Derthdane (Rune Warhammer):

Derthdane is believed to be one of the oldest known rune weapons although there are stories of weapons far older than the Warhammer. Some scholars believe the hammer is fifty thousand to eighty thousand years old. Fragmentary records seem to support these views of the weapon. It appears to have passed through many ages of the world, carried by many incredibly skilled Dwarven warriors. It fought in the wars between the Dwarves and the Elves and has strong views of what happened during the war. At the end of the war, the hammers seems to have simply disappeared. It was not until many thousands of years before being recovered. According to scholars, it was only rediscovered a few hundred years before present and was found buried in what is thought to be the ruins of an ancient Dwarven city. Since then, the hammer has passed through a surprisingly large number of hands owing to the personality of the weapon.

The hammer is forged from some sort of matt black metal and the handle and the head of the hammer are lined with runes. On the front of the head of hammer and the rear of the head is a spike. The handle has a hatch work design to make for better gripping. Above and below the actual grip are raised lips. On the bottom is a small ring which allows a thong to be used with the weapon. Otherwise the weapon is fairly plain, a weapon of war. Like most rune weapons, the weapon appears to be completely indestructible and shows no signs of wear. The hammer is exquisitely balanced and is equal to the finest quality Dwarven forged weapons.

The personality of the Warhammer appears to be that of an extremely crotchety old Dwarf. The hammer is always complaining about something and is extremely nagging in the way it complains. As well, the hammer appears to be a bit on the paranoid side, always worried about some evil plot. Changelings are often a concern of the axe. The hammer does not seem to like present society and is highly patriarchal. Surprisingly, the hammer does not appear to hate elves but considers them as untrustworthy and will try and persuade any owner not to consort with them. It appears to blame elves exclusively for the incredibly destructive war between Dwarves and Elves. If a female tries to use the hammer, the hammer will nag them that they place is in the home. In truth many people who have managed to acquire the hammer have passed it to another before bonding simply because they find the personality too annoying to retain. Some believe that the personality of the hammer is touched, slightly insane as it were. Still, even as disagreeable as the weapon can be, it is not an evil rune weapon and does have a strong code of morals. The hammer generally will only bond with Dwarves but it has bonded with humans as well. There are no known cases of the weapon bonding with Elves or females of any race.

Derthdane is definitely a greater rune weapon with two different magical abilities. The first is that anyone who wields the weapon will find that they move just slightly quicker, often able to land their blow before their opponent. This ability also appears to increase how often the possessor can strike and even their running speed is increased. The other abilities of the hammer are those of Earth Magic similar to those cast by Warlocks of the Earth. The most powerful ability appears to be to create chasms in the earth but other abilities include the ability to create sandstorms, crumble stones, launch rocks into the air, and whither plants. Some warriors consider earth magic to be less effective than fire or air magic but can be extremely effective if properly used.

Attributes:

Characteristics:

Like all Rune Weapons, it is completely indestructible
Links to wielder within 6 months of constant contact. Can sense each other presences within 4 miles (5.4 km).
Gives wielder +1 on all saving throws.
Add +1 Attack per melee and doubles speed.
Can be used to parry energy blasts at -6
Will only bond to individuals of Unprincipled, Scrupulous, and Principled Alignments. Will also often bicker about actions taken by the wielder. Any being which attempted to wield the weapon but has an evil alignment takes 2D4 points of damage each time they touch the weapon or 3D6 damage if creatures of magic.

Weapon Bonuses:

Due to superior craftsmanship, equal to Dwarven quality, +2 to Strike, +3 to Parry, and +2 on Initiative

Weapon Damage:

1D4x10+10 per strike, does S.D.C. in S.D.C. Worlds and does M.D.C. in M.D.C. Worlds. (Plus strength bonus if applicable) Weapon ignores AR rating but still need to penetrate armor without A.R. rating to penetrate.

Weapon's Special Abilities:

Earth Elemental Magic:

Second Level:

Third Level:

Fourth Level:

Fifth Level:

Speed Doubler:

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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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