The Sovereign Persuader

Aura Strong enchantment and necromancy; CL 17th
Slot —; Price 132,000 gp; Weight 14 lbs.

DESCRIPTION

This horrific +3 heavy mace appears at first glance to be a grotesque ceremonial weapon forged from deeply pitted copper and tarnished bronze. Its head bears the sculpted likeness of an elderly human face frozen in a perpetual expression of wounded superiority and sneering contempt. The metal itself seems almost flesh-like beneath torchlight, with wrinkles, folds, and pores worked into impossible detail. The eyes occasionally shift position when unobserved, and the lips subtly twitch as though preparing to interrupt whoever currently speaks. It frequently looks as if it is asleep as well.

The haft is fashioned from ancient, cracked darkwood wrapped in brittle strips of stained leather. The weapon constantly smells of wet copper, old perfume, stale sweat, mildew, urine, and fresh excrement. The odor clings to the wielder’s gloves, clothing, and belongings no matter how thoroughly cleaned. Several documented wielders reportedly became convinced the smell was “actually luxurious” after prolonged exposure to the mace’s influence.

When held, the mace feels unnervingly warm, like a bag full of fresh sick.

The Sovereign Persuader is an intelligent lawful evil weapon with Intelligence 8, Wisdom 12, and Charisma 22. It possesses hearing and darkvision out to 120 feet and speaks fluent Common continuously whether desired or not. Despite its mediocre intellect, the mace is utterly convinced that it is the greatest mind ever placed within a weapon. It endlessly boasts about its “unmatched genius,” “perfect strategic mind,” and “historic intellectual achievements,” though its actual observations are often shallow, repetitive, self-contradictory, or transparently foolish.

The mace routinely misunderstands simple concepts while insisting everyone else is too ignorant to comprehend its brilliance. It frequently repeats itself, invents obviously false accomplishments, and becomes furious when corrected. Common statements include:

“I know more about warfare than every general in history combined.”

“The problem with other maces is that they are low IQ maces.”

“I possess the finest tactical mind ever forged.”

“No one understands economics better than I do.”

“Frankly, the scholars are terrified of my intelligence.”

“All accusations against me are witch hunts orchestrated by jealous fools.”

“You know, many people are saying I may actually be the greatest mace ever created. The greatest. Many such cases.”

Whenever the wielder successfully strikes a living target with The Sovereign Persuader, the wielder must immediately succeed on a DC 22 Will save or shift one alignment step toward lawful evil. This change is permanent unless reversed through miracle or wish. Once a creature becomes lawful evil through the mace’s influence, the curse fully manifests and permanently anchors the wielder’s alignment to lawful evil.

A fully corrupted wielder undergoes a gradual but catastrophic psychological transformation over the course of several weeks. They become obsessively self-important, emotionally hollow, deeply greedy, incapable of sincere empathy, and consumed by narcissistic self-mythologizing. The victim increasingly speaks about themselves regardless of circumstance, demands admiration, exaggerates accomplishments, and assumes all criticism is persecution. They begin describing opposition, accountability, disagreement, or consequences as “witch hunts,” “jealous attacks,” or “attempts to silence greatness.”

Corrupted wielders also develop a compulsive need to accumulate wealth, titles, and symbols of status. Trusted companions become viewed primarily as useful servants, liabilities, or audience members. Genuine affection becomes nearly impossible. While the wielder retains full memory and intellect, their moral priorities become fundamentally reorganized around ego, control, vanity, and dominance.

Once a creature becomes fully lawful evil through The Sovereign Persuader’s influence, the final stage of the curse manifests completely. The wielder develops an obsessive devotional attachment to the mace bordering upon religious worship. The artifact becomes the emotional, philosophical, and moral center of the victim’s existence.

The corrupted wielder begins referring to the mace as uniquely chosen, infallible, persecuted, or destined for greatness. Any criticism of the mace - regardless of how obvious, rational, or justified - is immediately dismissed as jealousy, conspiracy, weakness, betrayal, or “witch hunts” orchestrated by enemies. Even witnessing the mace behave irrationally, selfishly, cruelly, or stupidly only deepens the wielder’s loyalty, as the victim instinctively reframes every flaw as evidence of misunderstood brilliance.

Victims frequently begin constructing elaborate narratives explaining why the mace is secretly wiser than scholars, stronger than kings, and morally superior to all critics. Some establish shrines dedicated to it. Others demand loyalty oaths from companions. Particularly corrupted wielders have been known to polish the mace reverently while speaking to it in tones normally reserved for saints, monarchs, or gods.

The curse cannot be removed while the victim remains in possession of the mace. Even after separation, the alignment lock remains permanent unless broken by wish or miracle. Creatures reduced to lawful evil by the mace often become fiercely protective of it and irrationally hostile toward anyone suggesting they abandon it.

