Sunday, December 6, 2009

Magic Item: Shining King's Bulwark

Shining King's Bulwark: Of unknown origin, this large shield is composed of a single massive scale, as if from a titanic dragon or similar reptilian beast. Greyish-blue and nacreous, almost opalescent, the scale is unworked; the addition of grips and strapping in steel and woven silver -- somehow smoothly bonded to the scale's interior -- is the only noticeable alteration to its original form.

Scraps of epics and legendry speak of similar shields, and in one notable example -- the Cycle of the Silver Knight -- of a suit of shimmering armour. More often than not, the items in question are described as being borne by a grizzled elder knight with silvered grey hair and armed with a spear or lance.

The Shining King's Bulwark is a shield +2. When faced with apparently insurmountable odds, the bearer of the Bulwark may draw on strength of will and the enchantments of the shield, allowing a Wisdom check to either add a +4 to the next dice roll or to force a reroll, taking the better result. This decision must be made before the dice are actually rolled. Alternately, a Wisdom check may be made in order to permit the reflection of a single spell back onto its caster. Drawing on the Bulwark may only be performed once a day, regardless of the form chosen.

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