Viper's Katana (Patreon)

Weapon (longsword), rare (requires attunement)

This menacing curved blade is detailed with hundreds of metallic scales and has a serpentine hilt. When you hit a creature with an attack using this magic weapon, that creature takes an extra 1d6 poison damage. This weapon has the finesse property.

Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with this weapon, you can choose to deal no damage to it. You make this decision after determining that the attack hits, but before rolling the damage for it. Instead, that creature must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned until the end of its next turn. If the target was surprised, it has disadvantage on this saving throw. When the poison ends, the creature takes 2d8 piercing damage and 2d6 poison damage, as if a great serpent had suddenly struck it. Once a creature has been poisoned in this way, it automatically succeeds on its saving throw against this property for the next 24 hours.

A hooded man left the milling crowd and approached the noble, slipping past the bored guards with well-practiced steps. A hint of metallic green flashed as he drew a blade and plunged it into the chest of the noble without a sound.

Wordlessly, the noble looked down at his robes, which remained seemingly untouched. He knew the blade had pierced him—he'd seen it—but there wasn't any sign of a wound. Eyes wide with fear, he spun around to see the shimmer of green as the blade was sheathed once more: its owner dissolving into the crowd of people on the street from whence he came.

As he began to stammer out a command to his entourage, agony forced him to his knees. He watched in horror as two pools of red bled through his finery. He looked at his hands as the light faded from his eyes, seeing only that sickly green as the poison overtook his veins.