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| Posted on Thu, February 24, 2005 by Dongul |
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Tourmaline writes "This magical weapon was inspired by the 3.5 'Sword of the Planes'. I mused that Celestian's followers would make Spears of the Planes, since the spear is Celestian's weapon. Then I thought that a Spear of the Planes would probably have slightly different qualities, given the Far Wanderer's home plane, and... well, one thing led to another. I'm not sure if this is a major magical weapon or a minor artifact now; I'm listing it as the latter to be safe. Whichever it is, enjoy reading about it and tell me what you think!
Spear of Celestian
By: Tourmaline
Used with Permission. Do not repost without obtaining prior permission from the author.
Minor artifact
Type: shortspear
Appearance:
These rare magical spears are all crafted the same, by the high clergy of Celestian. The spear's shaft is lacquered glossy black and set with seven large, flawless, diamond-shaped gems. From the base to the point, the gems are: ruby, jacinth, golden topaz, emerald, sapphire, amethyst, and diamond. The head of the spear is made of mithral and engraved with the symbol of Celestian on both sides. It glows with a faint white light, reminiscent of the stars.
Abilities:
The Spear of Celestian's magical abilities depend on the plane where it is being used. Regardless of the plane, the white glow of the spearhead intensifies if danger is approaching. (Note that the Spear only warns of danger to its wielder, not to other party members.) Material Plane: +1 returning shortspear. Inner Planes: +2 returning shortspear. The wielder is protected from natural planar hazards, such as fire, drowning, or negative energy. This protection remains for one round after the spear leaves the wielder's hand, enabling him/her to take advantage of the returning property. Ethereal, Shadow, Outer Planes: +3 returning shortspear. Same natural hazard protection as above; this includes protection from more exotic hazards such as the entrapping effects of Hades and Elysium, the petrification effect of Thuldanin, the maddening/deafening effects of Pandemonium, and the touch of the river Styx. (You're still out of luck if you're stupid enough to drink Styx water, though.) Astral Plane: +4 returning shortspear. Here, in Celestian's home, the Spear reaches its greatest power. It protects its wielder from the mental effects of psychic storms (see Manual of the Planes) and also the location effects if the wielder is navigating for the party. The Spear also speeds astral travel; travel time is lessened by one category, as if the traveler were more familiar with the destination than he/she actually is. (This power only functions if the Spear's wielder is the one navigating the party.) The wielder's silver cord (if present) may not be damaged by any means, even the attack of an astral dreadnought. The Spear can damage other silver cords, as a githyanki silver sword. These bonuses also apply when fighting planar creatures outside their natural habitat; for example, a fire elemental on the Material Plane. The bonuses for plane and creature do not stack- pick the greatest applicable one. So, if Saresha is using a Spear of Celestian to fight a green slaad on the Astral Plane, she doesn't get +7. She gets +4 (Astral), as the greater applicable bonus.
Lore:
The church of Celestian is the only entity that knows how to make these spears, and they are usually found in the hands of high-ranking Celestianite clerics. Legend, and church dogma, have it that Celestian himself taught a high priestess of the faith how to make Spears of Celestian in the days before the Aerdy Empire. For this reason, Celestianites regard the weapons as holy. It is extremely rare for a person not of the faith to be granted the privilege of using a Spear of Celestian. This has happened in the past, when an outsider took on a mission of extreme importance to the church – always with the stipulation that the Spear be returned when the mission is accomplished. To steal a Spear of Celestian, or accept a stolen Spear, is considered an act of sacrilege. The church punishes such theft severely (usually by dumping the offender into Carceri, on the grounds that life in the prison of the multiverse is worse than death) once they learn of it. Adventurers who find a stolen Spear and return it to the nearest temple of Celestian will find their efforts richly rewarded and their respect for the deity praised.
Despite repeated attempts by archmages and high clerics of other faiths, nobody has yet managed to exactly duplicate the Spears of Celestian. (Swords of the planes may be the result of such attempts.) Bards' tales say that the Spears must be forged on the Astral Plane. Exactly how such a feat would be accomplished in the weightless Astral Plane, nobody knows- except possibly the Celestianites, and they refuse to speak on the matter. Powerful clerics of Celestian often use these Spears in their planar travels, and are frequently solicited by important or wealthy travelers as guides through the planes.
