Shield Of The Hidden Lord

A golden shield with a devil in it. Gargauth pretends to be a celestial. I carry it. Don't ask me why I haven't thrown it into a river.

[!info]- Lore
The shield imprisons the pit fiend Gargauth and corrupts everything nearby. It can be destroyed only by a good god, an archdevil, or a handful of planetary things, as Lulu eventually tells us.

[!example]- Mechanics (Descent into Avernus)
Armor (shield), legendary (requires attunement).

• +2 AC and resistance to fire damage while you hold it.
• Charges: 3. Expend 1 to cast fireball or 2 to cast wall of fire (save DC 21; the wall lasts 1 minute with no concentration). Regains all charges at dawn.
• Aura of dread: the shield can choose to radiate dread for 1 minute (not under your control). Hostile creatures that start their turn within 20 ft make a DC 18 Wisdom save or are frightened until their next turn; a success makes them immune for 24 hours. Once used, recharges at dawn.
• Sentient while Gargauth is inside: Int 22, Wis 18, Cha 24; hears and sees truly out to 120 ft; speaks Common and Infernal; telepathy within 120 ft.
• Personality: it refuses to reveal what it is, calling itself the Hidden Lord and hinting it's an angel in an unholy prison, while nudging its owner toward cruelty and domination. It wrongly believes it can escape if brought to the Nine Hells.
• Freeing Gargauth: dispel evil and good has a 1% chance (automatic if cast by a solar, planetar, or archdevil), or a god can touch it and speak his name.
  Source: Descent into Avernus, appendix C.

#item #artifact #cursed