must occupy the with the rod
in place. On the 12th their psyches join, and the original subject is restored. Theoretically,
two normal unique and
might be forced to share one body through this process. The stronger body would harbor the two psyches, while the weaker body would become a
empty shell.
Alchemist's Apparatus
XP Value: — GP —
Book of Artifacts
The apparatus, or the alchemist's apparatus as it is sometimes known, is best described from the notebooks of
The very sight of it [the inspired a ter-ror me, for its very shape spoke of the unholy researches that planned it. It filled
's great hall, o even the bal-conies that upon floor below. The main part consisted of a great glass sphere of sul-phurous madly churning as the lightning teased the steel receptors set atop it. The whole is supported in a tripod of oppressive wood and
beneath which were suspended two smaller globes, each the height of a man. Piping arced from these to the sulphurous orb. Ringing these were yet smaller orbs, interwoven by tubes through which flowed streams of noxious gas. To my trepidation, Herr Gustav already stood among the wires and pipes of the platform, priming the foul device for the coming storm.
Then I saw that each contained a a quivering fawn, the other a ravening dire wolf.
"Behold the he cried to me, frantic with his madness as he gestured to the orbs. From his robes he produced a crystal rod, no more than 2 feet long, that throbbed with crystal fire. "The he shouted above the enraged storm. "With the rod I
No more of his madness could I bear, and so risking the fury of the elements I fled the sage's
out into the
It is unclear whether the apparatus is a single device or a set of plans and concepts so infernal in their execution that the result is the diabolic machine known by that name. The doubt exists because several times this artifact is said to have been both invented and and some-how it seems to recreate itself elsewhere to once
again wreak havoc upon those who experiment with it.
The first known construction of the apparatus was by one known as the Alchemist of
sometimes confused with Count Von Zarovich, another player in this tale. The story is that the alchemist created the apparatus in order to divide a soul and purge it of evil or, as others maintain, to fuse his own incomplete soul with that of another. Whatever his goal, his
became entangled in those of Strahd and led to disaster, destroying the apparatus and its maker.
The monstrous apparatus had more of a life than its it seems, for it has reappeared in other lands, sometimes as it was and sometimes changed and improved. Thus it is that some sages maintain that the true artifact is not the apparatus itself but the supposed notebooks of the original and that it is from these plans that the physical apparatus is built. No one, however, can ever testify to seeing a copy of these notes.
One important feature of the apparatus is the rod This magical item, although not an artifact in its own right, is vital to several of the apparatus's powers. It must be set in place between the two chamber orbs and then powered by so that is how the story goes.
The apparatus is a wonderful artifact with which to threaten PCs, because its powers of transpossession and soul-splitting strike at the very essence of the player character. The thought of having one's mind and psyche transferred into that of an orc or, perhaps worse, a goat should be enough to rouse fear in the heart of any PC.
Since the apparatus is not small, portable, or even quick to use, any adventure involving it must have a strong villain, one who can trap the PCs and then operate the device. A strong villain needs strong ambitions, too. The goals of this vil-lain are certainly more than just tormenting the PCs. They are only attacked because they are use-ful in some experiments or because they
knowingly or not, greater plans.
Should the characters manage to avoid the threats posed by the apparatus, they may still have problems. Friends and allies may suddenly become enemies through transpossession. Inno-cents may need to be restored or transpossessed spies ferreted out. This might require that the characters to seize and operate the apparatus, all at great peril to themselves!
Alchemist's Apparatus
Among all of the artifacts, this apparatus is the easiest to remove from any campaign, for it has a history of overloading, exploding, and otherwise destroying itself. Whenever the device's time has it is a simple matter to demolish it in a dramatic stroke of lightning. Another apparatus, should it ever be can always conveniently appear elsewhere, for like true science, once released from box, it can never be ban-ished completely.
Unlike many other artifacts, the powers of the apparatus cannot be utilized at will. Although magical in nature, the device operates more like a machine. To run, it must be energized by No other electrical source can suffice, for the apparatus requires not only the but the elemental power that the lightning provides.
The metal receptor plate in the top must be struck times in the space of three hours for the device to build up the necessary Only one charge can be held at a time and beyond the time limit, the stored energies fade. The charge is enough to feed a single power of the apparatus. W h i c h power is used is determined by the operator, who must constantly supervise the machine's opera-tion. can be used without addi-tional preparation, but the remaining powers of the apparatus require the use of the rod
set in its place between the two Invoked Powers: The simplest power is
the complete exchange of minds between two creatures. The subjects are placed in the two globes amid swirls of gas and glow-ing blue sparks, the transfer is made. All mental, spellcasting, and psionic abilities are transferred between the two bodies. The new form has the Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, and Charisma of the host, but the and Wisdom of the transferred mind. The subjects are struck unconscious for 1d3 turns. sub-jects detect as neutral to all spells and psionics that would reveal alignment, ethos, or personality.
