The Hero's Heart
This is the heart of a great hero -- or at least someone notable for great deeds if not great moral virtue -- dried or pickled in strange herbs and unguents and enchanted by an evil witch. To unlock its magic the whole heart must be eaten, then three things happen: first of all, the diner is ill in a most messy and violent manner and must save against Poison or be bed-ridden for 1d6 days.
After this the character will feel rejuvenated and full of confidence and will be able to perform one superhuman feat. For example:
- Convincing a powerful and hostile army to flee.
- Returning from death.
- Leaping a tall building in a single bound.
- Solving an impossible puzzle.
- Swimming while towing a warship.
- Reading another being’s mind.
The third thing that happens is that after six months -- whether the feat is performed or not -- powerful spirits will appear to kill the character and take their heart -- not always in that order -- back to the witch so that another Hero’s Heart can be created. These spirits should be difficult, if not impossible, to defeat.
Unless the character has access to some sort of miraculous power, that is.