De-Fiend Yourself
Today is the final day of Fiend Week here at Necromancers of the Northwest, and that means that I have some Hellish weapons for you. Or, rather, that’s what I’d like to say, but I’m afraid we’re all out of goodies from our diabolical friends, so why not take a look at what the Abyss has in store? Well, because we’re actually out of demonic magic items, as well. And before you ask about asuras, divs, and rakshasas, we used up everything we had from them on yesterday’s Obscure Arcana.
But don’t think we don’t have something special in store for you. Daemons, kytons, and oni may not be winning any popularity contests amongst the lower planes (actually, daemons seem to do all right for themselves), but that doesn’t mean they aren’t cool outsider races, and these magic items—inspired more by their philosophies than their mechanics—are here to prove it.
KISS OF ABADDON PRICE 13,318 gp
Slot —; CL 17th; Weight 10 lbs.Aura strong necromancy
These +1 vicious scythes are typically made entirely of black materials, including an onyx or obsidian blade, and are carved with skull and bones motifs that are difficult to make out, being black as well. It is said that originally five kisses of Abaddon were made, which were each gifted to a different king by four powerful daemons, and a fifth, unknown individual. Whether the connection to daemons is true or not, these blades certainly further the fiends’ aims of extinguishing all mortal life.
Whenever the wielder of a kiss of Abaddon scores a critical hit, before rolling damage, he can choose to offer up any amount of his own life force to strengthen the blow, in the form of hit point damage. For every 2 hit points worth of damage that he suffers in this way, the critical hit deals 1 additional point of damage (the damage is not multiplied as a result of the critical hit).
None of a kiss of Abaddon’s unique abilities count as an enhancement bonus equivalent, and it is treated as a +2-equivalent weapon for the purposes of the cost of further improving its magical abilities.
Construction Requirements Cost 6,818 gpCraft Magic Arms and Armor, energy drain
KYTON BLADE PRICE 20,375 gp
Slot —; CL 15th; Weight 8 lbs.Aura strong necromancy
These +1 keen falchions are said to have first been invented by the kytons, the mysterious pain-loving denizens of the shadow plane, who used them for collecting body parts to graft from one creature onto another. Others claim that the blades each hold the imprisoned spirit of a kyton, and that it is from the kyton that the blade’s unique powers come.
Whenever the wielder of a kyton blade scores a critical hit against a living creature, the kyton blade absorbs a small amount of the victim’s tissue, inflicting 2d6 additional points of damage. This tissue is stored in an extradimensional space within the blade for an indefinite amount of time, immune to the ravages of time. As a standard action, the wielder can call upon the kyton blade to use the captured tissue to regrow some or even all of the creature’s body. While giving this command is a standard action, the process takes 1 hour for a very small body part (such as a finger or eyeball), 1d4 hours for a limb, or 4d6 hours for an entire body. During this time blood flows down the length of the blade constantly, congealing at the tip, essentially growing the body part on the end of the blade’s tip. For this reason, the blade must remain still the entire time, or the resulting body part will be ruined.
Body parts created in this way remain fresh and living for 1 hour, after which the tissue dies, and begins to decay. Entire bodies created this way are identical to those created by the spell clone, except that if the original creature dies, its soul does not automatically inhabit the body (although a creature with a way of putting the soul in the body could potentially do so). Regrowing a body part or body in this way expends the stored tissue. A kyton blade can store up to 5 pieces of tissue at any one time. If a sixth would be stored, the oldest stored tissue is destroyed to make room for it.
Some of a kyton blade’s unique abilities count as an enhancement bonus equivalent, and it is treated as a +3-equivalent weapon for the purposes of the cost of further improving its magical abilities.
Construction Requirements Cost 10,375 gpCraft Magic Arms and Armor, clone, gentle repose, keen edge
ONI ARMOR PRICE 52,165 gp
Slot —; CL 6th; Weight 25 lbs.Aura faint enchantment
This +2 hide armor is said to be the creation of the oni, and it certainly falls in line with those spirits’ focus on physical sensations. Oni that encounter armor of this type often go well out of their way to acquire it, often desiring it for personal reasons, even if they have better armor to wear in battle.
The armor transforms all sensations of pain to ones of intense pleasure, and also delays those sensations for a brief time, as the armor converts them. This has two effects. First, whenever the wearer would suffer damage or be affected by a spell or ability with the pain descriptor, that damage or effect does not occur until the end of his next turn, even if the damage is enough to cause him to fall unconscious or die. Second, the target gains a +4 bonus on saving throws made to resist pain effects (if he still fails, he is just as overwhelmed by the sensation of pleasure as he would have been by the pain).
Some of a suit of oni armor’s unique abilities count as an enhancement bonus equivalent, and it is treated as a +7-equivalent suit of armor for the purposes of the cost of further improving its magical abilities.
Construction Requirements Cost 26,165 gpCraft Magic Arms and Armor, delay pain