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Staff of Biomorphic Tissues - Magic Item (Legendary Archive)
🕑 Added 2023-09-11 18:24:10 +0000 UTC👁️🪱🔮 The staff carries the mark of an alien entity merged hauntingly with its wooden frame. A testament to an age when stars aligned in ways unknown, revealing rifts between worlds, from which the unknown trespassed into our realm.
Scholars whisper of its origin tied to the Ethereal Plane—a place of shifting shadows and intangible fears. When the barriers between realms were momentarily weakened, an entity, neither wholly of the ethereal nor the material, bled through. Its essence was captured and bound to a staff by an enchanter whose name time has long forgotten, but whose ambition has left an undying mark.
The staff's surface reveals a grim spectacle: grotesque sores, protruding bone, and clammy flesh—each bearing the tormented history of its alien progenitor. Yet, amidst this horror are eyes—deep, tormented eyes that tell tales of sorrow, rage, and a timeless longing to return home.
Many have sought the Staff of Biomorphic Tissues, lured by the promise of incomprehensible power and the secrets of realms beyond. Yet, few understand the true cost of wielding such an artifact. For in its grip, one doesn't just hold a tool, but an entity—a partner and perhaps, a master.
Hundreds are believed to exist, scattered across realms, each with its own tale, its own legend. Brave are those who seek it, and braver still are those who dare to wield it. For in their hands, they hold not just wood and tissue but a legacy of the cosmos, waiting to be written. 👁️🪱🔮
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Staff of
Biomorphic Tissues
Staff, very rare (requires attunement by a spellcaster)
Fashioned from the gnarled wood of a tree cursed by eldritch forces, and infused with the ever-living tissue of an unfathomable cosmic horror, this staff moves and twitches of its own accord. Its grotesque surface is riddled with weeping sores, protruding bones, and mucus-covered flesh. Here and there, eyes with twisted pupils occasionally glance about, each one filled with agony and rage.
Proficiency and Spellcasting. When the staff morphs into one of its forms, it's considered an improvised weapon, which you are proficient in. Use your spellcasting ability for attack rolls and add your spellcasting modifier to its damage.
Charges. The staff craves the anguish and fears of those nearby, holding 10 charges. It regains 1d4 + 2 expended charges daily at dawn. If you use the last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the staff falls into a tortured slumber, becoming inert for a week.
Morphic Forms
Tendril of Torment (1 Charge). As an action, a moist, jagged tendril emerges from the staff, reaching up to 20 feet. Make a melee weapon attack. On a hit, it inflicts 1d8 + your spellcasting modifier in necrotic damage. The target suffers an extra 1d4 necrotic damage at the beginning of its turns for a minute. A successful Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC negates this lingering effect. This transformation lasts until the next dawn.
Shield of Anguished Souls (2 Charges). With a bonus action, the staff morphs into a vibrating shield adorned with tormented visages. This confers a +2 bonus to AC and lasts until the next dawn. Melee attacks that miss due to this AC boost compel the attacker to succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be cowered until their subsequent turn ends.
Blade of Oozes (1 Charge). With a bonus action, the staff warps into a sinewy blade oozing venom, lasting until your subsequent turn. Melee attacks deal 1d6 + your spellcasting modifier slashing damage plus 1d4 poison damage. This transformation lasts until the next dawn.
Maw of Desperation (2 Charges). As an action, the staff unveils a snarling maw filled with razor-sharp teeth, seeking to bite a creature within 15 feet. Make a melee weapon attack. On a hit, the bite deals 2d6 + your spellcasting modifier piercing damage and drags the victim 10 feet toward you. This transformation lasts until the next dawn.
Eyes of the Damned (3 Charges). As a bonus action, the staff contorts and shifts, unveiling three eerie floating eyes that circle around you. These eyes persist until used or until the next dawn. While the eyes hover, you can opt for a special melee weapon attack as an action, expending one eye with each strike. On a successful hit, the eye deals 1d10 + your spellcasting modifier in psychic damage. The attacked creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be paralyzed in terror until the start of your next turn.
