Lightning Skull

“To this day, no-one knows how she found it. The halfling surprised many of us that day when she pulled out a skull. It looks human, well, humanoid I should say and it had an odd sheen to it. I could feel the hairs on my neck stand up just looking at it. The battle seemed to pause as she stood there, with it above her head. The weird feeling in the air grew stronger. I realized quickly what it was and screamed to my men to run for cover. She then spoke a word I almost recognized and the feeling grew overpowering as we all dived and ran. Then came the light and sound, as if the very air around her had turned into a lightning bolt. I was later told that this was pretty close to the truth”
Lightning Skull Power Level: Artifact (10) Activation: Word (Common version of ancient Human) Approximate Age: Generations – 60 years Condition: Falling apart (1)
The lighting Skull is a potent artifact that summons and controls lightning. The skull once belonged to a druid who was fascinated with all things meteorological, especially lightning. When it was time for him to die, he asked a good friend to cast a spell he had prepared and to bury his body beneath a large metal pole. A rather odd request but the druids friend complied. After the spell was complete and the friend was a safe distance away, a large bolt of lightning struck the pole, causing the grove it was it t become flattened by the concussive force and to leave a crater with something metallic glistening within it. On investigation, this turned out to be the skull of the druid, only it had developed a sheen from the metal pole. Oddly, nothing else reminded of the body.
Over the years, sages have studied what became known as the Lighting Skull and have declared it to be an artifact. Its primary purpose is to summon a form of lightning unlike any other that is found naturally. The lightning it summons when the command word is uttered is more primal and has odd properties to it. Metals it’s strike had a tendency to liquefy or become magnetic.
As a secondary power, the skull can remotely activate by knowing the second command word. This is kept a closely guarded secret by the ones looking after it. It is believed only 1 person knows this word and will not tell anyone.
As with other potent artifacts, this one possesses a downside. The main one is that there is a permanent aura of static electricity around the skull. Items that react to magnetism and electricity will suffer as long as the skull is within 30 feet. The other is that the user starts to develope what can best be described as an agitated personality. Those who have used the artifacts describe it as a permanent version of that edgy feeling you get just before a lightning storm breaks. The skull itself is rather cool to the touch and doing so can help to reduce or remove the “on edge” feeling.