R is for Ramos

el

alphabet (r)

Ramos was a mysterious dragon engine on Mercadia that was important to many of that world’s religions, particularly that of the Cho-Arrim. Many myths had evolved amongst the people of Mercadia regarding his origins; but, according to Ramos himself, he had originally been in the service of Mishra during the Brothers’ War, but had been captured and reprogrammed by Urza to protect people of Terisiare, in case they were wiped out in the conflict. Urza later confirmed this story.

«Ramos wept, and there were seas.
Ramos bled, and there was fire.
Ramos touched, and there was life.
Ramos smiled, and there was day.
Ramos fell, and there was night.»

During the Sylex Blast, Ramos gathered up a number of humans and merfolk from around Argoth and planeshifted to Phyrexia, his home plane, and escaped through a portal (which would later exist on Rath) to Mercadia, where those races would be safe. Unfortunately, on his descent, he accidentally crashed into a Mercadian city, killing many people. However, the people that he had taken with him built up their own cities and over time came to venerate Ramos as their creator.

Millennia later, Weatherlight crash-landed on Mercadia after fleeing Rath. There, its crew encountered the various peoples that lived on the plane and learnt of the different myths surrounding Ramos. They discovered that the «Bones of Ramos», five powerstones that Ramos possessed that were protected by dryads, formed part of the Legacy. In order to recover them, several crewmen travelled to the Henge of Ramos to meet the supposed god. Upon reaching Ramos, he explained his true origins to the crew and granted them the powerstones containing his essence. During the Weatherlight’s flight from Mercadia City, Ramos intercepted Volrath’s ship, Recreant, and destroyed the vessel. A revolution was then triggered that swept the streets of Mercadia City.

Ramos, Dragon EngineIn Dungeons & Dragons

The thing about Ramos, the dragon engine, is that it’s more a creature than a magic item. Fortunately for our blogging challenge, it’s also the owner of the famous Bones of Ramos, a collection of five powerful artifacts containing its essence: the Eye, the Heart, the Horn, the Skull and the Tooth. They are part of the Legacy and were fused with the Power Matrix of the Skyship Weatherlight.

You can use a bonus action to charge one of these artifacts with one power point, up to 5 points. Then, also as a bonus action, you can spend as many points as you want to apply one of the following effects to a spell you cast in the same round:

  • One power point: Careful Spell, Distant Spell, Extended Spell, Transmuted Spell*
  • Two power points: Empowered Spell, Quickened Spell, Seeking Spell*
  • Three power poits: Heightened Spell
  • As many power points as the spell level: Twinned Spell

*options introduced in «Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything»

Each artifact can affect just certain kind of spells, as described below:

  • Eye of Ramos: spell with charmed, communication, compulsion, control, deception, foreknowledge and scrying effects or that deal cold or psychic damage.
  • Heart of Ramos: spells that deal fire or lightning damage.
  • Horn of Ramos: spells with buff, creation, environment, exploration, or movement effects, or that deal lightning or thunder damage.
  • Skull of Ramos: spells with debuff effects or that deal necrotic or poison damage.
  • Tooth of Ramos: spells with banishment, healing or warding effects or that deal force or radiant damage.

Bones of Ramos

In Eberron

The thing with dragons in Eberron is that most of them are secluded in the continent of Argonnessen, and that would include even a dragon engine such as Ramos. Many of the continent’s dragons are members of a group known as the Chamber, which interprets the Draconic Prophecy and uses it to shape the world to the dragons’ liking, and is this group who most likely is in possession of the Bones of Ramos, granting their temporary use to valued allies in other continents.

 


How are you planning to incorporate the Bones of Ramos in your campaign? They surely look as a collection of items linked to the Draconic Prophecy, or even parts of a mastermind’s plan to build an eldritch machine.

3 Comentarios Agrega el tuyo

Leave a Reply