Artifacts of the Ages - Swords & Staves WE.pdf - Green Ronin - Sauron82

The Mind Scion

by Rodney Thompson

Editing: JD Wiker

Layout and Typese� ing: Marc Schmalz

Artist: Clarence Harrison

The Mind Scion is a free prestige class and two free legendary

weapons offered in promotion of Artifacts of the Ages: Swords and

Staves, the i rst print publication from The Game Mechanics and

Green Ronin.

Ancestral magic swords whose names i ll the pages of history, handed

down through generations of heroes... arcane staves of power, crafted

by legendary mystics and passed from master to apprentice.... These

are staples of fantasy literature—but difi cult to recreate in the d20

System. Artifacts of the Ages provides rules for introducing legendary

swords and staves that grow in power as their wielders advance in

level. Special “scion” prestige classes ensure that the heroes only

unlock an item’s full power when the campaign is ready for it,

helping to ensure that the game stays balanced. The book also presents over two dozen unique

and interesting legendary magic items, with accurate d20 stats, detailed histories, and adventure

hooks. Are you worthy to bear the Artifacts of the Ages ?

Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons ® , Third Edition Core Books, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

P.O. Box 1125, Renton WA 98057

www.thegamemechanics.com

Green Ronin Publishing

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‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 System’ logo are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used according to the

terms of the d20 System License version 4.0. A copy of this License can be found at www.wizards.com/d20. D UNGEONS & D RAGONS ®, Dungeon

Master®, and Wizards of the Coast® are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., and are used with permission.

For information on the designation of Open Game Content and Product Identity in this publication, refer to the Appendix.

This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or

artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of The Game Mechanics, Inc.

This product is a work of i ction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental.

Made in the U.S.A.

The Mind Scion

Introduction

by JD Wiker

mind was already turning on the subject, and

shortly a� er the release of Staves , Rodney came to

us with this psionic prestige class: the Mind Scion.

We really enjoyed it, but, sadly, we didn’t have

room for it in the printed version of our two

books, Artifacts of the Ages . Fortunately, Chris

Pramas at Green Ronin Publishing had asked that

we provide some additional web content to help

promote the book on the Green Ronin website,

and it suddenly occurred to me: Green Ronin’s

Mindshadows campaign se� ing was coming out

soon and Rodney had this psionic prestige class

that used the rules from Artifacts of the Ages .

It was a great match. On behalf of everyone

at The Game Mechanics and Green Ronin

Publishing, I hope you enjoy Rodney Thompson’s

excellent psionic artifacts.

Shortly a� er The Game Mechanics had published

Swords of Our Fathers , my friend Rodney

Thompson e-mailed me with a question about

what we would do next. It was no secret that

we planned a similar book on staves ( Staves of

Ascendance ), but Rodney was actually curious if

we were going to tackle the question of psionic

items. Would there be a mind scion?

Frankly, the idea hadn’t really occurred to

us. Neither Rich Redman (the author of Staves

of Ascendance ) nor I used psionics much in our

fantasy d20 System campaigns, so we didn’t really

feel comfortable with the idea of tackling the

subject in our Scion Series books. But Rodney’s

The Mind Scion

by Rodney Thompson

those whose personalities are compatible with

the item will choose to master its gi� s. Since a

mindweapon is the physical embodiment of a

psychic will, mindweapons are exceedingly rare as

the discipline required to instill an item with one’s

consciousness is immense.

A mind scion might go through some interesting

personality changes as he or she grows more

accustomed to the weapon. Much like two friends

(or two enemies) will grow more alike over

time, the scion o� en becomes a rel ection of the

mindweapon’s mood; when the staf does not get

what it wants, the scion might become disgruntled,

while a satisi ed weapon might result in a pleasant

mood for the scion. Additionally, the mind scion

will stand out from other psionicists in that the

power of a legendary psionic weapon o� en

provides powers above and beyond what other

psionicists can wield.

Hit Dice: d6

The mind scion is someone who has earned the right

to carry a legendary psionic weapon, either through

inheritance from a mentor or by having the intense

mental discipline required to wield a powerful

item. Only those who have trained their minds in

the i ne art of psionics may wield a mindweapon,

as each of these weapons has a mind and will of its

own that would overpower and consume anyone

else. Only psions and psychic warriors have the

mental toughness to prevent a mindweapon from

destroying them, meaning that only characters of

these classes may take the mind scion prestige class.

