Cursed Mirror, Input loved :D

[Geode]

Hey guys, it's me again with my curious and somewhat eccentric antics. Today, while browsing my local craft store for props in my D&D game, I stumbled upon this rather interesting object. It was a round mirror with a loop for putting a string through it. Naturally, I turned it into a pendant for an enchanted or plot item (or *gasp* both!)

But then I remembered the week before... and the horrifying images of the PCs frolicking through mounds of benign goodies. Oh, how it made me weep inside! No... not this week! BEHOLD! THE CURSED MIRROR OF REFLECTIVENESS!

...alright, over dramatization and horrible names aside, I wanted to make a cursed object.

I want my mirror to not hide behind the pretense of being a mere innocent item. Clear warning, yet luscious reward and satisfaction. I want a bit more.... oomph bordering on terror.
So here's what I've come up with:
The mirror is one of many of the Baest D'she tor Valis (roughly translates to Mirror of the Daemon's Visage). It is enchanted to scry whatever the user commands. It will do so even within areas that have been warded against such attempts. The mirror can see into the other planes without trouble. However, with each scry, the daemon who created the mirrors becomes more and more aware of the mortals who foolishly toy with the tools of the lowest circles of Hell.
The PCs find a simple gold-framed round mirror amulet. The mirror, when looked at directly, reveals not a reflection of the viewer, but whatever real object that the viewer is thinking about. This amulet reveals a bloody message when turned around. It simply says "Don't look in the mirror," all written in blood.
Should a player continue to use the scrying mirror, he will eventually see neither his reflection nor what he thinks about. He will see a daemon reaching through the mirror and.... *violence*

ahem... this is where I run into a bit of an issue. What would be an appropriate deterrent or cost to using the amulet? Should they be attacked by said daemon? Should the user be severely traumatized? Subject to a face-full of a maximize + empower + explosive + enlarged fireball? Cursed? Maimed? Negative Experience? Returned to level 1? Dragged into the mirror? I don't feel justified in giving players completely lethal items, even if I give them fair warning. Thoughts? Other ideas for the mirror?

[nijineko]

some ideas:

afflicted with increasingly progressed stages of paranoia and xenophobia.

temp ability damage that is increased each usage.

life force visibly sucked into the mirror with xp loss. increases each use.

takes on visible evil outsider characteristics, gains the half-fiend template one bit at a time.

use the optional sanity and/or taint rules from the unearthed arcana.

must commit a morally or ethically evil act to activate the mirror. each use requires something meaner and nastier.

save or temporary alignment shift.

save versus increasingly difficult magic jar effect.

illusion of possession or mirror of opposition effect surrounds the afflicted character, changing all actions and speech into parodies and mockeries of the afflicted, making the rest of the party believe that the afflicted is now the daemon. have the player go sit over by you, and whisper or write down all actions and speech, you translate into "evil".

level drain accompanied by nasty wounds like claw and teeth marks appearing on their body. once this effect is achieved, it continues randomly either by trigger, or time period elapsed, even if separated from mirror. maybe a remove curse to undo.

[Malruhn]

Many, MANY years ago, a crafty and evil DM introduced a similar item in a campaign in which I was playing. The story line ran like this: As the viewer looked into the mirror, a demon would eventually become aware of the gaze. The demon would then begin to offer knowledge and power in return for "acts". The info could be the location of a dropped pouch of gold that was lost by the owner, to the easiest "secret" route into the royal treasure vaults - all the way up to the things like the contents of a (insert name of the appropriate tome) to raise a stat. The power would be the knowledge of new spells, secrets that the mayor is trying to keep quiet so you can blackmail, and such.

The "acts" were simple... they started with things like, "That dog is about to whelp - but can't feed the pups - drown them to prevent their misery and starvation," and such. Eventually they would be, "Kick that kitten," or, "That old lady is about to be run over by a runaway wagon - just sit here and watch." The final stages would be legitimate sacrifices of living creatures and the like - all as the alignment goes farther and farther into the Chaotic Evil territory. There was no charm or geas or control - it was all coersion.

The other person in our party (a two person party!!) got it and effectively sold their soul - and my character had to track them down and kill them and then destroy the mirror. My character's name was, "Malruhn" - and was one of my most memorable PC's. It was a very sad campaign arc. The DM, other player and I were all crying as the final battle played out - and I retired Malruhn immediately after that session.

You might try something similar.

(EDITED FOR CLARITY AND READABILITY)

[hopesfirexx]

I'll just spew some random ideas out. Hope they're useful!
You could have the daemon snatch the user into a small demon study where they must engage it in single combat.
Or do permanent damage to a stat or HP if you REALLY want to be evil.
Or perhaps a dominate spell and force them to turn on their allies.
What if the daemon starts showing the user visions of his or her allies betraying him/her? After a while, the daemon actually starts forcing the user's allies to attempt to fulfill the visions.

@Malruhn
Woooowww! I like that idea! That is hilarious (and extremely terrifying)!