Katabasis, Staff of Athreos

World of Theros

Katabasis, Staff of Athreos

Weapon

Legendary Artifact Requires Attunement

Versatile

Atheros wields Katabasis, a gnarled wooden staff he is never seen without. In Atheros's hands the staff is used to ferry the dead, and only the dead, to the underworld. The living rarely, if ever see Athreos, so it is unknown if he has ever granted his staff to a follower. If he should grant the staff, it would have to be a very special soul that is meant to cross into the underworld.

Staff of Passage

This staff grants a +2 bonus to spell attack rolls and to the saving throw DCs of spells you cast (excluding spells cast from this staff). Additionally, while you are holding the staff you can move through other creatures and objects as if they were Difficult Terrain. You take 5 (1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside an object. Blessing of Ferryman. If you are a worshiper of Athreos, you gain all the following benefits for which you have the required piety:

• Piety 10+. The staff has 1 randomly determined minor
  beneficial property.


• Piety 25+. The staff has 1 additional randomly determined
  minor beneficial property.


• Piety 50+. The staff has 1 randomly determined major
  beneficial property.

If you aren’t a worshiper of Athreos, the staff has 2 randomly determined major detrimental properties. See “Artifacts” in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for details on randomly determined properties.

Ferry

As an action, the staff can be laid down in water, creating a ferry. The ferry uses the statistics of a Galley (see Appendix: Of Ships and the Sea of the Ghosts of Saltmarsh book) with the following changes:

• The ship does not have any weapons.


• The ship can move through other creatures and objects as if they were Difficult Terrain. It and any passengers on board take 5 (1d10) force damage per if it ends its turn inside an object.

The staff can remain in this form for 1 hour or until the attuned creature uses their action to revert the ship back into its staff form. This property cannot be used again until the next dusk.

Spells

The staff has 15 charges. While holding it, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of its charges to cast one
of the following spells (save DC 18) from it: spare the dying (0 charges), toll the dead (0 charges), animate dead (3 charges),
speak with dead (3 charges), blight (4 charges), create undead (6 charges), finger of death (7 charges). The staff regains
1d12+3 expended charges daily at dawn.

Destroying the Staff

To destroy the staff one must use it against its nature. It is meant to ferry the dead into the
underworld. To pervert this and ferry the dead out of the underworld or the living into it breaks the staff down. This
process must be repeated at dawn and dusk every day for one month to break the staff completely.

Type	Damage	Damage	Range
Simple Melee	1d6 / 1d8	Bludgeoning

Weight: 4 lb