Bones of Jot

Armor (Hide) • Artifact • Requires Attunement by a Barbarian

Jotur – the bringer of winter and god of endurance, strength, and ice – killed his own brothers and sisters in his rage against his father. And from the collection of their bones, he made this armor for his champion. It is a gift of his spoils of war and a reminder of what devotion and sacrifice to him mean.

When you attune to this armor, you gain five levels of exhaustion, as all your warmth is drained from your body and your forearms turn into icy versions of them. When you lose your attunement to the armor, your icy arms melt, and you can only regain them with a wish spell.

Random Properties. The Arms of Jot have the following random properties:

  • 1 minor beneficial property
  • 1 major beneficial property
  • 1 minor detrimental property

Magic Armor. You have a +3 bonus to AC. This bonus is in addition to the armor's normal bonus to AC. Further, you have immunity to cold damage while wearing this armor.

Frost of the Boned God. While you use your Rage ability, any weapon you wield becomes covered in frost and deals an additional 2d12 cold damage. Further, all cold damage you deal this way ignores resistance to cold damage.

Pain of the Past. When you start your turn within 15 feet of an allied creature with 0 hit points, you gain 10 temporary hit points, and that creature can’t receive any failed death saving throws from taking damage.

Everlasting Cold. While you use your Rage ability, you can use an action to shed his single frozen tear, creating the effects of the freezing sphere spell (spell save DC 18). The tear falls to the ground and shatters, triggering the spell’s immediate effect centered on yourself. Once used, this property can’t be used again until the next dawn.

Destroying the Armor. The only way to destroy the armor is to incinerate it and its wearer with the fire breath of an ancient red dragon. For the armor to be destroyed, the wearer must die to the breath attack, which reduces the wearer to a pile of ash.

A skull helmet and a suit made out of hide and bones with two icy arms.

Using Evolving Items

Evolving items can be used as standard magic items—the GM simply determines the rarity at which the item is found...

  • Character Growth. Reaching a specific level or proficiency milestone.
  • Arcane Empowerment. Enhancing the item through crafting or rituals.
  • Attunement Over Time. Deepening attunement through continued use.
  • Thematic Achievements. Fulfilling tasks or trials related to the item’s nature.
  • Divine or Infernal Favor. Gaining recognition from powerful entities.
  • Environmental Influence. Exposure to special locations or events.

By using evolving items, the GM can weave them into the story, making them feel personal and rewarding as they develop alongside the characters.