Horn of blasting

The horn of blasting was a magically engineered horn that, when blown into following the utterance of its command word, would produce a massive shockwave, similar to the spell sound burst. "A nether tide swept down the pass, In search of silver plunder. Two hundred strong the mists did cloak, Ready with waiting thunder."

- The second stanza of Mintiper Moonsilver's ballad Moonlight Paean, with its veiled potential reference to horns of blasting.

Description
The horn appeared to be a mundane trumpet. Specimens weighed as little as or as much as. They would sell in a magic shop in Faerûn for as much as 20,000 gold pieces or as little as 2,000. To those able to see such things, the horns gave off a moderate evocation aura.

Powers
The horn harmed and potentially deafened creatures and caused structural damage to crystalline objects. The horn's effect would knock back anyone or anything in its way, often stunning people or creatures caught in the blast. Each time the horn was used in a given day, there was a chance it would explode and be utterly destroyed.

History
Horns of blasting were rumored to have been used by the Moonlight Men in their ambush of the orcs of the Nethertide Horde in the Battle of Turnstone Pass. One of the survivors of that battle was Mintiper Moonsilver, who later wrote about the battle in his Moonlight Paean, where some scholars believed the phrase "ready with waiting thunder" to be a reference to the horns. At least two horns of blasting were indeed buried next to their former weilders in the Cairn of Moonlight in Turnstone Pass.

Julius Baggar's Horn
One variety of horn was developed by a former military engineer, Julius Baggar. Rather than work on perfecting siege engines, or some other mechanical feat, Julius and his apprentices sought out magical tomes for insight and inspiration. Finding some ancient scripts that detailed, albeit theoretical, arcane lore that postulated on how to control, manipulate and even create sound waves. Julius applied that knowledge into a new piece of technology, his own version of the horn of blasting.

After its completion, Julius demanded a practical experiment of its capabilities and had one of his apprentices blow into the horn while it was aimed in his direction. Unfortunately for the talented engineer, the horn worked perfectly well, and the horn's shockwaves tore him asunder.

By the year 1369 DR the horn wound up in a subterranean dungeon beneath the Windspear Hills.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * The Scroll Thief
 * Video Games
 * Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn • Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide