Vertebra Shackle

	Vertebra Shackle
	; A special bone collected by members of the covenant of Mound-makers, discovered in the corpses of their victims.; ; Only one such bone is found in the vertebrae, and the Mound-makers believe it to be a shackle of the gods. In their minds, each victim is another connection, an addition to the family."

Vertebra Shackle is a Multiplayer Item in Dark Souls 3.

Used to increase Mound-Maker Covenant allegiance at the Sacrificial Altar in Undead Settlement, Pit of Hollows.

One is gained from defeating mad spirit Holy Knight Hodrick after he invades in the Undead Settlement. A Vertebra Shackle will not be obtained upon killing him after summoning him near the Crucifixion Woods bonfire.
Drops from Carthus Swordsman Skeleton in the Catacombs of Carthus (1%
- Also tested at 100 Kills with Item Discovery of 100, and 100 Kills with 499 Item Discovery).
Drops from Carthus Gravewarden Skeleton in the Catacombs of Carthus (1% chance).
- Can go up to 4.2% with an optimized Item Discovery of 486 (additionally based on 100 kills with 486 Item Discovery).
  - Addendum: A good place to farm these offline is just outside and to the right of the first Catacombs of Carthus Bonfire. Equip the Crystal Sage Rapier, Symbol of Avarice and switch to a luck build. Run past the rolling skeleton ball and pull the two Gravewarden skeletons into the path of the returning ball. Simply run back to the bonfire, rinse and repeat.
Drops from Carthus Swordsman Skeleton in Smouldering Lake.
- As these enemies are only found near the ballista, farming for Vertebra Shackles here is not advised.

You will earn a Vertebra Shackle after you fulfill your duty when invading as a mad dark spirit (by killing the Host of Embers or by killing enough phantoms).
Defeating an invading Mound-Maker as a Host of Embers will reward you with a Vertebra Shackle.
- This does not apply if the invading Mound-Maker invaded by means of White Sign Soapstone.
- You can also earn one by defeating a Mound-Maker as a defending Blade of the Darkmoon, alongside the normal Proof of a Concord Kept. (There may be more ways to earn as a phantom, this is the only one I have experienced).
- You can also earn one by dealing the killing blow to a mad dark spirit as a phantom.

A cheesy way to farm Vertebra Shackles is to get a friend to summon you via the Red Sign Soapstone and allow you to kill them repeatedly while you are a Mound-Maker. They do not need to have their Ember to summon you, and if they stay near a bonfire, they will have no risk of losing any souls they may have. They don't even have to be near your level. Set a password so only they can summon you, and farm away. Profit.
You may offer these in mutliples of 10 by pressing LB - 10 and +10 RB.
One may be offered to Pickle Pee, Pump-a-Rum Crow to receive the Lucatiel's Mask once per playthrough.
This item is not able to be given to other players.

The Vertebra Shackle follows the trend of the Pale Tongue and the Proof of a Concord Kept items in being part of the human body. Arguably, the Human Dregs could be included as well. It is also notably further down the body relative to the ears and tongue, but "above" the Human Dregs, potentially implying a closer connection to humanity than the Pale Tongue (which are offered to a goddess) and the Proof of a Concord Kept (which are cut off of offenders of the Gods). This may be supported by the description, claiming the item is a "shackle of the gods", perhaps implying this might ward off the formation of Human Dregs.

Multiplayer Items
Black Separation Crystal ♦ Cracked Red Eye Orb ♦ Dried Finger ♦ Ember ♦ Human Dregs ♦ Pale Tongue ♦ Proof of a Concord Kept ♦ Red Eye Orb ♦ Red Sign Soapstone ♦ Roster of Knights ♦ Vertebra Shackle ♦ Way of White Circlet ♦ White Sign Soapstone ♦ Wolf's Blood Swordgrass

Vertebra Shackle | Dark Souls 3