Houndbane Light Crossbow

Aura Moderate Transmutation CL 8th
Slot —; Price 18,335 gp; Weight 4 lb.

DESCRIPTION

The Houndbane Light Crossbow is a finely balanced +1 light crossbow whose dark walnut stock is carved with images of fleeing wolves beneath a waning moon. Its steel limbs are etched with tiny runes that seem almost to shimmer when aimed at creatures of the canine line. Though outwardly unremarkable, hunters of dangerous beasts quickly learn that the weapon carries an enchantment born of generations spent battling ravenous packs, infernal hounds and cursed shapeshifters.

Whenever a bolt fired from a Houndbane Light Crossbow successfully strikes a creature of canine nature, it deals an additional 2d6 points of damage. This extra damage is not multiplied on a successful critical hit.

For the purposes of this enchantment, canine creatures include, but are not limited to, dogs, riding dogs, wolves, dire wolves, worgs, blink dogs, winter wolves, hell hounds, yeth hounds, barghests in either form and lycanthropes whose animal form is canine (such as werewolves, werejackals and weredogs) while in animal or hybrid form. The Dungeon Master is the final authority on whether a creature qualifies as canine for this effect.

The additional damage stacks normally with the benefits of special ammunition, such as silver or cold iron bolts, whenever those materials would also affect the target.

CONSTRUCTION

Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, bane;
Cost 9,167 gp, 5 sp + 733 XP.

LORE

The first Houndbane Light Crossbows were crafted by isolated villages whose borders lay against deep forests where wolves were only the least of their worries. As generations passed, those forests became home to worg tribes, infernal hunting packs and cursed men who surrendered themselves to the moon. Rather than enchant a weapon to destroy all monsters equally, the village artificers concentrated their efforts upon the predators that stalked their homes year after year.

Many professional monster hunters consider the weapon a mark of grim experience. Unlike grand enchanted swords carried by celebrated heroes, the Houndbane Light Crossbow is often found in the hands of scouts, trappers, bounty hunters and caravan guards who understand that survival depends upon striking first. Veterans frequently carry silver bolts alongside ordinary ammunition, allowing the crossbow to remain effective against both natural beasts and supernatural foes.

Legends persist of a forgotten order known as the Brotherhood of the Broken Fang, whose members swore never to hunt ordinary wolves, reserving their weapons only for creatures twisted by evil, infernal influence or unnatural curses. According to the oldest surviving journals, every Houndbane Light Crossbow they forged bore the name of a village destroyed before its creation, ensuring that each weapon served as both a tool of vengeance and a memorial to those who had fallen.

Sadly, some of these weapons have been used against innocent animals that have done no harm, such as blink dogs, pets and even puppies. Using such a weapon against such creatures is the mark of a truly innocent individual, and the DM should make note of this behavior.

KELWYN'S NOTES

Hatred is an unreliable craftsman. Those who forge a weapon solely to indulge vengeance eventually discover that their anger dulls long before the steel does. Yet purpose is another matter entirely. A weapon built to defend the innocent carries a different sort of weight, even when its purpose is terribly specific.

The Houndbane Light Crossbow was never intended for common hunting. Its earliest makers sought only to protect isolated villages from werewolves, worgs, hell hounds and the many other canine horrors that prey upon civilized folk. Against such monsters, the weapon has more than earned its reputation.

As with any finely crafted instrument, however, its purpose has not always remained in honorable hands. I have encountered more than one evil ranger who delighted in slaughtering ordinary dogs for sport or malice, carrying one of these crossbows as though it were a badge of accomplishment rather than shame. Such people mistake cruelty for strength, never realizing that a loyal hound possesses more honor than they shall ever know.

Blink dogs deserve separate mention. They are neither wicked nor deserving of persecution. Their inclusion within the enchantment stems from their unmistakably canine nature, not from any moral failing. I would strongly caution any owner of this crossbow against treating every eligible target as an enemy. Wisdom should always guide the hand that holds enchanted steel.

The greatest strength of the Houndbane Light Crossbow is not the additional harm it inflicts. Rather, it lies in the confidence it grants a frightened traveler who hears howling beyond the firelight. Sometimes courage comes not from believing oneself invincible, but from knowing that one prepared carefully for the danger most likely to arrive.