Axe of the Skull (Holy Battle Axe of Evil):

There are a number of holy weapons dedicated to evil deities and demon king and princes. This axe is often consider to be a creation of the demon king Mantus, quite likely through one of his priests. At one time, Mantus was considered one of the most powerful in the demon realms. Even now, he is more powerful than he realizes. He still rules over a vast realm of the dead and has armies of loyal minion including Mares.

The appearance of the weapon, even though extremely well balanced, seems quite crude. Made from almost black metal, the axe blade itself looks as if it was crudely forged and the blade is imbedded in the wood shaft as if it was grown into the wood. The wood is slightly bent and is wrapped in what looks like rough leather. Behind the blade is what looks like a warped skull. There is the suggestion that the skull itself was carved from the bone of some kind of giant creature. It has been suggested that the bone, if it is bone, is from some kind of huge demon.

As suggested above, the weapon is extremely finely balanced in spite of its appearance. In fact, the weapon is as well balanced as some of the finest axes made by dwarven weapon crafters. The blade of the weapon, in spite of its crude appearance, is incredibly sharp.

For enchantments, the axe has some fairly common enchantments for holy weapons. The weapon inflicts damage far beyond what one might expect even though the weapon is extremely sharp. In fact, it rivals many rune weapons. Against supernatural creatures, the weapon is even more effective. As long as one possesses the axe they will also find themselves resistant to magic, fear, and even disease.

Most significant enchantment however is the ability of the wielder to summon a force of animated dead. When animated, this force of the dead will fight for the possessor of the axe. In some cases even more can be summoned but it is common to be able to summon a score to two dozen of these animated creatures at any one given time. This summoning can take place up to three times per day and lasts for around an hour each time.

There is debate about if the weapon is actually cursed or not. Many possessors of the axe have surrounded themselves with symbols of the dead including having armor appearing to be made from bone created. Others however seem to be unaffected however. As a result, scholars who have studied the history of the weapon suggest that it is nothing inherent in the weapon itself.

Basic Statistics:

Damage: 5D6+10 (+ Strength / skill bonuses), weapon inflicts double damage against supernatural beings and creatures of magic. (Weapon inflicts S.D.C. in S.D.C. World and Mega-Damage in Rifts).

Weight: 4.6 lbs (2.0 kg). Length: 2.75 feet (0.8 meters).

Bonuses: +4 to Damage (Included Above), +2 to Initiative, +2 to Strike, and +3 to Parry.

Powers:

Virtually indestructible and never dulls.
Glows with a just barely visible sickly green halo of energy when drawn and registers as magic.
Adds +5% to all prayers to one’s deity.

Special Abilities:

Animated and Control Dead: Can be used three times per day and has a duration of 60 minutes per activation. The wielder of the axe can animate and control 6D6 dead at a time. The animated dead are treated as per the spell. See spell for further details.
Damage Bonus: Weapon inflicts 2D6 additional Damage (S.D.C. in S.D.C. worlds and M.D.C. in M.D.C. worlds).
Magic Bonus: +1 to save vs magic (all), +2 to save vs horror factors, +2 to save vs poison and disease.
Monster Slayer: Inflicts normal S.D.C. damage +6 points to human and mortal foes, but does double damage to supernatural beings and creatures of magic (effects being of both good and evil). It does S.D.C. in S.D.C. worlds and M.D.C. in M.D.C. worlds.

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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