Grimoire of Saklas

"As Halcyon fires a lightning bolt into the synaptic center of the Titan, the brain lets out an audible sound - almost that of a sigh. The flesh of the brain quickly begins to crumble into ash and dust, darkening the room once more."
"There stands a pedestal where the brain once stood. Atop this dais is a large book, bound in heavy adamantine chains; it radiates a malevolent aura."

---

Historical Description

The Grimoire of Saklas is a spellbook bound in leather of the darkest black, wrapped in chains of adamantine. This artifact was created in honor of the goddess Achlýs by her son, an incredibly manipulative demigod known as Saklas. It grants the strong immense power and torments the weak upon being read, sometimes even reducing a viewer to a gibbering husk of a person. It was found granting impulse to the undying body of the chthonic Titan Aureus, a colossal creature whose self forms the basis to the town of Yaldabaoth sen Sehaska.
After being liberated from the Titan's brain, thus freeing it from a state of undying suffering, The Killjoys came into possession of the Grimoire. In an attempt to seek out significant information, Loki utilized all of the book's power at once in a series of divination spells, thus permanently causing the Grimoire to function at less than half of its original capacity.
After using it to complete the ritual L'escalier du diable in Verdant Moon 1679, they gave the book to Carlen the Arcanist, a wizard who could presumably make use of it. It currently remains in his possession.

Mechanical Description

The Grimoire contains 21 charges, of which 1d6 are regained per long rest. Constant attunement to the Grimoire is something that chips away at one's mental state due to the inherent dark nature of the book - every consecutive dawn an individual is attuned to the Grimoire, they have to make increasingly more difficult wisdom saving throws (beginning at DC 10) or suffer increasingly detrimental effects to their sanity. Non-attuned creatures can use charges of the Grimoire to cast Commune or Legend Lore (invoking the knowledge of death goddess Achlýs), but they will also have to make wisdom saving throws from reading the dark texts within (the DC will depend on the significance of the questions asked, as determined by the DM, as will the effects - among these are diminutions of sanity points, maximum HP, or even various curses). If the Grimoire reaches 0 charges, roll 1d6. If the number on the d6 isn't a 6, then the Grimoire is permanently reduced to a total of 10 charges. Only a Wish can bring back its full capacity of magic.
The spells contained within are as follows, with a save DC of 19:

• Arms of Hadar - 1 charge
• Bane - 1 charge
• Bestow Curse - 3 charges
• Black Tentacles - 5 charges
• Blight - 5 charges
• Cause Fear - 1 charge
• Circle of Death - 10 charges
• Cloudkill - 7 charges
• Commune - 7 charges
• Contagion - 7 charges
• Crown of Madness - 2 charges
• Dark Star - 20 charges
• Dissonant Whispers - 1 charge
• Dream - 7 charges
• Enervation - 7 charges
• Eyebite - 10 charges
• Fear - 3 charges
• Feeblemind - 20 charges
• Finger of Death - 15 charges
• Geas - 7 charges
• Harm - 10 charges
• Hellish Rebuke - 1 charge
• Hex - 1 charge
• Hunger of Hadar - 3 charges
• Inflict Wounds - 1 charge
• Legend Lore - 7 charges
• Life Transference - 3 charges
• Maddening Darkness - 20 charges
• Magic Jar - 10 charges
• Mental Prison - 10 charges
• Negative Energy Flood - 7 charges
• Psychic Scream - 21 charges
• Reality Break - 20 charges
• Summon Aberration - 5 charges
• Summon Fiend - 10 charges
• Symbol - 15 charges
• Synaptic Static - 7 charges
• Witch Bolt - 1 charge

The Grimoire can only be attuned by a wizard of a Neutral or Evil alignment.

Item type

Magical

Creation Date

Verdant Moon 29, CY 210

Current Location

Valenacht

Current Holder

Carlen the Arcanist

Rarity

One of a kind