Black Keys

Black Keys are used in threes, with each key doing a d4 of damage. If thrown one at a time the user will gain advantage but only do 1d4 damage, if thrown three at a time the user will get disadvantage but do 3d4 damage. They also require dex checks to use, & have double damage against vampires or demons.

History

In 300 A.D., an era said to be when Dead Apostles were the most rampant, turning them back into corpses & reverting them to dust was the Holy Church's mission. But in that era, there was no high-firepower weapon capable of eradicating a Dead Apostle's body in a single strike. The most effective measure was shutting them into a building or forest, setting it aflame, & burning it until their blood was used up. However, the Church would bankrupt itself by doing this each & every time. At the time, someone hailed as the pinnacle of swordsmen whilst also a priest (Tilpin) proposed a weapon that was "mass-producible, easy to transport, with immediate effectivity that kept casualties to a minimum". This was the Scriptural Weapons, of which the Black Key was the first to be created. Instead of adding on anti-heresy effects by inscribing a weapon with prayers, the groundbreaking idea was to instead turn the scripture itself into a weapon, making it a deadly anti-heresy poison. By the 9th century, Black Keys settled into their current form, as the most outstanding Scriptural Weapon, beloved & used widely. However, since they are hard to use, as the years went by they became inadequate in facing the ever strengthening Dead Apostles. As civilization developed, & firearms could be produced, the number of Black Key users started decreasing. In 1450, with the advent of the printing machine invented by Gutenberg, the Black Keys had a slight recovery in their popularity, but unable to compete with the simplicity of guns, they demoted from a main-weapon to a sub-weapon that "you could pass off as having in place of a talisman". Since then, in the Church, Black Keys became an enthusiasts' weapon "used by choice for devoted adherents only".

Significance

Sacraments of the Church, one of their many charms used against demons & Vampires.

Item type

Weapon, Other

Owning Organization

Holy Church