Eye of the Leviathan (Magic Eye)

This orb is a potent magical item that has been plucked live from the face of the mighty sea creature. Although no special steps to preserve it have been taken, the eye shows no sign of decay. About the size of a man's skull, it glistens with a natural coat of slime. A deep black pupil stares from one side of the eye.
After one day out of the leviathan's socket, the artifact produces a powerful illusion that causes it to look and feel like a large diamond, however, it oozes a light gooey slime. It is inoffensive but somehow disgusting. The people who know what this diamond is, or those who cast a dispel magic (or similar spell) on it see the diamond for what it really is-a large, slimy eye.
Despite its flesh origin, the eye is a solid item. The older it is, the harder it becomes. The one kept in Urgaan of Angarngi's treasure house is several centuries old, and is now as hard as a sphere of steel. Urgaan bestowed several more powers on the eye, however, they only function in his house. As soon as the eye is out of the building, it only retains the normal powers of the eye of the leviathan.
The eye is a highly evil source of magic. It spreads an aura to a radius of 360 feet, although the aura does not penetrate solid earth. Creatures within this aura are susceptible to the eye's pervasive influence.
Any normal human remaining within the aura of the eye for three consecutive days must make a saving throw vs. spell (plus one every subsequent day of exposure) until the character starts showing some signs of contamination (pale grayish skin, slightly fishy smell, low rumbling voice, heavy sweating in sunlight). Those symptoms disappear when the victim stays out of the eye's aura for at least a week.
After one full month within the eye's aura, a contaminated victim becomes a Stage 1 shree-kah. If the human leaves the aura, even momentarily, the procedure must begin again.
Upon this first stage of degeneration, all skills, knowledge, and values held by the person are lost. They are replaced by the primitive hunger of the shree-kah. The shree-kah need not spend its entire life in the aura of the eye; however, after it has been there for 1d6 months, the next degenerative stage is entered and another Hit Die added.
The degeneracy continues until the shree-kah reaches the seventh stage. Only one shree-kah of that stage will be found in a lair. If another shreekah reaches that level, the older one disappears into the water to follow some mysterious calling. Although the creature swims out to sea, it continues to develop during 1d10 years to finally become a leviathan.
Although the progression of the shree-kah is described as a series of well-defined stages for game purposes, the actual degeneration is a gradual process. As soon as a contaminated human in the aura of the eye fails the saving throw, the skin slowly begins to take on a scaly appearance, teeth and fingernails gradually lengthen into fangs and claws, while memory of the world of humans falls rapidly away.
Magical Abilities: After one century of existence, the eye develops its own form of evil intelligence (Intelligence 17). The one found in Urgaan of Angarngi's treasure house is one of this kind. It cannot do anything physical, but it can cast spells as a 3rd-level wizard.
* Level 1: charm person, darkness (x2), unseen servant.
* Level 2: audible glamer, ESP.
* Level 3: suggestion.
Its spellcasting does not require spell components and is silent. The eye never casts a spell that would betray its powers and intelligence. When it casts a spell, it is to increase its chance of returning to the closest shree-kah lair. It cannot use unseen servant to move itself, but only to move light objects.
Within the aura of the eye, all shree-kah have magic resistance equal to 10% per Hit Die. Thus, a stage V shree-kah is 50% magic resistant within the aura of the eye. The eye has a secondary magical effect as well. When a bottle of wine is placed within 10' of the eye, and remains there for a week, the wine becomes transformed into a potion of water breathing. The eye can perform this function on up to six bottles at once.
Origins of the Eye: Although not unique, this type of artifact is extremely rare. When an eye is plucked out of a leviathan, the monster must still be alive. Furthermore, the eye at that moment is excessively fragile (90% chance of ripping it or puncturing it) and may easily be soiled. Plucking one eye out of a leviathan kills it (so its second eye is unusable).
If two different lairs of shree-kah were to exist within the same city or sewer system, they would stage a bloody war against each other, until one clan or the other is destroyed and its eye artifact captured. This could lead to the construction of barricades within the sewers, causing the city above to be partially flooded and epidemics to spread among the population. More shree-kah would be sent into the streets to seek “converts” in order to increase their troops. 
Category:Encyclopedia Magica Magic Items
Category:Magic Items
Category:Magic Eyes