Terenas   "What you don't know, can hurt you." Joined: Nov.22.03 Contributions: 5 Forum Posts: 611

Categories -> Equipment -> Gems of Terror

Gems of Terror

Flee!!

Gems of Terror appear as small black pearls of approximately 500 gp value. However, at the utterance of command word by someone in contact with the gem, they generate a 40 foot radius sphere of pure terror. Any living being caught within this sphere must make a Will save vs. DC 16 or become panicked as by the Fear spell. A panicked creature will suffer a -2 penalty on saves and has a 50% chance to drop anything it is holding. It will flee in a random direction away from the source of its fear and avoid any confrontation with other dangers. It will cower if cornered. See the DMG for more information on panicked creatures. Repetition of the activation word by a being in contact with the stone deactivates it. The gems provide no protection to their wielder so living beings that wish to use them had be either strong of will or magically protected.

The first Gems of Terror were created ages ago by a vampire who's true name is lost to modern scholars. This vampire, referred to in modern times as "The Old One" or the "Lord of Masks" originally created them as a means to secure towers, havens and other locations of value from the prying eyes of mortals. He abandoned this use of the gems within a century of their creation as he created more subtle aversions. The gems then became tools of his servants who kept them mostly as personal tools to scatter militias and hostile crowds or secure a place of temporary rest from mortal intrusion. Approximately 2000 years ago, the secrets of constructing Gems of Terror were attained by lesser undead who owe "The Old One" no allegiance. The lich-lord Vergrath was the first confirmed being outside the Old One's court to attain them and over 2 dozen liches and vampire lords since him have wielded them. Some have used them in a fashion similar to Old One and his servants, others have equipped armies of the dead with them and carved great swathes of destruction and terror for a few short years before being destroyed by wizards and priests of unkown origin or allegiance. It is not known whether the Old One arranged for the secrets of these tools to be discovered or if they were stolen from his court. Regardless, he has taken no visible action. Nor is anything known about the mysterious order that has acted to halt the use of these gems for conquest on at least 5 separate occasions and what possible ties that they might have to the Old One.