The Blitz Spear
This artefact is a relic of Altantis’s war on the Sky which ultimately
resulted in its sinking.
Large (9’) and made of a metallic blue metal (from blueish-white at the point to a dark violet at the butt of the haft) it is heavy, weighing 5lbs and requires a strength of 12 to use it in melee and 16 to hurl it properly.
Its normal combat bonus is +3, and each strike does a base 1d8 physical damage to which this bonus and any strength bonus are added as normal.
Additionally, a strike from the spear does 2d8 electrical damage to targets which are vulnerable to this.
Since metallic armour is of little defense against this, the to-hit roll gains an extra +4 against such armour.
For example: the spear is thrown at a target wearing magical plate and a total AC of -2, requiring a roll of 14 to-hit. If the roll is successful then 3d8+3+strength bonus damage will be done. If the roll comes up with 10 to 13 then just the 2d8 electrical damage will be done.
This effect is at the 11th level for the purposes of MR.
Once per day the spear can be used to control weather as per the druid version, although the weather must be moved towards cloudy and storm. If this produces the necessary conditions (or they are pre-existing), the spear can then be used to call lightning (1/day again) as if cast by a 23rd level caster.
Anyone grasping the spear shaft is granted 100% magic resistance to any magic electrical effect and absolute immunity to any natural electrical effect.
When hurled, despite its heaviness and the strength requirement to use it fully, the spear has a range of 1“ per strength point (exceptional is ignored) and trails a lightning bolt behind it doing 8d6 electrical damage to everything other than who or whatever threw it. That person is instead transported to where the spear is, appearing with a grip on the shaft and ready for combat (no save, no choice).
The thrown spear does the following structural damage:
The spear has a special purpose of overthrowing Law and when held
aloft or used in combat causes a fear effect on all lawful beings
within 18“ for 1-4 rounds.
Finally, the spear acts as a wand of lightning with 25 charges. Hence, the electrical damage done on a successful melee strike can be increased by 1d10 by the use of a charge, or 2 charges can be used to project a lightning bolt without throwing the spear.
Each die (or 5 pts) of electrical damage the spear protects its owner from adds one charge (spells may be cast directly on the spear if wished). There is no special effect from running out of charges and they may never exceed 25.
Large (9’) and made of a metallic blue metal (from blueish-white at the point to a dark violet at the butt of the haft) it is heavy, weighing 5lbs and requires a strength of 12 to use it in melee and 16 to hurl it properly.
Its normal combat bonus is +3, and each strike does a base 1d8 physical damage to which this bonus and any strength bonus are added as normal.
Additionally, a strike from the spear does 2d8 electrical damage to targets which are vulnerable to this.
Since metallic armour is of little defense against this, the to-hit roll gains an extra +4 against such armour.
For example: the spear is thrown at a target wearing magical plate and a total AC of -2, requiring a roll of 14 to-hit. If the roll is successful then 3d8+3+strength bonus damage will be done. If the roll comes up with 10 to 13 then just the 2d8 electrical damage will be done.
This effect is at the 11th level for the purposes of MR.
Once per day the spear can be used to control weather as per the druid version, although the weather must be moved towards cloudy and storm. If this produces the necessary conditions (or they are pre-existing), the spear can then be used to call lightning (1/day again) as if cast by a 23rd level caster.
Anyone grasping the spear shaft is granted 100% magic resistance to any magic electrical effect and absolute immunity to any natural electrical effect.
When hurled, despite its heaviness and the strength requirement to use it fully, the spear has a range of 1“ per strength point (exceptional is ignored) and trails a lightning bolt behind it doing 8d6 electrical damage to everything other than who or whatever threw it. That person is instead transported to where the spear is, appearing with a grip on the shaft and ready for combat (no save, no choice).
The thrown spear does the following structural damage:
| Wood | Earth | Soft Stone | Hard Rock |
| 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Finally, the spear acts as a wand of lightning with 25 charges. Hence, the electrical damage done on a successful melee strike can be increased by 1d10 by the use of a charge, or 2 charges can be used to project a lightning bolt without throwing the spear.
