Electric Gittern (Patreon)

Wondrous item, rare

This instrument is strung with the gut of a behir, causing it to crackle with electricity whenever it's played. If you're proficient with lutes, you're considered proficient with the gittern. The gittern has 8 charges and regains up to 4 expended charges daily at dawn, or all expended charges if it's been played for at least 1 hour since the last dawn. If you expend the last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the gittern breaks in half with a sad, off-key whine, and its magic is lost.

The gittern has the following properties. If you're not proficient with the gittern and use one of its properties, you have a 50 percent chance to take lightning damage equal to half the amount dealt by it.

Gittern Smash. This instrument can be used as a magic greatclub. On a hit, a target takes an extra 1d4 lightning damage from the attack.

Shocking Performance. As an action, you can strum the gittern and expend 4 of its charges to send a bolt of lightning from it in a line that's 60 feet long and 5 feet wide. Any creature within the line must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 6d8 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Thunderous Finale. Whenever you deal lightning damage using the gittern, you can immediately use your reaction to play a final, climactic chord. When you do, you can expend up to 4 of the instrument's charges: for each expended charge, the initial lightning damage is increased by 1d8.

"Well, needless to say

The behir was stunned

Whip-crack went his 'lectric tail

And the beast was done"

—Verse from a troupe of tenacious bards, glorifying their supposed triumph over a behir.