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    Canonfire :: View topic - Item - The Cube of Light and Dark
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    Item - The Cube of Light and Dark
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    Encyclopedia Greyhawkaniac

    Joined: May 29, 2018
    Posts: 1470


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    Wed Jan 20, 2021 3:35 pm  
    Item - The Cube of Light and Dark




    Item - The Cube of Light and Dark

    The Suel Imperium was vastly powerful. Today the greatest wizards and wielders of magic are pale shadows of that distant past. Though the Imperium is long gone still many items and a few places remain. The Sea of Dust, what was once the heartland of the Imperium, holds many secrets, many items which have been lost for millenia.

    Sometime expeditions manage to return from the Sea of Dust and one such brought back many treasures. The Cube of Light and dark is one such. It was taken to the Grey College in the City of Greyhawk to be studied and from there, it and many other items, were stolen.

    The Cube of Light and Dark is a black square stone about the size of half a loaf of bread. It cannot be touched by hand as a force keeps anyone about half a foot away from the sides. If the stone is caught between two hands it will begin to spin and cracks of white light will appear. From these cracks a white smoke and a black cloud will appear and swirl around the wielder as if it was a cloak or cloth being whipped by a stormwind.

    The wielder gains a strong protection from magic and divine power. They have the ability to cast both light and darkness spells. They can open a portal to the Plane of Shadows and summon creatures to serve them from the plane. They can banish such creatures that they encounter with the power from the white smoke.

    Wielding the cube takes a toll one the user and they will suffer a loss of hit points and strength. The cube can be used 1 hour for each point of constitution the character possess but if they wield it below 10 points of constitution they must roll a d6 and on a natural 1 or a roll higer than their consatitution they are drawn into the Plane of Shadows.

    Once a character wields the cube half their hair will turn a ghostly white.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 11, 2001
    Posts: 42
    From: Next to Nowhere NV

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    Thu Jan 21, 2021 2:39 pm  

    Very interesting... especially as I am currently running a campaign set on the Plane of Shadows!

    Jason, would you be able to stat the cube for 3.5/PF1?

    Thanks even if you cannot... great item.
    Encyclopedia Greyhawkaniac

    Joined: May 29, 2018
    Posts: 1470


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    Thu Jan 21, 2021 3:53 pm  

    GreyMage wrote:
    Very interesting... especially as I am currently running a campaign set on the Plane of Shadows!

    Jason, would you be able to stat the cube for 3.5/PF1?

    Thanks even if you cannot... great item.


    Thanks!

    I never played 3x or Path. Anyone?
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 11, 2001
    Posts: 42
    From: Next to Nowhere NV

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    Thu Jan 21, 2021 6:09 pm  

    Bueller... Bueller... Bueller?
    GreySage

    Joined: Aug 03, 2001
    Posts: 3310
    From: Michigan

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    Thu Jan 21, 2021 8:25 pm  

    Here's a possible translation into Pathfinder 1st edition stats:

    The Cube of Light and Dark—Major Artifact

    Aura: Overwhelming evocation; CL: 25th
    Slot: None; Wgt: 2 lbs

    Description:
    The Suel Imperium was vastly powerful. Today the greatest wizards and wielders of magic are pale shadows of that distant past. Though the Imperium is long gone still many items and a few places remain. The Sea of Dust, what was once the heartland of the Imperium, holds many secrets, many items which have been lost for millenia.

    Sometime expeditions manage to return from the Sea of Dust and one such brought back many treasures. The Cube of Light and Dark is one such. It was taken to the Grey College in the City of Greyhawk to be studied and from there, it and many other items, were stolen.

    The Cube of Light and Dark is a black square stone about the size of half a loaf of bread. It cannot be touched by hand as a force keeps anyone about half a foot away from the sides. If the stone is caught between two hands it will begin to spin and cracks of white light will appear. From these cracks a white smoke and a black cloud will appear and swirl around the wielder as if it was a cloak or cloth being whipped by a stormwind.

    The wielder is constantly under the effect of protection from evil and protection from good.

    The wielder can also make use of the following spell-like abilities:

    At will—light, darkness, ray of light, banish light, control light, shape shadows, banish shadows, blinding discharge, grasp of shadows, shadow ball,
    3/day—shadow ammunition, greater shadow ball, shadow binding, symbol of darkness, symbol of blinding, wall of darkness
    1/day—shadow gate, shadow vortex, shadow blast, shadow binding, mass, umbral assistant, umbral berserker, umbral informant, umbral magician, wall of darkness, greater, gate (Plane of Shadow only), banish (shadow creatures only).

    Ramifications:
    Wielding the cube takes a toll on the user and they will suffer a temporary loss of 1 constitution point per hour. If they wield it below 10 points of constitution they must make a fortitude save or be drawn into the Plane of Shadow.

    Temporary ability damage returns at the rate of 1 point per night of rest (8 hours) for each affected ability score. Complete bed rest restores 2 points per day (24 hours) for each affected ability score.

    Once a character wields the cube half their hair will turn a ghostly white.

    Destruction:
    The Cube of Light and Dark may be destroyed in the Prismatic Vault in the Positive Energy Plane, or by being cast into Eternity's Doorstep in the Negative Energy Plane.
    Apprentice Greytalker

    Joined: Aug 11, 2001
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    Fri Jan 22, 2021 6:30 pm  

    Rasgon (and Jason)

    Many thanks!
    GreySage

    Joined: Aug 03, 2001
    Posts: 3310
    From: Michigan

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    Fri Jan 22, 2021 7:32 pm  

    Thinking about this further:

    - The blinding effect being usable at will might be too powerful.

    - The banishment effect only being usable once per day might not be powerful enough, depending on what you (as DM) want to use the cube for. For example, maybe there's a plot involving a massive army of shadow creatures invading Oerth, so the PCs go on an epic quest to locate the cube and stop the army. In that case, you'd probably want to increase the power of the banishment effect so that the PCs can actually stop an invasion with it, instead of just one monster. In that case you might also increase the severity of the associated curse, for example making the constitution drain permanent, or having the cube get thrown into a random plane of existence if the PC is sucked into the Plane of Shadow.
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