Locust Rod

Rod, rare (requires attunement)

A large green grasshopper wraps its claws around the upper half of this branchlike bronze rod, emitting a constant buzzing. The locust rod sends distracting tingles up your arm; while holding the rod, you must make an ability check using your spellcasting ability to cast a spell. The DC is 10 + the spell level.

A locust rod can be wielded as a +1 light mace. Once per day, you can make a melee attack to summon a swarm of fiendish locusts inside the target’s body. If the target is affected by protection from evil and good, or any other effect that blocks evil summoned creatures or planar travel, this effect fails. If the attack hits, the fiendish locusts begin tearing their way out of their prison of flesh for 1d4 rounds, dealing 2d4 slashing damage each round or half on a successful DC 12 Constitution saving throw. If the swarm deals 13 or more points of damage in total, the locusts crawl out of the target’s body and turn to black dust as they fly away. If they do not escape, the locusts dissolve inside the creature’s body, forming a dark, poisonous hemolymph that seeps into the victim’s bloodstream, dealing 1d8 points of damage per round for 6 rounds or until the target successfully makes a DC 12 Constitution saving throw.

Alternatively, the wielder of the locust rod can make a melee attack against an enemy swarm to invoke the fiendish locusts in the same space occupied by the enemy swarm. Treat the summoned swarm as a wasp swarm with the demon tag that lasts for 1d4 rounds. It occupies the same space as the enemy swarm and moves with it, dealing 1d6 points of damage per round to it and any other creature sharing their space. The enemy swarm’s speed is halved while the swarm of demon locusts fights it.