Vorath's Hollow Stave
Vorath was a plague-speaker of an age before memory, a hermit who communed not with beasts but with the crawling colonies beneath dead bark and rotting earth. When he died unmourned in a blighted fen, his apprentices carved his bow from the yew that grew through his bones, and found it already humming with something dark and hungry. The bow has passed through a dozen hands since; none of its bearers aged well.
Mechanics
A poison-dripping longbow carved from a plague-blackened yew that launches arrows wreathed in crawling insects, fouling wounds and sapping the vitality of its targets.
Blight-Nocked Shot
This longbow has a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls. Attacks made with it deal an additional 1d6 poison damage on a hit. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be Poisoned until the end of its next turn.
Hollow Stave — 4 charges, recharge 1d4 at dawn
The bow holds 4 charges. When you hit a creature with an attack using this bow, you may expend 1 charge (no action required) to trigger one of the following effects immediately after the hit: the target's speed is reduced by 10 feet until the end of its next turn as burrowing insects foul its joints; or the target has disadvantage on its next saving throw before the start of your next turn as venom clouds its senses.
Plague Swarm Arrow
As an action, expend 2 charges to fire a specially toxic arrow at a point you can see within 120 feet. Each creature within 10 feet of that point must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 3d6 poison damage and is Poisoned for 1 minute. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and is not Poisoned. A Poisoned creature may repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.
4 charges
Recharges 1d4 at dawn
DM Notes
Balance note: the +2 flat bonus is at the Rare ceiling, so the Poisoned condition and speed reduction from the charge ability should not be stacked recklessly — the DM should be mindful that Poisoned (disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks) combined with a +2 bow is already strong at level 4–6. The charge pool is intentionally modest (1d4 recharge averages 2–3 charges per day) to ensure Plague Swarm Arrow is a meaningful once-or-twice-a-day decision rather than a spammable nova. Consider having intelligent enemies prioritize removing the Poisoned condition via magic if it becomes dominant in play. The bow's dark tone pairs well with morally complex wilderness or dungeon environments and rewards Rangers who invest in positioning to maximize the 10-foot burst.
Generated with: Level 5 · Ranger · Swarmkeeper · Weapon (Longbow) · Cursed ancient theme · Dark / Gritty · Poison · Rare · No curses