Magic of Miles, Vol. V

These are the last of the magical items I have prepared for the Milean Empire. I know there's been a lot of these recently, so I promise this will be the last one of the month!

Travel Charm

xp value: 200
gp value: 800+

Travel charms were first created by the Sacred Heralds in the dark ages after the Fall. During the long decline of Miles, the roads became more and more dangerous to travel and the Heralds turned to the nascent Poor Knights of Vaela for assistance. Together the paladins of Vaela and her Sacred Heralds created the first Travel Charms that can now be found all throughout the communities of pilgrims, wanderers, and merchants.

Travel charms come in a variety of shapes but the most common is a blank shield with a tall staff behind it. They are most commonly made of silver though it is not unheard of for them to be made of gold or even electrum. They are almost always worn as pendants with a small minority having been created as broaches and cloak pins.

The affects of travel charms are minor but useful. They grant a +1 bonus to all saving throws, a +1 bonus when checking to see if the character is surprised (as the charm helps prevent ambushes) and allow characters wearing them to find better paths, speeding their progress by 1d4 miles per day. These effects do not stack with multiple charms in a group and only one character can attempt to pathfind.

Xoantha Staff

xp value: 2,000
gp value: 20,000

Xoantha is a legendarily sacred wood that grows only in warm climes and was first cut upon the isle of High Aellon. Xoantha-wood is said to be the most magical of all trees and thus has classically served as the wood used in the most powerful staves and wands though, famously, the Wands of High Sorcery were actually not made of xoantha.

The xoantha staves to which this entry refers are neither the most powerful nor the most unique of the staves available to wizards. However, they were made with some frequency during the ancient and ancient-classical period and thus can be considered more distinctly Milean than more powerful and unique staves that were made in Miles, High Aellon, Llynder, or any of the other ancient and ancient-classical civilizations.

The xoantha staves of Miles are, like all wands and staves made of that legendary wood, knotted and twisted. The Milean schola and wizards of the dark ages that made these staves did not band them with gold, iron, or any other metal nor did they plane or pole them into lengths of wood straight as an arrow. As such, they are unsuitable for use as melee weapons and thus suffer a -1 penalty to-hit when wielded as normal staves.

However, a wizard wielding a xoantha staff has access to a number of powerful benefits that make up for this. Firstly, the staff can be used to create cantrips or unseen servants three times per day. Additionally, all saving throws against the spells cast by the wizard will suffer a -1 penalty. Dispel magic spells used by the wielder are cast as though they are two levels higher.

They can also be commanded to radiate light of any color by muttering the appropriate command words. This light appears hovering above the tip of the staff as a flaring heatless flame.

Lastly, charges can be expended to power the following abilities:

1 charge  -- Floating Disc
2 charges -- Dispel Magic (cast at 12th level)
3 charges -- lightning bolt