Whelm

Tails of the Yawning Portal - White Plume Mountain
The Great Library of Greyhawk https://greyhawkonline.com/greyhawkwiki/Whelm#:~:text=Whelm%20was%20created%20long%20ago,claimed%20many%20of%20their%20number.

Whelm is a sentient lawful neutral weapon with an Intelligence of 15, a Wisdom of 12, and a Charisma of 15. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet. The weapon communicates telepathically with its wielder and can speak, read, and understand Dwarvish, Giant, and Goblin. It shouts battle cries in Dwarvish when used in combat.
Whelm's purpose is to slaughter giants and goblinoids. It also seeks to protect dwarves against all enemies. Conflict arises if the wielder fails to destroy goblins and giants or to protect dwarves. Whelm has ties to the dwarf clan that created it, variously called the Dankil or the Mightyhammer clan. It longs to be returned to that clan. It would do anything to protect those dwarves from harm. The hammer also carries a secret shame. Centuries ago, a dwarf named Ctenmiir wielded it valiantly for a time. But Ctenmiir was turned into a vampire. His will was strong enough that he bent Whelm to his evil purposes, even killing members of his own clan.

History

Whelm was created long ago by a dwarven woman named Dagnal Mightyhammer of clan Dankil, a weaponsmith of some reknown. She created the warhammer in order to aid her clan against a group of marauding trolls that had already claimed many of their number. Putting all her love for her husband Traubon, her devotion to her clan, and her reverence for her god Moradin into the weapon, she gave it to her husband to use in battle. Traubon and the other dwarven warriors were victorious, and Whelm became much praised.
The times of woe were followed by years of prosperity, and Dagnal improved on Whelm, enhancing it with the ability to detect gems, gold, and other riches. Many years later, the clan was threatened by a horde of goblins and bugbears, and once again Dagnal improved upon Whelm. Her now-aged husband insisted on leading the counter-assault, but though he was once again victorious, this time the elderly dwarf suffered a mortal wound and died. Overcome by grief, Dagnal threw herself on her husband's corpse, her own life giving out at that moment. The two dwarves and their weapon were interred in a single grave, and it is said that Dagnal and Traubon invested so much of their spirits into the hammer during their lives that it became more than mere steel and wood.
The hammer, which now was imbued with sentience and a constant craving to hunt giants and goblinoids, did not remain buried forever. Eventually it fell into the hands of the gnomes, and it was a group of gnomish servants of Keraptis who gifted it to their master. Keraptis took it with him on his travels, bringing at last to White Plume Mountain.

Item type

Unique Artifact

Subtype / Model

Warhammer

Related Technologies

Smithing

Weight

2 lb.

Base Price

122,412 gp

Raw materials & Components

Whelm has a steel head and a haft made from the golden wood of a gingko tree. When it's wielded, Whelm glows with a soft, silver-black light.

https://greyhawkonline.com/greyhawkwiki/Whelm#:~:text=Whelm%20was%20created%20long%20ago,claimed%20many%20of%20their%20number.

Whelm

Weapon

Legendary Requires attunement by a dwarf

You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.
At dawn the day after you first make an attack roll with Whelm, you develop a fear of being outdoors that persists as long as you remain attuned to the weapon. This causes you to have disadvantage on attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks while you can see the daytime sky.

Thrown Weapon. Whelm has the thrown property, with a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet. When you hit with a ranged weapon attack using it, the target takes an extra 1d8 bludgeoning damage, or an extra 2d8 bludgeoning damage if the target is a giant. Each time you throw the weapon, it flies back to your hand after the attack. If you don't have a hand free, the weapon lands at your feet.
(Thrown property. If a weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon to make a ranged attack. If the weapon is a melee weapon, you use the same ability modifier for that attack roll and damage roll that you would use for a melee attack with the weapon. For example, if you throw a handaxe, you use your Strength, but if you throw a dagger, you can use either your Strength or your Dexterity, since the dagger has the finesse property.)

Versatile. This weapon can be used with one or two hands. A damage value in parentheses appears with the property—the damage when the weapon is used with two hands to make a melee attack.

Shock Wave. You can use an action to strike the ground with Whelm and send a shock wave out from the point of impact. Each creature of your choice on the ground within 60 feet of that point must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become stunned for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Once used, this property can't be used again until the next dawn.

Supernatural Awareness. While you are holding the weapon, it alerts you to the location of any secret or concealed doors within 30 feet of you. In addition, you can use an action to cast detect evil and good or locate object from the weapon. Once you cast either spell, you can't cast it from the weapon again until the next dawn.