Midnight's Bane
"I am Midnight's Bane! All undead shall fall before my holy light!" - Midnight's Bane
5E Stats
World of Wizard's Peak
Midnight's Bane
Weapon
Legendary requires attunement by a Creature of Non-Evil Alignment Requires Attunement
You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon. When you hit with an attack using this sword, the target takes an extra 1d6 radiant damage. When you hit an undead with it, that target takes an extra 2d6 radiant damage.
While holding the weapon, you can use an action to touch a creature with the blade and cast lesser restoration or greater restoration on that creature. Once used, a spell can’t be used again until the next dawn.
The sword's luminous blade emits bright light in a 15-foot radius and dim light for an additional 15 feet. The light is sunlight. You can use an action to expand or reduce its radius of bright light by 5 feet each, to a maximum of 30 feet each or a minimum of 10 feet each.
Sentience:Midnight's Bane is a sentient neutral good weapon with an Intelligence of 10, a Wisdom of 18, and a Charisma of 16. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet.
It can speak, read, and understand Common, Elvish, Orcish and it can communicate with its wielder telepathically.
Personality:Midnight's Bane was forged in the Kindgdom of Lozar to battle the undead forces of the Mage-Kings of Kiris.
Proficiency with a longsword allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
| Type | Damage | Damage | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martial Melee | 1d8 | Slashing |
Midnight's Bane was forged in Kirinal during the early years of the Pax Lozaria. The main threat of that era came from the ancient nation of Kiris, which was traditionally ruled by a cabal of mages. Power had been seized by a group of liches and vampire mages who were methodically turning their citizens, and the people of neighboring countries, into undead or cattle for the undead.
The Mage-Kings of Kirinal, in association with priests of Azgorth, wove a spell that weakened and eventually killed any paladins within their borders. Through this gambit, they believed that they would prevent the interference of the Tridensers in their affairs.
Midnight's Bane was created specifically to be wielded by a non-paladin, the warrior Hraerek. He would be able to lead Lozar's forces into the Magocracy of Kiris and bring it's abomination to an end. The sword was enchanted by the mages of Lozar and the priests of Anam to be especially useful against the undead.
Hraerek led Lozar's forces against Kiris and ended Kiris' assaults on it's neighbor's. Unfortunately, he was never able to achieve his ultimate goal of conquering Kiris and displacing the undead Mage-Kings forever. The undead lords would eventually fall to their own outraged populace within a few decades.
Hraerek himself, eventually emigrated to Ural, Kiris' other traditional enemy, in order to continue his battle against Kiris after the Lozarian army had forced the armies of Kiris to retreat from it's borders. He became a solitary adventurer, a ghost hunter, and eventually met his end in single combat against a death knight sent after him by the vengeful lords of Kiris. Rather than allowing the death knight to slay him and claim his soul, Hraerek threw himself on his own sword. It is common consensus that the soul animating Midnight's Bane is Hraerek's.
After Hraerek's death, Midnight's Bane was claimed as a trophy by the Kirisan death knight. The sword disappeared into Kiris with the death knight, borne by a human retainer, as the death knight was unable to handle the sword directly himself. For 250 years, the it's fate was a mystery until it reappeared in the hands of a thane of the Alian clans, Kuldar Icehammer. The sword was the weapon of the clan's thane for several generations until it disappeared under mysterious circumstances and reappeared a few decades later in the hands of a forgotten Llyren baron. The baron died in battle against hill giants in Borthakar and Midnight's Bane disappeared into that country of humanoids.
The sword appeared once again in the hands of Sir Brandeis, a paladin and Knight of the Tridenser who fought in the Osarran Border Wars. The sword was seized from yuan-ti allies of Borthakar who were studying it in the hopes of using it against Lozar and Freal Numor. He claimed it as his own and went on to have a successful career as a slayer of the undead before settling down as the Lord of Whitestone.
