Divine Spark

Illus. by D. Martin

Divine Spark is a silver holy symbol sculpted to resemble a shining sun. Such an image is sometimes used by clerics and paladins not associated with any particular deity. The amulet is small enough to be gripped in one hand.

Nonlegacy Game Statistics: Silver holy symbol of resistance +1; Cost 1,550 gp; Weight 1 lb. If you have the ability to turn undead, all language-speaking creatures within 30 feet can understand you when you speak, regardless of language. This does not give you any ability to understand others’ languages. Omen: Divine Spark transforms into your preferred holy symbol while you carry it. HISTORY

Divine Spark was created when a great swelling evil threatened to overrun the world and extinguish all human life. The most powerful necromancers of the known realms formed an unholy pact, creating armies of ghouls, skeletons, wights, and zombies that wiped out entire regions, adding the slain to their numbers. Church leaders in the land could not afford to let bickering and religious differences come between them any longer. One man united them— Carthid Ufander. Carthid did not believe in any deity, for what god would allow so many people to suffer at the hands of rabid, amoral creatures that made feasts out of human flesh? Carthid did believe in something greater than himself, however—the resilience of humanity. To him, nothing was more divine than this one truth. (DC 15) As countries fell to legions of the unliving, fleeing populations were pushed farther and farther inland, away from the oceans that could carry them to safety. They were being herded against the largest mountain range of the region, over which they could not climb fast enough to escape their pursuers. Carthid knew this. He rode out to each pocket of humanity and urged them to combine forces rather than face extinction—they could not refuse aid, and they were too few in number to make a stand alone. Everyone Carthid spoke to agreed. When the leaders finally met,

Divine Spark was able to decipher the language of each, but only from the one who held the holy symbol to listeners. As a result, those who did not share common tongues could be heard only when one held Divine Spark while the others listened, allowing each person to speak in turn. (DC 20; Talking Stick) In the span of one night, strategies were concocted, forming first, second, and third lines of defense, always keeping the mountains at the united army’s back. Carthid gathered all the holy persons around him the next morning and meditated before battle. When the undead arrived, Divine Spark became the focal point for every consecrated person present, allowing them to channel their turning abilities through Carthid and raise his power by a degree based on all who remained in their circle. They were unstoppable together, cutting a swath through the undead wherever they moved. If one cleric was slain, all the others’ turning abilities were immediately refreshed. No death was in vain. It quickly became obvious the overconfident necromancers had stretched themselves too thin. That day, the tide of battle shifted without any divine intervention. The members of the human nations survived by saving themselves. Carthid disappeared into obscurity Divine Spark brought together those of shortly thereafter, but he has long pure heart to resist overwhelming evil been remembered as the man who single-handedly, though only briefly, united all religions. (DC 25; Belief in Kin) LEGACY RITUALS Two rituals are required to unlock all the abilities of Divine Spark. Talking Stick: You must speak or learn to speak at least five different languages (including automatic languages, bonus languages, and languages acquired via the Speak Language skill). Cost: 2,450 gp. Feat Granted: Least Legacy (Divine Spark). Belief in Kin: You are required to spend one day per character level in meditation with Divine Spark. At least 8 hours of each day must be spent meditating, and you cannot engage in any strenuous activity or spellcasting during this period. Cost: 11,500 gp. Feat Granted: Lesser Legacy (Divine Spark).

Table 3–15: Divine Spark

————— Personal Costs ————— Wielder Attack Hit Point Spell Slot Level Penalty Loss Loss Abilities

5th — — — Endure evil 6th — 2 1st Silver holy symbol of resistance +2 7th — 2 — Turning grace +1 8th –1 — 2nd — 9th — 2 — Silver holy symbol of resistance +3 10th — — 3rd Fear no evil 1/day 11th — — — Silver holy symbol of resistance +4 12th — — 4th Turning grace +2 13th — 2 — Searing light 1/day 14th — — 5th Turning grace +3 15th — 2 — Silver holy symbol of resistance +5 16th — — 6th Turning grace +4

WIELDER REQUIREMENTS

Clerics and paladins are the only ones capable of wielding Divine Spark. Other classes all lack the requisite turning abilities without multiclassing. Paladins can gain access to the staff’s least abilities, but they are typically incapable of paying the personal costs required for the more powerful abilities and rarely complete the Belief in Kin ritual.

Divine Spark Wielder Requirements

Ability to cast 1st-level divine spells Diplomacy 2 ranks Any nonevil alignment Ability to turn undead

LEGACY ITEM ABILITIES

All the following are legacy item abilities of Divine Spark.

