Item: Phoenix Cinder

Activate 1 (manipulate)

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An incandescent, multipronged crystal the color of dying fire, a phoenix cinder gives off pleasant warmth and a sense of peace. A low, soft chirruping around the crystal invokes the idea of using fire to cleanse and protect. The crystal offers this power to anyone who touches it. A partaker must be willing to gain the boon's effects.

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Stage 1 (1 Week) The first time you enter this stage from a particular phoenix cinder, you are affected as if by Regenerate.

For 3 days after taking in the cinder, you are immune to fire. While in this stage or higher, you have fast healing equal to half your level, as well as resistance to fire damage equal to half your level. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws (or any other defense) against fire. Treat the outcome of any saving throw you roll against fire effects as one step better. You can cast Ignition as an innate spell, and you have access to the following activation.

Activate 1 (concentrate, fire)

Frequency once per day

Effect You wreathe yourself in flame for 1 minute. Adjacent creatures that hit you with a melee attack, as well as creatures that touch you or hit you with an unarmed attack, take 2d6 fire. You can Dismiss the activation.

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Stage 2 (1 Month) You can use the activation once per hour. Always feverish and flushed, you feel as if temperatures lower than sweltering are cold. Reduce your current and maximum Hit Points by 2 × your level, and you have a weakness to cold damage equal to half your level. You have urges to burn and use fire when you can. When confronted with the opportunity to do so, you must succeed at a Will save to avoid it. Doing so once after each time you roll initiative is enough.

If you die at this stage or higher, your body burns from the inside out over 1d4 rounds, reducing you to fine ash. Anything flammable on you is destroyed. A phoenix emerges from your remains, but doesn't have the holy trait and is interested more in selfish pursuits and spreading fire than kindness. You also attempt a DC 8 Flat; on a failure, the phoenix gains the unholy trait, and also thirsts for vengeance against the little beings like the one who dared to use its power for a time.

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Stage 3 (1 Month) You now have fast healing equal to your level but reduce your current and maximum Hit Points by 4 × your level, rounded up, instead of 2 × your level. Also, you have a weakness to cold damage equal to your level and a weakness to holy equal to half your level. You can use the activation you previously gained once per minute, but you can no longer Dismiss it. Whenever you drop to 0 Hit Points, a flame strike erupts from a randomly chosen point on the edge of your space.

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Stage 4 You die.

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Purging You must collect the remains of a phoenix of your level or higher who has been unable to self-resurrect, compressing the remains with powdered diamonds, opals, and rubies worth 75 gp × your level into an egg. You can then use Divine Immolation as if you dropped to 0 Hit Points during this boon's stage 3. If you do so, the phoenix whose remains you collected is reborn as if it used its Self-Resurrection, and the phoenix cinder's effects end on you.