Manuscript of Damned Rituals - Magic Item (Patreon)

📖🖋️🚫 Merely glancing at its title sends chills down the bravest of spines, and to possess it is to hold a key to unimaginable depths of forbidden magic. The rituals within its bindings are not for the faint-hearted, for they are born from the very essence of darkness and depravity.

Only those who truly understand the cost of meddling with such forbidden arts would even consider unlocking its secrets. For in the wrong hands, this tome has the potential to unleash untold horror upon the world.

Hold it with trembling hands and ask yourself: Do you possess the will to harness its power, or will it consume your very soul? 📖🖋️🚫

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Manuscript of Damned Rituals

Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement by a spellcaster capable of casting ritual spells)

This ancient tome, bound in blackened leather and adorned with unsettling symbols, contains a collection of the most nefarious and forbidden rituals. Its pages seem to be crafted from an unknown, almost skin-like material, and the ink used in its writings shifts and swirls if stared at for too long.

Spellbook Nature. The Manuscript of Damned Rituals functions as a spellbook, but it contains only ritual spells. A spellcaster who attunes to this manuscript can transcribe its rituals into their own spellbook or use it directly to cast the rituals.

Forbidden Knowledge. The manuscript contains 2d6 random ritual spells from any spell list. These rituals can range from 1st to 6th level. The GM determines the spells, or they can be rolled at random. Additionally, within the book are new forbidden rituals.

Shadowcraft

3rd Level Illusion

(Ritual)

Casting Time: 10 minutes

Range: Self

Components: V, S, M (a shard of obsidian and a pinch of grave dirt)

Duration: 8 hours

By performing this ritual, the caster merges with the shadows, becoming invisible as per the invisibility spell. However, every 10 minutes spent invisible, the caster must make a Wisdom saving throw against its own spell save DC or take 2d6 psychic damage, as the shadows whisper dark and unsettling truths to them.

Blood Pact

5th Level Enchantment

(Ritual)

Casting Time: 1 hour

Range: Touch

Components: V, S, M (a written contract in the blood of both parties)

Duration: Until dispelled or one of the bonded creatures dies

Two creatures willingly participating in this ritual form a bond. While bonded, the creatures can sense each other's location and emotional state, as long as they are on the same plane of existence. If one of the bonded creatures dies, the other suffers 3d10 necrotic damage and gains a level of exhaustion.

Dark Siphon

6th Level Necromancy

(Ritual)

Casting Time: 1 hour

Range: 30 feet

Components: V, S, M (a gem worth at least 500 gold pieces, which the spell consumes)

Duration: Instantaneous

This dark ritual drains the life force from a willing or restrained creature, transferring it to another. The target creature is reduced to 0 hit points and falls unconscious. Another creature of the caster's choice within range regains hit points equal to half of what the target lost (rounded down). Using this spell on unwilling creatures can have dire consequences, and it's up to the GM's discretion what these consequences might entail.

Mortal Coil

7th Level Necromancy

(Ritual)

Casting Time: 8 hours

Range: Self

Components: V, S, M (an hourglass filled with the ashes of a phoenix)

Duration: Instantaneous

The caster sheds their mortal form, leaving behind their physical body and becoming a spirit. In this form, the caster can't interact with the physical world but can travel freely and observe. The caster can end this ritual at any time, returning to their body, but if their physical body is destroyed while their spirit is wandering, they are forever lost.

Exodus

9th Level Transmutation

(Ritual)

Casting Time: 10 minutes

Range: Touch

Components: V, S, M (a gemstone worth at least 5,000 gold pieces, bathed in the light of a lunar eclipse and a chalice made of pure obsidian filled with the blood of the subject)

Duration: Permanent

By performing this potent ritual, the caster binds a creature's very essence into an inanimate object of their choice, leaving its original body a lifeless husk. The object takes on a hint of sentience, housing the soul's consciousness and persona. The ensnared soul retains all memories but cannot perform physical actions or cast spells, save for telepathic communication with those who hold it.