Infernal Axe

Weapon (Greataxe), Relic Weapon
Attunement Required (Lute Proficiency)
The fabled weapon of the former member of the XIIIth Order and supposed traveler of planes, dimensions, and timelines - Onigoden Rex.  The weapon is said to be a testament to the screaming music of the Eight Hells that Onigoden referred to as "The Metal" and leaves a glowing streak of blood red in the air whenever it moves through it.  Though the weapon would be formidable in the hands of any warrior, it takes a master of instruments - not combat - to bring out the legendary axe's true potential.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

The Infernal Axe has the following Soul Point enchantments:

• Spell Storing (Heat Metal): You can use an action to cast the spell Heat Metal at level 2 from the weapon. You must complete a long rest before you can use this ability again.

It also has the following Ancestral Traits:

• Entertainer: The heart of this relic thrives on revelry after success.  You gain advantage on Charisma (Performance) checks when the crowd is intoxicated.
• Determined: When finding yourself up against impossible odds, the relic hardens your resolve.

Special Traits:

• You are considered proficient with this weapon if you are proficient with martial weapons, greataxes, or lutes.
• This relic can be used as a bard instrument for the purpose of casting spells.

Limit Break (Limit Breaks can trigger once per long rest):

• Unleash Hell: Once per long rest when you score a critical hit or a target rolls a natural 1 for a saving throw against your spell DC, you can choose to evoke this limit break.  The target and all enemies within a 20 foot radius of the target must make a DC 12 Charisma Save. If they fail, they become haunted by visions of the 8 Hells and take an extra 2d10 psychic damage whenever you or an ally deals damage to them until the end of your next turn. If they succeed,they take 2d6 psychic damage immediately with no other effects.

History

It is said that in the Age of Fire, a local lord was tasked by the Tyranny of Dragons to subjugate his own people in exchange for his freedom. The Lord suffered sleepless nights and fearful days as the people grew resentful and the dragons’ eyes remained fixed on him. When he could bear no more, he fell to his knees and begged to the heavens for a way out. Something that would either end his people’s suffering or tear the dragons away. In response, an agent of Rengulus appeared before the Lord and offered him a deal: His soul, and ten generations of his children’s souls for a weapon that will end his people's suffering and drive off the dragons.
He was presented with a twisted and flaming axe of the blackest metal, a glowing trail of fearsome red trailing behind it whenever it moved - an axe forged by the Devil himself. Along one side of it, a set of strings like a lute, but the sound it made was unlike any instrument found on the great disc, and a simple strum summoned a frightful sound that echoed throughout the Lord’s domain. Every soul that heard it became ensnared by its seductive sound, they dropped everything and marched obediently to the Lord’s keep. The axe robbed the people of their will, and thus removed their suffering, and it also provided the Lord with an army to fight back against the dragon that held his chain.
His war was short, brutal and victorious. The Lord led his people to victory and then freed them from the axe’s spell. To his horror, the people were robbed of their will but not their memories. Every injury, loss, and death scarred into their minds that they were helpless to act out against as their Lord threw them again and again against the Dragon. They turned on their Lord and chased him to his keep where he ordered his family to flee for their safety. He would try once again to bring the populace in line with the axe. But he would never get the chance. The people stormed the keep, pulled the hellish weapon from his hands, and drove it into his chest.
The villagers all agreed that the axe was too cursed for any soul to possess, and thus their bravest men embarked on a pilgrimage - knowing full well that they were unlikely to return - across the dragon ruined lands of the Realms. They hid and sneaked their way through the countryside, losing man after man after man along the way, until the last surviving member of the party reached a volcanic pit below the Throne of Storms deep in the Southern Wilds.  There he flung the Axe in the torrent of flame in hopes of casting back the weapon to wherever it came from.  And thus it was believed that the Infernal Axe was gone - for many, many long years.
That is until a stranger came to the Realms in the year of 244 of the 5th Age.  He called himself Onigoden Rex, and he was a traveler.  Not in the sense of traveling from place to place, but he claimed to travel from time-to-time or plane-to-plane.  He spoke of maddening things like an endless city inside of a nut of dough where he had acquired the most spectacular instrument - and lo did the Infernal Axe return to the Great Disc.  He wielded the weapon as a form of worship to what he called "The Metal Lord" - a name that he claims was the common title of Rengulus where he originated from.  After some time working closely with The Holy Church, the man called Onigoden vanished once more.  The fate of his signature instrument unknown.

Item type

Weapon, Melee

Rarity

Relic Weapon

Weight

7 lbs

Raw materials & Components

Ash wood, Obsidian