The classic tool of the enemy of the woods, the druid or spirit binder without the desire to build rapport with the woods. Those who have declared war on the ancient growth trees. The Deepwoods Mask is built from the heartwood of the oldest trees of a living woods. The very trees where the spirits themselves live. They are a token of great power, giving power over the forest which they have been ripped from.
Not all of them are masks, some of them are dresses, shields, shillelagh, or idols, but most find that disguising themselves as the trees makes them feel less judged by the dark woods, so opt for masks. They are all, however, all of them must be ripped from the heartwood of a forest, treated with moonlight or river water, and then carved with the webs of the great spiders or the patterns of leaves from a far away forest. Then they must be cursed by their creator magically, which awakens the fell spirit inside them.
It is this spirit that gives the Deepwood Mask its power. This spirit is in the power of the one who spoke it into existence, and it serves them until the mask is destroyed, or the Speaker dies. The intentions of the speaker however do not shape the personality of the Mask. The Mask deeply hates their forest, and desires to destroy it. They wish to uproot, burn, or defile the entire natural world, and they will do anything to do this. This is the true danger of the Deepwood Mask, since once it has managed to free itself from its maker, the Mask will strike out on its own to accomplish these goals.
These Masks cannot control minds, they can only offer power in exchange for concessions, and they only have the powers imbued in them by their creator. They can also only speak to someone who can currently see them, or is currently touching them. Therefore Deepwood Masks are forced to offer power in exchange for servitude from their allies. This makes them both incredibly dangerous, in that they give unfettered power to those willing to help their goals, and also incredibly limited, since those who receive power from the Deepwood Mask are often not the most powerful or willful, they are those who are willing to accept power from an unknown and strange Mask who speaks to them.
These pairs often become a local danger, or self destruct in burst of fire and blood. The Mask will typically begin by offering Hatred to their target, allowing them to have incredible bursts of power, but also the taint of Hatred pulling at their mind. If required, they'll likely then give away a spirit mark or two, and teach the victim to spirit bind. Once they have a few powers, the Mask will slowly start to threaten to remove its powers if its goals are not met. Though, being inanimate, the Mask must slowly addict its victim, and the victim often wants to solve their own grievances as quickly as possible.
Creating a Deepwood Mask requires locating a specific tree, the eldest of a forest. This is typically done with a wise related to the specific forest, at Ob 5. Those who desire it can sit under the stars and make an Astrology Ob6 test, or an Elf can use an Ob 5 Song of Arbours test (though this is an Ob6 Grief or Ob3 Spite test). Once the tree it located, the tree must be felled, and the heartwood extracted and shaped, with an Ob6 Carving test. Finally, once the mask is carved it must be treated in moonlight or river water (depending on the tradition of the one cursing the mask) which is an Ob4 Ritual test. Finally, the spirit must be awoken.
Awakening the spirit is an Ob7 Spirit Binding test, or an Ob5 Faith test. This creates a spirit with a Strength of 5. Every additional success on a spirit binding test increases that Strength by 1. Every additional success on a Faith test increases the Spirit Strength by 2. This curse takes the entire night of the full moon, and the heart blood of an innocent animal from the forest the heartwood is from. Once this curse is complete, the Forest immediately gains Retribution (as Spirit Binding) equal to the Strength of the spirit of the Mask.
The Mask can Help (using its Strength) on any test related to forests or the woods. The Spirit of the Mask also has Hatred equal to its Strength and can grant Hatred to anyone it chooses. Finally, it has a number of skill points equal to its Strength, chosen by the one who cursed it into existence (use its Spirit Strength as the root). The Mask can grant these skills or Hatred to anyone who can see it or touch it, and it can speak to anyone who can see or touch it.
The Spirit has the Belief "I will destroy the forest from which I was ripped", plus two more, though it must obey its creator, and therefore must work very hard to fulfill those beliefs. The Mask will often take years or decades to be free, and this will cause it to become bitter and even more violent.
Rare Deepwood Masks have managed to Embrace the Void and also learn the Rituals of Blood and Night. The Mask can rarely cast these spells without a wearer who is willing to assist with the gestures or the sacrifices required for the rituals, making them a perfect bribe for a victim who they are attempting to give power to.
The Mask of the Deepwood can also grant Spirit Marks to those who court them. It's difficult for them, they reduce their Strength by the level of the Mark, recovering one Strength per year, so they are loathe to do this without being granted some incredible concession.
A Burning Wheel Monster Every Week