Pact Items
Pact Items
The Pact Items are a collection of legendary magical artifacts created and gifted by Zarchelia, the erinyes, as part of her fiendish pacts with members of the party. Each item is a masterwork of infernal craftsmanship, bearing Zarchelia's personal touch and reflecting both her power and her understanding of those who wield them.
These items are bound by ritual and blood, requiring daily ceremonies to maintain their power. Each artifact comes with both extraordinary benefits and subtle reminders of the bargain that granted them.
The Six Pacts
| Item | Wielder | Type | Spells |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bracers of the Bound Devil | Xanphina | Wondrous Item | Expeditious Retreat, Infernal Smite, Hellgate's Passage |
| The Apostate's Rosary | Baelgrum (inherited from Alexios) | Wondrous Item | Ray of Sickness, Hold Person, Bestow Curse |
| Antler Crown of the Hunted | Karma | Wondrous Item | Entangle, Heat Metal, Conjure Animals |
| Hellhound Whistle | Keyleth | Wondrous Item | Ensnaring Strike, Cordon of Arrows, Erupting Earth |
| The Patron's Signet | Gootcha | Wondrous Item | Hex, Blindness/Deafness, Hypnotic Pattern |
| The Bound Grimoire | Shade | Wondrous Item | Sleep, Mirror Image, Slow |
Common Properties
All pact items share certain characteristics:
Charges. Each item has 5 charges that can be expended to cast its associated spells.
Recharge Rituals. Each item requires a unique dawn ritual to regain its charges after a long rest. The rituals are personal and binding, ranging from blood offerings to inverted prayers, each designed to remind the wielder of their pact.
Legendary Quality. All items are legendary in power and craftsmanship, bearing Zarchelia's personal sigil or mark.
Infernal Origin. Each item is unmistakably infernal in nature, though the manifestation varies — some are warm to the touch, others carry faint scents of brimstone or blood, and all mark their wielders in subtle ways.
The Patron
Zarchelia, the erinyes who created and bestowed these items, serves a powerful Lord of Hell. She is known for her patient manipulation, preferring to shape events through temptation and carefully crafted bargains rather than brute force. Each pact item represents not just a gift of power, but a deepening bond between wielder and patron.
Her gifts are never simple — they come with histories, with memories, with pieces of other stories. The Antler Crown of the Hunted was forged from the sacrifice of an Elk Beast King who bought his freedom from the Nine Hells. The Bound Grimoire writes in ink the color of blood and seems to study its reader as much as it is studied. Each item carries weight beyond its physical form.
The Bargain
The party's first encounter with Zarchelia occurred at the Hill of Lost Souls, where she was inadvertently summoned by cultists of the Cult of the Dragon. Rather than engage in open conflict, she offered power in exchange for... something. The exact terms of each pact remain known only to the individual wielder and the devil who made the offer.
What is clear is that these items represent only part of the bargain. Zarchelia has made it known she is invested in the party's success against Tiamat and the Cult of the Dragon, though her reasons remain her own. The original bargain was later deepened in the Hells by the Compact of Restoration and Continuance (Session 50).
Related
- Zarchelia – The erinyes patron who created these items
- Fiendish pact feats – Additional benefits available through infernal pacts
- A Compact of restoration and continuance – The Session 50 contract that deepened the pacts
- Hill of Lost Souls – Where the pacts were first offered
- Session 36 - Gootcha Talks to Death – The party's first encounter with Zarchelia
Player Characters
- Xanphina – Wielder of the Bracers of the Bound Devil
- Baelgrum – Wielder of the Apostate's Rosary (inherited from Alexios in Session 50)
- Karma – Wielder of the Antler Crown of the Hunted
- Keyleth – Wielder of the Hellhound Whistle
- Gootcha – Wielder of the Patron's Signet
- Shade – Wielder of the Bound Grimoire