The Rings of Quindia

The Rings of Quindia are some of the most famous artifacts in the realm. At one time, there were five of theses rings - one each of copper, silver, electrum, gold, and platinum. They are tied to the land itself as evidenced in the cataclysmic effect on the fifth Ring Island when one of the artifacts was destroyed in a battle between Zorono and Veron the Conqueror. Though the existence of these artifacts are celebrated through legend and song, only the location of two of these rings is known - and that information is known only to a few. It is from these two rings, and the fact that they belong to one man - Strom Coldsteel - that we know anything beyond these stories.

Strom possesses the rings of copper and gold. Each appears as a plain band but there is writing inscribed inside. The copper band has the word "Corolië" and the gold band bears the inscription "Coronyárë". Strom believes through his research that "Cor" means "ring" in a dead language found only among the ruins of the Plain of Towers. He has also discovered that "-olië" apparently means "of the people". No evidence has yet been found for the translation of the other word, but legends refer to the ring that was destroyed as the Ring of Reason.

The rings possessed by Strom Coldsteel have the following qualities:

1) These powerful artifacts are Weapons of the Balance with the purpose of promoting arcane magic on Quindia.

2) To this end, the wielder of a Ring of Quindia is granted the ability to cast spells as a third level sorcerer. If the possessor is an arcane spell caster, he gains a bonus of two caster levels in his highest level class for the purpose of spell casting only (no hit points, save bonuses, etc.). This effect is cumulative if the character has more than one ring. Unlike most magic rings, the Rings of Quindia must be worn on the same hand.

3) A Ring of Quindia grants a +2 deflection bonus to AC and saving throws. Cumulative effects grant only a further +1, so Strom benefits from a +3 bonus, not a +4.

4) A Ring of Quindia adds +1 to the wielder's highest ability score. Multiple rings add to the second highest score, then the third, etc.

5) A Ring of Quindia is an artifact of the Balance and will slowly change the alignment of the wielder to Neutral (I used one shift per game session).

6) A Ring of Quindia will allow the wielder to own no other magic items. Any magic item carried by the character will be drained of all properties with in twenty-four hours with no saving throw. The cumulative effect of two rings reduces this to twelve hours. This ability has no effect on scrolls or spell books.

In addition each ring has further qualities:

1) Smooth Talk feat (+2 Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks).

2) Cast Charm Person three times per day as a 12th level caster.

Coronyárë

1) Improved Counterspell feat (May attempt to counterspell with any spell in the same school of at least one level higher than the target spell).

2) Cast Haste once per day as a 12th level caster.

The abilities of the other rings are unknown, but one may assume that the cumulative effects would be similar.