Dungeon Master's Guide
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WAND OF 0RCUS<br />
Wand, artifact (requires attunement)<br />
The ghastly Wand of Orcus rarely leaves Orcus's side.<br />
The device, as evil as its creator, shares the demon<br />
lord's aims to snuff out the lives of all living things and<br />
bind the Material Plane in the stasis of undeath. Orcus<br />
allows the wand to slip from his grasp from time to time.<br />
When it does, it magically appears wherever its master<br />
senses an opportunity to achieve some fell goal.<br />
Made from bones as hard as iron, the wand is topped<br />
with a magically enlarged skull that once belonged to<br />
a human hero slain by Orcus. The wand can magically<br />
change in size to better conform to the grip of its user.<br />
Plants wither, drinks spoil, flesh rots, and vermin thrive<br />
in the wand's presence.<br />
Any creature besides Orcus that tries to attune to the<br />
wand must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw.<br />
On a successful save, the creature takes 10d6 necrotic<br />
damage. On a failed save, the creature dies and rises<br />
as a zombie.<br />
In the hands of one who is attuned to it, the wand can<br />
be wielded as a magic mace that grants a + 3 bonus to<br />
attack and damage rolls made with it. The wand deals<br />
an extra 2d12 necrotic damage on a hit.<br />
Random Properties. The Wand of Orcus has the<br />
following random properties:<br />
• 2 minor beneficial properties<br />
1 major beneficial property<br />
2 minor detrimental properties<br />
1 major detrimental property<br />
The detrimental properties of the Wand of Orcus are<br />
suppressed while the wand is attuned to Orcus himself.<br />
Protection. You gain a +3 bonus to Armor Class while<br />
holding the wand.<br />
Spells. The wand has 7 charges. While holding it, you<br />
can use an action and expend 1 or more of its charges<br />
to cast one of the following spells (save DC 18) from<br />
it: animate dead (1 charge), blight (2 charges), circle of<br />
death (3 charges), finger of death (3 charges), power<br />
word kill (4 charges), or speak with dead (1 charge). The<br />
wand regains 1d4 + 3 expended charges daily at dawn.<br />
While attuned to the wand, Orcus or a follower<br />
blessed by him can cast each of the wand's spells using<br />
2 fewer charges (minimum of 0).<br />
Call Undead. While you are holding the wand, you<br />
can use an action to conjure skeletons and zombies,<br />
calling forth as many of them as you can divide 500 hit<br />
points among, each undead having average hit points<br />
(see the Monster Manual for statistics). The undead<br />
magically rise up from the ground or otherwise form in<br />
unoccupied spaces within 300 feet of you and obey your<br />
commands until they are destroyed or until dawn of<br />
the next day, when they collapse into inanimate piles of<br />
bones and rotting corpses. Once you use this property<br />
of the wand, you can't use it again until the next dawn.<br />
While attuned to the wand, Orcus can summon any<br />
kind of undead, not just skeletons and zombies. The<br />
undead don't perish or disappear at dawn the following<br />
day, remaining until Orcus dismisses them.<br />
Sentience. The Wand ofOrcus is a sentient, chaotic<br />
evil item with an Intelligence of 16, a Wisdom of 12, and<br />
a Charisma of 16. It has hearing and darkvision out to a<br />
range of 120 feet.<br />
The wand communicates telepathically with its<br />
wielder and can speak, read, and understand Abyssal<br />
and Common.<br />
Personality. The wand's purpose is to help satisfy<br />
Orcus's desire to slay everything in the multiverse. The<br />
wand is cold, cruel, nihilistic, and bereft of humor.<br />
In order to further its master's goals, the wand feigns<br />
devotion to its current user and makes grandiose<br />
promises that it has no intention of fulfilling, such as<br />
vowing to help its user overthrow Orcus.<br />
Destroying the Wand. Destroying the Wand of Orcus<br />
requires that it be taken to the Positive Energy Plane by<br />
the ancient hero whose skull surmounts it. For this to<br />
happen, the long-lost hero must first be restored to lifeno<br />
easy task, given the fact that Orcus has imprisoned<br />
the hero's soul and keeps it hidden and well guarded.<br />
Bathing the wand in positive energy causes it to crack<br />
and explode, but unless the above conditions are met, the<br />
wand instantly reforms on Orcus's layer of the Abyss.<br />
OTHER REWARDS<br />
As much as adventurers desire treasure, they often<br />
appreciate other forms of reward. This section<br />
presents a variety of ways that gods, monarchs, and<br />
other beings of power might recognize the characters'<br />
accomplishments, including supernatural gifts that<br />
give characters new capabilities; titles, lands, and other<br />
marks of prestige; and boons that are available only to<br />
adventurers who have reached 20th level.<br />
SUPERNATURAL GIFTS<br />
A supernatural gift is a special reward granted<br />
by a being or force of great magical power. Such<br />
supernatural gifts come in two forms: blessings and<br />
charms. A blessing is usually bestowed by a god or<br />
a godlike being. A charm is typically the work of a<br />
powerful spirit, a location of ancient magic, or a creature<br />
that has legendary actions. Unlike a magic item, a<br />
supernatural gift isn't an object and doesn't require<br />
attunement. It gives a character an extraordinary ability,<br />
which can be used one or more times.<br />
BLESSINGS<br />
A character might receive a blessing from a deity for<br />
doing something truly momentous-an accomplishment<br />
that catches the attention of both gods and mortals.<br />
Killing rampaging gnolls rarely warrants such a<br />
blessing, but slaying the high priest of Tiamat as he<br />
attempts to summon the Dragon Queen might.<br />
A blessing is an appropriate reward for one of the<br />
following accomplishments:<br />
• Restoring the most sacred shrine of a god<br />
• Foiling an earthshaking plot by the enemies of a god<br />
• Helping a god's favored servant complete a holy quest<br />
An adventurer might also receive a blessing in<br />
advance of a perilous quest. For example, a paladin<br />
could receive one before setting out on a quest to slay a<br />
terrifying lich that is responsible for a magical plague<br />
sweeping the land.<br />
CHAPTER 7 I TREASURE<br />
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