(by Wyrm Ouroboros )

– Thushayaya-nas, 'Lady's Sorrow', Ptarmigen (Arctic Halfling)

For a thousand days she wept
Wept bitter tears for her lost
Her love, her child, her family
Her freedom, her people, her country…
– From The Lament of Sunaya, a Ptarmigen Legend-Song

The Ice Queen's Tear is not really a very impressive weapon; it most certainly is a halfling-sized blade, a more needle-like dagger than most. Holding it induces chill, however, and unless the wielder wears a heavy leather glove on his or her hand, they will find their hand growing numb with the weapon's cold. The most frequently reported 'look' of the weapon is that of an inverted basket-guard (the 'cup' pointing towards the blade instead of back towards the pommel), while the grip is of some mysterious white hide, the pommel stone a small but clear crystal sphere.

History According to Ptarmigen tales, the Lady Sunaya, a widow and governess for a dozen or so villages, was captured by enemies of these northern halflings. Some say they were a vicious bunch of bandits; others say that the enemy was a tribe of ogruch whom the Ptarmigen had long and bitterly fought. One tale says that it was a nearby clan of humans who had turned upon the Ptarmigen and betrayed them for reasons unfathomable by the diminuative folk. Whatever the reason, the Lady Sunaya refused to surrender her governance to her captors, who tortured her in the worst manner possible – by bringing to her one by one the mangled bodies of her charges, her family, even her beloved. For over three years they tortured her thus, her tears flowing into the empty dagger scabbard at her side, the only thing they left with her, again to taunt her with her helplessness. When they brought her at last the head of her children and fiancee', she plucked a hair from her own head and one from each of theirs, twisting them together and dropping the thin thread into her scabbard for safekeeping. The spirits of the north took final pity on her, turning her host of tears into a weapon with which she could strike back at her tormentors…

Game Statistics: The Ice Queen's Tear: 22 Points 1d6-1 HKA (Max 2d6-1 HKA at 20 STR, +1 DC/+7 STR), Armor Piercing (+½), Ranged (+½), 0 END (+½) (25 Active Points); OIF (Special, -½); 5 STR Minimum (-¼), Real Weapon (Special, -¼), Range Based on Strength (5“ per +5 STR, -¼), Side F/X (wielder loses ½d6 Stun per Phase Held unless wearing a heavy glove/mitten, -¼): 10 Points PLUS +2 OCV, (10 Active Points); OIF (Special, -½), Real Weapon (Special, -¼): 6 Points PLUS Find Weakness, 11- (10 Active Points); OIF (Special, -½), Real Weapon (Special, -¼): 6 Points

The Ice Queen's Tear, as humans call it, is very good at punching through armor. If the individual using the blade takes a few moments to first study their opponent, the blade will help guide itself to the less-well-covered spots. In addition, the stiletto can be thrown, which makes it a most excellent weapon for those trained to do so.

In addition, the real weapon is not the 'Tear', but rather the scabbard; whenever Thushayaya-nas travels more than six feet or so from its scabbard, the bindings the winter spirits wrap the blade in begin to fracture and weaken. After a phase, the weapon returns to what it truly is – snow wrapped around the base of an icicle, thereafter to melt and shatter. However, from the well of tears within the scabbard a new weapon coalesces, virtually fountaining before one's eyes into a new weapon. Its characteristics are unchanged, its blade whole and new. In fact, any time the stiletto blade is broken, a new one will regrow in instants within the scabbard, there for the drawing.

This is an ice-, cold-, and/or water-based weapon, doing additional damage to any creature vulnerable to such. At the end of each phase, it will steal ½d6 worth of stun from the wielder unless they are wearing heavy gloves. Unlike most weapons, the stiletto Thushayaya-nas never needs sharpening or upkeep – to the blade. The scabbard, however, which is tooled leather and beautifully trimmed in copper designs, must be kept in pristine condition for the weapon to retain its usefulness. As well, the bearer must learn at least one of the tales of Lady Sunaya and tell it to anyone who asks about the blade or the scabbard.

(by Wyrm Ouroboros )

'Ware the fiend and his thirst… – Old Sou'country saying.

At first glance, the Fiend looks to be a simple black-steel longsword, the crosspiece done in an overly ornate scale-and-claw style. The pommel appears as a horned demon's-head, its repulsively beautiful face spreading its lips in a vile grin; the grip is likewise black and scaly, maybe snakeskin of some sort. Drawing the weapon from its sheath, the blade continues the scale motif, with a deep blood-groove from an inch below the hilt nearly to the tip. Though the edge cuts as expected for a sword, the fine scale metalwork continues right to the cutting part. Any purveyor of fine weapons would mark this as a weapon of very high quality, a true masterwork.

Wielding the Fiend in real combat betrays the truth, however; the Fiend is truly an unholy being, hammered into the sword-shape and bound by powerful forces to remain so. The blade is part of its body, the scales sharper than any lizard's; the blood-groove remains ever-clean as the daemon-sword drinks all that is offered to it.

History: Only a true sage or researcher into the politics of the infernal realms will discover the origin of the Fiend; suffice it to say that the weapons' creation is cruelty on-par with other tales of demons, devils, mephits and Fallen. Since its appearance in the hands of humans and the like, however, it has cut a subtle but bloody swath through the world. While the Fiend's influence has been felt on battlefields and in duels, it has more frequently been felt in back alleyways and royal bedrooms. Though solid numbers are hard to come by, the Fiend is thought to have been instrumental in no fewer than five thousand assassinations and political murders in the six hundred years of its confirmed presence among men.

Game Statistics: The Fiend: SF/X (character automatically begins to gain Psychological Limitations 'Vengeful', 'Megalomaniac', and 'Urge to Betray'. Limitations grow at 5 pts strength (total) per week of possession or per one use of abilities (a use would be a full combat sequence for the HKA, or for the Transfer or Healing one use each) of the weapon, up to 'Very Common, Strong', a total of 60 points: -2): 23 Real Points a) 1 ½d6 HKA, +2 Stun Multiplier (+ ½), 0 END (+ ½) (50 Active Points); 12 STR Minimum (- ½), One-Handed Weapon (-0), OAF (-1), SF/X (above, -2): 11 Points b) Transfer, ½d6 Body to Healing, +18 Maximum, Ranged (+ ½), ½ END (+ ¼), IPF/X (Fully Invisible, Invisible Effects of Power Use, +2) (71 Active Points); IAF (Drawn Sword, - ½), Concentrate 0 DCV Unaware (- ¾), Full Phase Extra TIme (- ½), Soft Incantations (- ½), Only Works in Darkness/Deep Shadow (- ½), SF/X (As Above, -2): 12 Points c) Healing, 0d6 Healing to Body (1d6, +22 Max after full Transfer)

You can see how this, aah, 'Fiend' could very easily corrupt good, honest men …