The original 2nd Edition entry from the Forge.

Donnaven sat comfortably reclined on a large branch of the World Tree. It had taken him the better part of a week to reach this out of way branch and he was looking forward to basking in the infinite grandness of Yggdrasil. He had passed his eightieth summer yet was still full of youthful energy; a condition brought on by his oneness with nature many said.

He had just finished off a large meal of fruits and berries when his seclusion was violently interrupted. A ripple in a nearby archway of limbs heralded the approach of a planewalker. He was immediately interested for this portal had not been here on his prior visits. A lithe young woman, a dryad Donnaven realized with astonishment, pranced through the portal. Nearly stepping on her heels was a immense demon, a glabrezu, a dispickable dog-faced ta'nari was snapping at her with his two pincers. It its blind desire to catch the dryad, it failed to notice the portly ranger. The dryad however did not.

Donnaven looked around in panic he carried a shortsword on his belt but that seemed woefully inadequate against this larger foe. He had purposedly travelled light and wished now that he had his armor and shield. The dryad ran straight for him, obviously sensing him as an ally against the fiend. Donnaven drew his sword and looked quickly about for a defensable position. His frantic searching led his eyes to a bright green shield sitting on the ground where he had just recently been sitting. Not questioning his fortune, he picked up the shield and stood his ground as the fiend approached.

The dryad ducked behind him as she passed and the enormous fiend batted a lazy claw to remove him from the path. The ta'nari's disregarding attitude was a huge mistake, as the claw bounced off the shield, the fiend recoiled as if struck by a solid blow. Donnaven did not hesitat and drove his sword home into the exposed belly of the beast. Clutching at its grievous wound and realizing its danger, the gla'brezu retreated thru the portal. Turning away from the fiend, Donnaven eyed the dryad who looked upon him with sincere gratitude. "You have saved my life so you shall ever be protected by the Verdant Canopy". She turned away and disappeared into the Great Tree.

Appearance:
The Verdant Canopy is a medium shield shaped like a large maple leaf. It is colored leaf grean and has all the details that one might expect to find on a natural leaf. It feels much like a leaf in texture but is unnaturally hard like steel. The face of the shield is further adorned with eight large cantiper stones, a rare dark green granite found in Ysgard. All the stones have been shaped into half ovals and are polished to a high sheen. The armbands are made of wood from a rubber tree and remain flexible on the users arm.

History: The Verdant Canopy is thought to be a physical part of the Yggdrasil. It is believed that the dryad that Donnaven so bravely rescued was none other that The Dryad, avatar of Yggdrasil. There is no proof of this however and is based heavily upon speculation from the rangers recounting of his own tales. The few times that sages were able to closely inspect the shield while Donnaven was alive revealed that it was made of an unknown material. One sage even suggested that it was made of many layers of giant leaves that had been magically joined and compressed to be harder than steel. The stone on the face of the shield have been positively identified as cantiper stones which are only found on Ysgard.

Powers and Abilities:

Medium Shield +2
Return Attackers damage on a successful parry/ block (no save)
Grants the wielder Immunity from the Elements

The shields purpose is to inflict harm on those that would do harm. Its ability to reflect damage works against all melee attacks and cannot be resisted. As a further boon, the person who carries Verdant Canopy is immune to all natural weather. The person will stay uncannily dry during the most violent storms. They develop a resistance to extreme temperatures which allows them to operate comfortably in temperatures from 120° to -30°. Extreme temperaturs and those that are magically generated are resisted with a +1 to saving throws.

Any other class that attempts to use this shield will suffer from a minor curse until it is dispelled. The shield will send out a distress call to the surrounding land calling for help from the woodland beings. The bearer of the shield will find that all animals have become hostile (-4 reaction) and will have a random encounter with a woodland monster on a 6:10.

Location: Donnaven was an aging ranger when he was first given the Verdant Canopy. His native lands reside on the prime world of Oerth. He was known to travel the planes greatly in his later years and it is not known for sure where he died. The old ranger was last seen in Sigil although whether he ever left, noone knows.

