“Forged from the grief of a fallen angel and tempered in the tears of the gods, this relic does not cut—it redeems. It remembers every soul lost to darkness and weeps in their name.”
This divine scythe is an artifact of celestial sorrow, bound to the fate of the undead plague that threatens the realms. Once wielded by Seraphina the Mourning Flame, this weapon now hungers for the undoing of necromancy itself.
Artifact Properties
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+3 Weapon.
You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon. -
Radiant Reaping.
While attuned to Angel Tears, your attacks deal an additional 2d10 radiant damage to undead and fiends. -
Tears of the Divine Host.
The weapon contains a wellspring of divine sorrow in the form of a glowing crystalline reservoir that never runs dry. You no longer require holy water to power its effects. -
Saint’s Judgment. (1/day)
You may cast sunbeam as an action. While the spell is active, Angel Tears becomes the spell’s source. Creatures slain by this radiant light are obliterated, leaving behind only ash and echo. -
Angelic Intercession. (1/long rest)
When you are reduced to 0 hit points, a spectral avatar of Seraphina appears above you, shedding divine light in a 30-foot radius. You are restored to full hit points, all allies in the area are healed for 4d10, and undead in the light take 4d10 radiant damage (DC 18 Con save for half). Seraphina fades after this act of mercy. -
Banishment of the Forsaken.
Undead and fiends of CR 1 or lower are instantly destroyed if struck by Angel Tears. If you reduce a creature of CR 5 or lower to 0 hit points, it cannot rise again by undeath unless wish or true resurrection is used.
Sentience
Angel Tears is a sentient lawful good weapon with an Intelligence 20, Wisdom 18, and Charisma 22. It can communicate telepathically in Celestial and Common. Its voice is sorrowful, calm, and resolute—like the whisper of a weeping choir.
It has darkvision 120 ft., and can sense undead within 1 mile.
Seraphina’s spirit still lingers within. She offers guidance, moral clarity, and a burdened sense of purpose. She disapproves of cruelty, vengeance, or cowardice.
Curse – Grief Eternal
The greater the light, the longer the shadow.
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You are haunted by the memories of every soul destroyed by this weapon. At the end of each long rest, roll a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, you are paralyzed with grief for 1 minute or until damaged.
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If you willfully allow undead to persist when you could stop them, Angel Tears sheds a single tear of radiant fire, burning your soul for 6d10 radiant damage (no save).
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You may never attune to or wield a sentient evil item while attuned to Angel Tears. If you attempt to, both weapons explode in radiant and necrotic backlash, each dealing 10d10 force damage to you and anything within 20 feet.
Random Properties
(Choose or roll from DMG Artifact Tables)
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2 minor beneficial properties
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2 major beneficial properties
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1 minor detrimental property
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1 major detrimental property
Destruction
Angel Tears can only be destroyed by submerging it in the blood of a willing celestial who gives up their immortality to end the weapon’s legacy. Doing so severs the divine sorrow from the blade and frees the souls tied to it.
Artifact Boon: Seraphina’s Grace
“Your soul bears the weight of mourning and the light of judgment. You are no longer merely a warrior—you are a beacon.”
When you attune to Angel Tears, Relic of the Weeping Saint, and complete a quest tied to its divine legacy (e.g. banishing the Soulmonger, redeeming a corrupted celestial, or sanctifying a desecrated temple), the weapon bestows upon you the Boon of Seraphina’s Grace:
Boon of Seraphina’s Grace
- Radiant Soul. Your creature type is considered celestial in addition to your original type. You cannot be turned by Turn Undead, and you gain resistance to necrotic damage.
- Aura of Mercy. You emit a 10-foot aura of calm. Allies within the aura have advantage on death saving throws, and whenever you restore hit points to an ally, they also remove one condition affecting them (blinded, deafened, frightened, paralyzed, or poisoned).
- Blessing of the Mourning Flame. Once per day, when a creature within 60 feet of you would die (including yourself), you may instead cause their soul to linger for 1 more round. They remain at 1 hit point until the end of their next turn (even if they continue to take damage) at which point they die unless healed.
- Eyes of the Penitent. You can cast True Seeing on yourself without material components, once per long rest.
- Divine Presence. Your Charisma increases by 2, to a maximum of 22.
Optional Flavor Touches:
- Flowers bloom where you kneel in prayer.
- Undead hesitate before attacking you the first time.
- Children and animals instinctively trust you.
- Celestials recognize you as kin in spirit.
🌒 Hidden Consequence – Echo of the Fallen
“Every soul saved by grace leaves behind a weight unseen. The light you carry also draws the gaze of what lies beyond it.”
After receiving Seraphina’s Grace, you begin to accumulate spiritual weight—echoes of the souls you’ve saved, the deaths you’ve prevented, and the sins you’ve forgiven. This burden is invisible to mortals, but to those on the other side of the veil—undead, celestials, fiends—it radiates like a beacon.
Manifestations (unfold gradually at your DM’s pace):
- Whispers in the Light. You begin to hear soft murmurs when you’re alone, especially at dawn or dusk. They are fragments of prayers, final words, or pleas for rest.
- The Burden Grows. When you save a soul with Blessing of the Mourning Flame, you may roll a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a fail, you gain a point of Grief. Grief points are cumulative, and once you reach 3, you suffer a dream or vision tied to the soul you saved.
- The Soul-Tethered. At 5 Grief points, one soul saved by your grace refuses to move on. It begins appearing to you—at first in dreams, then in mirrors, then in moments of stillness. They are confused, afraid, or angry… and they want answers.
- At 7 Grief points, the boundary between life and death begins to fray. Undead begin to seek you, not just to destroy you, but to plead for release—or to take your place in the light.
