Gauntlets of Carnage & Wrath (Artifact)

Long ago, in ages now forgotten, a demon warrior whose name has been lost to time was tasked by the angels to rid the world of evil and chaos. His weapon was a pair of blessed gauntlets, bestowed upon him by a dying angel whom he had stood with in battle. This warrior's ultimate goal was to destroy the demon lords of the abyss and free the people from the evils that were infected upon their souls by these terrible beasts. Later in his years, while battling a nascent demon lord, he found that his time had caught up with him and the creature was beyond his power to destroy. However, using the last remnants of his life force he was able to trap the demon within the angel's gauntlets, trapping its soul at the cost of his own life.

The demon lord's taint was found too powerful for even these holiest of relics though. Over the ages, the metal has grown black with rot and the glimmering diamonds have turned blood red. Fortunately, these now wretched artifacts have been kept apart and hidden from the world. If these two halves were ever to be brought together and donned, the cursed creature will once again take hold of the unfortunate person's soul in the attempt to claw his way to the top of the abyss.

Each gauntlet is made of a deep black adamantine with five red stones embedded into the back. Each finger ends in a hideously curved claw that tears the flesh of beasts. Each palm has an ancient rune etched into it that glows faintly once the gauntlets are brought together. They act as normal gauntlets if worn separately.

Requirements
To successfully wield to Gauntlets of Carnage & Wrath to their fullest potential, a character must meet the following requirements:
Feats: Improved Unarmed Strike
Skills: Intimidate 4 ranks
Alignment: Within one step of Lawful Evil

Weapon Level	Minimum Wielder Level	Ability
1	---	+1 spiked gauntlets
2	4	Damage increases to 1d8
3	6	Death Strike
4	8	+2 spiked gauntlets
5	10	Damage increases to 2d6
6	12	+3 spiked gauntlets
7	14	Enrage
8	16	+4 spiked gauntlet
9	18	Damage increases to 2d8
10	20	+5 spiked gauntlets

Simple Light melee weapon
Critical x2
Slashing
Damage 1d4
Weight 5 lb
Cost Priceless Artifact


Death Strike (Su): At 3rd weapon level, each time a creature is reduced to -1 hit points or less, that creature is automatically treated as if being touched by a death knell spell (Will DC 20), at which point the body of the target is destroyed and its soul transferred into one of the stones inlaid into the gauntlets, causing it to glow a bright red. Unlike the spell though, each soul destroyed in this fashion is stored within a stone upon the gauntlets, to a maximum of 10.

Enrage (Su): At 7th weapon level, as a swift action the wielder of the gauntlets may absorb one of the stored souls, accessing the effects of the Death Strike. This effect lasts for 4 rounds, plus an additional round for each glowing stone. At the end of the enrage, the wielder becomes fatigued for 1 round per glowing stone. When the wearer activates this ability, he must make a Will save (DC 15 + 1 per glowing stone) or become overcome with rage, attacking the nearest creature until the affects end and becomes exhausted rather than fatigued.