Egyptian Magical Items
Anpu Neb Ta Djeser, Mirror of the Underworld
Wondrous item, very rare
A beautiful hand mirror set in a stone frame inlaid with copper and gold. A creature holding the mirror and looking into it will see not their reflection, but an eerie, shadowy world on the other side, one that drives many who behold it to terror. When a creature holding the mirror speaks aloud the name of a creature who is dead, the face of that creature appears in the shadowy realm. Anyone looking into the mirror other than the one holding it will simply see their reflection.
The creature must have a specific person in mind when they speak the name. For instance, saying "John Smith" while not picturing a specific John Smith will result in no creature appearing, rather than every dead person named John Smith. The creature does not need to say the full name or true name; nicknames will also work as long as it is a name the creature would have answered to when they were alive.
The creature holding the mirror can ask the dead spirit three questions, as though casting speak with dead. The magic of the mirror means that a spirit cannot tell an outright lie, but it can be evasive, misleading, or lie through omission. The spirit knows the identity of the creature who is holding the mirror, and its response is heard only in their mind.
Once the spirit has been asked three questions, its image fades. This spirit cannot be contacted again for 10 years.
If the creature is dead but its soul has been somehow destroyed or imprisoned, such as in a lich's phylactery, the mirror fails to display them.
Feline Statuette
Wondrous item, uncommon
A palm-sized statuette of a sitting cat carved from beautiful alabaster, this image represents a gentle feline-headed goddess of caring, healing, and birth. When a creature uses an action to set the statuette on the ground and speak its command word, the statuette will come to life for one hour as a white-furred cat with a golden collar. During this period, the cat functions as a familiar for the person who invoked its command word. If the cat is summoned during a short rest, any creature who expends hit dice to regain hit points regains an additional 1d6 hit points thanks to the cat's soothing aura.
After one hour has passed, the cat returns to statuette form. It can't be transformed back into a cat until the next dusk.
Goddess' Duality. By speaking a special, different command phrase, the statuette can be transformed into the Lioness Statuette. If the cat is reduced to 0 hit points, it turns into the Lioness Statuette, rather than the Feline Statuette. Either way, the statuette cannot be transformed back until dusk the following day.
Lioness Statuette
Wondrous item, uncommon
A palm-sized statuette of a snarling lioness about to pounce carved from beautiful onyx, this image represents a fierce lion-headed goddess of protection and warfare. When a creature uses an action to set the statuette on the ground and speak its command word, the statuette will come to life for one hour as a black-furred lioness with a golden collar. This creature uses the Lion stat block from the Monster Manual, but its creature type is celestial. The lioness has its own initiative count in combat and acts autonomously, though it will follow commands given to it by the creature who invoked it. Unless given a countermanding order, the lioness will protect this creature with its life.
After one hour has passed, the lioness returns to statuette form. It can't be transformed back into a lioness until the next dusk.
Goddess' Duality. By speaking a special, different command phrase, the statuette can be transformed into the Feline Statuette. If the lioness is reduced to 0 hit points, it turns into the Feline Statuette, rather than the Lioness Statuette. Either way, the statuette cannot be transformed back until dusk the following day.
Serpent Hairpin
Weapon (dagger), uncommon
A beautiful wooden hairpin carved to resemble a winding snake with a sharpened tail tip, this is a favored tool of assassins. The hairpin has 2 charges. When the wielder hits a creature with the hairpin, they can expend 1 charge. The target must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature becomes Poisoned for 1 hour and takes 10 (3d6) poison damage. On a success, it takes half as much damage and is not Poisoned.
If the hairpin has no charges remaining, it temporarily loses its magical nature and functions as an nonmagical dagger until the next dusk, when it regains all charges.
Uraeus Crown
Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)
Woven from beautiful blue cloth, this stiff headdress symbolizes the power of a ruler while also allowing air flow to the head in hot climates. At the front of the headdress is a beautiful, delicately scuplted golden figure of an upright cobra with rubies for eyes rearing to strike. The crown has 5 charges, regaining all charges when first exposed to sunlight each day. You can expend 1 charge to cast burning hands, 2 charges to cast scorching ray, or 3 charges to cast fireball (DC 15, +7 to hit), originating from the cobra's eyes.
Lotus Ankh of Osiris
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement)
This simple ivory ankh has been intricately carved with a delicate lotus pattern, representing rebirth and resurrection. When a creature attuned to this ankh dies of any cause other than old age, they are returned to life at the end of what would have been their next turn with half their maximum hit points. All mortal wounds are closed, conditions except prone ended, and missing body parts restored.
