Exotic Arsenal: Thorn and The Last Word

Exotic Arsenal

After years of playing Destiny there are few exotic weapons whose story and mechanics capture my nostalgia than Thorn and The Last Word. The ill fated battle between Light and Dark waged by two combatants of legacies' lost to time is a story suited to most fantasy worlds whether they wield firearms or greatswords.  For my own ends and as a sort of proof of concept I will present a version of the two iconic weapons as DnD style artifacts. Rather than get bogged down in custom Firearm rules I will assume you have your own favorite homebrew or even the basic DMG rules available to you so I can focus instead on nailing down the theme of what the weapons represent to me. This is more than likely not final but a thought experiment for funsies. Without further ado Thorn and The Last Word...

The Last Word

(Weapon (Hand Cannon), Legendary)

"Yours, until the last flame dies and all words have been spoken." —Shin Malphur to you, as you journey forth into the unknown

Artifact Traits:

This magic weapon receives a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. 

Big Damn Hero

While wielding the Last Word your Charisma score is increased by +4 to a new maximum of 24 and your alignment cannot be changed artificially by spells or effects.

Shoot From The Hip

You have Advantage on Initiative Rolls. After rolling initiative, you can choose to draw The Last Word and reload it without requiring an action.

Fan Fire

You can use your Bonus Action to unleash a series of three rapid fire attacks at an enemy within half of your normal range. These attacks are made with Disadvantage but deal an additional 1d8 Piercing damage on a hit. If the damage from any of these attacks reduces an enemy creature's hit points to 0 you can reload the Last Word as a part of the same Bonus Action used to activate this ability.

Chasing Shadows

When an Evil creature see's the Last Word for the first time they are forced to make a DC 24 Wisdom saving throw or become Frightened of the wielder for 1 minute. Creatures Frightened of the Last Word take additional Radiant damage from the weapon equal to the wielder's Charisma modifier. An Evil creature slain by the Last Word is burned to ashes and cannot be resurrected by any means save for a Wish Spell. 

Thorn, Weapon of Sorrow

(Weapon (Hand Cannon), Legendary)

"To rend one's enemies is to see them not as equals, but objects—hollow of spirit and meaning."

— 13th Understanding, 7th Book of Sorrow

Artifact Traits:

This magic weapon receives a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it.

Shadow of Yor

While wielding Thorn your Charisma score is increased by +4 to a new maximum of 24 and you gain resistance to Radiant and Necrotic damage.

Soul Devourer

Your piercing shots rend the very soul of your targets causing them to bear an atomizing temporal wound. When you deal damage to an enemy creature with Thorn they are forced to make a DC 24 Constitution Saving Throw. On a success, the target is unaffected. On a failure, the target is Marked by the Devourer for 1 minute. While Marked, the target takes an additional 3d6 Necrotic damage at the start of each of its turns. This damage heals the wielder of Thorn for half of the damage dealt. This save can be repeated at the end of each of the target's turns. 

You can only have one creature Marked by the Devourer at a time. If the damage from Soul Devourer reduces the target to 0 Hit Points Thorn is immediately reloaded and the damage from Mark of the Devourer increases by an additional 2d6 Necrotic damage to a maximum of 10d6. This bonus damage is reset after 10 minutes or after a short or long rest.

Wielder of Sorrow

When an Evil creature see's Thorn for the first time they are forced to make a DC 24 Charisma saving throw or be Charmed by you until you or one of your party commits a hostile action against the creature. Those who wield the Weapons of Sorrow are known across the Planes to be powerful beings worthy of respect.  

Questions, comments, insults, ideas? I'm shaky on a lot of Thorn's theming to be honest but I can't quite bring myself to change it any suggestions? Do you think it could be cool to have Ace of Spades and Malfeasance join these? Have you ever adapted iconic videogame bits of equipment into your tabletop game? Let me know down below.