Illus. by C. Frank
Scoundrel adventures
CHAPTER 6
Olidammara’s Shell
150
One legend associated with the bard of the gods, Olidammara, tells how the divine trickster was once cornered by an army of ogres. Rather than fight the savages, the keen-witted deity surrounded himself with a spherical carapace that resembled the shell of an armadillo. Once he was thus covered, the god teleported away from inside the shell, leaving the brutes to beat on the empty container for a year and a day. After the ogres finally dispersed, a greedy wizard discovered the shell and sought to use the divine creation for his own purposes. Much to the mage’s chagrin, however, the shell disappeared from his possession. Now Olidammara’s shell appears and disappears at the fickle god’s whim, and might show up in unlikely places. Lore: Characters with ranks in Knowledge (religion) can research Olidammara’s shell to learn more about it. When a character succeeds on a skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs. DC 15: A successful check reveals the story of Olidammara using his shell to escape the army of ogres. DC 20: Olidammara’s shell teleports from place to place, seemingly with the same whimsical nature as Olidammara himself. Those who find the shell and touch it gain good luck. DC 25: Olidammara’s shell does not allow itself to be tracked or exploited. Those who find it should thank their own luck and benefit from the shell while they can, for it vanishes as quickly as it appears. Description: Approximately 4 feet in diameter, Olidammara’s shell is an unbreakable sphere with a dull metallic luster. In its jumps from place to place, the shell takes on slightly smaller or larger sizes to better suit its surroundings, and even takes on different colors, at the deity’s whim. Wherever it appears, the shell floats of its own accord as it spins slowly, even in places where such magical levitation would normally be impossible. Furthermore, an antimagic field apparently surrounds
the shell, since most magic seems unable to work in its vicinity. Currently Olidammara’s shell hovers about 40 feet off the ground, just above a massive pedestal perched atop the gigantic gate of Castle Granite Throne, the fortress home of a clan of stone giants. Although the giants largely ignore the shell, rumors have started circulating in nearby towns of the divine object’s appearance. Adventure-seekers and daredevils have sought to magically fly or levitate up to the shell, only to fall upon entering its antimagic field. Since none have dared enter the castle and the giants thwart all attempts to reach it, the shell remains a goal as obvious and tempting as it is frustratingly elusive. Prerequisite: A character must have at least one luck feat (page 72) to gain the benefit conferred by Olidammara’s shell. Location Activation: A character who touches and remains in contact with Olidammara’s shell for 1 full round gains this location’s special ability. Recharge: Any number of characters can potentially make use of Olidammara’s shell. However, every time a character tries to touch the shell, roll 1d6. On a result of 1, the shell teleports away before being touched, preventing the character from gaining any benefit. Otherwise, the location confers its special ability. Special Ability (Su): Upon touching Olidammara’s shell, a character gains a bit of the luck of the trickster deity. She gains five extra luck rerolls, each of which can be used only once. Duration: The benefits of Olidammara’s shell are both temporary and whimsical. Whenever a character Olidammara’s shell gains the benefit of the location, the DM should roll 1d6 twice, multiplying the result of one die roll by the other. After that number of days have passed, the special ability ends and the character loses any remaining bonus luck rerolls conferred by the location. Variation: Olidammara’s shell might appear anywhere that is exotic, that is considered to be lucky, or that requires extraordinary skill or luck to reach. Such a location might be a patch of four-leafed clovers, a tiny island in the middle of the ocean, the top of an earthen spire jutting from a
