A Ring of the Companionship is a standard Ring of Protection (with additional group powers if the ring is bonded to at least 1 other of its kind); as such, you gain a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws while wearing this ring. Initial attunement is required, but the group-ritual is optional.
Group Ritual & Bonding
If the group-ritual is completed, the group's rings become bonded and work in close synchronicity to each other. The bearers, collectively, are granted magical abilities that enhance their potential for success. Each individual wishing to go through the group ritual must bear a single ring and must participate in the ritual with 1 or more fellows. Any attempts to bind more than 1 ring per individual does not succeed.
The group bonding ritual is a testament to the gods of the ring-bearers loyalty to each other and to their cause, and commences with the ring-bearers gathering in a circle, knees touching. Each member of the group must place a single ring into a fire in the middle of the group until the rings are all super-heated. While heating the rings in the fire, each individual must cut their hand to draw blood (taking 1d4 damage), each clasping bloody hands with the individuals on either side of them, while pledging solemn vows of devotion. After the vows are completed and the rings are glowing hot, each individual must retrieve the ring they placed into the fire and put it on one of their own fingers (taking 1d8 damage). To complete the ritual, the group must travel in the wilderness for 24 hours without taking a long rest (ie: anywhere outside of civilized society; cannot be a faux-wilderness, there must be a very real chance of having 1 or more random encounters that might challenge the group and could potentially threaten their safety).
These bonds can be broken in one of two ways: voluntarily or involuntarily. Whenever the bonds are broken (voluntarily or not), all rings revert to Rings of Protection but are capable of being newly-bonded once again by going through the attunement ritual with at least 1 other ring.
- Involuntary Oath-Breaking. If any member of the group either dies or involuntarily has their ring removed from their hand (or their ring-bearing finger dismembered), the bonds of the entire group are involuntarily-broken. Agreeing to allow another person to remove their ring, whether such agreement is implicit or explicit, does not constitute involuntary removal: it is the intent of the psyche that determines if removal is involuntary or not.
- Voluntary Oath-Breaking. In contrast, the bonds of the entire group are voluntarily broken if any member of the group voluntarily removes their ring from their ring-bearing finger (or has it removed by another), or if a member of the group removes another member's ring (voluntarily or not). The voluntary breaking of the bonds results in an immediate but temporary reduction to 1HP of the member who removed the ring and a 10% chance of all other members of the group permanently losing 1 level (rolled once, for the entire group, by the voluntary oath-breaker).
Ownership
All such rings are created directly from the forges of the gods -- as such, the gods retain supreme ownership of the rings and may withhold, grant, and transfer ownership of the rings across time and space as seems fit to them. These rings may not be sold nor gifted away except by express permission from the gods through supplication; any attempt to voluntarily rid oneself of the ring results in the ring disappearing as soon as no conscious human is directly observing the ring -- rendering the ring lost forever. Curiously, however, they may be stolen or lost; again it is the intent of the psyche that matters: for the Gods are always aware of the motivations of those involved with respect to the rings.
Charges & Spells
This ring's number of charges is 1 plus 1 additional per bonded-companion; for example, the ring of an individual who goes through the ritual with 3 others will have a maximum of 4 charges. Daily at dawn, regardless of the number of bonded-companions involved, 1d4 charges are restored.
This ring has group-based versions of the following spells:
While wearing this ring, you can speak its command word as an action to initiate a call to your bonded-companions to create an Alarm.
While wearing this ring, and in response to one of your bonded-companions having initiated the call, you can speak its command word as a reaction to affirm the call.
The spell succeeds if all bonded-companions agree to the call before the end of the initiating-companion's next turn, and each member must be within the spell's-range from at least one other member.
Otherwise, the spell fizzles and is lost.
On success, the ring creates the same effects as the Alarm spell with the exception that the alarm-cube grows 5ft larger for each bonded-companion; the specific conditions of the Alarm are designated by the initiating-companion.
While wearing this ring, you can speak its command word as a bonus-action to initiate a call to create a Sanctuary for your blood-companions.
While wearing this ring, and in response to one of your bonded-companions having initiated the call to create a Sanctuary, you can speak its command word as a reaction to affirm the call. If you are incapacitated and unable to make this affirmation, your affirmation is implied; however in this case the Sanctuary's area-of-effect does not extend from your ring and you are only included in the Sanctuary if you are within the area-of-effect of another bonded-companion.
The spell succeeds if all bonded-companions agree to the call before the end of the initiating-companion's next turn, and each ring's area of effect overlaps with at least 1 other.
Otherwise, the spell fizzles and is lost.
On success, the ring creates the same effects as the Sanctuary-spell with the following exceptions:
- immediately on success, the party must designate one of the bonded-companions as "the sanctuary focus"; this person will maintain the sanctuary by concentrating on their ring, remaining in visual-range of at least one other bonded-companion, and can move normally but can otherwise take no other actions. Successful attacks against this character do not result in a failure to concentrate. If this character makes an attack, casts a spell that affects an enemy, or deals damage to another creature, they lose their ability to focus on the ring and the sanctuary immediately collapses.
- any creature targeting one of the warded-creatures, upon failing the WIS saving throw (DC equal to the highest WIS ability amongst the bonded-companions), is forced to attempt to re-target "the sanctuary focus" or lose their attack
- the area of effect extends for 30 feet from *each* bonded-companion and encompasses all allies falling within the area of effect of any bonded-companion.
Upgrades
As a bonded-companionship withstands the tests of time, the gods are generally impressed to grant additional powers.
Notes: Bonus: Armor Class, Bonus: Saving Throws, group of 2 or more ring-bearers, each with their own ring, via a group-ritual; see description for details. There is no ritual for individual-wear, but the ring functions as a simple Ring of Protection., Utility, Warding, Jewelry
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