The Lantern of Avery Prowd
The Lantern of Avery Prowd is a very simple brass lantern enclosure, but rather than a slot for a candle or oil, there is a faceted clear crystal that reflects brilliant colors when shown in the light.
The Lantern of Avery Prowd is an intelligent item that may be thought to be cursed at first, but if given an opportunity can be an invaluable asset to someone willing to invest the time and effort to "rehabilitate" it. I've included a fairly specific backstory below with how I plan to use it in my world, but the Lantern of Avery Prowd can pretty easily be modified and placed in any large dungeon-type area in your world.
When first found, the lantern has a child's state of mind, and worse, is terrified of the dark. If at anytime it is not within light (candle light or brighter) it will start to scream like a frightened child, demanding the light be brought back. Over time, though, as the Lantern grows more comfortable and spends more time in lighted areas, it begins to "grow-up" both in maturity, and also remembering things about it's passion and research (see below) before Avery was consumed by the Lantern. It will begin to recall facts and helpful information about the area in which it was found, give helpful advice, and also use some of the lantern's powers to benefit it's new owner without being prompted. There are 3 stages (could be broken down into 5) of progression that the Lantern will go through below, it can progress through these stages as the party gains level, or as the party discovers key points of information relating to the Kohti Crater.
Note 1: I will reference my own lore related to the item, please just replace specific references with your own if you like to fit the item into your own game.
Note 2: For a longer 5-stage progression, separate the increase in lighting power of stage 2 and 3 as an intermediate step before new magical abilities and an increase in mentality is added.
Stage 1: The Lantern Child
At will, the center crystal will radiate candle light.
The Lantern has intelligence, wisdom and charisma scores of 6 for any checks it makes and has the temperament of a curious, and sometimes afraid, child. If at anytime it is not within light (candle light or brighter) it will start to scream like an afraid child, demanding the light be brought back. The lantern will get excited when looking at clues, artifacts, or proximate to discussions related the Kohti jungle, ruins, etc.. It does not yet remember a lot of relevant (or true) information, but will ask a lot of questions and be generally amazed by even minor facts about the Kohti Crater. Perhaps alluding to the advancement of the item, The Lantern Child will occasionally make statements about wanting to know more about certain key items of interest, helping to guide the party's experience in the Crater.
Stage 2: The Growing Light
As Stage 1 with following additions -
At will, the center crystal will radiate torch light. It can also be made directional and focus to any 90-degree arc. Limiting the light's focus will add an additional 15 feet of light.
3/day - As a bonus action, the crystal will turn a frosty blue color and fire two magic missiles (2 separate darts that can be fired at the same, or different targets) dealing 1d4+1 damage each.
1/day - As a bonus action, the crystal will flicker with intense red, yellow, and orange lights and project flames at a target within 30 feet of you. The target must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw, taking 4d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
The Lantern has intelligence, wisdom and charisma scores of 10 for any checks it makes and has the temperament of a teenager. Mood swings between indifferent and uncaring to overly excited about topics of interest. In an effort to impress it's holder, it will jump at the chance to overly explain certain facts or aspects, even if it misunderstands them. The lantern is still afraid of the darkness, but can go up to an hour in darkness before it becomes agitated, and natural darkness (night time, a basement lit only by light from atop the steps, etc) no longer frightens the Lantern. The lantern now remembers most details of it's former life, including the events that lead to its death. It realizes that it may be fated to this lantern form and wants to help the wielder explore the Kohti Crater.
Stage 3: The Burning Passion
As stage 1 and 2 with the following additions -
While emitting light, it will negate any darkness (magical or otherwise) within 15 feet of the lantern.
1/day - As a bonus action, the crystal will generate a dazzling array of colors and all enemies within it's lighted area able to see the colors must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature becomes charmed for the duration. While charmed by this spell, the creature is incapacitated and has a speed of 0.
For 1 hour a day total (can be broken up), you also understand any written language that you see so long as the Lantern's light is illuminating the text. It takes about 1 minute to read one page of text.
This this effect will also decode secret messages in a text or a glyph, such as an arcane sigil, that isn’t part of a written language, but is read at one-fifth the normal rate.
