2023 Advent Calendar Day 4: Staff of Seasons (Magic Item Monday)

 Last year, I was disappointed in the official D&D advent calendar, which didn't have any actual game content. So I decided to make my own.

Staff of Seasons

Weapon (quarterstaff), rare (requires attunement by a monk)

When you are wielding the staff of seasons, you have a +1 bonus to your ki save DC, and you have additional ki points equal to your proficiency bonus. The staff is attuned to a particular season, and you can change the season whenever you complete a short or long rest.

This staff has 4 charges. It regains all expended charges daily at dawn. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack using this magic weapon, you can expend one charge. The target takes extra damage equal to your Martial Arts die, the type of which is determined by the staff's season, and must succeed on a saving throw against your ki save DC or suffer an additional effect. The additional effect lasts for up to one minute, as if you were concentrating on a spell, and the target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Spring. The extra damage is radiant. The target must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be restrained as if by the entangle spell.

Summer. The extra damage is fire. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or gain vulnerability to fire damage, not including the triggering damage.

Autumn. The extra damage is necrotic. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you.

Winter. The extra damage is cold. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or have disadvantage on Dexterity ability checks and saving throws.

 I really like the aesthetic of the four seasons, especially when the four classical elements start to feel a bit stale. I like the cyclical nature of it, the inevitability, and the fusion of opposites: one for birth and life, and one for decay and death; one for heat and light and one for cold and darkness. Like the Wheel of Fortune tarot card, it's a reminder that whether you're at the top or at the bottom, the world keeps on turning.

A Staff of Seasons might sound more like a druid thing, but monks really need more magic items. (Which is weird - questing after a legendary magic sword is a great setup for a kung fu movie.) I think this could be used as a template for a lot of other monk items - a bonus to either ki DC, AC, or attacks, to make up for needing to spread your stat bonuses so thin, a couple extra ki points for breathing room but not enough to spam them, and it doesn't take up your action economy.

This would be really thematic for an eladrin, if they kept the staff's season the same as their own, or the opposite one. For subclasses, I think the aesthetic would clash with Four Elements, but it would pair nicely with Sun Soul, and it would give you a good reason to go back into melee instead of shooting lasers from afar, since the staff's abilities can only be activated in melee.

I like the idea of using concentration for more effects, especially for martial characters. It's a good mechanic that could be used to represent all sorts of things: maintaining a stance in combat, not letting your attention slip while on watch, meticulously inspecting for traps in a dungeon crawl, and more. It's a shame to waste it on only spells and the odd class feature, and bringing it in on magic items lets a whole lot more characters engage with that side of strategy. I especially like how the staff's effects mostly promote teamwork and coordination to take full advantage of them.