The Animacisorum is not just a weapon—it is an artifact of torment.
- Exethanter created it by encasing Sergei Von Zarovich’s—Strahd’s beloved brother whom he murdered for Tatyana’s love—femur inside obsidian and sharpening the edges to create a blade that can pierce and trap fragments of souls.
- The dagger’s top edge is the sharpened tip of Sergei’s femur, sharpened to a fine point and reinforced with magic to have the same edge and durability as a diamond.
- Rather was the first mortal subject of its power. When it was used to sever his soul, it took a sliver of him into its essence. After perfecting the blade, Exethanter used it on Tatyana—sealing a sliver of her soul inside the blade—ensuring Strahd could never claim Tatyana’s fully.
- Exethanter’s final cruelty: The only way to extract the souls trapped within is through Strahd’s death.
Base Properties:
- Weapon Type: Dagger (Finesse, Light, Thrown, 20/60 ft.)
- Enhancement: +2 Attack & Damage Bonus
- Damage: The dagger deals an additional 1d6 Necrotic damage
- Self-Healing: Every time Rather deals damage with the dagger; he gains temporary hit points equal to half the necrotic damage dealt.
- Sneak Attack Boost: Successful Sneak Attack using Gladius Anima deal double damage (half piercing and half necrotic).
🌀 Soul Sever (1/Long Rest)
- When Rather strikes a creature with Gladius Anima, he may invoke its power to steal a fragment of their soul.
- The target must make a DC 15 Constitution Saving Throw.
- On a failure, the target takes 3d6 Necrotic damage and loses 1d4 from all attack rolls, saving throws, and ability checks for 1 minute.
⚖ Balance of Souls (Passive Effect)
As long as Gladius Anima is in Rather’s possession, his soul remains permanently unbalanced.
- If Rather is reduced to 0 HP, the dagger refuses to let him die. He remains conscious for 1 additional round before falling unconscious.
- Each time this effect triggers, Rather suffers a permanent -1 penalty to all future death saving throws until the dagger is destroyed or removed.
- If Rather chooses to break the dagger upon Strahd’s death, his soul fragment is restored, and all penalties are removed.
Proficiency with a Dagger allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
This weapon has the following mastery property. To use this property, you must have a feature that lets you use it.
Nick. When you make the extra attack of the Light property, you can make it as part of the Attack action instead of as a Bonus Action. You can make this extra attack only once per turn.
Notes: Requires Attunement - True, Attunement Description - by a Rogue, Finesse, Light, Thrown, Nick