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View Full Version : Cursed Item: The Mirror of Relentless Shadows



Govinator
2013-12-16, 12:37 PM
Picture if you will a hand mirror, crafted of silver and inlaid with a faint white material. It will reveal glimpses into the future to whomever may decide to look into it...

Whenever this happens, all viewers have to make a will save. For those that fail the save, the progressive saves get tougher.
The save will increase each time it is failed, up to 5 times
15, 18, 20, 25, 30

Visions of the future will grow more detailed and important with more will saves that are failed.

Once someone has failed any of the will saves, the mirror will not allow itself to be abandoned by them
Will always find itself back in the possession of the person who has failed the save


Whoever fails the will saves will see things during the visions offered by the mirror:

A shadowy darkness in the corner of the vision, shaped like a cloud - indistinct and hard to make out
The same shadowy darkness, however there is a density to it that is focused in the center
The darkness has coalesced into the form of a man, hooded, cloaked and fuzzy, indistinct
The hooded figure solidifies, with glowing red eyes that catch the viewer looking at it
The red eyes lock gazes with the viewer and reveal a haunting white smile, disappearing at the end of the vision


They will also see things when not looking at the mirror, tied to the number of times they have failed the will save:

They see movement at the edge of their vision, always after dark
There are shadows belonging to people that aren't there
Movement at the edge of vision extends through the day, Shadows begin to linger longer than they should
Their shadow has disappeared
Cloaked figures are watching, always watching…


With each failed save, the white material interspersed among the silver begins to spread. The mirror progresses from an item crafted of silver to one made of bone.

So this is a cursed magic item that I want to freak my players out with. I really like the concept but I could use some help actually coming up with a climax for the item. What happens when someone finally fails the 5th will save?

Can anyone offer any ideas?
Critiques much appreciated!

ReaderAt2046
2013-12-16, 01:16 PM
Ideas:
-Upon failing the fifth save, the mirror releases 1d6 shadows per round, which relentlessly pursue the unlucky victim, kill him, and return his shadow to the mirror.
-Upon failing the fifth will save, the mirror gains a hold on its victim's life force. Each day thereafter at sunset he must make a will save (starting DC 20, +2 for every save he's succeeded since his last failure), or gain a negative level that cannot be removed by any means. Eventually, the accumulation of negative levels will kill him, at which point his soul is absorbed by the mirror.
-After failing the fifth will save, the victim takes 1 point of negative energy damage per round unless some part of his body is in bright illumination.

Govinator
2013-12-16, 02:47 PM
Those are some awesome ideas, thanks!

However, I'd had more of a story element in mind when asking about a climax. For example: The last failure means that the mirror has taken enough life energy to spawn a shadowy doppelganger that the party now has to deal with.

That's a poor example, but its more along the lines of what I had been thinking of. Do you happen to have any ideas with how the item could shape or affect an ongoing story arc or campaign?

Segev
2013-12-16, 02:53 PM
What happens if you MAKE the will saves? Does it actually show future visions, or are the visions only there if you fail the save? Are the visions at all genuinely prophetic, or are they just "spooky stuff you think is prophetic or that the mirror will make come true by releasing shadows at you?"

Govinator
2013-12-16, 03:03 PM
Hi Segev!
The mirror will show genuine visions of the future. At first, when nobody has failed any saves, the visions are of the near future and depending on current events can be either minor or major.

Failing saves will mean stronger images with more use. For example, a group of people look into the mirror and with only one person having failed (lets say he missed 2 saves), the entire group will see a moderately important vision of the future.

I want the latter visions (say at 4th failure) to hint at a coming darkness, which would be caused by failing the final save of the mirror itself. A self-fulfilling prophecy, if you will.

ReaderAt2046
2013-12-16, 05:37 PM
Well, any of the ideas I had above could easily inspire a new story arc as the players try to figure out how to break the curse once it's established. The second and third especially are designed to provide more of a horror feel, as the victim has to deal with a ticking clock that can only end in his destruction.

Other, more plot-based ideas:

Upon the failure of the fifth save, a shadow duplicate (for a unique image, try a negative-color version of the player) materializes somewhere in the world. He is utterly immune to any form of damage save being directly harmed by his original. He can sense the original's location, and will relentlessly pursue and seek to kill him.

Upon failing the fifth save, the victim is pulled through the mirror into some kind of demiplane containing all the mosters and victims the mirror has trapped. The PCs must figure out how to get their comrade back out, and note that just smashing the mirror will only lock the plane shut and prevent anyone from entering and leaving.

ComatosePhoenix
2013-12-16, 06:25 PM
Edit: I wrote this out without looking at the above post, any similarities are purely coincidental. don't go to dinner before finishing a post :/

I've always preferred the hybrid approach to curses. something that has its benefits despite a clear disadvantage.

