Onyx Plaque

50% more damage from fire),plant;AL N;SV Fort +12,

Ref+2,Will +2;Str 24,Dex 10,Con 22,Int 14,Wis 11,Cha 9 Implant Rhizoid (Ex): On each successful hit by the creature’s slam attack,a living foe must make a Fortitude save (DC 20),or a rhizoid slips into the wound.Each round thereafter,the implanted rhizoid automatically deals 1d4 points ofdamage.A victim can take a standard action to remove one implanted rhizoid (the tail end ofthe implanted rhizoid protrudes from the wound).

When Great Evils finally topple,the question ofdisposal of the remains can be thorny.Ifa Great Evil has achieved the highest levels ofpower and cruelty,it has forged a permanent doorway to Darkness,whether the toppled power remains alive or dead.

Following a meteorite impact,investigation ofthe cooling crater reveals an unharmed plaque,apparently carved from onyx,measuring roughly 1 foot square and 1 inch thick. Engrams decorate the plaque,along with writing in several languages unlikely to be known on the world where the meteorite falls.Magical translation reveals that every language inscribed upon the stone tells the same message: “Death to any that carry this Stone;Death to the world where this warning goes unheeded.”

This plaque is all that remains ofa toppled Great Evil from another world whose true name is unrecorded. Bringing about the end ofits reign required a supreme effort ofthe world,and eradicating its last bits ofinfluence required another effort nearly as difficult.Suffice it to say that all that remains ofthe Great Evil is its doorway to Darkness,and that doorway is caught in the very stone of the plaque.Once so caught,it was ejected into the outer realms,there to become imbedded in a passing comet.For that world and for that time,the problem was solved.But Great Evils have a way ofturning up even millennia later.

Merely handling the plaque is deadly dangerous.The evil burns like fire anyone handling the plaque directly,dealing 2d6 points offire damage and 2d6 points ofunholy damage each round ofcontact.However,a more insidious taint is soon revealed:Flesh that has touched the plaque begins to turn a putrid yellow (no saving throw,no spell resistance). The yellowing flesh feels to its bearer as ifit is afire.The only way to stop the spread ofthe taint gained directly from the plaque is to remove the flesh before it the taint reaches the heart or the head—a process that takes a number ofdays equal to the victim’s Constitution score.Amputation is the best answer.Ifthe infection reaches the heart or the head, the victim withers and dies,completely and irrevocably .(No magic will bring the victim back.)

Healers and others attempting to tend the taint ofone who has handled the plaque also become subject to its effects.However,since the contact is secondary,the effects are more akin to a magical disease,and as such the taint is treatable.(Taint gained from directly handling the plaque is not a disease.)

Disease: Yellow taint; Infection: Contact; DC: 22; Incubation: 1 day; Damage: 1d8 Constitution,skin feels as ifon fire as yellow taint spreads.

Someone who is not aware ofthe meteorite that brings the Onyx Plaque into the world may first become aware ofits effects by a growing plague ofyellow taint,and then backtracking to the source ofthe magical disease.

Someone with the luck or the knowledge to avoid the taint from touching the Onyx Plaque (such as by handling it only when wearing hand coverings) may foolishly decide to try to use its power.That is a mistake,for in the end,using the power ofthe Onyx Plaque opens up a character to its direct influence,burning out the user’s mind and leaving only a ravenous hunger for destruction.Someone who possesses the plaque can use its powers a number oftimes equal to his Wisdom score.Once he reaches that limit,the bearer enters wholly into the thrall ofDarkness.

The powers ofthe plaque (aside from the damage it deals and its taint) are up to the DM’s discretion.Only the DM can properly balance these factors against the level ofher campaign.

Both the League ofAstronomers and the Sky Callers learn ofsuch a strange plaque plucked from the center ofa meteorite crater.The plaque’s possessor has kept it properly isolated,despite not knowing exactly what she has,and has so far avoided the yellow taint.Knowing about both meteoriteloving groups,she has put the item up for auction.Both groups are wild to gain it,though neither has any idea what it might be.Underhanded machinations begin,and the PCs find themselves accidentally drawn into the ensuing war ensues.Or perhaps the plaque’s possessor hires them to keep the item safe until it is auctioned off.