Uses for a 6' long Dragonshard? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Uses for a 6' long Dragonshard?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
smacintush
Apr 21, 2008 1:30:24 Got any ideas? What would a villain do with such a thing?
#2
Paulon
Apr 21, 2008 1:37:39 If it's a khyber shard, then maybe bind a daelkyr or even a rajah to it, then transport it outside the wards, and release the contents on an unsuspecting world?

For a syberis shard, use it as the focus for an immense psionic effect, like dominate on a national scale or something to affect the Dragonmarked Houses?
#3
Nived
Apr 21, 2008 1:49:23 Yes need more details. What kind of shard, where did it come from, is it raw or a kind of artifact, beyond 6' long how thick is it?
#4
grifo
Apr 21, 2008 5:21:49
Got any ideas? What would a villain do with such a thing?

What would a villain not do with such a thing?
Eldrich machine - Check.
prodding device - Check.
Very elegant toothpick - Check.
#5
fabius_maximus
Apr 21, 2008 9:23:26 Ray gun - Check. ;)
#6
green_yawgmoth
Apr 21, 2008 10:15:47 If it were a villain of mine? Absolutely nothing. He'd just let everyone know he has a 6' dragonshard, and let everyone else worry about it/think of ways for him to use it. The good guys usually have much more horrific ideas of what the BBEG could do than anything the BBEG could think up by himself; why do extra work? ;)
#7
lord_tirian
Apr 21, 2008 18:51:18
Ray gun - Check. ;)

Yeah, if it's a Eberron shard, it has affinities to spells... uber-scorching ray... big... mounted on an airship, flying as high as possible.

Definitively not a death laser satellite.

Cheers, LT.
#8
smacintush
Apr 22, 2008 7:45:21 Yeah I guess I should have been a little more specific, but I was trying to be vague so I could get raw, random ideas.

The shard was taken from a ruined city in Xen'drik. So a siberys shard would seem to fit. Also, I was considering making the as yet undiscovered BBEG a psionic something-or-other. Maybe an Illithid. So using the shard for psionic purposes makes sense, but I am open to any ideas.

As far as how thick it is, that's open too. The players haven't actually seen it so I haven't described it.
#9
RedRider
Apr 22, 2008 7:55:16 Coffee table?

Decide it's not worth the potential trouble of having every two-bit archmage and artificer hammering at your door and cut it into smaller shards?

Sell it to someone else, possibly with guarentees they won't be blasted/boiled/blighted by whatever the buyers plans to do with it?

Trade it for favours in the Houses?
#10
smacintush
Apr 22, 2008 9:13:06
Coffee table?

Decide it's not worth the potential trouble of having every two-bit archmage and artificer hammering at your door and cut it into smaller shards?

Sell it to someone else, possibly with guarentees they won't be blasted/boiled/blighted by whatever the buyers plans to do with it?

Trade it for favours in the Houses?

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. The shard is in the possession of the BBEG. I'm trying to get ideas for what the BBEG will do with such a thing. As in, what the PC's are gonna wanna try to prevent from happening.
#11
Ryuu_Tenshi
Apr 22, 2008 18:26:09 Hmm, Illithid, you say? Siberys shard you say?!

Firstly, realize that the answer to your question is, "Whatever the BBEG wants." A Dragonshard of that size does whatever you want it to

as an example, I once ran Expedition to Castle Ravenloft in Eberron; the Dayheart (a huge red crystal which allowed vampires within Barovia to walk around in the daytime with no ill effects) was in fact a gigantic Eberron dragonshard with a perfectly formed Siberys Mark of Death in the center.

Vol was also very interested in this. A shame that finals appeared and i never got to finish running it. Much lulz would have commenced.

Anyway.

So you may or may not have an Illithid with a GIGANTIC Siberys dragonshard.

