Igraine's Portrait (Magic Art)

In her dual roles as Court Wizard and Court Painter of the minor barony Freeman's Pass, Igraine created a number of remarkable portraits for her liege. Lord Balto.
Although many of these paintings perished (as did Igraine herself) when Freeman's Pass was overrun by an army of were-creatures, some have survived the last century and a half in the present day.
Each of these paintings depicts one person-a close friend, a trusted counsellor, close advisor, or family member-with whom Lord Balto would often have cause to consult. The purpose of these paintings was to make such consultation easy. Simply concentrating on the painting sets up a strong mental rapport between the viewer and the person depicted. The rapport takes one complete round to develop; after that time, it allows the two people to communicate fully as though through telepathy. There is no limit to the duration of the rapport or to the number of times it can be established. All that is required is for the viewer to look at the painting and concentrate on establishing the rapport. 
During rapport, both participants can engage in no other activity. As the rapport is being established, the person depicted becomes aware of a chilling cold and a sensation of presence. If the person is willing to enter communication, rapport is established after one round; if unwilling, a save vs. spell must be made to terminate contact. A successful save means that contact is broken and cannot be reattempted for a period of one hour. If the save fails, the person being contacted has one last chance to resist rapport. During the round that establishes rapport, contact may be resisted by the use of mind-shielding spells, devices, or psionics. Once established, rapport can only be broken by the viewer or through the death or loss of consciousness of one of the participants-there is no range limit.
All of Igraine's portrait paintings still in existence, except for one to be discussed later, depict people who have died since the creation of the paintings. If anyone, through ignorance or design, tries to establish rapport through such a painting, there is a fixed 50% chance of establishing rapport with the spirit of the dead person. Treat the rapport as the spell contact other plane. To determine the chances of insanity, knowledge, and veracity, assume the spirit is nine planes removed from the viewer of the painting. The viewer can ask one question for each two levels of experience (only wizards receive benefit for Intelligence scores over 15). Since rapport with a dead person requires much more of the painting's power, this can only be attempted once per day.
Rumors tell of one surviving painting that does not depict a dead confidant of Lord Balto. This is the painting that Igraine was working on at the time of her death. The background is complete, as is the body of the person depicted-only the face is missing. Perhaps because its dweomer was not finally bound by the completion of the painting, this famed “unfinished portrait” has an additional power over and above those possessed by Igraine's other works. By concentrating strongly on the painting for a period of two rounds, the viewer can make the likeness of anyone well known by the viewer to appear in the portrait. The painting can then be used to establish rapport with that person (in this ease, a saving throw is automatic whether the person being contacted is willing or not). If rapport fails or is broken, the face vanishes from the portrait again. This power can be used once every two full days. Although no firm information is available, there is a persistent rumor that Igraine's unfinished portrait hangs in the halls of a dwarf king.
Category:Encyclopedia Magica Magic Items
Category:Magic Items
Category:Magic Art