Cane of the Maelstrom

A large crystal of warpglass floats above the head of this silvery purple +3 anarchic greater striking club. If you successfully Strike a creature, the cane also affects the target with a Warpwave.

While you carry the cane, you hear a constant, distracting chorus of laughing, incoherent Protean whispers and sing-song voices in your mind. Blatant acts of self-indulgence or narcissism quell these whispers, from a few minutes up to a full day depending on the scope of the act, but they immediately return when you use the artifact's powers. The gradually rising chorus eventually drives away rational thought and renders the cane's owner insane, even if staved off from time to time with self-centered acts.

As the artifact's abilities pull material from the Maelstrom, it doesn't function in areas where planar connections are severed.

Activate ↺ envision

Trigger You are targeted by a ranged attack from an opponent you can see

Effect You draw a temporary shield of chaotic turbulence with a cerulean flash. You gain a +3 circumstance bonus to AC against the triggering attack.

Activate 10 minutes (command, envision, Interact)

Effect The Cane of the Maelstrom casts a 5th-rank Mirage spell and infuses the illusion with quasi-real substance drawn from the primal chaos of the Maelstrom. Creatures that don't disbelieve the illusion treat structures and terrain created through the spell as though they were real, ascending illusory stairs, becoming trapped by illusory quicksand, and so on. If no creature disbelieves the illusion during its duration, the changes become wholly real and permanent when its duration expires.

Activate ◆ minute (Interact)

Effect The Cane of the Maelstrom casts a 5th-rank Creation spell, except the duration is unlimited and you can create delicate or complex objects by succeeding at an applicable Crafting skill check when you activate this ability.