An ancient artifact, created by an unknowing benevolent cleric and a conniving evil priest, The Questing Sarcophagus is perfect to throw against more experienced players. Visually, The Sarcophagus appears to be just that, a stone coffin with the image of a saint carved into it. Over its heart is a hole, where the user places The Geas-Stone.

The legend says that a cleric of a terrible god of death and evil found himself with the corpse of a powerful paladin. The evil cleric knew that should he try to raise the paladin from the dead, he would know who was calling him, and would refuse to answer. So, in answer to this problem, the dark priest wormed his way into a friendship with a holy man. The evil cleric twisted his tale, and told the good man that he wanted a device to raise the dead, so that paladins and clerics would be able to keep good on this earth for many years to come. The holy man, ignorant as to his friend’s true nature, agreed and formed The Sarcophagus. In secret, the evil cleric forged The Geas-Stone, and waited for his unwitting pawn to complete his chore. Once the Sarcophagus was completed, the evil cleric stabbed its creator in the back, and made him the horrid device’s first victim. He tore a hole in the sarcophagus, to enslave the heart of whoever is placed inside.

In game mechanics, The Questing Sarcophagus casts “resurrection” on any mostly intact corpse that is placed inside it on command. However, as a side effect, so long as The Geas-Stone is placed above the creature’s heart, a Geas/Quest spell is placed on the body. Anyone who is raised by The Questing Sarcophagus is automatically killed when his Quest is completed, or the spell expires. Users of The Sarcophagus tend to then collect the body, which is still intact, and raise it again, until the soul stops listening. In addition, two restrictions are placed on the victim: he may not attack whoever activated The Sarcophagus, nor may he kill himself. He may, however, put himself in situation where he might die, for example he might attack a Red Dragon, however he cannot leap directly into its flames. Intentionally disobeying the literal wording of the command counts as an attempt at suicide, and the magic involved will not allow it. Destroying The Questing Sarcophagus immediately destroys all who were raised by it, most likely a reprieve for the tortured souls.

A DM might use The Questing Sarcophagus to raise a dead PC, bring him back to fight against the group. This makes for some interesting role-playing opportunities, and it might be fun for the player to have one last fight with his older character. In addition, notoriously good people can be thrown against the group; the paladin who saved them once, an employer and heroes who are known throughout the land. It might even be the center of an entire campaign, perhaps to hunt down the evil cleric, who may still be using it to this day. The Sarcophagus is not limited by levels either, it is just as interesting for a first level group as a fifth or tenth. However, it is suggested that you never let the PCs actually come into possession of The Sarcophagus for an extended period of time. It can easily become too powerful, so things should be arranged so that it is either recovered by the forces of darkness, or destroyed.

Related posts

• The Stone Portal Tablet
• The Wild Card
• The Everywhere Mirror
• The Map of Everything
• Sword of True Death