HELLO I'M KIWI

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Wraps of Lymere

Woundrous Item, rare

Lymere was a devout Celestian monk who traveled for decades with the aim of uncovering the many magical gates hidden across the lands. These wraps she wore during her expeditions are said to hold an echo of every portal she passed through.

While you’re wearing these cloth wraps, your unarmed strikes are considered magical for the purpose of overcoming immunity and resistance to nonmagical attacks and damage, and you gain a +1 bonus to the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes.

Once per round when you make an unarmed strike, roll a d20. If you roll a 1, roll on the Portal Surge table to create a portal effect.

Portal Surge Table
  1. Your unarmed attacks deal an extra 1d4 Fire damage.†
  2. Your attacks move through small portals to disorient your enemies. +2 to hit on melee attacks this round.
  3. Your unarmed attacks deal an extra 1d4 Radiant damage.†
  4. You throw your attacks through portals to hit distant foes. Make melee attacks this round anywhere you can see within 30ft.
  5. Your unarmed attacks deal an extra 1d4 Cold damage.†
  6. Channeling a plane of negative energy, your unarmed attacks this turn weaken your enemies. On a hit, a creature must make a CON save vs. your Ki save DC or suffer a level of Exhaustion. This Exhaustion lasts until the end of the creature's next turn.
  7. Your fists land with the gravity of Gehenna behind them. Your unarmed attacks this turn cause enemies you hit to fall prone unless they succeed on a STR (Athletics) or DEX (Acrobatics) check vs. your Ki save DC.
  8. The mists of the Styx lend your attacks a befuddling effect. A creature hit this turn by your unarmed attack must make a WIS save vs. your Ki save DC or become confused, as the Confusion spell. Once a creature saves to avoid becoming confused in this way, it cannot be affected by this result again for 24 hours.
  9. The unstable effects of time in Faerie take hold of your target.† A creature hit by your unarmed attack must roll a d10 at the start of its next turn. On an odd result, the creature's age is reduced by a number of years equal to the die result (minimum 1); the creature cannot use Reactions until the start of its next turn, and it can use either an action or a bonus action, but not both. On an even result, the creature's age is increased by a number of years equal to the die result; on its turn, the creature can use an extra action.
  10. Your unarmed attacks deal an extra 1d4 Thunder damage.†
  11. Tricksy pixie magic changes your target temporarily. A creature hit by your unarmed attack this turn must make a WIS save vs. your Ki save DC or be polymorphed.

    Roll a d4 to determine the target's new form:

    1. Winged Cat
    2. Iridescent Snail (medium-sized)
    3. Majestic Giant Elk
    4. Feathered Tyrannosaurus Rex

    Roll a d4 to determine the duration of the polymorph:

    1. Until the end of the target's next turn
    2. Up to 1 minute
    3. Up to 10 minutes
    4. Up to 1 hour
  12. Your unarmed attacks deal an extra 1d4 Psychic damage.†

† Effect lasts for 1 minute or until you roll another Portal Surge.

Items For My Buddies

I made these wraps for the Monk player (N) in my Sunday 5e game. N was looking for something to beef up his Goblin Grandma, Surmaputk, and so I told him to throw a couple items my way that he was interested in picking up. I don't do magic shops, per se, but the party was fresh off saving the city and collecting a dragon's hoard, and they'd made the sort of connections that could get them some rare items in our very-magical homebase city, so it felt timely.

The Dragon Hide we was looing at was alright as is; I knew Wyrmreaver Gauntlets wouldn't fit the game; and the last would work fine, the Wraps of Unarmed Prowess, but it was just so... basic. And N is anything but basic.

I sent him the base item information, and I got to work on the table. Some GMs may prefer, or may even think it pertinent, to have a whole huge list of results at the ready, right off the bat. Myself, I'm a big proponent of only prepping what you're likely to need, so I started with only four results, and would add more results each session or as it felt appropriate, such as when the party started doing some planar traveling of their own. Some of the list items are pretty standard fare, a little extra damage of a particular flavour, an extra bonus to hit, etc. But others, I want them to be weird. My favourite is probably the Exhaustion effect -- just thinking about how much a few temporary levels of Exhaustion could change a big fight scratches my brain in a fun way.

So, is this balanced? And how does it play out at the table? I don't know, honestly. As of the time I'm writing this, we haven't seen a portal surge happen yet. Even when I artificially inflated the chance of one happening, N just could not roll a 1 on the die. We're in the final third of our campaign (#41 out of 60 sessions max), with a non-zero chance of battle, but a lot of RP in the foreseeable future, so I don't know if or when we'll see this item fully activate before the end of the game. If it DOES activate, I'll update this article or do a follow up. And of course, I'll update the Portal Surge table if it becomes a full d20 list.

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