Betrayal

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Picking up the jet, black dagger, you can feel power crawl up your arm like a hundred, tiny insects. The fine hairs on your forearm stand up and you grit your teeth at the sensation. Quickly, you lay the dagger back down where you found it, not at all eager to touch it again.

"This is a weapon of immense power and equally immense evil. It was once wielded by The Hand of Bhaal, Queen of Assassins and Handmaiden to the Dark God himself. Her true name has been lost through the years, as she was not foolish enough to divulge her real name to many. I can only assume that those who knew it are dead. She was known only as Vengeance. Why is it called Betrayal, you ask?" she smiles. "Because Bhaal misjudged his Handmaiden and tested her loyalty to him by posing a threat to her mortal family. Rather than see them hurt, she murdered his Avatar, severing his connection with this realm for some time. Thus, she betrayed her god. No one knows what happened to her after that. She simply disappeared. However, rumor has it that she still walks the land, hiding from the eyes of mortal and immortal enemies alike."

Arislyn's Note: Please keep in mind that this is an extremely powerful item which can easily unbalance a campaign. Consider well what your players are like and their experience before you allow one of them to get ahold of this! Or, simply strip away the major powers (Move silently and unseen, and backstab). It's certainly powerful enough without those. In fact, this might make an excellent quest item. Have a group of good characters retrieve it so it may be destroyed, or use it to lure Vengeance out into the open so she may be destroyed. I would give you Vengeance's background (she is a character I played for 2 years straight) but I think the truth would be disappointing compared to what you can come up with on your own. *Smile*

Betrayal was originally a gift from her daughter before Vengeance became a servant of Bhaal. It was originally designed as a weapon of balance which followed the phases of the moon. During the waxing and full moon, the dagger would allow you to cast Cure Serious 1/day. During the waning and new moon, it allowed you to Cause Serious 1/day. It also conveyed the ability to backstab as a thief at your current level. After Vengeance began slipping from the path of neutrality, the dagger began to reflect it's owner's new personality. It lost the ability to cast Cure Serious and gained the ability to cast Cause Critical 1/day during the new moon in addition to the original ability to cast Cause Serious. The final and most drastic change to the dagger occurred when Vengeance used that very dagger to backstab Bhaal himself. Drenched in the blood of the God of Assassins and used to betray her god, it was blown from her hand when Bhaal's avatar was destroyed. The dagger absorbed part of Vengeance's power and is now able to convey the gifts that Bhaal bestowed on his favorite to any other who wields the weapon. The wielder may move completely silently and unseen (100% Hide in Shadows and Move Silently) as long as he or she is about to commit a murder in the name of vengeance. It may not be a senseless murder - One must be killing because someone has been wronged (i.e. killing a rapist, avenging the death of a loved one, fulfilling a blood debt, etc.).

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