Shadowthorn’s Bane

Weapon (dagger), artifact (requires attunement by a Champion of Kelemvor)

Shadowthorn’s Bane has been gifted to you by Kelemvor along with the title of ‘Kelemvor’s Champion’.

The blade of the dagger is forged from the cosmic fabric of the Negative Energy Plane and has the ability to imprison the soul of any creature who dies from the blade.

The dagger can be wielded as a magic dagger that grants a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. The dagger deals an extra 1d4 necrotic damage on a hit for every soul imprisoned within the blade (to a maximum of 4d4).

Spells. The dagger has 1 charge of Speak with Dead and recharges daily at dawn.

Artifact Properties

Soulbound. The dagger forms a mystical bond with its wielder and the dagger (if summoned within 30ft) will vanish and reappear in the hand of its wielder.

Soulweight. For each soul imprisoned in the blade, the damage of this dagger increases by 1d4 to a maximum of 4d4.

Shadowstep. Once per short rest, as part of your movement, you can separate your shadow from your body. Your shadow can travel through other shadows, dim light and darkness that you can see as if it was invisible. You can then teleport to your shadow. Any attack made immediately after teleporting, and in the same turn, is taken with advantage.

Soulrender. The wielder of this dagger imprisons the soul of any creature who dies from the blade. The soul is temporarily imprisoned in the blade while it awaits Judgement and can only be freed if the soul is still in the blade by a 9th-level dispel magic. Once a soul has been judged and its fate has been determined, it is released and can no longer be freed from the blade. The blade has the capacity to store infinite souls.

Obligation. You are unable to break your attunement with this dagger. While attuned to this weapon, you have disadvantage on attack rolls made with weapons other than this one.

City of Judgement. When completing a long rest your soul is summoned to the City of Judgement in Oinos, the first layer of Hades, where you are required to pass judgement on the souls that have been captured within Shadowthorn’s Bane. Failure to complete this task to the satisfaction of Kelemvor will impose +1 to your level of exhaustion. You will still benefit from all other effects of a Long Rest.

Weapon Mastery

Nick. When you make the extra attack of the Light property, you can make it as part of the Attack action instead of as a Bonus Action. You can make this extra attack only once per turn.

Proficiency with a Dagger allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.

Attunement (Non-Champion)

Any creature besides Kelemvor’s Champion that tries to attune to the blade must make a DC 25 Charisma saving throw.

On a successful save:

Takes 40d6 necrotic damage
If they die: their soul is trapped within the blade to await judgement from Kelemvor
If they survive: they gain all benefits of the blade except City of Judgement, and the true Kelemvor’s Champion knows their exact location on any plane
If Kelemvor’s Champion is dead when someone successfully attunes, that creature obtains the title of Kelemvor’s Champion

On a failed save:

The creature dies and its soul is trapped within the blade to await judgement from Kelemvor

Destruction

Destroying Shadowthorn’s Bane requires:

The soul of the first creature that was judged by the latest Champion of Kelemvor must be retrieved from the plane where the original creature’s deity resides (if no deity, the plane corresponding to its alignment)
Bathe the dagger in the negative energy of that soul
The soul is resurrected in the process
The blade disintegrates
Kelemvor’s Champion is released from service

The First Soul Judged: Jesse Mildspear

The destruction rules require “the soul of the first creature that was judged by the latest Champion of Kelemvor.” That soul is Jesse Mildspear — judged by Lyra during her first long rest as Champion (session 19).

What Lyra learned from Jesse’s judgement:

He loved Reeny. “She was my only friend.”
His father owed debts. “They came after me. I didn’t have a choice.”
He knew about “the end” and “Prime Gerald would tell me what to do.”
His last words: “If you ever see Reeny again, tell him I’m sorry.”

Lyra sent Jesse to be with his family. Kelemvor: “Tough first day on the job.”

The name: “Mildspear” is NOT Lyra’s birth name. Lyra grew up in orphanages and may never have known her real surname. She forged “Mildspear” into a Silverton family registry to claim land deeds. Jesse’s family are the real Mildspears. Kelemvor gave Lyra a member of the family she stole from as her very first judgement.

Current Status: Destroyed

Vecna destroyed Shadowthorn’s Bane. He followed the destruction rules exactly:

Obtained Reeny (who had the dagger) via his ancient contract with Kelemvor
Retrieved Jesse Mildspear’s soul from wherever Lyra had sent him (with his family)
Bathed the dagger in the negative energy of that soul
Jesse was resurrected in the process — he is alive, somewhere
The blade disintegrated
Kelemvor’s Champion was released from service

What Survived the Destruction

The physical dagger is gone. But the ancient contract inside the blade — the one Vecna feared — migrated to Lyra. The Grimoire passage confirms: “When the vessel breaks, the covenant does not. A contract written in death’s ledger cannot be burned, cannot be shattered, cannot be unwritten by mortal or god. It merely moves.”

The contract now lives in Lyra. She IS the weapon.

The Summoning Question

Soulbound says the dagger reappears in the wielder’s hand when summoned within 30ft
But the dagger is destroyed — disintegrated by its own destruction rules
Kaial told Lyra: “You are the weapon”
At the endgame (level 20), Lyra summons the dagger for a killing blow into Vecna’s heart (DM confirmed)
What comes when she calls: the physical dagger, or the contract itself manifested as a weapon?

The Chain of Significance

Jergal (Lord of the End of Everything) wrote the [[Grimoire of Shadows]]
The Grimoire grants Kelemvor’s Communion (direct audience with the God of Death)
Shadowthorn’s Bane was tied to Kelemvor’s Champion and contained an ancient contract
Vecna invoked his contract with Kelemvor — “Deliver unto me the rogue’s shadow, as agreed”
Kelemvor presented [[Princess Reeny]] — Lyra’s friend, not her literal shadow
Vecna destroyed the dagger through Reeny — releasing the Champion from service
The contract migrated to Lyra — she carries it in her soul binding
Vecna believes the contract is spent. He is wrong.

Timeline

Lyra received Shadowthorn’s Bane from Kelemvor — became Kelemvor’s Champion
Lyra had the dagger → lost it during Vecna’s Sanctum encounter (~session 31)
Dagger ended up with Princess Reeny (Vecna’s harbinger)
Vecna destroyed the dagger by its own rules
Contract migrated to Lyra (per Grimoire: “it merely moves”)
Kelemvor told Lyra: “I am going to need that dagger back!” — the dagger no longer exists, but the contract does
Lyra wrote her law in the Grimoire. Kelemvor amended it. Vecna doesn’t know about the amendments.

Why Vecna Wanted It Destroyed

Vecna feared the ancient contract inside the blade. By destroying the dagger, he believed he was destroying the threat. He followed every rule. He was thorough. He was correct — about the dagger.

He was wrong about the contract.

Shadowthorn's Bane