The Amulet of the Black Skull is a powerful magical item worn by Withers in the Tomb of the Nine Gods. It is one of the few sources of magic in the tomb that remains unaffected by Acererak’s magical restrictions on spellcasting.
Properties
The amulet’s magic is explicitly immune to the tomb’s spell restrictions that normally alter or suppress magical effects. While other spells have altered effects throughout the tomb (including spells from magic items and class abilities that duplicate spell effects), both Acererak’s magic and the magic of the amulet of the black skull function normally.
Current Bearer
The amulet is worn by Withers, an undead wight who serves as Acererak’s loyal servant and overseer of the tomb. Withers was originally Gorra, an Omuan engineer enslaved to construct the tomb, who was transformed into a wight as a reward for his effective trap designs. He wears the amulet around his neck while stationed in his office (area 28) on Level 2 of the tomb.
The amulet is part of Withers’s equipment alongside his spellcasting abilities (he is a 9th-level wizard) and seven crawling claws that serve him.
Note: Full mechanical properties and effects of the amulet are detailed in Appendix C of the adventure, which is not included in this source text.