Each die (or 5 pts) of electrical damage the spear protects its owner from adds one charge (spells may be cast directly on the spear if wished). There is no special effect from running out of charges and they may never exceed 25.
Mental powers
The spear has an intelligence of 18 and an ego of 18. It has speech
and telepathic powers. Communication with its wielder
will always be telepathic and has no language boundaries.
It can speak Xag-ya, Air Elemental, Blue Dragon, and the lost tongue of Altanis. It can read the latter language through the eyes of anyone holding it.
Its alignment is CN and any non-chaotic grasping the spear will suffer 18 points of damage.
Its personality score of 36 and general bent means that it will expect to be used by at least a name-level character but even so, the character will need decent scores in INT and CHA to be able to overrule the spear which will be noticeably reluctant to flee any combat encounter, especially one with lawful opponents.
To those that can understand it, it will sound like a demon talking over an old analogue telephone line with interference.
It can speak Xag-ya, Air Elemental, Blue Dragon, and the lost tongue of Altanis. It can read the latter language through the eyes of anyone holding it.
Its alignment is CN and any non-chaotic grasping the spear will suffer 18 points of damage.
Its personality score of 36 and general bent means that it will expect to be used by at least a name-level character but even so, the character will need decent scores in INT and CHA to be able to overrule the spear which will be noticeably reluctant to flee any combat encounter, especially one with lawful opponents.
To those that can understand it, it will sound like a demon talking over an old analogue telephone line with interference.
Side effects
A minor effect of the spear is that anyone who uses it in combat can
be smelt quite easily as they give off a “just after a storm” ozone
smell. Creatures which use electricity or come from the elemental
Plane of Air or the quasi-elemental Plane of lightning can smell this
at a considerable distance even from the Ethereal Plane.
As the Blitz Spear is used over a long period, it has a slower and more dangerous cumulative effect on its owner as each time the owner loses a personality clash with the spear, their charisma reduces by one point.
This change continues until a charisma of zero is reached, at which point the character transforms into a quasi-elemental form and departs the PMP (and the game) for the plane of lightning.
The in-game process is one of the character gradually becoming more and more alien in outlook, speech and appearance, so that eventually others shun him or her. This loss of charisma does not require characters to become assassins if it reaches 5, and it can be restored by abandoning the spear. Note, however, that personality scores for PCs are based on charisma and the spear will not take lightly to attempts to discard it or remove it from its owner. Each month during which the spear is not handled will restore one point of charisma.
As the Blitz Spear is used over a long period, it has a slower and more dangerous cumulative effect on its owner as each time the owner loses a personality clash with the spear, their charisma reduces by one point.
This change continues until a charisma of zero is reached, at which point the character transforms into a quasi-elemental form and departs the PMP (and the game) for the plane of lightning.
The in-game process is one of the character gradually becoming more and more alien in outlook, speech and appearance, so that eventually others shun him or her. This loss of charisma does not require characters to become assassins if it reaches 5, and it can be restored by abandoning the spear. Note, however, that personality scores for PCs are based on charisma and the spear will not take lightly to attempts to discard it or remove it from its owner. Each month during which the spear is not handled will restore one point of charisma.
Fickleness
It may be hard to discard the spear, but if it is aware of a
suitable being of greater power than its user it may well attempt to
force the current user to give it away.
Value
As an item of artefact level power, the Blitz Spear brings no
experience point value. If potential purchasers are prepared to
bargain rather than capture, it would fetch about 50,000gp.
Such items can only really be sold at the largest cities in a campaign, however, not in border towns or similar locales where trying to get a fair price will result only in various agents becoming aware of the item’s presence.
Such items can only really be sold at the largest cities in a campaign, however, not in border towns or similar locales where trying to get a fair price will result only in various agents becoming aware of the item’s presence.
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