I have a nasty looking halloween, life-size skull that I wanted to use as a prop in one of my games. I was thinking of having it be the skull of an ancient Sith Lord, and thus, have some dark side influence and presence about it. Any cool ideas out there what might be cool or interesting to do with the skull? The PC's handling it will be a mix of EotE, force sensitive, and F&D characters. Thanks in advance! (Moving this to the F&D side of the house).

Semper Fi

Could be anything from dark-side spirit possession to a heightened awareness to an abnormal sense of paranoia when you're around the thing. Take the One Ring for example, or Horcruxes from Harry Potter. Or the Umbra sword from Elder Scrolls lore.

Maybe the skull is in the possession of an unhinged nemesis NPC, who claims that the skull is his best friend (ala Wilson from Castaway).

For more examples and ideas:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArtifactOfDoom

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArtifactOfDeath

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity

My PC has a lightsaber inhabited by a Sith spirit that dates back to the period of Exar Kun. For most part it's a silent plotter that is seeking to raise Tobin to continue the Sith and whatever under laying agenda it has that I am as yet unaware of. It offers limited instruction, often life lessons and occasionally attempts to override reckless actions or actions it deems pointless; which largely attributes to great strain and a complete loss in concentration, though thus far it hasn't made the Rodian give up on anything it's set his mind to; it's just a irritation.

However, it isn't omipotent and I would give any particular spirit flaws. Namely

*It's knowledge is restricted to things it's personally seen. Given that it's been laying in a temple for force knows how long, it isn't up to date with galatic affairs, and thus makes big sweeping assumptions about "Jedi being able to rally armies" that strictly isn't true.

*It strictly works in it's own interests. On at least two occasions it has drawn inquistors to me, and one two occasions I killed them in self defence. It claims it's for training, or is it?

*Even before the sling thing, my character is a gadgeteer. Rather unfortunately for the lightsaber, it's an old fastioned spirit at heart and was horrified when I modded a limited use firearm in the hilt. That was pretty funny. XD

It'd make a pretty funky candle stick holder.

I would make the skull have spirit attached to it and a friend or loved one of a pc wears it around his neck and is possessed by it. The players only way to free him is to kill him or try and take it off him risking they get possessed themselves.

Alternatively, give it a presence, but otherwise have it as a trinket that is kept on the bridge as a good luck charm, and blame it for all the bad things that happen despite e spirit having long passed on. Xd

And now I'm getting memories of SW:TOR's Smuggler storyline and Darth Bandon's pickled head.

I would have the skull do exactly nothing. However when people handle the skull, have a random con-incidence. When the players start using skills and force powers they will obviously detect nothing.

The players will assume it is somehow hiding itself and make wild and make specious assumptions.

Perhaps stuff a roll of not paper in the skull (physically if possible) like a message in a bottle, that leads them to the next part of the adventure, in effect making it a sort of MacGuffin.

I'm not sure "magic items" really sit well with a Star Wars feel. There are vergences in the Force, but they are locations, not items.

- It gives bad advice that if followed will actually work.

- It constantly mentions old stories or "secrets" that are either boring, or so old the core message no longer applies, though there's usually a valuable fact buried somewhere, just not the one the skull intended.

- Whatever it does (give advice, whisper secrets, sing showtunes) it only does it with one PC, and only when they are completely alone and unobserved.

- It randomly disappears and reappears in different rooms in the PCs ship. But it always moves from an unobserved accessible location to another unobserved accessible location, so it can never be proven that another character isn't doing it.

- Once per session the player can attempt to dray on the power of the skull. Roll a force Die, on a white pip it provide a Triumph to whatever check the character is making. on a black pip it provides a Despair.

- Sleeping in proximity to the skull will give the character a strange evolving nightmare. It will start simple "you don't remember anything... just colors, white and red." but get more and more detailed each time, ultimately revealing something really bad the players must stop.

- The skull is just a skull, but it has the remains of a long lost cybernetic/amulet/deathstar plans... thing hidden in the brain hole.

- The Character with the skull in his possession (ie on his person) will feel no ill effects, but all other characters ( and indeed living things) will be repelled by the character, believing the character has terrible BO, a bad attitude, insulting vocabulary, ect.

- The Character with the skull in his possession (ie on his person) will feel no ill effects, but all other characters must call the person possessing the skull "Murray" instead of that characters actual name.

- The interior of one of the eye sockets is microetched with a secret startchart/map to the lost valley of the dinosaurs Jedi

- The skull is actually a Key used to activate a long lost Sith Dreanought/Open a tomb/vault.

- The skull does nothing, but is the last DNA sample of "The last Chosen one"

- When asked a question The skull gives simple responses. Ranging from Yes, to No, to Ask again later. It's hard to tell if these answers are legit, or at random.

It predicts the future, often with a dark twist to it.

Dreamscape (yeah, I know... showing my age and obfuscated material). Have the skull's original occupant able to go into the crew's dreams... especially when they are in flight. Create character sheets with weird things as abilities and strange equipment the character has never used. Have the bad guy fight them and then run away down hallways, through trains, on a boat... any contained environment... and adding movement is better. Have them wake up as cliffhanger information is revealed... so that on one hand they want to throw it away, but on the other they want to go back in and find out what happened. Intersperse these through regular adventures so that they never know when it might happen. Always take back the alternate character sheets... and if you have the time, make them different or stranger each time you hand them out.

In the end, give them the location of a sith world or tomb where the skull is trying to return. They will likely find more loot and likely some very bad things. If they keep resisting taking it to the location, start to have them attacked in the dream where they wake up with real damage on their main characters just to intensify things a bit.

It's a Fendahl! Don't touch it!

- Once per session the player can attempt to dray on the power of the skull. Roll a force Die, on a white pip it provide a Triumph to whatever check the character is making. on a black pip it provides a Despair.

If this is a Sith lord's skull, shouldn't that be the other way around?

Seems a bit overpowered, too. Maybe just an upgrade/downgrade per pip instead?

You could it so that when a force user uses powers near it it starts to glow. then get them to actually channel the force into the skull to have it project memoreis like a hologram. White pips on the force roll are good memories, black pips bad memories. Then use those to plant the seeds for another adventure, preferably by playing off the skills and back stories of the non-force using pcs.

Let's see,

It definitely needs a howl that acts as a death-spell in a 20 foot radius. Ahem.

The skull should be able to fly (move) and a high dodge, defense, and soak rating.

It should inflict fear and conflict on those who draw near.

It should have several full force power trees and a force-rating of 5-6.

If the skull is in its final resting place, its remains should rise up and menace intruders.

If attacked, the remains should be treated as cotorsis and inflict strain in addition to wounds.

Oh, wait, never mind. That's a demi-lich.