Tools of the Trade (CBN)

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: Pizentios kept me and the rest of my crew locked in his cellar for days, at the bottom of a deep, dark pit that was sealed by a single trap door. One morning, Apprentice Sarzec opened the trap door and used a rope to lower some noxious stew—perhaps intending to drug us again and feed another sailor to his master's familiar. We had no intention of sampling his fare once again. By then, of course, we had established a plan of escape.
: Although stripped of all our possessions and holy symbols, Tala, a priestess with our crew, prayed for a command spell. When the apprentice opened the trap door above us, the cleric suggested that Sarzec jump. Just like that, without hesitation, the dumb sot leaped into the pit with us, breaking both legs when he hit the floor and knocking him out cold. Tala bound Sarzec's wounds, but I refused to let her set his mangled legs. At least the villain wouldn't bleed to death. Six of my sailors made a human pyramid, lifting up the first mate until he reached the open trap door. He then secured the rope Sarzec used to lower our food, and we all climbed out, leaving the unconscious apprentice in the pit.
: After we escaped from Pizentios's prison, we began to raid his home. Fortunately the necromancer and his familiar were still occupied elsewhere on the island, so we sacked the metal tower, hurling his most useful tomes, talismans, potions, and scrolls into a number of sacks. We also discovered artifacts of the necromancer's hideous practices, embalmed in jars of amber oil. We destroyed these and many other abominations that decorated the shelves of his study.
: The greatest treasure we discovered beneath his bed in his private chamber, locked in an ebony box. It was a scimitar in a black leather sheath, superbly balanced and traced with the most deadly wardings of black necromancy, or so Tala warned me. I strapped it on anyway. In a corner of the room, on an iron stand, we found Pizentios's grimoire. Fearing it was trapped, I used the sheathed scimitar to flip it into a sack. There was no time to inspect any of these treasures in detail, since we were terrified that the necromancer might return at any moment and slay us all. But Fate smiled upon us, and we made it back to our ship with all of Pizentios's most valuable treasures.
: In the night, Pizentios returned to his devastated tower. By then, our ship stood off from shore, far beyond the range of his lethal spells. Bereft of his grimoire, the necromancer sent his familiar after us instead. The winged fiend descended on us like a nightmare and began ravaging the crew. Then I unsheathed the scimitar I had stolen from Pizentios' tower, and the fiend, beholding its naked blade writhing with fell runes, fled abruptly into the night. Our escape from the Isle of Sahu was complete.
: —From Captain Omar's "Tale of Sahu"
Necromancers and death priests are renowned for their exotic magical creations. Over the centuries, these spellcasters have developed an expansive foundation of necromantic lore which is only now being rediscovered. Much of this ancient knowledge is not being employed in the most ethical manner. For example, based on the principles found in magical texts such as the Book of Shadows, the Scabrous Society has recreated a few long-forgotten poisons and necromantic devices to help expand their evil organization.
This chapter details a few of the magical venoms and necromantic items that have only recently come into more frequent use by several powerful groups of necromancers and various cults of death priests. Sometimes, adventurers such as Captain Omar have managed to discover new sources of necromantic lore in their travels. As more archaic tomes begin to appear in the campaign, the magical devices outlined in this chapter will become more than just rare curiosities. This chapter enables the DM to augment the arsenals of necromancers and priests in the campaign.