Thornwood Staff

From: Twisted Labyrinth of the Fae

This gnarled staff is fashioned from the wood of a twisted treant. It channels chaotic energy, allowing the wielder to cast spells that manipulate plant life, creating thorny barriers, ensnaring vines, or healing wounds with the power of nature.

Lore of the Thornwood Staff: In the heart of the Twisted Labyrinth of the Fae, where nature itself has been warped and corrupted by chaos, a unique staff was born. This gnarled and twisted staff, fashioned from the very wood of a fallen Twisted Treant, pulses with the chaotic energy that permeates the labyrinth.

It is said that the staff was created by a reclusive druid who sought to understand the nature of the chaos that had consumed the woods. He spent years studying the Twisted Treants, learning their ways and observing their connection to the chaotic energies. Through his research, he discovered that the wood of the treants, though corrupted, still retained a spark of the natural world’s power.

The druid, driven by a desire to restore balance to the woods, used his knowledge to craft the Thornwood Staff. He infused the staff with the chaotic energy of the treants, but also with his own understanding of nature’s healing power. The result was a powerful artifact, capable of both destruction and restoration, a testament to the duality of nature and the ever-present struggle between order and chaos.

Use of the Thornwood Staff: The Thornwood Staff is a versatile weapon for those who dare to wield its power. It can be used to unleash the chaotic energy of the labyrinth, creating thorny barriers, summoning ensnaring vines, or unleashing devastating blasts of nature’s fury. However, it can also be used to channel the healing power of the natural world, mending wounds, purifying toxins, and even restoring life to withered plants.

The staff’s power is not without its drawbacks, however. The chaotic energy it channels can be unpredictable and difficult to control, and overuse can lead to corruption and madness. Additionally, the staff’s connection to the Twisted Treants makes it a target for their wrath, as they see it as a symbol of their own twisted nature.

Despite these risks, the Thornwood Staff remains a powerful tool for those who seek to navigate the dangers of the labyrinth. Its ability to both harm and heal makes it a valuable asset for those who understand its true nature, a reminder that even in the darkest of places, the power of nature can still be found.

Thornwood Staff

• Tier: 1
• Type: Staff
• Cost: Rare (500 gp)
• Weight: 3 lb.
• Requirements: Wisdom 13

Properties:

• Thorn Whip: You can use your action to cause the staff to sprout a long, thorny vine that lashes out at a creature you can see within 30 feet of you. Make a melee spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 piercing damage, and the vine wraps around the target, restraining it. The target can use its action to make a DC 13 Strength check. On a success, it frees itself.
• Entangling Roots: As an action, you can cause the staff to drive roots into the ground in a 20-foot radius centered on you. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be restrained. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
• Healing Touch: As an action, you can touch a creature and expend a spell slot to restore hit points to that creature. The number of hit points restored equals 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier for a 1st-level spell slot, or 2d8 + your Wisdom modifier for a 2nd-level spell slot.

Tags: Magic, Plant, Druid

Due to its unique nature and potential for both creation and destruction, the Thornwood Staff is not an item commonly found in bustling marketplaces. Instead, those seeking this artifact might find it in the following locations:

• Hermit Druids: Reclusive druids who dwell deep within the Whispering Woods may possess the knowledge and skills to craft a Thornwood Staff. These druids are often wary of outsiders, but may be persuaded to part with their creation in exchange for rare herbs, knowledge of forgotten rituals, or a promise to use the staff for the good of nature.
• Hidden Grove Shrines: Ancient shrines dedicated to nature deities or spirits might house a Thornwood Staff as a sacred relic. Gaining access to these shrines may require solving riddles, overcoming trials, or performing rituals to appease the guardians of the grove.
• Corrupted Nature Spirits: Some nature spirits, twisted by the chaos of the labyrinth, may offer the Thornwood Staff as a reward for completing dangerous tasks or serving their twisted agendas. These spirits are often deceptive and manipulative, and their motives should be carefully scrutinized.
• Ancient Ruins and Tombs: Explorers delving into the forgotten ruins of the labyrinth may stumble upon a Thornwood Staff hidden among ancient relics and treasures. However, such artifacts are often guarded by powerful spirits or cursed with dark magic, making their acquisition a perilous endeavor.

Environment and End Results: The Thornwood Staff is most effective in natural environments, particularly within the Twisted Labyrinth of the Fae. Its connection to the chaotic energies of the woods allows it to manipulate plant life with ease, creating thorny barriers, summoning ensnaring vines, and even commanding the trees themselves to attack.

