The Sarcophagus is an ornate coffin-like box that is designed to keep the user alive for long trips through wildspace and the phlogiston. It could be as simple as a wooden box, or as complex as the mummy cases of egyptian fame.
It was created many years before standard spelljamming helms came about. During that time, anyone who wanted to make a space voyage had to take a major portion of their life doing so. It took years to get to the nearest stellar body. The softwood spell was developed, and one enterprising mage who was experimenting with storing food, used a frog, which was preserved for 10 years.
The user gets into the Sarcophagus, lays down, and states a condition for awakening. He/she then closes the lid and goes to sleep. The coffin creates/casts the softwood spell on the user inside the case. One condition that is automatically a condition for awakening is the opening of the sarcophagus. The softwood dissolves at the normal rate when opening or the condition is met.
A coffin or Sarcophagus is chosen, and runes are engraved into it's surface. Enchant an item, contingency, softwood, chain contingency, fire resistance, and permanency is cast. The sarcophagus must have been made with wood, stone, or metal, that has been struck with lightning or an electrical attack. The sarcophagus must have been in the phlogistion for the duration of a first enchant an item spell to "soak" the gas into the wood. (Also called saturation). When the first spell runs out, then the second one to actually enchant the sarcophagus can be cast. The fire resistance spell was a later addition, as some users were incinerated due to the volitile nature of a wooden object saturated with phlogistion gas.
The case can be designed as a non permanent item with charges, if one wants to reduce the cost. It's disadvantages are obvious. The cases are not quite as useful now as they once were, nor as common. They were once vital to travel, while now there are helms. Modern usage of the Sarcophagus includes storing an army in the cargo hold, for quick revival in ground or boarding actions on ships. Users will revive in one round to six rounds, and will be fully alert after that time. The cases remove the strain on air envelopes that a large force would normally use; But..there is the loss of cargo space that the cases take up. Some enterprising jammers lash them to the sides and bottoms of their ships, but this is unwise, due to the amount of time needed to reach the cases to open them, and the fact that the cases are vunerable to attacks stuck out there on the hull.
Cost: 5000 GP each (long ago...cost= 40,000 GP). [For permanent item]
Cost: 2000 GP each [for sarcophagus that uses temporary charges]
They are made in bulk, so costs are lower than if one were to try to create one from scratch. Then the mage or cleric must buy the materials, and pay for the enchantment as in the DMG.
