Backstabber Story

Years ago, there was a greedy and lustful king. He had 999 wives chosen from the most beautiful women in the kingdom. One day, the king went on a carriage ride and in the field of a farm he observed an incredibly beautiful woman. When he inquired who she was, he discovered she was the wife of a farmer who worked his land. The king ordered the farmer arrested on a false charge of treason and thrown in prison and took the woman as his own. She became his 1000th wife. The farmer was sent as a slave to work in the king’s gold mines.

Years passed and the farmer escaped his prison. He returned weak and starved but with a heart burning with vengeance. He was not an educated man but he knew that a lowly farmer turned slave could never hope to bring justice on a king who was protected by an army of soldiers. In desperation, the farmer went to a hag, a vile and disgusting creature who lived in the swamps. When the monstrous creature learned the goal of the farmer and saw the determination in his heart, the crone was filled with glee. You see, hags are evil creatures. They love to cause pain and destruction.

“I will help you,” laughed the hag to the desperate man, “but there will be a price.”

“The king took my home, my farm, my freedom, and my wife,” said the man. “I don’t have anything left to pay you.”

“Nothing is ever free,” chuckled the creature. She handed the man a weapon, a dagger as black as night.

“This,” she said, “Will be the tool of your vengeance.”

The man turned the dagger over in his hands. A frown crossed his face. “I want nothing more than to plunge this into the heart of that evil tyrant but I wouldn’t get ten steps in his palace before his guards stopped me.”

“Do you truly want this man dead?,” asked the hag.

“Yes,” replied the man.

“Will you give anything to see the deed done?” she pressed.

“Anything,” agreed the man.

“Then take that dagger in your hand and stab yourself in the heart,” cackled the witch. From her laughter he knew what the price would be and stabbed himself dead.

The hag buried the man with the dagger and waited. On a night as dark as the hag’s heart, the ghost of the farmer emerged from the ground and walked towards the palace. None of the kings men could stop the specter. He passed through locked doors, guarded gates, and even stone walls all the way to the king’s bedroom. The evil king begged for mercy but there would be no mercy from the farmer’s ghost. The next morning, the servants found the king dead and alone in his locked room. A black dagger sticking out of his chest.

Tale of the Farmer and the Black Blade – As told by Sorren Fellwright Traveling Bard

The Backstabber

Description: With its jet black handle and snake-like blade, the backstabber looks the epitome of an evil dagger. From a glance, one can tell that the dagger has but one use: murder. One touch, and the bearer will feel a dark and cruel aura emanating from this wicked weapon. The Backstabber has many names: The Death Dealer, Traitor’s Edge, The Black Spot, Assassin’s Kiss, The Widowmaker, The Poor Man’s Justice, Grim Vengeance. They are all the same weapon and suggest its gruesome history.

History: The backstabber has been around for a long time. It is often found in the collection of the most dangerous killers and villains of history. Almost everyone agrees, the blade itself should never be used even in self-defense. It is a double-edged weapon both literally and figuratively. Those who wield it are often killed by it. Pretty much any bard worth his or her salt can you relate the grim origin of the blade. It’s a well-known story.

Backstabber: To attune to the dagger, a wielder must stab him or herself with one standard attack and deal a minimum of 10 HP damage. The backstabber is a +2 dagger with the following abilities:

Sneak Attack: The wielder may use sneak attack as per a 12^th level rogue. On a successful strike with sneak attack, you may reroll any 1 or 2 on the damage dice but you must take the new roll.

Spells: The wielder can cast the following spells as per a 10^th level druid:

Pass without Trace 1/day

Dispel Magic 1/day

Locate Creature 1/day

Death Strike: Any sentient creature reduced to 0 hit points from an attack by the backstabber automatically dies. The do not get any death saving throws. At the moment of death, the victim will hear a tiny voice in their head that says, “Tell me who you most wish to die.” The victim may choose any one person who lives even they do not know their name. The victim could decide to choose the person who just killed them. If the victim chooses a person to die, that person receives a black mark curse and the backstabber gains a spirit link.

Spirit Link: The backstabber absorbs the spirits of its victims. Killing a sentient creature with the dagger has a chance of creating a spirit link. The dagger can only have one spirit link at a time. If the dagger has a spirit link, on the next night of a new moon the weapon summons forth a vengeful spirit. The spirit automatically takes the backstabber and ends any attunement to it. The vengeful spirit will then proceed to stalk and hunt the victim of the black mark curse. The vengeful spirit can only move at night and gains all of the abilities of the backstabber. It will not stop unless destroyed or the victim dies. It will not attack any other person except the cursed victim, withdrawing if it is overwhelmed. Once the victim dies, whether or not the vengeful spirit made the kill, the vengeful spirit dissipates. A person killed by a vengeful spirit with the backstabber may choose a new victim when they die and thus add another spirit link to the blade.

Black Mark Curse: A victim of the back mark curse develops a black smudge on the palm of his or her left hand as if they had mishandled a leaky ink bottle. This is the most visible sign that the victim is cursed. The mark does not wash off nor can the curse be removed by anything but destroying the vengeful spirit that will come to murder the victim.

Destroying the Backstabber: The Backstabber is a weapon of vengeance. It thrives on revenge and the angry memories of past wrongs. In order to destroy it, you must bathe it in the River Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, while it is empty of a spirit link.