Tidecaller's Chimes

"The sea does not forget its own, but perhaps… it can learn a new song."

The Tidecaller's Chimes do not belong to just anyone. They do not sit idly in treasure chests, waiting to be plucked by careless hands. They choose their wielder, seeking only those who straddle the line between power and performance, between an oath sworn in desperation and a melody yet to be written.

These chimes are drawn to those who have already sworn themselves to the deep—warlocks who hear the whispers of the fathomless dark. And yet, they demand something more: a voice that carries, a soul that seeks to weave magic into song. A warlock who dares not just to speak with the abyss, but to sing to it.

Two rods of driftwood, bound in tarnished silver, their surfaces etched with shifting patterns—waves in one moment, writhing tentacles the next. The wood hums faintly when held, as if tasting the hands that grasp it. Strike them together, and the air itself seems to pause, waiting, listening.

A warlock alone hears only the call of the deep. A bard alone hears only the cresting waves. But in harmony? The tide answers.

Item Properties 

• Chime of the Deep (The Pact’s Echo)

  • Functions as an arcane focus for Warlock spells.
    
    
  • Grants +1 to Warlock spell attack rolls and spell save DC.
    
    
  • Feels damp, as though it was just pulled from the ocean, no matter how long it has been on land.
    
    
  • If played alone, the sound is low, resonant, almost a voice—but the words are just out of reach.
    
    

• Chime of the Cresting Wave (The Song’s First Verse)

  • Functions as a bardic instrument and spellcasting focus.
    
    
  • Grants one additional Bardic Inspiration die per short rest.
    
    
  • The first time it is played each day, the wind shifts direction slightly, as if adjusting to a new current.
    
    

• Harmony of the Tides

  • If both chimes are held simultaneously, the wielder no longer requires somatic components for spells.
    
    
  • When played together, they resonate with a strange, shifting tone—one moment uplifting and bright, the next, deep and foreboding.
    
    
  • Listeners often describe feeling as if they are standing on the deck of a ship, staring into a storm on the horizon.

A Bard Born of the Depths

"So you've given your voice to the sea, have you? Careful, lad. The sea likes to sing back."

• The chimes only choose a warlock who has begun to walk the bard’s path. They are not for those who cling solely to their pact, nor for those who have never heard the whispers of
  the fathoms.
  
  
• To the warlock, they are a reminder of the debt unpaid. To the bard, they are an invitation to tell a new tale.
  
  
• Some say the chimes carry a will of their own—that if the wielder ever abandons their bardic journey, the instruments fall silent, waiting for another who will answer their call.
  
  

The sea does not forget.
But perhaps, just perhaps, it is willing to learn a new song.

Notes: Bonus: Warlock Spell Attacks, Bonus: Warlock Spell Save DC, Grants one additional Bardic Inspiration die per short rest., Bard/Warlock Multiclass