Grudgefire Spade

Sep 15

“It ain’t a metaphor. It’s a shovel. And it hits like a funeral on fire.”

Some weapons are forged. Others are buried. The Grudgefire Spade was once a miner’s tool, passed down from dwarf to dwarf until it ended up in the hands of someone who dug one grave too many. The haft is scorched. The blade glows faint red, like it’s been sittin’ in a forge that never cooled. It don’t just dig—it remembers.

Mike swears he saw a cleric use it to bury a fallen comrade, then take down an ogre with one swing. “There’s no clean earth left on it,” he muttered, “just fire and regret.”

Because sometimes revenge don’t come in a sword—it comes in a shovel.
👉 Plant this in your campaign and let it bloom bloody. Dig through more at the Tavern Armory, or sling dirt our way if you’ve got a tale of yer own.

Grudgefire Spade – Weapon Stats

Weapon Type: Martial Melee Weapon (Versatile, Two-Handed)
Damage: 1d10 bludgeoning + 1d6 fire
Properties: Versatile (1d12 if two-handed), special, magical (requires attunement)
Special: Dig Deep, Burn Bright

Funeral Rite (Charged Strike):
If the wielder buries a creature—ally or enemy—using the spade (takes 10 minutes), they may charge the weapon. For the next hour, the spade deals +1d6 bonus fire damage and ignores resistance to fire.
Ash and Embers (On Hit Effect):
On a successful hit while charged, the target must make a Dex save (DC 14) or gain disadvantage on their next weapon attack as cinders blind and choke them.
Gravedigger’s Resilience:
Once per long rest, if the wielder drops to 0 HP within 5 feet of a corpse they buried with the spade, they instead drop to 1 HP and the spade erupts in flames, forcing all creatures within 10 feet to make a Con save (DC 15) or take 2d10 fire damage.
Cursed – Bound to Burials:
If the wielder goes more than three days without burying a body using the spade, they suffer -1 to all attack rolls until they do. The blade smokes faintly and whispers about “unfinished work.”

GM Notes:

Best for characters with emotional weight or tragic arcs. Use it as a gift from a fallen mentor, or as loot found in a burnt-out battlefield. Adds drama, fire, and symbolism to combat—perfect for campaigns steeped in death, grief, or vengeance. Thematically pairs with:

Put something in the ground, and the Spade’ll dig justice out of it.
👉 Need a weapon that turns grief into fury? The Tavern Armory’s always open. Just don’t let it go too long without dirt on it.