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Dimensional Shackles

Dimensional Shackles
  • Category: Wondrous Item
  • Rarity: Rare

You can take a Utilize action to place these shackles on a creature that has the Incapacitated condition. The shackles adjust to fit a creature of Small to Large size. The shackles prevent a creature bound by them from using any method of extradimensional movement, including teleportation or travel to a different plane of existence. They don't prevent the creature from passing through an interdimensional portal.

You and any creature you designate when you use the shackles can take a Utilize action to remove them. Once every 30 days, the bound creature can

make a DC 30 Strength (Athletics) check. On a successful check, the creature breaks free and destroys the shackles.

Tactical Applications​

Combat Strategy: Essential for capturing teleporting enemies and containing planar beings. Requires target to be incapacitated first, making this a post-combat containment tool rather than mid-fight equipment.

Class Synergies:

  • Paladins: Divine authority to capture and contain evil beings, strong enough to subdue targets
  • Clerics: Turn Undead and similar abilities can incapacitate targets for shackling
  • Wizards: Sleep, hold person, and other incapacitation spells enable proper application
  • Fighters/Barbarians: Physical strength to overpower and restrain dangerous creatures

Build Considerations: Most valuable for characters focused on investigation, bounty hunting, or containing dangerous magical creatures. Pairs well with incapacitation abilities.

Acquisition Methods​

Crafting Requirements: Requires planar binding materials, dimensional anchor enchantments, and void-touched metals. Typically costs 4,000-8,000 gp and access to planar knowledge.

Common Sources:

  • Law enforcement agencies and prison wardens
  • Bounty hunting guilds and professional trackers
  • Planar researchers and extraplanar containment specialists
  • Military organizations dealing with teleporting enemies
  • Court systems requiring secure prisoner transport

Alternative Acquisition: Sometimes found in abandoned prisons, demon hunter guilds, or confiscated from criminal organizations that used them for kidnapping.

Value & Trade​

Estimated Value: 5,000-12,000 gp, with high demand from law enforcement and specialized hunting organizations.

Trade Considerations: Heavily regulated in most civilized areas due to potential for abuse. Often restricted to licensed bounty hunters, guards, and official investigators.

Character Integration​

Roleplay Elements: Creates moral dilemmas about imprisonment, justice, and the ethics of magical restraint. Marks the character as someone who deals with dangerous prisoners.

Character Concepts:

  • Bounty hunter specializing in magical criminals and planar fugitives
  • Investigator working for interdimensional law enforcement
  • Reformed criminal who now helps capture teleporting outlaws
  • Paladin or cleric dedicated to containing evil beings safely

Adventure Hooks​

The Escaped Prisoner: A dangerous criminal breaks free from dimensional shackles, and the party must track them down before they flee to another plane.

Planar Fugitive: An extraplanar being is wanted for crimes across multiple dimensions, requiring careful capture and containment.

False Imprisonment: The party discovers someone innocent has been wrongly shackled, leading to investigation of corrupt officials or mistaken identity.

The Collector's Prize: A villain seeks to capture specific individuals for a collection, using dimensional shackles to prevent escape.

Variants & Customization​

Planar Shackles (Very Rare): Enhanced version that also prevents plane shift and banishment, completely locking targets to current plane.

Temporal Shackles (Legendary): Advanced variant that also prevents time travel and temporal magic, used for the most dangerous chrono-criminals.

Elemental Bindings (Rare): Specialized for containing elementals, with additional resistance to their native element damage.

Specialized Variants:

  • Fiend Shackles: Enhanced specifically for demons and devils, with holy inscriptions
  • Dragon Bindings: Sized and strengthened for containing large dragons
  • Fey Shackles: Designed to hold fey creatures and prevent their glamour magic

Lore & History​

Origins: Created by ancient prison wardens and planar researchers who needed reliable ways to contain dangerous magical criminals and extraplanar beings.

Historical Significance: Used throughout history to prevent escapes during high-profile trials, contain dangerous summoned creatures, and secure interdimensional criminals.

Cultural Impact: Symbol of ultimate imprisonment and loss of freedom, feared by magical criminals and anyone who relies on teleportation for safety.

Magical Craft: Represents the pinnacle of binding magic - the ability to lock someone completely in place across all dimensions.

Balancing Notes​

Introduction Timing: Can be introduced at mid levels (6-10) when players encounter teleporting enemies regularly and need containment options.

Campaign Impact: Creates opportunities for complex prisoner scenarios and moral decisions about justice and imprisonment.

Escape Prevention: The DC 30 break attempt ensures even powerful creatures remain contained, but provides hope for eventual escape.

Encounter Design​

Recommended Challenges:

  • Scenarios requiring capture of specific teleporting NPCs
  • Prison break encounters where these shackles complicate escape plans
  • Moral dilemmas about using restraints on potentially innocent beings
  • Investigations where examining shackled prisoners provides crucial information

Tactical Adjustments: Consider how NPCs react to seeing dimensional shackles - fear, respect, or anger depending on their background and alignment.

Restraint Equipment: Immovable Rod, Iron Bands of Binding, and other magical restraining devices.

Planar Items:

  • Amulet of the Planes (ironic contrast - freedom vs. imprisonment)
  • Portable holes and bags of holding (alternative containment methods)
  • Dimensional anchor spells and effects

Complementary Equipment: Items that help incapacitate targets or provide additional security during prisoner transport.

Roleplay Opportunities​

Moral Authority: Using shackles raises questions about justice, mercy, and the ethics of magical imprisonment.

Professional Reputation: Being known to carry dimensional shackles affects how NPCs perceive and react to the character.

Prisoner Interaction: Opportunities for complex conversations with restrained enemies who can't escape but can still negotiate.

Legal Complications: Different jurisdictions may have varying laws about magical restraints and their proper use.