I adjusted the strap of me satchel, feeling the weight of the maniacles inside. They be me pride, me tools, me enchanted little friends. Crafted by a gnome warden with a penchant for enchantment, they be more alive than most goblins I knew. The job were simple: find the dwarf thief who’d nicked the burgomaster’s ruby ring.
I caught his scent near the butcher’s shop. Dwarves always smell of stale ale and desperation. There he were, skulking in an alley, his beard bristling. I smiled wide, me teeth yellower than the sun, and pulled the maniacles from me bag. They wriggled in me hands, eager. “Go get ‘im, boys,” I muttered, and off they went, clinking and clattering. The dwarf turned, his eyes widening as the maniacles shot toward him, snapping like angry snakes.
He bolted, of course. The maniacles chased him down the alley, and over a stack of crates. He went down in a heap, cursing in his guttural tongue. The maniacles latched onto his wrists with a satisfying click, and I sauntered over, trying to look menacing despite me stature. “Gotcha,” I said. The dwarf groaned as the maniacles started their work. First the poison, a little something to make him woozy, then the fear, a magical jolt that had him whimpering.
I dragged him back to the tavern, where the burgomaster were waiting with a sack of gold and a look of disgust. “Your thief,” I said, dropping the dwarf at her feet. She handed over the gold without a word, and I counted it twice; I’d almost trust the dwarf more when it comes to proper payment.
Maniacles
Wondrous Item (Manacles), Very Rare
While holding these manacles, you can use an action to activate them and designate a target creature you can see within 60 feet of yourself. At the end of each of your turns, the manacles fly up to 20 feet towards the target. If they are within 5 feet of the target at the start of its turn, it must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be restrained until the end of its next turn. When the restrained condition ends, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its next turn. When the poisoned condition ends, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you until the end of its next turn.
If the manacles successfully restrain the target or are ever more than 120 feet away from the target, they deactivate. You can also use an action to deactivate them. Once deactivated, they cannot be used again this way until the next dawn.
Check out last week’s item: fire arms.
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