I haven’t written a collection of magic items for this blog since… oh wow, October of 2024. All of my magic item design has gone toward Avantris projects since then, I guess! We’ve been running a bunch of necromantic storylines over in Citadel LARP, and I thought the D&D crowd might like some of that good, bad sinister stuff. Oh, and I’ve been playing the Necrobinder in Slay the Spire 2, where it is one of my favorite classes.

Banshee’s Veil

Wondrous Item, Very Rare (Requires Attunement)

This long black veil was worn by a woman mourning her lover, who was executed for the treason of passion. While you wear it, you gain the following properties.

• +1 bonus to spell attack rolls and spell save DCs.
• You can deal 1d8 Necrotic damage with your Unarmed Strikes, and you can use Charisma in place of Strength for your Unarmed Strike attack and damage rolls.
• When you take Necrotic damage, the veil gains a charge, and it can hold up to three charges at a time. As a Bonus Action, you can pull the veil aside and expend any number of charges. Enemies in a 30-foot Cone roll a Wisdom saving throw, DC 14 + the number of charges expended. Creatures that fail this saving throw take 2d8 Necrotic damage per expended charge, and their Speed is halved while within 120 feet of you. On a success, they take half damage only. Once any creature fails its saving throw against this property, this property can’t be used again until the following dusk.

Ephemeral Cloak

Wondrous Item, Rare

This gray sheer cloak is tattered and bloodstained at the hem. While wearing it, you gain take half damage from Opportunity Attacks, as weapons pass through you. Additionally, between dusk and dawn, you can walk across liquid surfaces as if they were solid ground.

Onyx Ring of Doom

Ring, Very Rare (Requires Attunement)

This ring is formed from the vertebra of an unknown creature. At the start of your turn, you can choose to take 1d8, 2d8, or 3d8 Necrotic damage, or to take no damage. This damage doesn’t force you to roll saving throws to maintain Concentration. Creatures of your choice within 10 feet of you take the same amount of Necrotic damage that you took, and this damage ignores Resistance to Necrotic damage. If a creature other than you is reduced to 0 Hit Points by this damage, you immediately regain Hit Points equal to the damage you took.

Osseous Armor

Armor (Breastplate, Half Plate, Splint), Very Rare (Requires Attunement)

This armor resembles a rib cage and spine that fit to the wearer. While wearing this armor, you gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class. It has the following additional properties:

• Reinforced Bone. As a Bonus Action, you gain Temporary Hit Points equal to 10 + two rolls of your Hit Point Die. Once this property is used, it can’t be used again until the next dusk.
• Bound in Death. You gain Resistance to Necrotic damage and you reroll any natural 1s on death saving throws.
• Curse. When you take Radiant damage, it ignores any Temporary Hit Points you have. You can’t wear any suit of armor other than this armor until you receive a Remove Curse spell; even a Mage Armor spell can’t affect you.

Staff of the Deathly Exarch

Staff, Very Rare (Requires Attunement by a Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard)

This staff has 20 charges and can be wielded as a magic Quarterstaff that grants a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. While holding it, you gain a +2 bonus to Armor Class, saving throws, and spell attack rolls.

Spells. While holding the staff, you can cast one of the spells on the following table from it, using your spell save DC. The table indicates how many charges you must expend to cast the spell.

Regaining Charges. The staff regains 1d8 + 4 expended charges daily at dusk. When a creature dies within 30 feet of you, you can take a Reaction to draw its soul into the staff, regaining 1d8 charges and preventing the creature from being Raised or Resurrected until the staff is destroyed or a wielder uses a Magic action to release it. Once you draw a soul into the staff, you can’t do so again until the next dusk.

Commune with Souls. As a Magic action, you can speak with a soul that is in the staff. It knows what it knew in life, including your identity. If you killed the creature, it may be reluctant to share information, but you can compel it to answer questions with the Influence action. The DC for these actions is 5 points higher than normal.

The staff normally has 2d4 souls bound in it.

Tutelary Skull

Wondrous Item, Uncommon

This bleached white skull is engraved with necromantic runes. It once belonged to a Dragon, Fiend, Giant, or Humanoid. You learn the name or names that the creature used in life when you learn its properties with the Identify spell, or as part of a Short Rest. You can have a conversation with the creature’s soul lasting up to 1 hour; once you do, it can’t converse this way again until the next dusk.

The skull has 3 charges, and any creature within 30 feet that knows the name of the skull’s soul can use a Bonus Action to expend 1 charge and gain a +1d8 bonus to the next ability check they make using Arcana, History, Intimidation, Investigation, or Medicine. The skull regains all expended charges at the next dusk.

Design Notes

The Staff of the Deathly Exarch is part of my ongoing pattern of writing unique Staffs of Power for various specialized spellcasters. The Staff of Power’s normal spell list is very Evocation-centered, in the same way that the Evoker is the “default” Wizard of the Player’s Handbook, so I’m exploring what other casters’ specialized staves might be like (without dealing with the much longer spell list of the Staff of the Magi).

The Onyx Ring of Doom is very possibly a terrible idea, but it’s inspired by the Necrobinder and the way you use Doom on both yourself and your enemies.

I hope the stories of the rest of these tell themselves sufficiently. Especially for the Osseous Armor, I found myself surprised there wasn’t already something official in that same aesthetic space (or if there is I missed it completely).

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