Ockmock's Unearthly Ear Trumpet
Description: An ornate ear-horn carved of ivory and decorated with gold inlays in spiraling geometric patterns. Magical senses register a strong aura of necromancy which manifests as a foul odor of decay. More exacting investigation will reveal the item's intended function.
Powers: When held up to the mouth of a dead body the user will hear the last words (if any) of the creature at the time of death. The words become increasingly hard to make out the longer the creature has been deceased, with a limit of approximately one thousand years before audibility is lost completely.
Listening through the ear trumpet in other circumstances will occasionally allow the user to overhear the words of unseen spirits of the dead.
In both cases, the item provides no translation of the words spoken, so other magic may be required to understand the language involved.
Possible Origins: Ockmock was (and perhaps still is) a notorious necromancer with a particular fondness for tomb robbing. The original Unearthly Ear Trumpet came from one such tomb, but Ockmock and others have reverse engineered the rituals required to create identical items.
Complications: Using the last words of the dead for your own advantage may earn you the ire of their relatives, friends, or enemies - particularly if those last words might hint at secrets the living wish kept secret.
Spirits of many kinds may resent being spied upon if they realize it's happening, and others may be desperate to speak to the living and use them as messengers to the world of the living.
Design Commentary: A simple item that offers potentially great rewards to clever players, and great complications to those who use it too freely and openly.
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