Hero's Shield V.0.75
Description
The legends says that this shield was used by a great hero in the past, and that they fought with only this shield and no other weapon, conquering and defeating every enemy that faced him. The shield is a buckler type shield, made of an iron-like material, with a green gem right in the middle. The gem does not seem to be removable.
Weakest Soul
The four legendary weapons were created by a long lost ritual, one where the soul of a humanoid creature would be merged inside a weapon, creating an artifact of unknown strenght. While similar to sentient weapons, Legendary Weapons are not weapons that gain an innate intelligence, but items with a soul, thus bound to the said soul and morphing based on the soul inside of it.
A Shield is not a weapon
When the legendary weapons were created, the idea was to create a Spear, a Sword, a Bow and a Scythe. The weapon were created by the best smiths of the world, prepared to let the war end. Still, not everything went as planned. the spear became a Glaive, the Sword became a Katana, the Bow became a Shortbow and the Scythe... The most useless Legendary Weapon, a Shield.
History Unraveled
The shield can be questioned regarding its past, who it was and why it came to be, with a successful DC20 persuasion check. On a failure, the shield will sound unresponding, as if nothing was asked. If successful, it will then start showing images of its past life, before becoming a tribute for the Legendary Shield. "M-My lord. are you sure? While it will be for the cause to end the war, you know well enough what kind of magic you're capable of..." The young butler said to the old noble, trying to persuade him and to insinuate his unaptidute "That has no bearing to the case! I am old, left everything to my son, and there is no need for me to continue living! My magic will be enough!" The noble said with an unique rage. He seemed sure. On the altar a priest, a mage and other siluettes are seen, all ready. "You can start. It has been a pleasure being under your care, Maofur." The noble's face relaxed, now showing the face of an old man remineshing the past. "I... sob I'll always remember you, my lords.... No, Nao." The old noble sits by a scythe as long as him, with a thin handle and a large blade. "We shall now start" says the main priest, before starting to chant a ritual. As the ritual ends and the light disappear, everyone reels back at the horror, cussing and despising the damned noble. "That.... THAT BASTARD, THAT USELESS FATMAN! HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED!" Before them, a shield had appeared, instead of the scythe. Quickly and with one motion, the butler took the shield to himself, engulfed in a black flame, the flame of hatred. "Whoever discusses my lord... BURN TO DEATH!"
Revenge is futile, isn't it?
After understanding that revenge is futile, a well made speech and a good persuasion check with a DC that floats between 15/25 (based by the speech and Dm's will to let the weapon advance to the next stage) the soul of Nao will understand that, in the end, revenge brings nothing, and it is better to aim to the future instead of plotting and harboring hatred. If successful, Nao will be able to appear in ethereal form, as she did in the vision but translucent with a glowing aura and can communicate freely with anyone present and interact with small objects as with the Mage Hand spell. If the wielder proves themselves to be a true and noble and a force for good, Nao can choose to recognize them as his rightful partner and a true Hero for the ages to come. If the wielder accepts this, their maximum life span increases by 1,000 years. If the Legendary Shield is somehow destroyed, however, the wielder dies on the spot.
At what level should the weapon evolve?
As obvious it may seem, these weapons create quite the power creep, giving pro and cons. consider using this kind of weapon if you have a setting that can integrate and play on them. Usually, one would find these kind of weapons at any level you see fit between 3rd - 10th, awekening it only between level 7th - 14th and becoming exalted in the latest tier. It is to be said that, based on the player, the weapon may or may not never reach this state, it is up to you to know how much you want players to be involved. Overall, Have Fun!
Abilities
- Curse: After finishing attunement the shield becomes tied to the soul of the user, becoming one with it. You lose all proficiency in weapons, and you are not able to use other weapons aside the shield, whom you're considered proficient in as a weapon. If you try and use another weapon aside the shield, a shockwave hits you for 1d8 force damage, and you need to make a Con saving throw DC20 or drop the weapon on the ground. In any case, each turn you have a weapon in your hand you continue to be damaged. This curse cannot be ended by anything short of a Wish spell. This Curse does not work if using another Legendary Weapon.
- The shield is magic +1 shield. It can be used as a weapon, using either strenght or dexterity to hit and damage. The damage of the shied is 1d4 bludgeoning, and is considered a +1 magic weapon.
- The DC for every ability given by the shield is calculated based on the strenghts of its user: DC: 8+prof+ Str or Dex
- The gem at the center of the shield is in truth sentient, with an alignment True Neutral, and having 13 Int, 17 Wis and 10 Cha. It has hearing and darkvision 120 ft. The shield does not talk or read but understands common and is capable of show images of datas it has through its telepatic connection with its user.
Ability: Hateful Reaction
- As a bonus action, every enemy within 30 ft is affected by the "compelled duel" spell. You can use this ability 3 times for shortrest
Awakened
This status can be archieved only when the user goes through a great grief. The loss of a loved one, death of someone close to him or a great loss in a fight, it changes a lot based on the user of the shield.
Ability: Hate Configuration
- Whenever a melee weapon attack misses you by 3 or less, you can use your reaction to allow the gem to cast Hellish Rebuke at third level. Whenever you inflict damage with this ability, your maximum hp decrease by half the amount of damage you dealt, until you complete a long rest. *As an action, you can conjure a medium iron maiden anywhere you can see in a 30 ft. radius around you. The summoning process is taxing, requiring concentration. While concentrating on this effect, the caster has disadvantage in all saving throws, and their speed is halved. The iron maiden stays in place for one minute, after which it dissipates. A single humanoid target in a 5 ft. radius of the iron maiden needs to make a dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the target gets sucked inside of the iron maiden. The inside is spiked and deals 2d6 piercing magical damage. The target is also blinded and restrained. The creature can use its action in order to escape, by making a strength check (the lid can also be opened from the outside). If there's a creature inside when the iron maiden dissipates, that creature takes 6d6 force damage. This action can be used only once per long rest
Exalted
This status can be archieved only when the user is ready a lets go of its hatred, its revenge and goes on. The hate configuration trasforms and becomes Compassion
Compassion Configuration:
- You gain resistance against the damage derived from any form of weapon attacks and spell attacks. The Hero's Shield is now considered a magical +2 shield, and whenever a melee weapon attack misses you by 3 or less, you can use your reaction to allow the gem to cast Hellish Rebuke at fifth level. The damage type is Radiant
- As an Action, you can use Hero's Regalia.
Hero's Regalia
You speak a command word, becoming infused in an armor of pure white light. Until the effect ends, the target’s AC can’t be less than 22, regardless of what kind of armor it is wearing. As an action, you can emit a beam of light line of 60 ft. of lenght and 5 ft. wide. You make an attack roll for each target hit by the beam. On a hit you can make an attack roll for each person you hit with this beam. On a hit, the target is pushed 10 feet away from the line and takes 6d10 radiant damage. On a miss, the target moves 5 feet away from the line left or right. This movement triggers attack of opportunity if in melee range of someone. The line you make remains embed in light, becoming difficult terrain and dealing 4d6 to whoever enters said area. Much like a dragon breath, you can reuse this ability by rolling a 6 on a d6 at the beginning of your turn. The regalia lasts for one minute before disappearing and its great toll leaves you with two level of exhaustion