Buy me a coffee“Needles of Agonized Touch: The Piercing Needles of Pain”
“Unleash unstoppable torment with the Piercing Needles of Pain—three cursed needles that let their victim transmit excruciating agony to anyone they touch, turning pain into a weapon of pure dread.”
The Piercing Needles of Pain are a trio of obsidian-black needles feared for their unnatural connection to suffering. When all three pierce a single victim, they inflict unhealable physical agony and enable the pierced to project intense pain to others by touch. Rumored to originate from secretive ascetic monks or lost alchemical experiments, the needles are said to whisper to their wielder, choose their victims, and leave a lingering, oppressive aura—turning pain itself into a weapon of dread and legend.
Appearance
The Piercing Needles of Pain are a trio of slender, obsidian-black needles, each no longer than a finger. Their surfaces shimmer faintly in torchlight, as if shadows twist along their length. Delicate, almost imperceptible runes spiral along each shaft, etched in a substance that seems to swallow light. The needles are unnervingly cold, and those who touch them report a faint thrum, like a heartbeat, pulsing through the metal.
Origins
The needles did not arise on battlefields or in wizard’s halls, but within the secret chambers of an ascetic sect devoted to transcendence through pain. Bound in ritual leather and iron, initiates were pierced not to be broken, but to be opened—flesh and spirit alike—so that agony became communion and torment a path to clarity.
As the sect fractured, some sought enlightenment through discipline, while others embraced cruelty and control. In either hand, the needles carried the same dark gift: the power to turn suffering into intimacy, bondage, or domination. Even now, it is said they pierce not just flesh, but pride, desire, and hidden truths.
Stories and Folklore
The Piercing Needles of Pain are whispered of only in candlelit chambers. One tale speaks of a countess who bound her lovers in chains, piercing them so their cries became her music; anyone she touched collapsed, sharing both her torment and her rapture. Another tells of an ascetic who offered the needles freely, binding victims with wounds that turned pain into devotion.
Some claim the needles whisper to their bearer, urging them to pierce not only flesh but pride, longing, and submission itself. Those who keep them too long often cannot tell where power ends and surrender begins.
Mysterious Qualities
The Piercing Needles of Pain’ most feared power is their unnatural bond to pain. Those struck by all three do not merely suffer physically—their emotions are amplified, their agony capable of rippling outward with a touch. Scholars and occultists speculate that the needles tap into a hidden dimension of sensation, allowing suffering to be projected across distance. Some note that while the needles themselves remain pristine, the air around them grows heavy, and shadows linger longer, as if the world itself remembers each torment inflicted.
Piercing Needles of Pain 5e 2024
Piercing Needles of Pain, Pathfinder
Piercing Needles of Pain 3.5
Piercing Needles of Pain
Wondrous Item, Very Rare, Requires Attunement
Lore
Forged in secret by ascetic monks who delved into the boundaries of mortal suffering, the Piercing Needles of Pain are three slender, obsidian-black needles etched with shadowy runes. Legends claim that a victim pierced by all three becomes a living conduit of agony, capable of transmitting their torment to others. Stories whisper of merchants collapsing in city streets, of cursed nobles who can feel every wound they inflict, and of shadows that linger long after the needles are removed. Scholars debate whether the needles were instruments of punishment, tools of arcane experimentation, or relics of a forgotten, darker magic.
Appearance
Each needle is no longer than a finger, unnervingly cold, and faintly pulsing as if alive. The etched runes absorb light, giving them a liquid, shadowy sheen. Together, they weigh barely a pound but carry the dread of centuries of whispered horrors.
Abilities
- Painful Piercing: When all three needles pierce a creature, the target takes 1 point of necrotic damage per needle. This damage cannot be healed until the needles are removed.
- Wracking Touch: The pierced creature can, as an action, touch another creature to inflict the effect of the Wrack spell (Wisdom saving throw, DC 15, negates). This effect lasts 1 minute or until the touched creature leaves range.
