Shepherd's Toll
Forged by a battlefield surgeon who grew tired of watching soldiers bleed out between swings, the Shepherd's Toll was tempered in a solution of iron and healer's tisane and engraved with the names of the fallen along its fuller. Those who carry it say the blade feels heavier after a long battle, as though it remembers the cost of every life it purchased. It demands violence, but insists on accounting for it.
Mechanics
A longsword that redistributes wounds, pulling harm from fallen allies into itself and storing that suffering as power to restore the living.
Wound Tithe
When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points with this weapon, you may choose one creature you can see within 30 feet that has fewer hit points than its maximum. That creature regains hit points equal to half the damage dealt by the killing blow (rounded down), up to a maximum of 3d8. No action is required to trigger this effect, and it occurs immediately after the killing blow.
Vigil Strike
When you make an attack with this weapon, you may instead forgo dealing damage entirely and touch an unconscious or dying ally within 5 feet as part of the same action. That ally immediately regains 2d8 + 4 hit points, stabilizes, and awakens if they were unconscious from dropping to 0 hit points. Once you use this property, it cannot be used again until the next dawn.
DM Notes
Wound Tithe is the primary passive value of this weapon, triggering on kills with no resource cost. Balance consideration: in combat-heavy encounters with many weak enemies, this can function as a consistent healing engine, potentially restoring 10 or more hit points per round to injured allies. Consider this when designing encounter composition for a party carrying this item. Vigil Strike is the emergency tool, once per dawn, converting an attack action into a powerful revive. This means the attuned character gives up their primary attack to rescue an ally, which is a meaningful trade at the cost of combat output. The 2d8+4 average (13 HP) is comparable to a 2nd-level Cure Wounds, appropriate for rare. The sword is best suited to front-line characters who are reliably in melee range to both land killing blows and reach downed allies. Cleric and Paladin users benefit most thematically, though Fighter and Ranger users find it mechanically valuable in parties with weak healers.
Generated with: Level 5 · Weapon · Healing or support focused · Heroic · Rare