Phylactery (religious item)

A phylactery was an item used to display or hold holy text, verses, or prayers, or to contain small sacred relics.

Description
Two kinds of phylactery were common. The first were wrappings inscribed with holy text or verses, while the second were small containers of any shape or size (such as a tube or a small black box). They were typically worn tied around the forehead or wrist, or wrapped around the upper arm or thigh. They were usually small enough to concealed in one's hand or about one's person if the wearer feared theft.

Powers
A phylactery itself typically had no magical and little monetary value. Rather, its value lay in the importance of its contents to the wearer's faith, or its own intrinsic value.

However, a number of phylacteries were noted for their magical power. Such magical items were usually worn around the head and were associated with morale and alignment.

Notoriously, liches stored their life-forces or souls in items also called phylacteries. A common form of lich's phylactery resembled the traditional phylactery in some respects, being a box containing strips of parchment bearing magical phrases, but they could really take any form whatsoever.

Notable Types of Phylactery

 * See also Category:Phylacteries


 * Phylactery of bravery
 * ''Phylactery of faithfulness
 * ''Phylactery of righteousness

Background
Phylactery, from Ancient Greek (via Latin) for "protectant", is a term for a charm or amulet, a Christian reliquary, or a translation of the Jewish tefillah. It is also the term for "speech scrolls" in Medieval art. These are the inspirations for the above items.

However, in Dungeons & Dragons and across fantasy fiction, the term "phylactery" has become widely associated with liches and "soul jar" concepts, as discussed at the phylactery article.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Dungeon #29, "Ex Libris"