A sturdily built viol with intricate steel inlays.
Playing the viol's command arpeggio causes it to animate. While animated the viol leaps into the air and hovers in your space to protect you as if it were a shield, leaves your hands free. The viol will be animated for up to 1 minute. You can also use a bonus action to end the viol's animation. If you become incapacitated or die the instrument falls to the ground, inert.
While the viol is Animated, you gain +1 AC.
It also whispers a discordant, metallic melody that affects any creature within a 10 ft radius that isn't you. Any affected creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, they take 3d6 psychic damage. They must immediately use their reaction, if available, to move as far as their speed allows away from you. (The creatures don't enter obviously dangerous ground, like a fireplace or lava pit.) On a successful save, the affected creatures take half the maximum amount of damage (9 points) and don't need to move away. A deafened creature automatically succeeds on the save. This spell lasts as long as the viol is animated. Each creature (except you) that starts its turn within the spell's radius must repeat the saving throw. Each successive turn hearing the whispers increases the creatures' resistance to its effects. (They add 1 to their saving roll for each successive save.)
When not used as a shield, the Animated Viol has a slightly tinny sound that would be better in a trio or quartet than as a solo instrument.
Notes: Bonus: Armor Class, DC 15 Performance check to find the command arpeggio (+1 for every hour spent playing it), Damage, Social, Utility, Combat, Warding, Instrument, Bard
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