Flesh Gnawer

This heavy, two-handed war club is over five feet long. It is carved from a single piece of dense yellowish wood. The haft of the weapon is wrapped with rough and scaly green hide. The business end of the club is thicker and rounded, with heavy studs of solid black obsidian arranged in spiraling lines all along its surface. Each stud is carved with the image of a gape-jawed, fanged demon head surrounded by a tangle of wiry tentacles. Flesh Gnawer radiates Epic combat and animation magic, along with a faint aura of evil.

Despite it's wooden construction, Flesh Gnawer is practically unbreakable. It requires Great strength to wield effectively however. Anyone with lesser strength suffers a one rank accuracy penalty and can only swing the weapon every other round. A blow struck by this weapon inflicts Great damage.

Each time a successful blow is struck with Flesh Gnawer 1d4 of the obsidian studs animate and sink their teeth into the target, each becoming a tiny demonic being that clings to its victim with barbed tendrils as it gnaws and chews its way inward. Each tiny Gnawer inflicts Fair damage per round so long as they remain embedded in living flesh. Gnawers can be attacked and destroyed with melee attacks or spell damage. They have Good toughness and armor and Superb resistance to elemental damage. A Great test of dispelling magic directed at the victim will destroy all attached Gnawers. They can also be ripped free and thrown to the ground, where they fall inert and turn to black dust after one round, though this inflicts a Fair wound on their victim.

Flesh Gnawer has 100 studs fitted to its surface, which vanish when they give birth to a demonic Gnawer. The weapon regenerates 2d6 studs each day.