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Staff of Moa

I am running my family through Tomb of Annihilation at the moment.  Since they skipped all the setpiece encounters in the jungle exploration part of the adventure and ended up at Omu by level 2 they are missing a lot of magic items.  So I ended up upping the power of the Trickster Gods signature magic item and allowed them to pick what the item actually was (within reason).  I also added a bump if they managed to match the Trickster spirit with the alignment of the character.  This rewarded them for figuring out the link between the trickster spirits and the alignments.  Here is the staff of moa appropriately amped up.

Staff of Moa

Vary Rare (Requires Attunement by a ClericDruid, or Warlock)

The staff is carved to look like a noble jaculi.

You can use an action to speak this staff’s Command Word – “Honesty is the Best Policy” – and throw the staff on the ground within 10 feet of you. The staff becomes an avatar of Moa appearing as a giant jaculi (see below) under your control and acts on its own initiative count. By using a Bonus Action to speak the Command Word again, you return the staff to its normal form in a space formerly occupied by the snake.

On Your Turn, you can mentally Command the snake if it is within 60 feet of you and you aren’t Incapacitated. You decide what action the snake takes and where it moves during its next turn, or you can issue it a general Command, such as to Attack your enemies or guard a location.

The staff also acts as an immovable rod and an ioun stone of reserve with the additional benefit of storing up to six levels of spells but with the restriction of being a single spell.  If the staff of moa has a spell stored when in jaculi form and it makes a successful bite attack, at the owners discretion, it may also release the spell as part of the attack. It otherwise works identically to the purple ioun stone.

If the snake is reduced to 0 hit points, it dies and reverts to its staff form and cannot be used until after a long rest.

Avatar of Moa

Huge beast, lawful good

Armor Class 12
Hit Points 60 (8d12 + 8)
Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
19 (+4) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 2 (-4) 10 (+0) 3 (-4)

Skills Athletics +4, Perception +2, Stealth +4
Senses blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages —
Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Traits
Camouflage. The avatar of moa has advantage on Dexterity {Stealth) checks made to hide.
Keen Smell. The avatar of moa has advantage on Wisdom {Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Actions
BiteMelee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature.
Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) piercing damage.

Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature.
Hit: 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 16). Until this grapple ends, the creature is restrained, and the snake can’t constrict another target.

Spring. The avatar of moa springs up to 30 feet in a straight line and makes a bite attack against a target within its reach. This attack has advantage if the avatar of moa springs at least 10 feet. If the attack hits, the bite deals an extra 7 (2d6) piercing damage.

Description
A jaculi (pronounced jah-KOO-lee) is a 15-foot-long snake that can alter the colour and texture or its scales to camouflage itself. Altering its appearance to resemble wood or stone, it coils around pillars and tree trunks from which it launches itself like a javelin, striking with great force and accuracy. Jaculis are found in damp climates, and their preferred habitats are rainforests and cool dungeons. The shed skin of the jaculi is coveted for use in crafting boots of striding and springing and cloaks of invisibility.

Posted in Dungeons & Dragons

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