Ammunition of the Freeshooter - Inspired by German Folklore

[clavis123]

The German folktale of the “Freischütz” or Freeshooter, has inspired both an opera by Weber, and a musical by Tom Waits,William S. Burroughs, and Robert Wilson.

Ammunition of the Freeshooter
Artifact

Ammunition of the Freeshooter can be found as arrows, bullets, throwing knives, or any other kind of single use artillery. Whatever the form, there will always be seven pieces of Ammunition, and all will look identical. Six of them will unerringly hit and instantly kill whatever they are aimed at, requiring neither a to-hit or damage roll. The seventh piece of Ammunition, however, is under the complete control of Evil. When it is used it will automatically strike and kill either the user, or someone dear to them (equal chances for either). If the Ammunition targets a loved one, it can travel half way around the world to kill them.

To simulate the Ammunition, the Player should be given seven playing cards, one of which is the Ace of Spades. Every time a piece of Ammunition is used, the Player has to draw one of the cards. If the card drawn is not the Ace of Spades, the shot is not cursed, and the card is discarded. If the Ace of Spades is drawn, the Player's character has used the cursed seventh shot. Once the cursed shot is used, any remaining Ammunition disappears.

Ammunition of the Freeshooter is made by, or under the direction of, the Craft Devils. It is often provided to the foolish and desperate by the Pact Devils, who will demand the petitioner's soul in exchange for the “gift”.

It is not possible to mark the Ammunition in any way, and no magic can indicate which piece of Ammunition in the group is the cursed one. A Wish can be used to keep the next shot from being the cursed one, but if the cursed seventh shot is the only one left, a Wish will not change its nature. Naturally, Remove Curse is completely useless against Ammunition of the Freeshooter, but the caster will always think the spell has worked. The Devil that provides the Ammunition may actually encourage the Ammunition's owner to attempt to remove its curse, for the sadistic pleasure of laughing at the owner when they nonetheless suffer the consequences of the seventh shot.

[Lurker]

Again, nice work!

[MormonYoYoMan]

Absolutely diabolical and rife with story possibilities!