The original 2nd Edition entry from the Forge.

Thanks to Warhead for the original item sketch.

Sometimes, a creatures actions are so strong that the weapon they use becomes a part of what they are; sometimes its for good; sometimes its for the balance; but the strongest actions, those that leave a permanent vile mark upon a weapon, are those of pure evil.

In the year 187 NR the city of Waterdeep was plagued by a series of murderous events that led to the creation of a vile artifact within the city proper. Jackolar Herth was to all appearances a mild mannered business man dealing in elixirs and herbs. His facade was only skin deep for he was a deeply troubled soul. He craved revenge on society for its percieved wrongs.

At the end of his adventuring days, he took to studying field medicines and worked out of his home in Waterdeep. He had fell in love with a young woman. He loved her deeply and was greatly worried when he visited her home to find it ransacked. After numbly wandering her home searching for the faintest clue, Jackolar left. He didn't get far before he was approached for questioning by the the Waterdeep Watch. He was taken in and forced to reveal what he knew of the woman he loved. He learned with horror that she had been accused of dark practices and hung. The news chilled him to the bone and his mind snapped.

Without even realizing his intent, Jack walked home and removed from storage his prized polearm and donned a dark cloak to conceal his identity. That first night, five members of the Waterdeep Watch were murdered. A few bumbling drunks reported seeing a dark figure and hearing chains rattling down dark alleyways. These events continued for nearly a month. Each night the slaughter was worse. The bodies of Watch members were found disemboweled and beheaded. The mysterious attacker came to be called the Ripper and was actively hunted. By day Jack made every attempt to discover who had accused his beloved of the outrageous crimes. At night he tortured members of the Watch to glean the same information.

After nearly a month of searching, Jack discovered the man who had accused and summarily executed his beloved. The man died a slow death. His tongues was cut from his mouth and he was slowly killed by torture over a three day period.

After the man died, Jack walked into streets of Waterdeep looking hagard and thin. He called out to his beloved and used his own weapon to gut himself in the streets. As stunned onlookers gatherd around, the mysterious polearm that he wielded slowing absorbed the blood from his dieing body.

Appearance: The Ripper is a short polearm just over five and half feet in length It has a knife-like blade at its very tip with a jagged axe-like blade mounted just below. The handle is made of weathered wood and is wrapped in leather strips that are woven together. The weapon has a heavy silver chain attached to both ends that serves as a carrying strap. In the hands of a skilled user, the chain can be used to perform a trap maneuver with a +1 to hit.

History: The Ripper was retrieved by the Waterdeep Watch as a the primary exhibit in the events of Jack of Ripper. After the entire event was settled in the courts, the weapon was sent to the armory of the Watch where it rested for many years. When the gruesome actions of Jack the Ripper were long forgotten, the weapon was given to a caravan master to use on escort duty (no one from the Watch desired to use the weapon). Four days out of Waterdeep, the caravan was attacked by a band of trolls and the polearm became the property of Griis, a particularly intelligent and evil troll.

Powers and Abilities: The ripper is a unique polearm (S-M:1d10 L:2d6 Type:S/P Size:M Speed:6). It is opposed to lawfulness and organization of all kinds. It is a polearm +1/+4 vs. lawful creatures with no sense of good or evil only chaos. It radiates a Protection from Law in a 10' radius inflicting a -2 to hit on all creatures of lawful alignment. Twice per day, the wielder can cast Blur as per the wizard spell. In addition, once per day the weilder can cast Confusion and Chaos. All of these spells act as if cast by a 15th level wizard. The polearm also grants the person carrying it resistance to control whether it be through magic, psionics or just plane intimidation. The person recieves a +4 to all saves to resist any attempt to control them.

Location: The Ripper is currently in the possession of the troll Griis who now makes his lair in the woods east of Daggerford. He has a small band of ogres and trolls that numbers over fifty. His lair is composed of a small walled fort that seals off the entrance to a network of cavces. The caves are reportedly conected to the underdark and Griis is said to work with the drow on occasion.