| Text | This legendary tome of dark necromancy was penned by the mad corvum necromancer Lathrus, of the Night's Call. The book is one of a kind and contains terrible necromantic secrets.
The Necronomicon Ex Corvis is a spellbook, and as such only wizards can truly benefit from studying the dark secrets within.
Abyssal Secrets:
By spending a full week studying the dark secrets in this tome, your Intelligence score increases by 2. These secrets gnaw at your mind, however, and your Wisdom score decreases by 1.
Grasp of Shadows:
By spending at least a minute reciting a ritual listed in this book, you can summon forth 1d4 + 2 shadows. These creatures are loyal to you and can understand any instructions you give them. They will carry out these instructions to the best of their ability. This property can only be used once per week.
Knowledge Beyond Reason:
You may add the spells listed below into your spellbook. However, the tome removes the restriction that requires you to be able to prepare and cast these spells. In effect, you can copy these spells to your spellbook now, though they will only be available to prepare once you reach a level at which you can cast them. Additionally, rather than pay gold pieces to copy any spell within into your spellbook, you may deal one point of damage to yourself and take one level of exhaustion to scribe the spell in your own blood.
Level | Spell
3rd | animate dead, bestow curse, vampiric touch
4th | blight
6th | circle of death, magic jar
7th | finger of death
The Corvum's Curse:
After copying at least one spell from this tome into your spellbook, you must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or become cursed (as bestow curse), with the effect of the curse being decided by the GM. The curse persists for 2d4 days, but its duration resets anytime you copy a spell from this book. Otherwise, only a remove curse spell cast using a 5th level or higher spell slot can rid you of this effect.
Destroying the Book:
Unlike other artifacts, the book is not immune to damage. Pages removed from the book will lose their magic within a day. Additionally, exposing the book to direct sunlight for at least 8 hours will cause the dark magic within to dissipate, rendering it useless.
Source: Humblewood Campaign Setting p. 213 |