As submitted to the site's 3e section; shown unchanged.

Donnaven sat comfortably reclined on a large branch of the World Tree. It had taken him the better part of a week to reach this out of way branch and he was looking forward to basking in the infinite grandness of Yggdrasil. He had passed his eightieth summer yet was still full of youthful energy; a condition brought on by his oneness with nature many said.

He had just finished off a large meal of fruits and berries when his seclusion was violently interrupted. A ripple in a nearby archway of limbs heralded the approach of a planewalker. He was immediately interested for this portal had not been here on his prior visits. A lithe young woman, a dryad Donnaven realized with astonishment, pranced through the portal. Nearly stepping on her heels was a immense demon, a glabrezu, a dispickable dog-faced ta'nari was snapping at her with his two pincers. It its blind desire to catch the dryad, it failed to notice the portly ranger. The dryad however did not.

Donnaven looked around in panic he carried a shortsword on his belt but that seemed woefully inadequate against this larger foe. He had purposedly travelled light and wished now that he had his armor and shield. The dryad ran straight for him, obviously sensing him as an ally against the fiend. Donnaven drew his sword and looked quickly about for a defensable position. His frantic searching led his eyes to a bright green shield sitting on the ground where he had just recently been sitting. Not questioning his fortune, he picked up the shield and stood his ground as the fiend approached.

The dryad ducked behind him as she passed and the enormous fiend batted a lazy claw to remove him from the path. The ta'nari's disregarding attitude was a huge mistake, as the claw bounced off the shield, the fiend recoiled as if struck by a solid blow. Donnaven did not hesitat and drove his sword home into the exposed belly of the beast. Clutching at its grievous wound and realizing its danger, the gla'brezu retreated thru the portal. Turning away from the fiend, Donnaven eyed the dryad who looked upon him with sincere gratitude. "You have saved my life so you shall ever be protected by the Verdant Canopy". She turned away and disappeared into the Great Tree.

Appearance:
The Verdant Canopy is a medium shield shaped like a large maple leaf. It is colored leaf grean and has all the details that one might expect to find on a natural leaf. It feels much like a leaf in texture but is unnaturally hard like steel. The face of the shield is further adorned with eight large cantiper stones, a rare dark green granite found in Ysgard. All the stones have been shaped into half ovals and are polished to a high sheen. The armbands are made of wood from a rubber tree and remain flexible on the users arm.

History: The Verdant Canopy is thought to be a physical part of the Yggdrasil. It is believed that the dryad that Donnaven so bravely rescued was none other that The Dryad, avatar of Yggdrasil. There is no proof of this however and is based heavily upon speculation from the rangers recounting of his own tales. The few times that sages were able to closely inspect the shield while Donnaven was alive revealed that it was made of an unknown material. One sage even suggested that it was made of many layers of giant leaves that had been magically joined and compressed to be harder than steel. The stone on the face of the shield have been positively identified as cantiper stones which are only found on Ysgard.

Powers and Abilities:

Small Shield +2
Damage Reduction 15/+2; damage blocked is returned double to attacker.
Grants the wielder Immunity from the Elements

The shields purpose is to inflict harm on those that would do harm. Its ability to reflect damage works against all melee attacks and cannot be resisted. As a further boon, the person who carries Verdant Canopy is immune to all natural weather. The person will stay uncannily dry during the most violent storms. They develop a resistance to extreme temperatures which allows them to operate comfortably in temperatures from 120° to -30°. Extreme temperatures and those that are magically generated are resisted with a +1 to saving throws.

Any other class that attempts to use this shield will suffer from a minor curse until it is dispelled. The shield will send out a distress call to the surrounding land calling for help from the woodland beings. The bearer of the shield will find that all animals have become hostile (+1 damage and immune to charm) and will have a random encounter with a woodland monster on a 6:10.

Location: Donnaven was an aging ranger when he was first given the Verdant Canopy. His native lands reside on the prime world of Oerth. He was known to travel the planes greatly in his later years and it is not known for sure where he died. The old ranger was last seen in Sigil although whether he ever left, noone knows.