Night’s Shadow appears to be a medium length staff with veins of a hard silvery metal and capped at each end by the same. It has along its length three separate grips, one in the middle and two placed halfway along the shaft toward either end. In this form it is considered a quarterstaff for purposes of damage and use as a melee weapon. Once a thread is tied to Night’s Shadow it begins to show its alternate form, that of a powerful magical bow.

Maximum Threads: 2
Spell Defense: 24

Thread Ranks

Rank 1 Cost: 200
Key Knowledge: The wielder must know that the bow is named Night’s Shadow.
Effect: The act of weaving a thread to Night’s Shadow actually constructs the mystical bowstring out of moonbeams. From this point on Night’s Shadow will bend at the wielder’s will to form a bow of exceeding quality. The weapon now functions as an Elven Warbow as well as a melee weapon causing STR+3 damage.

Rank 2 Cost: 300
Effect: Weaving this thread grants the wielder low-light vision as well as increasing the damage done by the weapon to STR+6 as a bow and STR+4 in melee.

Rank 3 Cost: 500
Key Knowledge: The wielder must know the name of the creator of the weapon, a fair skinned immortal Elf named Glamdring Shadowdancer.
Effect: Each week the wielder may charge the bow with a number of Shadow Arrows equal to their perception step plus their thread rank attached to Night’s Shadow up to a maximum of 40. The ritual must be done at night and Archers may add their half magic step to this number. A Shadow Arrow may be used in place of a normal arrow at any time doing normal damage and reducing the number of Shadow Arrows stored by one. After impact Shadow Arrows dissolve into the darkness from which they are spawned.

Rank 4 Cost: 800
Effect: Night’s Shadow now does STR+8 damage as a bow and STR+5 as a melee weapon. Its range steps are increased to 60/300/450.

Rank 5 Cost: 1300
Deed: Glamring Shadowdancer contacted a spirit of a slain Archer to help him infuse his bow with great power. To perform this deed the wielder must find something of import to a deceased Archer’s life and use it to contact the spirit. Contacting this spirit takes a lengthy ritual that must be performed at night. The wielder must convince the deceased Archer to infuse the bow with their cold dark spirit. This may not be an easy task depending upon who the wielder contacts. Night’s Shadow itself is considered an artifact of import for Glamring Shadowdancer himself. This deed is worth 1300 legend points in addition to any gained from accomplishing any of the peculiar tasks that a spirit of a deceased Archer may require.
Effect: At this rank Night’s Shadow becomes infused with the hidden powers of shadow. Any attack made with Night’s Shadow reduces the success level required for an armor defeating hit by one.

Rank 6 Cost: 2100
Effect: The wielder of Night’s Shadow may borrow from the cloaking powers of the night to merge with their own shadow for a short time. For the cost of 2 points of strain the wielder may merge with their shadow, becoming a two dimensional being for a maximum of thread rank rounds, incapable of initiating or being harmed by purely physical attacks. Attacks which target spell defense and/or mystic armor may still affect the wielder dependent upon their special effect and the ruling of the gamemaster. While in shadow form the wielder may move upon any surface as if they were a shadow at a rate up to their unmodified combat movement. Also due to their shadowy form those in this state are harder to detect, requiring a good success to notice them in well lit circumstances, and an excellent success in poorer lighting conditions.

Rank 7 Cost: 3400
Deed: Glamring Shadowdancer died in the service of a great dragon, defending its lair. To perform this deed the wielder must aid a dragon in the defense of its lair using Night’s Shadow. The deed must involve a real danger to the wielder and must be something that the dragon would find troublesome or dangerous to deal with on their own. This deed is worth 3400 legend points on top of any earned for actions taken in the defense.
Effect: The wielder of Night’s Shadow may store up to thread rank points of karma within the bow. Spending a point of karma from the bow requires the expenditure of 1 point of strain per point of karma used and does not count as the wielder’s karma expenditure for the round. Strain from this ability is taken after the action is completed.