Necklace of Fireballs

A necklace of fireballs is a magical item that provides the wearer with the ability to throw explosive beads. The device appears to be nothing but a string of beads, sometimes with the ends tied together to form a necklace. Upon closer examination, however, all can see the strand as it really is–a golden chain from which hang a number of golden spheres. The spheres are detachable by the wearer (and only the wearer), who can easily hurl one of them up to STx3.5 yards. A thrown sphere deals burning damage on a successful hit (on a miss, the sphere scatters). The necklace has AC 30, which reduces by 1 for each sphere still attached.

This necklace contains a combination of spheres of various strengths, ranging from those that deal 2d burning damage to those that deal 10d6 fireball damage. A traditional combination, designated Types I through VII, is detailed below. The necklace may be possessed by any character who has a spellcasting class and is at least 10th level.

When a sphere is thrown from the necklace, it detonates as a 3rd-level fireball spell (save DC 15). A caster can hurl multiple beads or even the entire necklace at once, but doing so requires an action. Each thrown bead also affects every monster in its path, dealing 8 points of damage each (Reflex DC 15 half).

As with other wands and scrolls of direct damage, the caster must make an UMD check to use this item. This is easy for a character with high caster levels, but it will be hard or impossible for lower-level characters to do effectively. As a result, this is rarely useful.

It is available from a merchant in Dawnstar and Dunnage; a player can purchase it for 5750 gp. The necklace can be worn in the neck slot, but does not consume any of the wearer’s spell slots. It will crumble into dust when the last charge is expended. It is one of three magic items that deal direct damage to monsters, along with a wand of fiery runes and an eternal wand of fireballs. All are poor choices for a party, and the necklace of fireballs is perhaps the worst of them.