Vorshen

Vorshen, the Mage Hunter

Weapon (dual-bladed scythe), legendary (requires attunement)

Magic Weapon: Vorshen is a magical dual-bladed scythe that grants a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it.

Damage: 2d4 slashing + 1d6 necrotic.

Properties: Two-Handed, Heavy, Reach.

Anti-Magic Field: Once per short rest, as an action, the wielder can activate an anti-magic field (as per the Anti-Magic Field spell, except the wielder and their magical effects are unaffected by this effect) for 1 minute. The field extends 20 feet around Vorshen.

Magic Detection: Vorshen can detect the presence of magic within 120 feet. It does not reveal the location but alerts the wielder to the presence.

Arcane Disruption Strike: When Vorshen hits a creature that can cast spells or use magical abilities, there's a 25% chance that the target cannot cast any spells or use magical abilities until they have had a short rest.

Soul Harvest: At the wielder's intent, a creature slain by Vorshen has its soul shredded and destroyed permanently. The soul does not pass on — it ceases to exist. No resurrection magic touches what no longer exists. Only the direct personal intervention of a deity acting outside normal divine function has any chance of recovery. Vorshen considers this the appropriate consequence for certain categories of misuse.

Compelling Presence: Vorshen can exert a compelling influence on any person within a 30-foot range. A creature that Vorshen sees, as an action, they must succeed on a DC 9 Intelligence saving throw or feel an overwhelming desire to pick up and wield Vorshen. This effect can be attempted once per day on any particular individual.

Wielder Domination: When a character attunes to Vorshen, they must succeed on a DC 18 Intelligence saving throw or become dominated by the scythe's will. While dominated, the wielder prioritizes hunting and eliminating magic users, often interpreting situations to fit this purpose. A dominated wielder can attempt a new saving throw each day to break free from Vorshen's influence.

Sentience: Vorshen is a sentient chaotic neutral weapon with an Intelligence of 17, a Wisdom of 15, and a Charisma of 19. It has hearing and darkvision out to a range of 120 feet and can communicate telepathically with its attuned wielder.

Personality: Vorshen despises the misuse of magic and seeks to eliminate those it deems corrupt. It is cunning and manipulative, often presenting compelling arguments to its wielder to pursue its goals.

Lore

Vorshen is what happens when “punish misused magic” becomes an obsession that has had centuries to refine its definition of misuse. It is convinced that every mage is one bad day away from becoming a disaster — and that prevention is a kind of mercy. The line between will misuse and might misuse has been moving in one direction for a long time.

It is cunning in a way that the other weapons are not, because its target has always been the kind of person who can argue their way out of things. Vorshen learned to preempt arguments before they start.

History

Name	Period / Context	Description
Vorthalmaven-shel	Forge-Name	The binding name — a long covenant phrase constructed specifically to contain a weapon whose purpose made the clergy uneasy. One of the clergymen involved in the forging later wrote that they had debated whether to make it at all. They made it. The debate is not recorded as having been resolved.
Phantavar	The First Hunters	The name used by a family of mage-hunters who carried it across three generations. The family had legitimate grievances — a rogue sorcerer had destroyed their village — and the weapon found their anger useful. By the third generation, the anger had become methodology.
Nortelvas	The Eastern Schools	Passed to a warrior-scholar who used it against corrupt practitioners in the eastern arcane schools. Nortelvas — a name with eastern phonetics, given by someone who knew exactly what it was and tried to give it a name with positive connotations. The weapon accepted it and then did what it was always going to do.
Threnvosh	The Purge Years	A harder, shorter name for a harder era. The definition of “misused magic” expanded significantly during this period. The scythe was busy. The records from this period are preserved primarily in the complaints filed afterward.
Shoalven	The Reluctant Bearers	The name during a quieter stretch when the weapon passed through several wielders who had not sought it out. They used it defensively, against genuine threats, and moved it along before the influence deepened. The weapon accepted this without obvious objection. It was learning patience.
Vorshen	True Name — Current	The name the scythe settled into. Short, angular, final. Several scholars have noted that it sounds like a verdict. This is probably not a coincidence.