Tonight I thought I would give you guys some crunch — here are the game statistics for one of the magic items recovered from an old Temple of Chorrolis.
Staff of the Aerie
Maximum Threads: 1
Spell Defense: 14
This four-and-a-half foot long wooden staff is decorated along its shaft with carved looping whirls inset with silver. At one end is a pair of stylized wings, also crafted of silver, which flank an oblong crystal of blue quartz. At the other end is a burnished steel endcap.
The staff was created before the Scourge by the Elementalist Dunsin Aree. Dunsin was from the city of Raj Tolor, a vibrant trade city in the formerly fertile farmland of what is now the Badlands. As news of the coming Scourge spread, Dunsin did what he could to prepare the city for the Horrors — and defend it from them. He was aided in this endeavor by two other adepts: Korin, a troll Warrior, and Zael, a human Beastmaster. Together they formed the Spears of Tolor, a group dedicated to serving the people of Raj Tolor.
On one of their expeditions to an outlying village, Dunsin discovered that one of his former students had become corrupted by a Horror. This corrupt Elementalist (whose name has been lost to history) had bound several elemental spirits and was using them in dark magical rituals (which have also, thank the Passions, been lost to history). The Spears defeated the corrupt Elementalist, and one of the freed elementals gave Dunsin a blue quartz crystal imbued with elemental air. Dunsin used the crystal to construct his staff, a magical focus that held one of his spell matrices and boosted his magical abilities.
Rank 1
Cost: 200
Key Knowledge: The wielder must learn that this item is Named the Staff of the Aerie.
Effect: The crystal at the end of the staff acts as a Spell Matrix of rank equal to the thread rank. In addition, the staff grants the wielder a +1 to his spell defense.
Rank 2
Cost: 300
Key Knowledge: The wielder must learn the identity of the staff’s creator.
Effect: The staff grants the wielder a +1 step bonus to Spellcasting tests.
Rank 3
Cost: 500
Key Knowledge: The wielder must learn the name of the city-state that Dunsin was from.
Effect: The staff allows the user to cast the 1st-Circle Elementalist spell Air Armor. This takes the Elementalist’s action, and uses his own Spellcasting talent.
Rank 4
Cost: 800
Key Knowledge: The user must learn the Name of the group Dunsin belonged to.
Effect: The staff now grants a +2 bonus to the user’s Spell Defense, and a +2-step bonus to the user’s Spellcasting tests.
Rank 5
Cost: 1300
Key Knowledge: The user must learn the Name of one of the other members of the Spears of Tolor.
Effect: The staff allows the user to cast the 4th Circle Elementalist Spell Air Blast, as if it were held in an enhanced Matrix (i.e. the user does not need to weave the thread).
Rank 6
Cost: 2100
Key Knowledge: The user must learn the Name of the other member of the Spears of Tolor.
Effect: The staff grants a 2-step bonus to the user’s Willforce talent for spells cast from the staff; this includes the spell matrix crystal, and the two additional spell powers. If the user does not posses the Willforce talent, the bonus is applied to the caster’s Willpower for the purposes of determining effect.
Rank 7
Cost: 3400
Key Knowledge: The user must learn the source of the gem on the staff.
Deed: The user must have an air elemental recharge the gem in the staff, which requires the user to swear a blood oath with the spirit.
Effect: The staff grants a 2-step bonus to the user’s Willpower for the purposes of summoning or commanding elemental spirits.