In honor of Swordtober, every Friday we’re showcasing one of the powerful magic swords from our upcoming module series “The Chromatic Blades”. Each blade contains the trapped soul of an ancient chromatic dragon.
The Viper’s Kris
Weapon (shortsword), legendary (requires attunement)
The green chromatic blade has serpent heads on the crosspiece and a curving double-edged blade that resembles a snake tail. It contains the soul of Sarinoxian, an ancient Green Dragon.
You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.
Poison Blade. You can use a bonus action to cause thick, green poison to coat the blade. The poison remains for 1 minute. Any creature struck by the coated blade takes an additional 1d6+3 poison damage. That creature must also succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned until the end of its next turn. The Viper’s Kris can be used this way 3 times each day.
While attuned to the sword and holding it, you have resistance to poison damage.
The Viper’s Kris can also cast Poison Spray at 5th level (2d12 damage), Stinking Cloud at 3rd level, and Cloudkill at 5th level (5d8 damage) each once per day.
Proficiency with a shortsword allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
Background
The five Chromatic Blades were created by Livi Tombledink after her home was devastated by Tiamat. The gnome artificer forged the powerful weapons with the help of several magic users including drow matron Maricosa Fiett and the ancient gold dragon Augeris the Broken.
Tombledink enlisted a party of adventurers to help her trap five ancient chromatic dragons within the magic swords. Fueled by the captive dragons within, the Chromatic Blades became legendary tools in the fight against the evil forces of Tiamat.
The green Chromatic Blade was stolen by a yuan-ti priestess who called it “The Viper’s Kris”. The powerful weapon helped her rise to power as the Viper Queen of Iradon. The Viper’s Kris is hidden somewhere in the Temple of the Viper Queen.
Art by Nirut Chamsuwan
Subscribe for more new magic items, spells, and homebrew content for Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition.