Appearance: The City of Angradhat is known for two things, imposing stonework and mercenaries. The Sword of Angradhat is known for one thing, spreading fear and doom through the ranks of the soldiers and militias that it is drawn against. The sword is a basic cruciform sword with a black haft and crossgaurd and a fairly thick heavy single edged blade.
Benefit: The main power of the sword is its ability Bane a group designated by the bearer of the sword. To be used, the bearer of the Sword of Angradhat sweeps the sword in front of him in a theatric flourish, and pronounces woe and doom upon the foes to be fought. For the duration of the battle, the forces of the designated foe suffer a -1 penalty to all of their dice checks, representing the sudden wave of doubt and despair projected by the sword.
Drawback: The sword is not without cost, the bearer of the sword must remain visible for the effect to work. He cannot wave the sword about and retire to a tent in safety. So long as he stands and fights, the power remains. If he is defeated in single combat, the effects are instantly broken, same if he is disarmed in combat. As a limitation, the power of the sword can only be invoked in one battle, or once a day for battles lasting more than one day.
Lore: The Sword of Angradhat is strongly tied to the local festival of Saint Audt. Audt was a holy man who was devoted to Terat, the Goddess of War and promoted the sanctity of combat, and decried the increasingly common practice of militias and levies being fielded in massive destructive wars, rather than in limited combats between smaller groups of elite warriors. This stance lead to increasing friction between Audt's chapter of the Goddess of War, and with the increasingly progressive and modern minded leaders of the city. There would be no fewer than 11 revolts, rebellions, and major civil disturbances based around this conflict of interest. Taking sides against the Goddess of War and her chosen has long been proven to be a fools game, and as such the council of lords governing Angradhat were eventually toppled and the city was lead by an interrim council of men appointed by the head priest of Terat, and eventually a governing council of mercenary captains was established. The Sword of Angradhat was forged to commemorate the event, and was blessed by the devoted of the Goddess of War. It is a potent tool to be used by a small group of warriors when faced by larger groups of inferior peasant militias, goblin mobs, and other numerical based superiority tactics. Faced by vastly superior forces, the enemy factions are forced to make periodic morale checks, with the negative bane penalty from the sword, many such groups will break and run rather than face an almost certain death.
Twist: Once per battle, the bearer gets a True Strike +20 attack bonus
In association with Johnn Four, and all the fine folks subscribed to his Roleplaying Tips Weekly mailing list, we bring you our second collaborative Quest!
Here's the required stat block template to use for your entries:
* Awesome Name
* Appearance
* Benefit
* Drawback
* Lore
* Twist
For an awesome description and guide to these stat blocks, check out Johnn's post describing it.
There will be three sets of *random* prize draws: Nov 7, Nov 21 and Dec 5 -- XP awards per normal as well!)
All entries submitted before each date will be eligible for each random draw. So enter early and often.
Thanks to Gator Games for their prize sponsorship!
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? Responses (6)
Now that is a useful weapon.
Pretty cool. Very nice item with well-placed minor magic abilities, but much larger potential for social/diplomatic encounters. Good job.
Nice item to promote collectivism.
As magic swords go, this one is nicely balanced, and has great potential to inspire theatrics and roleplaying.
Very straightforward, but so usable.
Okay sword all-around and how this sword is to be used to invoke the Bane ability creates nice imageries.
