Machine of Lum the Mad
| Machine of Lum the Mad | |
| Type: | Artifact |
|---|---|
| Body Slot: | n/a |
| First Appearance: | Eldritch Wizardry |
The Machine of Lum the Mad is an ancient artifact once owned by Baron Lum the Mad and currently housed in the fortress Rifter.
Description[edit | edit source]
The Machine appears as a siege tower of unnotable size, but within is a massive horseshoe-shaped contraption of levers, dials, and switches of various sizes, most of them obviously broken. At the center is a crystalline box-shaped enclosure large enough for four human-sized creatures to stand in comfortably. It can be operated using a control panel containing sixty levers, forty dials, twenty switches, and a number of jeweled components. Parts are made from worked oerthblood. It is a "delicate, intricate, bulky, and heavy device, weighing some 5,500 pounds."[1]
Powers[edit | edit source]
The Machine of Lum the Mad has an extraordinary range of magical powers, including chain lightning, fire storm, meteor swarm, transmute rock to mud, and more. It only can be operated by a powerful mage with a genius intellect. The Infernal Machine ’s great size makes it largely immobile. To make ongoing use of the machine, it can be connected to its attuned user by a silver wire, a supply of which can always be produced from the machine’s inner workings. When so attached, the wire becomes invisible, astral, and extends to virtually infinite length. If the wire is cut, the user suffers a sudden burst of feedback from the machine that kills them instantly. [2]
Curse[edit | edit source]
Just using the device is hazardous, with many of the powers dangerous and a real chance of catastrophic failure with each attempt.
History[edit | edit source]
This strange device was once thought to have been built by gods long forgotten and to have survived the eons since their passing, for it is incredibly ancient and crafted by means unlike anything known today. However, its true origins derive from a planar craft that crashed in the Barrier Peaks, for the Infernal Machine once functioned as this craft’s central command console. Baron Lum used it to create an empire before he vanished in his final battle with Leuk-O. The last magus to know the full range of commands for the device was Xaene. An expert diviner called Anaranth was currently (as of 585 CY) researching the artifact. The Machine may have been responsible for the cataclysm that overtook Rauxes. Its parts would be sought after by Lynx Creatlach, an agent of the Archdevil Zariel and Sir Ursas an agent of the Archdevil Bel as they were competing against one another in a race to restore it to its primal state. One of them was able to use the incomplete machine to locate and capture Lum the Mad to make him work on the repairs. [2]
Publishing history[edit | edit source]
In Vortex of Madness (2000) the Machine of Lum the Mad is said to be self-aware and seeking to discover its own origins. In that book it currently exists on the plane of Limbo, which would seem to contradict Ivid the Undying's placement of it in Rifter unless it either moved into another plane after the destruction of Rauxes or if it can somehow exist in more than one plane simultaneously.
References[edit | edit source]
Notes[edit | edit source]
Citations[edit | edit source]
Bibliography[edit | edit source]
- Carroll, Bart. Infernal Machine Rebuild. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2019.
- Cook, David. Book of Artifacts. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1993.
- Grohe, Allan T., and Erik Mona. "All Oerth's Artifacts." Dragon #299. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2002.
- Gygax, Gary. Dungeon Master's Guide. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1979.
- Gygax, Gary, and Brian Blume. Eldritch Wizardry. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1976.
- Henson, Dale, and Doug Stewart, eds. Encyclopedia Magica Vol 2. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995.
- Mona, Erik. "Places of Mystery." Living Greyhawk Journal #1. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
- Moore, Roger E. The Adventure Begins. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.
- ———. Return of the Eight. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.
- Pramas, Chris. The Vortex of Madness. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
- Sargent, Carl. Ivid the Undying. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995 (unpublished). Available online:[1]
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Index is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, and his work as continued and updated by Eric Johnson, Richard DiIoia, Jason "PupickDad" Jacobson, a French fan group, and numerous other fans over the years. The wiki page for the EGI has a list of sources, full product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machine of Lum the Mad | Item | Artifact, | Oerth Journal #17 | 17 |
| Machine of Lum the Mad | Item | Artifact, | Reference | SEE Lum the Mad, Machine of |