Helstone Treasures
Aye lad, they gleam do they not? Treasures they seem, and to some, they are. But they are not for mortals, lad, not for you at least...
An extension of Gems of the Underworld
Grynik's Apyral Spear
This weapon is vaguely phallic in appearance and was the prized weapon of the War Incubus Grynik. As part of a pact, he has 'gifted' it to a famous gladiator. This gladiator is doing well and wears ornate, demon-themed costumes. The spear boosts the sex appeal of its bearer, and their libido, but causes them to become effectively Syphillitic, which only becomes noticeable in its terminal stages. The spear of course draws power from the victim's degeneration, both the bearer of the spear, and anyone else who should contract the disease.
Methustine Arrows
These arrows take advantage of the toxin-amplifying effects of Melthustine and are made by humans. They are quite rare as this stone must be seized or bargained from demons. The use of these arrows allows for fairly dilute poisons to be carried by the archer - much safer and cheaper than full power toxin. Alternately, when exceptional virulence is needed, full strength poison could be applied to the arrow to deliver a strike of unparalleled lethality. Great care must be taken when removing such an arrow from a victim, or any time after poison has been applied.
Veriru Staff of Sorrows
The Staff of sorrows is a long (7') thick stave studded at irregular intervals with eye-shaped Veriru gemstones. Once the badge of office of a Rage Shaman from the Grey Wastes, it fell into elven hands during a failed incursion into their lands. It has since irretrievably corrupted an entire dynasty of elven lords who regularly seize it from each other over the years. Their magical nature has taken some of the edge off its effects, but any goodness they once had has been snuffed. While on the edge of war among themselves, the elves are absolutely inimical to outsiders. Destruction/removal of the staff may clear the taint in a generation, but any such mission would be most energetically opposed.
The Adamas Axe of Yrederd
While not made entirely of Adamas, the axehead is made from a tough crystal bearded with an Adamas edge, with the diamond-hard edged strengthened further with diabolic sorcery. Never intended as a weapon for mortals, apart from carving them, the blade bears enough foul enchantments to provide its wielder with a series of monkey's paw wishes. While powerful, the nature of these wishes are such that the wielder is unlikely to live long enough to enjoy the bounty.
Zomorrod Ring
A fairly obvious use of the stone, this ring was made to remove the chill between a wizard and his young wife. Now he has found himself hopelessly bound to the young lady, but she has no such bond. Someday soon, one or another of her paramours will slip a knife between the wizard's ribs, and she will move on. Perhaps the wizard is known to the PCs and his sudden withdrawal from the day to day may be noticed.
The Foul Dice of Thane Gurthar (Awillix)
The moonstone-like quality of Awillix lends itself well for carving, and so Thane Gurthar had a pair of dice produced from it. Perhaps more than one set exists. The Thane uses the dice to help administer ‘justice', requiring various cases that come before him to be settled by the ‘fates'. The dice of course almost invariably bring adverse outcomes to the accused, and even if the end result is not execution or imprisonment, the act of rolling poorly on the dice would bring upon a curse.
The Red Eye of War (Xerle)
The Red Eye of war is the Xerle eye of a dead emperor. The pride and aggression it brought that emperor led to the brief zenith of an empire. He doubled the size of his previously complacent empire by carving up the equally complacent neighboring kingdoms. The empire managed to fall even before the emperor himself. The eye was buried with the emperor briefly, but was pried from his eyesocket and could be found anywhere.
Ultithar's Necklace (Faridat)
The Lonely Lich, a once great magi, wears a large necklace of Faridat around his neck. Powerful and evil, he still is overcome with his memories and is not likely to become a direct threat unless great efforts are made to disturb him. Of course, before he became too heavily locked in, he built defenses in his keep, and recruited various creatures to populate it. Most have left, taking some of his wealth with them, but there are still treasures and dangers, including a powerful wraith, hopelessly still in love with the oblivious Lich.
