Crystal Tear [Minor Artifact]

Legends hold that when Iborighu smote down Hleid and cast her fractured body into the polar sea, she cried for the loss to the uldra race. As her body arced over the polar world to the sea, these tears fell to the ground and became frozen, and some of Hleid’s divine power and emotion became frozen along with them and became crystal tears.

A crystal tear looks like a large tear made of ice with flashes of light sparkling in its depths. These are potent minor artifacts; their presence constantly exudes a strong emotional magical effect (as a 20th-level caster) in an emanation with a 15-foot radius. As a free action, the holder of the tear can choose to produce either crushing despair or good hope. Once an effect is chosen, it operates until the holder changes it. The tear continues to emanate the last emotion the holder chose if the holder puts down the tear. The holder can decide as a free action what creatures in the area are affected.

Living creatures in the emanation can attempt a DC 16 Will save to avoid the emanation’s effects. Those who fail suffer whatever effect the tear is currently producing, for as long as they remain within the radius of the emanation and for 1 minute after leaving. Those who successfully save cannot be affected by the tear’s current emanation for 1 minute (but must save again if the holder changes the effect).

The holder of the tear finds that his own emotions are completely “drowned out” by the presence of the tear; this effectively keeps the user from experiencing any emotions at all (incurring a –⁠2 penalty on all Charisma-based skill checks), but also has the fortunate side effect of rendering him completely immune to mind-affecting spells and abilities.

Overlapping emanations from multiple crystal tears do not stack if they generate identical emotions.

Crystal tears do not melt if brought to warmer climates or if exposed to heat or flame; they always retain a cool temperature regardless of their environs. Despite this, the owner of a crystal tear can cause the tear to melt into liquid by targeting it with a spell that is of at least 5th level and carries the fire descriptor. The spell cast is absorbed completely by the tear, which then melts immediately and evaporates in 2d4 rounds. If the melted tear is imbibed before it evaporates, it grants a +4 inherent bonus to one of the drinker’s ability scores. The exact score to which the bonus is applied is determined randomly, although it does not apply to a score that already possesses an inherent bonus. If all the drinker’s scores already possess an inherent bonus, the +4 inherent bonus applies to the score with the lowest bonus.

Source: Frostburn, page 109.