The Slanted Circle Grimoire

Also known as the Fleshbound Tome of Unholy Rites.

A gruesome tome bound in stitched strips of cold, pale flesh that writhe briefly when left in moonlight. Its pages are thin, brittle sheets of necrotic parchment inked in dried blood. A slanted circle, carved into the cover and filled with black resin, pulses faintly when the bearer channels unholy power.

Properties

Wondrous item (spellbook), legendary (requires attunement by a spellcaster of Evil alignment)

• Weight: 5 lb
• Price: 2,500 gp

Charges and Spells

While attuned, you can cast the following spells from its pages without providing material components. The tome has 7 charges, and casting a spell expends charges equal to its level. The grimoire regains 1d6+1 expended charges each dawn.

• Animate Dead — 3 charges (3rd-level necromancy)
• Danse Macabre — 5 charges (5th-level necromancy)
• Finger of Death — 7 charges (7th-level necromancy)

Casting any of these spells from the grimoire requires an action and follows normal casting times, ranges, and save DCs (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting ability modifier).

Curse — Alignment Backlash

If you are not of Evil alignment when you cast a spell from the grimoire, you immediately take 2d6 necrotic damage. If this damage reduces you to 0 hit points, you cannot be revived by any magic other than wish or True Resurrection until a remove curse spell frees you from the tome.

Curse — Cannot Unattune

The Slanted Circle Grimoire is cursed. Once you become attuned, you cannot end your attunement unless:

1. You are targeted by a remove curse or greater restoration spell, AND
2. You succeed on a DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) check.

Attempting to forcibly remove the tome from your possession deals 4d10 necrotic damage and restores full charges to the book.

Status: Do Not Attune Casually

This is a Legendary cursed item with attunement gated behind alignment and a curse that cannot be ended without high-DC magic. The party currently possesses it but has not attuned. Anyone considering it should be:

• Of Evil alignment (or willing to accept 2d6 necrotic per cast)
• Aware that they are signing a permanent contract
• Backed by a spellcaster who can deliver remove curse or greater restoration if attunement needs to be ended

The tome’s value to the party is as a piece of intelligence, not as a casting tool. Its margin notes, the slanted circle on its cover, and its association with Vorhagan are all worth study without ever casting from it.

Lore

Legends say the Slanted Circle Grimoire was penned by Archlich Vorhagan the Slaughterer, who bound the flesh of his enemies to keep their souls tethered for all eternity. Worshipped by cults of death, the tome’s knowledge has fueled countless atrocities. Scholars whisper that the slanted circle etched on its cover is a gateway to other realms of perpetual suffering — a description that, after Session 12’s revelation of Ulnex Arhun and the Maw, reads less metaphorically than it once did.

If Vorhagan’s grimoire shares iconography with the Slanted Circle’s modern operations, the cult’s lineage extends further back than the party has yet appreciated. Ossian the Bone Lord (creator of the Bone Amulet of the Circle Order) and Vorhagan the Slaughterer may both be ancestors of the Circle’s current doctrine — or, more unsettlingly, still active.

History

Recovered from the body of the Slanted Circle Mage on the Maw Frame in Session 12. Currently unattuned and stored in the party’s collective gear. Rudiger has expressed cautious interest. Stol has expressed cautious concern. Bryan, GM, will adjudicate.