Haunted Keepsakes

WRITING William Fischer

COLOR ART Gui Sommer
EDITING Mike Myler
LAYOUT Frank Michienzi

Enchanted Trinkets: Haunted Keepsakes | EN World EN5ider

A
n object is often what bars the
way when a living creature dies
but is denied its eternal rest. These
haunted keepsakes represent some
unfinished business the creature had
in life, such as a work of art left incom-
plete or an arrow that never found its
mark. When a new owner acquires the
keepsake, the spirit that haunts the
item urges them to complete the task
it left unfinished. Should the owner
do so, they may receive a supernatural
boon as a reward for helping the spirit
find peace.
Each of the keepsakes presented here are of
particular interest to one of the classes found in
the core rules. All the keepsakes confer upon their
owner a minor magical benefit until the spirit’s
unfinished business is resolved and it grants the
owner a more powerful boon before passing on.
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Enchanted Trinkets: Haunted Keepsakes | EN World EN5ider
Broken Shackles
Wondrous item, common (requires attunement by a druid;
cost 50 gp)
The creature once bound by these broken shackles
died in captivity, far from its home.
The GM determines what creature haunts the
shackles. It may be an unusual beast such as a
mammoth or dinosaur, or something even more
exotic like a griffon. While attuned to the shackles,
you can use sounds and gestures to communi-
cate simple ideas with the same creatures as the
haunting creature.
Delivering the shackles to the creature’s native
environment puts the haunting creature’s spirit
to rest. The shackles lose their enchantment, and
you gain a magical boon. When you use your Wild
Shape class feature, you can take the form of the
creature, even if you’ve never seen that creature and
even if the creature isn’t a beast (if it’s a monstrosity,
for example, in the case of a griffon). You can’t use
the boon to transform into a creature whose chal-
lenge rating is higher than one you could normally
assume. Returning to your normal form expends
the boon.
Cloak of the Nameless
Wondrous item, common (requires attunement by a
barbarian; cost 50 gp)
This hide cloak is haunted by the spirit of an
initiate who died during their rite of passage,
forever losing their chance to earn an adult name.
While you wear the cloak, the nameless initiate
watches over you while you sleep, entering your
dreams to warn you of danger. You are considered
to have a passive Perception score of 20 while asleep.
The cloak’s original owner can’t rest until you
complete their rite of passage. The GM determines
the details of the rite, but it may include climbing a
remote mountain peak or slaying a terrifying beast.
If you complete the rite, a spirit in the form of an
animal or one of the initiate’s ancestors arrives to
give them their adult name. By speaking this name
aloud, you can call on the initiate to guide your path.
When you would fail a Wisdom (Survival) check to
avoid becoming lost in a natural environment, you
can choose to succeed instead. The initiate is then
released to their eternal rest and the cloak becomes
a mundane item.
Coward’s Shield
Armor (shield), common (requires attunement by a
paladin; cost 100 gp)
A fledgling knight once dropped this shield in
the presence of a fearsome dragon. The disgraced
knight died decades later, still haunted by their
lapse in courage.
When you start your turn frightened, you can
call upon the knight’s spirit to bolster your courage.
If you do, you can attempt a saving throw to end
the frightened condition at the start of your turn
instead of at the end of your turn. Once you call
upon the knight’s spirit, you can’t do so again until
you finish a long rest.
In addition, when you and your companions face
a dragon in battle, you can use a bonus action to
become a paragon of bravery. For 1 minute or until
you fall unconscious, you and friendly creatures
within 5 feet of you can’t be frightened. If you have
Enchanted Trinkets: Haunted Keepsakes | EN World EN5ider
the Aura of Courage class feature, you can use this
property to instead double the radius of your aura
for 1 minute. Once you’ve used this property the
redeemed knight’s spirit passes on and the shield
becomes a mundane shield.
Double-Cross Dagger
Weapon (dagger), common (requires attunement by a
rogue; cost 75 gp)
This blade was found buried in the back of a
cutpurse betrayed by their partners in crime.
While attuned to the dagger, you have advantage
on Charisma (Deception) checks to deceive other
scoundrels (any creature that speaks Thieves’ Cant).
The dead recruit urges you to take revenge on
those who betrayed them. Doing so may require
you to infiltrate a thieves’ guild or perform some
other skullduggery determined by the GM. Once
the recruit is satisfied, they take back their dagger
but return it to you when you need it most. You can
use a bonus action to summon the dagger, causing
it to appear in your empty hand and remain for
1 minute. The dagger counts as magical for the
purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to
nonmagical attacks and damage. The dagger disap-
pears forever at the end of the duration or if you
end your turn not holding it.
Exile’s Staff
Weapon (quarterstaff), uncommon (requires attunement
by a sorcerer; cost 150 gp)
An irrational fear of magic led to the exile of this
staff’s former owner.
While attuned to the staff, you can use it to
create minor cosmetic changes to your body and
equipment. These changes are illusory and don’t
hold up to physical inspection. You can only use
the staff to alter your own appearance. Otherwise,
the staff functions as a disguise kit with which
you are proficient.
Before they died, the exile heard rumors of a far-
flung location tied to the source of their magical
power. If you investigate the site on the exile’s
behalf, their spirit imbues the staff with a bit of
magic before moving on. You can draw upon this
magic to cast any 1st-level sorcerer spell you don’t
already know, without spending a spell slot to
do so. Once you cast a spell in this way the staff
becomes a nonmagical quarterstaff.
Martyr’s Symbol
Wondrous item, common (requires attunement by a cleric;
cost 75 gp)
A minor saint of your religion clutched this holy
symbol as they fell before an undead horde.
While attuned to the symbol, when you would
