Anneal Clan Spirit (Chant)

Sidebar Heart of the Forge This chant calls up an ancestor of the dwarven clan to give an item intelligence and possibly magical power. Each ancestor can be annealed to an item only once, and dwarven forge-priests keep careful records of which spirits have been called upon, and which clan has the right to call upon the next available spirit.

If the chant is completed, the summoned spirit enters the item and grants it the ability to answer questions (as per a speak with dead spell). Once all questions have been answered, the spirit is free to leave the item at any time. If it has been well-treated, a successful Charisma check by a dwarf of the spirit's clan indicates that the spirit remains in the item for another year. If the spirit is mistreated, it leaves at once. The longer it stays, the more likely it is that the item will display additional powers. For each decade that the item is inhabited, the DM either chooses an ability or rolls on the accompanying table to determine what ability the item gains. If the same result appears more than once, the effect is cumulative. If the item is abandoned, it neither gains nor loses abilities until it is again used.

Clan Spirit Abilities 1d100 | Ability ------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1-3 | Detect evil at will 4-6 | Continual light once/day 7-8 | Prayer once/week 9-11 | Sanctuary once/day 12 | Heal once/year 13-20 | Gives advice once/month 21-22 | Bearer's Movement rate increases by 2 23 | Passwall once/month 24 | Stone shape once/month 25-26 | Bearer never feels fatigue 27-28 | Bearer never sleeps 29-30 | Bearer's beard doubles in length 31-35 | Bearer gains one additional slot of blacksmith nonweapon proficiency (NWP) 36-40 | Bearer gains one additional slot of armorer NWP 41-45 | Bearer gains one additional slot of weaponsmith NWP 46-50 | Bearer gains one additional slot of miner NWP 51-55 | Bearer immune to poison 56 | Bearer immune to intoxication 57-60 | Bearer gains perfect direction sense 61-65 | Stone tell once/day 65-70 | Bearer gains +2 to attack and damage giants 71-75 | Bearer gains +2 to attack and damage humanoids 76-80 | Bearer gains +1 AC bonus 81 | Bearer gains +1 bonus to all saving throws 82-83 | Resist fire once/week 84-85 | Resist cold once/week 86-90 | Bearer cannot lie 91 | Bearer gains true sight 92 | Regenerate 1 hp/hour 93 | Holy word 1/year 94 | Summon earth elemental 1/year 95 | Summon fire elemental 1/year 96 | Assume badger form once/month 97 | Speak with animals at will 98 | +4 to attack rolls with crossbow 99 | +4 to attack rolls with battle axe 100 | +4 to attack rolls with war hammer

Records describing the use of the anneal clan spirit chant indicate that annealed spirits have created other effects as well; the preceding table is only a guide.

Each time an item transfers ownership, the new owner must make a Charisma check. If the check succeeds, the item retains both the annealed spirit and its powers. If the check fails, the annealed spirit leaves the item forever, sometimes leaving behind a single minor power as a sign of its long habitation. Items whose spirits have been bound for long periods of time are revered as holy relics by many dwarves, and a clan will go to great lengths to keep such precious objects in the family. They are never sold or bartered away.

Summoning the spirit of a clan ancestor and chanting it into an item requires the cantor(s) to add a bone of the ancestor to the forge's fire.