Draft:Potion of Death
| & | |
| Type | Artifact |
|---|---|
| Base value (Au) | 500 |
| Item level | 3 |
| Weight | 10 |
| Unidentified appearance | Random potion container |
| Cursed name | Potion of Death |
The Potion of Death kills the player when activated. It is an artifact with a potion-like appearance, not an ordinary potion whose curse can be removed to reveal a beneficial effect.
Generation
Death belongs to the item-level-3 unique artifact pool. It is excluded from ordinary random monster treasure and the pawn shop's generated stock, and cannot be chosen from the ordinary-potion list of acquirement. Its general random-generation availability follows the artifact uniqueness state.
It receives one of the twenty shuffled potion-container appearances, sharing that appearance family with ordinary potions and the Potion of Life. The actual artifact classification remains distinct even while its identity is unknown.
Description
Activating Death invokes immediate death rather than a damage roll. Blessing, enchantment, high HP and ordinary damage resistance do not convert that activation into a safe use. Its name does not change when cursed.
The ordinary quaff command rejects the object because it is an artifact. Its intended activation route is Activate, then artifact, but a player who has not identified the object should not take a failed quaff as an invitation to try that route blindly. Life uses the same activation category and has the opposite outcome.
Throwing the object follows the ordinary zero-damage offering behavior; it does not apply Death's activation to the target. It is not a throwable instant-death weapon.
Strategy
Identify an unknown potion-shaped artifact before activation. Once known, Death is a candidate for disposal or sale rather than experimentation with blessing. Removing a curse does not remove the underlying lethal power.
Keep it clearly distinguished from Life in storage and inventory. The useful lesson from its shared appearance is that an attractive-looking bottle and a familiar potion name are not enough to establish either the correct command or a safe effect.