Brainstorming: The Staff of Ravens

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

Does anybody know if there is a new version of the Babble spell available somewhere?

Quickleaf, the speaking-through-the-beaks-of-the-ravens-around-you thing is too cool to pass up, without being so powerful as to warrant increasing the price. That's in. . .

unless someone out there can tell me how they'd be able to abuse this ability.

The speak with dead ravens idea is cool, but too niche to justify the price and speak with dead is too broad to feel like it neccesarily fits.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

Okay, so without the babble ability, and with no value as a weapon, we're up to:
shout (two charges) (6000gp)
tongues (6750gp)
fly (4500gp)
Alikaba's theft (BoEM III) (4500gp)
death knell (3000gp)
summon swarm (swarm of ravens) (3000gp)
cause fear (1500gp)
summon monster II (Raven, Giant only) (1500gp)
(base caster level for all spells is 8th)
and the ability to speak through any or all ravens or crows within 100' which are also within line of sight of you.

total 30750gp market price

I'd really like to add the swarm form ability, too, but I don't have LM, have not considered all of the ramifications of allowing this feat to the staff's wielder, and would rather avoid adding 25,000gp to the price of a 31kgp staff for what is, in essence, just a cool visual. (Price based on ring of evasion in DMG I)

I think that, instead, I'll wait until after I've picked up Libris Mortis, and just incorporate this feat into the design of whatever NPC carries this staff.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

Final version?

The Staff of the Raven:
The top of this six-foot long darkwood staff bears a distinctive, life-sized image of two ravens, back-to-back, wings outspread. The wielder of this staff, even a wielder without spellcasting ability of any kind, may cause any or all ravens, crows, or raven swarms within 100 feet to which he has line-of-sight speak any words he himself speaks as he speaks them. Furthermore, the wielder of this staff is immune to the any ill effects caused by the staff so long as he continues to wield the staff. It allows use of the followings spells:
• Alikaba’s theft (1 charge)
• Cause fear (1 charge)
• Death knell (1 charge)
• Fly (1 charge)
• Summon monster (1 charge) (only summons a giant raven)
• Summon swarm (1 charge) (only summons a swarm of ravens)
• Shout (2 charges)
Faint varied; CL 8th; Craft Staff, Alikaba’s theft, cause fear, death knell, fly, shout, summon monster II, summon swarm; Price 30,750gp

 

[Quickleaf]

So, Arbiter, I had a thought. What if the staff-wielder casts a spell with only a verbal component and all the ravens around him are saying the same words? What if someone casts silence upon him, are the ravens silenced too?

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

So, Arbiter, I had a thought. What if the staff-wielder casts a spell with only a verbal component and all the ravens around him are saying the same words? What if someone casts silence upon him, are the ravens silenced too?

I'm thinking that the words which come from the ravens' mouths have no magical effect. A character dominated by the staff's wielder doesn't have to obey the ravens if a silence spell shuts off the staff-weilder's voice. The ravens can't activate command-word items, and while they might still recite words of power as spoked by the staff-wielder in the area of silence, the spell still fails, as their words are really only echoes of the casters: like so many magic mouths.

 

[Corvidae]

In addition to all conotations of death evil and filth, ravens were sometimes seen as bringers of wisdom. The norse god Odin had two ravens, Hunin and Mugin, that flew out over the world and brought all knowledge to Odin. Hunin and Mugin translates to thought and memory, or so I have been told. Anyway, if you wished to pursue that line, you could cause the staff to be very good at divination spells, and perhaps allow scrying through the eyes of a raven attuned to it.
Thats my two cents,
John

 

[VirgilCaine]

A conspiracy of ravens...

Very cool staff here.


What book exactly is Alikaba's theft from?

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

VirgilCaine, Alikaba's theft is from The Book of Eldritch Might III: The Nexus, and presumably also appears in The Complete Book of Eldritch Might, both by Monte Cook, from Malhavoc Press/Sword & Sorcery Studios/White Wolf.

Corvidae, I had planned to include the Owl's Wisdom spell in this staff and just forgot, I still have my notes around here somewhere. Perhaps I'll make up a new version soon, though, I doo remember hearing a story about my opa (grandfather), who was a graphic artist. He was commissioned to paint a business logo on the side of a delivery truck and had the whole thing done - both sides - before realizing that he had misspelled the company's name. Something similar happened on Inked last night (on A&E). Maybe something similar sometimes happens with the enchantment of magical items - of course, my opa did end up repainting the truck and taking a loss on the job. . .

I guess I'd better do up another version.

I'm glad you all liked the concept. If the staff makes its way into your games, I would love to hear about how it goes.

 

[Arbiter of Wyrms]

The Staff of the Raven:
The top of this six-foot long darkwood staff bears a distinctive, life-sized image of two ravens, back-to-back, wings outspread. The wielder of this staff, even a wielder without spellcasting ability of any kind, may cause any or all ravens, crows, or raven swarms within 100 feet to which he has line-of-sight speak any words he himself speaks as he speaks them. Furthermore, the wielder of this staff is immune to the any ill effects caused by the staff so long as he continues to wield the staff. It allows use of the followings spells:
• Alikaba’s theft (1 charge)
• Cause fear (1 charge)
• Death knell (1 charge)
• Fly (1 charge)
Owl’s Wisdom (1 charge)
• Summon monster (1 charge) (only summons a giant raven)
• Summon swarm (1 charge) (only summons a swarm of ravens)
• Shout (2 charges)
Faint varied; CL 8th; Craft Staff, Alikaba’s theft, cause fear, death knell, fly, owl’s wisdom, shout, summon monster II, summon swarm; Price 33,750gp