PSIONIC ARTIFACTS
Minor artifacts are not necessarily
unique items, Instead, they are psionic items that no longer can be made, at
least by common mortal means.
Sutra of Tranquil Thought: This monastic tome describes ancient
techniques of mental focus and is highly prized by psionic practitioners. If a
psionic character who is not evil studies the work during one week of solitary
contemplation, he gains 17 bonus power points and experience points sufficient
to place him halfway into the next level of experience. Those who use their
powers for evil are punished for their impertinence, losing 5d6 x 1,000 XP for
defiling the book. In addition, an evil reader must make an immediate DC 15
Will save or become permanently confused as if affected by the insanity
power. Only psychic chirurgery or similarly extreme measures can
restore sanity.
The minds of nonpsionic beings are
too clouded to benefit from the secrets of this book. To anyone without psionic
aptitude, the book’s pages appear to contain nothing but elaborate patterns and
drawings of mysterious beings. Once it is read, the book vanishes into the
Astral Plane to an unknown destination. Even if it is found again, the same
character cannot benefit twice from perusing its contents.
Strong telepathy; ML 20th; Weight 3
lb.
Major artifacts are unique items—only
one of each such item exists. They are difficult to find and dangerous to
handle, but once found, are often even more difficult to destroy. A major
psionic artifact has only a single, specific means of destruction.
Annulus: This artifact is the ultimate psionic
nullifier. Forged to keep enemies of vast psionic power at bay, the Annulus is
an artifact that any psionic being should fear. It has been forgotten in the
modern age, and merely finding it would precipitate a great upheaval across the
planes.
The Annulus is a
1-foot-diameter ring of silvery material. Tiny slots, antennae, spheres, and
other intricate projections decorate the exterior of the hoop; however, two
smoothed lengths of the ring provide an adequate surface for grasping the item.
The Annulus has several
powers, all of which require a wielder to tightly grasp the ring with at least
one hand. When it is first grasped, knowledge of the artifact’s powers immediately
flood the wielder’s mind. The wielder can access all powers of the Annulus at
manifester level 20th.
• The Annulus generates a
continuous catapsi effect within a 100-foot-radius of the wielder (who
is unaffected).
• The wielder gains a +4 enhancement
bonus on any attempt to resist an effect that deals ability damage.
• Once per day, the wielder can
trigger ultrablast as a standard action.
• Three times per day, as a standard
action, the wielder can trigger an effect similar to psionic dimensional
anchor that affects all creatures in a 50-foot radius.
The primary power of the Annulus, however,
is psionic nullification. Once per year, the wielder can trigger this effect as
a special action requiring 10 rounds of continuous concentration to complete.
The wielder specifies a target or targets within a 100-foot radius, ranging
from a specific psionic individual or item to a group of psionic beings that
share the same philosophy. The nullification effect is accompanied by blasts of
light, heat, and sound from the Annulus. Nonpsionic creatures and items
are unaffected, as are nontargeted beings, but any psionic target—regardless of
any protection it may possess—disintegrates in a terrific explosion. Nothing is
left but floating dust.
It is relatively easy to nullify a
single target or a small group of targets, but nullifying a more powerful being
(such as a demigod or greater entity) or another major artifact taxes the Annulus
to its limits. If it is used to nullify such a target, the artifact
succeeds but is destroyed in the process and cannot be retrieved by any means.
Psicrown of the Crystal Mind: An elaborate crystalline psicrown
etched with strange designs, this exceptional psicrown is so invested with
power that it is considered an artifact.
The power points in the Psicrown
of the Crystal Mind can be used to manifest any of the following powers at
manifester level 20th (or at the wearer’s manifester level if it is higher than
20th).
• Burst
• Catfall
• Concealing amorpha, greater
• Concussion blast
• Daze, psionic
• Detect psionics
• Dominate, psionic
• Far hand
• Float
• Mindlink
• Inertial barrier
• Telekinetic force
• Telekinetic maneuver
• Telekinetic thrust
• Teleport, psionic
• Thicken skin
• True metabolism
The wearer of the Psicrown of the
Crystal Mind also gains power resistance equal to 10 + his manifester
level.
The Psicrown of the Crystal Mind has
1,000 power points when discovered. Anyone who dons the crown instantly knows
the number of power points it has at the current time. The crown recharges itself,
gaining back 1 power point per day if it currently has fewer than 1,000 points.
As a special one-time use of the
psicrown, the wearer can channel all the remaining charges in the psicrown into
an uncontrolled burst of energy. The wearer triggers this use as a standard
action. All within 20 feet of the wearer take hit points of damage equal to
half the power points left in the staff (Reflex DC 18 half). The wearer
inhabits a tiny eye of calm at the center of the destruction and is unharmed,
but the psicrown is reduced to a burned-out cinder.