Orcus’ Bowl – New Magic Item / A to Z Blogging Challenge [O]

[Not that Orcus, the other one.]

Bowl of Orcus

The oath was taken, the name of the dread one, punisher of word-breakers, lord of the underworld, was invoked over the bowl dedicated in his name, Orcus.

Very few world risk his anger after making such an oath.  While Orcus occasionally finds and punishes the everyday oath-breaker, those that have brought themselves to his attention, if they break their word . . . Orcus will insure their punishment and ensure it is brutal and painful.

Orcus’ Bowl

These bowls are made of glass and have an oddly unearthly appearance to them.  When struck they issue a mournful echoing wail of an underworld spirit.  While appearing fragile, these bowls are almost impossible to destroy.

The bowl is used in ceremonies that recognize a binding oath and must include a sacrifice to Orcus as part of them.  Once the ceremony is complete, the eyes of Orcus is upon all who made the oath, watching and waiting for signs of betrayal.  As long as they keep to their oath, they gain a +1 morale bonus to saves against fear.

However, if they break they sworn promise, they are subject to Orcus’ Curse which make them seem a likely victim for any band of criminals and anyone attacking the oath-breaker gains a +2 profane bonus to attack and damage rolls and a +4 profane bonus to confirm critical hits.  Additionally, once the oath-breaker is slain, his soul is claimed by Orcus and the oath-breaker cannot be brought back from the dead without dealing directly with the god.

The curse can be broken by making restitution to the other people who were bound by the oath, as they see fit, and to Orcus, usually requiring expensive sacrifices (worth at least 500 per character level).

Aura moderate necrourgy; CL 9th
Slot none; Price 8,000; Weight 1 lb
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, bane, bestow curse, bless, discern lie, quest, creator must have never broken his oath; Cost 4,000 (+320 xp for D&D)

Notes: The original Orcus was a Roman god of the underworld too, but also a punisher of oath-breakers.

The bowl is actually a Roman bowl from the first century CE.  Photo by The Consortium / Dave & Margie Hill / Kleerup and used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.