Three of a Kind - Not

Three shorts today each completely unrelated to the other:

Planar Edge - This heavy one-handed axe has a haft of pure silver wrapped with dark blue leather, fitted with a solid chunk of lapis as a pommel stone. The weapon's blade has a triangular shape, a straight-edged face backed with a long narrow point. The blade is made from a transparent blue crystal shot through with darker bands of glowing green. The weapon radiates Great quality combat and summoning magic. When wielded in battle it has Good bonuses to damage and accuracy against mundane foes. Against summoned beings, extra-planar entities, or insubstantial creatures these bonuses rise to Superb. Thrice per day the wielder can force an extra-planar or insubstantial creature to fully manifest on the mundane plane, stripping it of any benefits it receives from its unusual nature.

Ironshield Potion - This magical brew provides the imbiber with a potent defensive advantage. The sickly rust-colored liquid tastes faintly of iron, one of the ingredients used in its making. Once drunk the potion hardens the skin, providing a Good defensive bonus to physical attack. Any physical damage received is reduced in severity by two ranks. The effects of the potion last twelve rounds, or until thirty ranks of damage have been absorbed. Brewing this mixture is a Great test of Alchemy. Required ingredients include a bit of metal armor that has been worn in battle, the dust of a Great quality bloodstone, and a paste made from ground acorns and a troll's fang.

Stone of the Depths - Legend says this strangely crystalline pearl was recovered from a monstrous half-clam / half-crab creature that came ashore eons ago. The fist-sized object appears to be a normal, white pearl, save for its faceted crystalline shape. It radiates Superb alteration magic, and a Great test of divination magic will reveal its powers. When held the Stone enables its bearer to breath water as if it were air. Any creature of the depths will treat the owner as a friend, though no communications abilities are conveyed. Any water-based spells or abilities used by the Stone's owner gain two ranks of power when cast.

Dragonmaw Axe

Calling this heavy weapon an axe is a bit of a stretch, but so it was named. The Dragonmaw, or Serpent's Bite, is a massive two-handed weapon, its haft shaped from the black bones of an ancient dragon, the lower two-thirds covered in fine red dragon scales, forming a pebbled grip. The axe-head is fashioned to resemble the gaping jaws of a dragon. The thick blade is made from a dark metal that glows with a faint reddish light -- sages claim it was quenched in dragon's blood. Set into the cutting edge of the blade are twin rows of dragon's teeth, polished to an ivory sheen and capped with wicked mithril points. The poll of the blade is fitted with a row of dragon's claws creating a straight serrated edge. The Dragonmaw radiates Epic combat, alteration and animation magic, and a Superb test of divination magic will reveal the item's powers and the rite required to bond it to a new owner.

Dragonmaw has the following powers and attributes:

• Requires Great strength and axe skill to use properly.
• Superb damage and accuracy bonus.
• Legendary toughness, making the weapon almost unbreakable.
• Flesh of the Dragon - When this power is invoked the scales on the weapon's haft slither off and cover the bearer's body, multiplying and spreading to provide Great protection from physical harm, at the same time the weapon becomes welded to the bearer's grasp until the power ends. This power can be invoked thrice per day and lasts 10 rounds per invocation.
• Blood of the Dragon - The bearer is prone to aggressive behavior, and must make a Fair test of resolve to carry out a passive action when a more aggressive course is available. In battle they are pitiless, refusing to grant mercy if their foe asks for it.
• Dragon's Bite - The bearer can invoke this power upon any successful melee hit. The weapon's blade animates and bites the target, inflicting Great gaping wounds in addition to normal damage. These wounds bleed for Good damage each round until tended. This power can be invoked six times per day.

To attune the Dragonmaw Axe the owner must bathe in the blood of a newly killed dragon with the axe in hand, and eat a portion of the beast's heart raw.

Butterfly Axe

The double-bit, long-bearded blade of this axe gives rise to its name. The two-handed Butterfly Axe's symmetric blades are forged from fine steel with a deep blue sheen. Each is etched with a fine pattern of silvery lines forming a swirling eye-shaped pattern in the upper and lower half of the blade cheeks. The bleached oak haft is fitted with reinforcing bands of steel and ends in a heavy, spiked knob, making the Axe a very heavy weapon. A knowledgeable weapon-smith will be able to determine that the axe is of Dwarfish manufacture.

Identifying the magical properties of the item will reveal:

• Good accuracy enhancement
• Great damage enhancement
• Great necromantic enhancement
• The Butterfly Axe radiates neither good nor evil

The axe has Good accuracy and damage bonuses in combat. When used against goblin-type foes the damage bonus is increased to Great. Each foe slain by the Butterfly Axe provides the wielder with a Fair temporary bonus to health. This health bonus does not heal existing wounds, and all temporary health gains vanish when combat ends, possibly leaving the wielder unconscious or dead.