Bright Evening Star

Illus. by D. Martin

Bright Evening Star is a platinum ring set with a large diamond surrounded by a circle of smaller sapphires and rubies. These gems gleam brightly in even the dullest light. An inscription on the inside of the band reads simply “for Alenea” in Elven.

Nonlegacy Game Statistics: Bright Evening Star;

Cost 1,500 gp; Weight —. At will, by uttering a command word, you can use light as the spell. Caster level 2nd. Omen: Although the ring fits any hand, nonelves have always reported the loop feels a bit loose or tight.

Elves find it sizes perfectly. HISTORY

Judging from the style of the setting and the form of the Elven letters in the inscription, Bright Evening Star is of high-elf craftsmanship. The name “Alenea” might well be a reference to the sorcerer Alenea, a legendary elf hero of three millennia ago. An adventurer and a wanderer, Alenea was the lover of the wizard Eldarniel, court magician to a powerful elven king of old. Since Eldarniel was a legendary crafter of magic items, especially rings, it seems likely that he created Bright Evening Star for Alenea, perhaps to aid and protect her on her travels. (DC 15) Little is known of Alenea’s early life before she completed her magical training and began her adventuring career. She was born in a small fishing village on the coast, and at a young age, she entered one of the elves’ many spellcasting academies. When her studies were completed, she joined up with an adventuring troupe along with another young mage, Eldarniel. Together they explored ancient ruins and plumbed arcane secrets, but their chief passion was finding and cataloging the mystical properties of moonlight and starlight. Some loremasters credit them with discovering silver’s effects on lycanthropes and crafting the first ring of shooting stars. Whether these claims are accurate or not, the

pair certainly revealed many potent magical effects centered on the light of the moon and stars. (DC 18; Starlight on Water) After several decades of adventures, Alenea and Eldarniel went their separate ways. Alenea wanted to continue traveling, while Eldarniel wanted to settle down to focus on magical research. When the two parted, Eldarniel gave Alenea Bright Evening Star. He told her their love would last as long as the moonlight and the stars. Alenea wore the ring constantly, but she seldom called upon its powers. Because she rarely used it and almost never spoke of it, Bright Evening Star goes unmentioned in many stories about Alenea. (DC 25; Love of the Stars) Alenea continued adventuring for two hundred years before she decided to retire. She then returned to Eldarniel, who had in the intervening years risen from skilled artificer to the position of court mage. The two were married. Some obscure texts hint that Alenea crafted a ring with powers of moonlight for her husband’s wedding band, but if this is true, no other tales mention the ring and it has been lost to the ages. Sadly, the couple’s bliss was short-lived. Just a decade after his marriage, Eldarniel was killed when one of his magical exBright Evening Star commemorates the love periments backfired and destroyed of the elves Eldarniel and Alenea his entire lab. Alenea maintained the hope that he had merely been shunted to an alternate plane of existence, but she finally accepted the truth after years of searching. She never remarried. When she died, her body was placed next to Eldarniel’s empty tomb, but Bright Evening Star was not buried with her. What happened to the ring remains a mystery. (DC 31, Return What Was Lost) LEGACY RITUALS Three rituals are required to unlock all the abilities of Bright Evening Star. Starlight on Water: You have to find a natural pool of pure, still water and immerse Bright Evening Star in

Table 3–5: Bright Evening Star

——————— Personal Costs ——————— Wielder Save Skill Check Caster Level Spell Slot Level Penalty Penalty Penalty Loss Abilities

5th — — — — Starbright 6th –1 — — 1st Fire of the heart 7th — — –1 — Enthralling lights 3/day 8th — –1 — 2nd Color spray 3/day 9th — — — — — 10th — — — 3rd Blinding flash 3/day 11th — — — — Shooting stars 2/day 12th — — — 4th — 13th — — –2 — Glittering motes 1/day 14th — — — 5th Starlight resistance 15th — — — — — 16th — — — 6th Twinkle 3/day 17th — — — — Silver starlight 1/day 18th — — — 7th Starlight dispelling 1/day 19th — — — — Tales in the sky 1/day 20th — — — 8th Call down a star 1/2 days

it from dusk until dawn. Cost: 4,000 gp. Feat Granted:

Least Legacy (Bright Evening Star).

Love of the Stars: You are required to spend a full day and night in study, contemplation, or appreciation of the stars. This might take the form of stargazing at night, studying astrological charts, reading texts or myths about the stars, or even composing poems or odes to their beauty. Cost: 13,500 gp. Feat Granted:

Lesser Legacy (Bright Evening Star).

