Rusted Rod

The Rusted Rod is a 9-use melee weapon that deals damage equal to its remaining uses: first swing hits for 9, second for 8, down to 1 on the last. Total damage across all uses is 45, but it's heavily front-loaded. Use it aggressively at the start of fights rather than holding it — each turn you don't swing is a swing lost at full value.

Hone restores 1 use and permanently adds +1 damage to the weapon for the rest of the battle, so each Hone cast turns into a 2-point improvement to the next hit. That's one of the few meaningful ways to boost or extend the Rod's value. Without Hone it's a simple countdown weapon — hard-hitting early, trailing off fast.

Ideal opener for frontline brawlers who can guarantee they'll attack every turn from round one. Avoid wasting early charges on already-weakened enemies; deploy against the highest-threat target first when the Rod is at full count. In builds with Hone access, it becomes a long-term carry weapon. In builds without Hone, treat it as a strong early tool that degrades into a backup weapon by mid-fight.