An implacable blade slowly weakens the foes it damages, especially if they’re from Xoriat, the Realm of Madness.
Lore: The great bugbear generals of ancient Dhakaan carried implacable blades made of byeshk into battle during the Daelkyr War (Knowledge [history] DC 15). An implacable blade has a devil bound into a Khyber dragonshard in its pommel (Knowledge [history] DC 25).
Description: This longsword has a lustrous purple sheen and a black crystal embedded in its pommel. Its blade has subtle serrations on both edges. The crossguard has an inscription in the Goblin alphabet. (It’s gurrthau, the Goblin word for “patience.”)
When an implacable blade causes a wound, the cut emits thin green wisps of smoke until it heals completely.
Activation: Most of an implacable blade’s powers function automatically when you wield the weapon. With a command word (often a Goblin word such as hauthaar, anakrau, or yuthiniak), you can have the implacable blade emit or douse its light.
Effect: When you injure a creature with your implacable blade, that creature loses 2 additional hit points each round. Subtract the hit points at the beginning of each of your turns. If you wound a creature multiple times, it loses 2 hit points per wound per round.
The wound does not heal naturally and resists healing spells. The continuing hit point loss can be stopped by a DC 16 Heal check, a cure spell, or a heal spell. However, a character attempting to cast a cure spell or a heal spell must succeed on a DC 16 caster level check, or the spell has no effect on the injured character. A successful Heal check automatically stops the continuing hit point loss on all wounds.
An implacable blade is made of byeshk, which overcomes the damage reduction of daelkyr, dolgaunts, and mind flayers.
When you command it to do so, an implacable blade emits light that provides 20 feet of bright illumination and a further 20 feet of shadowy illumination. Repeating the command word douses the light.
An implacable blade has 15 hit points and hardness 19 (+1), 20 hit points and hardness 21 (+2), or 25 hit points and hardness 23 (+3). If an implacable blade is ever reduced to less than half its hit points, the Khyber dragonshard shatters, releasing the bearded devil bound within. The bearded devil immediately goes into battle frenzy and attacks you. Thereafter the implacable blade is a magic byeshk longsword with a +1, +2, or +3 enhancement bonus and no other powers.
Aura/Caster Level: Moderate conjuration. CL 9th.
Construction: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, lesser planar binding. For other construction requirements, consult the following table.
| Blade Bonus | GP Cost | XP Cost | Days to Construct |
|---|---|---|---|
| +1 | 10,815 gp | 720 XP | 18 days |
| +2 | 17,815 gp | 1,280 XP | 32 days |
| +3 | 26,815 gp | 2,000 XP | 50 days |
Variants: By tradition, implacable blades are longswords, but the ancient Dhakaani weaponsmiths sometimes made scimitars, greatswords, and other weapons for fighters. To calculate the cost of variant implacable blades, subtract 15 gp and add the cost of the weapon. XP and construction time are unaffected. The weapon weighs 50% more than a normal one of its type.
For a more complex weapon, consider the possibility that the Khyber dragonshard might “leak” some of the bearded devil’s personality into the implacable blade, making it an intelligent weapon. Rules for creating intelligent items are found on page 268 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Give the weapon the bearded devil’s mental ability scores (Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 10) and cut the weapon’s base price modifier on Table 7–30 in half.
Weight: 6 lb.
Price: 19,815 gp (+1), 33,815 gp (+2), 51,815 gp (+3).
Source: Explorer's Handbook
