Artifact Illustrations | 2 - Patron Voted Art!

[Art by Steven Bell, Submissions by James P, Adrian Orlando and Morvold]

I am very pleased to present our next group of patron-voted Artifact Illustrations - the Dragonhead Flail, Grimoire of Taldanis and Gnomish Sending Rod

DRAGONHEAD FLAIL

Description

This crude, but fearsome weapon is crafted from simple wood and adamantine, its head carved into the likeness of a dragon breathing flame. A heavy chain extends from the dragons mouth, attached to ball curving to a sharp point. The flail functions as a +1 weapon, but has [2] other properties.

Dragon's Breath

Whenever the bearer of the flail scores a critical hit, they may use a Bonus Action to cast Dragon's Breath from the flail's head with the fire damage type. The flail head exhales a 15-foot cone of flame and each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Kobold Rally

If the bearer of the flail is a kobold, when they score a critical hit and use their Bonus Action to cast Dragon's Breath, all other allied kobolds within 30 feet gain 10 temporary hit points.

Adventure Hooks

While the Dragonhead Flail is a powerful weapon, it can serve well as a prized artifact of the kobold people:

1. The flail was stolen from the cache of a powerful dragon, which has instructed its kobold minions to seek it out and return it (3 kobolds in a trecnchcoat is a GO!).

2. The flail is the holy symbol of a clutch of kobolds serving a Red Dragon. It was recently stolen from them by thieves and the kobolds see it as a bad omen and have began to flee. The flail must be returned before the Red grows impatient with its needs not be tended to and flies out to exact vengeance on the outside world.

3. The flail might allow the players peaceful entry into/through a clutch of kobolds in a neighboring community, en route to the dragon they seek.

GRIMOIRE of TALDANIS

Description

This austere tome is crafted from black leather and adorned with a spherical ruby encircled by gold. Two golden chains hold the book closed, secured to a golden ring attached to one edge of its frame. A user attuned to the book can speak the command word to unlock the chains, which can be worn as bracelets. Opening the tome will reveal it is a spellbook containing [5] 1st level, [4] 2nd level, [3] 3rd level, [2] 4th level and [1] 5th level spell.

The tome also contains the spirit of Taldanis, a powerful wizard that managed to escape death by poison by transferring their consciousness to this artifact. Over the centuries, Taldanis lost a sense of his former human self and now believes himself simply to be a book. The book comes with 6 charges and regains 1d4+1 charges at dawn each day.

The attuned user can converse with Taldanis by speaking directly to the book. His replies will appear as temporary writing on one of its blank pages.

The user can spend charges in [2] ways:

Memories of Taldanis [1 Charge]

Expending 1 charge allows the attuned user can make an Arcana, Religion or History check using the Spirit of Taldanis, giving them advantage and a bonus of +10.

Gift of Taldanis [1 Charge per Spell Level]

The attuned user can spend 1 charge per spell level for the Spirit of Taldanis to cast a random spell from the book as a Bonus Action. (i.e. The user uses 2 charges and the DM chooses or randomly selects a spell to have been cast from the Grimoire. The spell is cast as if by Taldanis himself, with a DC 17.)

The grimoire has one other property:

Enlarge/Reduce

The attuned user can enlarge or reduce the size of the grimoire at will, making it small enough to fit inside a belt pouch or large enough to cover a 4-foot table.

Adventure Hooks

The Grimoire of Taldanis is a powerful artifact and can be used for a variety of potential narratives:

1. The party has been hired to seek out a hidden treasure, but only Taldanis knew its exact location. Before the riches can be theirs, they must first locate and obtain the grimoire.

2. Taldanis was unable to achieve his greatest desire and, before being willing to help his new attuned user, they must first help him achieve it.

3. The Grimoire is lent to one of the party members to help lead them toward their destination, but later tells the party there is a nefarious motive and begs them not to return him to his owner. The previous owner isn't happy.

GNOMISH SENDING ROD

This clever contraption is approximately 1.5 ft. in length and crafted from lightweight metal alloy. Its handle is wrapped in simply brown leather and the end of the rod splits into two prongs, resembling a large tuning fork. In the center of the rod are two sections, a ring of three colored gems and four rows of rotatable runes. 

Operation

Each of the four rows can be rotated [6] times (5 different runes and one blank) to produce different words. Those four words align with a marker to form a simple phrase (i.e. Report Status, Is Target Located, etc...).

The lights are used to alert the user of a potential message, as well as to help locate something to which the rod is attuned. They are often used to attune to powerful artifacts or relics, allowing its owner to track them down if ever stolen.

Adventure Hooks

The Gnomish Sending Rod can introduce a lot of interesting narrative options:

1. The party is being tracked by someone using a Gnomish Sending Rod attuned to an item they discovered/stole in their adventures. It belongs to their employer, and they want it back.

2. The party finds the rod. After a few days, the red light begins to blink. There appears to be a message.

3. The party finds the rod and it seems to be attuned to something else. It is pulling in a general direction and the green light is blinking very slowly. After traveling in that direction for a day, they notice a slight increase in the frequency of the blinking pattern. They must be getting closer.

I hope you enjoy this artifact illustration and can use the artwork, as well as the idea, for your campaigns and adventures!

Licensing Note

These images are all copyright to Stephen Bellshaw and the images can only be used for your own personal home games. The images cannot be repackaged, sold, shared or modified (outside of your own personal use).