Skull Lash

Skull Lash is a gruesome flail of crude and barbaric design.

The haft is carved from the thighbone of a dire lion and wrapped in dark red leather of questionable origin.

Attached to the handle are long, thick leather cords, and at the end of each hangs a different bleached skull.

Nonlegacy Game Statistics: +1 heavy flail; Cost 2,315 gp. The flail enhances your existing ability to enter a rage or frenzy, extending the duration of the ability by 1 round. Omen: When you enter a rage while wielding Skull

Lash, the skulls on the end of the weapon roar in furious anger. HISTORY

The barbarian tribes of the vast southern scablands believe the skull of a vanquished enemy contains a measure of his might. To possess the skull of one’s enemy is to gain not only its knowledge, but also the power that enemy wielded in life. Many warriors of the scablands decorate their armor, shields, and weapons with skulls or pieces of skulls, but only a truly fearsome leader can wield the legendary power of Skull Lash. This massive flail has been carried by dozens of chieftains and war-leaders, and each added his personal trophies to the weapon. Today, Skull Lash might possess any number of abilities, depending upon the skulls it carries (although only one skull has an effect on the weapon’s abilities at any one time). (DC 15)

In the scablands, the scions of a powerful warrior dynasty have carried Skull Lash for over three hundred years. The weapon has been passed from father to son (and in two exceptional cases, father to daughter) for generations, with each warrior adding the trophies of his or her greatest kills to the weapon. By tradition, the flail is stripped of its previous owner’s prizes, but in times of war, the pragmatism of having such a potent weapon often outweighs this tradition. The most recent warrior to wield the flail was Arne, the bodyguard of a powerful chieftain and the most prominent general of his tribe. Arne’s fighting prowess was legendary across the scablands, and it is said that the skulls of a blue dragon, a hobgoblin warlord, and a dire lion decorated Skull Lash while he carried it.

Arne died in battle ten years ago, leaving no heir, and his people claim they buried the flail with him. Such a potent mystical weapon is a temptation to even the most righteous of persons, however, and it is possible some other warrior spirited Skull Lash away after Arne was buried. (DC 18; Rite of the First Skull) While Arne was certainly a fearsome fighter, evidence suggests he did not collect all of the skulls adorning Skull Lash when he wielded it. His grandfather Cornash is known to have added a blue dragon’s skull to the flail, and it is likely this skull is the same one Arne used. Sixty years ago, a mated pair of young adult blues, working together in a fashion uncommon to their species, threatened to destroy the barbarians with raids on the tribes, including Cornash’s. While one dragon drew off the warriors by attacking their villages, the other pounced on livestock or caravans supposedly under the tribes’ protection. After several such assaults claimed dozens of lives and vast resources in terms of animals and trade goods, Cornash set out with the intent to prove his courage and strength by slaying Skull Lash confers many different abilities on its both dragons. Traveling light and wielder, depending on the skull it bears trusting to the scablands to provide for his needs, Cornash tracked the pair for weeks until the female broke off to deal with an encroaching brass dragon trying to claim territory in the scablands. Cornash waited until the fight was brought to its grisly conclusion, then pounced on the weakened blue and slew her. After rendering the beast’s head down to polished bone, he trussed the skull to Skull Lash and tracked down and vanquished the male. (DC 25; Rite of the Second Skull) Cornash received Skull Lash from his mother, the warrior Alnaya, who inherited it from her father after her two brothers died in a rockslide before coming of age. With no male heir to receive Skull Lash, that sacred burden fell to Alnaya, who had until that point expected to be married off to a wealthy herdsman and spend her life raising children. She reluctantly took up the training of a warrior. The first test of her pluck came much sooner than she expected, when the witch doctors of a rival tribe, the Black Falcons, ensorcelled a band of hobgoblin warriors and turned them on Alnaya’s people. While lesser hobgoblin warriors diverted the major part of the barbarian troops, the foul goblinoids’ leader and elite fighters overran the

Illus. by S. Belledin

Table 3–40: Skull Lash

————— Personal Costs —————

Wielder Attack Save Hit Point

Level Penalty Penalty Loss Abilities

5th — — — Beyond sustenance 6th — — 4 — 7th — — — First skull ability 8th — –1 — — 9th –1 — 2 +2 heavy flail 10th — — — False life 1/day (CL 5th) 11th — — — +3 heavy flail 12th — — 2 — 13th –2 — — Second skull ability 14th — — — Bestow curse 1/day 15th — — 2 +4 heavy flail 16th — –2 — Revitalizing strike 17th — — — Weathering 18th — –3 2 False life 2/day (CL 10th) 19th — — 2 Third skull ability 20th — — 2 +5 heavy flail defenses and began rampaging through the Alnaya’s village, cutting a swath of destruction toward the cave where the women, children, and elderly of the tribe hid.

Alnaya took up her father’s flail without hesitation and faced the monsters together with her tribe’s shaman.

