Most of these items have some kind of catch too them. They often have to be turned "on" which requires some kinds of quest or adventure. Sometime turning "on" a items can have difficult choices.
The Cursed Sword of the First Centurion
This once great sword has been tarnished by the misdeeds of Antioch, former Senior Centurion and now leader of the Legion of the Damned. The metal of the blade is blackened and the grip rotted. Its scabbard is worn and cracked.
The Sword is a magical sword that is -2 to hit and -2 to damage. Whoever draws the sword is cursed to redeem the honor of it. They are under a geas to redeem the honor of the blade. This can be done in several ways
1) Slay Antioch with the sword. If fighting Antioch with this sword it becomes a +5 Demon Slaying Sword
2) If the welder of the sword can locate the missing golden eagle of the 5th Legion and touch the two together, The sword will be restored to its former glory
3) If the welder of the sword leads an army that conquers the Roverdowns and crushes the halfling population, The sword will be restored to its former glory
Legion of the Damned and the Cursed Sword of the First Centurion
When the sword is studied, indexed and cross referenced the history of the sword is revealed. This sword once belonged to the Senior Centurion of the 5th Legion, one of the Lost Legions.
During the great western expansion of the Empire of Thrace, the empire had sent its legions far and wide. After the first conquest of Traladar, it had set its sights on conquering the Rover Downs. The Empire sent three legions into the Rover Downs, The 5th, 12th, and 18th Legion. All three legions were under strength after decades of war. They faced many hardships in the Roverdowns; heavy rains, mud, and constant guerilla attacks by the halflings of the Roverdowns. They had fought deep into the countryside and eventually found themselves cut-off from supply and under constant attack driving morale even lower.
Eventually a mutiny began; lead by the 1st Centurion of the 5th Legion and the army was split in half. The mutineers switched sides, betraying their comrades. The loyalists in the legions were decimated. 3 months later a ragtag group of legionnaires marched back across the border into the Empire. All told, fewer than a hundred loyal legionnaires made it back. They carried with them only one of the three legion eagles, the eagle of the 12th Legion.
The Emperor went in to a rage when he received news of what happened. He was said to have cursed and damned the mutineers, promising them a slow death. He recruited the twelve best assassins in the world to hunt down the traitors. To escape the Emperor’s wrath the legionnaires are said to have made a pact with a powerful demon. The demon was said to have taken the traitors to Pantera, the demon moon, where they fight in his name as the Legion of the Damned.
It is said that these cursed men have become demons in their own right and often return to the Known World to slaughter and kill in their patron’s name. It is also said that the twelve assassins still hunt for them, collecting the bounty on the head of each legionnaire they bring to the emperor.
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