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If the owner deliberately seeks out an elder orancient green dragon and offers it the Heart, the artifactgrants its wielder a final boon. The owner gainsa permanent +2 bonus to Intimidate checks, to Willdefense against fear effects, and to saving throws toend fear effects.If the owner gains a level without having beguna quest to find an appropriate dragon—or gains asecond level without having completed such a quest—the Heart crumbles to ash (re-forming elsewherein the world) and strikes its owner with a curse ofnightmares. The owner takes a –2 penalty to Willdefense against fear effects and a –2 penalty to savingthrows to end fear effects. Two uses of the RemoveAffliction ritual (one for each effect) can end thesepenalties.Until it moves on, the Heart retains all thepowers and properties appropriate for its currentconcordance.Blue Orb of DragonkindThe Blue Orb of Dragonkind is appropriate for epiclevelcharacters.The Orb presented here is the Blue Orb, the onethat has reappeared most often in recorded history.Were Orbs created for every other color of chromaticdragon? If they were, have they all survived to thepresent day? Answer these questions as best suitsyour campaign. When designing other Orbs, youcan use the Blue Orb as a model, changing details asappropriate. For instance, the Green Orb might looksimilar but of a green hue, dominate green dragonsrather than blues, enhance and protect againstpoison, and improve charm powers rather thanpowers that have a push effect. Alternatively, youmight build entirely new suites of powers, using thisOrb purely as a baseline.Blue Orb of DragonkindEpic LevelThe reasons for the primeval struggle between dragons andhumanoids are long lost, but the artifacts created during thattime are not. Among the greatest are the Orbs of Dragonkind,which grant powers similar to—and over—particular kindsof wyrms. This pale blue crystal sphere is small enough tobe held in the palm of a human. Faint wisps of gold swirlthroughout it.The Blue Orb of Dragonkind is a +4 orb of invasive fortune. Ithas the following properties and powers.Implement (Orb)Enhancement: Attack rolls and damage rollsCritical: +4d8 damageProperty: Against blue dragons, the Orb’s critical hit damageincreases to 4d10.Power (Daily): Immediate Interrupt. You can use this powerwhen an enemy within 10 squares of you successfullyrecharges a power. The recharge fails, and you regain theuse of an expended encounter power.Property: The Orb grants you an additional +1 bonus toattack rolls for powers that cause push effects and forpowers that deal lightning damage.Powers that deal lightning damage to a blue dragonignore the dragon’s lightning resistance when they areused through the Orb.Property: You can speak and understand the Draconiclanguage and can read the Iokharic script.Goals of theBlue Orb of DragonkindEach Orb has the personality of a variety of dragon,imbued within it at the time of the artifact’s creation.Thus, each color of Orb has different goals. The BlueOrb has the following goals:✦ Defeat its enemies—those of the bearer, those ofblue dragons in general, and those of whoevercreated the Orb (the specifics of which are left upto the DM)—while placing the bearer in as littledanger as possible.✦ Ensure the artifact’s, and the bearer’s, survival.Other Orbs might seek power through more violentmeans, or might even seek to protect humanoids fromthe depredations of other dragons.Roleplaying theBlue Orb of DragonkindThe Blue Orb is incredibly arrogant (as would beexpected of an ancient dragon). It sees itself as acivilized and intelligent mentor of an unfortunatelyfoolish and childlike bearer. It patronizes its bearer,pointing out the obvious and explaining everythingin great detail. That said, when the bearer doessomething to truly impress it, it says so in complimentary—ifobviously startled—terms.CONCORDANCEStarting score 5Owner gains a level +1d10Owner has the dragon keyword +2Owner gains a level without interactingin any way with a dragon –2Owner completes a quest on behalf of a dragon patron +2Owner completes a quest on behalfof a blue dragon patron +3Owner succeeds in a social encounter with a dragon +1Owner or an ally of the owner physically attacks a dragon(charms do not qualify) (maximum 1/encounter) –2Other Orbs have entirely different agendas, and thusdifferent concordance variables. Some, for instance,might encourage their bearers to attack dragons.78CHAPTER 2 | DM’s Guide to Dragons