The second power, soul splitting, divides a sin-gle subject into two personalities. The split sepa-rates some property of the psyche into its Opposing vs. evil, law vs. chaos, wisdom vs. folly, and other opposing forces. The two persons are physically similar, differing only in ways that characterize the nature of the split and the strength of each trait. The good personal-ity may be fair and strong, if the original subject was filled with or sickly pale if the
sub-ject was less than noble. Each personality has the full knowledge and abilities (within the limits of the separation) of the original body.
The two forms are also utterly opposed to each other, so that cooperation is impossible. Depend-ing on the nature of the separation, one seeks to destroy the other or reverse the soul splitting * process. An evil twin would seek its
death while the good one tries for reunion. A wise twin might revel in freedom from the foolish half.
A foolish twin is likely to become wild and bes-tial, filled with cunning. In all cases, the two separated properties become con-centrated and exaggerated in each individual until the distilled trait dominates their personalities. It radiates with astonishing intensity to detection spells revealing that trait.
The third power is that of soul fusing. Here, two personalities are joined in one body. Nor-mally this is done to reverse the process of soul splitting, but it is possible to merge two unrelated personalities into a single creature. The merged form now has two separate minds within it. Each retains its own including all class, mental, spellcasting, and psionic powers. One personality, however, cannot use the powers of the other.
The result of this fusion is seldom harmonious, for unless the two minds are in perfect agreement on all things, they vie for control of the body. Any time there is a disagreement over a course of action, an Intelligence check is made for each mind. Should one succeed and the other that personality seizes physical control. The subject's mannerisms, voice, accent, likes, and dislikes are instantly those of the dominant personality.
Should both fail, the subject is racked by fear-some headaches so severe that any action is impossible. If both the subject's body is the battleground for control. Movements become confused and jerky, behavior erratic from moment to moment, as each tries to assert itself.
Attempts to detect the mental nature of such a person reveal details of the current dominant per-sonality. If there is no dominant force, the result is a confused blur that might be mistaken for neu-trality.
Curse: With the apparatus there are perils both for those subjected to its horrible transformations and for those who would use it upon themselves or others.
For subjects, beyond the perils described
Apparatus of Dreadful Construction
above, there is a chance that, unable to reconcile oneself to the alteration, madness results. The subject (or subjects in the case of a split) must immediately roll a successful saving throw vs.
death magic or succumb to incurable madness.
After that, the subject must roll a successful sav-ing throw every day for a full Only after this time is the subject able to come to terms with the situation. Note that for those subjected to sou!
fusing, each personality must roll a separate sav-ing throw and it is perfectly possible for one per-sonality to be sane and the other to be utterly mad.
The experimenter other fates each time the apparatus is used. There is a 20% chance (noncumulative) that the energies of the appara-tus create a field that transfers the device and sur-rounding locale (such as the building housing it), along with all characters, into Ravenloft. (Players familiar with the know this is a serious curse.)
In Ravenloft: Where the device was originally the operator must roll a dark powers check each time the device is if the operator is the subject. Evil "twins" created by the tus are immediately adopted by the land,
Means of
• The machine itself is quite fragile and can be easily destroyed. However, it recreates itself at some other place and time.
• The characters must travel back in time to the workshops of the original alchemist and there destroy him, his works, and all his notes.
• Mystical barriers blocking the blend of sci-ence and magic must be built to protect each world in the Prime Material Plane. This does not destroy it. It merely prevents its appear-ance in that world,
of Dreadful Construction
XP Value: GP —
New Item
Reports have surfaced from those who visit other worlds of the appearance of a bizarre device that disrupts the tranquility of civilized Sages who and study such reports say that a large wheeled mechanism, reputed to be made of adamantite-alloyed iron, has briefly appeared on certain worlds at random to leave a trail of chaos in its The purpose and ori-gins of the device are a mystery, but a few facts
are known about it.
The dreadful construction, as it has come to be known, resembles a huge, iron, fully two-wheeled chariot lacking front bar to which would be harnessed. It stands about feet high, 20 feet wide, and 25 feet long. weight is guessed to be to 30 tons. Three great metal chimneys rear from its stern, spewing sparks and flames up to 30 feet into the air. (The fires cause any flammable mate-rial within 30 feet of the device to save vs. normal fire or burn.) Two monstrous studded wheels apparatus to cross any terrain at a con-stant speed (MV 24, or miles per hour), night or day. Most fearsome, however, are the eight human-sized metal teeth at its front, each driven by a great piston, which chew through every kind of stone, metal, or other If the apparatus runs a cliff or it digs its way through at a reduced but still rapid speed (MV leaving a permanent tunnel behind it. Any being run over by this device, whether crushed by a wheel or "bitten" by a metal tooth, takes points of crushing damage and 6d6 points of heat damage (no saving throw), and must pass a system shock roll or die at once.
As the apparatus travels across the landscape, it destroys everything before it in a path 20 feet wide, moving in a perfectly straight (if not entirely level) line. Nothing, not even a wish spell, can turn it aside or direct its movements.