- Shared Suffering: While attuned and pierced by all three needles, a creature gains advantage on Intimidation checks but suffers disadvantage on saving throws against fear or charm effects, reflecting their heightened sensitivity to pain.
- Curse: Removing the needles requires a remove curse spell or similar magic. Failure to remove them results in continued unhealable pain.
Potential Uses in Gameplay
- Torture or Interrogation: Introduce moral tension—do characters use the needles to extract information?
- Villain’s Tool: Evil NPCs can wield them to spread terror and manipulate others.
- Cursed Reward: Powerful but dangerous, offering combat and social utility at a steep cost.
- Plot Device: Their whispers, lore, and mysterious origin make them ideal for quests or dark rituals.
Engagement Hooks
The Piercing Needles of Pain combine horror, strategy, and moral intrigue, creating a memorable tool for DMs and players alike. Their dark history and painful magic make them as much a story device as a mechanical weapon, perfect for campaigns that embrace suspense, danger, and morally gray choices.
Piercing Needles of Pain
Price: 35,000 gp
Aura: Moderate necromancy; CL 5th
Slot: —
Weight: 1 lb
Caster Level: 5th
Requirements: Craft Wondrous Item, wrack
Market Rarity: Very Rare
DESCRIPTION
The Piercing Needles of Pain are a set of three slender, obsidian-black needles, each no longer than a finger. Faint runes spiral along their shafts, absorbing light and pulsing subtly, as if alive. Those who handle them report a quiet, unsettling heartbeat that seems to emanate from the metal itself.
Forged in secret by ascetic monks or recovered from the ruins of a lost alchemist’s tower, the needles were designed to explore the metaphysical bonds between suffering and will. Victims pierced by all three become conduits of agony, able to project their torment to others. Scholars debate whether the needles were instruments of punishment, tools of forbidden experimentation, or relics of a darker, forgotten magic.
LORE & FOLKLORE
The needles were once used by a reclusive cult of ascetics seeking enlightenment through suffering. Initiates who survived their trials emerged forever changed, attuned to the pain of others. Some claim the needles select their own victims, embedding themselves only in those burdened with hidden fears or guilt. The air around the needles is said to grow cold and heavy, and even in empty rooms, faint echoes of distant agony can sometimes be heard.
ACTIVATION
Trigger: All three needles must pierce the same creature.
Effect: Each needle deals 1 point of unhealable damage, which cannot be restored by normal healing until the needles are removed. Once all three are embedded, the pierced creature can project pain to others by touch, mimicking the effects of the wrack spell. Targets touched must succeed on a Fortitude DC 15 save or suffer the effect for 1 minute.
SPECIAL ABILITIES
- Shared Suffering (Su): A creature pierced by all three needles gains +2 circumstance bonus on Intimidate checks but suffers –2 penalty on saving throws against fear or charm effects.
- Curse: Removing the needles requires a remove curse or break enchantment effect; failure results in continued unhealable pain.
- Lingering Aura: The needles radiate an oppressive aura within 5 feet, giving creatures a –1 penalty on Will saves against fear effects while they remain attuned.
POTENTIAL USES IN GAMEPLAY
- Torture or Interrogation: Introduce moral tension—do players use the needles to extract information?
- Villain’s Tool: Ideal for a dark NPC or villain to spread terror, manipulate pawns, or turn innocents into conduits of pain.
- Cursed Reward: Powerful yet dangerous, offering both social leverage and combat utility at a steep cost.
- Quest Hook / Plot Device: Their whispered lore, mysterious origin, and supernatural properties make them perfect for dark rituals, investigation, or uncovering forbidden magic.
Piercing Needles of Pain
Book of Vile Darkness 3.5
By Monte Cook
These three needles must be used together to gain any effect. If all three pierce the flesh of a creature (each dealing 1 point of damage that can’t be healed until it is removed), the pained creature can give feelings of intense pain to others by touch. The painful touch produces the effect of a Wrack spell (Fort DC 15 negates).
Caster Level: 5th; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, Wrack; Market Price: 35,000 gp; Weight: 1 lb.