Return What Was Lost: After traveling to the tomb of Alenea and Eldarniel, you are obliged to place the ring upon the finger of the stone effigy atop

Alenea’s coffin. According to legend, the ring turns to stone and fuses with the casket if the spirit of Alenea judges you unworthy. Cost: 43,000 gp. Feat Granted:

Greater Legacy (Bright Evening Star). WIELDER REQUIREMENTS

Bards, sorcerers, or wizards are the most likely wearers of Bright Evening Star, but any character with arcane spellcasting ability might find it a useful tool.

Bright Evening Star Wielder Requirements

Ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells Knowledge (arcana) 3 ranks Any nonevil alignment

LEGACY ITEM ABILITIES

All the following are legacy item abilities of Bright Evening Star.

Starbright (Su): When you reach 5th level, the stars seem to shine brighter. You gain low-light vision as long as starlight is visible. If you already have innate low-light vision, the range of your sight triples in starlight.

Fire of the Heart (Sp): At 6th level and higher, at will on command, you can evoke a burst of magical starlight, which works as a faerie fire spell. The light created is blue. Caster level 5th.

Enthralling Lights (Sp): Starting at 7th level, three times per day on command, you can create an area of dancing stars and glowing dust, duplicating the effect of a hypnotic pattern spell. The save DC is 11, or 11 + your Charisma modifier, whichever is higher. Caster level 5th. Color Spray (Sp): At 8th level and higher, you can command Bright Evening Star to emit a fountain of multicolored light that functions as a color spray spell. The save DC is 11, or 11 + your Charisma modifier, whichever is higher. This ability is usable three times per day. Caster level 5th. Blinding Flash (Sp): Beginning at 10th level, three times per day on command, you can cause Bright Evening Star to flare with a pulse of sudden, bright light that acts as a blindness spell. The save DC is 13, or 12 + your Charisma modifier, whichever is higher. Caster level 5th. Shooting Stars (Sp): At 11th level and higher, two times per day, you can command Bright Evening Star to fire five darts of force that look like shooting stars. They function as a magic missile spell cast by a 10th-level caster.

Glittering Motes (Sp): Starting at 13th level, once per day on command, you can use glitterdust as the spell. The save DC is 13, or 12 + your Charisma modifier, whichever is higher. Caster level 5th.

Starlight Resistance (Su): At 14th level, Bright Evening Star grants you a +3 resistance bonus on all saving throws. At your option, the effect creates a glimmer of hundreds of tiny stars, which are visible on your body and clothing.

Twinkle (Sp): At 16th level and higher, three times per day on command, you can use blink as the spell. Your image seems to fl icker like a twinkling star. Caster level 11th.

Silver Starlight (Sp): Beginning at 17th level, once per day on command, you can summon forth up to four beams of painfully bright, cold light. This ability functions much like sunbeam, but the light is pure, focused starlight and moonlight. The beam deals no extra damage to undead. Instead, lycanthropes take damage from the beam as if they were undead being affected by a normal sunbeam spell. Fungi, mold, oozes, and slimes still take extra damage (as if they were lycanthropes). The save DC is 20, or 17 + your Charisma modifi er, whichever is higher. Caster level 15th.

Starlight Dispelling (Sp): At 18th level and higher, once per day on command, you can use greater dispel magic as the spell. If the dispelling attempt is initiated by night under an unclouded sky, the associated caster level check is made with a +5 bonus. Caster level 15th.

Tales in the Sky (Sp): Many sages know that the future can be read through the stars, but few realize that, by tracing their movements backward, secrets of long ago can be divined. Beginning at 19th level, once per day on command, you can use legend lore as the spell. You must be able to see the stars for this ability to function. Caster level 15th.

Call Down a Star (Sp): At 20th level and higher, once every other day on command, you can summon an elder fi re elemental. Caster level 17th. ADVENTURE SEED (EL 6)

While trekking through the forest one night, the PCs spot a strange light off in the distance that seems to beckon to them. The light is a will-o’-wisp, which is hovering over a grassy hillock in the center of the swamp. Upon examining this mound, the victorious adventurers fi nd Bright Evening Star. Will-o’-Wisp: hp 40 (see page 255 of the Monster Manual). Hillock This small “island” in the swamp is where Bright Evening Star lies, untarnished despite being left in the mud. The island is actually a mound of tough, knotted grass and thicker mud.