Crimson Drop Vessel

by Frazer 👁 156 views

Charges: 1 (regains at dawn)

A slender, flawless vial of pale glass with a thin gold rim around the cork. Within the neck, a single drop of blood glows with a subtle, crimson inner light that seems to pulse in time with the wielder's breath. The glass is cool to the touch, and faint runes etched in ruby dust trace spirals along its exterior. The cap is shaped like a teardrop, and the vial feels warm whenever a living creature’s blood is nearby. When held up to light, the drop appears to shimmer between scarlet and carmine as if alive.

Blood Divination As an action, you may expend the single drop contained in the vial to cast Detect Thoughts on a target you can see within 60 feet, using this item as the spell's material component and without expending a spell slot. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC 14). On a failed save, you read the surface thoughts for up to 1 minute. On a successful save, you sense only general thoughts or the presence of mental activity. This ability recharges after dawn.

Ever-Blood Refill The vial always contains exactly one drop of blood. If you use the Blood Divination property, the drop is consumed and a fresh drop forms inside the vial at dawn. The source of the new drop is mysterious and may be from a living creature of the DM's choice (or the world’s magic if the DM permits).

Lore

Forged by a renegade blood-chemist who sought to read the minds of kings and commoners alike, the Crimson Drop Vessel was designed to isolate a single thread of blood in a world of countless stories. It is whispered that the drop contains the echo of a life’s intent, and that those who peer too closely into it risk hearing more than truth—perhaps the faint whispers of the blood’s previous vessels.

History

The Vessel surfaced during a late-arc trade in a city known for its alchemical academies. It passed through the hands of merchants, scribes, and a reluctant necromancer who valued truth above all, until a savvy adventurer bought it to pierce lies told by rulers. Its magic is unpredictable; some claim the drop’s power is waning, others insist it grows stronger with each new story it witnesses.

Created by Frazer 👁 156 views