Arm of Doom (Magic Arm)

This scaled, taloned, reptilian limb is believed to have been severed from a lizard man long ago, and infused with powerful magic by a Calishite archmage who was later killed by an apprentice employing the arm. It grafts itself to the chest, back, pelvis, or shoulders of any creature who touches it and wills a union (and location of attachment). It becomes part of the body of the afflicted creature and is under the same muscular control as the creature’s own normal limbs.
In the early days of Calimshan (when that country was a loose collection of warring satraps and self-styled pashas), a mountain stood near the city of Calimport. The Sunspire was a tall, needle-pointed cone honeycombed with internal passages. The subterranean depths beneath the peak were flooded, and home to many lizard men. These “scalyskins” raided coastal Calimshan at will, retreating to their lightless, watery lair whenever strong forces rose to oppose them.
One day, a local pasha looked out over his ruined city after one too many lizard man raids, and resolved to destroy the scalyskins of Sunspire. The pasha, Thurongh Klazarr, hired all the wizards he could find, and they worked powerful spells together, blasting the Sunspire until it collapsed, crushing the lizard man colony inside. Only a few scalyskin raiding bands escaped; one was taken in by the evil, reclusive archmage Illthoon Sarshimm. Illthoon wanted guards for his home (now a long-vanished tower northwest of Calimport), but found his authority challenged by the leader of the lizard men-so he slew that scalyskin and took one of its arms as his own. He laid powerful spells on the limb, to preserve, animate, and control it. He made it into a removable body part, which grafts itself onto the user and becomes a directly controlled limb (it need not replace a missing limb, but can function as an “extra”). Throughout the years that followed, Illthoon added magical powers to the arm, ruling the towns around his tower by fear. There were tales of the disembodied limb crawling about at night by itself, strangling folk, and it became known as the arm of doom. Illthoon was ultimately slain by a treacherous apprentice employing the arm-but that unfortunate wizard fell afoul of brigands soon after, and the arm saw use in brigand ambushes and feuds throughout Calimshan for many years. It is believed to have since fallen into the possession of an agent of That, and to have traveled with him around the Heartlands, seeing use in night strangling and alley attacks. Its precise, current whereabouts (and its owner’s identity) are unknown.
Powers: The arm of doom can punch and slash foes for 2d12 hp damage per round, and it can pass through metal barriers (such as armor, shields, shackles, and the bars of prison cells) as if they do not exist to attack targets (the metal is not affected in any way by the passage of the arm). It is immune to all magical attacks and effects, even those that the host body may succumb to (a held being would be frozen, but not the arm or doom).
The touch of the arm of doom, on any item bearing a dweomer suspends the operation of all item magic for one turn, one time only. (That particular item can never again be affected by the arm; its magic isn’t ruined, nor does its duration “run out,” it simply doesn’t work for one turn.)
The arm serves until the being it is attached to is slain or it has taken 50 lives while attached to a single being. Whenever either of these states is reached, the arm tears free, and crawls away at MV 9 (can jump to 20’ horizontally), seeking another living being. If the arm tears free, it does 4d6 damage, and forces a system shock roll.
The arm is rumored to have other powers, and perhaps even a destiny (to slay particular types, nationalities, or classes of beings, regardless of the wishes of the being attached to it), but these are the subject of great controversy among sages, and have not yet been clearly established.
Category:Encyclopedia Magica Magic Items
Category:Magic Items
Category:Magic Arms