Key of Fear

The Key of Fear is an ancient and mysterious artifact. It is a large and bulky thing, with a broad and intricate head wrought in the shape of a flat disk, on both sides of which is engraved a distorted face screaming in horror. The shaft of the key is long and sports over a dozen wards and bits at its end, some short as a finger nail and some longer than the entire finger.
The artifact is one of the Seven Keys of Loviatar, vessels of dark power fashioned by the Goddess of Evil herself and gifted to her most trusted servants – her Disciples. Legends state that the keys were made to open the Nine Doors of Secrets within Loviatar’s divine realm. Beyond these mythic portals lie the answers to the most profound secrets of world. These unknowable truths were used mercilessly by the Disciples in their efforts to conquer, subjugate and deceive the mortal races of the Universe. Each of the keys also held within them a piece of Loviatar’s divine might, and this made her Disciples potent threats against the Empyreal Gods.
Click to reveal a divine secret about the nature of this artifact!

This key functions as a phylactery for its designated owner, Artemision.

Divine artifact, trinket

Other names

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Material

Unknown metal

Creator

Loviatar

Magical properties

Revelations of Phobia. The Key houses a bodiless life force that holds countless secrets. You can touch the Key to contact the entity telepathically. As an action, choose a creature you can see, and the entity will reveal mysterious insight about the target’s worst nightmares and even their undiscovered fears. This effect is not considered “mental probing” and it cannot be detected by mundane or magical means. However, certain thought-shielding effects such as powerful items and spells can provide immunity from this effect. Targets of this ability will suffer a permanent disadvantage on any saves against your fear effects. However, after 3 successful saves against your fear effects (over the course of any length of time), this disadvantage will be removed, and the target can never suffer it again.
Fearless. While attuned to the Key, you are immune to mundane and magical fear; you can never be affected by the frightened status effect. Additionally, you are immune to all psychic damage related to fear-associated effects e.g. spells Weird and Phantasmal Killer. Lastly, you are immune to all miscellaneous effects of fear-related effects.
Overwhelming Fear. While attuned to the Key, all your fear effects pierce through spell-like effects that grant protection from fear; advantages against fear-effects are removed and complete immunity from fear is turned into a mere advantage on the saving throw. However, you can never pierce through racial or otherwise innate protections, such as the fear immunity of undead or certain paladins.
Curse of Manic Fear. When you become attuned to the artifact, you are afflicted with a powerful mental disorder that makes you violently afraid of literally even your own shadow, effectively turning you into a gibbering lunatic. You must somehow master this madness in order to wield the artifact successfully and, indeed, even survive alive.
Spell Font. The Key has up to 12 charges. It regains 1d8+4 charges daily at dawn. You can use an action and expend any number of charges to cast one of the following spells:
Fear (1 charge)
Remove Fear (3 charges)
Phantasmal Killer (4 charges)
Weird (9 charges)
Cause Fear (can be cast at any level from 1 to 9, costing 1 charge per level.
You can cast these spells even if your caster level is too low. You use your own casting modifiers.
Seven Keys and Nine Doors. The Key of Fear is capable of unlocking one (or more) of the mythic Nine Doors of Secrets. To find these portals one must venture into the dark domain of Loviatar herself. Such a deed would surely raise the ire of the traitor goddess, and she is a foe not to be faced unprepared…