Created by the Prince of Fools, Hyrsam, as a gift to an Elven king, this sentient magic Zither is attuned uniquely to the artistry and creativity of bards.
Many great rulers who hold music and art in high regard have held the Zither of Hyrsam as a sign of divine favour. Others see it as a grim omen.

This magical instrument can be used as a spellcasting focus for bard spells, and proficiency with any stringed instrument is counted as proficiency with the Zither of Hyrsam.

While holding it, you gain a +2 bonus to Armor Class, saving throws, and spell attack rolls.

Master of Enchantment. When you cast an enchantment spell of 1st level or higher while holding the Zither, you can make a performance check with a DC of 20 + twice the level of the spell. If the check succeeds, you cast the spell without expending a spell slot.

The Zither of Hyrsam has 20 charges for the following properties. The Zither regains 2d8 + 4 expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, you take 4d12 psychic damage, which kills you if it reduces you to 0 HP. On a 20, the Zither regains 1d8 + 2 charges.

Dispel Magic. You can expend 1 of the Zither's charges as a bonus action to cast dispel magic with a range of touch. If the target is an unwilling creature, or being worn or carried by an unwilling creature, you must hit with a melee spell attack before you can expend the charge to cast the spell.

Drain Magic. After you damage a creature within 15ft of you by casting a spell using the Zither, if that creature has spell slots, you can expend 1 of the Zither's charges as a bonus action, causing the target to expend its highest level remaining spell slot without casting a spell. Illusory flower petals and colourful sparks drift in the space around the target for a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell slot expended.

Spells. While holding this staff, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of its charges to cast one of the following spells from it, using your spell save DC and spell attack bonus: cone of cold (5 charges), fireball (5th-level version, 5 charges), globe of invulnerability (6 charges), hold monster (5 charges), levitate (2 charges), lightning bolt (5th-level version, 5 charges), magic missile (1 charge), ray of enfeeblement (1 charge), or wall of force (5 charges).

Sentience. The Zither of Hyrsam is a sentient zither of chaotic neutral alignment, with an Intelligence of 15, Wisdom of 18, and Charisma of 22. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet, and it can communicate telepathically with any creature attuned to it.

Personality. The Zither has the spirits of many previous owners trapped within it, who have varying tastes in music, with a fey spirit being dominant among them. The Zither is primarily opposed to the influence of civilization on nature, and takes great joy in causing as much chaos as possible in achieving that goal, often to the detriment of its owner. 

Spirit Trap. If the current owner dies while attuned to the Zither of Hyrsam, their spirit becomes trapped in the Zither along with the other previous owners. Any creature whose spirit is trapped in the Zither cannot be raised from the dead.
Destroying the Zither releases all spirits trapped inside it.

Whimsical Accompaniment. The Zither carries the talents of its previous owners, and can often be heard softly playing long forgotten melodies, even when not being held. During a performance, these melodies may as often clash with the current owner as harmonise with them. When you roll a 1 or a 20 on the d20 for any Charisma check while holding the Zither of Hyrsam, one of the following effects will occur. (Features that allow you to treat a d20 result of 9 or lower as a 10, or other similar features, will still trigger this effect when rolling a 1)
Roll twice on the table below. If you rolled a 1 on the d20, take the less favourable result. If you rolled a 20, take the more favourable result. The DM ultimately decides the effect each option will have on the situation.

Retributive Strike. You can use an action to break the Zither over your knee or against a solid surface, performing a retributive strike. The Zither is destroyed and releases its remaining magic in an explosion that expands to fill a 30-foot-radius sphere centred on it.

You have a 50 percent chance to instantly travel to the Feywild, or a random plane of existence if you are already in the Feywild, avoiding the explosion. If you fail to avoid the effect, you take force damage equal to 16 × the number of charges in the Zither. Every other creature in the area must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes an amount of damage based on how far away it is from the point of origin, as shown in the following table. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage.

An oak sapling sprouts in the space where the Zither was broken, growing into a large healthy tree within 1 year, and similar trees sprout and grow within 300ft of the space, maturing over the next 10 years. These trees will disrupt roads and walls as much as possible.

Notes: Bonus: Saving Throws, Bonus: Armor Class, Bonus: Spell Attacks, Bonus: Magic, Bard, Damage, Control, Combat, Warding, Bard, enchantment