Thanks to Alnaya’s courage and the shaman’s spells, the hobgoblin leader fell. The attack was broken, and a week later, when Alnaya led the counterattack against the

Black Falcons, the skull of a hobgoblin warlord hung from her flail. (DC 31; Rite of the Third Skull) LEGACY RITUALS

Three rituals are required to unlock all the abilities of Skull Lash.

Rite of the First Skull: You must slay a creature with a Challenge Rating of 6 or higher (maximum

CR 10), but you need not fight this opponent alone.

Once this battle is complete, you have to clean the creature’s skull and bind it to Skull Lash. Cost: 1,700 gp. Feat Granted: Least Legacy (Skull Lash).

Rite of the Second Skull: You must again claim the skull of an enemy you had a hand in besting—this time one of Challenge Rating 12 or higher (maximum

CR 16)—and affix the bone to Skull Lash. Cost: 12,500 gp. Feat Granted: Lesser Legacy (Skull Lash).

Rite of the Third Skull: You must kill a foe with a Challenge Rating of 18 or higher, again fastening the slain creature’s skull to Skull Lash. Cost: 40,500 gp.

Feat Granted: Greater Legacy (Skull Lash). WIELDER REQUIREMENTS

Barbarians have a natural affinity for Skull Lash, but any character with a focus on getting up close and

personal in combat—including fighters, paladins, and even martial clerics—might find Skull Lash useful.

Skull Lash Wielder Requirements

Base Fortitude save +3 Survival 2 ranks

LEGACY ITEM ABILITIES

All the following are legacy item abilities of Skull Lash.

Beyond Sustenance (Su): Starting at 5th level, you are blessed with inhuman fortitude, needing no food or water.

False Life (Sp): At 10th level and higher, once per day on command, you can use false life as the spell. Caster level 5th. Beginning at 18th level, you can use this ability two times per day, and the caster level increases to 10th.

Bestow Curse (Sp): At 14th level and higher, once per day on command, you can use bestow curse as the spell. The save DC is 14, or 13 + your Charisma modifier, whichever is higher. Caster level 10th.

Revitalizing Strike (Su): Starting at 16th level, once per day when you hit a living creature with Skull Lash, you can heal yourself for 3d8+10 hit points as a swift action. This ability also eliminates any fatigue or exhaustion you currently suffer. Caster level 10th.

Weathering (Su): At 17th level, you gain a +5 resistance bonus on all saves.

Skull Abilities: Skull Lash is a mutable legacy weapon, as described on page 206. The specific skull attached to Skull Lash grants a group of three mutable

legacy abilities, each of which becomes active at a specifi c level. You can change the selection of mutable legacy abilities by removing the attached skull and affi xing another skull. Removing or attaching a skull is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. Skull Lash can accept any skull from a Small, Medium, or Large creature—skulls of especially large or small creatures magically grow or shrink to the appropriate size when attached. Only the skulls of certain types of creatures activate the fl ail’s abilities. Skull abilities are supernatural unless otherwise noted. Animal Skull: The skull of any animal grants a set of abilities enhancing your savage nature. At 7th level, you gain a +5 bonus on Survival checks. At 13th level, you gain the scent ability (see page 314 of the Monster Manual). At 19th level, you gain a +6 enhancement bonus to

Constitution. Humanoid Skull: A humanoid skull grants you insight into the minds of others. At 7th level, you gain a +5 bonus on Sense Motive checks. At 13th level and higher, at will as a spell-like ability, you can use detect thoughts as the spell. The save DC is 13, or 12 + your Charisma modifi er, whichever is higher. Caster level 5th. At 19th level, you gain a +6 enhancement bonus to Wisdom. Dragon Skull: When a dragon skull is affi xed to Skull

Lash, you gain the ability to sway weak minds. At 7th level, you gain a +5 competence bonus on

Intimidate checks. At 13th level and higher, at will as a spell-like ability, you can use charm person as the spell. The save DC is 11, or 11 + your Charisma modifi er, whichever is higher.

Any creature who successfully saves is immune to this effect for 24 hours. Caster level 10th. At 19th level, you gain a +6 enhancement bonus to Charisma. ADVENTURE SEED (EL 7)

While traveling in uncivilized lands, the heroes come across the desiccated corpse of a barbarian warrior clutching Skull Lash in its withered hands. The characters might claim the weapon, but if they do, a hunting party from the fallen warrior’s people spot the PCs 1d4 days later and recognize the flail. They then begin to trail the party, waiting for an opportune time to strike and reclaim their kinsfolk’s weapon.

2nd-Level Barbarians (5): hp 20, 19, 18, 17, 16 (see page 113 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). Canyon Ambush

The small canyon presented on the map is an example of an ambush locale—the barbarians attack from the canyon walls with their ranged weapons, then leap down to engage in melee. The canyon is 20 feet deep in this section, but the barbarians can to slide down without taking damage. Boulders These rocks can be dislodged and rolled into the canyon as a full-found action. Those characters caught under a falling boulder take 3d6 points of damage. A DC 15 Refl ex save halves the damage. Before they are dropped, the boulders can be used as cover. Canyon Floor The terrain in this area is rough, broken, and uneven. It counts as difficult terrain for purposes of movement.