Endure Evil (Su): At 5th level and higher, you enjoy the constant effect of a protection from evil spell. Caster level 5th.

Turning Grace (Su): Beginning at 7th level, you turn undead as if you were one level higher in the class that grants you the ability. You are treated as two levels higher in that class starting at 12th level, three levels higher beginning at 14th level, and four levels higher at 16th level and above.

Fear No Evil (Sp): Starting at 10th level, once per day on command, you can use magic circle against evil as the spell. The area is always centered on you. Caster level 5th.

Searing Light (Sp): At 13th level and higher, once per day on command, you can use searing light as the spell. The spell is maximized. Caster level 10th.

ADVENTURE SEED (EL 7)

When Carthid succeeded, with the cooperation of many other holy persons, in vanquishing the greatest undead threat of his time, he was soul-weary and wanted to rest. Much fanfare followed the victory and praise for Carthid personally, but that was never his reason for getting involved. He simply possessed clarity of vision, letting him see the right course of action at the right time. Divine Spark was heavy in his hands now, embodying more power than he ever wanted to use again. Carthid deliberately hid the potent item among the ruins of a city slated for rebuilding. That was a millennium ago. Divine Spark can be found by explorers delving into the remains of that old metropolis, which still exists beneath a modern one. Four ankhegs inhabit the same area. Their tunnels have opened the way to a tomb, and Divine Spark can be found in one of the coffins.

Ankhegs (4): hp 28 each (see page 14 of the Monster

Manual). Tomb of Ankheg Eggs

This map depicts an abandoned tomb within the buried city that has been made into a home by mated ankhegs. Entrance Tunnel The ankhegs burrowed into the tomb, leaving this passage. Heaps of earth and rubble surround the entrance, but it is not blocked. Stairway The original stairway to the tomb has collapsed from the weight of earth above, and the stairs are partially filled with rubble.

Divine Spark in Eberron

The foul cult of the Blood of Vol has spread throughout the continent of Khorvaire, with ties even to the distant lands of Aerenal and Xen’drik. The ancient lich Vol and her followers see undeath as a path to divinity, and through necromancy and even bloodline manipulation, they pursue this twisted end. Those who serve deities of light and life despise the dark ambitions of the Blood of Vol, but the most fanatical champions against undeath are the followers of the Silver Flame. This lawful good deity is a disembodied force of purity associated with a oncemortal paladin, dedicated to protecting humanity from supernatural evil. Many paladins follow the Silver Flame, and in the hands of such a champion, Divine Spark becomes a resplendent tool against the taint of Vol. Since Divine Spark is not tied to a specifi c god’s worship, a cleric or paladin of any deity could just as easily use it. It might even be found in the hands of a goblinoid cleric of Darguun’s Kech Volaar tribe. Kalashtar follow the Path of Light rather than worshiping a deity, and they too might make use of Divine Spark to strengthen their lands against darkness.

Tombs These sarcophagi of long-forgotten warriors are largely intact.

Statue This represents a kneeling warrior standing watch over the tomb. A second statue has collapsed, and its pieces lie scatted on the fl oor. Burrowed Tunnel This tunnel penetrates deeper into the buried ruins, and it is also surrounded by piles of rubble. Three ankhegs currently dig here, and they respond to sounds of combat in the tomb. Ankheg A female ankheg guards a clutch of eggs laid in a corner of the tomb.

Eggs Thirteen eggs are partially buried in a pile of earth and rotting waste to keep them warm. Divine Spark in Faerûn

Velsharoon is lord of the undead and necromancy. A relatively new deity, he was once a renegade Red Wizard who competed with the terrible lich Szass Tam before fi nding a method to achieve immortality. His greatest enemy is Kelemvor, the deity of death and the afterlife. Kelemvor despises Velsharoon for his support of necromancy, which keeps the dead from their deserved rest. His clerics are tireless in their pursuit of undead and those who create them, sometimes declaring crusades to this end. Divine Spark’s ability to facilitate communication can only aid such causes, in addition to its effectiveness against the undead. Kelemvor’s followers sometimes come into confl ict with clerics of Jergal, who occasionally seek churchsanctioned undeath to continue the endless work of archiving the rolls of the dead. To Kelemvor, every form of undead is an abomination, even when it serves his grim seneschal. The church of Jergal might try to locate and hide Divine Spark to prevent interference in their sacred tasks. Alternatively, the small cadre known as Companions of the Pallid Mask might take up the legacy item in their quest to combat undead not authorized in the service of Jergal.