Ul'golach / Ruin's Wake

Written by starzomskiwrites

Mechanics & Inner Workings

Weapon (spear), artifact (requires attunement)
Sentience. Ruin's Wake is a sentient chaotic evil weapon with an Intelligence of 20, a Wisdom of 16, and a Charisma of 22. 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 Abyssal, Common, and Orc.
Personality. An orcish Shaman lives within Ul'golach.
Dormant State

• One random minor beneficial property and one random minor detrimental property.
• You can speak, read, and write Abyssal and Orc.
• You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon, and it deals an extra 1d8 piercing damage to any target it hits. Immediately after you make a ranged attack with this weapon, it flies back to your hand.
• As a reaction when you are hit by a melee attack, you can make a melee attack with Ul'golach with advantage against the attacker. You can't use this property again until you finish a short or long rest.

Awakened State

• One additional random minor beneficial property and one additional random minor detrimental property.
• The weapon's bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +2, and the extra piercing damage dealt by the weapon increases to 2d8.
• When you hurl the spear and speak a command word, it transforms into a bolt of lightning, forming a line 5 feet wide that extends out from you to a creature you can see within 120 feet of you. Each creature in the line, excluding you, must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 8d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Ruin's Wake then returns to your hand. This property can't be used again until the next dawn.

Exalted State

• One random major beneficial property.
• The weapon's bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +3.
• While holding the spear, you can let out a battle cry as a bonus action. Each creature you choose within 30 feet of you gains advantage on attack rolls until the start of your next turn. This property can't be used again until the next dawn.
• When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with an attack from the spear, you can regain hit points equal to the damage you dealt with the attack. This property can't be used again until the next dawn.

History

Early in the First Age, the corrupted Gruumsh was said to have created this spear by ripping the spine out of a defeated Metallic Dragon and fashioning it into a weapon of great destruction. It was used during the Divine War to impale the dragon-God Sardior in the Giantread Plains and shatter him, as well as to kill many other of Gruumsh's foes. Nearing the end of the war, Gruumsh made one last stand against Corellon, God of Elves knowing his end would be nigh. During that battle, Corellon slashed out the eye of Gruumsh with his double-bladed scimitar, his blood leading to the creation of the first Orcs of Geloriel. When Corellon had just about defeated Gruumsh and was in the midst of banishing him, Gruumsh was able to gravely wound Corellon as a last act of vengeance before being sealed beyond the stars.
Sometime in the Second Age, the eldest shaman of the Ragefist Clan recieved a divine vision from Gruumsh, a vision involving a lengthy, sacrificial ritual and a brilliant reward for it: If she were to give her blood and body to the Ruiner, her clan's chieftain would recieve the spear Ul'golach. She completed the ritual, ending her own life and reforging the spear Ul'golach from beyond the stars with her body and blood. The chieftain of that clan took up the God's spear, which now held the consciousness of the elder shaman that performed the ritual. His clan wielded it throughout the Second Age, and even throughout the Third Age.
During the Fourth Age, when Gratianus the Conqueror was uniting the many human settlements of Lanora, he was engaged in a combat against the Ragefist clan. Gratianus felled the Ragefist chieftain, and the spear was lost in the chaos, not having been seen since that battle.

Significance

The spear Ul'golach is an incredibly significant item to the Orcish peoples of Lanora, as it was the weapon wielded by their god throughout his great triumphs in the First Age. It was responsible for the shattering of Sardior, the wounding of Corellon, and was instrumental in the battle that created the Orcish people. It was then used by the Ragefist Clan in the Second and Third Age for their many triumphs and glories, as well as a religious artifact for worship of the Ruiner. It is now significant as a great myth among the Orcs, that they who rediscover the great Spear Ul'golach shall be the one to unite the Orcs of Geloriel under one mighty clan.

Item type

Unique Artifact

Creation Date

Early in the First Age

Manufacturer

The Ragefist Clan

Creator

Gruumsh

Weight

5 lbs.

Dimensions

7'4"

Raw materials & Components

In the First Age, the spear was crafted by Gruumsh out of the spine of a Metallic Dragon felled by his own hand after his corruption during the Divine War.
In the Second Age, the spear was reforged in a similar shape from the body of an elder shaman from the Ragefist Clan after his sacrificial ritual.