## Description ![[Item_BookofZargos.png|150]] The covers of the book are made of a black, leathery substance, rather like the skin of a bat’s wings. Fixed to the front cover is the horned skull of some diabolical creature. Its eye sockets are filled with obsidian, and glow with ebony fire. The pages of the book appear to be made of thin sheets of bone. A coded language of strange glyphs and Sigils covers the pages, and seems to have been etched with a claw or sharp instrument. ## PF2 Rules ### Book of Zargos _Unique, Artifact (Greater), Grimoire, Level 18_ **Usage** Held in 1 hand; **Bulk** 1 ### **Artifact Traits** - **Alignment:** Chaotic Evil - **Usage Restriction:** Must be attuned via a secret ritual by a priest or wizard of [[Corantus]] - **Recharge Rate:** 20 Power Points per round - **Total Power Points:** 320 ### **Properties** - **Cursed:** The user becomes susceptible to sunlight, taking 1 damage per round while exposed. This damage cannot be resisted or negated, but can be healed normally. - **Corrupting Influence:** The user’s skin pales, their eyes grow sunken, and their lips recede, making them resemble the undead. They lose 1 Charisma per month (minimum Charisma 4). - **Draining Power:** Using the book’s activated powers (not spells learned from it) causes the user to lose 1 Hit Point per activation. This damage cannot be healed by magic, only by rest (1 HP per day). If the user reaches 0 HP due to this effect, they die instantly. - **Obsession:** Any attuned user becomes irrationally obsessed with protecting the book from harm. - **Alignment Shift:** When using the Animate Dead power, there is a 40% chance the user's alignment shifts to Chaotic if they are not already. ### **Spellbook & Coded Knowledge** The Book of Zargos contains several arcane spells, but many remain undeciphered. The following spells can be learned by a Wizard who studies the book: - **Animate Dead** - **Lightning Bolt** - **Shield** - **Cloudkill** - **Control Weather** - **Crushing Despair** - **Gate** (Undeciphered; requires significant research, likely related to **Planar Rift**) ### **Activated Powers** (Requires Attunement; Costs Power Points) - **Animate Dead (50 PP)** – As per the spell. - **Fear (10 PP)** – As per the spell. - **Darkvision (20 PP)** – Grants **darkvision** for **1 hour**. - **Charm (60 PP)** – As per the spell. - **Create Poison (30 PP)** – Creates a potent magical poison, acting as a heightened version of Bestow Affliction. ### **Destruction** The Book of Zargos can only be utterly destroyed by burning it within the fiery heart of a sun. ## D&D Rules ### Book of Zargos As a greater artifact, the Book of Zargos has 320 Power Points and recharges at the rate of 20 points per turn. The following powers are actually spells written in the book. Because of the coded language in which these spells were written, not all of them have been deciphered. Those marked by an * may be used by wizards, and may be found in their individual spell books. The others have not been deciphered, and cannot be used . . . yet. • _Gate_ • _Cloudkill_ • _Power Word Stun_ • _Animate Dead_ * • _Lightning Bolt_ * • _Shield_ * • _Control Weather_ * Everyone attuned to the book becomes susceptible to the sun’s rays, suffering 1 point of damage per round of exposure. The damage can be healed by spells and rest as normal. Those attuned to the Book of Zargos slowly change over time; their skin pales from lack of sunlight, their eyes become sunken, and their lips pull back from their teeth. The overall effect makes them look like undead creatures, though they do not truly become the undead. Affected characters lose Charisma at the rate of 1 point per month, until a minimum Charisma of 4 is reached. Each use of the book’s powers (but not spells learned from it) drains 1 hit point from the user. The damage cannot be healed by the use of spells; only by rest, and at the rate of 1 hit point per day. If a character’s hit points drop to 0 as the result of using a power, death follows. When using the artifact’s _animate dead_ power, there is a 40% chance the character’s alignment changes to Chaotic, if he or she is not already Chaotic. Users of the book become obsessed with protecting it from harm. Through a secret ritual, priests and wizards of [[Corantus]] become “attuned” to the book. This allows them to draw upon any of the following powers, but only while they are within 420 feet of the artifact: • _Animate Dead_ (50 PP). • _Cause Fear_ (10 PP). • _Create poison_ Reverse of _Protection from Poison_ (30 PP). • _Darkvision_ (20 PP). • _Charm Monster_ (60 PP). Notes: A detect evil spell will reveal the book’s evil nature. It can be utterly destroyed only by being burned in the fiery heart of a sun.