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.
Example: see below.
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.
Razor-like Pinball
Well, that was a lot of words for an attempt to describe the cool, natural-laws-defying behavior of a spinning metal circle that bounces between foes. I hope I made a certain Warrior Princess proud.
Here’s an image to better explain the usage of the Throat Slasher action:
As you can see in the Purple Dungeon of Hogs, both the green and yellow paths are available ways you can use the shield. The important thing to keep in mind is that the Chakram Shield must come back to you, forming a full circle, never traveling more than 15ft from one target to the other. Remember: you can use a wall to bounce on only once!
So, making 9 attacks in one round seems a little bit overpowered. To that I say, that’s cool, let it be. For the more anxious DMs I can try and persuade you by highlighting how unlikely it is to have that many targets come to you in that pattern, and if the stars align and you have the opportunity to slash an entire room, that’s when this item shines, and it should.
At a decent level the player is always gonna have to choose between using this Action or multiple attacks. I think the Throat Slasher and the Death Wheel offer two new situational options that can spice up the often lacking repertoire of weapon-based classes.
As for the glaring question that your players will ask: “Can I Smite/Sneak Attack/Make a Maneuver on these attacks?” – I leave it to you as DM to judge. I’ll allow it, probably on single targets, but I advise you to consider the kind of power you’re giving your players when this becomes the norm.
Want a quick way to limit the item, without making it boring? Make Throat Slasher and Death Wheel only usable once every Short Rest.
Hooks
This is surely not a common weapon, but an amazing artifact or cool invention. Think about what kind of warrior of the past would use it, or what strange magic allows for this magnetic behavior.
Here are some ideas:
| d6 | Hook |
| 1 | The gauntlet is found abandoned under some rubble. The bladed Ring comes flying when encountered in a later room, where it’s been placed as a decorative piece. |
| 2 | The weapon used only by the snake people of ancient times, no one has ever been able to understand how it worked, until the party finds this working sample. |
| 3 | The sharp ring is stuck in the skull of a recently fallen gnoll or goblin, the body wears the gauntlet upside down. |
| 4 | The Chakram Shield is the unique weapon of an ancient sect of warriors. They cover a unique role in their society such as royal guards or assassins. |
| 5 | The gauntlet is found at the end of a trap-filled dungeon; it was used to place the sharp rings as obstacles for intruders. |
| 6 | The gems on the gauntlet that attract the ring are a powerful, newly discovered, resource. This weapon is a test an inventor has tasked a character to partake in. |
Variations
If you like the mechanics but find the shield a bit silly, you can always reskin the artifact to better fit the mood of your game, go wild!
| d6 | Alternative Form |
| 1 | A three-bladed Shuriken that constantly spins. |
| 2 | A figure shaped like a hawk. It comes to life, glowing emerald green, when launched against enemies |
| 3 | A thin circle of arcane energy forms when this elegant glove is worn. |
| 4 | Two Katars, spinning around a glowing red gem. |
| 5 | A Silver Arrow that flies off a leather bracer. |
| 6 | A full bronze disk depicting a angry medusa head |
