Strangling Straps

Armor (leather), rare

Scaly green straps overlap to shape this +1 leather armor. Its unique structure allows you to quickly wrap or unwrap the armor around your torso, allowing it to be put on or taken off as a bonus action. At first glance, the strangling straps look like they are made of snake leather, but a DC 20 Intelligence (Arcana) check reveals the material to be the hide of a marilith.

When a non-evil wearer of the strangling straps enters combat with a creature a demon the armor turns against its wearer. Starting on the demon’s turn, the straps tighten increasingly; the wearer gains the grappled condition and takes 1d8 points of bludgeoning damage from constriction, or half with a successful DC 12 Constitution saving throw. As an action each round you can make a DC 12 Escape roll. The first success reduces the ongoing bludgeoning damage to 1d4, and the second success completely removes the armor, releasing you from the grapple. Alternatively, you can attempt to destroy the armor; the strangling straps have 20 hit points, and are immune to piercing and bludgeoning damage.

Despite the armor’s intrinsic mischievousness, the strangling straps can be redeemed temporarily with a dispel evil and good spell. Doing so suppresses the armor’s ability to grapple the wearer for 1 minute per level of the caster. A hallow spell cast on it during this time severs its ties to the Abyss, giving the wearer full control over the straps. Redeemed strangling straps give a +2 bonus on Escape rolls.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

The Dragon’s Hoard #4 © 2021, Legendary Games; Lead Designer: Jason Nelson. Authors Matt Kimmel, Michael “solomani” Mifsud, Scott D. Young, Mark Hart, Thurston Hillman, and Jeff Ibach.

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