Necklace of Second Chances

Last night the game ended with the party battered and one member rescued from the brink of death.  One of the interesting treasures the players discovered was a necklace with three cubes (I found the picture by google ganking and I was surprised to have a choice of three cubed necklaces).  For now it is called the Necklace of Second Chances.

The Necklace of Second Chances makes the saving throw for the player automatically.  Here's how it works.  Each cube can hold up to six charges represent by a rune appearing on one of the sides of the cube.  To charge the cubes requires Viz.

Viz is a physical manifestation of magic that occurs naturally in nature.  Also creatures with magical abilities have viz charged parts that can be harvested.  And some mages can create viz. Viz can be use in place of a spell slot.  One viz will allow a magic-user or illusionist to cast a 1st level spell without losing the spell.  The viz is consumed on use.

The cubes can be separated into necklaces to the number of cubes it has.  The one they found had three.  With each viz one charge is absorbed into the cube and a rune will appear.

Not all saving throws are the same.  If a player is bit by a giant centipede one charge is used to make the save.  If an ancient red dragon bears down on the player with a full blast of fire it may require six or more charges.  There is not set number of charges for the different saves.  The GM can determine that.

The only drawback is if a save is required the necklace will automatically use the charge if available.  The player has no control of when it is used.  If the necklace is worn it is in play.  The only time it will not use its charges is if the save requires more charges than the cube(s) has available.  So if the players necklace only has one charge when that red dragon breathes on him the necklace can do nothing to help.

These necklaces require contact with the person or creature they are protecting.  So having it in a backpack or pouch will not help. 

Very few of the necklaces exist.  The cubes themselves can be made of nearly any material.  Most are made of metal, but bone and wood have also been used.  So when the cubes are empty of charges they look like a normal cube and can be easily overlooked.

In my campaign I give 1000xp for the first time the players find and discover the use of the necklace.  Market value is determined by the location of where they try to sell and to whom they try to sell it.