The Staff of Waterdeep

Magic Staff, Artifact, requires attunement by a 17th level Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard

Magic Weapon. This Staff counts as a magic quarterstaff that grants a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. While holding it, you gain a +3 bonus to Armor Class, saving throws, spell attack rolls, and spell save DC. When a Undead creature is killed by a user of this magic item it is instantly and permanently destroyed.

Charges. The staff has 20 charges for the following properties. The staff regains 2d8+4 charges daily at dawn. If you expend the last charge, roll a d20. On a 20, the staff regains all its charges. On a 1, roll a d12. The staff loses the properties of the material rolled for 14 days. If you roll the material that spent the last charge, that material is unusable for 28 days.

Power Strike. When you hit a creature with a melee attack using the staff, you can expend up to 10 charges to deal 1d10 force damage per charge spent to the target.

Materials. While attuned to this staff, you can choose one of the following materials to create an effect costing a number of charges. All effects take an action to use unless specified.

Lore

The Staff of Waterdeep was an old creation of the Archmage of Waterdeep, Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun. This good wizard has produced powerful items in times past, but with the staff, he has surpassed himself.

Khelben heard from an oracle that a major peril threatened his city-danger from "those who sleep not.” Presuming that this meant the undead, the wizard created a rod able to destroy or resurrect the undead, among the most powerful effects of necromantic magic. To prepare the staff, Khelben collected materials representing the best of life: love, honor, piety, bravery, joy. Each of the items he gathered embodied these virtues, and in addition, they imbued the staff with the mystical power their histories had accrued. Khelben kept his staff in his own tower, thinking it impenetrable.

But he did not reckon on the wizardry of the liches, Haurrant and Abraxa. On the night the Effluvium was to permeate the city, they lured Khelben away on false pretexts, then assaulted the tower with all the strength at their command. Though hundreds of their undead servants perished against Khelben's defenses, Abraxa managed to lay its hands on the staff. Then Khelben's brilliant guardian enchantment came into play. At the touch of an evil being, the staff broke apart, and its components reverted to their original forms and flew across the city to their old locations. The liches could not foil the concealment spell that hid their whereabouts.

The staff’s pieces were eventually recovered by Laeral Silverhand, and she helped the Roundtable Heroes reforge it along with Mira. The current wielder is Breize, who added the thirteenth piece. This piece is considered optional for those who wish to use this magic item.