The staff can also be used to heal and restore the natural world, purifying corrupted areas, revitalizing withered plants, and mending wounds inflicted by the labyrinth’s twisted creatures. This dual nature makes it a powerful tool for both combat and restoration, allowing its wielder to shape the environment to their will.

The end results of using the Thornwood Staff depend on the intentions and actions of the wielder. It can be used for good, protecting the innocent, healing the wounded, and restoring balance to the corrupted woods. However, it can also be used for destruction and chaos, manipulating nature for selfish gain and unleashing its fury upon the world. The choice of how to wield this power rests solely with the one who holds the staff, and their actions will determine the fate of both themselves and the world around them.

Activation Perception of the Thornwood Staff:

• Sight:
  • Perceived: The gnarled wood of the staff seems to come alive, the thorns writhing and pulsating with a faint green light. The staff may appear to grow slightly larger and more menacing, with the roots at its base extending and grasping at the ground.
  • Description: The light is subtle but eerie, casting flickering shadows that dance and distort. The staff’s movement is almost imperceptible, but it gives the impression of a living entity awakening.
  • Positives: Visually striking and intimidating, may unsettle or distract opponents.
  • Negatives: May draw unwanted attention from creatures sensitive to chaotic energies or those who recognize the staff’s power.
• Sound:
  • Perceived: A low, crackling sound, like the rustling of dry leaves or the snapping of twigs. A faint, guttural growl emanates from the staff, barely audible but unsettling.
  • Description: The sounds are primal and unsettling, hinting at the raw, untamed power within the staff. They may be mistaken for natural sounds if not paid attention to.
  • Positives: Can serve as a warning to those nearby, indicating the staff’s activation and potential danger.
  • Negatives: May be difficult to discern in noisy environments, potentially leading to surprise attacks.
• Smell:
  • Perceived: A pungent, earthy scent, reminiscent of damp soil and decaying leaves. A subtle undertone of ozone, like the air after a lightning strike.
  • Description: The smell is primal and evokes a sense of the wild, untamed power of nature. It may be unpleasant to some, but invigorating to those attuned to nature’s primal forces.
  • Positives: Can help to track the staff’s use or identify its wielder.
  • Negatives: The strong scent can be overwhelming and may cause nausea or headaches in sensitive individuals.
• Touch:
  • Perceived: The staff feels warm and alive, pulsating with a subtle energy. The thorns are sharp and prickly, drawing blood if grasped too tightly.
  • Description: The warmth is not uncomfortable, but rather a feeling of vibrant energy flowing through the wood. The thorns serve as a reminder of the staff’s potential for both creation and destruction.
  • Positives: Provides a tactile connection to the staff’s power, enhancing the wielder’s control and focus.
  • Negatives: The thorns can cause minor injuries if not handled carefully.
• Taste: (Not applicable as it would be inadvisable and potentially harmful to taste the Thornwood Staff)
• Extrasensory Perceptions:
  • Empathy: A sense of wild, untamed power, mingled with a touch of anger and a yearning for growth and renewal.
  • Aura Sight: The staff’s aura appears as a chaotic swirl of green and brown, pulsating with raw energy and a hint of decay.
  • Nature Sense: Those attuned to nature feel a surge of power and a connection to the primal forces of the earth, but also a sense of unease and foreboding, as if the balance of nature is being disrupted.

Activating the Thornwood Staff is a visceral experience that awakens the primal instincts of both the wielder and those who perceive it. The combination of sensory and extrasensory cues creates a sense of awe, fear, and respect for the raw, untamed power contained within this artifact of corrupted nature.

