Antlers of the Deepwood

Antlers of the Deepwood
Wondrous item, artifact (requires attunement)

These resplendent antlers gleam brilliantly with a golden light. To attune to the antlers, you must hold them to your head for 1 minute, upon which they will fuse to your skull. In order to remove the antlers the bearer must be dead. As an action you must attempt a contested Wisdom check with the spirit of the deceased bearer. The bearer makes this check with advantage, or it can choose to automatically fail. If you fail, you cannot attempt to remove the antlers again for 1 year. On a success, the antlers detach from the skull, revert to their dormant state, and the attunement ends.

As a bonus action, while attuned to the antlers, you can cause them to become incorporeal. While incorporeal, you still benefit from the antlers’ magical properties, but they are invisible and cannot be interacted with physically. They become corporeal if you fall unconscious or if you will them back with a bonus action.

The antlers only sport a single tine in their dormant state. As you grow in power, the antlers grow in size and gain additional tines.

Dormant. The antlers grant the following benefits in its dormant state:

• You can speak, read, and write Sylvan.
• You emanate an aura of serenity to the creatures of your domain. When a beast comes within 30 feet of you for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, that creature must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be affected by the animal friendship spell.
• You can use an action to cast one of the following spells from the antlers (save DC 13): animal messenger (4th level version), conjure animals (5th level version) or dominate beast (6th level version). Once a spell has been cast from the antlers, that spell can't be cast from them again until the next dawn.
• You gain access to a demi-plane known as the Deepwood. This demi-plane spans 1 square mile populated by dense groves of trees, trickling streams and sunny meadows. Flitting throughout the realm are all manner of intelligent beasts and fey creatures. Within this demi-plane you are ruler and patron of all its inhabitants. You can converse with any plant, beast or fey creature here and they will treat you as their liege. You are provided all necessary sustenance in cornucopias of forest fruits, nuts, roots and leaf-cups of fresh spring water. A creature that completes a long rest in one of the many mossy burrows or sweet-grass meadows of the Deepwood removes 1 additional level of exhaustion. The denizens of the Deepwood can be hired for their services (martial, mercantile, artisanal, etc.) as you would pay for hirelings from a humanoid kingdom, but only the most loyal and trusted allies will follow you out of the realm. The heads of noble houses comprise your royal court and consult you on governance of the realm, as well as vie for influence and power of their own.
• You can access this demi-plane by focusing on a Large or larger inanimate plant for 1 minute, upon which an arched doorway will appear. You can dismiss this doorway as a bonus action, otherwise it will disappear after 1 minute. The doorway is only visible to creatures you designate, to all others it is invisible. Within the Deepwood there are many doorways to fey realms and the material plane that emissaries and envoys use to traverse to the outside world. These portals are hidden with verdant forests as overly large rabbit holes, hollow logs or tree burls.

Awakened.  When the antlers reach an awakened state, they gain the following properties:

• The saving throw DC for the magical effects and spells cast from the antlers increases to 15.
• As an action you can touch a willing Large or smaller beast to imbue it with the blessing of the Deepwood. The beast’s Intelligence score becomes 10, unless it was higher, and it gains the ability to speak, read and write Common and Sylvan. Its maximum hit points becomes 10 x your proficiency bonus, unless it was higher. This beast is friendly to you and your companions and it will obey any verbal commands that you issue to it. You can communicate telepathically with the beast as long as you are on the same plane of existence. Beasts with this blessing usually develop a fondness for walking on their hind legs, wearing clothes or armor and using weapons or implements designed for humanoids. The beast’s anatomy shifts slightly to enable this behavior (hooves or paws develop the ability to grasp, but wings do not, for example). It becomes proficient with all armor, shields, simple weapons, and martial weapons, 2 skills and 1 saving throw of your choice, and it uses your proficiency bonus instead of its own. A beast cannot fly while wearing medium or heavy armor. When you bestow your blessing, you can choose a specialization from the following archetypes:
  • Emissary. The Emissary has expertise in Stealth and Survival. You can perceive through the Emissary's senses as long as you are on the same plane of existence. While perceiving through the Emissary's senses, you benefit from any special senses possessed by that creature, and you are blinded and deafened to your own surroundings. The Emissary can dash as a bonus action.
  • Herald. The Herald’s Charisma score becomes 10, unless it was higher, and it has expertise in Performance and proficiency with 1 instrument of your choice. While the Herald is within 60 feet of you, you have advantage on death saving throws and Persuasion checks as long as the Herald is not incapacitated.
  • Knight. The Knight can attack twice, instead of once, when it takes the Attack action on its turn using a weapon made for humanoids (not its natural weapons). Once per turn, when the Knight hits a creature with an attack, it can add your proficiency bonus to one damage roll.
• Only one beast can receive this blessing at a time, if you bless a new beast, the previous one reverts to normal.
• The glory and splendor of the Deepwood grows with you. The area of the demi-plane now spans 10 square miles. Once every 7 days, you can command a grand jubilee to be thrown in your honor. All of the inhabitants of the Deepwood will gather to host a splendid party, with raucous dancing, music, games and flattery. A creature that revels in the jubilee for at least 1 hour gains the effects of the freedom of movement spell for the next 24 hours.

Exalted. When the antlers reach an exalted state, they gain the following properties:

• The saving throw DC for the magical effects and spells cast from the antlers increases to 17.
• Add dominate monster to the list of spells that can be cast from the antlers.
• The radius of your aura of serenity increases to 60 feet. Allied beasts within this radius have resistance to nonmagical damage.
• The many thickets of the Deepwood throng with activity and the halls of your forest domain have reached the pinnacle of magnificence. The area of the demi-plane now spans 100 square miles. Reveling in a jubilee grants advantage to Constitution saving throws for 24 hours in addition to the prior benefits.

Long ago, in a fey realm, there was a clan of creatures both bestial and beautiful that desired sovereignty away from the ruling courts of the land. Their leader, a majestic archfey with an unusually lawful disposition, known as Dildarion Deepwood, dreamed of a place that they could call their own. An isolated pocket in the planar mélange began to form, born of this dream, and it shaped itself to their wishes.

Taking notice of this plot, another archfey by the name of Hagatha Bossomblossom decided to play a trick on Dildarion. She offered to aid him with his ambition and hide the realm as a safeguard against intrusion. Secretly woven into her magic was a curse upon Dildarion, obscuring his land and his people from him forever. As they migrated to their new home, Dildarion tried to follow, but he only succeeded in getting terribly lost.

For many eons the people of the Deepwood awaited the arrival of their king, and over the years a splendid kingdom grew amongst the trees. The descendants of Dildarion’s disciples have long forgotten the true form of their liege, though they pass down the legend of a being with a crown of golden antlers that will lead them to greatness.

Rumor has it that Dildarion searched for a fortnight before succumbing to despair in some forgotten hollow. Wherever he may lay, atop his brow rests a fraction of his power and the key to the hidden realm of the Deepwood.

Destroying the Antlers. The secret to destroying the antlers is known by the only remaining co-creator, Hagatha Bossomblossom. It is rumored that an archfey must claim the antlers for themself and will the Deepwood out of existence. As the demi-plane crumbles away to nothing, so shall the antlers.

Errata- Clarified that beasts can wield humanoid implements, beasts cannot wear medium or heavy armor and fly, added bonus action dash to the Emissary, added CHA of 10, expertise in performance, and 1 instrument proficiency to the Herald, changed the Knight's extra attack to only apply to humanoid weapons and replaced the extra 1d8 damage with proficiency bonus