Lantern of Virtue

DESCRIPTION
The Lantern of Virtue 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 Virtue 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’s direction 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-Evil characters to become frightened and Evil 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 Virtue for the next 24 hours. Holding the lantern excludes the wielder from this effect. If anyone detects evil 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 evil absorbed by the Lantern of Virtue. Unlike one would expect from a device radiating such a large amount of Evil, the Lantern of Virtue is actually a Neutral Good artifact. When picked up and activated by any sentient being, the Lantern absorbs all Evil within 500 feet. Mechanically, anyone/anything affected by this exchanges any Evil alignment and changes it one step towards good. Anything thus affected that cannot have a non-evil alignment (I.E. Undead) 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 Evil. Additionally, while the lantern is held it absorbs any spell with the Evil descriptor cast within 20 feet of it (raising Evil score by 1 per spell level), and spells with the Good descriptor cast in that range are cast as if it were affected by the Consecrate Spell metamagic. This does not raise the spell’s effective level for any reason.

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