Nymph's Sanctuary (3.5e Equipment)

Nymph's Sanctuary: *Almost all races use trees for something, mostly for shelter or tools. Nymphs, of course, are prone to having wooden sanctuaries that they defend at all costs. When a woodcutting party comes too close to the trees they usually see the Nymph before going blind and running off into the forest. The Nymph was different to her sister fey in that when she slept, she would not wake at anything less than a dull roar. As such she asked the animals around her to wake her should someone approach while she slept. (DC 10)

• There was, however, one wizard who wished to have a Nymph as his wife, whether she wanted to be or not. He knew that she would never fall in love with him and go willingly, so he thought about what he could do to take her away. The idea came to him when he witnessed a child catch a fish with a flat piece of wood. He would trap her in a piece of her own sanctuary. (DC 15)
• Then the wizard remembered that if he looked at the Nymph after capturing her, he would likely go blind; thus he thought for several more days of a spell that would suppress the Nymph's talent for him while he held the piece of her sanctuary. It took him several nights to create and then prepare the spell, so that it may be cast upon the piece of wood the Nymph would be trapped within. (DC 20)
• He began to form different strategies to pull off his kidnap, but each one that he thought through failed in some way until he heard of a spell that could make him almost invisible to animals. He knew that the Nymph that he wanted to capture was a heavy sleeper, and he also knew that he would have to somehow get a piece of her sanctuary and cast the suppression spell on it. With weeks of preparation he decided that he was ready to take on the task. (DC 25)
• First, he studied her habits: when she would retreat to sleep or take a nap, about how many animals protected her, how she moved, and what she did when she was not doing anything else. Next came the hard part: he had to make off with a piece of bark from one of the trees that she regularly slept in and enchant it with the suppression spell he created. It was no easy task for he had to go completely undetected by all the animals and the Nymph herself. That done, he also enchanted the piece of bark with a command word (so that he could summon her out of the piece of sanctuary when he wished) and an empowered, permanent, alternative version of Charm Person called Charm Fey. Finally, he made his final move: he cast a spell that made him invisible to all of the animals, including their senses, before approaching the sleeping Nymph. He did not dare look at her directly after he came within a few feet of her, but instead began casting the spell that would forever trap the Nymph within a piece of her own sanctuary. As he had hoped, she could not hear his spell nor did the animals alert her to the danger only an arm-span away from her. The wizard was nearing the completion of the spell when all of a sudden, the Nymph awoke right in front of him. She was, at first, somewhat confused at the sight of the wizard and how he had gotten so close; but when she saw that he was casting a spell she became furious. The wizard had almost completed the spell word for word when he was stunned on the last syllable of the last word of the spell. Although he had been interrupted from casting the spell, the spell itself still shot at the Nymph and hit. A moment later the Nymph was pulled into the piece of wood the wizard had stolen and enchanted. When he could move again, the wizard fell to his knees, weeping; he had become blind from the Nymph's beauty. What was more, he realized that what he had done was wrong, but it was too late to change what had been done. He groped around on the floor until he found the piece of wood that contained the Nymph. Sorrowfully, he used the command word, and the Nymph appeared in front of him. Although he could not see her, her sorrow was tangible to him. The Nymph had liked him quite a lot, but he had never come close enough so that she could tell him. (DC 30)
• The Nymph cared for the wizard for the rest of his days. They slowly became more and more attached to one another, enjoying walks in the wilderness and traveling across all of Faerun. The Nymph loved the wizard and the wizard loved the Nymph back. Eventually, the wizard made the piece of wood into an amulet that he could wear, and he carved the command word onto the back of the amulet in Sylvan. Sorrow filled the wizard as day by day he longed to see the Nymph, and day by day he became more desperate. His want to see the Nymph slowly drove him made until one day he snapped. Leaving the Nymph at home and without telling the Nymph of what he wished to do, the wizard took a potion which he was told would let him see again. The rogue who sold him the potion smirked with satisfaction as the wizard slowly died a gruesome death. The rogue had left the wooden amulet where it was when he broke into the wizards house, dismissing it as a regular piece of wood. The Nymph felt the death of her loved one through the piece of wood that the wizard had made into an amulet, and for a decade she sorrowed over him, unable to free herself. Secluded from civilization, the amulet lay dormant on the same spot the wizard had left it in his house in the Jungles of Chult, near a large settlement of unusual looking Catfolk. (DC 35)

Requirements

Language: Sylvan

Abilities

• Upon the use of the command word (DM's choice or player's if they make the amulet), the Nymph sealed inside the amulet is released until she wishes to return or until the wielder forces her to return. Forcing the Nymph to return to the amulet requires a Concentration check (DC 10 + the Nymph's Charisma score). If the Nymph is friendly to the wearer, they will help them with most tasks. If the Nymph is indifferent to the wearer, the Nymph may help the wearer, but the Nymph may not feel like it. If the Nymph is hostile to the wearer, she will attempt to attack the wearer, possibly even killing the wearer. The Nymph starts off indifferent to the wearer if they are good or neutral on the good evil axis. The Nymph starts off hostile to the wearer if they are evil. The Nymph's disposition to the wearer rises by one level when she is pleased with them, but the Nymph's disposition falls if she is horrified by the wearer in any way (hurt by the wearer, forced into the amulet, or angry with the actions of the wearer like killing for sport).
• The Nymph retains all of her powers and abilities when summoned.
• The Nymph is always the same level as the wearer of the amulet. Adjust the Nymph and all of it's features as if the Nymph were a member of the party. The Nymph may choose to gain a class.
• The contained Nymph's Blinding Beauty does not affect the wearer.
• Additionally, the amulet acts similar to a pair of Rings of Friend Shield between the Nymph and the wearer with the exception that the Shield Other effect is constantly active. The Shield Other effect only works between the wearer or the Nymph. This Shield Other effect does not apply if the Nymph is hostile to the wearer.

DM Notes

This can be a potentially powerful item if put in the right hands, so make sure you know what you are doing. The Gather Information check DC needed to find out about this item and related information can be found at the end of each part of the history.

Strong (DC 25) Enchantment, Transmutation, Abjuration;CL -; Craft Wondrous Item, Charm Person, Binding, Shield Other. A Nymph with a sanctuary of trees. Wood of target Nymph's sanctuary.; Cost 1,000 gp + 1,000 XP; Activation: Command Word, Full-round Action; Weight: - lb.; Market Price: 30,000gp

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