As I mentioned in last week’s Colorful Characters post, I’ve been thinking about spicing up my Friday update, (never mind the fact that they’ve been going up on Saturdays lately). So from now on, Fridays will be a toss up between three regular features: Colorful Characters, Magical Marvels, and Malevolent Monsters. (Anybody admire assonance and alliteration?) I’m not going to make any special effort towards making sure there’s an even distribution between the three, but if my readership gravitates strongly towards one of the three I’ll see if I can’t give it some special attention.
This week is a top-tier rogue weapon which has shown up in my Ascendant Crusade campaign. Special thanks to my ladyfriend for providing the art for it. You can find more of her artwork on her DeviantArt page.
Kofek’s Tongue
Intelligent Artifact, Small Scythe
PHYSICAL ATTACKS
(Main Blade)1d6 + 5 (Slashing)(20/x4)
(Staff) 1d4 + 5 (Bludgeoning)(20/x2)
(Switchblade) 1d3 (Piercing, Slashing)(19-20/x2)(May be activated as a swift action. Weapon is concealed until then)
(Dart) 1 damage. Each coated with Nitharit poison (Con damage, PFCR pg. 560) (Only 2, must be reloaded as a full round action) (Darts are fired from the eye sockets of the kobold skull mounted at the top of the blade’s shaft)
SPELLS GRANTED
6/day – Suggestion (Pathfinder Core Rulebook Pg. 350)
1/day – Invisibility (PFCR Pg. 301)(2 minute duration)
2/day – Scorching Ray (PFCR Pg. 337)(Ranged Touch, 4d6 fire damage) (One comes from each of the two rubies mounted in the small marble skull’s eye sockets)
SPECIAL ABILITIES
- The wielder can make telekinetic trip attacks at a range of 30 feet. Trip attempts are otherwise treated normally.
- As a swift action, the wielder may utter a command word, causing the shaft to split in the middle. The two halves are connected by a chain. This allows the scythe blade to be used as a 10ft reach weapon.
- The scythe blade can be “thrown” by Kofek’s Tongue. The blade deals damage normally, and has a range increment of 20ft. Once the blade stops, it magically returns to Kofek’s Tongue.
- The wielder gains a +10 to their combat maneuver bonus relating to trip attacks.
INTELLIGENT ITEM ABILITIES
EGO 22; INT 20 (+5) WIS 18 (+4) CHA 10 (+0)
Senses Darkvision 120ft, Blindsense, Hearing; Communication Speech, Telepathy
Languages Common, Draconic, Goblin, Halfling, Gnomish
Alignment True Neutral
Purpose Kofek’s Tongue is driven towards subterfuge, traps and trickery. During periods of downtime, it will often drive its wielder to perform practical jokes on their own companions, to slake its own thirst for trickery. The weapon would strongly resist being used in an open and honest fight, such as a duel, or military assault.
Racism The weapon can abide gnomes, but CANNOT be weilded by one. Any Gnome which attempts to hold it takes 10d6 damage/hour.
APPEARANCE
Kofek’s Tongue has a simple brown shaft made of fine polished wood. At the head of the shaft, a kobold’s skull and jawbone are mounted. The scythe blade is clutched firmly in the skull’s mouth (thus, it is the “tongue.”) On the opposite end of the shaft is a small ornate skull made of white marble. In each of the two eye sockets rests a small ruby. A small switchblade is mounted at the bottom of the shaft, which can be released by depressing a small button on the handle, causing the 5″ blade to extend straight from the bottom of the shaft, protruding from the small marble skull.
HISTORY
As a species, kobolds are smaller, and more physically feeble than most of the common races. They’ve learned that the best response to confrontation is to flee, which has earned them a reputation as a cowardly lot. However, kobolds are also exceedingly clever. They know that they do not need to fight their foes in order to harm them. The astounding, even instinctual trap making abilities of kobolds are renowned throughout the world. And none more so than Kofek.
Kofek is a Kobold hero, one of the few the species has. She was the matriarch of The Redscale Clan, and taught her people to make traps more devious and deadly than any made by kobold kind before her. The stories told of her by firelight have grown grandiose and distorted through countless retelling, but the core of her legend is true: no adventuring party ever managed to survive the approach to the Redscale village. And when she turned her mind to vengeance against the humans who had driven her clan into the mountain a generation before, the devices Kofek’s clan hid throughout the human lands caused many to flee their homes.
Then the gnomes came. A band of ten kobold hunters, called by the leader of the human village. He arranged a meeting with Kofek, ostensibly to negotiate an end to hostilities. Instead, the noble Kobold leader was ambushed by the gnomes. Her loyal guards died defending her. Kofek was tortured. Her eyes put out with hot irons, her tongue forks stretched apart, her scales pulled off her one by one. The gnomes demanded to know how to bypass the traps which led to her village, but she never told them. After three weeks of unceasing agony, Kofek died. The gnomes attempted to assail the village on their own, but were killed by the deadly traps. Kofek’s vengeance from beyond the grave.
With the gnomes gone, and the human forces weakened and demoralized, the Redscale Tribe armed themselves, and marched on the village in force. Many were killed in the battle, but none would flee. Such was their love for the great Kofek. They recovered her body, and brought it back to the village to honor it properly. Kobolds do not bury or burn their dead. They honor them by using their remains to support the tribe. Her scales were made into the raiment which would forever garb the leader of the Redscale tribe, her claws and teeth were made into spear tips and arrowheads. And her skull and jawbone, with her brain still inside, were lovingly crafted into the most magnificent scythe the tribe’s weaponsmith ever crafted.
For generations, the scythe, named “Kofek’s Tongue” served as a badge of office for the village’s greatest trap-smith. Until a young kobold, a traveler from the Forktongue tribe, visited the Redscales. His name was Kisteer, and he had heard rumors that Kofek’s wisdom still spoke to the one who held the magnificent scythe. Kisteer spent many hours with the tribe’s trapsmith, discussing new designs and pretending to learn from the older kobold. While the old kobold was sleeping, Kisteer stole the scythe, and fled from the village.
Kisteer wielded Kofek’s Tongue through many adventures, and even improved upon it with his own modifications. His mechanical skill and trapping instincts eventually rose to such prominence that they were said to rival Kofek’s own. However, most kobolds have no love for Kisteer. As a lieutenant of The Blind Empress, he is viewed as an evil conqueror. And, after the establishment of the Blind Empress’ Empire, Kisteer further enraged Kobold kind by visiting many kobold tribes, and robbing them of their strongest and most intelligent members, to establish his own Tribe of The Black Eye.
Since Kisteer’s death, Kofek’s tongue has been passed down through the generations to the leaders of the Tribe of the Black Eye. And is still held by them to this day.