Attunement Awakening: The Moment Angel Tears Becomes an Artifact
“The blade weeps not for the wicked, but for the wounded—for those lost to the dark, and those still searching for the light.”
📜 When This Happens:
This awakening occurs when the wielder fulfills a momentous act of mercy, sacrifice, or judgment aligned with the weapon’s divine purpose. Examples include:
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Destroying the Soulmonger (Tomb of Annihilation).
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Redeeming a powerful undead creature (like a lich or death knight).
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Sacrificing your life—or sparing a great evil—to preserve the balance of life and death.
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Offering forgiveness to someone who doesn’t deserve it, but needs it.
🕯️ The Scene: The Awakening
As the act is completed…
The air stills. Time seems to pause—not through magic, but through reverence. The weapon trembles in your hands, not violently, but as if weeping. You hear nothing, yet feel the presence of something ancient, sorrowful, and immense.
A single tear—liquid radiance—forms at the crystal reservoir and rolls down the blade, glowing with golden light. When it touches the ground, it vanishes without a trace… but you know something has changed.
The Celestial script along the blade flares with divine radiance, inscribing new symbols—your name in Celestial, joined with Seraphina’s.
You hear her voice, no longer faint and whispering:
“You carry the sorrow. You carry the light. And now… you carry me.”
A pulse of warm, holy light bursts outward, briefly illuminating the battlefield, the crypt, or even the jungle canopy—whatever world you’re in. For a heartbeat, every undead in the region knows your name.
🪔 Attunement Upgrade (Artifact Level)
You are now attuned to Angel Tears, Relic of the Weeping Saint.
This artifact requires deep emotional resonance with the weapon’s purpose. You must:
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Be good-aligned (or have undergone redemption to good).
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Have witnessed or performed an act of true mercy in the face of death.
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Bear a grief or guilt that you have not yet forgiven yourself for.
The weapon’s sentience fully awakens. It now speaks freely and clearly in your mind. Seraphina is no longer just a presence—she is a companion, a conscience, and perhaps… a fate entwined.
✨ Optional Effects You Might Add:
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The blade’s glow reflects your emotional state—soft when calm, blazing when angry, flickering when afraid.
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The weapon now appears in your dreams, showing you visions of the undead you've slain or souls you’ve saved.
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Celestial spirits may visit you—offering cryptic guidance, or silently standing watch when you sleep.
📖 Lost Lore of Angel Tears – The Blade of the Weeping Saint
“Her tears fell, not for herself, but for all those who would die unmourned.”
🌟 The Truth of Seraphina, the Weeping Saint
Long before the Time of Troubles, before the gods grew distant and divine magic was fractured, there lived a celestial champion named Seraphina, Saint of Last Rites. She was not a god, but a powerful solar—sent into the mortal world during an age when undeath had begun to claw at the edges of existence, long before the modern names of Acererak or Szass Tam were even whispered.
Where other celestials waged war against the undead with fire and fury, Seraphina walked among the dying, offering peace, absolution, and holy water blessed with divine mercy. She believed undeath was not only a corruption of the body, but a theft of grief—an interruption in the sacred act of mourning.
Her relic, the Angel Tears scythe, was not forged for battle alone. It was meant to harvest sorrow, to carry it on behalf of the living, and to use that grief to sanctify the destruction of the undead — not in hatred, but in justice.
⚰️ The Disappearance and the Cover-Up
When Seraphina fell—her relic vanished from celestial records. Most believe it was unmade or shattered, broken into divine fragments.
But that was a lie.
The relic was sealed, entombed in the mortal realm by celestials who feared its power. Not because it was evil, but because it was too good. Too human. It blurred the line between divine and mortal, between vengeance and compassion. Its grief-bound resonance could inspire angels to question, and cause undead to repent.
Only a few scrolls remain in lost monasteries or fallen temples, referencing the Weeping Blade or The Last Rite of Seraphina.
🌿 Connection to Tomb of Annihilation
Deep within Chult, long before Acererak built the Tomb of the Nine Gods, there existed a jungle shrine called Ih'Quar’s Wake—a funerary garden built by ancient Chultan druids who revered the balance between life and death.
Here, the relic was hidden beneath layers of holy wards, vines, and silence—watched over by ghost orchids and mournful spirits. It was buried in a reliquary made from celestial bone and petrified tears.
During the rise of the Death Curse, the ambient necrotic energy began to seep into the old shrine. Undead whispered of a weapon of light that weeps, and jungle tomb-raiders reported finding nothing but the scent of lilies and the feeling of being watched.
Eventually, a fool or fate unsealed the reliquary.
👁️ The Secret Some Celestials Still Keep
The gods of death and undeath know the blade has resurfaced. Some fear it. Others watch in silence.
It is whispered in celestial courts that if the wielder of Angel Tears carries too much grief, the relic could awaken a new saint—a mortal soul elevated by sorrow, compassion, and the will to defy undeath not with fire… but with grace.
And that, they say, would unbalance the Planes.
🪶 Lore Fragments and In-World Texts (Use for Journals or NPCs)
“The blade that mourns—one drop of grace, one drop of grief. Seek it where even the dead weep.”
—From The Celestial Heresies, Vol. VI (banned text)
“Her scythe did not reap flesh, but guilt.”
—Inscription on a tomb wall in ancient Chultan script
“If you find it… do not wield it unless you are prepared to carry their names.”
—Final page of a torn diary, found near Orolunga
Proficiency with a Glaive 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.
Graze. If your attack roll with this weapon misses a creature, you can deal damage to that creature equal to the ability modifier you used to make the attack roll. This damage is the same type dealt by the weapon, and the damage can be increased only by increasing the ability modifier.
Notes: Bonus: Magic, Damage: Radiant, Damage, Combat, Heavy, Reach, Two-Handed, Graze
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