Laughter of the Fallen

Laughter of the Fallen, The Humor of Undeath, Giggling Zombie Knife, The Soul-Rending Joke

Description:
This item appears to be some sort of sacrificial dagger. The handle is made of a dark red wood scored to create a rough grip, and features a pommel of yellowing bone. An uneven blade of razor-sharp obsidian protruding about seven-inches out from the grip almost completes the scene. Inspecting the blade, you can see a dozen or so crude, yet eerily life-like, faces frozen at the pinnacle of a boisterous laugh. You feel yourself impulsively crack a sly grin at the odd sight.

Benefits:
The dagger is quite suitable for combat, despite its odd design. It also provides a boon when used against creatures of undeath. You will find that it never missed or falters because of an undead's natural resistances, such as incorporealness or resistance against certain weapon types. There is also a chance that a struck undead will temporarily burst into a fit of laughter, taking no other actions for the duration.

Drawbacks:
As you use the dagger more and more, eventually every lifeless being, dead or undead, appears to be mocking you. The laughter of all the creatures you have killed begins to cling to your mind and haunt your sanity, slowly driving you mad. You find yourself becoming possessive of the dagger, claiming it is the only thing that can shut up the chuckling corpses. Mutilation of your deceased foes' bodies is not far off. In the end, your friends may need to intervene and find a cure for your insanity, or put you down before someone else does.

Lore:
The dagger is a dark gift from an obscure and cruel entity known as Evisca the Laughing Corpse. Her portfolio of interests includes Death, Undeath, Humor, and Insanity. She teaches her followers to laugh in the face of Death and overcome fear with humor. Because of this, the followers of Evisca are absolutely immune to fear and fight as if they had a death wish, believing they can overcome any foe with an overwhelming offensive.

This dagger is gifted to fledgling cultists as a means of brainwashing. The effects of the dagger, combined with the training drills of the higher priests, create an insane but managable recruit. As an ultimate goal, the Cult of Evisca would like to hear the whole world laugh as one, which they believe would allow Evisca to overthrow whatever other rulers the cosmos currently have.

Breaking the Curse:
To free a soul from the laughing shackles that haunt it, the soul must be removed from its vessel and spiritually cleansed. This can be extremely dangerous and difficult, as it must be performed by priests of a Good nature, yet it requires soul stealing or capturing magic. Each religion has its own cleansing rituals, and the ritual will bind the cleansed soul to their faith. It is not something done lightly, as a soul bound to a faith will be able to invoke the powers of that faith, if only at a basic level this can still be disaterous in the wrong hands.