Lorestealer

Illus. by W. England

Lorestealer is an excellently balanced throwing axe with a sturdy oaken handle and a curved blade on which arcane and divine runes have been carved.

Nonlegacy Game Statistics: +1 throwing axe; Cost 2,308 gp. When wielding Lorestealer, you can attempt

Use Magic Device checks untrained. Omen: Runes begin to cycle across the blade if magic scrolls are within 10 feet. HISTORY

Huraden was not witty, nor insightful, nor sociable, but Huraden was fanatically loyal to his employer, the young sorcerer Seldinor. For a seemingly quiet member of the aristocracy, Seldinor had many enemies. Huraden protected her with life and limb, though he came close to death on more than one occasion. If a wizard threatened his mistress or made an attempt on her life, Huraden took the brunt of whatever damage the spellcaster could deal out, giving Seldinor a chance to finish off the foe. Seldinor returned Huraden’s loyalty in full. She forged a weapon of great power for him—an axe known as Lorestealer. (DC 15) If an assassin’s bolt sped toward Seldinor, Huraden threw himself in front of it. If Seldinor told him to rough up a gang of rogues, Huraden fought them all at once, not concerned that he might be outnumbered. Unfortunately, it became apparent to Seldinor that Huraden was not equipped for the magical conflicts she habitually sought out. Seldinor’s ambitions waited for nobody. Because Huraden had no spellcasting skill, Seldinor constructed Lorestealer to compensate for this shortcoming and to shore up her own offensive power. With the throwing axe, Huraden could use a scroll by cleaving its parchment, thereby releasing the stored magic. (DC 20; Tough Love) Seldinor and Huraden began as spellcaster and bodyguard in the courts of civilized society, but their professional relationship gradually grew into a private one. The pair became insatiable lovers shortly after Huraden took a beating defeating an ogre intent on

trampling Seldinor into the ground. When Seldinor gave Huraden Lorestealer, the warrior unlocked within the weapon the potential to use scrolls of the highest order, but he had no ability to do so wisely. Such an occasion arose after the pair combated demons in an underground temple. The battle was won, but Seldinor succumbed to a bleeding wound. Devoted to his mistress, Huraden had kept a wish scroll tucked away for just this possibility. Rather than simply wishing Seldinor back to life, however, Huraden was overcome with sentiment at the sight of her ravaged form and wished the two of them would always be together. When their lifeless bodies were later found together, Lorestealer was already missing. (DC 25; Run Before You Can Walk) LEGACY RITUALS Two rituals are required to unlock all the abilities of Lorestealer. Tough Love: You are required to throw yourself into harm’s way for a family member, friend, or loved one, taking the damage intended for that individual. Cost: 4,500 gp. Feat Granted: Least Legacy (Lorestealer). Run Before You Can Walk: You must deliberately misread a magic Lorestealer grants its wielder scroll and cause a mishap access to stored magic (see page 238 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). You cannot normally cause a deliberate mishap, but you can do so in the performance of this ritual. Once you have caused the mishap, you must spend 8 hours in meditation with Lorestealer. Cost: 12,500 gp (less the value of the scrolls used to cause a mishap). Feat Granted: Lesser Legacy (Lorestealer).

WIELDER REQUIREMENTS The wielders of Lorestealer are almost exclusively barbarians, fighters, or rogues. Spellcasting character classes have no need of its legacy abilities.

Lorestealer Wielder Requirements

No spellcasting ability Base attack bonus +3

LEGACY ITEM ABILITIES All the following are legacy item abilities of Lorestealer. Decipher Scrolls (Su): At 5th level and higher, you

Table 3–28: Lorestealer

————— Personal Costs ————— Wielder Attack Save Hit Point Level Penalty Penalty Loss Abilities

5th — — — Decipher scrolls, locate scrolls 6th — — 4 Scroll use 7th — — — Axe casting 1/day (3rd level) 8th — –1 — — 9th –1 — 2 — 10th — — — +1 spell storing throwing axe 11th — — — +1 spell storing returning throwing axe 12th — — 2 — 13th –2 — — Axe casting 1/day (6th level) 14th — — — — 15th — — 2 — 16th — –2 — Axe casting 2/day (6th level)

can decipher any magic scroll as if you benefited from a read magic spell. Caster level 5th.

Locate Scrolls (Su): Beginning at 5th level, you can detect magic scrolls within 60 feet as if using the detect magic spell. Caster level 5th. Scroll Use (Su): At 6th level, you gain a +5 competence bonus on Use Magic Device checks made to cast a spell from a scroll. Axe Casting (Su): Starting at 7th level, once per day as a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity, you can drive the blade of Lorestealer into a scroll containing a 3rd-level or lower spell. The spell in the scroll is then cast as if you had successfully activated the scroll, but there is no chance of arcane spell failure. Scrolls still must be deciphered before this feature functions on them. At 13th level and higher, this ability works on scrolls containing spells of 6th level or lower. Starting at 16th level, you can use this ability two times per day. ADVENTURE SEED (EL 6)

After Huraden and Seldinor thwarted demons attempting to create a foothold on the Material Plane, the pair perished due to Huraden’s foolish wish. One demon survived their attack, however—a tougher-than-normal babau named Ut’zari. Although alive, the demon was stranded on the Material Plane. Having witnessed the awesome spellcasting power of Lorestealer first hand, Ut’zari grabbed the weapon and fled with it, hoping to open a way back to the Abyss. Even after much experimentation, the babau could not activate the axe, failing to realize Lorestealer would work only for a wielder who possessed no spellcasting abilities. Ut’zari still carries the throwing axe, convinced that it might one day be useful. In the meantime, the babau has disguised himself as a human and steals from powerful spellcasters and adventurers in the hopes of finding a way

home. The PCs are perfect targets for the prowling and desperate demon, which craftily waits for the right opportunity to strike—such as when one of the characters wanders away from the group. Ut’zari uses Lorestealer in melee (he won’t throw it).

Ut’zari, Babau CR 7

9 HD babau (tanar’ri) CE Medium outsider (chaotic, evil, extraplanar, tanar’ri) Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Listen +22, Spot +6 Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Draconic; telepathy 100 ft. AC 19, touch 11, flat-footed 18 hp 85 (9 HD); DR 10/cold iron or good Immune electricity, poison Resist acid 10, cold 10, fire 10; SR 14 Fort +11, Ref +7, Will +7 Speed 30 ft. (6 squares) Melee Lorestealer +15/+10 (1d6+5) and bite +9 (1d6+2) and claw +9 (1d6+2) or Melee 2 claws +14 (1d6+5) and bite +9 (1d6+2) Base Atk +9; Grp +14 Atk Options sneak attack +2d6; Cleave, Power Attack Special Actions summon tanar’ri 1/day Abilities Str 21, Dex 12, Con 20, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 16 SQ protective slime Feats Cleave, Multiattack, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Disguise) Skills Climb +17, Disable Device +12, Disguise +18,

Escape Artist +13, Hide +21, Listen +22, Move Silently +21, Open Lock +11, Search +20, Sleight of Hand +11,

Spot +6, Survival +2 (+4 following tracks), Use Magic

Device +3, Use Rope +1 (+3 with bindings) Possessions Lorestealer Summon Tanar’ri (Sp) Once per day, 1 babau (40% chance of success). Protective Slime (Su) A weapon that strikes Ut’zari takes 1d8 points of acid damage (magic weapons,

Reflex DC 18 negates). Unarmed attacks also take damage; Reflex DC 18 negates.