Dragon-made artifacts have always been rare, but rarer still are those bestowed upon their mortal servants. Known to the dragons as the Scaled Jewels, these magical items were of the highest quality. They were endowed with the very powers of the true dragons that created them, and would bestow these abilities upon those mortal servants who remained steadfast in their loyalty to their draconic masters. Only a few still exist in the hands of men. Others have been lost or destroyed, and a rare few are still jealously guarded by the dragons.
Many items were made by dragon smiths in ancient times, but those that the dragons call the Scaled Jewels numbered only ten in total.
Each was created to epitomize the power and magnifi cence of one of the true dragon breeds, thus granting a sliver of this power to the mortal honored with such a majestic gi� . Some were wrought as rings, while others were cra� ed as amulets. Of all of these relics, only one was created to be worn upon a humanoid ear, and this was Vlieyerda.
Check Required: Knowledge (history) DC 35.
Scion
Level Ability Gained Caster
Level
–– Low-light vision 1st
1st Scent 3rd
2nd Enrapture, Control Shape 1st
3rd Hide, Move Silently —
4th Animal sense 7th
5th Tiger form 7th
6th Natural Spell —
7th Tall grasses 7th
8th Spellpounce 5th
9th Spellrake 5th
10th Feral spirit 11th
Table 3–6: Abilities Granted by Tiger’s Eyes
Vlieyerda was created by an ancient gold dragon named Tulmaxin. He gave it as a gi� to Weylin, his most trusted human servitor. Weylin was a sorcerer of prodigious skill, and Tulmaxin sensed that the blood of dragonkind fl owed through the mortal’s veins. In service to his golden master, Weylin performed many great and legendary deeds, and the world was made a be� er place. With Vlieyerda worn upon his le� ear, his prowess was increased ten-fold. Among all the servants of the dragons, Weylin was considered to be the greatest.
As he grew older, Weylin became lonely for the comforts of human companionship.
He had spent many long years in the company of dragons. Even though he was a hero of great magnitude, he was still dwarfed by the power that permeated such ancient creatures.
Weylin knew the minds and motives of dragons be� er than he understood his own people, and this troubled him. With Tulmaxin’s leave, he went amongst his own people to fi nd peace from his self-perceived failings.
Check Required: Knowledge (history) DC 30.
Weylin lived amongst the mortals of his homeland for many years. In time, he met and fell in love with Estelle, a woman of noble birth and proud bearing. Estelle returned Weylin’s aff ection, but she found it impossible to return his love. She was a wicked and covetous creature, lovely to look upon, yet the heart that beat within her breast was as cold as a serpent’s. To Estelle, Weylin was a means to an end, a hero with power and prestige that no other mortal man could match.
The two married, and Weylin felt that his life was complete with Estelle by his side. He returned to Tulmaxin’s service, and the aged wyrm welcomed him back with open arms. A� er several years, Estelle’s unhappiness with Weylin’s servitude became more and more apparent.
Though she wanted for nothing, living in vast opulence and wealth, she came to realize that her husband was merely a dragon’s puppet. She whispered to Weylin at night, beli� ling him for his servitude, and sowed doubt where there had previously been only courage.
Check Required: Knowledge (history) DC 30.
Estelle’s poisonous words took their toll on Weylin. His love for the woman blinded him to her lies and deceit, and he began to resent his role as Tulmaxin’s servant. His heart hardened as he grew to covet the dragon’s power. He was powerful enough, Estelle whispered to him. He
could destroy the ancient creature, becoming his own master in the process. With such power at his fi ngertips, failure was impossible. Tulmaxin was taken by surprise when Weylin fi nally betrayed him. Decades of trust and friendship provided a fl awless mask for Weylin’s treachery.
With his former master destroyed, Weylin and Estelle performed a ritual upon the dragon’s corpse. The magic of the ritual was purported to transfer the essence of a man into another body. The ritual was successful, but only in part.
Weylin’s spirit was indeed transferred into Tulmaxin’s body, but the dragon’s
corpse remained inert and lifeless.
Sensing the failure of her endeavor, Estelle took Vlieyerda from the corpse of her husband and fl ed into the countryside, never to be seen again.
Check Required: Knowledge (history) DC 30.
Vlieyerda is an ear cuff cast from solid gold. It is wrought in the shape of a writhing dragon, and its eyes consist of two tiny pearls.
Requirements
To wear Vlieyerda as its spell scion, a character must fulfi ll the following criteria.
Alignment: Lawful good.
Base Save Bonuses: Will +6.
Skills: Concentration 12 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 12 ranks.
Languages: Speak Draconic.
Spells: Able to cast 4th level arcane spells without preparation.
Restrictions
The scion of Vlieyerda must retain his lawful good alignment at all times, and must a� empt to promote the agenda of good at all costs. If the character strays too far from the path of law and benevolence, he will lose access to all the powers granted by the cuff .
Attributes
Vlieyerda has the following a� ributes.
