So, someone suggested an idea for art of swords throughout the month of September. I'm well aware that this is way late, but still going to try for this. For those who want to see the original Twitter post I saw this on, and you can view the original post here. The first prompt is for a crystal sword, and this can easily be done in tabletop.
Firstly, a crystal sword cannot be forged, not can it be filed to a razor sharp edge due to its nature as a crystal. Many different materials can be made into a crystal, but it needs to be grown into a crystalline structure, which takes time and a fair amount of magic. Once grown, you can (very carefully) shape part of the sword into an integrated handle and go to town.
Now, reality says that you may not even be able to get a swing off, let alone still have more than a handle after the blow strikes your target due to the shearing factors involved when making such an attack. That's why weapons are made out of hard, yet flexible material. Wood is durable and flexible, but not hard enough to keep an edge. Diamond, by contrast, is unbelievably hard and can be wicked sharp, but due to its rigid crystalline structure, would shear at a solid enough impact if it was weaponized. Regardless, diamond still makes for a good candidate as a crystal sword, and since this has magic involved in the creation of said weapon, we can improve the flexibility factor in our favor.
As the weapon is harder than steel (diamond wheels are used in industrial manufacturing to grind metals, and is the only thing hard enough to grind a diamond, after all)that means we can have a better edge for much longer than steel, and we can reflect this on the dice. The easiest way to do so is to step up the damage dice to reflect this. You can still do a minimum damage, but the maximum damage can improve. Mass dictates the change is marginal, but your damage potential is still higher, so I consider this a wash.
Both Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder both declare a longsword as 1d8 damage when used in one hand. The longsword also gains a stepped up damage dice in D&D 5e and in Pathfinder gains more damage when using both hands based on your Strength score. With the Crystal Sword, the damage dice would be 1d10 (5e 1d12 both hands) with a keen edge, and Pathfinder can allow double your Strength bonus as opposed to only half. A keen edge allows for deeper cuts and makes for a more powerful critical hit at x4, with the massive drawback of causing the blade to break and become unusable.
Most warriors wouldn't dare consider using such a blade due to its brittle nature save as a clutch backup, especially in battlefield situations. However, as mentioned before, magic is used to craft the weapon. As such, it is effective against incorporeal targets, like ghosts and specters, and due to their insubstantial presence, don't cause the blade to break if a critical blow is delivered. Such blades would be highly prized amongst occult hunters in their duties. However, regardless of the target, you don't want to screw up the strike against your target, lest you risk breaking the blade against the ground, or any other hard and unforgiving surface you fight near.
Not every sword can receive a crystallization form. For example, longswords and shortswords can be made using crystal, as could stout blades like a falchion, but the rapier is too thin, and greatswords are too large before they crumble under their own weight. Axe blades receive brutal treatment even before they are used, and as such cannot be made without shattering during construction. Crystal growers are known to experiment with other sword types to obtain "perfection", but they also have massive piles of broken drek to show their failures.
If you have any other thoughts as to how this can be advanced, feel free to let me know. Nothing is perfect, but I freely open up my writings to critiques to improve.
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