Greater Limners Rod

Greater Limner's Rod

CL 5 Magic Rod • Weak Illusion

Cost: 11,250 gp

Weight: 4 lbs.

This rod is a cylindrical length of ivory that has been carved with ninety-nine eyes that cover every part of its surface. The eyes have inlaid mother of pearl for the whites, with a variety of gemstones for each of the irises. The eyes have no pupils, giving them an unsettling appearance, as if each eye is starting unseeingly at the world. The ends are capped in fool's gold with fine filigree and etchings of fanciful landscapes shrouded in mist.

Wielders of this rod can utter a command word as a standard action to cast a Major Image spell, using up one charge from the rod.

When this rod is activated, it creates an illusion of an object, creature, or force, as visualized by the wielder, up to a 10-foot cube in size (a 2x2x2 square space) within 200 feet of the wielder's space. The maximum size of the illusion increases by an additional 5 feet per 10 full creator levels of the rod (dropping fractions; i.e. a 15-foot cube at creator level 10, a 20-foot cube at creator level 20, and a 30-foot cube at creator level 30). The illusion can be created to include appropriate visuals, sounds, smells, textures, and even temperature changes. The sounds created by the illusion can be quite loud, as loud as one person yelling at creator level 1, a dragon's roar at creator level 15, and an avalanche at creator level 30. It is possible to make the illusion speak in a language the wielder knows, but the speech must be a simple, pre-programmed message, unless the wielder is actively manipulating the image. The illusion persists until the end of the current encounter, the end of the next encounter, the start of the wielder's next full night's rest, or until discharged into a deceived target (see below), whichever occurs first.

The wielder may expend a move action to move the image within the confines of its maximum space, in order to make the image appear to move naturally, or even react to any nearby creatures, if they wish. Furthermore, with the same move action, the wielder can adjust the other sensory outputs of the illusion, such as sounds, smells, etc. to suit the situation. When using a move action to actively manipulate the image, the wielder may cause the image to speak any language they know, and converse naturally with anyone interacting with it until the start of the wielder's next turn.

Nothing created by the rod's effect can be used for cover or concealment of any sort. The illusion cannot be terrain, such as a hill or wall, nor can it make a filled room appear empty, nor can it be used to create the image of massed piles of smaller objects. It can only create the illusion of a single object, such as a monster, a treasure chest, a fountain, or even a window. If used to create the image of a window (or some similar image), it only looks out onto an illusion — it does not create a transparent effect that allows a viewer to see what is actually beyond the illusion.

Interacting with the illusion directly allows a saving throw based on the creator level of the rod to notice that the illusion isn't real, but only if using a non-standard sense, since all standard senses are fooled by the illusion. Note that Darkvision and Low-Light Vision are also not able to penetrate the illusion, since they are just improved versions of normal vision, seeing in the normal spectrums of light and darkness. Senses like Perfect Scent, Echolocation, Tremorsense, or the Changeling's Heartsight would be valid ways of attempting to save against an illusion of this caliber. Those who succeed on the saving throw can perceive the reality of their surroundings as well as the illusion, but they know the illusion for the fake that it is. Those who fail are duped into believing the illusion is real.

In addition, the rod's wielder can construct the illusion such that the magic used to weave its fabric can 'ground out' through anyone who interacts with it without realizing it is an illusion. The conditions for this grounding must be described in some detail, and when these conditions are met, then all creatures, friend or foe, who are within 10 feet of the illusion's maximum affected area suffer an amount of fictive (energy, uncommon) damage based on the creator level of the rod, as the magic inflicts Unreality upon them. Once discharged, the illusion is dispelled.

Examples of triggers for this effect include attempting to pick the lock on an illusory chest, or attacking an illusory monster, or even when the illusion is successfully disbelieved by a nearby creature (in such a case, any disbelieving creatures would be immune to the discharging effect, but any other creatures within range would be affected). The GM adjudicates all uses of this spell, and should have an eye toward rewarding clever play while remaining fair.

This rod's spell effect lays an arcane charge on the wielder while the illusion remains in effect. If the wielder already has an arcane charge present, they must choose which effect they wish to maintain. Only one arcane charge can ever be present on a target at a time.

You can purchase this rod at a higher creator level than the minimum required to cast the spell. Doing so increases the potency of the spell as described above, but also increases the cost, as follows:

Creator Level	Cost	Save DC	Damage Dealt
-	-	-	-
-	-	-	-
-	-	-	-
-	-	-	-
5	11,250 gp	19	5d6
6	15,000 gp	20	6d6
7	18,750 gp	20	7d6
8	24,000 gp	21	8d6+8
9	30,000 gp	21	9d6+9
10	37,500 gp	22	10d6+10
11	46,500 gp	23	11d6+11
12	56,250 gp	24	12d6+12
13	68,250 gp	25	13d6+13
14	84,000 gp	26	14d6+14
15	106,500 gp	28	15d6+15
16	144,750 gp	29	16d6+32
17	195,000 gp	29	17d6+34
18	270,000 gp	30	18d6+36
19	360,000 gp	31	19d6+38
20	480,000 gp	32	20d6+40

Creator Level	Cost	Save DC	Damage Dealt
21	637,500 gp	33	21d6+42
22	855,000 gp	34	22d6+44
23	1,132,500 gp	35	23d6+46
24	1,500,000 gp	36	24d6+72
25	1,950,000 gp	37	25d6+75
26	2,625,000 gp	38	26d6+78
27	3,450,000 gp	39	27d6+81
28	4,650,000 gp	40	28d6+84
29	6,150,000 gp	42	29d6+87
30	8,175,000 gp	43	30d6+90
31	10,800,000 gp	45	31d6+93
32	14,175,000 gp	46	32d6+128
33	18,750,000 gp	47	33d6+132
34	24,825,000 gp	48	34d6+136
35	33,075,000 gp	49	35d6+140

This magic item does not require an attunement period, and grants its benefits immediately upon being worn or wielded.

Creation: Creator (Feat), Bailiwick Check (DC 20 (10 + double CL)), Languid (tier 1) remnant, An item symbolic of the enchantment, 5,625 gp (minus cost of symbolic item).