Eye of Kar'Umba
by Alex BensonStats: immunity to mental and charm based attacks; petrify attack x3 per day (see below); immunity to most petrification and hold type attacks (see below); true sight x3 per day.
Upon its wearer, the Eye of Kar'Umba bestows a variety of powers. Defensively, it grants the wearer immunity against all mental and charm based attacks. This includes spells such as ESP. The Eye also grants immunity to petrification and hold type attacks. The sole exception this second type of immunity is the petrification attack of a medusa. If petrified by a medusa, the Eye remains untouched, sitting upon the stone head of its former wearer. The Eye has the power to cast True Sight three times a day.
Offensively, the Eye gives the wearer the ability to cast Petrification three times a day. If the target fails his save, he is turned to stone for 24 hours. After that, the person reverts to his normal self.
Alone the Eye of Kar'Umba is very uncomfortable to wear, the triangle wears heavily upon the wearer's brow. As such, it is often worn over a cowl to provide a degree of padding. This in no way detracts from its powers.
Description: Though called the Eye of Kar'Umba, the item is in fact a headband. The band is made of flat iron, roughly an inch wide. The band is engraved with a flowing series of swirls. Among these swirls are engraved runes. The band has no means to adjust its size, however magic allows the band to resize itself to fit human sized wearers automatically.
Attached to the band is a metal triangle, roughly two inches in height. Affixed to the triangle on an iron setting is a dull greenish-blue orb. The orb is the actual Eye. The Eye's dullness only changes when its powers and immunities are used. Against mental and charm attacks, it glows bright blue. Against petrification attacks, it glows bright green. When True Sight is used, it swirls with green and blue colours. When its petrification attack is used, it goes bright white.
Historical Lore: The Eye of Kar'Umba has its roots with the medusa Karabass. The creature had established a lair near the Thothian town of Trikelios. After several townspeople vanished, soldiers were dispatched to investigate. Eventually some survived to report the existence of the medusa. The town authorities dispatched adventurers to deal with this threat.
Eventually a group was successful. They returned to Trikelios with the medusa's head as a trophy and proof of their success. A subsequent expedition was sent to retrieve the stone remains of those lost throughout the ordeal. The medusa's head was given to the mage Kaptjee to try to discover a means to reverse the stoned fate of the victims.
Kaptjee's experiments proved fruitless and the matter was turned over to the Clergy of Rathanos. Kaptjee retained the head and used it for his own research and enchantments. One such creation from the head was the Eye of Kar'Umba. Ironically, the Eye was deemed a failure as its petrification attack and defences were not as thorough as desired.
Kaptjee tossed the Eye into storage and forgot about it. The Eye remained there for years until Kaptjee recalled its powers. The mage had been hired to equip a group of Thothian heroes to investigate some disturbances happening at the Trikelios Crypts. The Eye was given to them as payment and reward.
The Eye then went through a series of owners, operating in and out of Thothian lands. During the Alphatian Conquest, the Eye was taken as a prize by a victorious Alphatian mage. The Eye was then taken back to the Alphatian Mainland. The Eye came into possession of the Randel Warmage Qazzan, who adopted it as part of his military battle dress.
The Eye became the official "crown" for the commanding officer of the 23rd Randel Infantry Regiment. During the failed Alphatian Spike of AC960, the Eye was lost during the withdrawal of Randel forces back to the Isle of Dawn domains. It was recovered by a Bettelyn patrol and kept as a sort of prize for their ongoing rivalry with the Randel.
The Eye was sent back to Bettelyn and placed alongside the other Randel war prizes that they had collected over the years. Randel commandos recovered the Eye and several other held items in AC972. The Eye was briefly returned to duty with the 23rd Infantry Regiment, but was retired in favour of the insignia that had been adopted since the Eye was lost.
The Eye's retirement was short-lived. The Eye was offered to the Randel mage Zefferina for her highly publicised duel against the Arogansan mage Kaybassa. Zefferina prevailed and was awarded the Eye, permanently, as a sign of respect from King Verothrics. Zefferina used the Eye for years, using the powers in her newfound hobby of duelling.
Eventually, Zefferina duelled the wrong person and lost. At a party, she had arrogantly proclaimed her mage magic to be far superior to clerical magic. Unfortunately, the comment was overheard by General Garisharr, who was a high ranking cleric of Razud. The insult intensified and a duel was scheduled. Though she survived the duel, she lost the agreed upon prizes which included most of her possessions. The victor added insult to injury and public ally auctioned off all the winnings, donating the money to the Razud Following.
The Eye was purchased by the adventuring mage Pyreal. Pyreal was a mage that relished in raiding of strongholds of Blackheart mages. The Eye currently sits upon his petrified form in the lair of the medusa Taylene. Taylene acts as a servant and guardian of the lich mage Kayan. Kayan keeps the stone form of Pyreal because she thinks that he looks pretty. She often talks to the statue.
DM Notes: The Eye of Kar'Umba is a fairly powerful item. It is set as a prize in an adventure/confrontation with Taylene. I plan on a NPC description for Taylene. The name differences between Kar'Umba and Karabass are intended. The item is known by its name, not from the creature that the eye came from. Likewise, the crafter's name is not used. DMs feel free to fill in this name detail.