Essence of Shadowkeep

Essence of Shadowkeep

Wondrous Item, Very Rare (Requires Attunement) The Essence of Shadowkeep is a sentient fragment of the hellish influence permeating Shadowkeep, which takes the form of black mist. As an action, you can inhale the essence and attune to it instantly. You can exhale the essence as an action, ending your attunement to it.   While attuned to the essence, your eyes turn red and you gain the following benefits:

• You are resistant to necrotic damage.
• Your weapon attacks deal an extra 1d6 necrotic damage.
• When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can regain hit points equal to the damage dealt. Once you regain hit points in this way, you can’t do so again until the next dusk.
• You know about effects created by the Devil’s Influence in Shadowkeep.
• Once per day, the Essence of Shadowkeep will attempt to take you over. You must succeed a contested Charisma check to maintain control of your character.
• You gain the flaw of Anxiety: You become irratable if you haven't killed something higher than a CR 0 creature in the past 8 hours and have disadvantage on any persuasion checks.

If you end attunement you suffer the following:

• You gain 1 level of exhaustion each time you end attunment.
• If unattuned when a battle begins, you must succeed a contested charisma check to not attune again as your first action.

Sentience.

The Essence of Shadowkeep is a sentient, lawful evil item with an Intelligence of 14, a Wisdom of 15, and a Charisma of 18. When a creature isn’t attuned to it, the essence has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet and can speak and understand Common. When a creature is attuned to it, the essence can sense everything its wielder senses and can only communicate telepathically with its wielder.

Personality.

Egotistical and domineering, the Essence of Shadowkeep is an ambitious force that craves action. The essence encourages its wielder to be decisive, choose action over words, and awe enemies with displays of might. If the wielder ignores the essence’s advice three times in a row, a conflict between it and the wielder arises at the next sunset.

Knowledge Gained of the Devil’s Influence in Shadowkeep

• Only a wish or permanently destroying Rhodar can remove the Devil's Influence.
• The Devil’s Influence manifests accursed black clouds, shrouding the summit of Drachen’s Peak from the sun. In addition, Shadowkeep’s interior and exterior walls exude eerie bloodred light, filling all areas with dim light.
• The pipe organ in the occult sanctum plays ominous gothic music throughout the fortress due to the Devil’s Influence.
• The Devil’s Influence bound Rhodar’s essence to the surrounding region. The vampire lord is intimately aware of the presence of creatures within 1 mile of Shadowkeep.
• The Devil’s Influence controls the Crimson Door and can alert all the vampires in Shadowkeep of intruders who enter the Crimson Door.
• The Devil’s Influence controls the Black door and can speak with those who approach it of the Red Tax and apply the Tax.
• The Devil’s Influence shrouds Rhodar's Sanctum with magical darkness.