Hello, everyone, and happy New Year! This week’s article is a new artifact for your campaigns based on one of the primordials from Primordial Power.
As always, if you’d like a more portable PDF of this material, it is available for sale on DriveThruRPG, and for free to patrons of the Adventurer tier and higher!
Body of the Armored Tyrant
Armor(plate), artifact(requires attunement)
The first skirmishes between the gods and primordials left not only countless bodies in their wake, but ancient and primeval tools of war. The materials which survived are not to be trifled with – suffused with incredibly powerful magics, most of these pieces can provide the means to reshape kingdoms and continents. During one such battle, Zyagi, the Armored Tyrant, was decapitated by an ambitious warrior god, the King of No Nation. The Armored Tyrant’s head was taken as a trophy, and the primordial’s hollow body was left in the mercury-blighted hellscape that had become their battlefield.
Primordials seldom die, as the King of No Nations learned one fateful day. Zyagi’s head eventually reconstituted a new body and slew its captor, but the original remained at this wasteland for centuries until an exiled blacksmith chanced upon it. Maddened by the mercury of the blighted battlefield, this smith was given visions of salvation, a chance to return to their home a hero. All they had to do was find the Body of the Armored Tyrant, reforged into the perfect suit of armor for their king. The blacksmith toiled for years in the wastes, feverishly restoring the iron to a usable state. When at long last their labors were completed, they were indeed welcomed back as a hero, and their exile lifted.
Though the fate of this blacksmith and their homeland are shrouded in mystery, legends tell of the corrupting influence of the body appearing throughout history. When it crosses their path, the body lends a would-be conqueror the same bloodlust and resilience as the Armored Tyrant. Surprisingly, the Artifact demonstrates no interest in returning to its former master, but instead reflect his drive to continue a destructive rampage across the cosmos.
Magic Armor. The Body of the Armored Tyrant is a magic suit of full plate that grants a +3 bonus to Armor Class. The body also functions as a suit of adamantine armor, and armor of invulnerability.
Random Properties. The Body of the Armored Tyrant has the following random properties:
2 minor beneficial properties
2 minor detrimental properties
Magnetic Control. While attuned to the body, you may use a portion of the Armored Tyrant’s magnetic abilities. As an action, you may attempt to move up to 500 pounds of metal within 60 feet of you. If the metal isn’t being worn or carried, you may automatically move it up to 30 feet in any direction, including upward.
If the metal is worn or carried by a creature, that creature must make a DC 19 Strength saving throw. On a failure, you pull the metal away from that creature.
When moving metal in this way, you may direct it to collide with a single creature within its range of movement. The creature must make a DC 19 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 1d12 bludgeoning damage and is pushed 5 feet for every 50 pounds of metal colliding with it. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and is not pushed. Creatures wearing armor made of metal have disadvantage on this saving throw.
Curse. The body houses a curse which will exert the will of The Armored Tyrant through its wearer. Subtly, at first, the armor begins to grow at its edges, reassembling its original form. After being attuned to a wielder for a month, the wearer becomes completely encased in the armor, dying in the process. The armor itself becomes an avatar of Zyagi, detailed to the right. After this transformation, the wearer can only be restored to life through a true resurrection or wish spell, after the avatar is reduced to 0 hit points.
Destroying the Body. The only way to destroy the body is for its wearer to be slain by a god or a champion personally designated by a god, wielding a weapon created by the original smith of the Body of the Armored Tyrant or one of their descendants.