Harnessing the Wildwood’s Fury: Crafting the Thornwood Staff

• Materials Needed:
  • Twisted Treant Heartwood: This dense, gnarled wood is found at the core of a Twisted Treant, pulsing with chaotic energy. Harvesting it requires defeating the treant and carefully extracting the heartwood without damaging its essence.
  • Venomous Thorns: Sharp thorns plucked from the Treant’s bark, imbued with its poisonous sap.
  • Withered Ivy: Dried vines harvested from the corrupted undergrowth of the labyrinth, infused with the essence of decay.
  • Nightshade Berries: Poisonous berries that grow in the darkest corners of the woods, said to enhance the wielder’s connection to the natural world’s darker aspects.
  • Elemental Essence of Earth and Nature: These rare essences can be obtained from natural springs or through rituals that commune with the spirits of the earth and the wild.
• Tools Required:
  • Woodcarving Tools: A set of sharp knives, chisels, and gouges for shaping the heartwood into the staff’s form.
  • Herbalist’s Mortar and Pestle: Used to crush the venomous thorns and nightshade berries into a fine powder.
  • Rune-Etching Needle: A delicate needle crafted from bone or ivory, used to inscribe runes and sigils onto the staff’s surface.
  • Alchemical Alembic: A specialized tool for distilling and purifying the elemental essences.
• Skill Requirements:
  • Woodcarving: Proficiency in woodcarving is essential to shape the staff and imbue it with the desired form and function.
  • Herbalism: Knowledge of herbalism is required to identify and safely handle the venomous thorns and nightshade berries.
  • Runecraft: Skill in runecraft is necessary to inscribe the staff with the appropriate symbols and enchantments.
  • Alchemy: A basic understanding of alchemy is needed to distill and purify the elemental essences.
• Crafting Steps:
  • Shape the Heartwood: Carefully carve the Twisted Treant heartwood into the desired shape of the staff. Leave some of the thorns and gnarled protrusions intact to enhance its connection to the chaotic energy.
  • Infuse with Venomous Thorns: Crush the venomous thorns and nightshade berries into a fine powder using the mortar and pestle. Mix the powder with a small amount of the Treant’s sap and apply it to the staff’s surface, allowing it to seep into the wood.
  • Bind with Withered Ivy: Weave the withered ivy around the staff, binding it tightly to the wood. As you weave, chant an incantation to invoke the spirits of decay and corruption, further imbuing the staff with chaotic energy.
  • Inscribe with Runes: Using the rune-etching needle, carefully inscribe runes and sigils onto the staff’s surface. These symbols should represent the power of nature, the chaotic energies of the labyrinth, and the druid’s desire for balance.
  • Infuse with Elemental Essences: Distill the elemental essences of Earth and Nature using the alchemical alembic. Once purified, pour a small amount of each essence onto the staff, allowing them to be absorbed into the wood and activating the staff’s magical properties.

The completed Thornwood Staff will pulsate with raw power, its thorns and roots writhing with chaotic energy. Remember, this is a tool of both creation and destruction, and its wielder must be mindful of the delicate balance between nature’s fury and its restorative power.

Saga of the Verdant Wand

In the before-time, when woods were verdant and grand, stood giants of nature, guardians of the land. Their roots delved deep, their branches reached high, whispering secrets, beneath the blue sky.

But darkness did fall, a blight on the trees, twisting their forms, a venomous disease. Yet, a wise one arose, with a heart pure and bold, to seek out the magic, in the stories of old.

From the heart of a giant, corrupted and grim, a staff was fashioned, with bark rough and dim. Thorns entwined, with a whisper of might, a tool for the balance, between darkness and light.

With earth’s essence imbued, and nature’s embrace, the staff bore the power, to mend or deface. To summon the vines, or heal with a touch, a weapon of chaos, yet a healer so much.

But power corrupts, and the wielder must heed, the whispers of chaos, the heart’s wicked greed. For the Verdant Wand, holds a dangerous sway, a force of nature, that can lead one astray.

So heed this saga, of the staff’s ancient might, for in wielding its power, one must choose the right. And remember this well, as you grasp the staff’s might, that balance is key, between darkness and light.

The Moral: Let wisdom guide your hand, in wielding such power, for with great might, comes a greater dower.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Thornwood Staff

• Type: Magical Artifact
• Description: A gnarled wooden staff that grants the user the ability to cast two spells per day: Entangle (STR vs. STR to resist) and Wither (CON vs. CON to resist, target plant or plant-like creature takes 1D4 damage).
• Sanity Loss: 0/1D4 for using the staff’s destructive abilities.

Blades in the Dark

Thornwood Staff

• Quality: Gear,Arcane
• Effect:
  • The staff can be used to create dangerous obstacles (Entangling Roots) or unleash a powerful attack (Thorn Whip).
  • It can also be used to heal allies, but with a risk of attracting unwanted attention from the spirits of the labyrinth.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Thornwood Staff

• Staff, rare (requires attunement by a druid)
• Properties:
  • Thorn Whip: You can use your action to cause the staff to sprout a long, thorny vine that lashes out at a creature you can see within 30 feet of you. Make a melee spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 piercing damage, and the vine wraps around the target, restraining it. The target can use its action to make a DC 13 Strength check. On a success, it frees itself.
  • Entangling Roots: As an action, you can cause the staff to drive roots into the ground in a 20-foot radius centered on you. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be restrained. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
  • Healing Touch: As an action, you can touch a creature and expend a spell slot to restore hit points to that creature. The number of hit points restored equals 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier for a 1st-level spell slot, or 2d8 + your Wisdom modifier for a 2nd-level spell slot.

