The Fangs of the Asp (Palladium Fantasy)

The Fangs of the Asp (Palladium Fantasy):

A magical dagger carried by many members of the Assassins Guilds within the Western Empire. The Daggers is as much a status symbol as they are a weapon. Even so, using the weapon to kill is part of the status of the weapon. The weapon is designed to inflict the maximum damage not as a weapon to use in hand to hand combat. Because of this, Assassins who use the dagger in battle will usually use the dagger in their off hand while using a sword in their primary hand. If the opponent leaves an opening, the Assassin will then stab the dagger in the opening. The possession of one of these daggers automatically makes the guard assume the possessor is an Assassin and is expected to try and kill the possessor on sight. This situation makes some assassins consider it a challenge to carry the "Fangs." It makes others refuse to carry the weapon because they see it as too dangerous. The daggers is not found enough in most lands outside the Western Empire to be considered illegal in them as well. Many guards and adventures know enough to be cautious if they see a person with one of these weapons.

The actual dagger themselves are manufactured by master Kobold weapon smiths but are made to strike not to parry with or to throw. The blade and point of the dagger is enchanted so it will penetrate the chinks in any armor and to be incredibly sharp. However, the most valued ability of the dagger is to magically create a coating of the poison "Basilisk's Eye" on the blade. While there are more outright deadly poisons, such as Dragon's Breath, that can be used, "Basilisk's Eye" also causes paralysis. When a victim is paralyzed, they are an easy target for the assassin. With the ability of the weapon to penetrate armors, not even the heaviest armors offer any protection and the target must rely on their ability to resist poisons to survive.

The dagger is very distinctive in design. The blade is very thin but has a saw blade type edge to inflict greater damage and to allow the poison to penetrate deeper into flesh. The blade has small grooves which link the main design to the edges of the blade. The handle of the dagger is much makes the dagger so unusual. The handgrip is four snakes twined together. They separate at the blade with two of the snakes becoming the hand- guards and two continuing up the blade. When the poison feature of the weapon is activated, the poison drips from the mouth of the snakes down the grooves on the blade. The snake designs are incredibly highly engraved. The dagger is a matt dark grey so that reflecting light does not give the weapon away.

Weight: 1.0 lb (0.5 kg) Length: 1.5 feet (0.46 meters)
Damage: 1D6+7 (+Strength) Dagger bypasses all AR Ratings and has special poison system
Bonuses: +2 to Initiative and +1 to Strike
Enchantments:
Armor Penetrating: The Dagger will bypass the A.R. Rating of its target. The weapon will seek the gaps and chinks in body armor. When used against creatures with A.R. Ratings, the weapon will simply goes through the creatures defenses.
Super-Sharpness: Adds +4 to damage (already added to damage) and lowers numbers needed for a critical strike by two points.
Venomblade: When the power is used, the dagger will inject poison the next time the weapon penetrates an opponents flesh.Poison can be used up to three times per day. Victims must save vs poison (16) or take 4D6 points of damage plus paralysis (2D4 rounds)

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By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune ).