Parent Pages: Rules : Magic Items

Staff of Destruction

The staff of destruction was forged of iron and has sharp spikes at regular intervals along it's surface. It is light as a feather to it's wielder, but feels very heavy to those struck by it.

History

The Staff of Destruction was forged by a rogue enchanter that dared to defy the Enchanter's Syndicate. He was driven to paranoia after having been hunted by assassins for several years. Finally, he found a hiding place where they couldn't track him, not even with magic, and set to work making a magic item so potent, his revenge would be easy. He did his work in a Very High Mana Area and bet his life on casting the spell.

Some say he failed. Others say he succeeded more brilliantly than anyone could imagine.

Whatever the case, he was never seen again. Eventually, the Syndicate was able to track his location using more mundane means: dogs trained to track by scent. They found his workshop, complete with his final work, simply lying on a bench: the Staff of Destruction.

One of the mages sent to dispatch him brushed against it while searching for further clues. He immediately felt a massive surge of power and without thinking, he cast a simple fire spell, but found that it cost him no energy.

Greedily, he picked it up and tried something else: an explosive fire spell that blew the roof off.

Within a few hours, this low-level mage was seen teleporting around the Syndicate's head quarters, throwing around massively powerful spells, without the slightest sign of tiring. Within minutes, the entire structure was destroyed. The survivors that ran at the first sign of trouble said that he was laughing the entire time, as though drunk with power.

No one knows what happened after the building was demolished and every witness killed; the staff and it's wielder were simply gone; he likely teleported away.

The staff has turned up a total of three times, as far as anyone knows. On the last occasion, an entire island sunk into the ocean, because the wielder somehow caused a volcano to erupt. The staff hasn't been seen since.

Campaign Use

Every once in a while, the staff of destruction turns up in the hands of a wizard, followed by a massive swath of destruction across the Archipelago.

This could make for an interesting adventure, as the PCs encounter a low-level mage using the staff, wiping out everything in his path. They'll likely try to stop him, but this will prove difficult at best. After they defeat him, they'll have to deal with the staff without touching it. Destroying it can be an adventure in and of itself.

Powers

The staff has the following Advantages:

  • Energy Reserve (Magic) 100
  • Extreme Regeneration (Energy Reserve Only)
  • Mana Enhancer (Area Effect 1) 1

The wielder may tap the staff's Energy Reserve to power their magical abilities.

Curses

Those that touch the staff suffer from the following Disadvantages for the duration:

  • Bad Temper (6 or less)
  • Spell-Berserk (9 or less)
  • Bloodlust (6 or less)
  • Bully (6 or less)
  • Delusion (All spells that don't help me cause more damage are a waste of time)
  • Obsession (6 or less, keeping and using the staff)
  • Odious Personal Habit (Laughing maniacally after each use of the staff; -3 to reaction penalties)
  • Paranoia

Spell-Berserk is an altered version of Berserk that causes the wielder to cast deadly spells for the duration. They'll choose spells with maximum damage potential (large area effects) and a casting time of 1 second or less; anything longer is too long for them to bother with. Defense spells are never cast. Teleportation spells or the like will be used to get close enough to cast other spells. If the caster is deprived of the opportunity to cast such spells, make a self-control roll. If they succeed, they come out of their berserk rage. Otherwise, this should play out like regular Berserk. Roll again for each turn they don't have the opportunity to cast suitable spells.

Most who touch the staff end up using it until they die of exhaustion or starvation.

Aside from all of this, having that much raw power is addictive.

Suggested Means of Destruction

  • Picking it up and casting a spell that destructively turns the staff's power against it. This will result in an explosion comparable in scope to a modest nuclear explosion.
    • The effect will take about ten minutes to build to critical mass, during which the staff's powers and curses will cease to function. It will spark madly and hum the whole time.
    • This will inflict 6dx200 Burning damage, enhanced with the Explosion 3 and Radiation Enhancements.
    • The resulting crater will permanently become a No Mana area.
  • Bring it's original creator back to life and convince him to unmake the staff.
  • Convince a god of creation to kiss the staff.
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