Wondrous Item, rare

In Chult, Calimshan, and Maztica, bottles of cheap local liquor are sometimes sold with a larva of the astral moth floating inside. Legends claim the moth feeds on the etheric remnants of a fallen goddess, its life cycle completing only when consumed by a mortal host.

After eating the larva, you immediately gain the Bewitched condition for 1d4 hours. One hour later, Bewitched is replaced by the Enraptured condition for 1d4 + 2 hours. This Enraptured state always counts as a Heroic Dose (see the Enraptured condition).

Metamorphosis. For the next 7 days (or 3 days on a successful DC 13 Constitution saving throw), the larva grows within your etheric body. During this time:

Wisdom Drain. Your Wisdom score is reduced by 1d4 (restored when the moth emerges).

Cosmic Insight. You are convinced you’ve uncovered a great truth about the universe (15% chance it is genuine).

Paroxysms. Each day, you suffer 1d4 bouts of uncontrollable laughter, as per Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, at unpredictable moments.

At the end of the metamorphosis, the astral moth tears free of your etheric body and vanishes into the Astral. You gain 2 Exhaustion levels and may continue to dream of the moth’s passage for weeks.

Affected creatures: Humanoids. Fey, Fiends, and Celestials can end the effects at any time as a Bonus Action, and are unaffected by the metamorphosis.

Price on the black market: 75 GP per dose (bottle with larva)

Astral Moth Quirks (Optional)

While the larva develops inside you, roll once per day or whenever the DM wishes:

  1. Starry Eyes. Your pupils reflect shifting constellations; those who meet your gaze must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or feel unsettled, imposing Disadvantage on their next Charisma check against you.

  2. Echoing Voice. Your speech sometimes resonates with a faint double-tone, as though another voice is whispering alongside yours.

  3. Etheric Shiver. A phantom set of wings flickers faintly from your back in moonlight or torchlight, vanishing if touched.

  4. Time-Slipped. You occasionally lose track of minutes or hours, convinced entire conversations or events have already happened.

  5. Dream-Bleed. Each morning, describe one vivid dream of the Astral Plane; fragments of it seem to manifest in reality (DM’s choice of minor illusory detail).

  6. Cosmic Hunger. You develop an odd craving—chalk, incense smoke, or starlight—and find ordinary food tasteless until the moth emerges.

Notes: Buff, Debuff

Item Tags: Buff Debuff

Benz74M

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