Staff of the Shrouded Magister

Slot none; Aura strong enchantment; CL 20th; Weight 4 lbs.

DESCRIPTION

This +5 called nullifying staff was originally crafted in secret by the clerics of Ena and Elan Valdarin many centuries ago to aid the elusive elven mage king, Halthalan Gilandras, in his defense against the forces of the dark elves seeking to depose him from beneath his mountain kingdom. Made from black oak and carved with runes of magic, the Staff of the Shrouded Magister became the symbol of the king's power and willingness to defend his kingdom from his hereditary enemies. The tip is shod in mithral, while the staff is topped with three woven crystals (blue, red, and green) forming a helix design that comes to a point.  

POWERS

The Staff of the Shrouded Magister grants the following spell-like abilities. 

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 20, concentration +25)

• At Will–dancing lights, detect magic, flare, light, penumbra

• 3/day–daylight, deeper darkness, faerie fire, identify, invisibility, motes of dusk and dawn, protective penumbra, shadow step, searing light

• 1/day–analyze dweomer, greater invisibility, shroud of darkness, true seeing 

• 1/week–lunar veil, sunbeam, umbral strike

The Staff of the Shrouded Magister also functions as a Staff of Power and grants the wielder a +10 competence bonus to Spellcraft and Stealth skill checks.

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Cloak of Darkness (Su) 

The wielder of the Staff of the Shrouded Magister can conjure a cloak of shadowy darkness that grants him a +8 armor bonus and a +6 circumstance bonus on Stealth checks. The wielder can use this cloak for 1 hour per day per caster level. The duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be spent in 1-hour increments.

Enveloping Darkness (Sp) 

The wielder of the Staff of the Shrouded Magister can create an area of deeper darkness that only they can see through without penalty. All creatures except the wielder are entangled within this darkness unless they use freedom of movement or a similar spell effect. The wielder may use this ability once per day.

Master of Illumination (Su) 

Twice per day, the wielder of the Staff of the Shrouded Magister can choose one illumination level: bright light, normal light, dim light, or darkness (including supernatural darkness). While he is within his chosen illumination level, he gains a +6 bonus on initiative checks and Acrobatics, Perception, and Sleight of Hand skill checks, and can take 10 on any Stealth check attempted within that illumination level. When the wielder confirms a critical hit with a melee attack that deals sneak attack damage while in his chosen illumination level, he regains one use of this ability, to a maximum of his daily uses.

Nimbus of Light (Su) 

The wielder of the Staff of the Shrouded Magister can emit a 30-foot nimbus of light for a number of rounds per day equal to his caster level. This acts as a daylight spell. In addition, undead within this radius (or any creature susceptible to natural light) take an amount of damage equal to your caster level each round that they remain inside the nimbus. Spells and spell-like abilities with the darkness descriptor are automatically dispelled if brought inside this nimbus. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.

Shadow Master (Su) 

The wielder of the Staff of the Shrouded Magister can see perfectly in natural or magical darkness, as the see in darkness ability. When the wielder uses shadow conjuration or shadow evocation spells, the creations are 20% more real, and any creatures the wielder creates gain the benefits of the Augment Summoning feat. In addition, whenever the wielder is in an area of dim light, he gains DR 10/— and a +2 luck bonus on all saving throws. In addition, whenever he successfully scores a critical hit with the staff against a foe who is in an area of dim light, that foe is blinded for 1d6 rounds.

Shadow Jump (Su) 

The wielder of the Staff of the Shrouded Magister gains the ability to travel between shadows as if by means of a dimension door spell. The limitation is that the magical transport must begin and end in an area with at least some dim light. The wielder can jump up to a total of 200 feet each day in this way. This amount can be split among many jumps (a single jump of 200 feet, two jumps of 100 feet each, four jumps of 50 feet each, etc), but each one, no matter how small, counts as a 10-foot increment. 

Strike Through Shadow (Su) 

Once per day, the wielder of the Staff of the Shrouded Magister can declare a single melee attack as a strike through shadow. This attack moves through its target’s shadow and strikes from below or inside its armor. The wielder makes this attack against the target’s touch AC. 

HISTORY

For centuries, the Staff of the Shrouded Magister stood as the symbol of King Halthalan Gilandras and his kingdom of elves located in the Mountains of Gilandras. Known far and wide, the king wielded the staff against the foes of his kingdom, especially the dark elves who dwelled deep beneath his mountain homeland. Through the use of his own magic and that contained within his staff, King Halthalan Gilandras was able to stave off the enemies of his kingdom for many centuries. However, near the end of his reign, he was betrayed. Slain by dark elf assassins and his citizens killed or driven from the land, his kingdom fell, leaving only the ruins of this once great people.

With the collapse of the elven Kingdom of Gilandras and the death of King Halthalan, the Staff of the Shrouded Magister fell into obscurity, and believed to have been taken by the vanquishing dark elves as a prize of their victory. However, the staff has never been seen since the fall of the kingdom, until it was discovered within a powerful magical vault located deep underground in a cavern known as the Cave of Darkness, along with a number of other powerful and ancient artifacts. 

Retrieved from the vault by the heroes of the Off-Worlder War, Odorian Lightbringer, Wu Yan Ravenhill, Aragast Anadriel, and Blackroot Brambleburr, it was soon placed into the hands of another hero of the war, one Baras Vi'Ettzun, a renegade dark elf wizard well suited to the powers of the staff. Throughout the war, he wielded it successfully against his enemies, many of which were other dark elves. He continued to wield the staff for nearly two centuries, until his demise. Henceforth, the staff has roamed the lands in search of those worthy and able to wield it against the corruption and the enemies of the world.