Tuesday Magic Item – Dragon Mask

Voddick leaned in to whisper to Gollaon as they marched through the streets. “Being surrounded by masked people makes me a touch nervous.  Especially when they are hiding behind dragon masks.”

“I think they are more showing off than hiding, given the elaborate decoration,” replied Gollaon, equally quietly.  “But I understand your concern.”

“Still . . .”

“Yes, we had best be careful.  People who seek to idolize dragons are . . . unpredictable.”

Dragon Mask

These masks can be symbolic or faithful depictions of actual dragons, made of a variety of materials but always masterworks and often decorated in precious materials and gems.  They always cover the wearer face entirely.

The wearer gains low-light vision and a +4 enhancement bonus to Intimidation checks.

Additionally, they gain a minor breath weapon, one of the following:

• Acid 5 by 30 ft. line (Reflex save)
• Cold 15 ft. cone (Fortitude save)
• Fire 15 ft. cone (Reflex save) or 5 by 30 ft. line (Reflex save)
• Lightning 5 by 30 ft. line (Reflex save)

Which can be used once per day, the Save DC is 12 + the wearer’s Constitution or Charisma bonus (whichever is higher).  It has a base damage of 2d6, half on a successful save, for each five levels the character has, their gain a +1 bonus to the amount of damage the breath weapon inflicts.

If the wearer already has a breath weapon, they instead gain one additional die of damage (of whatever type they use) and a +1 to the DC of the breath weapon.  They still gain the damage bonus for higher levels.

Aura moderate evocation; CL 7th
Slot head; Price 7,500; Weight 1 lb
Construction Requirements
Craft Wondrous Item, one 3rd level or higher spell of the appropriate energy type, fear, owl’s wisdom; Cost 3,750

For D&D 5E:

Wondrous item (mask), rare (requires attunement)

First paragraph as above.

The wearer gains dark vision and advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) rolls.

Additionally, they gain a minor breath weapon, one of the following:

• Acid 5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save)
• Cold 15 ft. cone (Con. save)
• Fire 15 ft. cone (Dex. save) or 5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save)
• Lightning 5 by 30 ft. line (Dex. save)
• Poison 15 ft. cone (Con. save)

The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus.  A creature takes 2d6 damage on a failed save, and half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases by +1 at 6th level, +2 at 11th level, and +3 at 16th level. After you use this breath weapon, you cannot use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

If the wearer already has a breath weapon, they instead gain one additional die of damage (of whatever type they use) and a +1 to the DC of the breath weapon.  They still gain the damage bonus for higher levels.

Notes: Inspired by my work on how the Dragonborn fit into the Sea of Stars.

Photo An excellent leather dragon mask (photo) by Todd Murray and used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) license.