Draught of Swarming Vice (5e Equipment)
Potion, artifact (Requires attunement by someone that is not a non-spellcaster nor a full spellcaster.)
This strange potion is a shade of metallic grey, and has a sandy look and texture. Created by a mad ratfolk artificer known as Ratingar Voleum, this flask was made to end his foes swiftly and hastily. Attuning to this item is possible by drinking it or rubbing it on your skin, but you may also regularly attune to the potion. Uncapping the cork of the potion makes the liquid inside fly out and disperse into a swarm of levitating nanobots that follow your every command, and if you (somehow) view them on a microscopic scale, they take the appearance of floating probes of magical force with small jaws and pincers for hands.
Random Properties. The Swarming Vice has the following random properties:
- 1 minor beneficial property
- 2 major beneficial properties
- 2 minor detrimental properties
- 1 major detrimental property
Vocal Commander. The swarm, once attuned to the user, may be controlled, and can pick up objects with ease. It can activate any object that requires even the most complex hand movements, but you'll need to give it very exact commands. For example. Joe the Duergar Ranger commands the swarm in a modern setting to completely operate a jet. The swarm will require a full manual recital to operate the plane, or otherwise, it will not work. You must also put the swarm back in the vial to turn it on or off, and the swarm will not run out of battery.
Combative Precision. The swarm is useful in combat, and if regularly attuned, you may release the swarm onto others. It can take the shape of any weapon that it has felt before, which you can do by placing said weapon inside of the swarm. If this is so, fully bypasses any armor, as if the armor was not on in the first place. You may also have the swarm become armor with the same method as creating weapons, however, this is highly inefficient, as the swarm gives Stealth disadvantage and disables the Dexterity modifier bonus, regardless of armor type. The swarm may also be regularly released in combat, dealing 1d12 slashing and 1d12 piercing damage when someone is inside, not affecting the controller and anyone the controller wishes to not attack.
Artificial Panacea. If ingested, the swarm acts as a second immune system, working in synchrony with your already existing one. The poisoned status condition ends after your turn, or immediately with a move action, your exhaustion is depleted by one point after a short rest, you recover an amount of health equal to one of your hit dies every turn, or 1d8, whichever is larger, you are resistant to poison damage, have any diseases DC halved, and finally, you gain another major beneficial property. These are not permenant, however, and will dissipate if you have a hole in your body, or the swarm is dispelled, such as having a missing arm or by expelling feces.
Death Do Us Part. If you rubbed the potion on your skin, you gain advantage on your death saves, and if you succeed, you are restored to your full health alongside temporary hit points equal to three times your level. This, however, destroys the swarm, but not the vial. The swarm regenerates fully after one month inside the bottle, but if you benefit from this feature a total of three times, you become a zombie, and you completely lose control of your body, now fully operated by the swarm. The swarm cannot cast magic, since it is unfortunately a construct and is not connected to the Weave.
Destroying the Swarming Vice. If the swarm fully covers the outside edges of the vial, the vial shatters due to the stress, and the swarm is disabled, as the vial acts like a conduit/hivemind. The vial also grows weaker as the swarm is not within it, and after one month, the vial becomes as brittle as thin ice.
- Design Note: This was made for my campaign's antagonist, and you should only find this if he visits you or you find his underground lab, but these are only recommendations. Go haywire.
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