Here's an item begging for an identify spell......
Rhyton of Therxes III
This appears to be a golden drinking vessel, or possibly a horn, with the likeness of a draconic griffon. Two gleaming rubies serve as the griffon's eyes. Around the lip of the vessel are several indentations. The vessel has obviously been carelessly neglected, and its luster has wholly faded, and it is beginning to show signs of rust
Appraise
This requires handling the object, which triggers the poison needle trap.
(DC 12) The drinking vessel is fashioned of an alloy of gold, silver, and copper. If you are dating it correctly, the vessel is at least 1,000 years old. Given the size of the two rubies, you would estimate it could fetch over 7,000 gold in the right market. In addition, you suspect that those indentations used to house some kind of gemstone, most likely taken by thieves. (if the PC rolls Knowledge-history DC 8) Knowledge of the alloy technique supposedly didn't occur until 700 years ago. This find will be very relevant to historians!
(DC 20) This drinking vessel is known as a "rhyton", used throughout [insert Middle eastern nation name in campaign here]. Given the stylized work on the griffon heads and the horns on the snakes, you are quite certain it is dated from 1,500 years ago, possibly during the reign of the Sachaid dynasty. The rhyton was a symbol of kingship. Most likely, this object deserves to be in a museum in [nation name]. It is worth at least 12,000 gold, though a noble in the Sachaid line today (if any are alive) might pay you much more for the return of this historic artifact.
Search
Anyone searching the art object for traps may find the following...
(DC 20) Poison Needle Trap: CR 2; mechanical, touching either of the griffon heads; repair reset; Atk+17 melee (bypasses armor, unless wearing gauntlets; 1 damage); The poison has worn off with time*; Disable Device DC 20. Market Price: 4,000 gp (built into the rhyton, it cannot be extracted without destroying the vessel).
*A DC 15 Knowledge (nature) check confirms that the poison was wyvern venom, but has worn off over time, and is no longer effective.
Knowledge (history)
(DC 20) This is a rhyton, a drinking vessel of the kings of [nation name]. When such a vessel was crafted, it was intended to be passed on throughout the king's lineage. Some such vessels are over 2,000 years old, though you doubt this one is older than 1,500 years. They arrived in foreign lands through a variety of routes: thieves, nomad raiders, as tribute to warlords, as gifts to foreign allies, and even smuggled out during the reign of Therxes I, who attempted to destroy every rhyton ever made.
(DC 25) For a period of [nation name]'s history, Therxes the I commited atrocities upon his nation out of fear. His council of viziers told him that a child would be born out of a rhyton, and this child would become a warrior who would depose Therxes. Determined to avoid his fate, Therxes ordered every rhyton destroyed. An elaborate underground movement began to protect the nation's cultural heritage, and numerical coding system began to identify where an item had come from and where it had been. This rhyton certainly existed sometime during the life of Therxes I, and may have been so marked.
(if handling the rhyton and turning it over in hands) Though the script on the bottom of this rhyton is smudged out over the years, the extensive writings and seals suggest it probably was smuggled out of the kingdom to hide it from Therxes.
(if a spell is cast to read the writing, or a DC 30 Decipher Script check is made) The engraving is indeed code, but it tells that the rhyton was smuggled to the far east. How it ended up here is a mystery!
(If divination magic is used, or facts are put together) Clearly, with the vessel being composed of smelted metal from many different time periods, some portion of it was made from a rhyton which escaped Therxes I 's destruction.
(DC 30) The order of the Vulture's Talon was known for outsourcing missions to the nomads of the steppes. During their last years, the order allied with Khan Khaibar to help conduct raids on their enemy's supply lines. Khan Khaibar was enamored of the daughter of [name of ancient leader of Vulture's talon]. Her name was Minethreh, and she scorned the Khan's love until he presented her with the rhyton of Xerxes III as a gift for her hand in marriage. Minethreh at last consented, but her father was outraged at the prospect of her daughter marrying a barbarian... Or at least that is what is to be assumed from his actions, for history texts report he laid waste to several nomad villages, eventually capturing and torturing his own daughter to death. Some say the fall of the Vulture's Talon was precipitated by betrayal that began with Minethreh and Khan Khaibar.
Knowledge (nobility and royalty)
(DC 20) The Shahs of [nation name] would surely covet this item, for it is a legacy of the Sachaid dynasty, which consisted of Yazdigard I and II, and Therxes I, II, and III, after which the dynasty collapsed under the weight of its bureaucracy. There are said to be living relatives of the dynasty, but they have since lost their fortunes and rumor has it they went to live as shepherds.
Knowledge (Arcana)
(DC 10) The symbol of the griffon was a symbol of marriage between the sky and earth, and it was considered a sign of kingship. The rubies imbedded in the eyes of the griffons would make excellent spell components, or could even be themselves enchanted, such is their quality.
(DC 20) Intricates script hidden within the vessel's engraving bear resemblance to certain ancient abjuration and divination spells. However, the hand that copied them was clearly not a student of the magic arts, and was simply parroting a spell.
Knowledge (Religion)
(DC 20) In the faith of the people of [nation name] it is believed that great artifacts such as this either carry good fortune or bad fortune, depending on how they are treated and how the crafter viewed the recipient. Even after hundreds of years, such divine luck/curse was said to follow the object.
(DC 25) Rhytons like this one are said to bear the essence of wisdom and truth. The dark god Ahriman can't stand this and sends his minions to smother the truth. The faith of good men drives them away, but evil men become possessed by greed and power-mongering.
Bardic Knowledge
(DC 10) A drinking vessel of the kings of [nation name]. To drink from this without the king's permission is said to be an offense. Horse riders of the steppes spread such trinkets across the continent after gathering them on raids. You have heard of them, but never seen one.
(DC 15) Legends say that such rhytons were offered by a king to his visitors to ascertain their intent toward him. If the king's advisor saw red in the wine after a visitor drank it meant they were related to the king's line. Green meant they intended betrayal, and poison needles would spring from the cup killing them instantly. Some legends say that there is one rhyton which was cursed by a lich-king to bring ruin to the nation of [nation name] should it ever enter the Padishah's throne room.
(DC 20) This is the long-lost rhyton of Therxes I, or was it the II, or was it the III? In any case, the legend is that Therxes demanded tribute from the city of Hamaveran, but the ra'is of that city continually refused to give Therxes payment in the standard of that time - gold and livestock - as a sort of snub to the conquering Therxes. In fact, the ra'is of Hamaveran sent as tribute items which had originally been stolen from Therxes own coffers!! In outrage, Therxes ordered every item boiled down to molten metal and dragged the ra'is of Hamaveran forth, threatening to throw him in. So afeared was the ra'is that he promised Therxes a drinking vessel like no other. Therxes consented, and thus the rhyton was crafted by the best goldsmiths of Hamaveran. What happened to the ra'is of Hamaveran is another story...
Ability to see past, e.g. psychic or wizard
A vision fills your mind of the foul minions of the Vulture's Talon drinking warm blood from this very vessel, as a mockery of kings of yore. You shudder from the vision, as it only confirms the evil deeds done by the Vulture's Talon.
Ability to see auras
Several grasping hands seem to loom out of the shadows reaching for the vessel, but recoiling at the last second as if struck. A faint trace of abjuration magic lingers around the cup, soon fading away. Perhaps your eyes deceived you.
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