Likewise, mindweapons are as unique as

any sentient being. Each has its own thoughts

and wishes, its own desires and personality. As

such, no two mind scions will be alike, as only

Table MS–1: The Mind Scion

Class

Level

Base

Attack Bonus

Fort

Save

Ref

Save

Will

Save Special

Powers/Pts. Per Day

1st +0 +0 +1 +2 Psionic combat mode,

bonus feat

+1 level of existing class

2nd +1 +0 +2 +3 +1 level of existing class

3rd +1 +1 +2 +3 Psionic combat mode +1 level of existing class

4th +2 +1 +2 +4 +1 level of existing class

5th +2 +1 +3 +4 Psionic combat mode +1 level of existing class

6th +3 +2 +3 +5 +1 level of existing class

7th +3 +2 +4 +5 Psionic combat mode +1 level of existing class

8th +4 +2 +4 +6 +1 level of existing class

9th +4 +3 +4 +6 Psionic combat mode +1 level of existing class

10th +5 +4 +5 +7

+1 level of existing class

The Mind Scion

Cortexis

The embodiment of the watcher, Cortexis grants

its wielder perceptive abilities and knowledge of

powers beyond the reach of most other psionicists.

Requirements

To qualify to become a mind scion, a character

must fuli ll the criteria listed for the specii c

mindweapon. (See Cortexis and Dreamshard ,

below, for examples.)

The End of Chronicles

In the early days of the world, when powers of the

mind were just being discovered by most, there

was a powerful watcher that observed the world

and its evolution. Though none knew where he

came from, it was speculated that the watcher

was a traveler from another plane of existence

sent to add knowledge of the planet to that of

his own people. The Chronicler, as he came to be

known, is a i gure o� en associated with ancient

lore and forgo� en knowledge. In fact, many of the

oldest religious tomes a� ribute the Chronicler as

a primary source of information, if not the actual

author of the piece.

Check Required: Knowledge (history) DC 20.

When a war between the gods of law and chaos

began, the Chronicler cloaked himself in shadows

and sank back to watch the world be destroyed.

Cataloguing all he saw, the Chronicler simply

waited out each ba� le, followed each cataclysm,

until all hope seemed lost and darkness

threatened to consume the world. But the forces

of chaos were not satisi ed to hide from their foes

in the deep places of the earth. Knowing of the

Chronicler and his ability to hide himself even

from the eyes of the gods, these vile creatures

scoured the land, seeking to i nd the Chronicler

through sheer perseverance, so they could take

these powers from him and use them against the

gods of law. In time, they located the Chronicler

and he was forced to defend himself, unleashing

a� acks of devastating power. But in the end the

titans of chaos vanquished him, destroying what

chronicles of his they could i nd and ending his

days of watching. So the world all but forgot

the war between the gods, and all knowledge

threatened to vanish from the world.

Check Required: Knowledge (religion) DC 25.

As a i nal act of preservation, the Chronicler

thrust all of his memories—including the memory

of how to vanish from the sight of gods—into

a staf that he had carried into ba� le with the

forces of disorder, defying their desire to steal

his power. Robbed of their secret weapon, they

slunk away, unknowingly leaving the Chronicler

and his powers behind, wrapped up and dormant

in the i bers of his discarded staf . Without the

Chronicler’s record of later events, none can

truly claim to know who won the war between

the gods of law and chaos—if either side did in

fact triumph—but the staf , when it was i nally

discovered by mortals, began to pass from hand to

Class Skills

The mind scion’s class skills (and the key ability

for each skill) are Autohypnosis (Wis), Balance

(Dex), Concentration (Con), Climb (Str), Jump

(Str), Stabilize Self (Str), Swim (Str), Tumble

(Dex), Use Psionic Device (Cha). Additionally, the

mindweapon scion may choose any two of the

following skills to be class skills: Intuit Direction

(Wis), Knowledge (psionics) (Int), Psicra� (Int),

Remote View (Int).

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int

modii er

Class Features

The following are features of the mind scion

prestige class.

Starting Feats: The mind scion is proi cient in all

simple weapons.

Psionic Combat Mode: At 1st level, the mind

scion can learn one of the ten psionic combat

modes. At every odd-numbered level a� er that,

she may choose one more psionic combat mode to

learn.

Two-Weapon Fighting (mindstaf scions only):

If the mind scion does not have the Two-Weapon

Fighting feat, she gains it now. The wielder does

not benei t from the Two-Weapon Fighting feat

unless she meets the feat’s prerequisites, however.

