Axe of Endless Battle

This beautifully carved, red, double-bladed greataxe has been stained by the blood of thousands of creatures, and will likely taste the blood of thousands more in the future. Each time it tastes blood, it absorbs it into its blade, becoming more and more red. As time goes on without the weapon drawing blood, the weapon slowly loses its color.

Sentience. The Axe of Endless Battle is a sentient Chaotic Evil weapon with an Intelligence of 16, a Wisdom of 18, and a Charisma of 22. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet.

The weapon can speak, read, and understand Common and Orc.

Personality. The weapon desires only to draw and consume blood. It revels in battle and encourages its wielder to fight until all foes are incapacitated or dead. It favors wielders who share its bloodlust, and tries to keep such wielders alive if possible, eventually becoming emotionally attached to them. If the sword goes ten days or more without cutting through flesh, a conflict between it and its wielder occurs at the next sunset.

To attune to this weapon, one must draw their own blood with the weapon. After attunement, the more blood is fed to the weapon, the more power the weapon gives to its wielder, and the friendlier it becomes with said wielder and their allies. It begins in the Dormant state. After slaying 500 creatures with this weapon, it reaches the Awakened state, and after slaying 2000 creatures, the weapon reaches the Exalted state. The progress through these states is doubled in the Outer Plane of Ysgard, where all who die on the plane are restored to life at dawn the next day. No progress is made from slaying undead or constructs.

Dormant

The axe grants the following benefits in its dormant state:

• You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon, and it deals an extra 1d12 slashing damage to any target it hits.
• The weapon ignores resistance to slashing damage.
• If you reduce a non-construct and non-undead creature to 0 hit points with an attack using this axe, you heal 10 hit points.
• If you reduce a non-construct and non-undead creature to 0 hit points with an attack using this axe, you gain 20 temporary hit points.
• While attuned to the weapon, you gain the following flaw: "I often lose myself in fights, becoming unable to calm down from a battle-high for hours afterwards."
• While attuned to the weapon, you gain the following personality trait: "I prefer my meat raw."
• If you kill at least two non-construct and non-undead creatures or one creature of size large or larger in one day with the axe, you do not have to eat, drink, or sleep for that day.

Awakened

When the axe reaches an awakened state, it gains the following properties:

• The weapon’s bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +2, and the extra slashing damage dealt by the weapon increases to 2d12.
• As an action, if you are on the same plane of existence as it, you can call the weapon to your hand as an action. It will fly to your hand at 60 feet per round, moving through obstacles as though through the Incorporeal Movement ability of Ghosts.
• You know the distance and direction to the axe at all times. If you are on a different plane of existence than it, you know which plane of existence it is on.
• The hitpoints you heal from reducing a creature to 0 hit points is increased to 20.
• The temporary hitpoints you gain from reducing a creature to 0 hit points is increased to 40.
• Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack using this magic weapon, you can wound the target. At the start of each of the wounded creature's turns, it takes 1d4 necrotic damage for each time you've wounded it, and it can then make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, ending the effect of all such wounds on itself on a success. Alternatively, the wounded creature, or a creature within 5 feet of it, can use an action to make a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check, ending the effect of such wounds on it on a success.
• While attuned to the weapon, you gain the following flaw: "I'm very aggressive when I'm hungry."

Exalted

When the axe reaches an exalted state, it gains the following properties:

• The weapon’s bonus to attack and damage rolls increases to +3.
• As an action, if you are on the same plane of existence as it, you can call the weapon to your hand as though through the Teleport spell. The spell functions as though it was cast using the "Associated object" familiarity level. You can’t cause it to teleport again until you finish a short or long rest.
• The hitpoints you heal from reducing a creature to 0 hit points is increased to 30.
• The temporary hitpoints you gain from reducing a creature to 0 hit points is increased to 60.
• While attuned to the artifact, you regain 1d6 hit points at the start of your turn, provided you are below half of your maximum hit points.
• While attuned to the weapon, you gain the following flaw: "At the slightest hint of danger, I will resort to violence."

Destroying the Axe. To destroy the weapon, it must go unused for a period of 500 years. During this period, it will slowly lose all color in the blades, eventually reverting to the iron it was made from. At this point, it can be melted down and destroyed normally. If any blood is drawn by or applied to the weapon during this time, the 500 years are restarted.

ARTIFACT PROPERTIES

Random Properties. The artifact has the following randomly determined properties:

• 2 minor beneficial properties
• 1 major beneficial property
• 2 minor detrimental properties

See “Artifact Properties” in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for more information.

Proficiency with a Greataxe allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.

Notes: Language: Orc, Bonus: Magic, Damage: Slashing, creature with a Strength score of 15 or higher, Damage, Buff, Combat, Heavy, Two-Handed, Cleave