Over the years, Brandeis grew jealous of his brother, Julius, another paladin who was hailed as the Liberator of Osarrus. When his brother came to visit with his new bride, Brandeis was overcome by lust, he wanted Julius' wife for his own. He turned against all that he believed in and sent assassins to kill his brother as they traveled south on their honeymoon. Tradition at the time called for a brother to marry his brother's widow and Brandeis was only too happy to comply.
However, his brother's widow recognized her husband's assassins among Brandeis' groomsmen. She committed suicide on their wedding night and called down a curse on the Lord of Whitestone and his keep. The rock of the castle burned and from then on it was known as the Black Rock. All the guilty within the castle also died that night, condemned to rise again as undead. Brandeis was doomed to become that which he had fought all his life, an undead, a death knight. After that night, the already remote lands of Whitestone were totally abandoned and Midnight's Bane remained in Brandeis' possession as a trophy of his former life. The sword remained in the Black Rock for several centuries.
Avalon the Ranger Who Became King
The ranger Avalon and a band of his friends heard rumors of Midnight's Bane and the Black Rock and decided to liberate the sword from it's long imprisonment. After an epic struggle, they defeated Brandeis and released Julius' ghost from this plane. Avalon now wields Midnight's Bane and he and his friends have claimed the Black Rock, now known as Greystone Keep, as their own.
Eventually Avalon was crowned King of Lozar and sat on the throne through the end of the Far War. He became the Avatar of Rampol for a short time before he died during the Withdrawal of the Gods from the world. The sword was lost with Avalon beyond the crystal sphere of the heavens. House Avaloni held the throne until his son abdicated when the time of kings was done.
Lucius Solara Descendant of the Sun
Midnight's Bane reappeared in the hands of the Sun Cleric Lucius Solara. This follower of Rampol was an aasimar descendant of Rampol through the angel Solara. He was born to feed the Tambanakua, the Lava Spider that wishes to eat the sun. His mother sacrificed her mortal form to help her child escape.
The child was raised far away from the Island of the Sun. Early in his adventures he acquired Midnight's Bane under mysterious circumstances during a visit to Greystone Keep. He became a powerful priest of the sun god and when he discovered his destiny, he swore to end the threat of the Lava Spider.
In the presence of Zernon's Eclipse on the surface of the Crystal Sphere, he ate the Acorn of Change to become the latest Avatar of Rampol.
3E/3.5E Stats
Midnight's Bane, intelligent +6 undead bane, ghost touch, holy bastard sword, 18th level, hardness 11, hp 38; Special Purpose: Slay Undead; Communication: Speech & Telepathy; Languages: Common, Elven, Orcish; Perception: Sight and hearing; AL NG; SV Fort +16, Ref +15, Will +20; Str -, Dex -, Con -, Int 12, Wis 21, Cha 16; XP: 38,850, XP for next level: 42,750
Skills and Feats: Listen +23, Knowledge (Undead) +19, Spot +23, Ability Focus (Sunbeam), Detect Creature (undead within 60'), Enhancement Bonus (+6), Harden, Maximize Ability (Sunbeam), Quicken Ability (Heal, Sunbeam), Toughen, Unique Magical Ability (grants wielder a save vs. all undead affects), Unique Magical Ability (+4 to saves vs. undead effects), (Has one unused feat)
Spell-Like Abilities: Cast as a 14th level spellcaster, DC 15+spell level, each can be used 1/day unless otherwise noted.
1 - Create Water, Disrupt Undead x2, Light, Mending
2 - Bless Water x2, Invisibility to Undead, Protection from Evil, Remove Fear
3 - Dispel Magic x2, Searing Light x2
4 - Death Ward x2, Restoration x2
5 - Break Enchantment, Spell Resistance, True Seeing
6 - Heal (quickened), Greater Dispelling
7 - Sunbeam (maximized, quickened, DC 24), Greater Restoration
8 - Sunburst
9 - Foresight
As an intelligent magic item, Midnight's Bane may take an action of its own on its owner's initiative round.
Market Price: 252,335 gp
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