Crimson Shroud

Wondrous item, artifact (requires attunement)

This loosely woven red shroud is made from a bloodsoaked burial shroud. As an action, the wearer may command the shroud to become a vaporous, bloodred cloud of mist in a 10-foot radius centered on the user. The red mist can remain for up to 10 minutes per day. The duration need not be consecutive but must be used in 1-minute increments. The mist provides concealment away as an obscuring mist spell, and any living creature that enters it must make a DC 15 Wisdom save or be filled with sadness and despair (as the symbol of hopelessness spell), as long as they remain in the cloud. Furthermore, creatures affected by this spell effect always attempts to save against harmless spells and effects even if a save is normally not allowed (such as cure spells), with such spells having only one-half their normal effect (or duration, if there is no logical way for the beneficial spell’s effect to be reduced by half) and refuse to leave the cloud willingly. An affected creature can attempt a new save each round at the end of its turn.

A creature that successfully saves is immune to the effects of the crimson mist for 24 hours. The wearer of the Crimson Shroud is able to see through the mist normally and is immune to its other effects.

Random Properties The Crimson Shroud has the following random properties:

• 1 minor beneficial property
• 1 major beneficial property
• 1 minor detrimental property

Properties of the Shroud

The true power of the Crimson Shroud, however, lies in its ability to heal the afflicted. When the shroud is placed over the body (or some portion of it) of the individual to be healed (whether living or dead) and the Ritual of the Crimson Shroud is intoned, the following abilities can be activated.

• Remove disease 5/day
• Heal 3/day
• Raise dead 3/day
• Greater restoration 1/day
• Resurrection 1/day
• True resurrection 1/week (requires at least some small portion of the body: a bone fragment, dust, etc.)

An additional use of the Crimson Shroud has been discovered as well. If the shroud is placed over a vampire and an altered ritual called the Ritual of the Corrupted Shroud is intoned, the typical weaknesses of a vampire can be removed over a 1-minute period leaving the creature an immortal undead creature but without a vampire’s normal weaknesses and requirements for existence.

Destroying the Crimson Shroud The Crimson Shroud is destroyed if a wearer commits suicide of his own free will while wearing it.

Ritual of the Crimson Shroud

School: conjuration (healing)

Casting Time: 90 minutes

Components: V, S, plus the ritual leader must have the Crimson Shroud

Skill Checks: The ritual requires 3 successful skill checks before 6 failures – Wisdom (Medicine) DC 10; Intelligence (Religion) DC 10; Intelligence (Arcana) DC 10

Range: touch

Target: one creature’s body (living or dead)

Duration: instantaneous

Saving Throw: none, see text

Backlash: none

Failure The Crimson Shroud’s use of the intended spell effect fails. This does not count as a use of that spell ability, and it can be attempted again after 1 hour.

The caster places the Crimson Shroud over the body of the individual who is to be affected by the rituals healing. He then chooses the spell effect that will be used and begins the ritual. Upon completion of the ritual that spell effects that target of the ritual just as if it had been cast by a cleric of the appropriate level. If the ritual used to bring a creature back from death, the subject’s soul must be free and willing to return as described in the raise dead spell.

Ritual of the Corrupted Shroud

School: necromancy

Casting Time: 1 minute

Components: V, M (a blood sacrifice, see text), plus the ritual leader must have the Crimson Shroud

Skill Checks: The ritual requires 10 successful skill checks – Intelligence (Arcana) DC 10, 4 successes; Intelligence (Religion) DC 10, 3 successes; Intelligence (Arcana) DC 10, 2 successes.

Range: touch

Target: one vampire

Duration: instantaneous

Saving Throw: none

Backlash: The target is forced into gaseous form and must return to its coffin for 2 rounds to reform.

Failure The target’s weaknesses stop being removed at the point when the 5th skill check is failed and no further removal of weaknesses can be attempted for that target.

The caster places the Crimson Shroud over the target vampire’s body and begins the ritual. If the vampire is conscious and willing, it can be the caster. Making the necessary skill check in each round of the ritual is a move or bonus action that allows the caster to otherwise act normally, but he cannot otherwise talk or cast spells with verbal components during the ritual. The ritual does not require concentration and cannot be interrupted short of the caster losing consciousness or otherwise being unable to continue the ritual. The ritual must be cast in the moments before dawn so that in the final round of the ritual the vampire is exposed to direct sunlight.

If the vampire is not exposed to direct sunlight in the final round of the ritual, then it cannot ever remove its weakness to being destroyed by direct sunlight.

While covered by the Crimson Shroud, the vampire is temporarily immune to the effects of sunlight.

The casting of this ritual requires a blood sacrifice each round that deals 3d6 points of necrotic damage (this damage bypasses resistances and immunities).

The caster chooses the source of this blood sacrifice each round from any sentient creature (living or undead) that has blood in its body that is within 30 feet of the caster. A creature can resist this sacrificial blood loss with a DC 23 Constitution save, though the caster can target a different individual with the blood sacrifice as part of the ritual’s action for that round. The caster can only redirect the blood sacrifice target once per round.

The ritual is unlike other rituals in that for each round in which a successful skill check (caster’s choice) is made, one vampire weakness is removed in the following order. This weakness is removed even though the caster has not yet succeeded on at least half of the skill checks (see Failure above if 5 skill checks are failed).

Round Weakness Removed

1	Aversion to odor of garlic	2	Shadowless and no reflection	3	Aversion to presentation of holy symbols
4	Inability to enter a private home or dwelling without invitation (forbiddance)
5	Damage from immersion in running water (harmed by running water)
6	Immobilization by wooden stake through heart (stake to the heart)
7	Blood hunger
8	Forced into gaseous form and regeneration in coffin at 0 hit points
9	Reduced damage from exposure to direct sunlight (sunlight hypersensitivity only does 10 radiant damage)
10	Damage from exposure to direct sunlight (sunlight hypersensitivity weakness removed)

It is possible that variations of this ritual exist that can remove the weaknesses of nosferatus and other types of vampires or even other types of undead altogether, but if so none have yet come to light.