Sorry for the long post. This one went from a magic item to an entire adventure seed.
Next, a diorama of an empty tomb.
Undun's Ossuary (varies, attunement required)
Before his death, the revered priest and sculptor Undun created dozens, if not hundreds of sculptures of tombs after years of travel throughout the realms. Each diorama painstakingly replicates a tomb of antiquity, as it appeared before it was sealed.
Few people recognize the artistic value of these dioramas. And even fewer know their true purpose. Most can be found as toys or decorative curios. Many are destroyed through casual use.
To those who know better, the sculptures are priceless. Collectors are often ruthless in their attempts to recover as many as possible, bringing ruin to others even though they may seal their own doom in the process.
Each Ossuary is unique. The sculpting style and materials used to create Ossuaries has not been successfully replicated by forgers. The material components include some of the bones of the creature(s) interred in the tomb depicted.
Forgeries are patently obvious (DC 10 Investigation check) to anyone who has ever handled a true Ossuary. If a collector has actually used an Ossuary, they can automatically detect any forgery within 30 feet that they can see. Deep investigation (DC 30), with sufficient Ossuaries on hand (+1 to skill check per Ossuary), will reveal that it isn't feasible that Undun visited all these sites, let alone had time during a human lifespan to sculpt them with such detail.
All Ossuaries do not function as magic items all the time, and therefore do not always detect as magic. Divination/detection spells will only work on them in the two hours after midnight.
The function of an Ossuary varies based on its age (GM can adjust numbers to fit their campaign):
Old - usually less than 100 years (rare, functions only at night)
While the Ossuary functions, you may use it cast Speak with Dead once per short rest, or if you are a necromancer, at will. The material component is a local corpse, but the entity you speak to will always be the creature whose bones are incorporated into the Ossuary -- it "possesses" the corpse.
Older - usually 100-500 years (very rare, functions only from dusk through dawn)
As Old, PLUS
While the Ossuary functions, you may use it to cast Animate Dead once per long rest, or if you are a necromancer, at will. If you choose to create skeletons, you do not require material components. When you cast this spell, you cast it as a wizard whose level is your total character level.
Oldest - usually over 500 years (legendary, functions anytime)
As Older, PLUS
You may use the Ossuary to cast Summon Undead once per long rest, or if you are a necromancer, a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1) per long rest. Summon Undead works the same way as Create Undead, with the following exceptions:
- You need no material components.
- You may cast the spell at 6th level, or higher (+1 for every 6 full character levels you possess).
Summon Undead calls different creatures than Create Undead (values are to summon/reassert control):
6th level: Specter (3/3)
7th level: Specter (4/4), Ghost (1/1)
8th level: Specter (5/5), Ghost (1/2), Banshee (1/1)
9th level: Specter (6/6), Ghost (2/2), Banshee (1/2), Wraith (1/1)
The Fine Print (The information in this section is NOT revealed through ANY magical means, including Identify):
Every time you use an Ossuary to animate, summon, or reassert control over a creature, roll a d20
_per creature affected_. On a 1, your attempt works as normal, and you also summon Undun.
Undun is a lich, and since you have attracted his attention by drawing on the power of his creation, he is now present. He is a dispassionate, lean man with long, dark hair twisted into a single braid. His feet are bare, with hideously overgrown toenails. His hands are rough-worn, but neatly manicured.
Undun wears close-fitting leather clothing, belted closed at the joints. It makes him appear as an emaciated scarecrow. His accoutrement includes an extremely fine hammer and chisel, as well as brushes, paints, and other assorted tools that one might find in an artisan's kit. If he wasn't so cadaverous, he'd actually pass as a well-to-do tradesman.
He HATES being referred to as a lich, or any form of undead. He is a sculptor, an artist, a craftsman, a maestro. Stroke his ego, and you might survive a conversation. Then again, you might not. As befitting any genius, his quirks have reached neurotic proportions.
Special abilities:
Any undead within 500 feet of Undun that were summoned or animated by an Ossuary immediately fall under Undun's control. They are exclusively his, to command as he sees fit for as long as he remains in the area. They act independently, according to Undun's will. He does not need to make a skill check, concentration check, or other action to assert or maintain control, and the wielder of the Ossuary gets no saving throw.
While any Ossuary is within 500 feet of Undun, he is considered to be in his lair. If all Ossuaries in the area are removed from the area or destroyed, it will not banish or dispel him, but he will no longer have his lair benefits (see Monster Manual). Whether he leaves depends on whether he has achieved his immediate objective: a material component for his next sculpture.
As a lich, Undun has the Plane Shift spell. But his is special. He reserves its banishment function to target the person who used the Ossuary. It transports the victim (dead or alive) to the future site of a tomb that Undun is planning on modeling in his next diorama. The tomb is frighteningly well guarded by undead and also happens to be the temporary site for Undun's phylactery. (He moves around a lot.)
After he transports his primary target to their future tomb, Undun will follow as quickly as possible, either by recharging his Plane Shift spell or fighting to the death, since he'll reform near his phylactery anyway. His only excitement these days is the prospect of a crafting a new diorama, and he'd like to get to his newly acquired material components right away.
Next: A rusted iron doorknob
