There are many weapons of war and violence throughout the land. Some are easy to find and some have no stories told about them. These three swords are lethal legends and will take much effort to have in hand.
Splicer’s Dream
Frialdana was never the strongest of Thorn’s Adventuring Company, but she was fast, she was agile, and she really did enjoy cutting things. Her captain put her mobility to use on the flanks and gave her permission to roam the battlefields like a deadly ballerina. Her temperament matched her physicality and the young elf was prone to become desperately passionate about all manner of matters. Splicer’s Dream was a gift from the company captain on the occasion of Frialdana completing her fiftieth expedition with the company. The weapon is effectively a giant pair of scissors with blades a metre long. As both the inside and outside edges are sharp it can be used as a slightly awkwardly hilted sword as well as a pair of scissors with opening or closing the blades a bonus action. The blade is actually highly enchanted with reinforcement magics to prevent the pivot from snapping under all the loading it suffers which has the side effect of making the blade keen, increasing the chance of critical hits. It is an exotic weapon to use as a pair of scissors but if a critical hit is confirmed, the wielder can make an additional snip check to do massive damage and perhaps outright remove limbs. Frialdana gleefully used Splicer’s Dream throughout the rest of her adventuring career until she decided to become an actual ballerina. The weapon took the lives of its next six wielders in unpleasant accidents so it is now locked away from everyone’s safety in the armoury of Castle Marlston.
Endleblast’s Everblade
The classic wood scout, Symounde Endleblast was ever aspiring to live up to their “be prepared” motto even when in their mid forties and a highly renowned paladin of the Order of the Shining Sun. Symounde was as solid and dependable as the tower shield they carried and always seemed to have whatever the party might have needed in their huge backpack of many pockets. It was a day of mixed emotions when the Sun Blade that Symounde had wielded since graduation broke to splinters in the final battle against Grave Lord Gacvvaaroutulal. Fortutenaly, amongst the lich’s treasure was a small lump of star metal, but it was only enough to make a small short sword. It was when contemplating the lump and their tool set that Symounde had an idea – what better way to be prepared than to have a sword that could change shape. Endleblast’s Everblade is a simple short sword in its resting form, but with a word of command and a medium willpower test as a move action it could be a dagger, a halberd, a scimater, or even a screwdriver, a hammer, a crowbar, or a spade. The only limits on the shape are that the amount of metal and wood cannot be changed and that the weapon only ever does d5 damage no matter the shape. So daggers are oddly wide and polearms are worryingly floppy. Symounde liked to have the sword change into a spear to surprise enemies who were keeping a distance. The blade is kept in the renowned chapel in the citadel of the Order of the Shining Sun. It rests in a place of honour amongst the weapons of dozens of other paladins who lived long enough to retire to cloisters.
Kierstenkirk
Alzuhm Damet was always one who liked to tinker as much as they talked but they were not one for idle chatting. An orc with a serious disposition, they would spend hours discussing and theorising little improvements that any party they were with could make. They kept a journal filled with after action reports on every battle they had fought in with details almost down to the footsteps. It wasn’t much of a surprise that they built themselves an enchanted sword. Kierstenkirk is a two handed greatsword with a slightly heavy hilt that brings the balance a little too far towards the hands. Normally the blade is made of steel, but with a move action the wielder can activate the runes on the hilt to shift the blade into one of three other forms. When the blade is made of light it illuminates up all around it for three metres and it shines a very visible white circle on to what it is aimed at. This form does no damage but anyone aiming anything at the highlighted target gets a +1 to their rolls. When in sand form, the blade does not cut or piece but instead abrades and damages materials. This reduces the effectiveness of armour, shields, weapons, and mechanisms. When in vine form, the blade can be commanded to fly out ten metres and wrap around a target. On another command it then retracts. Depending on the relative weights and strengths of target and wielder, this will move one to the other or bring both together in the middle. The blade was lost with Alzuhm when Alzuhm stayed behind to hold the doors in the deliberately lost mines of Houdnsal so that the exploration party had time to collapse the tunnels. Only Alzuhm saw what was so dangerous down there it was worth the sacrifice of their life and the location of the mines of Houdnsal has been deliberately lost again.
Image Credits: Arthur’s Sword by Avel-Breizh CC-BY-SA-2.0, Viking Stuff by Hans Splinter CC-BY-ND-2.0