Malady lock

Constructed specifically to combat the necromantic disease known as the Malady, the malady lock calls upon arcane and divine energy, as well as a little blood magic, to contain the disease. Creation of the lock predates written history, likely occurring during the time when the Galchutt actively roamed Praemal. The lock, on a box containing the disease, was placed in the Banewarrens by Danar Rotansin prior to his becoming the Dread One. The lock was briefly opened during Eslathagos Malkith’s emergence, but the disease soon caused problems within the Dread One’s own ranks, and the issue of control of the lock so divided his lieutenants that it became simpler to lock the disease back up again.

The lock is a unique, intricately detailed lead lock, divided into two large sections, one intended to be built into the top of a chest or cases, the other meant be mounted in the container below, aligned to receive the top part. When fit into any normal chest, crate, box or case built to hold it, the lock renders the container virtually indestructible. It also allows an attuned owner to control and, ultimately, contain the Malady.

The malady lock can trigger the following moves:

Unleash the Malady

When you open the malady lock when the disease is fully contained, the Malady escapes and, in a burst of necromantic energy, everyone nearby is infected with the Malady and you instantly die. You rise as a ghost a few hours later.

Attune to the Lock

When you commune with the box on which the malady lock is mounted for several hours, you may attune to the lock provided you meet the requirements. If you do, you gain access to the Command the Malady move. The requirements are as follows:

• You must be in physical contact with the box.
• You must be capable of casting both arcane and divine spells.
• You must have been infected with the Malady at some point since the sun last rose (though they need not be infected at present).

Feed the Lock

When you feed the malady lock your blood, take 1d4 damage and roll+CHA. For each additional person who feeds blood to the lock, take +1 on this roll (max +6). On a 10+, hold three. Spend hold to issue commands to the Malady. On a 7-9, hold one, but select one choice from the list. On a miss, in addition to whatever else happens, select a choice from the list:

• No one can feed the lock any more blood today.
• The lock sucks the life out of a nearby npc (GM’s choice).
• You gain a random debility, which cannot be healed until the Malady is returned to the box on which the lock is mounted.

Command the Malady

When you command the Malady, choose one of the following commands:

• “Rest” causes all infected with the Malady to become non-contagious until the sun next rises.
• “Stop” makes the Malady very vulnerable to disease curing magic. If someone is cured of the malady, all infected nearby are also cured.
• “Spread” invigorates the Malady, increasing the Save DC needed to resist it by +4 until the sun next rises. This cannot be issued in the same period as “Rest”.
• “Reveal” allows you to instantly know the location of every being infected with the Malady until the sun next rises.
• “Look” allows you to see instantly through the eyes of any being infected with the Malady you know of (including knowledge gained from a “Reveal”) for the next 10 minutes.

Contain the Malady

When the Malady infects less than one hundred beings, the following command is added to the list of those that can be issued:

• “Shelter” commands the Malady to return to the box on which the malady lock is mounted. Any infected that remain die instantly, as the Malady kills them out of spite.