Mystic Odysseys of Theros released digitally this week, providing a whole new world of deities, monsters, history, and more for us to explore. However, I’m admittedly old-school and waiting for the physical release on July 21 before I sink my teeth into the official content. That doesn’t mean I’m sitting idly by. I’ve been thinking of all the ways the various Gods and Goddesses will become a more active presence in my next campaign, and I wanted to share a few of these ideas to see if they would benefit you all in your games.
The first addition is obvious: incorporating unique Magic Items with a distinct Greco-Roman feel to them. For some added flair, I’m experimenting with a unique feature that is fully described by the Phalanx Shield later on. The second new toy is fully-customized Blessings. In my last article, I described how Blessings are a fantastic tool you can use to give Characters (PCs and NPCs alike) an extra layer of complexity and individuality. For this first set of items and powers, we’re going to focus primarily on combat utility.
Now that we’re on the same page, let’s get started!
Blessing: Rescue the Fallen
Your courage and capacity for self-sacrifice is recognized by the Gods. Let your valor be that which spurs your allies to keep fighting.
Effect: When an ally within your current movement speed is reduced to 0 Hit Points, you may use a Reaction to move, in a straight line, to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the target. For each Opportunity Attack made against you for moving in this way, the target ally regains 1d4 Hit Points. After you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you complete a long rest.
Based on 4th Edition’s Fearless Rescue Warlord power, this Blessing grants the user, most likely a melee combatant, a greater sense of mobility on the battlefield (being able to actively respond to an ally going down) and provides a situational healing ability to bring the fallen ally back into the fray. It’s intended to evoke that “brothers-in-arms” or “don’t you die on me!” feeling, perfect for an aspiring Theros hero.
When describing this Blessing in action, especially when the Opportunity Attacks kick in, you can draw inspiration from many action or war movies: as an ally goes down, time slows to a crawl for the PC and all sound around them becomes muffled. Their feet move of their own accord, racing to their fallen comrade. It’s not until the divine intervention on behalf of their bravery has recovered the fallen ally that the PC realizes they’ve suffered wounds of their own.
Variant: Race the Elements
Nothing comes between you and your allies. Let those who try feel the wrath of the elements.
Effect: When an ally within your current movement speed is knocked Prone, you may use a Reaction to move, in a straight line, to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the target. Prior to moving, select a damage type from Fire, Lightning, Cold, or Acid. Each creature who attempts an Opportunity Attack against you for moving in this way takes 1d6 damage of the chosen type. After you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you complete a long rest.
While the single-target damage on this is weak, it’s a great opportunity to whittle down multiple targets simultaneously and protect your friends from harrowing situations.
Magic Item: Furious Labrys
A weapon held only by tested champions of Mogis, you feel an otherworldly rage emanate from the blade of this mighty labrys.
Weapon (greataxe), Rare (requires attunement)
Wicked: When the bearer is presented with an opportunity to act in a selfish or malevolent way, the item heightens the bearer’s urge to do so.
Magic Weapon: Damage dealt by the Furious Labrys is considered magical for the purpose of overcoming resistances.
Unending Fury: When you hit with an attack using this weapon, you deal an additional 1d12 Force damage.
Nothing extraordinarily flashy with this weapon; it hits hard and spurs it’s wielder to hit things constantly. I was torn between Psychic and Force damage for Unending Fury, but chose Force since the weapon wasn’t piercing the target’s mind. Just note that even though it’s considered a Magic Weapon, it does not grant any bonuses to base attack/damage rolls.
Blessing: Sharp Tongue
By the will of Phenax, your words shall rout even the most tempered soldier.
Effect: As a bonus action, you may make a Charisma (Deception, Persuasion, or Intimidate) check against a target creature’s opposing Wisdom Save. If the target fails, that creature’s AC is reduced by 2 for 1d6 rounds. This ability has no effect on Constructs or any creature with an Intelligence score of 3 or lower. You may use this ability a number of times equal to your Proficiency bonus.
This blessing is meant to answer the question of what can your social skills (Deception, Persuasion, and Intimidate) do for you in the heat of battle? While I’ve seen some DMs use these skills, to great effect, as a way to diffuse combat, I wanted to see how they could be used to impede an enemy’s capabilities without just giving disadvantage to attack rolls. Catching an opponent off-guard can be accomplished in many different ways (throwing them into a rage/fright, challenging their motives with a counterpoint, distracting them with a lie, etc.), and I feel the flexibility in your choice of social skill reflects this concept nicely.
Magic Item: Phalanx Shield
Rumored to be blessed by Purphoros’ himself, this shield imbues its wielder with the capacity to use it to the utmost potential.
Armor (shield), Very Rare (Requires Attunement)
Guardian: This item whispers warnings to its bearer, granting a +2 bonus to initiative if the bearer isn’t incapacitated.
Weapon Art (Shield Master): While attuned to this item, the wielder receives all the benefits of the Shield Master feat.
This shield demonstrates a new design concept I’m going to try in my next campaign: Weapon Arts. The name, liberally borrowed from the Dark Souls series, is a concise way of saying “Let’s attach Feats, especially ones that don’t typically fall into the meta-narrative like Lucky, to Magic Items so they can be used more often.” With Weapon Arts, the hope is PCs will actively look to different weapons, armor, and Magic Items as they level up to experiment with new combinations of Feats without sacrificing an Ability Score Increase or (if you allow them) a better Feat.
Conclusion
There’s a lot to experiment with here, and I’m sure there are plenty of ways the options I’ve introduced today can be refined and balanced. Also, I fully recognize all of these might change the moment I get my hands on the physical copy of Mystic Odysseys of Theros in July.
In the meantime, what do you all think of the options presented here? What kind of features or items would you want to see in your Theros campaign that aren’t included in the official book?
Want to stay up to date with the latest happenings on Critical Hit Guru? Click the Follow button and type the email address you want to receive notifications for new posts!
We’re now on Twitter and Facebook! Search for @CriticalHitGuru on Twitter and the Critical Hit Guru page on Facebook to chat, ask questions, or just stay in the loop.
I’m Dungeon Master’s Guild official! For a thrilling military-themed heist all about saving a captured comrade, check out Rescue at Brightwell today.
Amethyst Wulf Games 