Knave

Thornwood Staff

• Type: Weapon
• Damage: +1
• Special Qualities:
  • Once per day, can cast Entangle (STR save or entangled).
  • Once per day, can cast Thorn Whip (DEX save or take 1d6 damage).
  • May be used to heal for 1d8 HP once per day.

Fate (Accelerated Edition)

Thornwood Staff

• High Concept: Staff of Thorns and Healing
• Trouble: Unpredictable Wild Magic
• Aspects:
  • Gnarled Wood, Whispering Power
  • Dual Nature of Creation and Destruction
  • Unstable Chaotic Energy
• Extra: When used to create an advantage related to nature manipulation or healing, grant a +2 bonus or reroll. May be invoked once per scene to create a powerful effect with a significant cost or risk.

Numenera & The Cypher System

Thornwood Staff

• Level: 2d6
• Form: Artifact (Weapon)
• Effect:
  • The staff can be used to unleash nature-based attacks (Thorn Whip, Entangling Roots) with an Intellect cost.
  • The staff can also be used to heal the wielder or others with a Might cost.
  • The staff’s chaotic energy may occasionally have unpredictable effects, both beneficial and harmful.

Pathfinder (Second Edition)

Thornwood Staff

• Staff, rare (requires attunement by a druid)
• Properties:
  • Thorn Whip: You can use your action to cause the staff to sprout a long, thorny vine that lashes out at a creature you can see within 30 feet of you. Make a melee spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 piercing damage, and the vine wraps around the target, restraining it. The target can use its action to make a DC 13 Strength check. On a success, it frees itself.
  • Entangling Roots: As an action, you can cause the staff to drive roots into the ground in a 20-foot radius centered on you. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be restrained. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
  • Healing Touch: As an action, you can touch a creature and expend a spell slot to restore hit points to that creature. The number of hit points restored equals 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier for a 1st-level spell slot, or 2d8 + your Wisdom modifier for a 2nd-level spell slot.

Savage Worlds

Thornwood Staff

• Type: Arcane Background (Miracles)
• Trappings:
  • Thorn Whip: Range 12/24/48, Damage 2d6, AP 2.
  • Entangling Roots: Area of Effect (Small Burst Template), Agility roll or be entangled.
  • Healing Touch: Removes 2d6 damage, may be used on self or others.
  • Unstable: Each time the staff is used, the wielder must make a Spirit roll or suffer a Fatigue level due to the chaotic energy.

Shadowrun (6th Edition)

Thornwood Staff

• Type: Focus (Staff)
• Rating: 4
• Availability: 12R
• Special:
  • Thorn Whip: A ranged attack that causes 6S damage (Physical, Stun).
  • Entangling Roots: Creates a zone that hinders movement and deals 3S damage (Physical) per turn to those caught within.
  • Healing Touch: Once per combat, the user can heal themselves or another character for 8 boxes of Stun damage.

Starfinder (First Edition)

Thornwood Staff

• Level: 1
• Price: 1,000 credits
• Category: Magical
• Activation: Standard (command word)
• Capacity: 3 charges
• Usage:
  • Thorn Whip: 1 charge
  • Entangling Roots: 2 charges
  • Healing Touch: 1 charge
• Effects:
  • Thorn Whip: Ranged attack, +6 to hit, 1d6 piercing damage.
  • Entangling Roots: 10-foot-radius spread, DC 13 Reflex save or entangled.
  • Healing Touch: Restores 1d8+2 HP to a creature.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Thornwood Staff

• Type: Advanced Melee Weapon
• Skill: Melee (Staff)
• Damage: 2D
• Range: Short
• Special:
  • Thorn Whip: +1DM, can be used at medium range.
  • Entangling Roots: Target must pass an END test or be entangled for 1d6 rounds.
  • Healing Touch: Once per day, the user can attempt a First Aid skill check to heal 1d6 damage.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (4th Edition)

Thornwood Staff

• Type: Arcane Staff
• Availability: Rare
• Range: As staff
• Damage: +8
• Special:
  • Thorn Whip: As staff, +10, Impact, Entangling.
  • Entangling Roots: As staff, AoE (Small), Stun.
  • Healing Touch: The wielder can attempt a Challenging (+0) Channelling test. If successful, they or a touched ally regains 1d10 Wounds.