Whispering Stones

Just as a fortune teller’s scrying ball is crystal clear, _Whispering Stones_ are orbs of inky blackness. Similar to less powerful message stones, they allow communication across long distances. However, these potent artifacts are imbued with material from the netherworld and only five are known to have been created.

Connected via the realm of the dead, with proper use a person can communicate simultaneously with any number of other _Whispering Stones_ and _message stones_ , or even stream thoughts from places and beings beyond death.

Interacting with the dead is a matter for necromancers and priests for a reason: the dead rarely speak plainly to the ears of the living, for their reality is a place of warped distortions. These powerful relics can grant their users great insight, but who else might be listening in? What arcane secrets—past, present, or future—might be revealed through them? Demons and angels may send secrets and prayers, adding to the cacophony of voices. _Whispering Stones_ have forged nations and shaped destinies, and though they have practical magic applications they hold deeper, dangerous secrets within.

**Legends and Lore** Success on an Arcana or History check reveals the following:

**DC 15** This is a _Whispering Stone_, which allows communication across long distances. Only five of these stones were ever created.

**DC 18** The stones can speak to each other.

**DC 21** The stones can also speak to the dead, or ask questions of powerful extraplanar beings.

**Artifact Properties**

Each time you use a _Whispering Stone_ to cast a spell, roll a d20\. On a 1, the casting connects your mind with that of an extradimensional entity chosen by the Narrator. You begin to hear this entity’s thoughts in your head (and vice versa), and if you were not already attuned to the _Whispering Stone_, you immediately attune to it. In addition, you gain one short-term mental stress effect that lasts for 1d6 days. The voice in your head remains for as long as the mental stress effect.