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New Figurines of Wondrous Power: the bone mammoth, copper camel, and sandstone crab

New Figurines of Wondrous Power: the bone mammoth, copper camel, and sandstone crab

The Chimera on a red-figure Apulian plate, c. 350–340 BC (Musée du Louvre)

Try these new figurines of wondrous power for your Tales of the Valiant or 5E game! As a refresher, here are the standard rules for figures of wondrous power, as seen in the Tales of the Valiant Player’s Guide:

A figurine of wondrous power is a statuette of a beast small enough to fit in a pocket. If you use an action to speak the command word and throw the figurine to a point on the ground within 60 feet of you, the figurine becomes a living creature. If the space where the creature would appear is occupied by other creatures or objects, or if there isn’t enough space for the creature, the figurine doesn’t become a creature.

The creature is friendly to you and your companions. It understands your languages and obeys your spoken commands. If you issue no commands, the creature defends itself but takes no other actions.

The creature exists for a duration specific to each figurine. At the end of the duration, the creature reverts to its figurine form. It reverts to a figurine early if it drops to 0 HP or if you use an action to speak the command word again while touching it. When the creature reverts to a figurine, its property can’t be used again until a certain amount of time has passed, as specified in the figurine’s description.

Bone Mammoth

These statuettes are created by powerful shamans of tribal people who live in the regions these great beasts inhabit. Primal magics are infused into the carved bone, capturing a portion of the dead animal’s spirit to empower the item.

BONE MAMMOTH

Wondrous Item, Rare                     8,000 gp

The unrefined methods by which this chunk of bone was shaped make the statuette rough but recognizable as a mammoth. The statuette can become a mammoth (see Monster Vault) for up to 24 hours. Once it has been used, it can’t be used again until 5 days have passed.

If you are not a barbarian, druid, or ranger, the figurine has a 10 percent chance each time you use it to ignore your orders, including a command to revert to figurine form. It travels as far as it can toward the lands in which it was created. If within traveling distance, it makes for a mammoth graveyard, where old and sick mammoths go to die, a hidden valley littered with bones like the one from which it was carved, where it reverts to figurine form.

Introducing the Bone Mammoth

Here are a few ways to introduce the bone mammoth to your PCs:

  • The PCs intrude into a barbarian tribe’s territory. Its warriors, led by a druid who bears the bone mammoth, attack in an attempt to drive them out.
  • A nomadic tribe suffers at the hands of multiple enemies. They seek an ancient relic that belonged to a long-dead shaman to help them survive. Tribal law forbids them to trespass into their ancestral burial grounds, but the PCs are not subject to such laws. Should the PCs recover the relic, the tribe uses the bone mammoth to even the odds. However, if the PCs aid the tribe in repelling their enemies, they can receive the figurine as a gift in thanks for their aid.
  • The PCs hunt for a hidden mammoth graveyard and the fortune in ivory that it contains. Having been informed of the particular quirk of this magic item, they seek out one said to be in the tomb of an ancient shaman, hoping that if they can recover the bone mammoth, it will disobey commands and lead them to the treasure.

Copper Camel

A favored item in arid regions, this burnished copper statuette is fashioned to resemble a camel at rest, its legs folded under it.

COPPER CAMEL

Wondrous Item, Rare                     XXX gp

This statuette can become a camel (see Monster Vault) for up to 24 hours. Once it has been used, it cannot be used again until 3 days have passed.

In addition to its basic stats, the copper camel can spit with a fair amount of accuracy, gaining the following attack:

Spit. Ranged Attack: +1 to hit, range 15 feet, one target. Hit: Target must succeed at a DC 12 DEX save or be blinded until it or an allied creature takes an action to wipe the target’s eyes clean. The camel accepts any creature as a rider if commanded by the owner of the statuette, but becomes aggressive if anyone else attempts to ride it.

You can command the camel to create water, as the spell, create food and water. Once completed, it reverts to statuette form and cannot be used again until 3 days have passed.

Introducing the Copper Camel

Here are a few ways to introduce the copper camel to your PCs:

  • While traveling through a desert region, the PCs stumble across a camel, with no sign of its owner. It is nervous and aggressive if they approach, requiring some means of calming and controlling the beast. Should the PCs capture (or kill) it, they are surprised when it turns into a small, copper figurine.
  • A local tribe asks for assistance to defend their oasis against a rampaging group of gnolls. If the PCs kill or drive off the gnolls, they receive a copper camel as their reward.
  • The PCs explore and loot the tomb of an ancient priest. The copper camel is part of the grave goods buried with the tomb’s owner.

Sandstone Crab

These magical figurines are often found in seaside urban areas, where crabs are ubiquitous. Locals rarely give a second glance to crabs, making these figurines well suited for sending secret messages or smuggling small items.

SANDSTONE CRAB

Wondrous Item, Rare                     XXX gp

This carved piece of sandstone is about 4 inches wide and depicts a crab, crouched defensively with upraised claws. It can become a crab (see Monster Vault) for up to 8 hours. Once it has been used, it can’t be used again until 2 days have passed.

The crab can’t talk, but can follow simple verbal instructions given by its owner (e.g., “Take this item, walk to the end of the pier, and place it behind the stack of baskets near the door of the shack there.”) The crab has an additional ability, causing anything small enough to be carried in its claws to be masked by an illusion, making the object look, sound, and smell like something mundane and normal for a crab to carry (a fish head, or other piece of carrion, for example).

Alternately, the statuette becomes a giant crab (see Monster Vault) for up to 4 hours. You can command the statuette to assume this form even if it is already in crab form, as long as it has not been in that form for more than 4 hours.

Introducing the Sandstone Crab

Here are a few ways to introduce the sandstone crab to your PCs:

  • The adventurers, hired to uncover a smuggling ring working in a small port city, are attacked by a giant crab as they attempt to trail a merchant that they think is on his way to buy illicit goods.
  • The PCs are lounging in a dockside tavern when a crab crawls into the establishment. This in itself is not unusual, but it heads under their table, dropping a fish tail that turns into a folded note. It’s a ransom note for a close friend or relative of one or more of the PCs, who’s been kidnapped by a local criminal organization.
  • The PCs are hired by a local smuggler to spring her partner from prison. If successful, they receive a sandstone crab as a portion of their reward.

about Jeff Lee

Jeff Lee is a 10-year veteran of RPG freelancing. He has written a plethora of material for Kobold Press and other third-party companies. You might know him from Demon Cults & Secret Societies. You might also want to support his Patreon, where he writes things at patrons’ behest: https://www.patreon.com/jeffalee

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