Magic Ring, Rare (Requires Attunement by Jakkin)
This ring grants a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls with your monk weapon and unarmed attacks. This ring has 1 charge.
This once ordinary ring buzzer has been modified with copper coils that wrap down around the wrist and attach to a expanded power pack on the forearm. The little shock glyph has been replaced with a piece of enchanted topaz that crackles with electrical energy. Esper has lovingly engraved "Abra-ca-fuck-you" in Draconic upon the wrist guard.
When you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack you can spend 1 charge to discharge lightning that chains to nearby foes. The target is struck by lightning; three additional bolts leap from that target to as many as three other targets, each of which must be within 30 feet of the first target. A target can be a creature or an object and can be targeted by only one of the bolts.
A target must make a Dexterity saving throw against your monk save DC. The target takes 2d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. This damage increases with your breath weapon attack: 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level.
You can channel your breath weapon into the ring to gain an additional charge. The ring returns to 1 charge after a long rest.
This particular item was the created throughout a campaign and was shaped almost entirely by the player's choices. Jakkin is a Trickster Monk in one of my games who had befriended Esper, the Artificer of another player. Jakkin's love of tricks and gags found them in possession of a joke shock ring early in the campaign that dealt 1 lightning damage.
Eventually the desire arose to make the joke ring part of Jakkin's combat abilities. Esper really wanted to put their Artificer's magical item creation skills to use. We discussed how they would go about upgrading their friend's ring into a much more powerful item. The results of which are the flavour text above.
I then searched for an ability that would complement both the electrical nature of the ring, and expand Jakkin's current combat abilities. I settled on the spell Chain Lightning and modified to work as part of Jakkin's attack economy. The players also had the idea of recharging the ring with Jakkin's breath weapon, and I liked it enough to include it,