make a saving throw with advantage, you can
choose to make the saving throw with disadvan-
tage instead. If you do, one creature you can see
gains advantage on a saving throw it makes before
the end of your next turn. Once you’ve used the
symbol in this way, you must finish a long rest
before you can use it again.
Although the dead saint’s spirit haunts the
symbol, their body has risen as a mindless undead
creature. If you successfully use the symbol and
Channel Divinity to turn or destroy this creature,
you put the saint’s spirit to rest. The spirit imparts
part of its soul into the symbol once you have done
so. Once afterward when you use the holy symbol to
turn or destroy undead, you can choose to force each
target to make its saving throw with disadvantage.
The holy symbol then becomes a nonmagical trinket.
Misplaced Ki
Wondrous item, common (requires attunement by a monk;
cost 85 gp)
This glowing crystal contains a sliver of ki from
an enlightened master who mislaid it when their
spirit moved on to the afterlife.
While attuned to the shard, whenever you start
your turn with no ki points, you can use an action
to draw upon the shard’s magic and recover 1 ki
point. Once you have used the shard in this way,
you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.
Enchanted Trinkets: Haunted Keepsakes | EN World EN5ider
Tracking down the enlightened master’s spirit is
difficult. Whenever you meditate to regain your ki,
you can attempt a DC 20 Wisdom (Insight) check.
After three successful checks you locate the master
in the spirit world and can return their ki. Once you
have done so, you receive a magical boon. When-
ever you start your turn with no ki points, you can
use an action to regain ki points equal to half your
monk level (rounded down, minimum 1 point). The
glowing crystal then becomes a nonmagical trinket.
Officer’s Badge
Wondrous item, common (requires attunement by a
fighter; cost 75 gp)
This battered brass badge once belonged to
an officer who died while covering their squad’s
retreat. The officer’s remains were never recovered
and now lie forgotten in an unmarked grave.
While you carry the badge, the officer’s voice
directs your movements in battle. You can take the
Disengage or Dodge action as a bonus action on
your turn. Once you use this property, you must
finish a long rest before you can use it again.
The ghostly officer can lead you to their
unmarked grave. If you see that the officer’s body is
reburied with honors, their spirit is put to rest and
the badge loses its magic. The next time you would
die because of a failed death saving throw, the
officer meets you in the afterlife and orders you to
return to the battlefield. If you obey this command
and expend the boon, treat the failed death saving
throw as a success. The badge then becomes a
nonmagical trinket.
Patron’s Missive
Wondrous item, common (requires attunement by a
warlock; cost 85 gp)
The messenger who carried this unopened letter
died before they could deliver it for their other-
worldly patron. The GM determines the nature of
the missive: it might be a love letter, an infernal
contract, or a collection of cryptic symbols.
While you are attuned to the missive, the
warlock’s tormented spirit haunts you, manifesting
as whispered curses, cold breezes, and an unde-
finable sense of dread. When you would make a
Charisma (Intimidation) check, you can choose to
gain advantage. Once you use this property, you
can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
If you deliver the missive, the warlock’s patron
rewards you with the soul of the servant who failed
it. Once afterward you can use a bonus action to
destroy the soul and regain hit points equal to 1d8
+ your warlock level.
Research Fragments
Wondrous item, common (requires attunement by a
wizard; cost 100 gp)
The scholar who assembled these fragmentary
notes died before they could complete their work.
While attuned to the fragments, you gain advantage
on Intelligence (Investigation) checks made to find
information stored in archives and similar areas as
the dead scholar’s spirit guides your research.
Completing the scholar’s research puts their soul
to rest. This might require you to track down the
remainder of the scholar’s notes or to perform some
studies of your own. As a side effect of this work,
you can copy a wizard spell of the GM’s choice
into your spellbook. The spell must be of a level for
which you have spell slots, but the gold and time
required for you to copy the spell is halved. The
notes then become nonmagical papers.
Enchanted Trinkets: Haunted Keepsakes | EN World EN5ider
Unfinished Sonata
Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement by a bard;
cost 150 gp)
These papers contain a famous composer’s final
work: a sonata of breathtaking beauty. Despite the
keepsake’s name the sonata is not incomplete, but its
composer died before they could hear it performed.
While attuned to the unfinished sonata, you can
play the sonata by heart. In addition, you gain
advantage on ability checks to compose (although
not perform) new music as the spirit of the sonata’s
composer advises you while you work.
The dead composer urges you to share their
creation with the world. If you spend 10 minutes
performing the sonata, you can attempt a DC 20
Charisma (Performance or musical instrument)
check. On a success, you and up to 10 other crea-
tures who hear the performance gain temporary hit
points equal to half your check’s result (rounded
down). The composer’s spirit then passes on and
the sonata loses its magic.
Wolf-Hunter’s Blade
Weapon (longsword), common (requires attunement by
a ranger; cost 90 gp)
The ghost of a wolf slain by this weapon haunts the
blade, only finding peace when the blade is broken.
While attuned to the wolf-hunter’s blade, your
senses become as sharp as a wolf’s. You have
advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely
on hearing or smell.
In addition, you can use an action to break the
blade and summon a dire wolf in an unoccupied
space you can see within 60 feet of you. The wolf is
friendly to you and your companions and takes its
turn immediately after yours. The wolf obeys your
verbal commands. Without such commands, it only
defends itself. The wolf disappears after 1 hour or
if it is reduced to 0 hit points. The wolf’s spirit then
passes on and the broken blade loses its magic. e