Bolthor's Axe

Bolthor's Axe started out as an average dwarven battleaxe wielded by Bolthor, the dwarven fighter. That changed during a fight against some generic evil monsters or other, when one ( or more) improbable events were called on a critical miss with said axe. The axe flew out of Bolthor's hands and landed several feet away breaking an unidentified half buried item. This in turn caused the apparition of an upset spirit which promptly dissappeard in a flash of blinding light. The perfect obvious recipe for a cursed item if I ever saw one. That didn't stop Bolthor from picking it right up though.

The curse, and related magical effects were:

Low Magic - weapons

This may be what started it, or it may be what intensified it, but ever since 'The Tolkien Campaign' I've had a fondness for low fantasy/ low magic settings. The reason for lowering the amount of magic present was due to the dwindling presence of elves, dwarves and assorted fantasy entities. While 3.5 scales well with the reduction of magic elements, there was still a considerable gap left in terms of gear. Without magic gear, the reward pool is greatly reduced, and players do love their rewards.