Destruction:
Spears of Celestian are quite durable. There are only three known ways to break them, all of which incur the god's curse.
Mordenkainen's disjunction: The Spear has a save DC of 25. If the disjunction succeeds, the Spear's magic is dissipated and it becomes an ordinary (albeit beautiful) masterwork shortspear. However, at the moment of release, the curse of Celestian falls upon the mage who invoked the disjunction. She loses 4 points of Intelligence, 10,000 XP, and her land speed is reduced by 10 ft. The curse can only be lifted by means of a wish, miracle, or atonement to Celestian. (An atonement in this case would not change alignment; it would instead function as a formal apology to the god.) Strength check vs. DC 35: If the check succeeds, the character manages to break the Spear's shaft in two by brute force. The curse of Celestian is invoked upon him; in addition, the released energies of the Spear catapult him into one of the Lower Planes. Roll d% as below: -Lower Planes- - 01-12: Limbo
- 13-25: Pandemonium
- 26-38: The Abyss
- 39-50: Carceri
- 51-63: Hades
- 64-75: Gehenna
- 76-87: The Nine Hells
- 88-100: Acheron
Wish or miracle: The use of these spells on a Spear has never been documented. However, it is theorized that one could use wish or miracle to destroy a Spear as Mordenkainen's disjunction, possibly even avoiding Celestian's curse. Strong abjuration, transmutation, moderate divination; CL 20th
Market price: variable. Whatever a sufficiently unscrupulous person will pay. (It really isn't recommended to try and sell a Spear, but characters do lots of crazy things...)
Adventure Hooks:
-Somebody managed to steal a Spear of Celestian! The temple from which it was stolen is offering a hefty reward for its return. The reward gets bigger if you include the thief's head, and bigger yet if you include a live thief for questioning and judgment. (Be aware that a live thief will be questioned under truth spells.)
-(PC who follows Celestian) There's trouble brewing at the local temple of Celestian, and they need the region's high priest to deal with it. (The variety of trouble is up to you.) Unfortunately, said priest is out wandering the Planes, as the Far Wanderer's followers are wont to do. His last known destination was the City of Brass on the Elemental Plane of Fire. Most of the priests currently at the temple in question are elderly, crippled or ill; healthy clerics of Celestian are usually on the move. Therefore, they ask the PCs to go look for their high priest. Should the PCs accept, the one who follows Celestian is loaned a Spear for the quest. Besides the usual dangers of planar travel, the PCs will likely encounter evil or just plain greedy outsiders who covet the Spear... and they'd better not go back to the Flanaess without it.
-The PCs are given magical items as payment for a service rendered- and one of them turns out to be a Spear of Celestian! If the PCs identify the Spear before leaving town, the payer swears he had no idea of its true nature. If they identify it later and come back to confront their erstwhile employer, he's nowhere to be found. What's going on here? How did a holy weapon of Celestian get into this person's hands- and why did he give it to the PCs? Is he really innocent, or is somebody playing a deeper game? Do the PCs immediately go find a temple of Celestian (which may be a long trip; there aren't that many), or pursue the mystery? If they choose the latter, they risk being seen with the Spear and hunted down by the church as thieves. (You know what they say about friendly fire...)
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Average Score: 3.84
Votes: 13
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Re: Spear of Celestian (Score: 1)
by Dethand (dethand@triton.net) on Thu, February 24, 2005
(User Info | Send a Message | Journal) | | Nice...nice indeed! Really makes me want to play a cleric of Celestian. One Question do you have Complete Divine or have access to the feat True Believer? |
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Re: Spear of Celestian (Score: 1)
by mortellan on Sat, February 26, 2005
(User Info | Send a Message) | | Excellent work. Celestian is an overlooked god and this does him justice. I especially liked the information on what happens when you destroy it, THAT is what makes artifacts fun. |
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Re: Spear of Celestian (Score: 1)
by Scottenkainen on Sun, March 13, 2005
(User Info | Send a Message) | While definitely a major magic item, it can't be a relic or artifact if it can be duplicated (even if limited to clerics of Celestian).
As usual, the game mechanics do nothing for me, but the highlights of the article are the evocative description of the item (very cool) and the plot hooks that go with the spears.
~Scott C. |
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