The Avenger
Queen Amber of Vallermoore was distressed by the number of amputations that were nescessary to deal with the crimewave after she came to power. So she ordered her wizards to come up with something to make amputation reversable, whilst retaining some value as a punishment.And so the Avenger was made.
Full Item Description
The Avenger is a three foot long,two-handed claymoore of polished bronze, that, when cleaned for it's task, is so shiny that you can see your face reflected in it.The pommel bears the royal arms of Queen Amber of Vallermoore.
History
After Queen Yocasta was cut down and her depraved & evil rule of terror brought to an end, Queen Amber had the political prisoners set free from their prison-hells. Sadly, the number of political prisoners were greatly exaggerated and so a large number of criminals, some of them very nasty ones, were mistakenly released, and most went back to their old ways.
It was in those dreadful times, when the White Knights were popular instead of a small & hated sect, that emergency laws were brought in which resulted in amputation for theft and violence. Amber was sickened by the site of weeping people being mutilated, and after the fifth victim turned out to be innocent, decided that something had to be done to lessen the penalty since it could not yet be abolished.
And so her court wizards came up with the Avenger.It was as good at any other executioners sword at lopping off limbs but a day after being bound up, the wound healed and fingers began growing from it,a few inches at a time, that were perfectly healthy and useable. Within three days the hand was back, and within a week to ten days the arm had grown back and it was as if it had not been severed.
Time passed and mutilation was no longer needed to maintain law and order, so the Avenger found a new role in the hospitals of Vallermoore City. Limbs that had been seriously broken or gangrenous could now be amputated and within a week the paitent would have his or her limb back as if the wound had never happened.Cripples from far and wide found their slow,painful way to Vallermoore City to regain the use of their limbs.
Magic/Cursed Properties
The Avenger has no bonuses in combat, as it was designed for punishing captured & bound prisoners.Should it be used to cut off a head, then the body would be as dead as if executed with a normal weapon.
The blade should be clean when used to avoid possible complications.
OOC-The GM can use the Avenger either to punish a PC without permenant damage, or to heal a PC's serious wound if need be.
Not Registered Yet? No problem.
Do you want Strolenati super powers? Registering. That's how you get super powers! These are just a couple powers you receive with more to come as you participate.
- Upvote and give XP to encourage useful comments.
- Work on submissions in private or flag them for assistance.
- Earn XP and gain levels that give you more site abilities (super powers).
- You should register. All your friends are doing it!
? Responses (11)
I like the idea, a healing imbued sword though I myself would make one change, if a mortal wound is inflicted on someone with the sword, they can still die. The regeneration should require a living host, so no bodies are going to grow new heads if they are decapitated with the sword. Despite the limb growing back, getting it chopped off in the first place is still going to hurt like who knows what! I would limit how many times this power could be used, perhaps something like once a day, or 3 times a week or something like that to keep it from becoming an arms factory har har!
Updated: I took Scrasamax's suggestion into account.
It is a solid idea with good background materials.
That said, I find that the only other use I can think of for it is to harvest monster components. You keep a monster in stasis and havest it over time for the materials that you can use in alchemy, spells, or magic item creation.
Okay idea though.
As mentioned, there should be a limit on the number of its uses, but that is easy to add. As for the pain, the sick will certainly be drugged, prisoner of course not.
And if you want a plot hook, then imagine what happens if someone steals the sword - likely one of the symbols of the city. A furious hunt could ensue, with all trying to get the sword to gain public acclaim.
There is also no telling of how the swords effect could be misused for ritual magic.
Character would be asked to guide a cripple in that town for healing... who turns to be a very bad guy once healed. Conversely, if the characters have crippled some powerful enemy of theirs, what will they do if they overhear he is already recovering?
A short write-up that is enough to provoke good ideas. Also, an execution tool turned into a healing one is a great idea. I like it, Cheka!
I like it! But I'm still confused how if an arm is chopped off, the fingers come back first, then the hand, then the arm. Shouldnt that be the other way around, or does the shoulder stump sprout wriggling fingers?
What I like about the sword is the many interesting plot hooks that it provokes, as Manfred mentioned. A lot can be done with this blade. Nice concept Cheka!
The stump sprouts fingers-more useful for the owner that way.
They were criminals being punished for a reason? Why should convenience be a consideration? Better they not have use of their fingers until their 'sentance' is up. Teach them dependency on others :)
Oh, and while not exactly mentioned, I dare to say that even missing fingers might be regenerated by the sword's power.
And don't forget to think of the wielder - undoubtly a prestigious position, a master of the sword, that can make a fast and clean cut. The sword would be also regularly blessed in the local temple of (insert religion), possibly presented on parades, and so on.
What I finally like about it, is its use for lower magic campaigns - an excellent example of an 'artifact of the past', that is powerful on its own, but not some +50 sword of all-slaying.
BUMP!
Seeing this, I am in search now for a good freetext name this could belong to... 'Medical'? 'Medicinal', 'Healing' or what? I think we have more of such odd healing items here.
Such an odd item, though logical in its own way. It falls into the problem of being simply too useful - why would they not make dozens of these with such a useful effect? Anyone with mangled limbs due to accident (or otherwise) would gladly deal with the pain to get back a fully functional limb.
I think the simple adjustment of adding 'realistic' regeneration rates - months as opposed to days, as well as losing significant dexterity, agility and strength as your body restore the nerves and brain connections would help balance it - especially for PC use/abuse.