Method of Destruction: Vlieyerda can only be destroyed by an evil dragon of adult age or older. The dragon must devour the cuff , thereby destroying it u� erly.
Check Required: Knowledge (arcana) DC 25.
Value: To any character other than its spell scion, Vlieyerda appears to be an earring of blessing (1,125 gp).
Vlieyerda
Special Abilities
Vlieyerda provides the following special abilities to its wielder, depending upon the character’s level in the spell scion prestige class (see Table 3–7:
Abilities Granted by Vlieyerda).
Initial Abilities: Vlieyerda allows anyone who wears it to cast bless three times per day.
Detect Gems (Sp): At 1st level, the cuff allows its scion to detect gems three times per day, much as gold dragons can. This is a divination eff ect similar to a detect magic spell, except that it fi nds only gems. The scion can scan a 60-degree arc each round. By concentrating for 1 round, he knows if there are any gems within the arc; 2 rounds of concentration reveal the exact number of gems;
and 3 rounds reveals their exact location, type, and value.
Dragon’s Hide (Ex): As the scion of Vlieyerda gains levels, his skin a� ains some of the durability of a gold dragon’s hide. At 1st level this change is minor, granting DR 1/magic. This increases to DR 2/magic at 3rd level, and while there are no physical signs of this change, the scion is accompanied by the smell of saff ron and incense wherever he goes. At 6th level, the damage reduction increases to DR 5/magic, and the scion’s eyes take on a distinctly golden hue. Eventually, when the scion reaches 9th level, his damage reduction rises to DR 10/magic, and his skin tone becomes golden.
Water Breathing (Sp): At 2nd level, the cuff ’s scion gains the spell-like ability to cast water breathing upon himself at will.
Draconic Bearing (Ex): Vlieyerda’s scion can more easily interact with good-aligned dragons and perceive their moods as his level increases.
At 2nd level, this is refl ected in a +2 bonus to all Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks when interacting with gold dragons. At 5th level, this bonus increases to +4. When the scion achieves 8th level, his understanding and rapport with gold dragons further increases this bonus to +6. When dealing with other metallic dragons besides gold dragons, the listed bonus is halved.
Luck Bonus (Su): Once per day, starting at 3rd level, the small pearls set within Vlieyerda can be used by the cuff ’s scion to give himself a +1 luck bonus on all saving throws and similar rolls. This bonus only applies to the scion himself, and it lasts 1d3 hours, plus 3 hours per level of the scion.
Geas/Quest (Sp): When he reaches 4th level, the cuff ’s scion gains the ability to cast geas/quest once per day.
Fire Resistance (Ex): When the scion of Vlieyerda a� ains 5th level, he fi nds that he is less susceptible
to the eff ects of fi re. This ability initially grants the scion fi re resistance 10, but the eff ectiveness of this ability increases by ten points at every odd level therea� er.
Spell Resistance (Ex): Once he reaches 6th level, the scion of Vlieyerda gains some of the gold dragon’s resistance to magic. This is refl ected in a spell resistance (SR) equal to the scion’s class level plus 11.
Sunburst (Sp): The scion of the cuff can unleash a sunburst, as per the spell, once per day starting at 8th level. Treat the scion’s class level as his caster level.
Foresight (Sp): At 10th level, Vlieyerda’s scion gains the ability to cast foresight once per day.
Immunity to Fire (Ex): At 10th level, the scion of the cuff becomes so a� uned to heat and fl ame that, like a gold dragon, he is immune to damage caused by fi re. This immunity extends to any items that he carries or wears.
Vulnerability to Cold (Ex): The immunity to fi re that the cuff ’s scion gains at 10th level is accompanied by a vulnerability to cold. Whenever the scion is damaged by cold, he takes half again as much (+50%) damage as normal, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure.
Scion
Level Ability Gained Caster
Level
–– Bless 1st
1st Detect gems 4th
Dragon’s hide (DR 1/magic) ––
2nd Water breathing 6th
Draconic bearing +2 ––
3rd Dragon’s hide (DR 2/magic) ––
Luck bonus ––
4th Geas/quest 12th
5th Fire resistance (10 points) 3rd
Draconic bearing +4 ––
6th Dragon’s hide (DR 5/magic) ––
Spell resistance ––
7th Fire resistance (20 points) 7th
8th Sunburst 16th
Draconic bearing +6 ––
9th Dragon’s hide (DR 10/magic) ––
Fire resistance (30 points) 11th
10th Foresight 18th
Immunity to fi re ––
Vulnerability to cold ––
Table 3–7: Abilities Granted by Vlieyerda
Rings, gems, and jewels forged, cut, and cra� ed for the glory of the gods, faithrings are fi lled with divine power. Clerics, druids, and sometimes paladins benefi t most from wielding them, and fi nd it easiest to do so. But with the suitable reverence and proper indoctrination in the ways of divine magic, any class can use faithrings.