Power key

Power keys were incredibly rare tools or methods created by deities  to allow divine spellcasters to circumvent the planar restrictions on divine magic that existed in the Great Wheel cosmology. That being, an increasing weakening of their abilities for every plane of existence that seperated them from their deity's divine realm.

Description
The forms that power keys could take were nearly limitless, from physical objects to even gestures or rituals. However, the form was usually representative of the deity that created it. For example, power keys of Garl Glittergold were usually gold or jewelry, those of Flandal Steelskin were usually small hammers engraved with flames, and those of Ilmater usually took the form of a strong blood-red cord that had to be wrapped around a user's wrist.

Powers
A power key was imbued with part of the divine strength of the deity that made it, its creation having cost them a sliver of their power, This was speculated by sages to create a link to the very source of a deity, allowing one to draw directly on their energy of existence. However, this same link meant that power keys were subject to the whims of their creator and could be changed without warning.

Under normal circumstances, power keys didn't just restore normal functionality to clerical spells, but made them work even better than before and reach their maximum potential. However, many worked only for limited durations, especially those made by chaotic deities, having been intentionally designed that way as a safe guard against loss or theft.

They could be divided into three types: specific, general, and greater.
 * Specific: The weakest kind of power key, these were tied to only a single spell and were the most likely to have no limited duration.
 * General: These power keys improved all spells of a single sphere of influence.
 * Greater: The most powerful and rarest of power keys. These allowed for far less loss of clerical power due to planar distance from a given deity's home plane. The strongest of these were usually reserved for proxies on urgent missions.

Additionally some evil deities, usually chaotic evil ones, delighted in making false power keys. These altered spells in undesirable ways, perverted them, or outright canceled them. Sometimes even without the caster's knowledge.

Varieties

 * The power keys of the Gnome pantheon's members varied in what spheres they granted access to, but virtually all granted access to the Elemental and Protection spheres.
 * Ilmater was generous with power keys. He usually granted access to the All, Healing, and Protection spheres.

Availability
power keys usually could not be bought or traded for, though this did not stop some from trying to pass off forgeries, like the patrons of The Sodden Solar in the Abyssal city of Samora. They were only passed out by deities to those who were their most favored, faithful servants, having earned them through years of service. And usually this gifting was done through a proxy. However, there were cases in which deities would gift them to receive a servant's aid in direct and dire services,  such as the quest to liberate Waukeen from imprisonment in the Abyss.

Notable Users

 * Annia Graystockings, a paladin of Ilmater, carried a power key in the form of a wooden carving of two bound hands.
 * Khamallan Teren, a proxy of Malar.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * For Duty & Deity