Vrethaxis, the Rotting Draw
Vrethaxis was carved from the heartwood of a tree that grew over a mass grave of soldiers poisoned in a war so old its name has been lost to history. Ancient texts reference a 'hungering bow that drinks the living,' and those who have held it report hearing a low, wet rasp — like labored breathing — when they nock an arrow. It does not merely kill; it teaches the body to forget how to heal.
Mechanics
A cursed ancient longbow that infuses arrows with necrotic poison, sapping the vitality of those it wounds — but slowly corrupts the wielder who fails to feed it blood.
Venomous Corruption
Attacks made with this bow deal an additional 1d6 poison damage on a hit. When the target takes this poison damage, it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or become Poisoned until the end of its next turn.
Rotting Draw
When you score a critical hit with this bow, the target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or have its hit point maximum reduced by the total poison damage dealt by this attack. This reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. A creature whose hit point maximum is reduced to 0 by this effect dies.
Blood Debt (Curse)
This bow is cursed. Once attuned, you cannot willingly cease attunement to it without a Remove Curse spell or equivalent magic. At the end of any day in which you did not hit at least one living creature with this bow, you suffer one level of Exhaustion. This Exhaustion cannot be removed by a long rest while you remain attuned to Vrethaxis — only a Remove Curse followed by a long rest can clear it. While attuned, your skin takes on a faint greenish-grey pallor and your wounds smell faintly of rot; Wisdom (Insight) checks to determine if you are unwell have advantage.
Feast of Rot
When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with this bow, you may use your reaction to regain hit points equal to the poison damage dealt by the killing shot. Once you use this reaction, you cannot do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
3 charges
Recharges at dawn
DM Notes
Balance consideration: The hit point maximum reduction on a critical hit is the most dangerous effect at this level — against a boss or miniboss with a moderate HP pool, it can dramatically swing the encounter. Consider that at level 5 a Fighter has Extra Attack, making critical hits more likely over the course of a long fight. The curse's Exhaustion mechanic is the primary balancing lever: it creates meaningful downtime pressure and encourages the DM to use it as a story driver. If the party is short on Remove Curse access, be careful — the curse can spiral harshly. The Feast of Rot healing is intentionally once-per-rest to prevent the bow from becoming a reliable sustain engine. The charges field was included for the Feast of Rot reaction economy safety valve — DMs may optionally rule that Feast of Rot instead costs a charge rather than being once-per-rest, depending on party composition. Compatible classes listing includes Ranger because the mechanics are fully functional without any Fighter-specific class feature, and Rangers are primary bow users; however, the attunement restriction limits it to Fighters by default — DMs may relax this.
Generated with: Level 5 · Fighter · Arcane Archer · Weapon · Cursed ancient theme · Dark / Gritty · Poison · Rare