Shard Forger

You have learned the dangerous craft of binding raw shard essence into worked materials, capturing echoes of the creatures that once bore them.

Shard Sense

You gain advantage on Arcana or Investigation checks made to identify shards, shard-forged items, or shardling-related constructs.

Shard Artisan
You gain proficiency with either smiths tools or jeweler's tools.

Shard Forging

When you obtain a Shard harvested from a Shardling, you can spend 1 + 1d4 days forging it into an existing non-magical weapon, suit of armor, shield, or item you own, transforming it into a Shard-Forged artifact.

• You cannot use a shard on a magical item.

• The forging requires appropriate tools and a safe workspace.

• At the end of the forging process, the shard is permanently consumed.

• Each item can only be Shard-Forged once, unless the DM rules otherwise.
  
  

  Echo of the Shardling

  When an item becomes Shard-Forged, it gains one property or trait (Shard Echo) inspired by the Shardling that bore the shard. The DM determines the final effect, guided by the shard’s nature and thematic origin.

  Shard-Forged properties (Shard Echoes) should reflect the creature’s instincts, environment, or unnatural adaptations
  
  

  Example Shard Echoes

  • Mountainhide Shard: While wearing this armor, you gain resistance to bludgeoning and slashing damage.

  • Blurred Step Shard: While this item is worn or wielded, your movement speed increases by 10 feet.

  • Gift of Flame: This weapon deals an additional 1d4 fire damage on a hit.

  • Shadowdance: While wearing this item, opportunity attacks against you are made with disadvantage.

  • Inspiring Aura: This item has 2 charges. As a reaction, when an ally within 10 feet fails a saving throw, you may expend 1 charge to allow them to reroll the save, taking the new result. All expended charges are regained at dawn.

  • Corrupted Shard: Once per day on a hit, the target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or suffer a brief, unsettling condition determined by the DM.
    
    

    Resonant Risk

    Shard forging is inherently unstable. When the forging process is completed, roll a d20:

    • 1–2: The shard’s essence rebels. The item gains a minor flaw, quirk, or drawback, determined by the DM.

    • 3–18: The forging is stable. No additional effects occur.

    • 19–20: The shard resonates perfectly. The item gains an additional quirk or trait, determined by the DM, in keeping with the shard’s nature.

    Flaws or quirks might include faint whispers, visible shard veins, emotional influence, environmental reactions, or subtle attraction from shardlings.
    
    

    DM Guidance 

    • Shard Echoes can be passive, conditional, or limited-use, but should avoid flat numerical stacking beyond bounded accuracy.

    • A “quirk” can be beneficial, flavorful, unsettling, or unpredictable.

    • Particularly rare or dangerous shardlings may justify stronger or stranger traits or harsher flaws.