SKULL LASH
CHAPTER 3
ITEMS OF LEGACY Illus. by S. Belledin
Arne died in battle ten years ago, leaving no heir, and Skull Lash is a gruesome flail of crude and barbaric design. his people claim they buried the flail with him. Such The haft is carved from the thighbone of a dire lion a potent mystical weapon is a temptation to even the and wrapped in dark red leather of questionable origin. most righteous of persons, however, and it is possible Attached to the handle are long, thick leather cords, and some other warrior spirited Skull Lash away after Arne at the end of each hangs a different bleached skull. was buried. (DC 18; Rite of the First Skull) While Arne was certainly a fearsome fighter, eviNonlegacy Game Statistics: +1 heavy flail; Cost 2,315 gp. The flail enhances your existing ability to dence suggests he did not collect all of the skulls enter a rage or frenzy, extending the duration of the adorning Skull Lash when he wielded it. His grandfather Cornash is known to have added a blue dragon’s ability by 1 round. Omen: When you enter a rage while wielding Skull skull to the flail, and it is likely this skull is the same one Arne used. Sixty years ago, a mated pair of young Lash, the skulls on the end of the weapon roar in furious anger. adult blues, working together in a fashion uncommon to their species, threatened to destroy the barbarians with raids on the tribes, including HISTORY The barbarian tribes of the Cornash’s. While one dragon drew off the vast southern scablands warriors by attacking their villages, the believe the skull of a vanother pounced on livestock or caravans supposedly under the tribes’ quished enemy contains a measure of his might. protection. After several such To possess the skull of assaults claimed dozens of lives and vast resources one’s enemy is to gain in terms of animals and not only its knowledge, but also the power that trade goods, Cornash set enemy wielded in life. out with the intent to prove his courage and strength by slaying Many warriors of the scablands decorate their armor, shields, and Skull Lash confers many different abilities on its both dragons. Traveling light and wielder, depending on the skull it bears weapons with skulls or pieces of trusting to the scablands to provide skulls, but only a truly fearsome for his needs, Cornash tracked the leader can wield the legendary power of Skull Lash. This pair for weeks until the female broke off to deal with an encroaching brass dragon trying to claim territory massive flail has been carried by dozens of chieftains and war-leaders, and each added his personal trophies to in the scablands. Cornash waited until the fight was the weapon. Today, Skull Lash might possess any numbrought to its grisly conclusion, then pounced on the ber of abilities, depending upon the skulls it carries weakened blue and slew her. After rendering the beast’s head down to polished bone, he trussed the skull to (although only one skull has an effect on the weapon’s Skull Lash and tracked down and vanquished the male. abilities at any one time). (DC 15) In the scablands, the scions of a powerful warrior (DC 25; Rite of the Second Skull) Cornash received Skull Lash from his mother, the dynasty have carried Skull Lash for over three hundred years. The weapon has been passed from father to son warrior Alnaya, who inherited it from her father after (and in two exceptional cases, father to daughter) for her two brothers died in a rockslide before coming generations, with each warrior adding the trophies of of age. With no male heir to receive Skull Lash, that his or her greatest kills to the weapon. By tradition, sacred burden fell to Alnaya, who had until that point the flail is stripped of its previous owner’s prizes, expected to be married off to a wealthy herdsman and but in times of war, the pragmatism of having such spend her life raising children. She reluctantly took a potent weapon often outweighs this tradition. The up the training of a warrior. The first test of her pluck came much sooner than she expected, when the witch most recent warrior to wield the flail was Arne, the doctors of a rival tribe, the Black Falcons, ensorcelled bodyguard of a powerful chieftain and the most a band of hobgoblin warriors and turned them on prominent general of his tribe. Arne’s fighting prowess was legendary across the scablands, and it is said Alnaya’s people. While lesser hobgoblin warriors diverted the major part of the barbarian troops, the that the skulls of a blue dragon, a hobgoblin warlord, and a dire lion decorated Skull Lash while he carried it. foul goblinoids’ leader and elite fighters overran the
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