The Suncatcher

Staff, artifact (requires attunement by a cleric, druid, sorcerer, or wizard)

The head of this staff resembles a mancatcher, but its spikes are directed outwards. Its metal is always warm to the touch, as if it had been left in the sun. This staff can be wielded as a magic quarterstaff that grants a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. While holding it, you have a +2 bonus to spell attack rolls. While holding the staff, you have resistance to radiant damage and can't be blinded.

The staff has 10 charges. It regains 1d6 + 4 expended charges daily at dawn.

Spells. While holding the staff, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of the staff's charges to cast one of the following spells from it, using your spell save DC and spell attack bonus: daylight (1 charge), scorching ray (0 charges; radiant damage instead of fire damage), sunbeam (4 charges), or sunburst (6 charges). When casting scorching ray in this way, you can increase the spell slot level by one for each additional charge you expend, up to 5th level.

Photosynthesis. When you finish a short rest and both you and the staff are in an area of bright, naturally occurring sunlight, you regain 1d6 Hit Dice, and the staff regains the same number of charges. Once used, this property of the staff can't be used again until the next dawn.

Redirect Light. When you take radiant damage from a hostile creature and are holding the staff, you can use your reaction to expend 2 of the staff's charges to force a target that you can see within 60 feet of you to make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw. The target takes radiant damage equal to the same amount as the damage that triggered the reaction on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Sun Carrier. While holding the staff, you can use an action to hold it out toward the sun, provided you can see it. When you do, a mote of sunlight appears within the center of the staff, which remains until you dismiss it using a bonus action. While the mote remains in the staff, it sheds bright light out to a range of 20 feet, and dim light for an additional 20 feet. The light is sunlight. If you cast daylight from the staff while it has a mote of sunlight, you can choose to cast the spell for 0 charges, instead of 1; the light produced by this version of the spell is sunlight, and the mote then disappears from the staff.

Random Properties. The Suncatcher has the following random properties:

• 1 minor beneficial property

• 1 major beneficial property

Destroying the Staff. The only way to destroy the staff is to leave it in absolute darkness for one hundred years. It then rusts away and turns to ash.

The ashes of war hang low over lands of darkness.
But worry not: as with any storm, the radiance of the sun will burn it through. This, too, we shall weather.
Evil cannot tolerate warmth. Kindness. Light. You must only find a single ray amongst the dark.
And catch it.
And never let go.