magical darkness creeps from that point in a 30-foot sphere, creatures are in full cover and blinded while in the fog. 

Snare

A very thorny and slim arrowhead on a solid, almost unbendable, body.

A creature hit by this weapon is pierced and snared to the ground. Roll damage for the attack plus an extra 2d6. The creature’s speed becomes 0ft. It can use its Action to break the arrow or rip it out of its body. When it does so, its speed returns to normal and it takes 2d6 slashing damage.

Breezeway

A light-weight arrow, made of a light colored wood, chill to the touch.

You can use one of your attacks to shoot this arrow in a direction, it travels 60ft or until it’s stopped by a solid object, then it activates. The arrow also activates if you hit a creature within 60ft of you.
When the arrow activates, it creates an area of effect in a line 10ft wide, that starts from you and ends where the arrow landed. Inside the line, heavy wind blows in the same direction the arrow was shot in, doubling the speed of any creature going in that direction and halving the speed of any creature going against it. The wind also prevents any projectile from reaching a creature inside the line. This effect lasts for 1 minute.

Royal Bullet

A golden arrow, bolt or bullet, with someone’s name written on it.

This arrow gives (at least) a +3 bonus to hit and damage to the attack made with it.

If the attack is aimed at the creature whose true name is written on it, it instead confers a +10 bonus to the attack and damage roll.

Serpent Bite

This hooked point depicts a vicious snake, it drips green liquid when knocked.

A creature damaged by this weapon becomes poisoned. At the end of its turn it takes 1d6 poison damage and can CON14: on a failure the poison damage at the end of its next turns is increased by 1d6. If the creature fails the saving throw for the third time it also becomes paralysed. If the creature succeeds the saving throw for the third time it ends any effect provoked by this arrow.

The arrow can also be dipped in a small amount of contained liquid. If this is done for 1 minute the arrow loses its properties but any creature that ingests the liquid will be automatically affected by the arrow’s effect as it has already failed 3 saving throws.

Unlocker

This arrow’s point is shaped like a generic key, and looks ineffective.

You can use this arrow’s tip as thieve’s tools when attempting to pick a lock, if you do it gives you a +5 bonus to the check. If the roll is a natural 1 the arrow’s tip breaks in the lock, making the lock unpickable and the tip unusable.

You can also shoot the arrow at the lock from at least 10ft of distance. When you do so the DM determines the appropriate DC, usually 20. If you hit, the target is unlocked and the arrow breaks unless you rolled a natural 20.

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Lightweight, Versatile and Lethal

A long blade shaped into a circular ring, the size of a buckler. It comes with a heavy gauntlet, magically bound to the ring, making it possible to be worn and stand in place strongly as a shield would. The artifact also allows the throwing of the ring, which spins with incredible speed, only to safely lock back on the wielder’s arm.

Hollow Protection: The Chakram Shield’s ring allows for great deflection capabilities, less useful for blocking projectiles or cowering behind it. The Chakram Shield requires a DEX score of 13 to be used and confers a +1 bonus to AC.

Lethal Armor: The Chakram Shield also counts as a weapon, it has the Versatile and Light properties and does 1d6 slashing damage.

Throat Slasher: As an Action, you can throw the Chakram Shield horizontally sending it flying and spinning, seeking your enemies’ necks. When you do so, the shield travels between any number of target creatures, never hitting the same creature twice or going more than 15ft from a creature to another. It also must return to you at the end of the attack.

To determine the Chakram Shield’s path,choose a creature within 15ft of you as your first target, the next target must be within 15ft of the previous target and within 15ft of you if no other targets are selected after this one. There must be a clear path between targets, wide enough for the shield to traverse it.  You can select any number of creatures as your target but never the same creature more than one time. Additionally, once per use of this action, you can treat a wall or a solid object as one of the targets, making the Chakram Shield bounce and travel to another target within 15ft of the impact point.

After determining a path for your shield, make a ranged attack for each target. If any of the attack rolls is a natural 1 the shield falls to the ground and doesn’t complete the path. Each hit creature takes 1d6 plus your DEX modifier damage, rolled once.

Death Wheel: As an Action, you can throw the Chakram Shield vertically, sending it flying in a line in front of you and bouncing back to you when it hits a wall. Creatures in a line 5ft wide and up to 60ft long must DEX13 or take 2d6 plus your DEX modifier slashing damage. The line must be interrupted or ended by a wall or solid object the Chakram Shield can bounce on, otherwise you can still make the attack but the shield falls to the ground afterward.

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The Soul Cage

Curved sharp edges shape the head of this heavy steel mace. Within them a red dark light rhythmically pulsates, a quiet whisper can be heard escaping the cage. In its white handle are inscribed words in a dead language which mean: “No Power Compares with the Light of the Soul”

+2 Heavy Mace (Maul): You have a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with Timor Exstatis.

Dread: 1/Long Rest¹; When you hit a creature with this weapon, you can make it shiver with fear. WIS15 or be Frightened for 1 minute. A creature frightened in this way must use its turn to move away from you, using the Dash Action or the Dodge Action if it can’t move away. Save Ends². 

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Soul Trapper: When you bring a humanoid creature to 0hp and kill them with this weapon, their soul is trapped in Timor Exstatis. Up to 3 Souls can be contained in this mace, when the weapon is full it can’t trap any souls until at least one is spent.

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Consume: When you hit a creature with this weapon, you can spend one of the souls trapped in it. When you do this you must also spend and roll some of your Hit Dice. The attack deals extra necrotic damage equal to the rolled Hit Dice.

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