St. John's Wart (Artifact/Relic)

This incorruptible blob of dark flesh once adorned the face of a holy man famous for his otherwordly visions and will bestow potent powers upon anyone who affixes it to their own visage. If pressed against any spot on a person's face, St. John's Wart will adhere to it and cannot thereafter be removed by any normal means until the person is dead; extremely potent magic or a daunting quest might also allow for the removal of the relic. The only thing that can destroy this item is it being rolled over by a war machine in an apocalyptic battle involving combatants from all the corners of the world. A number of potent effects will manifest for whoever has the wart attached to their face.

This incorruptible blob of dark flesh once adorned the face of a holy man famous for his otherwordly visions and will bestow potent powers upon anyone who affixes it to their own visage. If pressed against any spot on a person's face, St. John's Wart will adhere to it and cannot thereafter be removed by any normal means until the person is dead; extremely potent magic or a daunting quest might also allow for the removal of the relic. The only thing that can destroy this item is it being rolled over by a war machine in an apocalyptic battle involving combatants from all the corners of the world. 

A number of potent effects will manifest for whoever has the wart attached to their face.

* First, the recipient's Charisma score will be reduced by 4 with all commensurate consequences (e.g., reduced access to spells for Bards and Sorcerers).

* The character will also begin to experience vivid cosmological visions, always when asleep and as much as an hour a day even when awake. This will cause him to immediately receive and to thereafter always have the highest rank possible for his level in each of Knowledge (Religion) and Knowledge (The Planes); these are bonus skill points in addition to those received from other sources. He will furthermore receive a +10 bonus on checks for either of these skills. Ranks will be retained if the wart is removed but the +10 bonus will not. 

* The wart-bearer will receive a +4 bonus on all saving throws to resist spells or effects of the Enchantment type, +6 if they are mind-affecting or also of the Charm subtype. 

* The character will suffer a -5 penalty against all spells or effects of the Illusion type. Furthermore, if the character believes an illusory monster or effect to be real there is a 25% chance that it will become so (subject to DM approval as to what works for his story in the present situation).