TrueBlood

(Requires attunment by a creature with any chaotic alignment)

The Redjustice struck at dawn. They had an artifact of such power it terrified even the most fearless warriors. They cut through the guards like butter and went straight for the Dwarvish Lords. The lords blood taints the mountain peaks of Evgard and the artifact, trueblood still lay beneath in wait.

— Tvoro Amaro, A dwarvish explorer

Trueblood evolves the more it is used as it feasts upon the blood of it's victims. The more blood it consumes the more powerful it gets. Creatures without blood (i.e. Undead and constructs) do not evolve the axe. Characters will typically receive the battleaxe at stage one, but it can be changed at DM discretion.

History

This greataxe was created by the dwarven cult, RedJustice, a now dissolved organization devoted to solving political problems by wiping out those with power in order to start anew. During the battle of Evard the RedJustice killed all nine of the dwarven Lords were killed using trueblood, the souls of the nine dwarven lords are now trapped within the axe and can project their emotions to any creature attuned to the trueblood.

The Battle of Evard was a terrible event where the Redjustice rose against the dwarvish government. The nine dwarven lords and every member of the Redjustice where killed during the battle. Evard a once thriving capitol now lay in ruins, tainted by the blood of the Dwarvish Lords, no one has attempted to repopulate the area.

Destroying the Axe

In order to destroy trueblood you must get the greataxe to stage 7. Once trueblood is at stage 7 you can release the souls of the nine dwarvish lords from the axe. Once the Dwarvish lords are expelled the greataxe becomes a regular +3 greataxe.

Properties

When trueblood kills creatures that has blood it gains blood points. Blood points allow the greataxe to reach different stages, changing the axes appearance and granting it abilities. Whenever a creature is killed, that trueblood dealt at least 20 damage to, trueblood gains blood points equal to the creatures xp value. Blood points do not drain back to 0 when trueblood reaches a new stage. If trueblood does not come into contact with any blood in 100 years it reverts back to stage 1 and it's blood points drop to 0.

Stage 1 (0 Blood Points)

At stage 1 Trueblood looks like a regular greataxe with a gold coloured blade. The creature attuned to trueblood gains the following features:

• Trueblood functions as a +1 Greataxe against any creature that is under it's hit point maximum.
• Truebloods attacks are considered magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance.
• The creature attuned to trueblood can expend 1d4 Hp to cast the cantrip Chill Touch or 2d4 Hp to cast Inflict Wounds as a 1st level spell

Stage 2 (1000 Blood Points)

At stage 2 the shaft of trueblood becomes dark black with glowing red dwarvish symbols that spell out the name of the dwarvish lord that is currently possessing trueblood (see sidebar), if all 9 dwarvish lords are possessing Trueblood at the same time the shaft becomes completely red. At stage 2 the creature attuned to Trueblood gains the following features in addition to the features granted in stage 1:

• Whenever you use trueblood or one of truebloods abilities to kill a creature you gain temporary hit points equal to the creatures challenge rating. The HP lasts for up to an hour.
• While holding trueblood you gain +1 to your AC

Stage 3 (15 000 Blood Points)

At stage 3 trueblood gains another blade that protrudes out the other side of the shaft, but otherwise retains the appearance of stage 2. At stage 3 the creature attuned to trueblood gains the following features in addition to its previous features:

• You critical hit when you roll a 19 or a 20.
• You can expend 2d8 Hp to cast Animate dead or Bestow Curse as a 3rd level spell.
• As an action you can give up to your wisdom score + your character level worth of HP to another creature, removing an equal amount of HP from yourself, you cannot heal a player over their Hit point maximum using this feature. After you use this feature you cannot use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Stage 4 (50 000 Blood Points)

At stage 4 truebloods blades always appears to be covered in blood regardless of how many times you wash it. At stage 4 the creature attuned to trueblood gains the following features in a addition all previously obtained features:

• Trueblood functions as a +2 greataxe.
• Whenever you use trueblood to kill a creature you can animate dead as a bonus action on that creature, expending 2d8 Hp to do so.
• You can make a ranged weapon attack using trueblood and shoot a projectile of dark energy (Range 30/80ft) dealing 1d6 necrotic damage on a hit.

Stage 5 (100 000 Blood Points)

At stage 5 truebloods shaft can be extended or shortened as a bonus action. As well the dwarven lords inside the axe may now speak to the attuned creature of the axe telepathically as long as trueblood is within 60ft of the creature. At stage 5 the creature attuned to trueblood gains the following features in addition to all previous features they has obtained:

• You may extend truebloods shaft as a bonus action, giving the battleaxe the reach property, You lose the ability to critical hit on a 19 until you revert the greataxe to its original form.
• You may shorten truebloods shaft as a bonus action, making it a 1 handed weapon and decreasing the damage to 1d8 , until the greataxe is reverted to its original form.
• You may revert truebloods shaft to it's normal length as a bonus action.
• You gain resistance to necrotic damage

Stage 6 (175 000 Blood Points)

At stage 6 truebloods shaft and blade transform into the appearance of bones, the blade is still covered in blood and the shaft still has the name of the dwarvish lord possessing the greataxe. At stage 6 the creature attuned to trueblood gains the following features in addition to all previously gained features:

• When you hit a creature with trueblood they must make a wisdom saving throw. On a failure the creature takes 2d6 necrotic damage and is freighted for 1 minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of it's turns ending the effect on a success. A creature who succeeds the saving throw is immune to the effect for 24 hours.
• Your melee attacks with trueblood do an addition 1d6 necrotic damage.
• You can expend 3d10 Hp to cast create undead as a 6th level spell

Stage 7 (300 000 Blood Points)

At stage 7 the blood covering truebloods blades starts to move and swirl on its own accord. If you peer into the blood you can see the face of the dwarvish lord currently possessing the greataxe. At stage 7 the creature attuned to trueblood gains the following abilities in addition to all previously obtained abilities:

• Trueblood functions as a +3 Greataxe against creatures that are under it's hit point maximum.
• As an action you can summon the ghosts of the nine dwarvish lords around you for 1d6 rounds. While they surround you all attacks made against you have disadvantage and all attacks you make with trueblood have advantage. After you use this ability you cannot use it again until the next dawn.
• When you expend Hp to use one of truebloods spells or abilities you take half the damage.

Evgard Before the battle (Created with copilot designer)

Table of Contents

Item type

Weapon, Melee

Creation Date

Eons ago

Rarity

Artifact, only one of these blades exists as its power draws off of the souls of the nine dwarven lords trapped within.

Weight

8Ib

Base Price

None

Features gained per stage

Stage:Blood Points	Features	Hit and Attack modifier
1- 0	Magical Attacks, Spellcasting	+1
2- 1000	Lifesteal, Armour Class bonus	+1
3- 15 00	Improved critical, Lifetrade	+1
4- 50 000	Improved animate dead, Projectile	+2
5- 100 000	Length change, Necrotic Resistance	+2
6- 175 000	Freighting, Necrotic Damage	+2
7- 300 000	Ability resistance, Summon Dwarvish Lords	+3

Roll on the table at the end of each long rest to determine which dwarvish lord is possessing trueblood. The creature attuned to trueblood can feel the dwarvish lords emotions and gains abilities depending on which lord is possessing the greataxe.