Help me with a Magical WOMD

[GrayIguana]

I was also going to title this "Help Me End My Campaign", but the help I'm really looking for is designing a magical item that could actually turn a war in someone's favor. I'm kind of looking for a fantasy version of a Weapon of Mass Destruction.

My campaign has evolved over some years to a point where the PCs homeland is facing a major military threat. The PCs estimate the odds are roughly 6 to 1 against the home team. They are currently taking on missions to even the odds a bit. They are trying to recruit neighboring nations to aid them. They are trying to recover ancient artifacts to aid them, but that is the sticking point. They could recover 10 artifact grade swords and I don't feel that it would tip the odds that much.

I've been contemplating the introduction of information to a certain ruined temple facility. At one time the owners of this facility were trying to create a magic item that would utterly wipe out their enemies, but they were destroyed before it was unleashed. The item was never found. This item would be my one (maybe two) use WOMD.

I'm also a bit leery of even putting something like this in play. I can obviously limit it's use, but there would be definate consequence of using such a power. The gods, for instance, would probably be furious at mortals weilding a power close to their own. In that case, the PCs would really be trading one doom for another.

I also don't want it to be something that is cliche. By that I mean, I don't want to open a gate which unleashes demons, fire, etc. I also don't want to copy an effect like the Mournland.

I hope this makes sense. I'm sure there are points I can clarify. Any thoughts?

 

[demiurge1138]

Disease. A magical disease that spreads like wildfire, is very difficult to cure, and has long-term effects on the health of the region (most cliche is, of course, the fallen rise as undead, but possibly their bodies turn to salt, rendering the land where they lay infertile or something).

Demiurge out.

 

[Tharian]

If you are looking at an epic level item, consider something that recreates the effect of the hellball (described in the ELH).

All that damage could wipe out a huge area very quickly.

 

[Stormborn]

Does the enemy have sheer numbers, or are they relying on real fantasy warfare tactics- magic items, spellcasters, etc? If its a real magewar that they face, how about the WMD be a trigger for a mass area effect Mage's Disjunction? The good guys would be prepared for it, have equipped with masterwork weapons, hired mercs that rely on brute force (army of giants for example), and then set it off. Destroys the enemies tactics and command structure, costs the good guys a lot too but it gives them the element of suprise. Too late they realize the effect is permanent, and spreading. Creates a large area where magic doesn't work, ushers in a new Dark Age. Or maybe there is some alternative out there that car replace magic, or maybe undo the effect. Que next story arc.

Or maybe a device that shifts all of the enemies slightly out of sink with the material realm. They are still alive, and can still be seen, but they are all immaterial.

What is the parties alignment? Are they willing to go ends justify the means? Have a device that will turn all of their soldiers into berserker werewolves who die after 24 hours. Or causes all the dead on the battle field to animate at the direction of the possesor. Or turns all the wells in the enemy homeland to blood.

 

[Bihor]

Why destruction?
good: What if the weapon that could stop the war, is real not a weapon of destruction but a weapon of love, or make every body whant to go home.

Neutral: You can find a way to change the mind of the attacking generals and turn it they other way around, like a bizzaro effect.
Or, if you can't beat them, join them senario: You see a lone guy riding to the advencing army saying "Don't bother, you won. Take what you need."

Evil: The player can find a device that look like the spaceship of Indepence day, or war of worlds. Throw them Richard Simmons http://www.richardsimmons.com/

Chaos: A devise that work like the Magedon in JLA, everybody fight each other.

Law: You can find a item that has something like a hold person, but a hold alot of person (armies).

 

[Aeric]

I don't know if it's still around, but there used to be a 9th level spell that created a demiplane. It was designed to be cast in the Astral Plane, where it started relatively small and grew very slowly over time. In the spell description, it mentioned what would happen if you cast that spell in any other plane such as the Prime Material. Basically, the new creation energies would snuff out the existing creation energies without producing anything new, making for a "dead zone" which slowly expands from the center of the spell effect. I imagine that a modified version of this spell which happened more quickly would make for a nice WMD, although it does sound similar to the Mourning, so maybe that's not what you're looking for. You could always judge that the spell works normally, replacing the existing plane with the new plane (the properties of which are determined by the caster, so you could make a new plane that is inimical to human life).

 

[Pyrex]

To turn the tide of a war you don't necessarily need massive damage; moderate damage over a wide area would do just fine.

Say, the equivalent of an ICBM.

For example:
The Eye of Fire
The Eye of Fire is a brightly polished mirror crafted out of Adamantine. In addition to functioning as a Mirror of Mental Prowess, the Eye of Fire can cast a Widened Fire Storm on the viewed area 5x day.

 

[Ace]

The nastiest WOMD spell in D&D is Rain of Fire

From the SRD

This spell summons a swirling thunderstorm that rains fire rather than raindrops down on the character and everything within a two-mile radius of him or her. Everything caught unprotected or unsheltered in the flaming deluge takes 1 point of fire damage each round. A successful Reflex save results in no damage, but the save must be repeated each round. Unless the ground is exceedingly damp, all vegetation is eventually blackened and destroyed, leaving behind a barren wasteland similar to the aftermath of a grass or forest fire. The fiery storm is stationary and persists even if the caster leaves.

Its DC50 to cast this bad boy which means many 30th level Wizards can get it to work with minimal trouble

1pt per round doesn't seem like much but the duration of the spell is 20 hours

The damage potential is roughly 12000 points

IMC they occasionally bind a modified version of this spell into spell triggered objects -- they call them City Killers

A nasty variant of it in my campaign works only on Divine Magic empowered beings. Its called a Godkiller Bomb

 

[Ace]

Another horrid item from my game is the Abysal Ripper. This Epic item opens a permanent gate to a particularly violent and deprarved part of abyss than sounds a calling chime -- A dinner bell if you like

These things are banned everywhere as they are the D&D equivilent of a Cobalt Bomb -- it won't just destroy your foes but possibly the whole world -- not a good outcome

 

[Shemeska]

Disease, but nothing conventional. I had in my campaign at one point what can best be described as a living psionic virus that incubates in the psyche of the infected, can choose when and where it spreads, and can suppress its own expression till it has spread enough.

It won't risk killing so quickly that it burns itself out, and it can remain latent in order to prevent its detection and likely magical countering. But once it decides to trigger, -crazy go nuts- in a very large way for a large number of people, as this malignant thing from Pandemonium devours their sanity. They can feel it there as it incubates, stalking them in their dreams as this deranged Howler with glowing eyes lurking at the edge of their vision, a region that slowly shrinks as the virus runs its course, eating away at their grip to sanity as it swallows the light in their dreams.