Weapon Specialization (mindblade scions

only): If a mindblade scion does not already have

the Weapon Specialization feat that applies to

his legendary sword, he gains it at 1st level as a

bonus feat. However, he cannot benei t from the

Weapon Specialization feat unless he meets the

prerequisites for it.

Powers Discovered/Power Points per Day: At

each mind scion level, the character gains new

power points per day (and new powers discovered)

as if she had also gained a level in the psionic class

(psion or psychic warrior) to which she belonged

before adding the prestige class level. She does

not, however, gain any other benei t a character of

that class would have gained (bonus feats, Weapon

Specialization, and so on). If the character had

more than one psionic class before becoming a

mind scion, the player must decide to which class

to add each mind scion level for the purposes of

determining power points per day.

The Mind Scion

hand among the scholarly, sharing its memories,

the Chronicler’s memories, with anyone capable

of understanding them. These learned individuals

came to call the staf Cortexis .

Check Required: Knowledge (history) DC 20.

Intelligent: Cortexis has Intelligence 14, Wisdom

13, and Charisma 12. Its ego is 16 and its alignment

is True Neutral. Cortexis communicates through

empathy.

Special Abilities

Cortexis provides the following special abilities to

its wielder, depending upon the character’s level in

the mindstaf scion prestige class.

Initial Abilities: When i rst acquired, Cortexis

functions as a +1 quarterstaf .

Locate Object (Su): The wielder of Cortexis may

cast the spell locate object at will to locate any object

within 120 feet of his or her current position. This is

considered a manifestation of a psionic power and

is subject to all the same restrictions and ef ects as a

psionic power.

See Invisible (Su): The wielder of Cortexis

may cast the spell see invisibility at will. This is

considered a manifestation of a psionic power and

is subject to all the same restrictions and ef ects as a

psionic power.

Psychic Bastion: Starting at 2nd level,

the mindstaf scion gains the benei ts of the

Psychic Bastion feat for free. These benei ts are

conferred even if the character does not meet the

prerequisites for the feat. Note that the character

does not actually gain the feat as a bonus feat, but

rather may just make use of the benei ts it provides

only while carrying or wielding the weapon due to

the fact that the staf is lending its experience to the

wielder and not granting it permanently.

Enhancement Bonus: Cortexis ’ enhancement

bonus increases to +2 when the mindstaf scion

reaches 3rd level, +3 when he reaches 6th level, and

to +4 when he reaches 9th level.

Mental Vision (Su): Starting at 4th level,

Cortexis grants the wielder sight beyond normal

vision using the incredible strength of the weapon’s

perceptions. Whenever the mindstaf scion is

carrying or wielding the weapon, his vision is not

impaired by any degree of darkness, either magical

or mundane.

Mental Adversary: Starting at 5th level, the

mindstaf scion gains the benei ts of the Mental

Adversary feat for free. These benei ts are

conferred even if the character does not meet the

prerequisites for the feat. Note that the character

does not actually gain the feat as a bonus feat, but

rather may just make use of the benei ts it provides

only while carrying or wielding the weapon.

Invisibility: Beginning at 7th level, the

mindstaf scion of Cortexis learns to envelop

himself in the folds of reality and vanish from sight

with ease. The scion gains the invisibility psionic

power, and may use this power three times per day

at no power point cost.

Requirements

To wield Cortexis as its mindstaf scion, a character

must fuli ll the following criteria:

Skills: Concentration 6 ranks, Knowledge

(psionics) 6 ranks, Psicra� 6 ranks

Alignment: Non-chaotic

Powers Discovered: 6

Power Points Per Day: 5

Restrictions

A mindstaf scion of Cortexis who becomes

chaotic loses all use of powers granted by the

weapon and the mindstaf scion prestige class.

If the character changes back to a non-chaotic

alignment, he immediately regains the use of all

lost powers.

Maintenance

The wielder of Cortexis must spend at least one

hour each day meditating on the events that the

wielder experienced that day before retiring

to bed each evening. Any day he fails to do so,

intentionally or not, the staf behaves as though

the wielder had no levels in the mindstaf scion

prestige class. The character may end this ef ect

by performing the meditative exercises on any

evening at the normal time.

Attributes

Cortexis has the following a� ributes.

Hardness/Hit Points: 9/6

Value: To anyone other than its mindstaf

scion, Cortexis appears to be worth as much as an

intelligent +1 quarterstaf (3,600 gp).

