House Rules - New Artifacts

This is a listing of artifacts that may appear in my campaigns.

This list may use abbreviations to show what sourcebook the entries were drawn from. For guidance as to what sourcebooks these abbreviations reference, see my key to Sourcebook Abbreviations.

All of the material contained on this page and other pages of this blog is presented in accordance with the terms of the Open Game License.

Gatereaver: (Conjuration) A greataxe of impressive size and heft, Gatereaver is an ancient weapon forged in the cosmic fires at the core of all realities. Whatever its origins, Gatereaver displays extraordinary might and is not a weapon to be wielded lightly. Even its appearance speaks of power, from its rippling steel blade to the dozens of gems that decorate its haft. The whole weapon is surrpounded in an aura of dimensional energy that is constantly changing hue and intensity. At its brightest, Gatereaver seems to be alive with a prismatic tempest of fire, lightning, and blazing light. The patterns in the axe's blade are ever changing, though they have no known meaning in any language.

Where Gatereaver goes, chaos and upheaval follow. The wielder of this greataxe is always a foe to be feared, as it can guide the hand that holds it regardless of the wielder's actual skill. Its array of magical powers are impressive, but the weapon is feared most for the ability that gives rise to its name; the edge of Gatereaver tears open reality and cleaves rifts into other dimensions.

Gatereaver is also fearsome in that the artifact does not seem concerned with any purpose it serves. It can slaughter a village of innocents as easily as it protects a paladin's castle from a demonic siege. As uncaring as it is potent, Gatereaver is a weapon for epic struggles and titanic conflicts. Wise is the wielder who casts it aside after the battle is done. Wiser still is the wielder who cuts a hole with Gatereaver and casts the accursed blade into it immediately.

Gatereaver acts as a +5 keen greataxe of throwing and returning. The greataxe acts as a bane weapon against any outsider it strikes, regardless of alignment. By silent act of will, Gatereaver can ignite with dimensional flames which do an additional 2d6 damage per strike, and no form of defense except dimensional anchor or immunity to disintegration effects will reduce or negate this additional damage. Gatereaver's wielder attacks at a minimum Base Attack Bonus of +15 unless they possess a better one already.

By swinging Gatereaver vigorously through the air and wishing the blade to do so, the wielder can rend open a gate as per the 9^th-level spell of the same name. This gate is to a random plane unless the wielder wishes to name a specific plane. The wielder has a 5% chance per character level of breaching to the desired plane if this is attempted. As with the spell gate, the wielder can call forth a planar being from this rift, which remains open for 1d10 rounds.

The wielder can use this power in the midst of an attack as well. If they successfully stricke a Huge or smaller target, the target must succeed at a DC 21 Fortitude save or the cosmic powers of the axe tear it to shread in the violent, whirling chaos between shorn realities. Even if the target succeeds at the save, they are flung through a rift that opens after the axe inflicts its normal damage. Using the axe's ability to open a dimensional rift, whether as part of a melee attack or not, requires a full-round action.

Gatereaver can also be used to rend open reality at the point of a thrown impact. This rips apart the boundaries betweent he prime material and the astral plane, resulting in a disintegration effect against whatever is struck. The DC for this save is 16, and all relevant details ofnthe spell ability. This use of the axe's abilities requires a full-round action.

Kukri of Binding: (Conjuration) This single-edged, angled dagger is created of silver and iron in abraided pattern and ammered into a single blade. The handle is ivory and bears complex magical rune work. In the hands of someone without the ability to cast conjuration spells, it merely acts as a +2 kukri. Wielded by a spellcaster with the ability to realze its full potential, the kurkri of binding becomes much more.

A spellcaster capable of casting conjuration spells can wield the kukri as a +3 outsider bane kukri and does not suffer a nonproficiency penalty when doing so. The wielder can instead choose to suspend the bane ability and attempt to bind an outsider struck by the weapon. This is a dangerous gamble, because failure at this attempt renders the outsider immune to binding, calling, or dismissal magic for 24 hours thereafter.

To attempt to bind on outsider, the wielder must make a successful melee attack with the kukri. The outsider must make an opposed Will saving throw against the wielder. If this save failes, the outsider is bound as if by the spell greater planar binding. The target is rooted to the spot as if they were in a containment diagram that is automatically successful. The wielder of the kukri can then barter or demand service as the spell would normally allow. The kukri can only bind one creature at a time, losing the power to do so until the current target has performed its service and departed. Even free-willed outsiders are empowered with the ability to return to their home planes after trebdering service to the wielder; this is an effect of the kukri

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