Amulet of First Strike
These very powerful magical artifacts were created from the wisdom and fingers of the gods of good. Needless to say, these items are extremely rare. They have been sought after by all classes for their versatility. There are only five known to exist. They were made for two demi-gods and three other classes of good to help protect the realms from evil. Two of them are still carried by the demi-gods, while a third is said to be in the possession of a high priestess of the god of battle somewhere in the icy area to the north. The whereabouts of the other two are unknown. The rarity of the item comes from the stone, which in itself has highly magical properties. It can only be obtained from traveling deep into the abyss to retrieve it.
These items resemble ordinary amulets in every way except for the highly-polished stone in the center that is one inch in diameter and speckled green and red. They must only be worn around the neck for their powerful magic to take place.
The item will radiate extremely heavy magic if detected, but which kind or its place of origin can never be determined. It will also work in the strongest of anti-magic or dead-magic zones. This magical item is susceptible to being destroyed by extremely high level magic items, but only on a roll of 2% or less, no matter what the modifiers. Coming in contact with a Black Ball will destroy it outright with no die roll needed, and anyone within a 40ft cube of the blast will suffer 5d10 points of damage. A save vs magic for half damage is allowed. Although all classes may use and benefit from it, its striking ability will work slightly differently for each class who possesses it.
The amulet has four major functions:
1). The first is its ability to keep the wearer from being located. No detection magic of any kind, such as scrying, true seeing, locate object, etc. will work in regard to discovering the wherabouts of the wearer of the amulet at any given time or place. For example, if the individual wearing the amulet is with an adventuring party of five, any person or creature trying to scry on them will only see the other four who are not in possession of the item. Therefore, the amulet will give off a false vision. Note: The individual is not invisible. If the party were to be attacked by the person who had scried on them in the example above, the person wearing the amulet would be seen as if he or she had been there all the time. However, if the person wearing the amulet is invisible, no means of magic for detecting invisibility will work while they stay in that state. This also holds true for undead who are trying to detect an individual's life force. As long as the person wearing the amulet stays invisible, this added magical protection will last. This feature is more useful for clerics in that they are able to turn undead without ever being sensed or seen while invisible. Note that the regular rules for the breaking of an invisibility spell still hold true. This feature is very useful to all classes and works the same for each.
2). The second ability of the amulet is its ability to afford its wearer the ability to never be surprised. No die roll is ever needed under any circumstances for the person wearing the item. Even if the person wearing the item is deep in sleep, the amulet gives off a magical aura which detects any one or any thing trying to surprise the wearer even if it is invisible. If the wearer comes up against another creature which is never surprised, the two will both be able to take some sort of immediate action over the rest of an adventuring group with no die roll ever taking place. This feature is also useful to all classes and works the same for each.
3). The third ability of the amulet is that it affords its wearer the added protection of +1 to all saves and a +1 to armor class, no matter what other magical protection is being worn.
4). The fourth and final ability of this device is the most powerful of the three. It allows the wearer the ability to always strike first every round of combat no matter what the die roll for initiative is. A roll still has to be made if the individual wearer gets more then one attack per combat round. The second attack is still taken at whatever initiative was rolled on the die. Below is listed the special function of this ability for each character class.
A) Fighter classes (all) - For this class this function of the amulet works as though the individual was wielding a Sword of Quickness. During each round this individual always goes first in melee regardless of the initiative rolled. However, if the fighter gets more then one attack per round, the initiative is still rolled and is used for any subsequent attacks during the same round. If a fighter also uses an actual sword of quickness during melee, then all the attacks they would receive for that round would happen at once in the first segment. Initiative is not needed, but a roll to hit will still have to be made with any magical bonuses being added. In this case, only a blur of flashing light from the steel of the blade(s) would be seen by onlookers because of the tremendous attack speed. Rangers benefit very well from this.
B) Rogue or Assassin class - In the hands of a thief, all of the same benefits for the fighter hold true for the first strike ability of the amulet. The difference lies within the theif's ability to backstab. The normal +4 bonus is doubled for them when using this ability. The thief need only think this action while in possession of the amulet, and make his or her action known to the DM for the bonus to take place. The intended victim still receives a roll to see if they detect the backstab attempt, but at a -2 penalty over any other penalties that might be imposed at the time. Again, this can only be used as the first attack of each round and does not hide the thief from being seen, nor does it speed up his movement rate. Normal actions to sneak behind an opponent are still taken. Once seen, normal combat ensues with the regular first strike capabilities as listed under the fighter above. Both Thieves and Assassins benefit well from this item.
C) Cleric or Druid class - Clerics and Druids both benefit the same as the fighter class if wielding a weapon in melee. The special benefit for these classes comes in the form of their ability to cast spells and turn undead if they are allowed or are capable of doing so. If a priest of any deity so chooses, they may use their ability to cast a spell each round as their first strike ability instead of going into hand-to-hand combat. If this is the case, a priest wearing the amulet may cast from any spell he or she has prayed for that day in the first segment of combat, as long as the casting time does not exceed more then one round total for a particular spell. In other words, if a cleric wants to cast a spell that normally takes 8 segments to cast, he or she may complete it in the first segment just as if it were a one-segment spell. This holds true no matter how high the level of the spell is, as long as the cleric is able to cast it. Reading a spell off of a scroll or from a book are not affected by this function and are still done by normal rules. Also, any Priest with the ability to turn undead may do so with an added bonus of +2.
NOTE: The number of spells cast still can not exceed the total number of spells a priest can cast for their level per day. Also, if another opponent also gets an action in the first segment due only to a haste spell or is using a Sword or potion of quickness, initiative is rolled by the priest and opponent to see who goes first. If the opponent gets first initiative, the priest's spell could be disrupted.
D) Wizard classes (all) - As above, all wizards will benefit from the same fighter abilities listed above if in hand-to-hand combat. However, the main punch for a wizard is their ability to cast devastating spells and avoid physical combat whenever possible. Although the wizard is usually the weakest physically compared to the other classes listed above, this amulet tends to make up for this loss. Any wizard wearing this amulet has the same ability as the Cleric class above for casting spells. But unlike the priestly class, wizards may cast from any spell they have in their spell book without having memorized any specific one. They need only think the name and the verbal and sematic gestures will happen automatically in the blink of an eye, sending the spell on its way in the first segment of combat. Once spells are used, the wizard need only rest as usual for 8 hours before regaining the ones he or she used the previous day, unlike priests who still have to pray each day for theirs. No study time is needed. Study is only needed when researching or finding new spells. The only other added benefit for the wizard is that this item works even when the first strike capability isn't needed. In other words, a wizard may cast spells at any time even out of combat without memorizing them. This makes them very versatile in an adventuring party.
NOTE: The number of spells cast still can not exceed the total number of spells a wizard can cast for their level per day. Also, if another opponent also gets an action in the first segment due only to a haste spell or is using a Sword or potion of quickness, initiative is rolled by the wizard and opponent to see who goes first. If the opponent gets first initiative, the wizards spell could be disrupted.
This extremely powerful magic item is priceless and most evil individuals will do whatever it takes to possess it.
(c) John (Jake) Brunette 1996