This artifact is approximately two thousand years
old. It is not particularly clear why
it still exists, however. The creator
is unknown; the one researcher sufficiently interested to check reported that
Mithrasbane's origins were most likely an accident by a clumsy Roman
Republic-era enchanter.
The item itself is an ancient Roman poleax (Power
+4, Accuracy -1, reach of 1 yard, does +3 damage to any target if it penetrates
armor), still in useable condition. The
artifact is also a level 6 talisman (adder) for Large Weapon (Poleax) and a
level 3 talisman for Running... provided that the former skill is being
specifically used to attack a bovine and the latter is being specifically used
to run away after attacking a bovine.
For what it's worth, it is said that Mithrasbane has never failed to
slay its target at one blow, provided of course that the target is a cow.
As was said before, why this artifact still exists
is not particularly clear; while useful to anyone in the meat-packing industry,
the blatant nature (in several different fashions) of the relic outweigh its
marginal advantages. Quite a few
artificers on both sides of the War have shown an interest in breaking it up
for its component parts, but no one has ever seemed to get around to doing
that. Something else has always come
up. Currently, Mithrasbane is in the
hands of an Impudite of Gluttony with a bit of an appetite and a (justifiable)
fear of Kyriotates of Animals; he is unaware of the fact that he's been
telegraphing his position with the item, which is, all in all, just as well.
Mithrasbane: Talisman/6 (Large Weapon: Poleax) (12pt), Talisman/3 (Running) (6pt), Convenience: Bulky (-1pt), Use Restriction (bonuses to either only apply when involving a cow) (-2pt), Visibility: Automatically Detected (-3pt), Vulnerability: ethereal artifact destroyed when corporeal form destroyed (-2pt). Total: 10pt