Wychblade
An ornate, foot-long bronze dagger, forged thousands of years ago when Balor first came to rule the earth. It is leaf-shaped, inscribed with glyphs, and green with corrosion, but its golden edge is keen and deadly sharp. It is mundanely a +1 shortsword (d8 +1, 4); however, on the nights of the new moon, it possesses a more gruesome power.
In game terms, it acts as a Virus Lunare potion. Any being slain at this time in front of an unholy altar with the wychblade will have a portion of their soul trapped within their corpse. The altar requires 28 MP or a human sacrifice per lunar month to sustain its power. If the wielder then casts Reanimate The Dead and buries the body in a shallow grave, the corpse will arise as a perpetual zombie at the next full moon (14 days later). The magic of the wychblade can be used to create zombie animals/monsters as well as undead humans.
The owner of the blade is susceptible to a curse each new moon with a strength of MA 20. Every year that the blade is owned confers one random madness on the human user. Faerie or Trollkin, such as Hags, Redcaps, Boggarts, Trolls, Hobgoblins, and even Dark Elves, are immune to the madness and curse.
This article first appeared in Casket of Fays Issue 7.
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