Jester’s Scepter - Grave-Mocker

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 Jester’s Scepter - Grave-Mocker


+3 Light Mace

Aura: Moderate transmutation and evocation
Caster Level: 10th
Slot: —
Price: 18,305 gp
Weight: 4 lb.

This +3 light mace is fashioned in the mocking likeness of a four-tailed harlequin, its bells dulled but still capable of a soft, unsettling jingle when moved. The steel head is heavier than it appears, its grinning face pitted and stained, while the shaft bears the marks of long use and careful reinforcement. Though it retains the outward absurdity of a jester’s prop, the weapon hums faintly with destructive intent when brought near worked metal.

Metal Sundering (Su): Three times per day, when the wielder declares a sunder attempt against a manufactured metal object (including weapons, shields, or metal armor worn by an opponent), the Jester’s Scepter, Grave-Mocker resonates with a discordant chime. The wielder gains a +4 enhancement bonus on the opposed attack roll to sunder. If the sunder attempt succeeds, the blow deals an additional 2d6 points of damage to the object. Against worn armor, this damage is applied directly to the armor’s hit points (see Sunder rules), though the attack still provokes attacks of opportunity as normal. This ability has no effect on non-metal objects.

Additionally, whenever this ability is activated, the scepter emits a brief, hollow peal of laughter audible within 30 feet, imposing a –1 morale penalty on attack rolls for any creature that witnesses the sunder (Will DC 15 negates). This is a mind-affecting fear effect.

Jesters who carry such scepters are rarely mere entertainers. Among certain grim courts and wandering troupes, the Grave-Mocker is both symbol and warning - a reminder that ridicule can break more than pride. Tales speak of performers who mocked armored tyrants before reducing their gilded protections to ruin, each ringing strike punctuated by laughter that was never entirely their own.

Many of these weapons are said to originate in places where humor and death share the same breath - crypt-side performances, gallows humor made manifest, or rituals meant to defy the silence of the grave. The three-tailed cap is no accident; it is a mockery of crowns, a triple jest at authority, faith, and mortality itself. Those who wield the Grave-Mocker often claim that the bells do not merely jingle, but remember - echoing faintly with every helm shattered and every shield split under its weight.

Over time, a bond seems to form between wielder and weapon. The scepter’s laughter grows more distinct, its timing more… appropriate. Some say it begins to anticipate the moment of greatest humiliation, guiding the wielder’s hand to strike not just effectively, but theatrically. Whether this is enchantment or something far stranger is a question few survive long enough to answer.

Construction
Requirements: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, shatter, keen edge;
Cost: 9,305 gp + 720 XP

Kelwyn’s Notes…

Ah… yes. This.

One can always tell when an enchantment was crafted with more enthusiasm than restraint. The Jester’s Scepter, Grave-Mocker is not subtle, not refined, and certainly not dignified - it is a blunt instrument wrapped in theatrical mockery, as though someone believed that adding bells and laughter would elevate what is, at its core, a rather straightforward act of destruction.

To its credit, it performs that function admirably.

The sundering enchantment is effective, even impressive in its execution. It does not merely break metal - it announces the breaking, punctuating each strike with noise and spectacle. But that is precisely where it falters in my estimation. A proper tool does not draw attention to itself. It does not celebrate its own function like a street performer demanding applause. It acts, cleanly and efficiently, and allows the result to speak for itself. This… insists on being noticed.

And that laughter.

I have heard it. Once was sufficient. There is a quality to it that suggests it is not entirely bound to the wielder’s intent - that it delights in the act more than it should. I find that… distasteful. Destruction, when necessary, is a matter of purpose, not amusement. Any instrument that begins to blur that line is one I would prefer to keep at a considerable distance.

Still, I suppose there are those for whom such theatrics are desirable. Individuals who mistake spectacle for mastery, or who require their victories to be witnessed to feel complete. For them, this scepter will serve splendidly.

As for me… I prefer my tools to be quieter.

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