Tentacle Rod
) Tentacle Staff 
| |
|---|---|
| Base item | flail |
| Damage vs. small | 1d6 +1 |
| Damage vs. large | 1d6 +1 |
| To-hit bonus | +1d7 |
| Bonus versus | all |
| Weapon skill | flail |
| Size | one-handed |
| Affiliation | |
| When carried |
(none) |
| When wielded |
|
| When invoked |
(none) |
| Base price | 5000 zm |
| Weight | 15 |
| Material | iron |
The Tentacle Rod is one of two renegade Drow artifact weapons. It is the quest artifact for drow Priests, Rangers, Rogues, and Wizards that betray their original quest leader, Eclavdra. It is unaligned, but intelligent, and its base item type is a flail.
Obtaining
The Tentacle Rod is always found originally in the inventory of Eclavdra, the original quest leader for both the female and male drow shared quests (against Seyll Auzkovyn and Daruth Xaxox respectively). It may be obtained at any point by killing her, but will be obtained as part of the traitorous path for both quests. In either case, it is always generated cursed with a random enchantment between +1 and +6, typically +4.
If you turn stag and betray Eclavdra, the Tentacle Rod will become your "quest artifact" - it will change from being unaligned to lawful, and must be brought back to your new quest leader (Seyll or Daruth) to complete your new quest. Afterwards, it can be swapped for either Crescent Blade with Seyll or Webweaver's Crook with Daruth. There is no difference between the version obtained in either quest.
If it was obtained via killing Eclavdra without being part of a quest - generally if you complete the quest normally and then kill her for the free artifact - it will remain unaligned. This also applies if it is found in a bones file. The only real difference between the unaligned and lawful versions is that the lawful one can blast poorly aligned or non-lawful characters. Despite this, it will never evade since it lacks a favored role or race, so the different is mostly inconsequential. The other effects of being an intelligent artifact (resisting curses etc.) remain the same.
Wise (and not particularly loyal) non-traitorous players will notice that the only downside to killing Eclavdra post-quest completion is the hit to alignment from killing a quest leader. If one isn't planning on using their offhand for anything else, or wants the Tentacle Rod as a weapon regardless, an impromptu betrayal might work well. Or just make the pet kill her, that works too.
Effects
The Tentacle Rod grants +1d7 to-hit and +1 to damage, but only receives half the normal damage bonus from strength, and receives no damage bonus from your skill or its enhancement; to-hit bonuses are applied as normal.
The Tentacle Rod absorbs curses and improves spellcasting rates like a robe while wielded. When wielded or held in the offhand slot (even when not two-weaponing), the Rod has a 1⁄4 chance of lashing out against each adjacent hostile monster, if any are nearby. Only one monster can be attacked this way per turn.
Attacking with the Tentacle Rod via any means performs up to 7 strikes per swing, with varying effects depending on how many hits land:
- If it hits 3 or more times, it blinds, stuns or confuses the target.
- If it hits 6 or more times, it additionally slows the target, paralyzes them, or drives them insane.
- If it hits all 7 times, it also deals +d7 damage for each missing resistance of: shock, acid, poison, drain, magic; it also deals +2d7 if the monster only resists one element out of both fire and cold, resulting in a maximum damage bonus of +7d7.
