Final Stand
1d6P·Martial·Sword·One-handed
Runes +3, greater striking
The origins of this +3 greater striking rapier are shrouded in mystery, but it earned its name in the hands of an unknown hero who used it to singlehandedly defend a remote Nirmathi village from a vicious gang of bandits, shrugging off dozens of blows that would have felled any other mortal. Only when all of the bandits had been dispatched or driven off did the noble warrior finally succumb to their injuries.
While wielding Final Stand , if you take damage that would reduce you to 0 Hit Points but not immediately kill you, attempt a DC 11 flat. If you succeed, you avoid being knocked out and remain at 1 Hit Point instead. For the remainder of the encounter, you can't regain Hit Points in any way, though you can be stabilized if you gain the dying condition. If you're still conscious and there are no nearby enemies that you can perceive, you immediately drop to 0 Hit Points and are dying 1. If you have any other abilities that would allow you to remain at 1 Hit Point when you would be reduced to 0 Hit Points (such as Orc Ferocity), you must use those abilities before you can benefit from Final Stand's ability.
Destruction If the wielder of Final Stand surrenders to their enemies while any of their allies are still standing, the blade weakens and the DC of the flat check permanently increases by 2. Final Stand shatters into hundreds of pieces the moment the DC of the flat check is ever higher than 20.
Traits
Items with this trait are artifacts. These magic items can't be crafted by normal means, and they can't be damaged by normal means. Artifacts are always rare or unique.
On a critical hit, the weapon adds a weapon damage die of the listed size. Roll this after doubling the weapon's damage. This increases to two dice if the weapon has a greater striking rune and three dice if the weapon has a major striking rune. For instance, a rapier with a greater striking rune deals 2d8 extra piercing damage on a critical hit. An ability that changes the size of the weapon's normal damage dice doesn't change the size of its deadly die.
You can use this weapon to Disarm with the Athletics skill even if you don't have a free hand. This uses the weapon's reach (if different from your own) and adds the weapon's item bonus to attack rolls (if any) as an item bonus to the Athletics check. If you critically fail a check to Disarm using the weapon, you can drop the weapon to take the effects of a failure instead of a critical failure. On a critical success, you still need a free hand if you want to take the item.
This magic comes from the divine tradition, drawing power from deities or similar sources. Anything with this trait is magical. A creature with this trait is primarily constituted of or has a strong connection to divine magic.
You can use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on attack rolls using this melee weapon. You still use your Strength modifier when calculating damage.
Something with the magical trait is imbued with magical energies not tied to a specific tradition of magic. Some items or effects are closely tied to a particular tradition of magic. In these cases, the item has the arcane, divine, occult, or primal trait instead of the magical trait. Any of these traits indicate that the item is magical.
The target is made off-balance by your attack, becoming off-guard until the start of your next turn.