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Spectral Hand

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The Spectral Hand is an oracular force/entity connected to a prophecy on the continent of Issylra. It is also the name associated with the group of four adventurers that were allegedly destined to receive its legendary weapons.

Symbol[]

Its symbol is a hand. When painted in Gurt's table, it looked white and ethereal, a little bit translucent on the royal blue.[3]

Weapons of the Spectral Hand[]

  • A rapier with silver crossguard, with a blade made of ghostly glowing energy, wielded by Heera Agneheart. Its properties include:
    • Able to strike even incorporeal foes.
    • Cast Misty Step.[4][5]
    • Increased range of Misty Step, and extra damage to the creatures near the place the wielder abandon when they teleport.[6]
  • A large crossbow adorned with gold and runes, and with a firing mechanism made of ghostly glowing energy, wielded by Farah Vallari. Its properties include:
    • Able to find enemies when they are running, producing red smoke that tracks the creature.
    • Able to create a tendril connecting the shooter and their target if it hits.[7]
  • A pair of chained gloves painted gold, worn by Frog. Its properties include:
    • Able to produce light through punches, which mark the enemy hit.
    • Able to turn the light produced by the punches into "radiant mines" that explode when the puncher activates them.[8]
  • A thick necklace with round painted wooden beads strung across a bronze chain, worn by Idrin Shadowstep and by Poogs in two pieces as bracelets. Its properties include:
    • Enhances the wielder's spellcasting.[9]
    • Able to prevent fright caused by ghosts.
    • Able to end the frightened condition in other people.[10]
    • Able to produce protective wards in the form of temporary hit points.[11]

All the weapons can become active on their own when they sense undead activity nearby,[12] and on special circumstances (apparently after remarkable heroic acts) they become stronger.[13][14] They reacted slightly when the Cupcake Memorial of the Hug Hive granted the wielders a boon, which resulted in more abilities for each of the weapons.[15]

The "Chosen Ones" of the Spectral Hand[]

The adventurers who claimed to be the heroes of the prophecy of the Spectral Hand are the following:

  • Gavain von Eitel, an arrogant human knight. Relevant information includes:
    • He is voiced by Dylan McCollum.
    • He is a paladin of the Dawnfather.
    • He has an elegant mustache and is annoyingly attractive, even when in distress.
    • He has the Inspiring Leader feat.
    • His father, Captain von Eitel, abandoned his family to become a pirate.
    • He finds the idea of taking notes ridiculous.[16]
  • Maurice Ignatius Fiddlefoot, a halfling of sandy blond hair who acts as Gavain's squire. Relevant information includes:
    • He is voiced by Marty Abbe-Schneider.
    • He is loyal to Gavain and usually carries the knight's stuff inside a big backpack.
    • He can cast Prestidigitation and Vicious Mockery.
    • Despite his loyalty and admiration for Gavain sometimes he envies his position as the leader.
    • He is afraid of seagulls.
    • He knows how to make tea.
  • Euphemia, a sulky elven mage of purple hair. Relevant information includes:
    • She is voiced by Lelia Symington.
    • Even when she is in distress her hair remains almost perfect.
    • She can cast True Strike and Shocking Grasp.
    • She thinks of death often, but she used to live a happier life in a forest; perhaps because of this, she seems to like plants.
    • She is a full elf, since she Trances instead of sleeping.
    • She believes there's a chance Dronk is her son, and she doesn't want him to go on adventures by himself.[17]
  • Dronk Stonefist, a voracious half-giant warrior. Relevant information includes:
    • He is voiced by Gabe Greenspan.
    • He is passionate, and not afraid to share his feelings.
    • Despite being a goliath he has a mohawk and a chin strap beard, which could be explained by his potential mixed ancestry.
    • He is a cousin of Skyhaal of the Rivermaw Herd, and he holds her in high esteem.
    • He is afraid of the possibility of his bones melting inside his body.
    • He seems to like Heera, having called her "angel" twice.[18]

History[]

In the past the Spectral Hand produced a prophecy according to which four heroes would face an undead threat wielding four legendary weapons. The prophecy was woven on a sheet wrapping the items, and all of this was left to Gurt Stumpstuck, a dwarf living in a hut in a bog.

