Soulbinder's Packed Ring

Stub-class article · First seen: s07 · Last seen: s24
Soulbinder's Packed Ring
Soulbinder's Ring · Soulbinder Ring · Soulbinder's Pack Ring · the soul ring · Maelis's ring
Soulbinder's Packed Ring, Wondrous item, very rare (homebrew) portrait
Item
StatusActive
First seens07
Last seens24
TypeWondrous item, very rare (homebrew)
AttunementAttuned by Caelumn over the session 7 long rest (s7 L1068)
HolderCaelumn
OriginTaken from Maelis Dirn's remains, session 7

The Soulbinder’s Packed Ring is a homebrew wondrous item that Maelis Dirn wore in session 7 and the party took from her remains, “a strange ring that seems to be cracked a little bit” [1][2]. The DM’s summary of it is “Basically, you can store something that we’ve killed. Soul.” [53]. Caelumn wears it: a spell slot can bind the soul of a creature reduced to zero hit points, and a bound soul can later be expended to conjure the creature [8][17]. The one soul it is recorded as holding was an owlbear’s, bound in session 11, conjured against Bubba Walker in session 13 and torn to shreds there [16][17][10]. In session 24 Caelumn read the ring as saying that a soul, once used, is lost for good, asked the DM to retcon it so that he could use it, and later said he would take it off his finger for the Dracolich statue [12][51].

Overview

The Soulbinder’s Packed Ring is the campaign’s most fiddly homebrew item. Maelis Dirn wore it in session 7, raising it, glowing, to mark Vasquez for the Titan [1]. After the Titan killed her the party found it on her remains [2], and The Broker named it on the spot [3]. Terry passed it to Caelumn because “It needs to be someone with spell slot progression” [15]. Caelumn has bound one soul with it and spent it [16][17].

Description

A ring “cracked a little bit” that “seems to be emanating magical properties” [2]. The Broker’s verdict: “a very, very rare piece of magical equipment called a soulbinder ring. and by the looks of it, Maelis has put her own personal twist on it.” [3]. It was a homebrew entry that Terry’s D&D Beyond did not show, so the DM added it to his inventory by hand as the “Soulbinders packed ring”, a wondrous item [18][19]. Caelumn calls it his “pact ring” [20][21].

Mechanics (as played)

  • Binding. The ring works “when you reduce a living hostile creature to zero” hit points, and a spell slot is spent to try [22]. The kill need not be Caelumn’s [23][24]. A slot two levels too low gives a 25% chance [25][26][27]. The slot is spent whether or not the bind works [28]. The DM thought the target would have to go “past the point of being downed” first [29].
  • Summoning. A bound soul can be expended to conjure the creature “made out of essence” [17]. The DM said Caelumn had it “for one minute” and, once combat began, “five rounds of owlbear left” [30][31]. It could be walked about and seen through [32][33].
  • Maelis’s twist. The Broker flagged a personal twist but did not say what it was [3].
  • A spent soul (session 24). Caelumn read the ring to see whether a soul is lost for good once it has been used, and said that it is; he asked the DM whether they could “retcon this ring so I can use it” [12]. The DM’s reply, if there was one, is unclear, and nothing changed. A moment later he said he had deleted “the pet owlbear” from his sheet [13], presumably the entry for the soul bound in session 11.

Open questions

  • What Maelis’s twist is. Her use of the ring on the Titan [1] is the only hint.
  • What the bind table is. The wight, CR 3, was not bound with a second-level slot [28][34], while the owlbear was bound with one after a d4 roll [35]. The DM’s reading of the chances was not written down.
  • Whether a spent soul is lost for good, as Caelumn reads the ring in session 24 [12]. The ring’s text has not been read out, and the DM has not said.
  • Whether the retcon Caelumn asked for was granted. Nothing changed on screen [12][36].

History in the campaign

Session 7: Maelis Falls, Vasquez Captured

Main article: Session 7

Maelis held up a glowing ring and marked Vasquez for the Titan [1]. When the Titan killed her, Terry found the cracked ring on her remains, and the Broker identified it and her twist on it [2][3]. Harvo named it a soulbinder’s ring, and the DM added it to the inventory by hand [37][38]. Terry, nervous of attuning, handed it to Caelumn, who attuned over the long rest [39][15][40].

Session 8: Bruise the Cellmate, the Succubus, and the Quarry Ghosts

Main article: Session 8

While the succubus had Vasquez attacking the party, Caelumn asked whether he could capture Vasquez’s soul in his “pact ring” if he died. The DM thought the target would have to go “past the point of being downed”, and Terry said that if he died he refused to have his soul stored in the ring [20][29][41].

Session 9: The Death of Harvo

Main article: Session 9

In the Black Vein Quarry, Caelumn killed a wight with Fire Bolt and tried to bind its soul with a second-level slot [42][43]. The DM named it CR 3 and said the slot was spent regardless [28]. As the soul left the body it dissipated, and Caelumn mourned the loss [34].

Session 11: Owlbears and the Soulbinder

Main article: Session 11

After Hugo killed an owlbear, Caelumn asked whether he could bind it even though he had not landed the blow, and the DM said yes [44]. He used a second-level slot, took the 25% chance and rolled a d4 [45]. The DM narrated: “You channel your ring. And you manage to absorb the soul of one of the owlbears.” [16].

