Cilice of Joyful Contemplation

DM's note:  This item was created on the request of my player.  His backstory involved escaping a particularly vicious Annis Hag, and swiping an infernal puzzle box as he made his exit.  Given the nature of the box, as well as its previous owner, I knew that whatever it contained had to be a Big Deal.  I also knew that whatever it was, it had to be something that no normal human being would feel comfortable using.  After finally solving the puzzle that bound the box shut, this is what he found.

Wondrous Item, Rare, Requires Attunement, Requires Non-Good Alignment

The barbed chains that comprise this harness look like they would make donning it near-impossible.  Nothing could be further from the truth, however.  They always fall and slide across your body in just the right way, never getting tangled or bound.  It's as if the chains want you to wear them.

Despite the risk of ruined flesh and scars, many have sought the cilice before the Order of Boryslav the Lionhearted sealed it away under a magical binding.  The price of blood is more than offset by the uncanny resilience it offers the wearer.

The cilice of joyful contemplation is a harness of cruelly hooked chains that you may wear under any armor or clothing.  The hooks are short, but razor sharp, and cover your torso.  You will take an additional 1d4 points of damage every time you take damage from a weapon or spell that deals bludgeoning, piercing, slashing, or force damage.  Additionally, any magical healing that you receive has its effectiveness halved.

While you wear the cilice of joyful contemplation, you do not need to breathe, nor eat, nor drink.  When your current hit points are below half your maximum, you regenerate one hit point per round until you reach half your maximum hit point total.  If you take radiant damage, or damage from a silvered weapon, thsi trait doesn't function until the start of your next turn.  You will only die if you start your turn with 0 hit points and do not regenerate.

Legio Multicorde

Weapon (club - finesse, light), Very Rare, Requires Attunement

The wooden sword known as the Rudis was one of the Emperor's greatest gifts. Offered only to slaves and conscripts, it was a symbol that they had been released from their servitude and enjoyed all the rights and privileges of true citizens.  This one is pyrographed with the the standard and motto of the 13th legion.

"I shall fear no evil, for my brothers stand by my side.  The Legion is my armor, and we are a single sword."

You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.  This bonus increases by +1 for every two allies within 5 feet of you (up to a maximum of +3).

While you are wielding this weapon, you may choose for your attacks originate from the location of an ally that you can see within 60 feet of you.  This applies to any ability that requires an attack roll.  You may choose a different ally for each attack you are capable of making.

If an ally within 60 feet of you takes damage, you may use your reaction to take up to your level in damage, subtracting that amount from the damage that your ally would have normally taken.

Once per long rest, you may recite the motto on the sword as an action, granting all allies within 60 feet of you 1d4 temporary hit points.  If an ally has a less than half of their available hit points, this ability grants 2d4 temporary hit points.  These hit points remain until you take a short or long rest.

Inkspiller

Wondrous Item, Rare, Requires Attunement, Requires proficiency in calligrapher's supplies

You find an adamantine fountain pen in the hand of a long-dead adventurer.  His skull has been crushed by a war hammer or maul, but the pen shows know sign of corrosion or wear.  You are surprised by the weight of the pen: it will require a light touch, lest you tear the paper upon which you write.  The phrase "The Pen Is Mightier" is etched along the barrel in High Imperial.  The ink is a shade of red so dark that it is almost black.

While this pen is nearly indestructible and never runs out of ink, its true value is revealed in the hands of a skilled scribe.  If you are proficient in the use of calligrapher's supplies, you may wield this pen as a light melee weapon, making a Persuasion skill check in place of a normal attack roll when making the attack action.  When used in such a manner, the weapon deals one point of damage.

The pen displays extraordinary properties in the presence of magical swords.  If a magical sword exists within sixty feet of Inkspiller, the pen will gain a bonus to attack and damage rolls that is one greater than bonus provided by the sword, up to a maximum of +5.  This ability functions in the presence of any sword, but not other magical weapons.  The pen is, after all, only mightier than the sword.

Pilgrim's Unwavering Cincture

Wondrous Item, Rare, Requires Attunement by a creature of lawful alignment

Our ancestors were stronger than us.  They understood the glorious burden of Duty.  Not even death would keep them from discharging their obligations.  We are not what they once were.  We are weak, and we fail in our service to Law and Duty.  This is true, but it must not always be true.  We can be what the Great Ones have always believed us to be.  We can uphold our Obligations.  We can march into the maw of the Black Undertide without fear or regret.  We can face inevitable death with a smile on our face and our heads held high, for we will not relent, and we will never be broken!

-- Final speech of Khimra Bearhide, last King of Ghurud-Hazal

While wearing this belt, your walking speed can never be reduced below its normal value unless it would be reduced to zero.

If your hit points are ever reduced to zero, you remain conscious and able to act for three rounds, provided you move at least ten feet during each of your turns.  If you take additional damage, or fail to move ten feet during your turn, you are immediately incapacitated.  This ability may only be used once per long rest.

Any creature of non-lawful alignment who attempts to wear this belt will find their walking speed reduced to five feet, as if the belt weighed as much as their maximum carrying capacity.

Zealot's Falx

Simple Weapon, Rare, Requires Attunement

1d10 slashing, two handed

The cultist stands over the unconscious guardsman, and splits the poor man's head from his shoulders with a single blow.  The blood runs up the curved obsidian blade, as if it were drinking it - as if it thirsted for it.  She smiles as she feels the bones in her face warp and shift.  The man's death was unfortunate, but necessary. She felt a twinge of guilt as she began stripping the guard's uniform from his corpse.  She wished the magic of the falx would grant not just her victim's visage, but their clothing as well.

The blade of this falx is constructed of unusually hard, tough obsidian.  When you kills a significant (CR 1/2 character level or greater) humanoid creature of your size category with this weapon, you gain temporary hit points equal to the value you would receive when expending one hit die.  

So long as you possess temporary hit points from this effect, you bear the visage and appearance of your victim as if you were under the effects of the alter self spell.  You remain under this effect until the temporary hit points you gained from their death are depleted or expire.

Temporary hit points gained from this weapon expire after you take a long rest.  Temporary hit points from this weapon do not stack: the new effects of the weapon always displace any existing effects.

This weapon can be used as an arcane focus for necromancy and divination spells.

Blood-Tainted Candle

Wondrous Item, Common, Consumable

The tiefling lights the candle, which burns with an emerald flame.  He places it on the table and backs away.  As he leans against the wall, the strange flame reverts to a mundane state.

"This will show us where the demon is hiding," he says with a smile, "unless it's hiding in me."

A blood-tainted candle will burn for one hour once lit.  When a fiend, undead creature, or aberration is within five feet of it, the flame will change from its normal color to bright green.  This flame will also glow green in the presence of creatures that bear an infernal or undead lineage, such as tieflings and cambions. The effect can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.

Prisana's Practical Pullover

Wondrous Item, Uncommon

After The Event shrouded the western region of Jhilal in perpetual twilight, thousands of its people emigrated to the eastern coast of Pirra.  Among them was noted Conjurer Prisana an-Fel, who was so  disgusted by the impracticality of Pirran women's fashion that she dedicated five years of her life to solving the problem of convenient storage.

This hooded pullover is woven from the silk of a now-extinct moth.  The tunic falls below your knees, and bears thirty different pockets.  Each pocket connects to extradimensional storage, and each pocket can hold up to one cubic foot of material that weighs up to one pound.  Any item stored in a pocket can be retrieved as a bonus action.  If a pocket is left empty overnight, it will fill with a pound of sand from an unknown source.