Warriors have it so easy. It’s always “slice off” this and “decapitate” that. All the while, scholars of the arcane arts are having to sit through the using bat feces to fill the air with the putrescent stench of burning flesh. Sure, some people might say turning a foe into a headless blood fountain is more traumatic, but how can a wizard know unless she gets the opportunity to experience the action first hand? A vorpal blade might only say “snicker-snack,” but with vorpal words who knows what a clean-cut death might sound like?
Tome of Vorpal Words
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement by a wizard)
This white metal-bound tome consists of pristine pages emblazoned with fine runes of gold and silver in the margins. When spells are inscribed in this tome, the runes become marginalia – providing insight and commentary. After a spell has been added, the ink appears metallic – regardless of what ink was used to scribe the spell.
If you can attune to this item, you can use it as a spellbook and an arcane focus. You gain a +3 bonus to spell attack and spell damage rolls made while holding the tome. In addition, after you complete a long rest where you prepare spells from this tome, you may choose for your spells prepared from this spell book to ignore resistance to one of the following energy types until you next prepare spells from this spell book: acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, poison, necrotic, or thunder.
When you make a spell attack against a creature that has at least one head while holding this tome and roll a 20 on the spell attack roll, you sever one of the creature’s heads. The creature dies if it can’t survive without the lost head. A creature is immune to this effect if it is immune to the spell’s energy type, doesn’t have or need a head, has legendary actions, or the DM decides that the creature is too big for its head to be cut off with this spell. Such a creature instead takes an extra 6d8 damage of the spell’s energy type from the hit.