The Soul Resonator (Cursed artifact)
Wondrous Item, artifact (requires attunement by a cleric, paladin, or warlock)
Forged in the waning days of a forgotten empire by a conclave of death-priests and necromancers, the Soul Resonator was designed to pierce the veil between life and death.
The artifact is a twisted rod of copper-covered ebony, its shaft carved with silver runes that writhe faintly in the dark. At its crown rests a great orb of crystalized shadow, glowing with a cold, green-blue fire. Within that light, flickering faces can sometimes be seen—the trapped echoes of souls pulled from the veil between worlds. Wherever the dead linger, the Resonator hums with palpable dread.
The Resonator thrums faintly in the wielder’s hand, as though beating in time with the heart of the Shadowfell. When undead are near, the artifact vibrates with a low, mournful hum, its glow intensifying until it casts spectral light that paints the air with ghostly forms.
Legends claim the rod was forged by a cabal of death-priests who sought to command the undead hordes of the Shadowfell. Instead, the Resonator became a beacon for the restless dead—a lure as much as a detector. It reveals what lies hidden, but at a terrible cost, for each use gnaws at the wielder’s spirit, fraying the tether to the living world.
Properties
- While attuned, you can cast detect magic at will, but only for necrotic auras.
- You cannot be possessed or charmed by undead.
- Undead are always aware of your presence within 1 mile.
- When you finish a long rest, roll a d20. On a 1, the artifact temporarily seizes control of your body, compelling you to seek out and commune with the dead until the next dawn.
Beacon of the Restless. While attuned to the Resonator, you can activate it as an action. For 10 minutes, the artifact glows with pale green fire whenever undead are within 300 feet of you (even behind cover). The glow pulses faster the closer the undead are, and it vibrates violently if a powerful undead (CR 10+) is within range.
Pierce the Veil. Once per long rest, you may ask the Resonator a single question about the presence, number, or nature of undead within 1 mile. The answer comes as a whisper in your mind from lingering souls. The DM must answer truthfully, though often cryptically.
Unquiet Choir. Whenever you use the Resonator to detect undead, you hear the voices of the dead clawing for your attention. After each use, make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, you suffer one of the following effects (DM’s choice or roll):
- Haunting Echoes. Disadvantage on Wisdom checks for 1 hour.
- Drained Vitality. Lose 1d4 hit points per character level (cannot be regained except by a long rest).
- Whispers of the Veil. You must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or be compelled to speak in the voices of the dead for 1 minute, revealing secrets not your own.
Shadow-Tether. While attuned, you cannot be surprised by undead, and you always know the direction of the nearest graveyard, catacomb, or battlefield within 5 miles. However, undead also sense you. Intelligent undead will often seek you out, drawn to the Resonator’s call.
Curses attached to the Soul Resonator
Attunement to the Soul Resonator cannot be ended willingly. Only a Remove Curse spell cast with a 9th-level spell slot, or divine intervention, can sever the bond. Until then, the wielder suffers a slow corruption:
At dawn each day, make a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, gain one flaw tied to obsession with death and the undead (such as “I cannot sleep unless I count the names of the dead” or “I trust the whispers of the departed more than the words of the living”).
After three failed saving throws, the wielder begins to physically wither, their flesh cold and gray. They gain resistance to necrotic damage, but vulnerability to radiant damage.
If the wielder dies while attuned, their soul is trapped within the Resonator, adding its whisper to the artifact’s unquiet choir forever.
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