Algorond made his way through life as a horribly unlucky warrior who always managed to bumble his way through battle after battle. He survived long enough to advance to the ranks of General in his army. Upon receiving his promotion, it was discovered he was an incredibly gifted leader of men with a keen sense of strategy. His favorite weapon was the war hammer, and he was never seen without his favorite chunk of steel at his side. Through an unfortunate mishap, probably Algorond’s fault, his stronghold was gutted by a fire. Everyone, except the general, managed to escape the ravages of the fire. No remains were ever found within the citadel, but his hammer survived the conflagration intact.

The hammer was hung on display in the restored citadel, and it was not until many years later when it was taken down for cleaning that its powers were discovered. The servant charged with cleaning the hammer swore he heard Algorand’s nasally voice emananting from the hammer, and an investigation was launched. It was discovered that the deceased general’s spirit was trapped within the hammer, and quite happy to be there.

Anyone wielding the hammer gains bonuses (editor’s note: I’ll leave it to the GM to determine bonuses based on their power level and game system) to strategy, leadership and charisma checks. The downside is that if the hammer is not used in battle, it becomes jealous of other weapons, and will leave the owner for someone more suited to use of the hammer. While the hammer is used in battle, the GM may, at whim, declare that attack and/or damage rolls from the hammer must be rerolled. This is generally done when an exceptional roll is cast, but should not be done too often at risk of forcing the PC to discard the hammer. The hammer does have high bonuses in combat despite the unlucky spirit trapped within the hammer.

To destroy the Hammer of Algorond,  a PC must heat the hammer to white-hot temperatures and then quench the head of a hammer in a glacier. When this action is taken, the hammer will shatter and Algorond’s spirit will be released.