Gulthias Staff

A staff made of spongy black wood. Its evil makes beasts visibly uncomfortable within 30 feet — Sable Burrowbane felt it as a wrongness before anyone identified what it was.

Properties

• Can be wielded as a magic quarterstaff
• 10 charges of Vampiric Strike: on a hit, expend one charge to regain hit points equal to the damage dealt
• Each charge spent causes red blood to ooze from the staff's pores
• After each charge spent: DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or afflicted with short-term madness
• Attunement benefit: blights and other evil plant creatures do not regard the wielder as hostile unless they harm them

History

Taken from the first druid killed at the Wizard of Wines Winery (Session 16). The druid used it as his primary weapon. Its identity as a Gulthias Staff was clarified at the start of Session 17.

Notes

The attunement benefit is immediately relevant given the winery's infestation. Nobody has attuned to it. The DC 12 madness risk per charge is not trivial in a campaign set in Barovia. These two facts are in tension.

First Found

Session 16 — from the first druid; clarified Session 17