Session 13: Bubba Walker and the Gummy Sarcophagus

Main article: Session 13

In the Candy Cottage hallway Caelumn expended the soul to conjure an owlbear and walked it over the floor to test for traps; none went off [21][17][46]. Once the fight with Bubba Walker began it had five rounds left, and Bubba took it by the front paws and ripped what remained of its soul to shreds [31][47][48].

Session 17: New Hands, the Black Mask’s Renegotiation, and the Rimeclaw

Main article: Session 17

On the skiff, Mike cast Detect Magic as a ritual to look at Captain Stone, and the DM told him that the party’s own items gave off magic: the ring on Caelumn glowed [49][50]. Nobody examined the ring further, and it is not used elsewhere in the session.

Session 24: The Knight of Smoke

Main article: Session 24

Out of resources in the sealed-door fight, Caelumn said he had been reading his ring to see whether a soul was lost for good once it was used, and concluded that it was; he asked the DM whether they could retcon the ring “so I can use it” [12]. Nothing changed, and he went on to a Fire Bolt [36]. Later, hunting for something that would please the Dracolich statue, he said he would take the ring off his finger, then dropped the idea and let Hugo offer an axe instead [14].

Status

As of session 24. Caelumn’s, attuned since session 7 and empty: the owlbear’s soul was spent in session 13 and no other soul is recorded in it [17][48]. He has not tried to bind another on screen since session 11. In session 24 he said he would take it off his finger for the Dracolich statue, then let Hugo offer an axe instead [51][52].

See also

References

  1. ^ Session 7, line 477: Maelis raises the glowing ring and marks Vasquez for the Titan.
  2. ^ Session 7, line 633: Found on her remains, "a strange ring that seems to be cracked a little bit".
  3. ^ Session 7, line 740: Identified by the Broker, who flags Maelis's "personal twist".
  4. ^ Session 7, line 972-995: Harvo names it; the DM adds the homebrew item to the party's inventory by hand.
  5. ^ Session 7, line 1050-1068: Terry passes it to Caelumn for his spell slots, and Caelumn attunes over the rest.
  6. ^ Session 8, line 840-843: Caelumn asks whether he could capture Vasquez's soul in his "pact ring".
  7. ^ Session 9, line 755-764: A second-level slot fails to bind the CR 3 wight; the soul dissipates.
  8. ^ Session 11, line 1561-1572: A second-level slot and a d4 roll bind an owlbear's soul.
  9. ^ Session 13, line 219-280: The owlbear soul is expended to conjure an owlbear in the Candy Cottage hallway.
  10. ^ Session 13, line 791-793: Bubba Walker tears the conjured owlbear to shreds.
  11. ^ Session 17, line 947: The ring glows under Mike's Detect Magic.
  12. ^ Session 24, line 84: Caelumn reads the ring, concludes a used soul is lost for good, and asks the DM to retcon it.
  13. ^ Session 24, line 100: Caelumn says he has deleted the pet owlbear from his sheet.
  14. ^ Session 24, line 1425-1427: Caelumn says he will take the ring off his finger for the Dracolich statue, then lets Hugo offer an axe instead.
  15. ^ Session 7, line 1050: Inline citation.
  16. ^ Session 11, line 1572: Inline citation.
  17. ^ Session 13, line 234: Inline citation.
  18. ^ Session 7, line 973-988: Inline citation.
  19. ^ Session 7, line 995: Inline citation.
  20. ^ Session 8, line 840: Inline citation.
  21. ^ Session 13, line 219: Inline citation.
  22. ^ Session 11, line 1561: Inline citation.
  23. ^ Session 11, line 1563: Inline citation.
  24. ^ Session 11, line 1564: Inline citation.
  25. ^ Session 9, line 762: Inline citation.
  26. ^ Session 11, line 1569: Inline citation.
  27. ^ Session 11, line 1570: Inline citation.
  28. ^ Session 9, line 763: Inline citation.
  29. ^ Session 8, line 843: Inline citation.
  30. ^ Session 13, line 246: Inline citation.
  31. ^ Session 13, line 280: Inline citation.
  32. ^ Session 13, line 236: Inline citation.
  33. ^ Session 13, line 237: Inline citation.
  34. ^ Session 9, line 764: Inline citation.
  35. ^ Session 11, line 1568-1572: Inline citation.
  36. ^ Session 24, line 86: Inline citation.
  37. ^ Session 7, line 972: Inline citation.
  38. ^ Session 7, line 986-995: Inline citation.
  39. ^ Session 7, line 953: Inline citation.
  40. ^ Session 7, line 1068: Inline citation.
  41. ^ Session 8, line 846: Inline citation.
  42. ^ Session 9, line 749: Inline citation.
  43. ^ Session 9, line 755: Inline citation.
  44. ^ Session 11, line 1561-1564: Inline citation.
  45. ^ Session 11, line 1565-1570: Inline citation.
  46. ^ Session 13, line 249: Inline citation.
  47. ^ Session 13, line 791: Inline citation.
  48. ^ Session 13, line 793: Inline citation.
  49. ^ Session 17, line 932: Inline citation.
  50. ^ Session 17, line 942-947: Inline citation.
  51. ^ Session 24, line 1425: Inline citation.
  52. ^ Session 24, line 1427: Inline citation.
  53. ^ Session 7, line 992: Inline citation.
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