Around 839 PD,[19][20] Timpani Guff guided Frog, Farah Vallari, Idrin Shadowstep and Heera Agneheart to Gurt's swamp seeking advice to rescue Poogs. The dwarf immediately identified said adventurers as the chosen ones prophesied by the Spectral Hand, and assuming that they were aware of everything, he guided them inside and presented them with the relics, urging them to each choose one; afterwards, he made them stand in a circle around a green lantern and uttered a chant so that they would immediately attune to the items, explaining the properties of each one.[21]

A day later, a completely different group arrived to Gurt's hut, being aware of how to knock on his door and explaining that they were the chosen ones, sent by the Spectral Hand to claim the magic items that were their birthright. The dwarf panicked, realizing that perhaps he had made a mistake interpreting the prophecy.[22] This group (Gavain, Maurice, Euphemia, and Dronk) were warned about whispers bothering Josgren's Hollow, and they traveled there, just to discover the problem had already been solved, which caused them concern, as well as a growing interest to find the four adventurers that had taken the weapons destined to them.[23] Similarly, a day after the Re-Slayers dealt with the ghost of an aboleth in Shoresight Isle, this group arrived, actively asking for them, since they were taking the jobs that were supposed to be theirs; the local wizard, Duderonomous, refused to help them, but Grimm Heldwell, a member of the Slayer's Take, showed interest in joining forces with them.[24] Eventually they all found the Re-Slayers in the Vesper Timberland, and when Heldwell expressed his desire of killing them Gavain complained, saying his team only wanted the weapons, and wasn't interested in hurting the other group; Heldwell snapped at him, telling him that they would be rewarded when the time came, but before they could do anything else the Re-Slayer's Take and their weapons were teleported away.[25]

Not long after that encounter Grimm Heldwell, after making a deal with the Timberblight, Grimm Heldwell visited Gurt's swamp and attacked him, claiming that the Spectral Hand had told him how to find the place; he took away the green lantern the dwarf carried everywhere, and burned down the tree that acted as the only exit from the bog.[26] Grimm used the lantern to send necrotic energy to strengthen the reanimated Ügel the troll as it fought the Re-Slayers, and then reabsorbed its remaining spectral energy when the adventurers defeated it.[27]

Around that time, the "Chosen Ones" that were supposed to get the weapons of the Spectral Hand had been contacted by Lord Preston Drodelon, who called himself the "Spectromenous Supremus" and became their sponsor. He wrote them a letter telling them that if they investigated Heldwell's abandoned mansion successfully, he would provide them new magic items to replace the ones they were supposed to receive. However, Gavain, Maurice, Euphemia, and Dronk disappeared in the mansion,[28] being betrayed by Heldwell and shackled in a dungeon where ghosts drained their energy. They had to be rescued by Heera Agneheart, Frog, and Farah Vallari, who agreed to accompany them. During their time in the dungeon it became obvious that the adventurers of the Spectral Hand weren't as experienced as they should, and Maurice and Dronk hinted that the fact that they were chosen wasn't as fateful as it looked, because they had been chosen among many candidates.[29] Eventually the seven adventurers had to fight a mummy together, and although it became evident that the four "chosen" were very unprepared in general, they managed to defeat the undead and release them from the dungeon by breaking a magical gem.

After finding their gear under piles of bones the amateur adventurers left the mansion and tried to convince the Re-Slayers to let them keep the credit for that, since only then would the Spectromenous Supremus reward them and they needed the money; however, the other group argued that they shouldn't even be adventuring. Eventually they agreed that the adventuring party of the Spectral Hand would become the apprentices of the Re-Slayer's Take, in exchange for a small fee, since that would give them more actual experience and security.[30] However, after barely two days of cleaning, when the Re-Slayer's Take left for a mission and Euphemia was getting ready to deliver a letter to Xella Blacktongue, Gavain and Maurice used the chance to investigate their new home and find something to incriminate their new employers. Both of them, as well as Dronk, ended up having to deal with Heera's recently hatched hook horror (which made them believe the Re-Slayers were raising illegal creatures).[31] In the meantime, the adventuring group fought Heldwell during their mission and destroyed his stolen lantern; that released all the spiritual energy it contained, empowering their weapons in the process.[32]