Failing the 5th will save will consume the character in darkness. temporarily replacing them with a shaded doppelganger that embodies the antithesis of their character. Meanwhile the actual character will be dragged into the nether world of the mirror with the potential to escape later on. The doppelganger will be as close to the opposite of the character captured. Depending on how you play and the nature of character who has been consumed, you have the opportunity to let the doppelganger join the party under the control of the player who lost his character.

Regardless of what you do with the doppelganger once he dies the original character is released. alternatively the original can spend some time in a mini dungeon to escape the mirror. perhaps discover some amazing truths and insight along the way.

at the conclusion of these events the mirror is broken and cannot be used again. although looking into the shattered glass may sometimes cause effects similar to failing an earlier will save.


I don't know how important you want this to be to your quest. Also by doppelganger I don't mean the actual DnD monster, I just mean some apparition that clearly resembles the character that looked into the mirror.

THEChanger
2013-12-16, 10:54 PM
Once they fail the fifth save? Nothing happens.

Nope. The mirror now is a simple bone mirror. Pretty, in a macabre sort of way, but just a mirror. But after relying on the visions it gave for so long, the person who failed the save is starting to feel a bit...uneasy. After all, they still see things in the mirror. Terrifying, horrifying images. Perhaps they see their friends betraying them for the mirror. Or dream of the mysterious cloaked figure, coming to take their mirror from them. Whenever someone asks about the mirror, roll the dice. Whenever someone tries to take the mirror, roll the dice again.

And every so often, describe the character's red eyes. And then when someone asks about that, act as though you have no idea what they are talking about. Keep the player who has the mirror off balance. And if they ever relinquish the mirror, the next time they sleep, the mirror "reappears" in their arms when they wake. As though they've been clutching it in their sleep the whole time.

No need for negative effects. Suggested obsession/possession is enough. If you really wanted to start getting funky, you could have the mirror-holder start pinging Evil on the Evil-dar. Maybe mindless undead see the mirror-holder as undead, and so don't attack them.

Of course, if you really want something bad and conflict-driving to occur, perhaps plant an idea in the mirror-holder's head. They need the mirror's visions. And maybe they could restore it. It's the Mirror of Relentless Shadows, right? So maybe it wants shadows! If somehow, you could separate a person's shadow from them, you could feed it into the Mirror! But how...how...perhaps the soul and the shadow are connected...if you separate the soul...but to do that...you'd have to kill them...

Segev
2013-12-17, 09:44 AM
I suggest using it with no failed saves should allow you to effectively gain the benefits of an Augury (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/augury.htm) spell. It's as accurate as Augury ever is, and comes in the form of showing the reflection with hints of the weal or woe to come (but not definite images). Failing the save once bumps this up to a Divination (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/divination.htm) spell. However, the cryptic omens and events reflected in it seem more detailed but are, in fact, meant to manipulate the viewers into bringing the events to pass.

Heck, the save can be specifically against a Suggestion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/suggestion.htm): "The next time you use the mirror, the image you see will be unavoidable, so working towards or against it will only help to bring it to pass." The person who thus failed the save is now under a Suggestion-spell's influence, driving him to bring the next prediction he gets to pass.

The third save failed should give still just a Divination, but the "clearer" image it gives should indicate HOW to bring it to pass (or set up a trick so taht trying to avoid it brings it to pass). Note, the Divination should be accurate, but the images seen should be more specific and only as accurate as the Suggestions can trick the viewer into making happen.

The fourth save upgrades it to a Commune (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/commune.htm) spell. In theory, a "yes" or "no" is all that is given accurately from seeing the image. However, the image implies or outright states full details about what the "yes" or "no" means.

Again, however, the actual details of what happens in the image are fabrications of the Mirror itself, designed to manipulate the user into bringing to pass events the Mirror wants to happen. The encroaching darkness in the images is a slight hint as to the malevolence of the entity within it, but also is used to spur the viewer to use the Mirror again in order to work to prevent that darkness from coming.

The fifth save failed Suggests that the Mirror's knowledge is essential to prevent the bad future the viewer keeps seeing. The darkness is almost upon us all, and it must be thwarted. The visions after this point all lead to getting the pieces together for a ritual, or to preventing the gathering of the same. The viewer who is not convinced the ritual is to STOP this malevolent force instead gathers the components while believing he's destroying/disposing of/otherwise eliminating them.

It culminates in the cursed viewer performing the ritual, whether under the belief that it's essential to prevent the darkness from rising or by "sleep walking" while thinking he's working hard by day to thwart a mysterious evil sorcerer who is out to perform it (really himself).

The ritual summons some elder fiend or other dark power that is behind the Mirror. Perhaps it's a lich's phylactery, and it brings the lich back into the world in a corpse used as the center of the ritual.

Additionally, the fifth failed save implants a Mind Seed (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/mindSeed.htm) in the victim, so that the "other person" he's trying to stop that is really himself is the increasing take-over of the Lich of his mind.

When it's done, the Lich is freed into a new body and the victim(s) are all mind-clones of said Lich. Perhaps not "loyal servants," but certainly allies.