Vystur, the Oathking
Before the Age of Fire, when the world was covered in ice,
Vystur was king over all lands. He and his frost giant legions united the nations under a single banner, resulting in the first era of global peace. Natural hunters and scavengers of the ice lands, the other races turned to the frost giants when the unfamiliar calamity of the glacial epoch wrecked their way of life. However, Vystur honored strength above all else, and required offerings in trade for food and protection. So it was that the dwarf lords devised a plan to overthrow Vystur and his frozen army. Duergeddin the Black forged a magic crown as a gift for the Oathking, and he set within it a devious curse. For a time the crown feasted off the power of the snowfall, giving god-like strength to the giant-king, but as the crown grew in power, Vystur's mind dwindled. In the end, the dwarves overthrew the giants, driving them deep into the caverns of the earth, where the crown was lost to all memory.
Winter in your Campaign
The Crown of Wintertide is a whispered legend among dwarves.
Some have forgotten its true origin and seek the crown lusting after its immense power. The crown bestows its owner with the forbearance of the long winter, granting its wielder a + 1 to AC, as well as acting as a + 1 spellcasting focus. Spell attack rolls, saving DCs, and damage are all increased by an additional + 1. When hit by a melee attack, the attuned may use their reaction to force the attacker to make a constitution saving throw or suffer 2d6 cold damage and lose its reaction until the end of your next turn. Once used in this way, the ability cannot be used again until you finish a short or long rest. If you'd like the crown to have a larger presence in your campaign, you could use it as a “living weapon" that advances as your characters grow stronger and add new abilities to the weapon. For example, adding spells like Ice Knife, Ice Storm, & Ice Wall as once a day uses are all flavorful ways to give the item extra potency . Perhaps it eventually grants resistance to cold damage or ice and snow no longer count as difficult terrain. Wearing the crown could even increase your intelligence or constitution modifier. All of these are excellent examples of building out your wintertide artifact.
Winter's Chill
As a sentient item, the Crown of Wintertide has a penchant for diplomacy.
It prefers, whenever possible, to solve conflicts diplomatically, only turning to violence as a means of self-preservation. The crown speaks only Aquan and believes it is destined to unite all lands again, both metaphorically and literally. Its personality is lawful neutral and it will urge its wielder to seek out alternative means to his or her goals, even if it means making allies of the most unlikely beings.
Sentient Items In Your Campaign
How you utilize sentient items is ultimately up to you.
They can be an excellent resource for pushing along a certain kind of narrative. Think of them like the DM's little helper. I personally like to use them to introduce lore into my settings or unearth a character's backstory. The tiered "living weapon" is something I like to implement for that magic-item-hungry power gamer in your group. It allows you some flexibility when dulling out powerful magic items and lets your player keep an item they love that doesn't diminish over time. Everybody wins.
As always:
Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy.
Written by:
Jordan Cribbs
Jordan Cribbs
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