One possible use is Very Large Eldrich Machine which will cause all humanoids within a 10 mile radius to fall under the effect of Psionic Dominate or some other uber brainwashing power. The illithid in question will then quietly hide away under the ground, calling the humanoids to him whenever he wants a snack with no repercussions or problems. Possibly he also uses it to feed his buddies. Essentially he's getting free food with no fuss.

A pretty simple goal. Logical. The other upshot is he essentially gets a huge number of slaves. Also: consider the consequences if he drops this thing in Sharn. The entire city under his control.

I think the words for that are "OH SHI~"

See, he can use them for food, or he can, y'know, have an entire city at his beck and call. Build an army. whatever.

Other options... Cause a large area of people to spontaneously undergo cerebremorphis (ie, become illithids); mutate in some other way and THEN become his slaves; so forth and so on.

If you decide to have it be a Riederian, oh, even better~ they can possibly separate it into a number of smaller shards which they could build into miniature monoliths which would then be hidden around Khorvaire to begin controlling the dreams of everyone on the continent. By the time Riedria sends over its armies, everyone will be docile and perfectly happy to accept their rule.

... or just a giant freakin laser. if you're into that kinda thing.

Basically? The possibilities are endless. It's just a matter of coming up with something sufficiently dire.
#12
RedRider
Apr 22, 2008 19:08:58 Let's see then...

Siberys shard: Dragonmark focus items require Siberys shards, so you can probably do something with that angle like one or more of the following:

-An item which Disjunctions any Dragonmark Focus item within a certain radius. Imagine if you used this near a busy airship port or lightning rail interchange. Elementals could sieze control of vehicles and wreak havoc.
-An item which inflicts terrible painful injuries on Dragonmarked people within a certain area. How will a major city cope when several of it's key services suddenly lose their essential workers, unable to move due to constant wracking pain.
-Everyone within a certain radius just loses their dragonmark. Gone. That's it. Real shame about those years the baron spent clawing his way to the top.
(Of course using this ability could seriously cheese off the dragons and anyone else who's tracking the prophecy.)
-For a more personal touch, the item can be used to dominate people bearing a dragonmark, one by one. Wander into a Sentinel Marshal outpost with this and walk with your newly acquired agents still inside.

Eberron Shard: Good for general magical applications. This probably covers "Anything you want" but could include.
-Something that's just really good at channelling certain spells. A fireball's good for taking out massed enemies... But what about an item that can produce ten fireballs in one round at an exceptionally long range? Mount that on an airship and you're a force to be reckoned with.
-Similar but related, an item for Dispelling Magic effects. All magic fails within a certain range is counterspelled except for your BBEG's and his trusted allies.
-Staves of power. The 6' dragonshard isn't a unique find... just very rare. In ages past, such an item was used to craft this famous artefact. And the BBEG's dragonshard is big enough to make three...

Kyber Shards: Good for binding and such.
-An item which attracts Living Spells and brings them under the bearer's control.
-An item which can suck an elemental right out of other elementally bound items, with obvious uses in making elemental airships crash, it could also be used to simply harvest a small army of fire elementals if Fernia is coterminous.
-An artefact which steals souls, like a Keeper's Fang weapon, but with an area effect.
Bonus point for the above two: What if the BBEG can use the elementals and/or souls straight out of the shard to further his other schemes?

Hope that's of some value.
#13
smacintush
Apr 25, 2008 0:48:45 Wow.

