Items · Wand/Staff/ Arcane · Villanous
Wands of Soul Rending
The Wands were created by the Aldruku as a weapon to finally destroy their Nyorian enemies.
Codex introduction
Full Item Description
These wands appear as slender, leather-covered switches 3’ in length. The leather is dyed the color of dried blood and its length is enscribed with mystical runes.
History
The Wands were created by the Aldruku people as a weapon to finally destroy their Nyorian enemies (See Nethernimbus for more details). The Aldruku priesthood were assisted by their deities (who were also warring against the Nyorian Pantheon) in developing these accursed items.
Magic/Cursed Properties
The Wands are crafted from human bone,sinew and skin and infused with power both divine and from the slaying of human sacrifices. The wand’s power is simple, but dreadful. It will force the soul from a living being and tear it into fragments. Apart from causing the death of the victim, the now sundered spirit will be unable to proceed to the afterlife, as the components literally are scattered to the wind.
With sufficient divine magic - either directly wielded by a deity, or by a sufficiently strong priest, one can attempt to reunite the fragments, but they must be found and brought close together first.
Depending on the strength of the sundered spirit, the fragments may manifest themselves as non-corporeal undead of minor power. Destruction of these Fragments will cause permanent damage to the soul should the remaining fragments be collected and united.
Campaign Use
The power level of these items is quite high, and in the World of Neyathis, quite a number were created by the Aldruku. However, with the destruction of their fleet, the wands were virtually all cast into the sea and carried by tides to all ends of the world. Some were destroyed by the effects of weather, or through misadventure through the centuries, but some still remain. The undead spawned through use of these could alert various groups that one of these rods has been uncovered.
Their macabre origin and intense evil lends them to having dangerous side effects to the bearer. That which so readily destroys spirits might do so also to its bearer, perhaps slowly slicing away pieces of his spirit, creating additional Fragments. The Aldruku never found out about this side effect - they having created the rods only a short period before their one and only use.
Codex
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3 pieces
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Nethernimbus
Nethernimbus - Also known as Wraithstorm, Necronimbus, The Great Blackness -
World of Neyathis
The Big Picture of the World of Nyathis, for the time being... -
Nyoria
A powerful, maritime people, brought down by the foulest Necromancy.
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Links to this article 1
- Nethernimbus Alongside valadaar linked by valadaar
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Ouch. I like the imagery of the item itself, but the power itself is a bit "meh". It's basically an instant-death rod, with the added side effect of being unable to resurrect the person afterwards without great difficulty. Though I will say that the soul-shard undead could make for a fairly interesting lot, if played correctly.
Just an idea, but if I were to use these I would make the wand tear the soul from the mortal and manifest it as a sort of physical object -- perhaps a crystal or a glass globe. The attacker could then do with the soul what he wishes. He could shatter it into a hundred pieces and scatter them to the four corners of the world (good backstory for a campaign), or he could simply be a sicko who collects souls and keeps them in a room somewhere. Maybe he fancies himself to be a sort of god -- perhaps he even has a cult following whose souls he "harvests".
solid, nice visuals, did you envision having to touch the target with the wand.
The final confrontation was apocalyptic for the cultures involved, so ranged fits. They were meant as a cause for things to have happened - e.g Necronimbus - and as an extremely rare uberweapon.