Honey Axes

The most well-known of the bearfolk’s magical creations are the powerful honey axes. Bearfolk legend tells that when their people first emerged from the forest, several powerful weapons known as “honey axes” were gifted by the fey to the most accomplished warriors. Whether or not this legend is true, possessing one of these powerful weapons is viewed as a symbol of might. The various chieftains of the bearfolk often go to great lengths to find these magical items, sometimes hiring adventurers to follow leads as to their locations.

Presented here is a list of honey axes known to have existed in Midgard, though many of their locations are currently unknown.

Axe of the Golden Queen

Weapon (greataxe), artifact (requires attunement)

Legend tells of a day long ago when Bengta the Bear Maiden was surveying the reaches of the Northlands. On this journey, she encountered a magnificent queen bee, mortally wounded in battle. Despite the tense relationship between bee and bear, Bengta used her magic to heal the dying creature. As the queen healed, she transformed, and the Maiden was suddenly in the presence of one of the fey animal lords. In return for her kindness, the fey lady promised to forge Bengta a regal weapon to solidify a new camaraderie between bear and bee.

The fey lady kept her word and forged the Axe of the Golden Queen, spun from the honey of her own hive.

The Axe of the Golden Queen possesses a blade that shines like an amber-colored diamond. Its grip is formed of swirling black-and-gold metal, imprinted with a honeycomb pattern. The axe is a magic weapon that grants a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with it. When you hit with an attack using it, the target takes an extra 3d10 radiant damage.

Blessings of the Queen. If you are a good character and attuned to the axe, you gain the following benefits:

• You can’t be charmed or frightened.
• You are immune to poison damage.
• Your Charisma score increases by 2, to a maximum of 24.

Majestic Visage. While you are holding the greataxe, you can use an action to force any creatures you can see within 30 feet of you to make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the target is charmed by you for 1 hour or until you or your companions do anything harmful to it.

Summon Drone. While you are holding the greataxe, you can use an action to summon a spirit that assumes the form of a giant bee. The bee appears within 30 feet of you and has the statistics of a giant bee (see above) but assumes the fey creature type. The bee has an Intelligence of 6, and it has the ability to understand one language of your choice that you speak.

The bee serves you as a mount, both in combat and out, and you have an instinctive bond with it that allows you to fight as a seamless unit. While mounted on the bee, you can make any spell you cast that targets only you also target the bee.

When the bee drops to 0 hit points, it disappears, leaving behind no physical form. You can also dismiss the bee at any time as an action, causing it to disappear. Only one bee can be summoned at any time.

Once this property has been used, it cannot be used again until the following dawn.

Destroying the Axe. The only way to destroy the axe is to feed it to one of the fey animal lords. Only the animal lords possess the strength to digest the honey spun by another of their kind.

Buzzing Blade

Weapon (any sword or axe), rare (requires attunement)

You can use a bonus action to speak this weapon’s command word, causing the blade to emit a loud buzzing sound. The buzzing noise is audible out to 100 feet. While the sword is buzzing, it deals an extra 2d6 thunder damage to any target it hits. The buzzing lasts until you use a bonus action to speak the command word again or until you drop or sheathe the weapon.

Candied Axe

Weapon (battleaxe), very rare (requires attunement)

This battleaxe bears a golden head spun from crystalized honey. Its wooden handle is carved with reliefs of bees. While attuned to the battleaxe, you gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.

Blessing of the Bee. While you are attuned to the candied axe, you have immunity to poison damage and advantage on all Charisma-based skill checks made while interacting with beasts.

Honey Drip. While you are holding the battleaxe, you can use an action to cast the slow spell (save DC 15) from the weapon. This action can’t be used again until the next dawn.

Curse. The axe bears a curse that affects any non-bearfolk that attunes to it. Even if the attunement ends, the curse remains. With each passing day, the creature’s physical appearance and stature become more bearlike. After 7 days, the creature looks like a typical bearfolk, but the creature neither loses its racial traits nor gains the racial traits of a bearfolk. The physical changes wrought by the axe cannot be dispelled, but they can be undone by any effect that removes a curse…

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