Once this feature has been used, the ankh turns inert, losing all magical properties until 100 years have passed.
Queen Nefertari's Shabti Box
Wondrous item, rare
This wooden box, about a cubic foot in size, is made from sacred sycamore wood with its lid painted black with a glossy resin. Inside the box are 8 wooden figurines, each about 6 inches high, all beautifully carved in the image of a dark-skinned woman in luxurious clothes with a regal air.
These figures, shabti, are considered servants of the afterlife, buried alongside an individual to work for them in the world beyond. This particular box was once one of dozens buried alongside a beloved queen in whose image the shabti are made.
When you speak the command word, the shabti come to life. They behave as though you had cast tiny servant, and use the Tiny Servant stat block, though they have 1 hit point and cannot attack.
After 8 hours, or when you speak the command word again, the shabti become inert, returning to their box if able. Shabti that are destroyed will be recreated in the box anew in the morning. You can call upon the shabti once per day, regaining use of the feature every sunrise.
The Game of Kings
Wondrous item, legendary
An innocuous-seeming pyramid-shaped puzzle made from gold-painted, masterfully carved stones. Completing the game requires a creature to succeed on three consecutive DC 20 Intelligence checks. A creature can attempt to solve the puzzle once per day, twice if it is the only thing they do that day. A failure resets the count.
Until the puzzle has been solved, casting identify on it will only reveal the above. Its true nature cannot be discerned until it is completed. In truth, the Game of Kings is actually the phylactery of a nameless, long-forgotten lich-pharaoh who loved games, puzzles and competition.
When the puzzle has been solved, the soul of the ancient pharaoh awakens. A creature can ask the pharaoh a question regarding games, riddles, or puzzles as though casting commune; the pharaoh will answer honestly. The pharaoh is exceptionally skilled at deciphering riddles and puzzles but is not omniscient. He will answer only one question per day. The pharaoh can read, understand, and speak all languages.
The pharaoh's power can be used to enhance the stakes of any game - with potentially life-or-death results. When two creatures simultaneously place their hands on the Game of Kings and swear to play a game, the pharaoh's magic binds them. When one player wins, the pharaoh will cast a wish spell for them. The pharaoh will also cast imprisonment on the losing player, who automatically fails the saving throw. The winner gets to choose the terms of the imprisonment, including release conditions, but the imprisonment can last no less than one year. If the game ends in a draw, neither player benefits nor suffers from either of these spells.
Creatures can also choose to play a friendly game with lower stakes. If they do, the winner does not get a wish spell, and the loser's punishment is significantly reduced, lasting no more than 1 hour. The pharaoh enjoys friendly competition, after all.
The pharaoh believes in fair gamesmanship, and has a harsh view of cheaters and cowards. He will only agree to adjudicate a game under the following rules:
- All players are choosing to participate of their own will.
- All players have agreed on whether this is a high-stakes game or a low-stakes game.
- All players understand the basic rules of the game, though they need not have a comprehensive rulebook knowledge.
- Players can attempt to cheat with Charisma (Deception) or Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) checks. However, if the pharaoh detects cheating, he will instantly declare the cheat a loser.
- A player who agrees to play the game but quits before it is finished will also be declared a loser.
The pharaoh has a Passive Perception and Passive Insight of 20.
Once the pharaoh has adjudicated a high-stakes game, the Game of Kings scatters into its pieces and must be reassembled. The pieces are magically changed, so a creature who has already solved the puzzle once has no advantage in doing so again. The puzzle remains intact after a low-stakes game. A creature who has won a game and received a wish can still participate in further games, but will not receive a second wish spell if they win again - only the pharaoh's congratulations.
A creature who has already benefited once from the pharaoh's wish spell may instead challenge the pharaoh to a game, manifesting the lich in person. The pharaoh is exceptionally skilled at games and knows the rules for any game to which he is challenged. If the player wins, the pharaoh will cast another wish spell for them. However, if the player loses, they are instantly slain, their soul drawn into the puzzle and consumed, destroying it utterly. They can only ever be returned to life via direct divine intervention.
A creature who wins subsequent wish spells in this way may continue to challenge the pharaoh for more wish spells, betting their life every time. However, the pharaoh will refuse to play the same game more than once, preferring variety in his unlife. Win or lose, the pharaoh returns to the puzzle after every game, and it must again be reassembled.
The pharaoh has a strange fondness for children's card games...