Bloodmail
...The rubies seemed to withdraw into the ring and then into his flesh. The man howled in pain, two small holes were the only reminder the rubies existed, but he could feel them still.
Full Item Description
Bloodmail appears to be a simple silver ring with 2 small rubies on opposing sides. The ring emits noticeable traces of magic to those trained to detect such things. The rubies are set in the ring in such a manner that the ring seems to have been made around them.
History
Bloodmail is a ring of legend, talked about in stories but never seen. The Circle of Blood is a potent trio; three rings forged by a single mage, Railus Shadowhisper. Bloodmail, Agony, and Fate; all cursed because of a single act of betrayal.
Railus’ knowledge of magic was unrivaled, and his ability to channel his magic into rings remains legendary. Stories say the 3 rings were created as a gift to 3 apprentices of Railus when they took positions in the Mages Council. Many of his apprentices went on to take positions in the council, but never before had any of his apprentices taken seats on the council.
His apprentices; Gerarg, Kyrius, and Cyul, often came to him for advice and he happily gave it. Times were changing in Aeristi and Railus felt honored to have a part in the shaping of magic’s place in the world.
Bloodmail was given to Gerarg, the more brilliant of the lot, but easily the frailest. He gave him this ring to protect him and make up for his physical short comings.
Towards the end of his days, Railus started experimenting with the forbidden magic, necromancy. He took to it like a fish to water and it sent a shiver down the spine of the council. His former apprentices were looked to in an effort to stop Railus, to lead a coup to take down the aging (yet still powerful) wizard.
The full council stormed his tower, lead by Kyrius. Railus was not caught off-guard and noticed the three of them still wore the rings he gave them so many years before. He thought this quite brash and foolish to wear such things he could alter, and to don them in his sanctum would prove costly.
Never again would they be able to remove the rings, and the powers that once came freely would cost them dearly. In the end, they were dark gifts from a scorned master.
The rings have traveled through history, wreaking havoc on those foolish enough to wear them. It has been suggested that the only way to destroy them is to unite them at the site of Railus betrayal.
Magic/Cursed Properties
This ring bears a curse. Once it is worn the rubies retract through the ring and into the flesh of whoever put it on, the holes filling with blood. It can not be removed unless an exceptional spell caster removes it, or the finger becomes separated from the hand.
Upon donning the ring, the wearers fortitude is tested by the ring.
The ring slid onto his finger and seemed to adjust to his slender fingers. After a moment an intense pain shot through his body dropping to his knees. A moment later, the pain ceased, leaving him pale and exhausted
Passing this test does not mean the wearer is out of the woods. Everyday at dusk the wearer is tested again, each failure increasing the difficulty and causing the pain to be exponentially worse; setting in motion a fate worse than death, a chance at a cursed life after death. Each failure causes the wearer to look more pallid, less like a healthy person, skin pulling tight against bone.
Passing the test allows the wearer to utilize the protection once granted to Gerarg. With a thought the wearer can summon a suit of chain mail that fully engulfs them. The peculiar thing about this armor is that it is blood red and can not be physically removed. The armor makes no noise as the wearer walks and does not seem to have enough weight to be a burden on even the frailest of people. Additionally, those who attempt to cast magic while wearing the armor find that it does not impede them in any way, as if the armor is an extension of the person wearing it rather than being separate.
If the wearer wishes to dispel the protection granted by Bloodmail, they can do so with a thought. Multiple activations and dismissals of protection in a short period of time will prove to be costly and exhausting. The wearer would need to show exceptional fortitude to remain conscious after such an action. Failure to do so renders the wearer unconscious.
Having the protection of Bloodmail active for longer than a 24 hour period enables it to draw more blood than before. The difficulty level of the test is increased, tapping the constitution of the wearer.
The ring has been rumored to grant the wearer other abilities that are active as long as the ring is worn. The ability to see in the absence of light and the ability to disregard damage that is not dealt with silver are rumored to have been bestowed, but neither has been confirmed.
If the wearer fails too many tests, Bloodmail’s true intent is revealed. The wearer is rendered unconscious and anything short of intense magical prowess will not wake them. They remain in that state until the following dusk, when they arise as a creature of the night, doomed to never see another sunrise… a vampire.
Article Codex
Items • Jewelry • Cursed
...The ring slid onto her finger as if it were lovingly crafted just for her. Its diamond seemed to take in the sunlight, amplify and reflect it in every direction. Then almost immediately, the light waned and the stone went dark. Her throat clutched in a constricting gurgle before she slumped to the ground, still and lifeless.
Not Registered Yet? No problem.
Do you want Strolenati super powers? Registering. That's how you get super powers! These are just a couple powers you receive with more to come as you participate.
- Upvote and give XP to encourage useful comments.
- Work on submissions in private or flag them for assistance.
- Earn XP and gain levels that give you more site abilities (super powers).
- You should register. All your friends are doing it!
? Responses (30)
Ill withhold my vote untill you fix some of the typos, like i know its suppose to have dots before "a vampire" at the end. And it says "worn.)rnThe" in the second to last paragraph. But it looks solid and its a good idea. I understand you were tried, having been up since 4am before writing this. So I'm sure it will slide by. I don't know quite what to say, I don't usually comment on items like this, but I'm making an exception for you Railus. I know you have tons of ideas in that head of yours now submit some more! w00t!
