Pacification Bracer

Oppression & Cruelty of a Nation

"Trust me... It's for your own safety and the safety of others."

— Captain Allius Huverton

During the Era of the Godless, the first god to be reborn in Avatar form was Hextor, the God of Oppression and Tyranny. With his return, so did divine magic return to the Material Plane. As such, Hextor sought to control it to his benefit alone. During the end of that era, he had his cohorts hunted down along with beings showing signs of divine magic that was bestowed from his presence and attempted to massacre them all. This attempt ultimately failed as the gods of the pantheon all returned as well. At the mark of the Era of Rebirth, the Artificers and Spellbreakers of Tok worked perilously to find a new method of control. After 300 years, they developed a magical item that could combat any being bestowed with magical prowess. Thus, the Pacification Bracer was born.

Effects & Powers

The Pacification Bracer has several effects on the wearer, all of which are undesirable. The initial mundane equipping of the bracer jabs two spikes into the wearer's wrist immediately delivering 1d4 points of damage. The first magical effect is cursing its wearer with Vulnerability to Lightning, which opens their susceptibility to its next effect. Whenever the wearer casts a spell, the bracer sends a blast of lightning straight into their wrist as per the Shocking Grasp cantrip as if cast by a 1^st tier spellcaster.

Any Concentration Checks are made at the Disadvantage. Finally, when a shock is delivered to the bearer, they must make a Constitution Saving Throw (DC 11) or be Stunned for 1 Turn.

Attunement

The pacified may choose to attune to the bracer by spending a Short Rest concentrating on the bracer which sends a numbing effect to the spikes that imbed into the person's wrist. This, however, also makes the bearer Vulnerable to Lightning making the punishment for casting while attuned that much greater.

Art By: Bryan Sola

Those who choose not to attune to the bracer are left in excruciating pain with every movement of the arm or hand. The pain is so intense, that, if left unattuned, the bearer is unable to benefit from a Short or Long Rest. This will eventually lead to the Exhaustion Condition and inevitable death should the pacified choose to resist.

Removal

Due to the magical properties of the bracers, they cannot be removed by mundane means. The Spellbreakers of Tok hold the power to do so in the form of magical devices specifically designed for it, but the legal removal of the bracers has been done only a few times in the past 200 years. This, however, does not stop cheeky spell casters from trying.

Even with the assistance of magic, the removal is a dangerous one. There are no immediate side-effects to the spellcaster attempting to assist the wearer, but the wearer can sustain heavy injuries or even death should the attempt be unsuccessful.

Art By: Matt Forsyth

Dispel Magic

Dispel Magic is the safest method of removal. Most bracers, except in extreme cases of pacification, are created at the 5^th tier of magic. A powerful spell caster has a decent chance of removing the bracer with a normal application of the spell or outright extinguishing its magic altogether if cast at a higher tier. Failure to dispel the bracer by this application causes it to discharge at full potency, dealing 2d8 lightning damage (4d8 with the Vulnerability the bracer inflicts).

This overload causes the magic of bracer to temporarily become inert allowing a deft lockpicker a single attempt to unlock it by mundane means (Thieves Tools; DC 20).

Art By: Herley1

Nickname
Pacbrace

Item type

Magical

Weight

1lb

Dimensions

Fits to Wielder

Creation Date
Sondis the 8^th Day of Hexbis
in the 300^th Year of Rebirth

Art By: Choren 64

Who Wears Them?

Any unsanctioned spellcaster in the nation of Tok is forced to wear the bracer. Additionally, races that are imbued with natural magical affinities such as Elves and Gnomes are also forced to wear bracers at the turn of their 3^rd year of life. As such, the braces are magically fitted to grow with the bearer of the bracer. Even though not all subraces of Elves and Gnomes have innate magical spellcasting ability, the Tok Empire has instated a "Better safe than sorry" policy. During the holiday known as Discovery, spellcasters may participate in the Spellbreaker Trials and have their bracers removed. Should they succeed at the trials, they become Spellbreaker Initiates and never have to wear the bracers again so long as they honor the code of law of the Tok Empire. Should they fail, however, the spellcaster is sentenced to death.

Death of the Pacified

When a bearer of a Pacification Bracer dies, be it from the item itself or other means, the bracer immediately deactivates and vanishes into an interdimensional space on the Ethereal Plane. This method of storage is akin to that of a Portable Hole or Bag of Holding. The difference being, that a Spellbreaker has the trained ability to pull from that storage with the cast of a spell of the 1^st tier of magic. This is to prevent any rebellious groups from acquiring an active bracer to learn of its mechanisms. This, however, does not prevent the acquirement of an active bracer through means of amputation.

Knock

Knock is a lower-tiered spell that may be cast upon the bracer, albeit at a much higher cost and risk than Dispel Magic. The bracer has three Arcane Locking mechanisms on it. One is located on each of the two straps, and one controls the spikes that embed their way into the wrist of the pacified. Should any of these locks be tampered with by the Knock spell, it delivers its Shocking Grasp at full potency, dealing 2d8 lightning damage (4d8 with the Vulnerability an attuned bracer inflicts) each time it is cast until the third application of the Transmutation spell. Once the third lock is Knocked, the magic temporarily leaves the bracer and can be removed. Each of these applications of the Knock spell only lasts 10 minutes before the lock regains its magical property, preventing broken-up applications of the magic.