Despoiler of Flesh

The Despoiler of Flesh is a short staff made of human tongues that can permanently reshape the bodies of target creatures. A Clasp mage used it to turn a former member of the Clasp into a copy of Vex'ahlia, allowing that person to be handed over to Vex's stalker. In exchange for this act of protection, Vax'ildan agreed to join the Clasp and do jobs for them when asked.

The Despoiler of Flesh is an artifact from the Book of Vile Darkness, and it has not been discussed how the version of the item in Critical Role might have different properties or history. In the book, the artifact allows the wielder to polymorph a target creature into any form that the wielder can imagine (with an unwilling creature allowed to make a Fortitude save, the 5th-Edition equivalent of which is a Constitution saving throw, to resist the effect), whether such a form actually exists or not. The wielder can make one major change per round: simply changing the target into a known creature is a single change, as is changing one type of limb (e.g. arms) into a different kind of limb (e.g. wings). However, if the new form isn't biologically tenable, it will collapse and die.

Trivia

 * The story of Vex's stalker, the Despoiler of Flesh, and the polymorphed former Clasp member was written by Liam and Matt in preparation for Pike's entry into the campaign, to explain why Vax'ildan was a member of the Clasp when she first met him.