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Hadran's Burden

“Those who named it a burden understood Hadran better than those who called it armor. To wear it is to stand where another would have fallen.”

Hadran's Burden is the sacred breastplate of Saint Hadran, an Ilmatari holy warrior remembered for choosing to bear suffering that might otherwise have fallen upon others. The armor is traditionally associated with Hadran's Holy Sleep beneath the temple at Hadran's Rest. Its metal has a reddish hue, with the symbol of Ilmater etched into the chest.

Hadran's Burden, displayed in its shrine at Hadran's Rest

Lore

Hadran's Burden is remembered less as a badge of military distinction than as an expression of Hadran's religious ideal. To wear it is to accept danger meant for someone else.

Its sacred meaning is therefore practical rather than ornamental. The breastplate matters in the tradition because it places its wearer where danger would otherwise have fallen on someone else.

Stories surrounding the breastplate describe Hadran surviving blows that should have killed him and enemies finding themselves drawn toward him when he placed himself between danger and those he protected. Ilmatari tradition treats those accounts as reflections of Hadran's willingness to endure rather than as tales of conquest.

Before Hadran entered the Holy Sleep, the breastplate was removed and preserved apart from his body. Within his chamber, it stands upright in a dedicated Ilmatari shrine directly opposite his resting place. The shrine has aged around it, with faded cords, ruined cloth, and worn stone, yet the armor remains completely pristine: free of damage, tarnish, and even dust. Its reputation is bound to the same traditions of endurance, sacrifice, mercy, and protection that made Hadran a saint.

Discovery

The party discovered Hadran's Burden while exploring Hadran's Rest. It stood upright within a shrine facing Saint Hadran's resting place. Though the surrounding devotional objects had deteriorated with age, the breastplate showed no damage, tarnish, or even dust.

Mechanical Properties

IN-GAME MECHANICS

Rare Breastplate • Medium Armor
Attunement: Required
Armor Class: 14 + Dexterity modifier, maximum +2

Adamantine
A critical hit against the wearer becomes a normal hit.

Bear the Burden
Once per dawn, the wearer can cast Compelled Duel without expending a spell slot.

  • Casting Time: Bonus Action
  • Range / Target: One creature the wearer can see within 30 feet
  • Saving Throw: Wisdom DC 15; a successful save prevents the effect
  • Effect on Failure: The target has Disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than the wearer, and it cannot willingly move to a space more than 30 feet from the wearer. This does not force the target to attack.
  • Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
  • Ends Early If: The wearer makes an attack roll against another creature, casts a spell on an enemy other than the target, an ally of the wearer damages the target, or the wearer ends a turn more than 30 feet from the target
  • Uses / Recharge: Once per dawn

See Also