The Crown of Yneer (Pirozeh)
This golden helmet bears multiple Pirozeh stones and was crafted to help bring about the fall of a kingdom. The Crown, while visibly spectacular, collects and magnifies its effects. Yneer, upon donning the crown, became more slovenly and decrepit over time, losing his prowess as a warrior and his wits. He still had it on his brow when an invaders axe removed his head. The noble that schemed against him fell as well, and both of their shades walk the shattered hall, Yneer a babbling, headless idiot, and the other shrieking with frustration.
Kohol (and Paedero) Lipstick
Ah, the sparkle of lips, bright and shining. Alluring. Something else? No. This lipstick was used by the Witch of Elevanath, its influence combined with her own magics proved too powerful for many, and she worked her way into the halls of power. A chain of dead impoverished husbands paved her way to the top. Now she too is fading, though slower. The lipstick is red with a hint of blue giving a slightly cyanistic look to it, the sign of the ground Kohol. http://inventorspot.com/articles/the_slightly_gross_origins_lipstick_13653
The Paedero was slipped in with Kohol and magically shrouded, and has eluded detection by the Witch. As a result, while she corrupts others, the Paedero is slowly weakening her power to resist the infernal elements she consorts with. She has protected herself from the Kohol with various rituals, but has few counters to the Paedero apart from her own near-demonic nature.
The Grim Scepter of Knoss (Pitdah)
This regal scepter was crafted for King Knoss II, also known as Demonslayer. It bears many precious stones that Knoss seized from his demonic foes and it was these that spelled his downfall. It was a small stone, perhaps a half-carat beauty, but it was enough. With the knife-edge diplomacy that Knoss needed to perform to keep his kingdom out of war with non-demonic foes, few mistakes could pass unmarked. One day, an ambassador's crushed skull spoke loudly of the scepter's quality, and the next found Knoss in a war he would lose. The scepter sits on display among other trophies taken from his Kingdom.
The Inks of Relviar
These tattoo inks are prized by the Relviar, a demon-tainted people found on an isolated archipelago. Their tainted blood allows them to make use of the demonic gifts the gemstones provide. They obtain the stones via an active volcano called the Demon's Throat. These inks are drawn from the entire spectrum of infernal stones and confer the full rage of benefits. Normal mortals who receive such a tattoo are almost certain to suffer from demonic possession.
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? Responses (9)
A very decent followup to Scrasamax's work. I'm kindof stuck in the detail of it all. I'm sure I'll be reading both submission several times before using them. The flavor is just so unique.
A great extension to Scras' work on the Gems of the Underworld.
A spear that gives you syphilis... Crikey.
Very impressive.
This was very clever -- it artfully showcased another author's work, while expanding it in a creative and useful way. I hadn't read Scras' Gems of the Underworld yet, and I may never have found it without this piece, so thank you! The only minor suggestion I will make is to preserve the order of gemstones that Scras laid out in his piece, for easy reference. Here you have Xerle and Faridat come after Pirozeh, which was kind of confusing. I'd also put the inks last (or first). Well done!
A great expansion of Scrasamax's Gems. Very useful. I could easily see the typical servant of Hell sidling up to someone and saying something along the lines of 'Havin' problems with the ladies, eh? Well, I've got this spear that might help you with that... it'll cost you, though...'
Overall, it was good. Good items, though I do agree with Dossta. You should probably keep you item's gemstone order the same as the way Scrasamax had his. Or convince Scrasamax to have the both of you go alphabetical order or something.
4.0/5
Great work valadaar. I don't think that there's anything I can say that hasn't already been said.
Good stuff Val - My favourite is definitely the ink! It's the odd one out in a series of 'wearable' or 'wieldable' objects. Probably an excellent, material to use to create some kind of demonic summoning circle out of, too, since it seems to draw demons to it.
Update: Okay, back out there with a couple new additions to fill it out to cover all of the gemstones.