When characters use their abilities, I will summarize only the parts applicable to the nature of the characters' powers. Sometimes that is lore, or knowledge, or merely the result of casting a spell.
The Crown of Saunders could always reverse alignments and provide immunity to charm. How it gained its other powers is summarized below.
Dallehm was the last Court Wizard of Saunders. He thought he was tricky and came up with a plan to steal the throne from the rightful heir. Dallehm knew that the Crown of Saunders was magical, but couldn't figure out its properties. He enlisted the aid of Magarven the Drow to find out the exact magic of the item.
Dallehm plotted to use Magic Jar, possessing the king and forcing him to abdicate in favor of himself.
Problem one: Magarven was not just evil; he was untrustworthy. He didn't bother to do the research or spells to determine the nature of the Crown's power. Magarven fed Dallehm information to keep the flow of coins coming. The lies didn't stop until Dallehm's coins dried up.
Problem two: The Crown is very powerfully cursed.
Problem three: Interactions with Magarven are cursed.
Feeling that he had the most excellent plan in place, Dallehm proceeded to fail spectacularly.
When he attempted to Magic Jar the king, the crown acted. First, it flipped Dallehm's alignment. Then there was a violent confrontation between the Magic Jar and the Crown, ending when Magarven destroyed the Magic Jar "to save the King!" Having no place to go, Dallehm's soul found refuge in the Crown itself. He is now effectively immortal, but trapped in an inanimate object. Dallehm is the source of the other powers the Crown possesses.
Magarven, being of a clerical bent, ensured that Dallehm's empty body passed away quickly and quietly.
"I tried my best, but I don't know what evil befell the Court Magician. Perhaps if the Crown had a healer instead of a Magician, this tragedy could have been averted. If the king was so inclined, I would be happy to serve at his pleasure."
Yeah, Magarven is that kind of evil.
Dallehm soul's can converse directly with the king, and generally Dallehm likes to talk to the king. This is what provides the gift of languages and bonus to Charsma. Dallehm is completely independent of the king's mind, so he can make observations, provide translation and the ability to speak languages while the king is otherwise occuppied.
Dallehm can cast any of the spells he knew at the moment he was trapped in the crown. He knows 3 spells for levels 1-3 and 2 fourth-level spells. As a 9th-level Magic-User, he should also have a single fifth-level spell, but I ommit this one because he never bothered to study after using Magic Jar. DMs should select these spells base on thier campaign.
There are two final powers Dallehm provides. When the king engages in dancing, singing, riding, or swimming, Dallehm experiences a fusion with the king. Dallehm feels like he has a body again. He amplifies the king's natural abilities but does not replace them.
There is one last power the crown conveys to the king. When the king is subjected to telepathy or mind reading, the results are unique, to say the least. Since someone using these abilities on the king does not know there is a second mind in play, they perseve the king's inner thoughts and voice as very cold, as if he is not entirely human. The description I use for this is: "You can sense the king's thoughts, but not his voice. His thoughts are like the sound of words made by silence and absense."
This last tidbit isn't a power of the crown, it is just my way as DM to get into the heads of the players and make them lery of mind reading and such.
No comments:
Post a Comment