Aztec Gold (5e Equipment)
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Wondrous item (Gold Coin), Rare (requires attunement) "Find it, we did. There be the chest. Inside be the gold. And we took 'em all. We spent 'em and traded 'em and frittered 'em away on drink and food and pleasurable company. The more we gave 'em away, the more we came to realize...the drink would not satisfy, food turned to ash in our mouths, and all the pleasurable company in the world could not slake our lust. We are cursed men, Miss Turner. Compelled by greed, we were, but now...we are consumed by it." -Hector Barbossa on the Curse Of The Aztec Gold. The curse of the Aztec Gold, also known as the curse of Cortés or the Aztec Curse, was a dark magic cast upon the treasure of Cortés, consisting of a stone chest with 882 pieces of Aztec gold. Given to Cortés by the Aztecs in an attempt to stop his pillaging, Cortés, in his greed refused to halt his conquest. Having seen Cortés' greed he wreaked upon with his armies, the heathen gods placed a curse on the gold: any mortal who removed a piece from the chest would be punished for eternity. The only way to lift the curse was by returning all the pieces of the Aztec gold and payment in blood. The coin appears as an ordinary gold piece. indistinguishable except for its intricate design, a skull surrounded by Aztec symbols and runes. Legends tell that the Aztec curse bestowed by the Heathen Gods punished any who stole from the stone chest. Those who fell under the curse would have achieved a form of immortality, as they were no longer alive and could not die. Nevertheless, the curse deprived the greedy beholders of all feeling; pain or pleasure—food, drink or women. Though the accursed could not die, they were doomed to a lifeless existence. When victims of the curse step into the moonlight, they turn into walking undead skeletons, a revelation of their true nature. In this state, they are particularly vulnerable to physical damage, with strong blows being enough to physically take them apart. The curse only affected anyone who specifically took the coins from the stone chest, and did not affect gold given to others. Spend 'Em, Trade 'Em. A creature who has taken a coin, can give the coin to another creature, using it as a common gold piece. the Curse remains with the creature who has taken the coin. Power Of The Heathen Gods. The coin appears as a regular coin, and magic reveals it to have a faint aura of godly power. No spell can undo the curse, and no spell can suggest what it does. Aztec Curse. This Coin is cursed. In order to break the curse, all of the pieces must be returned to the Stone Chest, on Isla De Muerta or some other cursed island (Discretion of the DM). Then all creatures that partook must deal 1d4 piercing damage to their hand causing blood to be absorbed into the coin and return the coin to the Stone Chest. One creature must stand next to the Chest and proclaim "By blood was paid, by blood undone". Then, IF ALL THE COINS ARE RETURNED, AND THE BLOOD REPAID, the curse is lifted, otherwise the curse continues. Attuning to this item curses you until you follow the parameters above, only the Ritual, a god, or a wish spell can remove the curse. |
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