I'm gonna have to think on this. I wasn't aware that this had such possibilities.
#14
green_yawgmoth
Apr 30, 2008 15:47:04 Here's another idea for an illithid with a 6' siberys shard: eldritch machine that increases the size of his mind blast a hundred fold, possibly increasing duration by a large amount as well. Enormous cone of stun that turns a whole city into a mind flayer feeding frenzy? Sounds like fun to me!
#15
lord_psynister
May 03, 2008 19:12:37 I would sell the freakin thing, personally.
#16
kalanth
May 03, 2008 19:53:45 Slam it into the back of a Warforged Titan so as to grant the monstrosity new powers the original creators never thought of. Wouldn't hurt for the bad guy to be from House Cannith in that idea.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 smacintush Apr 21, 2008 1:30:24	Got any ideas? What would a villain do with such a thing?
#2 Paulon Apr 21, 2008 1:37:39	If it's a khyber shard, then maybe bind a daelkyr or even a rajah to it, then transport it outside the wards, and release the contents on an unsuspecting world? For a syberis shard, use it as the focus for an immense psionic effect, like dominate on a national scale or something to affect the Dragonmarked Houses?
#3 Nived Apr 21, 2008 1:49:23	Yes need more details. What kind of shard, where did it come from, is it raw or a kind of artifact, beyond 6' long how thick is it?
#4 grifo Apr 21, 2008 5:21:49	Got any ideas? What would a villain do with such a thing? What would a villain not do with such a thing? Eldrich machine - Check. prodding device - Check. Very elegant toothpick - Check.
#5 fabius_maximus Apr 21, 2008 9:23:26	Ray gun - Check. ;)
#6 green_yawgmoth Apr 21, 2008 10:15:47	If it were a villain of mine? Absolutely nothing. He'd just let everyone know he has a 6' dragonshard, and let everyone else worry about it/think of ways for him to use it. The good guys usually have much more horrific ideas of what the BBEG could do than anything the BBEG could think up by himself; why do extra work? ;)
#7 lord_tirian Apr 21, 2008 18:51:18	Ray gun - Check. ;) Yeah, if it's a Eberron shard, it has affinities to spells... uber-scorching ray... big... mounted on an airship, flying as high as possible. Definitively not a death laser satellite. Cheers, LT.
#8 smacintush Apr 22, 2008 7:45:21	Yeah I guess I should have been a little more specific, but I was trying to be vague so I could get raw, random ideas. The shard was taken from a ruined city in Xen'drik. So a siberys shard would seem to fit. Also, I was considering making the as yet undiscovered BBEG a psionic something-or-other. Maybe an Illithid. So using the shard for psionic purposes makes sense, but I am open to any ideas. As far as how thick it is, that's open too. The players haven't actually seen it so I haven't described it.
#9 RedRider Apr 22, 2008 7:55:16	Coffee table? Decide it's not worth the potential trouble of having every two-bit archmage and artificer hammering at your door and cut it into smaller shards? Sell it to someone else, possibly with guarentees they won't be blasted/boiled/blighted by whatever the buyers plans to do with it? Trade it for favours in the Houses?
#10 smacintush Apr 22, 2008 9:13:06	Coffee table? Decide it's not worth the potential trouble of having every two-bit archmage and artificer hammering at your door and cut it into smaller shards? Sell it to someone else, possibly with guarentees they won't be blasted/boiled/blighted by whatever the buyers plans to do with it? Trade it for favours in the Houses? I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. The shard is in the possession of the BBEG. I'm trying to get ideas for what the BBEG will do with such a thing. As in, what the PC's are gonna wanna try to prevent from happening.
#11 Ryuu_Tenshi Apr 22, 2008 18:26:09	Hmm, Illithid, you say? Siberys shard you say?! Firstly, realize that the answer to your question is, "Whatever the BBEG wants." A Dragonshard of that size does whatever you want it to as an example, I once ran Expedition to Castle Ravenloft in Eberron; the Dayheart (a huge red crystal which allowed vampires within Barovia to walk around in the daytime with no ill effects) was in fact a gigantic Eberron dragonshard with a perfectly formed Siberys Mark of Death in the center. Vol was also very interested in this. A shame that finals appeared and i never got to finish running it. Much lulz would have commenced. Anyway. So you may or may not have an Illithid with a GIGANTIC Siberys dragonshard. One possible use is Very Large Eldrich Machine which will cause all humanoids within a 10 mile radius to fall under the effect of Psionic Dominate