All who visit the Grey Isles are affected, but those who sleep in that cursed place are forever marked.
The first night that a person sleeps on the Grey Isles, whether it be in a dusty bed inside the Palace or on a mound of soft moss and leaves in the ruins outside, will be touched by the Sepulchral Shroud.
They will be awoken by a feeling of intense dread and despair before a translucent sheet of fabric descends upon them. This shroud clings to them like webbing and smells of smoke and roses. They will then begin to suffocate.
The player must then roll a single d20. There is no target difficulty: the higher their roll from 1-20, the better. Keep a note of the result.
Regardless of the result, tell them that they black out.
When they awaken the next morning (it was just a dream?) they must consult the list below to determine what permanent effect has been placed upon them. This effect only becomes apparent once they leave the Grey Isles (if they can).
Refer to their dice roll earlier. On a result of 10 or less, roll once. On a 11-16, roll twice and let the player choose which one applies. On a roll of 17-20 roll three times (player’s choice of which one):
1. Your hair becomes white, black or gray (whichever would be the most different). At night, under moonless nights, you become translucent, gaining advantage on stealth checks.
2. Your eyes become pale gray, pitch black or white like a drowned fish. You gain low light vision up to 20 feet.
3. At night you give off a cold feeling of dread: you lose 2 points of Charisma but you gain advantage on Intimidation checks.
4. A trusted ally, friend or loved one (chosen by the Game Master) becomes positive that you have died. No-one can convince them otherwise and will believe that you’re a hallucination or an evil trickster.
5. One of your mundane weapons or pieces of armor darkens to a black color and becomes permanently cold to the touch. The weapon is considered to be magical but emits an aura of evil.
6. You get an advantage to social rolls when interacting with people who have been affected or marked by death in some poignant way. Somehow you can relate to them.
7. You henceforth find less joy in life but you dread what awaits you across the threshold of death. Your Charisma is reduced by 1 + 1d3, but your Wisdom is increased by the same amount. You tend to not care about the quality of food or comforts and so living expenses are cheaper for you: reduce their cost by a third as long as you are making the arrangements. You can do this for others, who will appreciate the discount but might regret how dull and Spartan their accommodations are.
8. You are overwhelmed by a tragic melancholy that bestows an attractive, dramatic air about you. Charisma increased by 1+1d3 but intelligence reduced by the same amount because your introspection dominates your thoughts. You only wear sombre and dark colours. You can automatically pass a social check with any individuals (especially nobles and bards) who would find your demeanour attractive and appealing.
9. Undead monsters will ignore you unless you deliberately harm them or get in their way. They see you as one of them. However you no longer cast a shadow or give off a reflection.
10. The next time that you die, you rise with d6 hit points and become undead. This means that you no longer need to eat, drink or sleep but you can only be healed by necrotic magic (typical magical healing harms you). You still recover hit points during rests. On top of that, the wound that “killed” you remains visible forever. If you get reduced to zero hit points again, you will rise again in an hour or so or if someone turns you over (whichever happens first). You will keep the new wound, though, adding to your grisly appearance. You will only find final death if your body is completely destroyed.
11. The pleasures of the flesh have lost all meaning or enjoyment for you. You are immune to charm effects, mundane or magical. However any saving throws to avoid immediate death are at a disadvantage because you just don’t see the point of resisting anymore.
12. You are filled with a renewed and refreshed appreciation for life. Your Charisma increases by 1+1d3 and you heal faster when in the presence of a holy site, cleric, bard or children (double the amount of hit points that you’d recover).
13. Your lifespan has been decreased: any age categories happen earlier (e.g.: old age settles in at middle age). If you are already considered elderly, then you have 1d3 years left. However you feel stubbornly hardy in the face of your imminent demise: you gain +1 to all saving throws.
14. Your lifespan has in increased: each age category is doubled in duration, effectively doubling the maximum age for your race. However your vitality comes from a dark origin: you are considered to be Evil in the cosmological sense: you will be detected and affected by spells as if you were of that alignment. If you are a Cleric then an Evil deity has secretly replaced yours: you are absolutely convinced that you still serve the previous one and your powers operate in the same way. The evil deity just finds the situation quite entertaining and will occasionally cause ironic tragedies in your wake.
15. You are no longer afraid of death: you are immune to Fear effects, both mundane and supernatural. However you also see undead creatures as comrades: intelligent undead have advantage on Charm or Enchantment effects on you because of your bizarre trust.
16. Once per day you may enter the spirit world, effectively disappearing from the realm of mortals to walk in the plane of the dead. While there you are only visible to ghosts and other immaterial undead. You may do so for a minute per character level before Death annoyingly throws you back into the mortal realm through nearest shadow. However you may voluntarily return at any time of your choice before the time limit is up.
17. Everything in your proximity gradually loses its color under prolonged exposure: the clothes that you wear, the bedsheets that you sleep in, and any home that you’ve lived in. You get an advantage on stealth rolls under foggy or misty conditions.
18. All music comes out in a lower key when performed in your presence. Even the happiest melodies become slow, funeral dirges despite the intent or desire of the musicians.
19. You become obsessed with skulls and skull-related imagery. You feel compelled to decorate yourself in this symbol and even if you resist this desire, any clothes, tools, weapons or armor that you purchase contain skull imagery that you eventually discover (despite any intense scrutiny before hand). You get a +2 bonus to Charisma while inside a crypt, cemetery, catacomb or other kind of necropolis.
20. You gain an animal companion of a sordid nature: raven, rat, vulture, black cat, bat etc… This animal seems to unconditionally love you and you gain a +1 bonus to saving throws while the creature is near you. However, it watches you intensely while you sleep, which unsettles your companions. If you already have an animal companion or familiar, then the effects apply to them.
21. The ghosts of anyone you’ve killed come back to you when you’re alone and feel compelled to provide advice and wisdom to you despite their anger and hate. If you act on their suggestions, you get an advantage to any relevant skill checks.
22. Gravestones provide insight and wisdom in their markings and position. If you spend an hour observing and studying one or more grave markers, you gain a temporary +2 boost to either your Intelligence or Wisdom until the next sunrise. Each grave or grave site can only be used once in this way; imparting their benefit only once to you.
23. While you sleep your body takes on the appearance of a rotting corpse or skeleton. This is not an illusion: it looks, feels and smells entirely real and does not give off a magical aura. When you awaken, you immediately resume your normal appearance: anyone present will see the transformation take place in the literal blink of an eye.
24. Spending a night in a cemetery or tomb doubles your natural healing rate and gives you a bonus to saving throws to recover from diseases, curses or poisons.
25. Your tears, sweat, spit and blood are all pitch black. These fluids permanently stain inorganic materials, such as stone, fabric or metal.
(final version will have 30 entries…)