Romel's Guardian Staff

by CyanBlade

Romel's Guardian Staff is six-foot tall oak staff capped with metal at each end. There are five differently colored gems two inches from the top, evenly spaced around the staff. The five gems are emerald, ruby, sapphire, crystal, and garnet. Romel was an a legendary Elementalist and Scout who deeply loved his wife Jidara. His wife was kidnapped by a rogue gang of thieves and warriors and held ransom somewhere in the Khalist mountains.

The kidnappers had struck when Romel was away from his home and had first surrounded his home in the woods and then taken his wife captive. Romel set out from his home and tracked the kidnappers across the forest. He was able to see them in the distance, but was forced more than once to hide else they discover he was so closely following them.

As Romel tracked the kidnappers, he himself was followed many times by some members of the gang. He was forced to be aware of all directions at once. Romel was attacked many times, and as these attacks increased, he honed his ability to defend himself, using his staff to move fluidly and easily in combat while still being on the defensive. As the kidnappers came upon the Khalist Mountains, they became harder and harder to track. Romel was forced to use his Elementalist abilities to become a falcon and track them from the sky.

Romel finally reached the cave in which the kidnappers had constructed their hideout. As he approached, he was met with magical traps and guards, all which he was able to overcome. After many hours, Romel reached the inner sanctum of the hideout, and immediately saw both his wife and the leader of the kidnappers. With Shrane, leader of the gang, were her two best Warriors, both fitted with ebony plate mail. Romel faced off against his three opponents, channeling his will into the staff and asking the Passions for the strength to save Jidara.

As Romel struck the final blow to Shrane after rendering her guards unconscious, she began to shake convulsively. A shadowy mist began to seep from her body and a giant and grotesque being emerged. It took the form of a something similar to a preying mantis and Romel instantly realized that he had been a mere pawn in a Horror's game. Romel, severely wounded and knowing that every second he delayed would give the Horror more time to adjust to its new physical form, gripped his staff with all of his might and leapt screaming towards the Horror...

Sometime, much later, Romel awoke in his wife's hands. He was slowly bleeding to death, and Jidara was sobbing. There was only the slightest remnant of the Horror left, a green-black spot, still radiating heat. Romel died that night, but his staff was given to Garhoun, who was last known person to have had contact with it. Where it is now, or will be, still remains a mystery.

Maximum Threads: 2
Spell Defense: 16

Thread Ranks

Rank 1
Legend Points: 300
Key Knowledge: The bearer must know that the name of the staff, Romel's Guardian Staff.
Effect: Romel's Guardian Staff now does Strength + 3 damage. Increase the bearer's Physical Defense by 1.

Rank 2
Legend Points: 500
Effect: Add +1 to the bearer's tracking talent, or grant it at rank 1 if the bearer does not have this talent. In addition, rank times a day, Romel's Guardian Staff grants the bearer the ability to blend into his surroundings for five minutes at the cost of 2 strain as per the Earth Blend spell (ED 158).

Rank 3
Legend Points: 800
Key Knowledge: The bearer must know that Romel's Staff of Guardian was constructed for Romel by his friend Garhoun the Troll Weaponsmith in return for having saved his life while adventuring together.
Effect: Romel's Guardian Staff now does Strength + 4 damage. In addition, once per day, for the cost of 2 strain and lasting one hour, the bearer may cause a flaming eye to appear in the back of his head as per the Behind Eye spell (ED 160). When activated, the bearer uses his thread rank for the perception step of this ability.

Rank 4
Legend Points: 1300
Key Knowledge: Wielder must know the name of Romel's wife, Jidara.
Effect: Add +1 to the bearer's spell defense. In addition, when taking a defensive stance during a combat round, the bearer's action penalty is now -2 steps to all actions instead of -3 steps.

Rank 5
Legend Points: 2100
Key Knowledge: The bearer must discover the name of the mountains where the kidnappers had their hideout, the Khalist Mountains.
Effect: Once per day at the cost of 3 points of strain for thread rank hours, the wielder may transform himself into a falcon as per the Falcon Cloak spell (Arcane Mysteries 9). Add +2 to the bearer's tracking talent, or grant it at rank 2 if the bearer does not have this talent. The damage step of Romel's Guardian Staff is now Strength + 5.

Rank 6
Legend Points: 3400
Deed: The bearer must swear a blood oath to either a long time friend and become blood sworn, taking 4 points of permanent damage. The oath is to always protect this person, and if this oath is broken, the bearer suffers 7 wounds for 3 years and 3 days. This occurs as per the rules in Magic: Manual of Mystic Secrets pages 13-14. Violation of this oath occurs if the loved one is killed with evil intent by a name-giver either directly or indirectly and the bearer could have possibly prevented it. The benefits of being blood sworn are listed in the Magic Sourcebook, page 14.
Effect: The bearer may now store up to his thread rank in karma in the staff, which he may spend, one at a time, on any action to protect the life of the person he swore the oath to at a cost of 2 strain per karma. This includes any non-discipline talents and the karma die may be added in addition to any other karma the user is allowed to spend on an action. Karma stored this way may be replaced by a regular karma ritual and is separate from the character's normal karma pool. In addition, the defense stance penalty is reduced to -1 to all steps.

Rank 7
Legend Points: 5500
Key Knowledge: The bearer must discover the name of the leader of the kidnappers. Her name is Shrane, and she was a Swordmaster.
Effect: Romel's Guardian Staff now grants the bearer the ability to activate one of the gems to enhance combat while in a defensive stance. The bearer may now activate the gems once per day for thread rank rounds. This may be done at a cost of 2 strain per round while in a defensive stance, for the following effects. Garnet (Earth): Increase Physical Armor by 3. Ruby (Fire): Add step 3 damage to each damage test made with the staff. Crystal (Air): Add 3 steps to the bearer's initiative. Sapphire (Water): Add 3 steps to attack tests made with the staff. Emerald (Wood): Add 3 to the bearer's Mystic Armor. Only one gem may be used at a time, but the bearer may switch which gem is activated at the beginning of each new round. In addition, while using one of the gems, the defensive stance penalty is reduced to zero for the duration of the ability. Increase the bearer's Physical Defense by 2.

Rank 8
Legend Points: 8900
Key Knowledge: The bearer must learn Romel's fate.
Effect: The bearer may now store up to twice his thread rank in karma in the staff. He may spend multiple karma from the staff at once on any action to save the life of the person he swore the oath to, taking 2 strain per karma used in this way. The bearer may use this ability to use all of the remaining karma in the staff on one action even if it pushes him over his death rating. This may be combined with a dying act (Magic: Manual of Mystic Secrets 14) if the bearer states his intention to perform one. In addition, the bearer may now use the Rank 7 ability at a cost of one strain per round. The damage step of Romel's Guardian Staff is now Strength + 6.





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