Appearances and mentions[]

Trivia[]

  • George Primavera has confirmed that the players of the adventurers of the Spectral Hand were directed towards certain options during character creation, in order to create a more "corporate and boring" version of a party, compared to the Re-Slayers, to look more generic than the actual main characters.[33]
  • While not explicitly confirmed, the green lantern Gurt had seems to be connected to the Spectral Hand.
    • Heldwell is able to use it for necromantic purposes, transforming living people into undead and absorbing souls, but some of those properties might be because of the influence of the Timberblight through the wizard.[34] In any case, when the lantern was destroyed (due partially to its vulnerability to sound), it released all its absorbed spiritual energy and that drained Heldwell himself until he died, since he was so tied to its necromantic essence.[35]
    • Frog theorizes that both the weapons of the Spectral Hand and the lantern act as magnets for spiritual energy to empower themselves, but that the lantern is stronger.[36]

References[]

  1. ↑ George Primavera confirmed the date on Discord. See a photo of his answer.
  2. ↑ It is specified that this happens after the adventures of the Mighty Nein but before Bells Hells met.
  3. ↑ See "The Bog House" (RTx02).
  4. ↑ See "The Frozen Puppet" (RTx03).  Heera teleported twice and both times used her rapier to point towards her destination.
  5. ↑ See "The Hungry Cloud" (RTx06).  Heera confirmed that the teleportation was the Misty Step spell.
  6. ↑ See "The Rotten Soldiers" (RTx11).
  7. ↑ See "The Rotten Soldiers" (RTx11).
  8. ↑ See "The Rotten Soldiers" (RTx11).
  9. ↑ See "The Frozen Puppet" (RTx03).  This was referenced when Idrin cast Scorching Ray, so it potentially increases the spellcasting modifier and/or the damage of the spell.
  10. ↑ See "The Rotten Soldiers" (RTx11).
  11. ↑ See "The Timberblight of Dead Man's Table" (RTx12).
  12. ↑ See "The Whispers" (RTx05).
  13. ↑ See "The Hungry Cloud" (RTx06).
  14. ↑ See "The Dark Well" (RTx09).
  15. ↑ See "The Curse of Strife (episode)" (RTx10).
  16. ↑ See "The Mummified Menace" (RT2x15).
  17. ↑ See "The Mummified Menace" (RT2x15).
  18. ↑ See "The Mummified Menace" (RT2x15).
  19. ↑ George Primavera confirmed the date on Discord. See a photo of his answer.
  20. ↑ It is specified that this happens after the adventures of the Mighty Nein but before Bells Hells met.
  21. ↑ See "The Bog House" (RTx02).
  22. ↑ See "The Frozen Puppet" (RTx03).
  23. ↑ See "The Hungry Cloud" (RTx06).
  24. ↑ See "The Dark Well" (RTx09).
  25. ↑ See "The Timberblight of Dead Man's Table" (RTx12).
  26. ↑ See "The Monstrous Mine" (RT2x04).
  27. ↑ See "The Promised Pact" (RT2x07).
  28. ↑ See "The Decomposing Domicile" (RT2x13).
  29. ↑ See "The Hopeless Hostages" (RT2x14).
  30. ↑ See "The Mummified Menace" (RT2x15).
  31. ↑ See "The Cursed Contract" (RT2x16).
  32. ↑ See "The Broken Beacon" (RT2x19).
  33. ↑ Fireside Chat LIVE with George Primavera & Nick Williams at 19:38 (subscription required).
  34. ↑ See "The Mummified Menace" (RT2x15).
  35. ↑ See "The Broken Beacon" (RT2x19).
  36. ↑ See "The Cursed Contract" (RT2x16).

Art:

  1. ↑ The adventurers of the Spectral Hand bearing its symbol, by Elaine Tipping (source). Used with permission.
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