Lantern of Vice

DESCRIPTION
The Lantern of Vice is a normally sized lantern that weighs more than double a normal one, named for what it leaves behind after activation. Different from a normal lantern’s appearance due to the lack of opaque sides to focus the light in one direction, the Lantern of Vice does not require any sort of detection magic or abilities to sense its aura. Anyone who steps within a mile of the object feels a slight sense of unease and can use that to locate the lantern with a perception check DC 15.

Once a being steps within 500 feet, they must begin making Will saves per the table below based on how far they are from the lantern, with a failed save causing Non-Good characters to become frightened and Good characters to become fascinated. Regardless of alignment, failing the Will save by more than 5 results in the character being panicked and being unable to even try to go within 500 feet of the Lantern of Vice for the next 24 hours. Holding the lantern excludes the wielder from this effect. If anyone detects good on it, they must pass a Will save DC 20 to remain conscious, and lose their memory of casting the spell either way.

This aura effect is caused by the good absorbed by the Lantern of Vice. Unlike one would expect from a device radiating such a large amount of Good, the Lantern of Vice is actually a Neutral Evil artifact. When picked up and activated by any sentient being, the Lantern absorbs all Good within 500 feet. Mechanically, anyone/anything affected by this exchanges any Good alignment and changes it one step towards Evil. Anything thus affected that cannot have a non-good alignment (I.E. Archons) instead must save for massive damage (Failure is death, success is taking half their max HP in damage).

While the Lantern is held and only while it’s held the wielder is immune to its aura (not the alignment change) and those who are direct allies of the wielder can be protected from the aura’s effect by Protection from Good. Additionally, while the lantern is held it absorbs any spell with the Good descriptor cast within 20 feet of it (raising Good score by 1 per spell level), and spells with the Evil descriptor cast within the same range are cast as if it were affected by the Desecrate Spell metamagic. This does not raise the spell’s effective level for any reason.

DESTRUCTION
The Lantern of Vice is its own method of destruction. Every step the Lantern of Vice causes an alignment to shift adds one point to its Good score. If the Lantern ever exceeds 200 points of Good absorbed, it can no longer contain the energies and is destroyed after tearing open a portal to a Prison Plane and releasing a Supreme Good Being. The Lantern’s Good score decreases by 1 point every 24 hours