Goodnight

Goodnight is an artifact and unique magical sword in the World of Shaston.

Appearance
Goodnight appears as a longsword, slightly longer and thinner than average. The majority of the sword appears to be made of silver; whether the weapon is entirely made of silver or just coated in it is unknown. The grip is black in color.

The hilt of Goodnight is heavily stylized and ornamental. The two guards are designed to appear as a de-thorned rose sticking diagonally upward from the bottom of the blade. The pommel is shaped like a wolf's head, mouth open in a snarl and facing the edge of the blade rather than the face; presumably meant to represent the wolf attacking the sword's victims and the sword symbolically being as vicious as a wolf.

The blade of the sword is actually made up of many small segments, which are connected by thin but strong (and magically reinforced) wires through their centers. Depending on how the sword is swung, the segments can either hold together to form a standard blade or can separate, converting Goodnight into a whip-sword. This drastically increases its reach and provides the wielder with new attacking options at the potential cost of raw striking power and damage.

Compared to the rest of the sword, Goodnight's scabbard is rather ordinary in appearance, mostly black in color like the grip with silver accents. Like the sword, the scabbard is either made of silver or coated in silver.

Lore and History
As far as man-made artifacts go, Goodnight has existed for a very long time, predating modern history. Goodnight was forged by the Mon'Tel in an effort to create the ultimate monster-hunting weapon, combining the strength and practicality of a longsword with the reach and finesse of a whip. Several powerful enchantments were placed upon the weapon as well, including at least two unique enchantments that prevent dark and evil creatures from wielding it and make it particularly effective against vampires, the Mon'Tel's chief enemies. As with most artifacts, how this was accomplished is unknown, the process having never been properly recorded or otherwise lost to history. It is also possible that the weapon was uniquely blessed by the gods to make it more effective against the powers of darkness, making the enchantments on it impossible to replicate by a mortal.

At some point prior to the 7th century, Goodnight was lost by the Mon'Tel. With the loss of their greatest weapon and chief symbol, the Mon'Tel slowly faded into obscurity; although the clan remained and continued to spread, they lost the notoriety and affluence they had once maintained.

What happened to the sword and where it ended up are unknown, although it is known that at some point prior to the 14th century the blade was acquired by Abaddon von Apollyon and used by him as his primary weapon. In 1352, Abaddon carried the weapon with him into the Nine Hells, following Selah Victoria Infer on her quest to storm the Hells and recover her eyes.

Abaddon remained in the Hells after Selah's success, and the sword remained with him. In 1612, Abaddon wielded the sword as the leader and founder of the Chaos Rebellion, brandishing it against the devils he had sworn to destroy as the source of all sin and corruption.

Powers and Abilities
Aside from its unique mechanical properties as a whip-sword, Goodnight possesses several enchantments or blessings on it, which make it a particularly useful weapon for anyone attempting to slay creatures of evil or darkness. The weapon deals extra damage against all evil-aligned creatures, as well as all fiends and undead. Vampires in particular suffer at the hands of Goodnight, taking even more damage than a typical evil undead, with the sword seeming to seek them out and ensure its strikes ring true.

Perhaps as a safeguard of sorts against the creatures it was created to destroy, Goodnight damages any fiend, undead, or vampire that attempts to wield it, burning their skin if they so much as touch it. Evil creatures are unable to effectively wield the weapon at all, with the pain it deals to them being too great to hold it long enough.

Although the Mon'Tel have long since faded into obscurity and Goodnight itself is generally no longer associated with them anyway, Goodnight is still recognized as a weapon of great power and authority. The wielder of Goodnight is said to be gifted with great leadership skills and a tactical mind; although none of the enchantments on the weapon actually do this, it is possible that the weapon's fate is somehow guided by the gods such that only great leaders with a desire to destroy evil ever take it up.

+3 Longsword
Goodnight acts, for the most part, like a longsword. It deals 1d8 of slashing damage. You gain a +3 to attack and damage rolls with Goodnight. Its attacks count as magical in terms of damage resistances and immunities.

Situational Properties
Goodnight has the Finesse, Reach, and Versatile (1d10) properties. However, you may not make use of the Versatile property while also using either or both of the other two.

Holy Blade
Goodnight deals an extra 1d6 damage to all undead and fiends. Any such creature attempting to wield Goodnight takes 1d6 damage at the end of each of its turns. This feature may stack with Evil’s Bane and Vampire Killer, however it does not stack with itself if a creature somehow fits more than one category.

Evil’s Bane
Goodnight deals an extra 1d6 damage to all evil-aligned creatures. It may not be wielded by any such creature. This feature may stack with Holy Blade and Vampire Killer.

Vampire Killer
You gain an additional +2 to attack and damage rolls with Goodnight and deal an extra 1d6 damage if the attack is being made against a vampire. Any vampire attempting to wield Goodnight takes 1d6 damage at the end of each of its turns. This feature stacks with Holy Blade and may stack with Evil’s Bane.

Trivia

 * Goodnight is inspired in part by the Vampire Killer from Castlevania, particularly regarding its potency against demons, vampires, and other evil or dark creatures.
 * Hence the property of the same name.
 * The damage undead, fiends, and vampires take if attempting to wield Goodnight was inspired in part by the ascended demon trope and the general concept of self-sacrifice.