or some other uber brainwashing power. The illithid in question will then quietly hide away under the ground, calling the humanoids to him whenever he wants a snack with no repercussions or problems. Possibly he also uses it to feed his buddies. Essentially he's getting free food with no fuss. A pretty simple goal. Logical. The other upshot is he essentially gets a huge number of slaves. Also: consider the consequences if he drops this thing in Sharn. The entire city under his control. I think the words for that are "OH SHI~" See, he can use them for food, or he can, y'know, have an entire city at his beck and call. Build an army. whatever. Other options... Cause a large area of people to spontaneously undergo cerebremorphis (ie, become illithids); mutate in some other way and THEN become his slaves; so forth and so on. If you decide to have it be a Riederian, oh, even better~ they can possibly separate it into a number of smaller shards which they could build into miniature monoliths which would then be hidden around Khorvaire to begin controlling the dreams of everyone on the continent. By the time Riedria sends over its armies, everyone will be docile and perfectly happy to accept their rule. ... or just a giant freakin laser. if you're into that kinda thing. Basically? The possibilities are endless. It's just a matter of coming up with something sufficiently dire.
#12 RedRider Apr 22, 2008 19:08:58	Let's see then... Siberys shard: Dragonmark focus items require Siberys shards, so you can probably do something with that angle like one or more of the following: -An item which Disjunctions any Dragonmark Focus item within a certain radius. Imagine if you used this near a busy airship port or lightning rail interchange. Elementals could sieze control of vehicles and wreak havoc. -An item which inflicts terrible painful injuries on Dragonmarked people within a certain area. How will a major city cope when several of it's key services suddenly lose their essential workers, unable to move due to constant wracking pain. -Everyone within a certain radius just loses their dragonmark. Gone. That's it. Real shame about those years the baron spent clawing his way to the top. (Of course using this ability could seriously cheese off the dragons and anyone else who's tracking the prophecy.) -For a more personal touch, the item can be used to dominate people bearing a dragonmark, one by one. Wander into a Sentinel Marshal outpost with this and walk with your newly acquired agents still inside. Eberron Shard: Good for general magical applications. This probably covers "Anything you want" but could include. -Something that's just really good at channelling certain spells. A fireball's good for taking out massed enemies... But what about an item that can produce ten fireballs in one round at an exceptionally long range? Mount that on an airship and you're a force to be reckoned with. -Similar but related, an item for Dispelling Magic effects. All magic fails within a certain range is counterspelled except for your BBEG's and his trusted allies. -Staves of power. The 6' dragonshard isn't a unique find... just very rare. In ages past, such an item was used to craft this famous artefact. And the BBEG's dragonshard is big enough to make three... Kyber Shards: Good for binding and such. -An item which attracts Living Spells and brings them under the bearer's control. -An item which can suck an elemental right out of other elementally bound items, with obvious uses in making elemental airships crash, it could also be used to simply harvest a small army of fire elementals if Fernia is coterminous. -An artefact which steals souls, like a Keeper's Fang weapon, but with an area effect. Bonus point for the above two: What if the BBEG can use the elementals and/or souls straight out of the shard to further his other schemes? Hope that's of some value.
#13 smacintush Apr 25, 2008 0:48:45	Wow. I'm gonna have to think on this. I wasn't aware that this had such possibilities.
#14 green_yawgmoth Apr 30, 2008 15:47:04	Here's another idea for an illithid with a 6' siberys shard: eldritch machine that increases the size of his mind blast a hundred fold, possibly increasing duration by a large amount as well. Enormous cone of stun that turns a whole city into a mind flayer feeding frenzy? Sounds like fun to me!
#15 lord_psynister May 03, 2008 19:12:37	I would sell the freakin thing, personally.
#16 kalanth May 03, 2008 19:53:45	Slam it into the back of a Warforged Titan so as to grant the monstrosity new powers the original creators never thought of. Wouldn't hurt for the bad guy to be from House Cannith in that idea.