WEAPON VARIES BASE WEAPON STATISTICS (ALL STATES)
MARTIAL MELEE WEAPON
DAMAGE: 2D6 SLASHING
PROPERTIES: HEAVY TWO-HANDED
MASTERY: CLEAVE
RANGE: 5 FT.
WEIGHT: 6 LB.
RELIC TRAITS (ALL STATES)
COUNTS AS MAGICAL.
EVOLVES: DORMANT → AWAKENED → EXALTED
REQUIRES ATTUNEMENT.
IF ATTUNEMENT ENDS IT REVERTS TO DORMANT.
DORMANT STATE
UNCOMMON (RELIC)
REQUIRES ATTUNEMENT (STRENGTH 15+)
MAGIC BONUS: +1 TO ATTACK AND DAMAGE ROLLS.
SWAMP REAPER
WHILE YOU ARE STANDING IN DIFFICULT TERRAIN CAUSED BY MUD OR WATER YOU DEAL +1 DAMAGE WITH THIS WEAPON.
TYRANT-BANE (ONCE PER TURN)
WHEN YOU HIT A LARGE OR LARGER CREATURE YOU DEAL AN EXTRA 1D6 SLASHING DAMAGE.
AWAKENED STATE
RARE (RELIC)
REQUIRES ATTUNEMENT
MAGIC BONUS: +1 TO ATTACK AND DAMAGE ROLLS.
PREDATOR’S MARK (ONCE PER TURN)
WHEN YOU HIT A LARGE OR LARGER CREATURE YOU MAY MARK IT UNTIL THE END OF YOUR NEXT TURN.
THE NEXT TIME YOU HIT THE MARKED CREATURE IT TAKES AN EXTRA 2D6 SLASHING DAMAGE AND THE MARK ENDS.
EMPOWERED CLEAVE
WHEN YOU USE THE CLEAVE MASTERY PROPERTY THE SECONDARY CREATURE TAKES ADDITIONAL DAMAGE EQUAL TO YOUR PROFICIENCY BONUS.
SWAMP REAPER
REMAINS ACTIVE.
EXALTED STATE
VERY RARE OR LEGENDARY (DM CHOICE)
REQUIRES ATTUNEMENT (YOU MUST HAVE SLAIN A LARGE OR LARGER CREATURE WITH THIS WEAPON.)
MAGIC BONUS: +2 TO ATTACK AND DAMAGE ROLLS.
APEX EXECUTIONER (ONCE PER TURN)
WHEN YOU HIT A LARGE OR LARGER CREATURE YOU DEAL AN EXTRA 3D6 SLASHING DAMAGE.
TYRANT’S MOMENTUM (1/TURN)
WHEN YOU REDUCE A LARGE OR LARGER CREATURE TO 0 HIT POINTS YOU MAY MAKE ONE ADDITIONAL WEAPON ATTACK AS PART OF THE SAME ACTION.
TYRANT’S SWEEP
WHEN YOU USE CLEAVE YOU MAY TARGET A CREATURE WITHIN 10 FEET INSTEAD OF 5 FEET IF YOU ARE STANDING IN DIFFICULT TERRAIN.
SWAMP REAPER
YOU GAIN THE +1 DAMAGE BONUS EVEN IF THE TERRAIN IS NOT MUD OR WATER.MPS.
SLASHING
CLEAVE
STR 15+, legendary: You must have slain a Large or larger creature with this weapon.
Requires Attunement
Fang of the Mire Tyrant
Relic Weapon (Martial, Heavy, Two-Handed)
Forged from dark iron quenched in swampwater and reforged through the death of the Mire Tyrant itself, Crocbane Cleaver is less a sword than a butcher’s verdict. Its edge is jagged not from poor craft, but from deliberate shaping—designed to bite, tear, and wrench through scale and bone.
The blade carries faint grooves along its length where mud, blood, and rot never fully wash away. When swung, it feels unnaturally heavy at the apex of the arc, as though the weapon wants to finish the blow. Those attuned to it report a pressure behind the eyes when facing massive creatures—an instinctive certainty of where to strike.
As the Cleaver awakens, its presence grows predatory. The air around it thickens in wetlands, and beasts larger than man grow restless. In its Exalted state, the weapon no longer merely kills apex predators—it asserts dominance, echoing the authority of the dead god-beast whose fang it carries.
Physical Description
The blade is broad and cleaver-like, with a forward-heavy curve and a serrated lower edge reminiscent of a crocodilian jaw. The spine is thick and squared, reinforced for splitting bone. A single enormous fang—blackened and polished smooth—caps the pommel, bound in swamp-cured leather that never dries or cracks.
The metal itself is a deep, oil-dark gray, absorbing light rather than reflecting it. In humid air, condensation gathers along the grooves and drips slowly from the serrations.
It smells faintly of peat, iron, and stagnant water.
Appearance by Relic State
Dormant
The blade appears heavy and brutal, with dried mud caught permanently in its channels. When swung through marsh or shallow water, it parts reeds and sludge cleanly, leaving disturbed ripples that linger longer than they should. Against Large creatures, its edge seems to “set” deeper than expected.
Awakened
The grooves along the blade darken, filling with shadow rather than grime. When facing a Large or larger creature, faint notches along the edge glow a sickly amber. The fang pommel warms subtly in the wielder’s grip as though anticipating blood. Strikes land with a wet, splitting crack even against scale or armor.
Exalted
The Cleaver radiates oppressive authority. The jagged edge gleams like a predator’s teeth in torchlight. In wetlands or difficult terrain, the air feels dense around the wielder, and the ground seems to steady beneath their feet. When it fells a great beast, a low, resonant snap echoes outward—like a jaw closing over the marsh itself.
For a heartbeat after striking a Large or larger foe, faint spectral jaws overlay the blade, biting down in tandem with the swing.
Sensory Details
Feels heavier mid-swing than at rest
Vibrates faintly in the presence of Large or larger creatures
Leaves shallow gouges in wood and stone even on glancing blows
Mud and blood cling to it unnaturally long
Lore
The Verdant Coil teaches that the Mire Tyrant ruled not through cruelty, but through absolute dominance. Crocbane Cleaver was reforged from iron quenched in the tyrant’s blood and set with one of its fangs so that its will would never fade.
It is said that the weapon does not hunger for slaughter—it hungers for supremacy. It grows restless in the hands of those who strike down the weak, but it thrums with satisfaction when brought against something vast, scaled, and defiant.
To wield Crocbane Cleaver is to carry the memory of a god-beast’s reign — and to decide whether you are worthy to inherit it.
