Dungeon Master's Guide

WAND OF 0RCUS
Wand, artifact (requires attunement)
The ghastly Wand of Orcus rarely leaves Orcus's side.
The device, as evil as its creator, shares the demon
lord's aims to snuff out the lives of all living things and
bind the Material Plane in the stasis of undeath. Orcus
allows the wand to slip from his grasp from time to time.
When it does, it magically appears wherever its master
senses an opportunity to achieve some fell goal.
Made from bones as hard as iron, the wand is topped
with a magically enlarged skull that once belonged to
a human hero slain by Orcus. The wand can magically
change in size to better conform to the grip of its user.
Plants wither, drinks spoil, flesh rots, and vermin thrive
in the wand's presence.
Any creature besides Orcus that tries to attune to the
wand must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw.
On a successful save, the creature takes 10d6 necrotic
damage. On a failed save, the creature dies and rises
as a zombie.
In the hands of one who is attuned to it, the wand can
be wielded as a magic mace that grants a + 3 bonus to
attack and damage rolls made with it. The wand deals
an extra 2d12 necrotic damage on a hit.
Random Properties. The Wand of Orcus has the
following random properties:
• 2 minor beneficial properties
1 major beneficial property
2 minor detrimental properties
1 major detrimental property
The detrimental properties of the Wand of Orcus are
suppressed while the wand is attuned to Orcus himself.
Protection. You gain a +3 bonus to Armor Class while
holding the wand.
Spells. The wand has 7 charges. While holding it, you
can use an action and expend 1 or more of its charges
to cast one of the following spells (save DC 18) from
it: animate dead (1 charge), blight (2 charges), circle of
death (3 charges), finger of death (3 charges), power
word kill (4 charges), or speak with dead (1 charge). The
wand regains 1d4 + 3 expended charges daily at dawn.
While attuned to the wand, Orcus or a follower
blessed by him can cast each of the wand's spells using
2 fewer charges (minimum of 0).
Call Undead. While you are holding the wand, you
can use an action to conjure skeletons and zombies,
calling forth as many of them as you can divide 500 hit
points among, each undead having average hit points
(see the Monster Manual for statistics). The undead
magically rise up from the ground or otherwise form in
unoccupied spaces within 300 feet of you and obey your
commands until they are destroyed or until dawn of
the next day, when they collapse into inanimate piles of
bones and rotting corpses. Once you use this property
of the wand, you can't use it again until the next dawn.
While attuned to the wand, Orcus can summon any
kind of undead, not just skeletons and zombies. The
undead don't perish or disappear at dawn the following
day, remaining until Orcus dismisses them.
Sentience. The Wand ofOrcus is a sentient, chaotic
evil item with an Intelligence of 16, a Wisdom of 12, and
a Charisma of 16. It has hearing and darkvision out to a
range of 120 feet.
The wand communicates telepathically with its
wielder and can speak, read, and understand Abyssal
and Common.
Personality. The wand's purpose is to help satisfy
Orcus's desire to slay everything in the multiverse. The
wand is cold, cruel, nihilistic, and bereft of humor.
In order to further its master's goals, the wand feigns
devotion to its current user and makes grandiose
promises that it has no intention of fulfilling, such as
vowing to help its user overthrow Orcus.
Destroying the Wand. Destroying the Wand of Orcus
requires that it be taken to the Positive Energy Plane by
the ancient hero whose skull surmounts it. For this to
happen, the long-lost hero must first be restored to lifeno
easy task, given the fact that Orcus has imprisoned
the hero's soul and keeps it hidden and well guarded.
Bathing the wand in positive energy causes it to crack
and explode, but unless the above conditions are met, the
wand instantly reforms on Orcus's layer of the Abyss.
OTHER REWARDS
As much as adventurers desire treasure, they often
appreciate other forms of reward. This section
presents a variety of ways that gods, monarchs, and
other beings of power might recognize the characters'
accomplishments, including supernatural gifts that
give characters new capabilities; titles, lands, and other
marks of prestige; and boons that are available only to
adventurers who have reached 20th level.
SUPERNATURAL GIFTS
A supernatural gift is a special reward granted
by a being or force of great magical power. Such
supernatural gifts come in two forms: blessings and
charms. A blessing is usually bestowed by a god or
a godlike being. A charm is typically the work of a
powerful spirit, a location of ancient magic, or a creature
that has legendary actions. Unlike a magic item, a
supernatural gift isn't an object and doesn't require
attunement. It gives a character an extraordinary ability,
which can be used one or more times.
BLESSINGS
A character might receive a blessing from a deity for
doing something truly momentous-an accomplishment
that catches the attention of both gods and mortals.
Killing rampaging gnolls rarely warrants such a
blessing, but slaying the high priest of Tiamat as he
attempts to summon the Dragon Queen might.
A blessing is an appropriate reward for one of the
following accomplishments:
• Restoring the most sacred shrine of a god
• Foiling an earthshaking plot by the enemies of a god
• Helping a god's favored servant complete a holy quest
An adventurer might also receive a blessing in
advance of a perilous quest. For example, a paladin
could receive one before setting out on a quest to slay a
terrifying lich that is responsible for a magical plague
sweeping the land.
CHAPTER 7 I TREASURE
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