Bow of the Whispered Names

by Frazer 👁 201 views

Damage 1d8 piercing

ammunition heavy two-handed

Charges: 7 (regains at dawn)

A pale ash wood bow, carved with delicate runes that shimmer like moonlight. Silver filigree traces along the grip, forming breath-like patterns that seem to whisper when the bow is drawn. The bowstring hums softly, and each nocked arrow seems to carry a faint echo of a name waiting to be spoken. The wood feels warm to the touch, as if it remembers every archer who has ever held it.

Whispered Names Arrows fired from this bow whisper the name of their intended target to you. The whisper is audible only to the wielder. When you hit a creature with the bow, you may expend 1 charge to learn the target's name if it is a humanoid you can see, and you gain advantage on the next attack roll you make against that target.

Lore

Legends speak of namers—hunters who tracked people by the very syllables they bore. The Bow of the Whispered Names was crafted by a reclusive spellwright who believed that a target’s true name carries a trace of their fate. Arrows from this bow carry that trace, guiding the wielder toward their mark through a chorus of subtle voices only the wielder can hear.

History

Forged in a secluded enclave where spellwrights worked wood and wind, the bow passed through the hands of rangers, spies, and nobles alike. Its current owner is said to be a traveling envoy who relies on the whispers to discern friend from foe on crowded battlefields. The last documented act of the bow involved guiding its wielder to a hidden traitor by revealing the target’s name just as the traitor fumbled a crucial misstep.

Created by Frazer 👁 201 views