Magical Weapons

Adder's Arrows

Each of these arrows is easily identifible by its unusual design. The shaft is stained to resemble the pattern of an exotic snake, the flights are carefully sculpted scales from a poisonous serpent, and the tip is made of two large fangs mounted to make a point. The magic of the arrow and epertise of its maker ensure each item is a thing of dark beauty. It is thought that the Brotherhood of Fortunate Gentlemen were the first to use these dreadful weapons.

The first shaft is said to have been crafted by Captain Jareeda himself. It didn't take long for their value to be seen by others though. Soon assassins and bandit-lords were ordering these black barbs by the score. It would have become completely commonplace save for its single drawback, each time an arrow is launched there is a 1 in 20 chance it harms the user instead. This possibly fatal flaw was discovered by Jareeda's only son and rival, Heshar Blue-Hair. The young sailor lost his ship and crew because the wound suffered by the arrow took his naval genius out of the battle. Word spread of the drawback and it was confirmed in other areas soon after. This cause a sharp decline in popularity. These arrows are still used, but not quite so freely and easily now.

The fear caused by these potent arrows can be found in the magical poison each arrow is imbued with during its creation. Considered a +1 arrow in its own right, each arrow also inflicts a magical poison upon its target. It requires a DC 17 Fortitude save or the target takes 1d6 Constitution damage as a primary effect and 1d6 Constitution damage as a secondary effect. Whenever an archer rolls a natural 1 to hit while using an adder's arrow the arrow nips them releasing its magic on the archer instead of the intended target. These arrows can be recovered and reused until they actually hit a living target, then their magic is released and the arrow crumbles to dust.

REQUIREMENTS: CL 9. Feats: Craft Arms and Armor, Spell Focus. Spells: Poison.

Blood-Thorn Club

A particularly crude and vicious jarl of the Ice Barbarians was given the first of these weapons as a gift by a rather sour druid that only found real pleasure in the chaos his clansmen caused when raiding. Since that time a few other druids, shamans, and clerics of primitive tribes have duplicated this item. The folk of the south that have encountered these are sorry that the item was ever concieved.

The Blood-Thorn Club is considered a Great Club +2 for purposes of wounding and damaging. Once per round when an attack is successful the wielder can command the club to "drink the vigor" out of his opponent. The target makes a Fortitude Save (DC 13) or lose 1 temporary point of Constitution. Unlike standard attribute drain, these points are regained 1 per hour until fully healed.

Dagger of Twisting

This weapon was conceived of over 130 years ago by a small cabal of assassins. The idea was to create a weapon that would continue to harm an opponent if it were left in and yet not look overly magical so that no one puts too much thought into the wound. The final result was the Dagger of Twisting. The cabal had 12 crafted, one for each member. When a group of paladins destroyed the organization twenty-two years later these knives were scattered to the four winds. Many look for them but very few have found one.

This dagger counts as a +2 weapon and gives bonuses accordingly. That is not the amazing part of its operation though. When the dagger is thrown and scores a hit it imbeds itself in the victim. Anytime in the next three rounds the attacker may say a command word to cause the weapon to start twisting and turning, creating a bigger, more violent wound. The twisting does and additional 1d3 points of damage per round for two full minutes or until it is pulled out. Pulling it out requires a successful strength check with a difficulty class of 20. All daggers look the same, a plain dull gray color, made from an unknown metal. The daggers themselves are impervious to all forms of heat and cold based attacks, although the wielder gains no such protection.

Dread Bolts

These slate grey bolts appear to be unremarkable from a distance, but once held and studied for a few moments shallow lines of obsidian forming a strange alien pattern become clear to the eye. It is unknown what the first markings were meant to represent by the Dread Bolt's original enchanter, but it is thought that the magic of the bolt would be dimished if the obsidian were omitted or substituted.

Made by agents of the Horned Society, these deadly bolts saw their greatest use during the brief life of that diabolic kingdom. A single shot could turn an enemy's army and sap the resolve of the most fierce warriors. These bolts were made to help decide the fates of armies and alter the borders of kingdoms. They saw little real decisive use as the range limitations limited how effective they were. Still, it is whispered that through prudent the last dread bolts they possessed a few of the Heirarchs might have been able to escape the Iuz's purging.

When shot from a crossbow these +1 bolts cast a bane effect over those hostile to you within 20 feet of its flight path, however the magic stops working when the bolt hits a target or passes beyond to range increments. Victims of this projectile are allowed a Will save, DC 14 to avoid the powers of the bolt, otherwise they suffer a -2 to all attack rolls, skill checks, and saving rolls.

Zagyg's Benevolent Bolts

These strange magical bolts were conjured up by a peculiar cleric of Zagyg who tired of running into danger so that he could save his companions from the perils of fighting monsters they should know better than to tangle with in the first place. Some of his companions proclaimed him a genius, others had less kind things to state on behalf of their sometimes friend. Never one of the more popular healing items, these particular bolts can still be found from time to time in market stalls and locations were brave adventurers made their final stand; still in the darkest of moments even a gamble at healing is better than no healing at all.

These strange bolts are distinguished from their more mundane companions by strange symbols carfully painted in bright, garish, colors onto each one. Those few who can actually make out what the rune means is still left baffled by the writing's purpose as it normally only reads as childish prose or sometimes nothing more than gibberish. It is their magic though that attracts the most attention and mournful chuckles from the common populace.

Bearing a +1 base enchantment, these bolts will inflict full normal damage from impact on the target in question (note that weapon masters who have specialized in crossbows can forgo their normal bonus to damage upon a successful hit if desired). After the target has taken damage from the bolt as they normally would the true magic of the bolt takes effect. Each bolt will heal 3d8+6 points helping to restore its victim to a better state of health. It should be noted though that if the target is badly enough wounded the bolt might kill the person before it heals them. Note for the magic healing magic of the bolt to be released it must actually be shot from a crossbow, no other method will work to activate it. however, if the bolt misses its target it can be recovered and reused. Once it successfully hits a living (or unliving) creature its magic is unleashed upon the target.

REQUIREMENTS: CL 6. Feats: Craft Arms and Armor. Spells: Cure Serious Wounds.