The Lantern has intelligence, wisdom and charisma scores of 12 for any checks it makes and has the temperament of a young adult. It is much more deliberate with it's sharing of information and will often only offer opinions when asked directly or it is highly confident a mistake is about to be made with respect to unraveling mysteries of the Kohti Crater. Only instances of extended complete darkness (8+ hours) or proximate magical darkness will cause the lantern to panic.
The Tale of The Lost Lantern of Avery Prowd
Avery Prowd was never the biggest, strongest, or fastest child in his frontier town of Khoti - nor was he by any means the smartest, most cunning, or intuitive either. Though he was average and unassuming in many regards, Avery Prowd was incredibly passionate, curious, and driven.
The town of Kohti stood perched on the rim of the Khoti crater, from which it was given it's name. Despite being in the middle of a sprawling wasteland desert, the nearly 2,000 square mile crater was inexplicably teeming plant and animal life - and this was hardly the only mystery the crater held. Rumors of haunted ruins, man eating natives, and that terrifying dinosaurs roamed the jungles - roars and howls echoing off the crater rim. Everyone in Kohti could rattle off a half dozen dangers that lurked in the jungles below, and everyone in Kohti could muse for hours about the wondrous treasures and untold wealth that could be recovered by those willing to brave said hazards.
What no one in Kohti could tell you is why the crater was an environmental anomaly, what the purpose of the buildings was before they were before being abandoned, why the buildings were abandoned, and to what point and purpose the men and beasts still roamed the perilous jungles. In the mind of Avery Prowd, these were questions that demanded answers.
Even from childhood, the Kohti crater and the mysteries it held called to him and Avery would speak with every traveler, story teller, town elder, fool-hearty adventurer, or opinionated scholar he could find to gather more and more information, piecing the story together bit by bit. He recorded everything he learned in many voluminous journals, but the information was often contradictory and fact from fiction still eluded the young Avery Prowd. He was discouraged and mocked by many - to what point and purpose was all of his research if it was ultimately unconfirmed. And they had a point, he had collected tales and stories that were all unverified - speculation at best and outright lies at worst. Deep down, Avery knew that someday he would have to brave the jungles of the Kohti Crater himself if he were ever know the truth.
Aisde from the many hazards and horrors he suspected to lay before him in the Kohti Crater, there was one more major hurdle to overcome... Avery Prowd was afraid of the dark. Even as a young adult he was compelled to burn a candle through the night in his bed chamber. When he was in total darkness his breathing would seize and he would quickly begin to panic. Everyone told him he could never brave the depths of the jungles and the ruins within with such a debilitating restraint, but Avery Prowd could not be dissuaded. The Kohti Crater called, and he would answer.
Eventually, the day came. He had trained with weapons and armor, assembled his notes into portable volumes, and acquired the last piece of equipment he needed - a magical lantern. A strange woman - a story teller - had come to Kohti, speaking of destiny. She was able to tell stories of Avery's past that no one could possibly have known, secrets he had kept to himself for many years. She gifted to Avery a magical lantern, telling him that with it's light, all the mysteries of the Kohti jungle would be revealed to him with nothing but truth in her eyes. And she was being truthful, she simply omitted how and when these truths would be revealed.
The brave Avery Prowd descended the crater rim and into the jungle, he defeated dinosaurs in battle, evaded the man eaters for days, and at long last, arrived at the the largest of the ancient ruins structures. down into the depths he went, sword held high and lantern held higher, guiding his every step. Until the light began to flicker and grow dim. Avery could feel his chest tighten, he desperately began feeding tinder to the dying flame, but it did little to stoke the flame. Frantically, he began ripping page after page from his journals - his life's work - and cramming them into the lamp to keep the last bit of light from going out. But it was all in vein.
As the flame shrunk to almost imperceptible size, poor Avery Prowd cradled the lantern on the ground and was left in darkness, whimpering like a lost child.
But this was not the end for Avery Prowd - the woman had not lied to him. Avery's soul and life's knowledge had been assumed into the lamp waiting for those truly capable of discovering the Kohti Crater's secrets. Avery's passionate curiosity was yet to be fulfilled and now a part of the magic lantern, waited for the right owner to arrive and bring about the young man's destiny at last!
