aripockily

[Shadow] Shield - Shield of the Eclipse

Added 2023-10-16 14:00:03 +0000 UTC

A simple shield procured via necessity against the Blighted Sun. They are typically supplied to travellers' guards. Common messengers would do anything to get their hands on a shield.

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Shield of the Eclipse
Shield, rare (requires attunement)

While you wield this shield, you have resistance to radiant damage. When an ally within 5 feet of you takes radiant damage, you can use your reaction to reduce the radiant damage taken by 1d6, to a minimum of 1 damage.

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Very Rare Variant. The very rare version of the shield grants a +1 bonus to your AC while you wield it, and reduces the damage your ally takes by 2d6 instead of 1d6.

Legendary Variant. The legendary version of the shield grants a +2 bonus to your AC while you wield it, and reduces the damage your ally takes by 3d6 instead of 1d6.

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DESIGN COMMENTARY

This shield is primarily designed as one of few items that would assist in traversing the surface of Azira and the Blighted Sun. Resistance or damage reduction will help avoid Solar Sickness, a condition that triggers upon meeting a damage threshold.

An armor of resistance is already Rare, so I needed to keep the secondary benefit minimal. Reducing damage by 1d6 (3.5 damage on average) is pretty low-stakes, particularly against such an uncommon damage type.

The final engraving on the shield, though not very visible, actually depicts shadows (the closed-eye like curls) protecting an underground society (on the triangle, symbol of the earth god), against the sun (center, with a sword passing through it). An easter egg for myself, I guess.