Axe of the Emperors (Magic Axe)

The axe of the emperors is a double-edged, twohanded war axe. The head is of the brightest adamantite, forged so that it looks like a rising phoenix, the talons wrapping around the socket to clutch a sizeable ruby. The bird's wing feathers form the serrated edges of the blades. The haft is a rod of black crystal wrapped in bands of silver. The crystal enlarges at its base into a carving of a coiled dragon, a great sapphire clutched in the creature's mouth. The item is originally from Taladas on the world of Krynn.
It was in the Age of Dreams, when the ogres first warred among themselves, that the seditious Irix called upon the dark gods to give him a weapon to subdue his fellow Irda. His vile supplications were heard and the dark gods granted unto him the means to make the axe of the emperors.
Aided by the axe, Irix plunged his people into civil war, splitting the good from the evil. The axe led him to many bloodthirsty victories, but in the end the combined might of Irda brought him down. Fearful of the axe, the greatest sorcerers and sages among the ogres saw to its destruction. At the end of their mystical workings the axe vanished, apparently destroyed.
In truth, the axe still existed, magically cast away from the ogres to the lands of Ansalon. There it was found by Ymrald, a green dragon, who added the treasure to her hoard. Wise enough to know it was a magical device, Ymrald spent decades trying to puzzle out its powers before giving up in frustration. When she died, it passed to her children. Thus the axe languished for thousands of years, a beautiful curiosity of dragonkind.
Such a situation could not last forever, and it ended when the treasure hoard was ransacked by a minotaur of spirit and skill, Ambeoutin, from whom the later emperors take their name. His raid was no accident, for a sorcerer among his people had guided the minotaur hero to the dragon's lair. Yrmald's offspring strove to stop the thief's escape but they were no match for the minotaur, now equipped with the axe.
It is said that upon returning to his camp, the minotaur and his sorcerous mentor spent the night performing sinister rituals over the magical blade. Some contend that these gave the axe even greater powers than it held before; others believe it only allowed Ambeoutin to master the secrets that were already there. All agree that with the dawn the axe glowed with a greater fire than before. In Ambeoutin's hands it was an object of power and might. Minotaurs and ogres kneeled to his cause, all others fell before the blade's deadly thirst.
Like Irix before him, Ambeoutin became unstoppable and through bloody war quickly carved a kingdom for his people. Unlike Irix, the minotaur ruled his people harshly but justly. As his time to die approached, Ambeoutin, once more advised by his mentor, took up his axe and disappeared, setting sail for his ancestral homeland in the east.
The axe of the emperors is a powerful artifact, but because of its strictures it is not one the player characters are likely to use. Instead, they are far more likely to encounter this item either as part of a long-lost treasure hoard or newly discovered in the hands of someone else. The axe is an evil item and should be presented to the characters as something that must be stopped or destroyed.
One possibility for an adventure is that the axe has appeared in a relatively quiet backwater village and has quickly dominated the local lord, a weak-willed NPC. Utilizing the axe, he or she is starting a reign of terror and conquest, though on a small scale. For the good of the oppressed farmers the player characters must stop this overpowered petty tyrant, even if the tyrant never becomes a world threat.
For a more dramatic adventure, the player characters can discover a minotaur kingdom in a lost valley, a kingdom ruled by the original Ambeoutin or by a monstrous, deathless parody of what he once was. The axe has finally seized the mind of the great minotaur hero. The arrival of the characters rekindles the urge to conquer and now this ancient minotaur civilization is preparing to burst forth in a wave of conquest. Naturally, it's up to the PCs to stop things here and now.
Once the adventure is over, the axe should not be left in the control of the player characters unless, of course, their only desire is to destroy it or hide it away forever. Irda may appear to stop their attempt to destroy it. The minotaurs just might seek to enshrine it as a powerful relic of their history, although they are more likely to use it.
Constant Powers: The axe has all of the properties of a vorpal sword (+3 bonus to attack and damage rolls, possibility of severing limbs). Against ogres and ogre-kin, the bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +5.
Invoked Powers: The axe is a powerful symbol of rulership and might. As such, it has powers equal to a ring of human influence and is particularly effective against ogres and ogre-kin (-2 penalty to all saving throw rolls). This power can be commanded at will. The axe can also produce the effects of a cause fear spell to all within 120 feet (3/day).
Random Powers: Two from Artifact Table 1-02: Combat, one from Artifact Table 1-17: Movement.
Curse: Created both for and against the ogre races, the axe cannot be fully used by anyone without some ogre blood in their veins. Nonogre characters using the weapon cannot call upon the axe's command or fear powers. Furthermore, they are struck with a degenerative disease that drains 1 point of Constitution per week until the ability reaches 0 and they die. Once contracted, the disease runs its course even if ownership of the axe should change. Mere handling of the axe does not trigger this effect; the weapon must be used for some purpose (such as combat). The disease can be halted by cure disease, but the character cannot recover any Constitution until a remove curse spell is also cast. Constitution points are regained at 1 point per week.
With its hate-filled creation and bloody background, it is not surprising that the axe of the emperors is imbued with a spirit of intense evil (Int 18, Ego 17). The spirit attempts artifact possession, and once this occurs, the character gradually becomes a triple-strength (12+3 HD) ogre of lawful evil alignment. Once the transformation is completed, the character becomes a permanent NPC. The spirit of the axe seeks nothing but to kill ogres and their kin. If not quenched in ogre blood at least once a month, the axe refuses to use its invoked powers.
Suggested Means of Destruction:
* The axe must be sunk into the center of the Burning Sea.
* The tinker gnomes must examine it for 100 years, during which time they find a way to dissemble it.
* Every ogre and ogre-kin with royal blood must be slain by the axe.
Category:Encyclopedia Magica Magic Items
Category:Magic Items
Category:Magic Axe
Category:Magic Weapons