In the spirit of Deep Magic, your arcane caster can now explore the putrid potential of vermin and plague with Pestilent Magic. This entry presents a selection of magical items tied into the themes of Pestilent Magic.
Apothecary Bag
Wondrous Item, Uncommon (Requires Attunement)
This black satchel has a large central pouch and several smaller compartments sized for holding vials and potions. The central pouch is an extradimensional space which can hold up to 6 cubic feet or 60 pounds of apothecary materials. The satchel always weighs 3 pounds, regardless of its contents.
Placing an object in the bag follows the normal rules for interacting with objects. Retrieving an item from the bag requires you to use an action. When you reach into the bag for a specific item, the item is always magically on top.
After you use the last of a specific item of its kind within the bag, you may activate the bag’s properties with the command “just one more” to have another of the last item used available in the bag.
Once you’ve used this feature, you can’t use it again until the next dawn.
The bag has a few limitations. If it is overloaded, or if a sharp object pierces it or tears it, the bag ruptures and is destroyed. If the bag is destroyed, its contents are lost forever, although an artifact lost this way always turns up again somewhere. If the bag is turned inside out, its contents spill forth, unharmed, and the bag must be put right before it can be used again.
Placing the bag inside an extradimensional space created by a bag of holding, portable hole, or similar item instantly destroys both items and creates a gate to the Astral Plane. The gate originates where the one item was placed inside the other. Any creature within 10 feet of the gate is sucked through it and deposited in a random location on the Astral Plane. The gate then closes. The gate is one-way only and can’t be reopened.
Arrow of Pestilence
Weapon (Arrow), Very Rare
This arrow is made to inflict a specific malady, such as an arrow of cackle fever or arrow of sewer plague. A living creature who takes damage from one of these arrows must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or become infected, immediately manifesting symptoms without an incubation period (and becoming contagious, if applicable) for 7 days, or until cured or naturally recovered, as described by the disease.
Once an arrow of pestilence has transmitted its disease, it becomes a nonmagical arrow.
Other types of magic ammunition of this kind exist, although arrows are most common.
Cloak of Magpies
Wondrous Item, Uncommon (Requires Attunement)
This black feathered cloak ripples and shifts behind you, as if fluttering with dozens of birds hovering in unison. When you fall while wearing this cloak, you slowly glide at 40 feet per round and take no damage from falling.
You can pluck a feather from the cloak and lay it on the ground, focusing on it for 1 minute. The feather rotates and points to the nearest source of substantial “shiny” treasure—coins, gems, or jewels—worth at least 1,000 gp, either individually or as a collection.
Once you’ve used this feature of the cloak, you can’t use it again until the next dawn.
Feverish Goggles
Wondrous Item, Uncommon
These goggles have red-tinged lenses and feel uncomfortably warm to the touch. They have 3 charges and grow cooler with each charge expended. While wearing them, you can expend 1 charge as an action to inflict a fever (Constitution save DC 13) on a living creature within 30 feet of you, provided you and the target can see each other. On a failure, the target is wracked by fever and has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks for 1 minute. Creatures immune to disease are immune to this effect. The goggles regain all expended charges daily at dawn.
Leper Knight’s Reliquary
Wondrous Item, Rare (Requires Attunement by a Cleric of Paladin)
This small, ornate box contains a shriveled, blackened finger that has ceased to rot. Attuning yourself to the reliquary makes you immune to disease while you carry it.
If you are a cleric or paladin, you can use the reliquary as a holy symbol. Your spell save DCs increase by 2 while you hold it.
You can place the finger on a creature or item, or against a vessel of water or food to detect poison and disease. After 1 minute, if the target is poisoned or diseased, the finger contracts and curls on itself, unfurling once removed from the target.
As an action, you can touch a willing creature with the finger and bless them, granting them immunity to disease until the next dawn. Once you’ve used this feature, you can’t do so again until the previous blessing ends.
Plague Doctor’s Coat
Wondrous Item, Rare (Requires Attunement)
This long, dark coat wraps around you to protect you from ichor and bad air, while keeping various remedies and vials close at hand. This attire is simultaneously a symbol of death and of healing, granting you advantage on both Charisma (Intimidation) and Wisdom (Medicine) checks.
Additionally, you can use an action to target a diseased creature within 30 feet of you and cast either fear (save DC 15) or lesser restoration. Once you’ve cast one of these spells, you cannot cast either again until the next dawn.
Three-Lion Mace
Weapon (Mace), Legendary (Requires Attunement)
This mace is adorned with three golden lion heads: one has its mouth agape in a roar, the second is skeletal with hollow eye sockets, and the last has its mouth closed and its face sunken. It has 5 charges, and three different command words, each associated with a lion head. When you speak a command word, the eyes of the active head glow red. You must use an action to switch heads.
War. When you expend a charge and strike an inanimate object or a construct with this mace, it unleashes a roar and deals 8d8 thunder damage (save DC 20 for half), as the shatter spell, to the target and any other construct or object within 10 feet of the target.
Death. If you reduce a living creature to 20 hp or fewer with a strike from this mace, you can expend a charge to immediately kill that creature and animate it as a plague zombie (see the create plague zombie spell earlier in this series) under your control at the beginning of your next turn. These plague zombies persist for 1 minute before returning to death.
Disease. Once per turn, when you hit a living creature with an attack using this mace and expend a charge, you can cause their injuries to erupt into boils and lesions. The creature must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or take 1d4 points of Constitution damage, and dies if it is reduced to 0. This Constitution damage is healed after a long rest.
The mace regains 1d4 + 1 expended charges daily at dawn.
