Gold Skull Talisman

Wondrous item, minor, rare

This small, golden, skull-shaped pendant is attached to a simple leather strap. The skull is engraved with an intricate pattern that seems too subtle and delicate to have been carved by normal humanoid hands. As an action, you can activate the talisman to locate treasure in your vicinity. For the next hour, you can sense the presence and location of silver, gold, platinum or gems within 30 feet of you. This effect penetrates 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. Once you use this feature, it cannot be used again until the next dawn.

   Curse. This talisman is imbued with a curse of avarice, and wearing it extends the curse to you. As long as you remain cursed, you are unwilling to part with the talisman, wearing it around your neck at all times. When using the talisman to detect treasure, you must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw the first time you detect a single object worth at least 500 gp. On a failed save, you are overcome with a compulsion to steal the object detected. If the object is not in your possession after a period of 8 hours from the time you first detect it, you take 6d6 psychic damage.

   Over time, the curse of avarice gradually infects you with madness. After wearing the talisman for 1 week, you begin to suffer from paranoid delusions, granting you disadvantage on all Wisdom and Charisma ability checks. After 1 month, your paranoia becomes uncontrollable, granting you disadvantage on all Wisdom and Charisma saving throws as you begin to suspect that even your closest allies plot to steal your treasures. After 1 year, the curse compels you to remain with your treasure at all times, to the exclusion of your own health and well-being. If you die in this state, your soul is permanently bonded to your treasure, turning you into a hoard golem.