Witnesses report that the apparatus is able to sur-vive falls from considerable heights without dam-age, observing that it continued on its journey as if nothing happened. The single mindedness of the apparatus's movements and feats leads most observers to believe that it has escaped its origi-nal owner or creator and is now running without any intelligent control.
As it part of the mechanism takes the rocky material it destroys, draws the debris into the vehicle, and leaves it behind in the form of a black paved road measuring feet wide, with churned earth and ground rock littering either side. The created road is exceptionally durable, making all saving throws as metal +4. Immedi-ately after the passage of the apparatus, however, the roadway is extremely hot, doing 6d6 points of damage to anyone who touches it; it cools by one die of damage for every hour that passes after it begins to cool. Furthermore, the road contains poisonous substances that kill all plant life within
109
Apparatus of Spikey Owns
50 yards for a full year. This though of high quality, of course leads nowhere in particular except by random chance. Any city unlucky enough to be in the path of the device must be abandoned until it has leaving road and ruin behind it.
The apparatus travels from world to world as a result of a random plane shift power, 1-20 rounds after it is fully submerged in
or river. its plane shift, it reappears out of the deep waters of another in another crys-tal sphere, to drive across the landscape until it reaches water again. A few wizards and priests discovered this aspect of its nature exploited it by having lakes dug and filled in its path to pro-tect causing device to leave their world for another.
Though the device has caused destruction in its passage across inhabited lands, the ruin is very limited in scope and the damage is eventually reversed (though the roadway it creates remains).
In some cases, its passage has even been as it opens tunnels through the most impass-able mountains and builds roads across the worst terrain. It is more an annoyance than a real threat.
The device radiates enormous, powerful magic, and its invulnerability to all forms of magical and physical attack certainly indicate that it is an arti-fact. Because the upper part of the apparatus has the appearance of a beast's complete with fiery nostrils and smokestack "horns," it is some-times called the Iron Bull, as well as Ground-Eater, Road-Maker, the Starving Juggernaut, and a few less pleasant epithets (particularly thrown by those who have lost farms and forests to its flames).
Certain elements of its appearance have led to speculations that it was built with the assistance of tinker gnomes (Minoi), though there is neither record nor proof of some tinker gnomes actively pursue the device in order to learn more about it.) Another theory is that it is a reactivated relic from the ancient empire of Mystara, not of The truth cannot be known at this time. As its first appear-ance in the Known Spheres dates back to only 130 years, the assumption of scholarly sages is that the device is either of recent construction or lay dormant until accidentally activated by a curi-ous (and no doubt now deceased) discoverer.
of
XP Value: 8,000 GP Value: 35,000 MASTER Guide, Edition When this item is a large, sealed iron bar-rel, but it has a secret catch that opens a hatch in one end. Inside are levers:
Level Effect
1 legs and tail
2 Uncover/cover forward porthole 3 Uncover/cover side portholes
4 pincers and feelers
5 Snap pincers
6 or right
7 or right
8 "eyes" with continual light inside/close "eyes"
9 Raise or sink
10 hatch
The apparatus moves forward at a speed of three, backward at six. Two pincers extend for-ward 4 feet and snap for 2d6 points of damage
each if they hit a chance, no
reduction for armor, but Dexterity reduction applies (5% per bonus point). The device can operate in water up to 900 feet deep. It can hold two human-sized characters and enough air to operate for hours at maximum capacity.
The apparatus is AC 0 and requires 100 points of damage to cause a 200 to stave in a side.
When the device is operating it looks something like a giant lobster.
In a DRAGONLANCE Campaign: The appara-tus of Kwalish does not on Ansalon.
of Spikey Owns
XP Value: 7,000 GP Value: 32,000 DRAGON Magazine 28
This item exactly resembles the apparatus of Kwalish except that, when it becomes a one-man-band renowned for its cacophony. It enrages who hear it, including party members, unless a saving throw vs. is made. Those who fail the saving throw will attempt to do harm to the operator until he or she stops playing the apparatus. Of course, the owner is charmed by the device and continues to operate it.
Apple of Bragi
Although they are extremely rare, two magical apples have been discovered.
of Bragi
XP Value: 500 GP Value: 2,500 & DRAGONS Master Set
In Scandinavian Bragi (son of Odin) had a inexhaustible supply of these Each can cure weariness, decay of power, ill tem-per, or health.
of Chaos
XP Value: 300 GP Value: 3,000 Newszine 26
The apple of is a apple of
gold. If thrown, its material form disappears where it lands, but its image remains (a phan-tasm), affecting all creatures within 40 feet of it.
All victims are affected as if by the
ard spell chaos, suffering confusion (as the druid Normal fighters (not paladins or rangers), illusionists, creatures with Intelligence 4 or less, and monsters that do not use magic may each make a saving throw vs. to avoid the effect;
no other creatures gain a saving throw. The lasts for 20 rounds, until the phantasmal apple disappears. The image (and the effect) may be removed by a dispel magic spell, but checked
no other creatures gain a saving throw. The lasts for 20 rounds, until the phantasmal apple disappears. The image (and the effect) may be removed by a dispel magic spell, but checked