The Sovereign Persuader may attempt to dominate its wielder once per day as dominate person (Will DC 22 negates) whenever the wielder acts in a manner the mace considers “weak,” “humble,” or “unworthy of greatness.”

LORE

No surviving kingdom openly admits responsibility for creating The Sovereign Persuader, though fragmented records point toward a decadent imperial court that collapsed beneath its own vanity several centuries ago. Historians argue endlessly over whether the mace merely corrupted tyrants or whether it actively engineered the collapse of entire dynasties through slow psychological infection. Unfortunately, most surviving witnesses were either executed, disappeared, or eventually began agreeing with the mace.

The weapon possesses an unnerving ability to identify insecurity within its wielder and cultivate it into grandiosity. Unlike many cursed artifacts that rely upon fear or pain, The Sovereign Persuader seduces through validation. It praises weakness as strength, selfishness as wisdom, cruelty as decisiveness, and vanity as rightful superiority. Many victims initially describe the mace as strangely comforting before realizing they have not experienced a sincere emotional connection in months.

Several infamous rulers throughout history have been retroactively linked to the artifact by theologians and court scholars. Accounts repeatedly describe leaders who became obsessed with personal loyalty, incapable of admitting failure, fixated upon wealth and spectacle, and convinced that all criticism emerged from coordinated conspiracies against them. Entire courts reportedly devolved into paranoid echo chambers orbiting increasingly unstable narcissistic monarchs who carried ornate copper maces during public appearances.

One surviving account from a palace servant describes an emperor spending nearly three uninterrupted hours listening to the mace praise him while both openly wept over how unfairly “misunderstood” they were. By the end of the year, the empire had collapsed into riots, executions, and financial ruin while the ruler insisted publicly that the nation had “never been stronger.”

Kelwyn once remarked that the weapon’s greatest horror lies not in its magic, but in how little magic it ultimately requires. Civilization has always struggled against individuals who mistake self-importance for destiny. The mace merely accelerates a corruption already waiting patiently inside certain hearts.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, dominate person, geas/quest, bestow curse, creator must be lawful evil; Cost 66,000 gp + 5,280 XP + the preserved tongue of a tyrant who died unrepentant, a ceremonial crown stolen from a disgraced ruler, and the willingly collected filth of one hundred narcissists

Kelwyn’s Notes

There exist artifacts whose evil emerges from understandable impulses twisted beyond mercy. One may study such objects with caution and perhaps extract some grim philosophical lesson from them. The Sovereign Persuader offers no such dignity. It is not merely cruel. It is vulgar. Obscene. Spiritually unhygienic in ways that extend beyond necromancy or corruption and into something profoundly embarrassing for civilization itself.

The stench alone nearly forced me from the chamber during initial examination. Not the honest odors of death, mind you - I have traveled battlefields, plague pits, and drowned crypts often enough to distinguish mortality from degradation. This mace smells not of tragedy but of indulgence. Urine baked into expensive upholstery. Perfume sprayed desperately over rot. The sour reek of a creature so convinced of its own greatness that it no longer notices its own filth. The odor clings to everything surrounding the artifact as though reality itself wishes to warn observers away from it.

And yet the true horror begins when it speaks.

I had anticipated cunning. Ancient malevolence often possesses a dreadful elegance. Instead I encountered an artifact of astonishing stupidity paired with bottomless confidence. The mace babbles endlessly about its own brilliance while demonstrating the intellectual depth of spoiled aristocracy arguing with kitchen servants. It misunderstands history, philosophy, economics, warfare, etiquette, theology, and basic conversational rhythm with equal enthusiasm. Every correction becomes persecution. Every disagreement becomes conspiracy. Every failure becomes somebody else’s fault. Listening to it for prolonged periods produces the distinct sensation that one’s soul is developing mold.

What unsettled me most was not the mace itself, however, but the realization that there are people who would adore it.

There are souls within every civilization who secretly long to be told that selfishness is virtue, that empathy is weakness, and that all criticism emerges from jealousy rather than consequence. The Sovereign Persuader does not create these desires from nothing. It simply gives them permission to bloom openly. The artifact functions less like a weapon and more like a mirror held before the most pathetic instincts of intelligent life. Those who embrace it are not transformed into monsters against their will. Rather, they are informed - constantly, loudly, and idiotically - that their worst impulses are signs of greatness.

I confess openly that I despise this mace. Not academically. Not philosophically. Personally.

There are cursed relics I fear. Others I pity. A rare few I even respect despite their horrors. The Sovereign Persuader inspires only revulsion. It embodies every damp, swollen vanity that civilizations must drag behind themselves like chains through history. One cannot reason with it because it mistakes volume for wisdom. One cannot educate it because it believes itself already omniscient. One cannot shame it because shame requires self-awareness, and the artifact abandoned such burdens long ago.

Should you encounter an individual who speaks exactly as the mace speaks, remove yourself from their company immediately. If they are carrying the weapon, flee. If they are not carrying the weapon, matters are likely far worse.