The Death Mask

A supposedly human made artifact shaped as a golden mask without any orifice. The Mask is believed to have been manufactured with inspiration from Juiblex and enables the owner to drain powers from vanquished opponents. When the Mask is placed on the face of the deceased, it reshapes to fit the face of the corpse, then changes back to resemble that of the owner. At this time the owner receives some of the abilities and skills the dead had. It is possible for a warrior to gain spell abilities this way. The powers are gained at cost of a creeping insanity. At first, it merely makes the owner bad-tempered, then he develops paranoia, and finally the owner becomes a schizophrenic, inhabited by competing personalities trying to eliminate each other. This last phase is usually very short. The most famous story involving the Mask is that of Fandamist, who tried to use the Mask only for good. He never killed anyone to drain their powers, but only used the Mask on persons who he would have killed in any case. It sounded fool-proof, and it did slow the progress, but finally the Mask go to him to the point that he repelled all his former friends, including his beloved Tesara. Tesara was a priestess of Tyche, and she could not bear to lose him, and prayed to Tyche for help. She succeed in saving Fandamist by means of a mask made of orichalcum, that she tricked him to place on his face. One version of the story has him keeping the powers he gained, but many suspect Juiblex himself of spreading this version. The Mask has been used mainly by devil worshipers, until the paladin Aktihle hid it on a small island in the Inner Sea circa 1068.