Nightblood's Return (Was: Guess My Riddle)

[DeepShadow of FoS]

So I'm fleshing out the items based on the descriptions given, and here's what I have so far. I'm making all of them very powerful items, because I want to have powerful people fighting over them. They may all qualify as Minor Artifacts, in fact. Each of them will have a way to fail powers checks as well, with failure drawing the user closer to reuniting Nightblood in some way.

The Ring--The black onyx ring functions as a Ring of Spell Storing, except it automatically stocks itself with Nightblood's own spells, because the stone contains his magic. Of course, NB was a 20th level lich, so I'm tempted to allow it to store up to 10 level of spells, as per a Greater Ring of Spell Storing, but at this point it's just the normal 5. I may reserve higher levels of spells for users who fail powers checks, which in this case comes naturally from casting NB's necromancy spells.

The Bracelet--The bracelet gives people access to NB's knowledge skills, which considering his level and occupation should be amazingly high. I'm not sure if I want to let wearer's use all of the lich's ranks and bonuses, which would probably give them +30 or more on K:Arc checks alone. At this point I'm giving the wearer +5 to all knowledge skills they are trained in just from wearing it, and the ability to use a Bardic Lore ability to answer questions that they ponder while falling asleep with the bracelet on. This latter ability manifests as dreams where the dead whisper to them, and deliberately using it to speak with the dead this way warrants a powers check.

That's enough for now. Any thoughts?

[The Lesser Evil]

Hmm, seems ok, although it lacks, I dunno, edge to it. If it's going to be a piece of a lich, I feel like there should be some really great temptation. Like, for example with the bracelet, if you had some kind of potion or something to imbibe before sleeping to induce the equivalent of a legend lore or divination spell or some such. The problem would be that the potion would require some sort of sacrifice, like a beloved pet, and then gradually build up to more and more horrible deeds, until you're beyond the pale of redemption. On the other hand, maybe this would work better for the piece that animates bodies, as you would be (Unknowingly) repeating the process Nightblood went through to become a lich, only you're building a new body for him.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

I hear you, and that's part of where I'm having trouble following the original outline. IMHO, the serious temptations and manipulations should be reserved for the object that houses the lich's force of will or personality, which would be the pendant. However, it also says that Nightblood was split into 4 separate beings, each a 5th level creature...but without force of will, body or personality, I would hesitate to call his magic or his skills a separate being. That part has me going around in circles. Are the knowledge skills and spells those of a 5th level character? Then it's hardly Nightblood's skills and magic, and you could justifiably wonder where the remaining 3/4ths of his magic and skills are, insofar as they aren't in any of the other pieces.

Yeah, that part just confuses me. I'm open to any thoughts.

[thekristhomas]

HA! Nightblood...was staring me in the face!

[DeepShadow of FoS]

My PC's are about to hear the prophecy (Courtesy of Sinara Doom), so I had better write the last verse:

As neck connects the head and heart
Shares quick'ning pulse with arm and hand
The moon-at-neck quickens the dead
To seek the moons, or to command.

If you are following my other threads, you should recognize this as the brooch that is currently worn by Bone the Fence IMC. I've tweaked the powers of it as described in the netbook: while it animates the nearest corpse as said there, that corpse has the create spawn and animate dead powers, allowing it to divide its animating force among multiple bodies. This actually makes it easier for the wearer of the brooch to control, as Bone has discovered. If he loses too many of his "irregulars" in a single fight, he'll find the ones that remain are much more intelligent and harder to control. If he loses all of them, the brooch will animate the nearest corpse, and he will have to wait for that creature to come try and kill him and take the brooch. Then he will command it to obey him, and lock it up until he has more bodies to animate and make it tractable again.