Iron Crown of Corcaster

This crown is made from twisted bands of blackened sky iron. Three spikes tipped with dragon ivory sit along its brow, pointing skyward like sharp incisors. A single black noxite crystal sits at the base of the middle spike.

This was once part of the regalia of the short-lived Kingdom of Corcaster, led by King Sangon the Bloodied, a very powerful vampire necromancer. The Kingdom revolted against the Teccan Empire, but King Sangon and his kin were defeated at the Battle of the Midnight Sun, where the Empire's mages conjured a second sun to shine down upon the vampire army.

Cursed: The crown is cursed, and you are unwilling to part with it while the curse lasts. While you wear it, you immediately gain one Death Saving Throw failure when you fall to 0 hit points. If you die while wearing the Iron Crown, your soul is claimed by the crown, and you cannot be resurrected while the Crown exists.

In order to remove this curse, the Remove Curse spell must be cast on you at 5th level while you are in an inverted Magic Circle.

Dormant

When you first don the crown, you gain the following effects:

• When you slay a creature, you gain temporary hit points equal to your level, as the crown claims their soul.
• You can cast Speak With Dead as a ritual at will. You can also target humanoids whose soul has been claimed by the Crown within the last 24 hours, even if you do not have access to their body. You cannot cast the spell on the same target more than once.

Awakened

When you have claimed twenty souls for the crown, you gain the following effects:

• While the Crown's temporary hit points last, your unarmed strikes and weapon attacks deal an additional 4 (1d8) necrotic damage and you can add your spell casting modifier to any necrotic damage roll you make when casting a spell.
• Once per long rest, you can cast Spirit Guardians (dealing necrotic damage), as you unleash withered soul fragments to swirl around you. You can also cast the spell using your own spell slots.
• Your face becomes gaunt as the Crown's curse takes further hold of you. Magical healing you receive is halved.

Exalted

When you have claimed a further forty souls for the crown, you gain the following effects:

• While the Crown's temporary hit points last, you have resistance to all damage.
• Once per long rest, you can cast Finger of Death. If the spell kills its target, you gain temporary hit points equal to the total damage dealt, instead of the normal amount.
• Your eyes turn red and your complexion becomes ashen as the Crown's curse deepens its grasp on you. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks while you are in direct sunlight.

Destroying the Crown: If the crown is submerged for 8 hours in a font of holy water in a a place that is hallowed in service of a good deity, the crown is dissolved and all souls that have been claimed by the crown are released, including that of King Sangon. This desecrates the area around the font for the next 99 years.