#### Codex Bellorum Wondrous item, artifact (requires attunement) --- For centuries, sages believed that the codex bellorum was created by Emperor Cassius I—first of the Five Crusading Emperors—during his pyrrhic campaign against Higara. After suffering a string of crushing losses, Cassius I claimed to have authored a new codex imbued with his observations on the Higaran art of war, and with it he was finally able to defeat the empress, beginning a long chain of events that eventually led to Caelian conquest. No army carrying the codex bellorum has been bested since. But codices are not created from mundane observations. Newly discovered records suggest that Cassius instead merely found the Book of War and passed it off as his own. Other references to the codex imply it was written by a deified figure which must have ruled the world many thousands of years before the Commonwealth even existed. This figure filled the tome with views on war, peace, strategy, foreign policy, and tradecraft, but also ethics, economics, social welfare, and ancient philosophy. Which empire they led to victory is hotly debated, and no other lost book causes more fistfights among historians. The codex bellorum is written in Common. A creature that attunes to the codex bellorum and understands its secrets gains the following abilities. ***Avatar of War.*** As an action, you can assume the form of the godlike Avatar of War, with steel wings and formidable strength. While in this form, you gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed, proficiency with all weapons and armor, and a +10 bonus to weapon attack rolls. To maintain this form, you must sacrifice 1 Hit Die at the end of each of your turns. While in this form, your weapon attacks always deal the maximum possible damage, and you are always considered to be under the effect of the *haste* spell. If you fall unconscious while you are the Avatar of War, you revert to your normal form. If you die while you are the Avatar of War, you explode into a shower of magic weapons, dealing 1d12 + 1 slashing damage per Hit Die you sacrificed while in the form to all creatures within 60 feet of you, and the codex disappears, relocating itself elsewhere in the Mundane World. You revert to your normal form when you use a bonus action to do so or when you have no Hit Dice remaining. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest. ***Falling Crimson Leaves.*** When you successfully make a weapon attack against a creature and the entirety of the space you occupy is at least 5 feet higher in elevation than your target's space, the hit is automatically a critical hit. ***Flow of the River.*** Regardless of initiative, you deploy your units any time during deployment. In addition, all of your units gain the following trait: ***False Blossoms.*** When an opposed unit fails an Attack test against this unit, the opposed unit becomes misled. ***Path of Dying.*** The true warrior considers themself already dead. When you are reduced to 0 hit points, roll 1d4. You remain alive for a number of minutes equal to the result before you fall unconscious and begin dying. Until you fall unconscious or regain hit points, you are immune to all damage. ***The Lost Legion.*** Once per week, you can use your action to summon the Lost Legion, a special unit formed of the ghosts of legendary soldiers. The unit remains under your command for 24 hours, then disappears.  ***Sovereign Commander.*** You always begin battle with maximum Communications, and all units under your command have advantage on Attack, Power, and Command tests. You can command a number of units equal to your proficiency bonus plus three. Additionally, all infantry units under your command gain the following traits: ***Maneuver: Bloody Advance.*** As a reaction to succeeding on an Attack test, make a DC 15 Command test. On a success, the damage dealt by this unit's next Power test is doubled. If this attack breaks an opposed unit, you can automatically use the Follow Up maneuver, and any remaining damage is inflicted on any opposed unit that was immediately behind the broken unit. ***Maneuver: Keep Moving.*** As an action, this unit can move into any empty space. ---