Table MS–2: Abilities Granted by Cortexis

Caster

Level

— Enhancement bonus +1 3rd

1st Locate object, see invisibility 3rd

2nd Psychic Bastion —

3rd Enhancement bonus +2 6th

4th Mental Vision —

5th Mental Adversary —

6th Enhancement bonus +3 9th

7th Invisibility 3rd

8th Maximize Power —

9th Enhancement bonus +4 12th

10th Foresight

17th

Scion

Level Ability Gained

The Mind Scion

Maximize Power: Starting at 8th level,

the mindstaf scion gains the benei ts of the

Maximize Power feat for free. These benei ts are

conferred even if the character does not meet the

prerequisites for the feat. Note that the character

does not actually gain the feat as a bonus feat, but

rather may just make use of the benei ts it provides

only while carrying or wielding the weapon.

Foresight (Su): At 10th level, the mindstaf scion

of Cortexis is granted an innate sixth sense that

allows him to determine imminent threats and

dangers. The scion is now considered to be under

the ef ects of the foresight spell at all times.

Dreamshard

One of the most powerful weapons ever

discovered, Dreamshard uses the mind of its wielder

to slay foes in combat.

into disarray. Nepharys believed himself invincible

thanks to the sword’s powers, which was, like so

many others before him, eventually his undoing.

Despite the weapon’s great power, the king was

ambushed by dissidents within his own country.

The weapon was buried with the king, entombed

and sealed away, but silently calls out for any who

possess powers of the mind to come retrieve it.

Check Required: Knowledge (history) DC 15.

Requirements

To wield Dreamshard as its mindblade scion, a

character must fuli ll the following criteria:

Skills: Concentration 6 ranks, Knowledge

(psionics) 6 ranks

Base A� ack Bonus: +2

Powers Discovered: 4 +

Power Points Per Day: 4 +

The Reaper

Throughout history, wars of great length and

devastation have scarred the land and thrown

countless lives into turmoil. During the Second War

of Reconciliation, some members of royalty used

powerful psychic warriors as an elite combat unit

to vanquish the enemies of the throne and target

specii c opposition leaders. Forged for Uray Dez,

the leader of this team, Dreamshard absorbed the

psychic energies of the warriors that it constantly

came into contact with and began to exhibit some

unusual powers. Over time, the weapon came to

be as deadly as its wielder, who outlived all other

members of the squad and became one of the most

decorated warriors of the conl ict.

Check Required: Knowledge (history) DC 20.

A� er the wars had ended and the team had been

disbanded, Dez was sent overseas on a diplomatic

mission. While sailing on the high seas, the ship

was a� acked and all aboard, including Uray Dez,

were killed. A� er having carried the weapon

for so long, the amazing powers had made Dez

dependant on the sword for his prowess, and when

the weapon refused to function he was powerless

against even the common thugs that a� acked

the ship. Without the constant clash of ba� le and

taste of blood that it had experienced during the

wars, Dreamshard needed a new master and chose

to abandon its former master in favor of more a

bloodthirsty wielder.

Check Required: Knowledge (history) DC 25.

A� er years in the hands of the pirate band,

passed on from leader to leader, Dreamshard

resurfaced on the back of a cruel tyrant who

ruled over the seaport kingdoms with an iron i st.

Nepharys the Blooded, as the king was called, used

Dreamshard to wade personally into ba� le and cut

down opposing generals, throwing their armies

Restrictions

A mindblade scion of Dreamshard who does not

engage in combat at least once per week loses all

powers granted by the sword. These powers return

only a� er the mindblade scion has slain an enemy

in combat.

Maintenance

The wielder of Dreamshard must spend at least one

hour each day practicing swordi ghting techniques

upon waking each morning. Any day he does not

do this, the sword behaves as though the wielder

had no levels in the mindblade scion prestige

class. The character may once again gain the use

of the sword’s powers by performing the combat

exercises again any morning.

Attributes

Dreamshard has the following a� ributes.

Hardness/Hit Points: 9/6

Value: To anyone other than its mindblade

scion, Dreamshard appears to be worth as much as

an intelligent +1 longsword (3,315 gp).

Intelligent: Dreamshard has Intelligence

14, Wisdom 13, and Charisma 12. Its ego is 16

and its alignment is True Neutral. Dreamshard

communicates through empathy.

Special Abilities

Dreamshard provides the following special abilities

to its wielder, depending upon the character’s level

in the mindblade scion prestige class.

Initial Abilities: When i rst acquired,

Dreamshard functions as a +1 longsword .

Intelligent Parry: The wielder of Dreamshard

gains the weapon’s insight into the ba� le

techniques used by an opponent. Occasionally, the

weapon itself will direct the scion’s actions and

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