Amulet of Mindfulness - A Magic Item
It used to be that magic items, or at least a lot of them, had a little something about them before we got into the mechanics of what they do. It was fun, and I think it added to the excitement of receiving said item. So in that spirit, here’s the Amulet of Mindfulness
Amulet of Mindfulness
Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)
Anyone who has ever cast a spell groans when they hear one single and particularly annoying word: concentration. Constantly paying attention to your spell to avoid it fizzling out at the most inconvenient moment possible (because it always does) is a real pain. Especially if your concentration is broken due to someone hitting you in the head with a sword. This brings us to the story of Odalf Ponderwhim.
Odalf Ponderwhim was a prodigy when it came to the arcane arts. As a teenager, Odalf already demonstrated an incredible talent in virtually every school of magic he tried. He showed his mastery of transformation magic by bringing all the younger students' stuffed animals to life and terrifying them. He planted the suggestion into the mind of his botany teacher (his worst class by far) to give him a perfect score, even though he had left half of the questions unanswered. The only problem was, Odalf had a questionable work ethic. While his peers spent their time studiously taking notes in class, studying until the wee hours in the vast libraries, and mastering the art of concentration through practice and meditation, Odalf took a different approach.
Thus began his brilliant (or, as some muttered, lazy) quest to solve the most tedious part of spellcasting. After a series of mostly controlled explosions, several enchanted gemstones embedded in a gaudy amulet, and one unfortunate incident where a young apprentice named Fredrick's hand was permanently transformed into a crab claw, the Amulet of Mindlessness was born.
Odalf proudly demonstrated his creation by casting Flaming Sphere, then immediately napping while the amulet kept the fiery death ball rolling. Luckily, it didn't end as poorly as you are probably imagining. His professors were technically impressed, though many questioned the wisdom of outsourcing one's focus to a piece of jewelry. "Mind the Spell," Odalf would yawn as he activated the amulet, waving away concerns. "Why waste my precious time concentrating on a spell when I could be doing much more important things?" Those 'important' things included making a sandwich, gazing at the stars, or looking for the slipper he'd lost at the beginning of last semester.
Of course, there were... quirks. The amulet didn't so much "concentrate" as it did obsess—once it latched onto a spell, it refused to let go unless explicitly told to stop. More than one overconfident apprentice learned this the hard way when their Levitate spell lingered just a bit too long.
To Odalf, he had achieved enlightenment—the kind that required absolutely no thinking on his part.
This iron amulet has two rows of runes that circle a gemstone which resembles an eye in the center.
When you use a Magic Action to cast a spell that requires Concentration, you can use a Bonus Action to speak the command word "Mind the Spell." Once spoken, the gemstone begins to spin, and the amulet begins its Concentration on the spell.
The amulet concentrates on the spell for its full duration. While the amulet concentrates on the spell, you cannot drop concentration on it or interact with it. A summoned creature repeats the last command it was given until the spell ends or until it is destroyed. The concentration is broken if the amulet is destroyed.
Once you use this property, you must finish a long rest to use it again.
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