Jammin' In Wildemount: The Crown of Wind and Stars

Welcome to the first in a series of posts featuring Spelljammer themed content designed to be used in a Wildemount campaign. This one is a Vestige of Divergence, a powerful artifact that can be given to players fairly early on and they can unlock it's full powers as they progress through the game. At first it is simply a means to travel by sea more quickly (though it will effect any wind powered vehicle), but once it awakens this item allows a ship to fly though the sky or even leave Exandria to explore the crystal sphere that I currently refer to as "Critspace".

If this sounds intriguing, but Spelljammer, crystal spheres, or space travel in D&D is unfamiliar to you, please check out my Spelljammer 101 post!

The Crown of Wind and Stars

Long ago, perhaps even before the age of Arcanum, Sehanine the Moon Weaver gifted a powerful magic diadem to her champion, a brave sea captain wrongfully parted from their lover by dark magic and the Ozmit Sea. It made the wearer's ship swift as the wind, helped them find their way across the seas, and even allowed them to travel where a normal ship could never go. No space touched by the Moon Weaver's gentle light would stand between them and their love ever again; not even the sky, or beyond.

This wondrous artifact became known as The Crown of Wind and Stars. Passed down from one Sehanine worshiping captain to the next, it has been kept a closely guarded secret for generations, rarely seen by any besides its wearers. As centuries passed, the crown's true abilities were slowly forgotten and the artifact became dormant. Relegated to a pretty status symbol, few would guess that it is the same artifact that appears in folktales throughout the coastal lands of Exandria.

The Crown:

Crown of Wind and Stars

Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement by a spellcaster)

A silver diadem with rose gold accents and adorned with aquamarines, the Crown of Wind and Stars was gifted to a sailor of Exandria by Sehanine sometime around the Age of Arcanum.

Dormant. While wearing the crown in its dormant state, you gain the following benefits:

• The speed of any wind propelled vehicle you are riding on is doubled.

• You know the location of the stars and constellations even if time of day and weather would normally prevent viewing the stars.

Awakened. When the crown reaches an awakened state, it gains the following properties while you are aboard a vessel weighing between 1 and 100 tons:

• The crown generates an envelope of fresh air around the ship while it is in the void of space (but not underwater). This envelope extends out from the edges of the hull in all directions for a distance equal in length to the vessel's beam, so that creatures aboard and near the ship can breathe normally in space. The temperature within the air envelope is 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

• The crown generates an artificial gravity field while the ship is in the void of space, so that creatures can walk on the ship's decks as they normally would. Creatures and objects that fall overboard bob in a gravity plane that extends out from the main deck for a distance equal in length to the vessel's beam.

• You can use the crown to propel the vessel across or through water and other liquids at a maximum speed in miles per hour equal to half the level of your highest-level unexpended spell slot.

• You can use the crown to propel the vessel through air or space at a maximum speed in miles per hour equal to your highest-level unexpended spell slot × 5.

• Provided you have at least one unexpended spell slot, you can steer the vessel, albeit in a somewhat clumsy fashion, in much the same way that oars or a rudder can maneuver a seafaring ship.

• Drawback. While using the crown to propel the ship, you cannot expend your own spell slots.

Exalted. When the crown reaches an exalted state, it gains the following properties:

• The maximum speed you can propel a vessel in water using the crown is increased to miles per hour equal to the level of your highest-level unexpended spell slot and the maximum speed you can propel a vessel through the air in miles per hour is equal to your highest-level unexpended spell slot × 10.

• While aboard a vessel, you can use the crown to cast the dimension door, disguise self, and fog cloud spells. You can cast each of these spells once, regaining all uses after a long rest. When you cast dimension door or disguise self in this way, they affect the vessel and all creatures and objects aboard, and when fog cloud is cast in this way, it is cast at 9th level.

Where to find the crown

Whether your players are sent to retrieve it or simply stumble across it, there are many possible places to slip The Crown of Wind and Stars into your Wildemount game. Here are some ideas that I came up with:

1. The Retiree: Welens Antoura, elf captain of The Woven Path and current wearer of the crown, is looking to retire soon, but does not have a suitable heir. He and his ship are currently docked in Nicodranas

2. Lost at Sea: The last known wearer of the crown was lost at sea some time ago. They were believed to be somewhere in the Mother's Sigh Reef when their vessel mysteriously disappeared.

3. The Unfaithful: At some point the crown fell into the hands of someone who was less than faithfully devoted to the Moon Weaver. The current wearer is Lawson Whitley, a smuggler on the Menagerie Coast, who has enough magical power to utilize the crown's dormant abilities, and is impossible to catch while at sea.

Final Word

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this artifact and feel inspired to use it in your game! The crown itself is inspired by a type of spelljamming helm known as a "Crown of Stars". It is unusual among spelljamming helms in that it is actually a wearable item (not always a crown), instead of a chair like most other helms.

If you like this article then you might want to check out my Balder's Gate: Descent into Avernus supplement. Jammin' in Avernus is where I put my Spelljammer obsession to work adding some 'Jammery goodness to the wastes of Avernus. I'm still working on getting a better cover, but I had a lot of fun making it, so please give it a look!