Updated: I hit preview before I posted and it added things like 'rn' where I hit enter and removed some of my editing, like the 3 periods at the end before 'a vampire'
It's a good idea but I'll withhold my vote for now.
Updated: Fixed everything I could see wrong grammatically. Nothing seems to be spelled wrong, not sure why people are reserving judgement.
Its actually pretty good - though some might consider it too powerful. It is a little too system specific for some - anything that smells of D20 invites comment. Perhaps changing the Consitution damage to something a little less D20-speak might help.
How about one wearing the ring starts to exibit the symptoms of blood loss - paler skin, eventually shock, and if worn long enough, death. Each time the ring is worn, the blood loss increases, causing the symptoms to come earlier and earlier.
Viewing it as a cursed vampire-maker rather then a protective item helps.
Constitution is hardly a d20 term, it simply means your stat or ability governing health. Which i think can be understood in most systems. I think this is a good idea, and deserves more than a 3. I'm giving it a 4. I'm not sure what you play Val, but try to remember that we do accept people of all roleplaying backgrounds, don't be a 20 hater. But I agree that the focus should have been more on the vampire making rather than the chainmail (I think that's what you were trying to say).
Actually I play D20, but I still advocate making posts as system neutral as possible.
While Constitution is a stat in the D20 system, the literal definition is the aggregate of a person's physical and psychological characteristics. I agree I could have worded it a little differently as to specifically state the changes made to the person lucky enough to don the ring, but this was written as an idea, not a guideline. I wanted to allow for as much room to fit it to another persons game world as possible. Stating that damage is done was a basic way of stating that a negative change is made.
I do not agree that the focus should be on the fact that the item turns beings into vampires. It is the final price to pay, but the benefit of protection and the leeway to additional powers that hint at vampirism is just as important. A suit of armor you can summon at will, without the need to take time to put it on is quite valuable. The fact that it makes no noise and weighs nothing is quite a benefit as well. It also does not impede spell casting, making it usable by almost anyone in a fantasy setting. I am not downplaying the curse, but it seems to me that people are downplaying the benefits.
If you look back at some of the commens made on system specific details, I'm actually being very mild - and I did not base my vote on it's presence. I personally think that without the emphasis on the cursed aspect, it is overpowered for just the reasons you cite.
I think it's ok for this item to seem a little overpowered since there are only 3 in existance and it can turn you into a vampire. Just a thought...
It is 1 of 3, not all the same. Each does something different. The history of the Circle of Blood is more in depth than what I have put, I only included the important parts that are relevant to Bloodmail.
So the ring acts as a potent armour, but slowly drains blood from its wearer. If careless or unlucky, the wearer may die on it, being transformed into a vampire. There you go, an easy description of its function.
The powers sound too much for me, but in the setting they are probably appropriate. The history is quite generic, but it's a good first submission.
Well, there is only 1 ring of its kind in a set of 3 different rings, each with its own unique power; I dont really think its over powered. Seems like you'd have to be pretty powerfull to make good use of it anyway. I think in the right setting the ring is just fine.
Updated: Reworked it a bit, included more detail.
I like. I would want to know the *why* of the vampire, but that's not to be included here, that's for another place.
where can i get it? i can handle blood being drawn, since it's not a needle lol
Its a little different take on how vampires are created, I would love to read more about the other rings and the creator. The story intrigues me a bit. Well done.
Updated: Just changed the wording a bit. Nothing major. Making it easier to see the link between the 3 rings.
I like the update, it's much better now. Not that it was bad to begin with. Let's have the other 2 Rings. Then a Plot! and some NPCs! Yay!
Okay, definately like the update - though perhaps the common history can be collected elsewhere.
So as a result, am upping my vote!
Heres a nice shiny 4 for you... :)
Creepy cursed ring!
Great solid idea overall and easy to pick out the important parts of it. I found myself wanting more of the history though. Perhaps the first part describing Railus and his disciples would fit better as a separate submission and then let this item post concentrate on the item a little more. I see the NPC Railus as the main submission and then the items being linked to him.
Great new twist on the vampire. Was expecting the created vampire to be controlled by Railus and was suprised it was just left as an undead. There will probably be quite a few psychos looking for this ring wanting to become a vampire I would bet too. :)
I am not thinking it is too overpowered, it all depends on the level your game is in really. For any unique item, there can always be an anti-item to counteract it.
The NPC Railus will be a seperate submission and so will the history of the rings. At this time, I am not ready to make such submissions, so that is why the extra information has been included. Once I am ready, I will post the additional submissions and come back and clean up the rings.
Found this when I was looking for stuff to use in a game I am about to run, could be an interesting side plot and I think I could easily adapt the backstory with some slight changes. Can't wait for the rest.
I like this, I wish I could offer more criticism, but so much has already been said.
Anything I could say has already been said. Some comments seem harsh and elitest, but I guess that is what happens when you ask people for their opinions. I think I will hold off on submitting anything for now, but I like your stuff I have read so far.
An overpowered ring in my opinion.
Another gripe I have is that you include much of the same text in each sub. I can understand why but I think these would have been better off as a codex/scroll.
Aside from that I think it's ok.
Of the three rings, I like this one the most. Definitely a double-edged sword, considering that most mages want the extra protection *because* they have lower fortitudes or weaker constitutions. It's perhaps a tiny bit overpowered, but that can be fixed by letting the mail start out relatively weak and get progressively stronger as the character does (maybe a straight conversion from a character's general health to the increased armor bonus?).
