Weapons of Legacy

TREEBROTHERTreebrother is a deceptively simple, knotted staff ofstout oak. Unpolished and rough, the wood looksfreshly cut from the bough of an ancient tree. Thestaff is thick and sturdy, ideally suited for use eitheras a walking stick or a quarterstaff.Nonlegacy Game Statistics: Treebrother; Cost 1,100gp; Charges 50. On command, Treebrother can summona cloud of bright motes resembling fireflies, creatingillumination equivalent to a light spell. Caster level5th. When you cast barkskin, your caster level is treatedas one level higher than normal.Omen: Nature’s power surges through Treebrother,causing plants within 5 feet to open their flowers andbend toward the staff as if it were the sun.HISTORYLong ago, in the deepest part of an ancient forest whereno woodcutter’s steps had ever passed, there lived atreant called Tarnla, who shepherded the primevaltrees. One of Tarnla’s trees was home to a dryad, a fairand lovely creature named Nidria, and the two childrenof the forest fell deeply in love with each other. Togetherwith the human druid Anda, they kept the sacred heartof the forest safe and unspoiled by the depredationsof loggers and careless folk. Legends say that Anda’sstaff Treebrother was crafted from a sapling resultingfrom Tarnla and Nidria’s union. (DC 15)At the twilight of his life, Anda was a great hero,revered and respected for many leagues beyond theforest where he dwelt with his friends, the treant Tarnlaand the dryad Nidria. Younger druids from acrossthe world traveled to his forest to learn from him,and kings and empresses alike consulted him for hiswisdom of the natural world. Despite his fame, Andahad enemies among many peoples, savage and civilized.A combination of raw hatred, terrible greed, and pettyjealousy brought down the great druid and destroyedmuch of his forest home. The orc chieftain Bruug,who had clashed with Anda in his youth, learned hisold enemy still lived and sought to avenge himselfupon the druid. Marshaling his forces, Bruug strucksuddenly and fiercely into the northern marches ofAnda’s forest, burning and destroying. Anda, along withTarnla and Nidria, raced to contain the orcs, but eventheir combined might couldn’t hold the wicked host atbay. Animal messengers were sent out to the sovereignswhose lands abutted the forest, but jealous and hatefuladvisors, who saw the woods as a great resource to beexploited if the meddlesome druid were eliminated,convinced many monarchs to withhold their troops.As Anda, Tarnla, and Nidria fell back toward the sacredheart of the forest, they pooled their magic for onelast, desperate spell to drive the invaders back. UsingNidria’s sacred oak as the spell’s focus, they conjuredforth a vast wave of vines and greenery, swallowing theorc multitude. Their victory came at great cost—thespell’s energy destroyed Nidria’s tree, and the effort ofcasting it claimed the lives of Anda and Tarnla alike.The dryad survived only thanks to Treebrother, whosemagic held enough residues from her oak to sustainher. Grief-stricken, the dryad buried Anda and Tarnlatogether beneath a sacred mound, atop which sheplanted Treebrother as a memorial to her fallen comrades.According to legend, the staff and Nidria abide thereeven now. (DC 18; Sacred Mound)Anda carried Treebrother with him since the days ofhis youth. Allegedly, the staff was a gift from Tarnla.When Anda was in his middle years, a caravan ofdwarves out of the mountainous west came to the eavesof the forest. The dwarven geomancers had divinedthe presence of great veins of precious ore beneaththe forest floor, and their miners entered the woodwith picks, axes, and spells to tear away the soil. Anda,upon learning of this horror, gathered his staff and setout to beseech the dwarves to cease their mining, orat least to dig more carefully, so as not to disturb theTreebrother was crafted from the scion of a treant and a dryadIllus. by F. HooperCHAPTER 3ITEMS OFLEGACY169