Unusual Skull

A skull sitting on a shelf. Interacting does nothing unless a party member has been sent to prison, at which point it will speak with this party member, calling itself Marvin, and serve as a method for escaping prison.

The top of this skull is cracked with a lattice of shallow fractures.

Properties

• Miscellaneous Items
• Rarity: Common
•  Weight: 250 kg / 500 lb
• Price: 1 gp

Effect

When speaking to Marvin the skull as a prisoner it offers the party two riddles before allowing them to escape.

• Riddle 1: I fly but not through the sky. I say goodbye at night and hello in the morning. I am part of you, and follow you wherever you go. I wear only black and run from the light. Yet without it, I couldn't exist.
  • Answer: A Shadow.

• Riddle 2: I am beaten and battered, but never break. My crown has felt the strike of endless blades, yet I can never move. I never sweat, even when the summertide sun shines upon me. Who am I?
  • Answer: An Anvil

Possible outcomes of playing riddles with the skull are:

• Both riddles solved. Marvin teleports the imprisoned party member out of the cell, placing them next to the Evidence chests, and casts on them  Haste AND  Greater Invisibility, both for 10 turns.
• Only one riddle solved correctly. Marvin teleports the imprisoned party member out of the cell, next to the entrance to the guardroom, and casts on them  Haste AND  Mirror Image, both for 10 turns.
• None of the riddles solved. Marvin teleports the imprisoned party member out of the cell, next to the entrance to the guardroom, and casts on them  Haste only, for 10 turns.

In any possible outcome, all party members also get the  Fugitive debuff for 20 turns, causing the guards to attack.

Where to find

• Can be found on a shelf in a cell in Wyrm's Rock Prison.

Notes

• In order to interact with the skull, it is neccessary to use the context menu and select interact as the default option is pick up.
• Marvin describes his reason for being imprisoned as a "Bacchanalian" night of debauchery, a term referring to real-world Roman festivals hosted in the honour of the real-world god Bacchus (greek = Dionysos).
• Marvin can be examined using the following  Arcana check:
  • [ARCANA] Examine the skull. What magic is at work? (DC 15)
• The skull cannot be picked up