Book of Vile Hide (3.5e Equipment)
': An Ancient tome created when time was little and the need for power was immense, but then all this power was absorbed into the book...
The Book of Vile Hide was an artifact created in the year 218, a powerful wizard named Kamyl Lahar saw an opening breach between the shadow realm and the material plane, he used all his power to stop all the creatures from coming out and slaughtering the innocent on the other side of the portal. But they were with too many, so it left him no choice. He called upon the Apocalypse of the Sky, but this was to much for him. The spell consumed him, he was drained from his life but so were the enemies. But the spell still needed its payment, absorbing the souls from the slain shadow creatures.
His soul is now stuck inside this book, together with all the shadow creatures. Overtime Kamyl became Evil and wants to get out of this book with all his newly learned powers of the shadow realm, becoming one of them. But he himself is not yet able to get out of the book, but the other souls can. So he starts to create chaos onto the mortal realm to create an army and maybe one day become free himself.
When someone reads this book the person will fall over, stumble onto his hands starts breathing heavily, sweating and its eyes become white. The reader stays in this position of pain until he finishes his quest.
This quest is something he sees only, falling out of the sky into a world unknown to him. When you look at yourself you see a creature, that amits small black smoke from your body. You feel, hunger, a hunger for blood. After scouting the area you spot some sort of town or tribe, your mind says to kill, create genocide like the shadow creates wanted to do hundreds of years ago. In this place, you are also locked up, the normal version of yourself, you need to kill yourself to get rid of your old soul and claim the new one of a shadow creature. When you kill yourself, you can see the soul leaving this realm, floating up. And all the darkness that was in your old self transfers to you.
If you fail this quest people with under 10HP instantly drop dead on the ground, for people who have between 10 and 50 HP they might either die or become insane of all the things that you have seen and take 3d4 Intelligence and Wisdom damage. People who have above 50 HP won't die but just become insane.
Turning
There are a few ways to turn into your shadow creature.
1: Full moon change Every full moon, you change into your animal form. This happens on the day of full moon, the day before and the day after. When you turn you need to make a Will safe of 20, if this is not met then you go into rampage mode, killing everything in your path. Friends may come last, but if they are the only thing left in the room then they are fucked. To turn back into your humanoid form you can try to make a Control Shape check of 25, if you fail your stuck until sunrise.
2: Damage When taking to much damage you need to make a turning check like a normal Lycanthrope does. If you change, roll the Will safe of 20, if you fail you will enter rampage mode.
3: Voluntary change When choosing to change yourself the checks are much lower, but still requiring a Will safe of 20.
When in animal or hybrid form you are relentless. This means that any attack has a chance to do nothing, or hit someone else. For every attack roll, roll a d10 0: You do not hit, even if the dice say so 1: You try to hit the person to your left 2: You try to hit the person to your right 3-9 Attack as intended
History
98 ADC: Kamyl picked up the book and wrote his first spell into it burning hands.
Kamyl was a firstborn after the Dragons Cleansing, his father told him the ways of books, made him a scholar who would be able to defend himself if something like the Dragons Cleansing would happen again. Growing up in the small elven town of (name in green land) he got to practice with the other newborns but he quickly outpowered them. His talent was proven after going to the college of Reluis and then further when he fought alongside king Silion in the crimson war.
218 ADC: Stopped the invasion from the shadow realm, the book was manifested by its owner and hundreds of shadow souls.
But when his power was needed the most to stop this portal he tapped into the wrong kind of magic, corrupt magic and it shreds him apart. Getting him locked up in his own spellbook together with hundreds of shadow souls.
218 ADC: The book was passed onto a wizard guild to study its magical powers.
The book was deemed holy, it had stopped a natural war between the shadow realm and the material plane. It was first traded around in the town where this event took place and this town was renamed to (town name), but after a few days when word had spread of his achievement, the college of Relius came to collect this holy book. It was kept safe in the college, and the spells in the book were being studied. This lead to a ban on corrupt magic punishable by death. The book was a prime symbol of power, what you could become if you studied there.
387 ADC: The book was stolen from the wizard guild and placed hidden somewhere.
Then on one day the book went missing, it was stolen by one of the council and taken into the (mountain name), Drator studied the book in secret here but due to his short human life he passed away and the book was lost people searched for it for decades but to no use. They thought that it was destroyed.
413 ADC: The alignment of the book changed from Neutral Good to Chaotic Neutral
629 ADC: The alignment of the book changed from Chaotic Neutral to Chaotic Evil
755 ADC: It was found on the doorstep of the museum of mystical items in Palirior.
1032 ADC: The book was stolen by a thief.
1041 ADC: Crusades were made to rid the foul shadow souls that appeared in Palirior.
1182 ADC: The book was revealed to be in the hands of the Votaries of Vecna.
1251 ADC: The book was reclaimed after an attack on the Votaries of Vecna and stored in Golandur
1272 ADC: The book disappeared
1516 ADC: Book was taken from the lair of Feno.
1516 ADC: Current Time
Table
To see what create will manifest the reader roll on this table, as DM you can change up this table to your liking.
All creatures have the shadow template applied to them.
d10
1 Werewolf
2 Wererat
3 Werebear
4 Weretiger
5 Were dire weasel
6 Wereboar
7 Werelion
8 Were dire badger
9 Were small animals to liking
10 Were tiny animal to your licking
Strong all schools; CL ;
Weight: 10
Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Equipment → Major Artifacts