SwordTember 10: The Snake Sword

 Snakes and weapons go hand in hand, as far back into antiquity as Moses throwing his staff to the ground and it turning into a deadly viper. (I am something of a Biblical scholar and know that isn't quite how it's described, but stay with me.) Even going back to Adam and Eve, where snakes were featured as being great deceivers being eloquent with their tongues. The Bible also says in Proverbs that words can be used to cut as much as heal.

But I digress. We're talking about swords, not words, but there's only one letter of difference between the two. Perhaps the two could be used together...

I give you the Serpent's Rapier. A weapon truly meant for sinister charlatans and word-wise bards. The rapier is a sword known for its slenderness, but what a lot of people don't realize is the blade is as heavy as a longsword and just as long, to boot. The thing is, you don't notice the weight as much when the blade is in hand due to the balance of the blade. Longsword are tip heavy compared to rapiers. 

So, what makes this blade so unique? Looking at the basket, as the rapier is a basket-hilted weapon, you can plainly see a snake entwining itself around the handle. The blade itself is engraved with a serpent going down half the length of the sword, with the fanged mouth halfway up the sword. 

Of course, such weapons would not be sought without game-altering effects. The weapon has a +1 bonus (as all magic weapons should) and grants a +2 bonus to Persuasion and any other skill that someone would use in order to charm, influence, or otherwise gain the favor of those who listen and understand. 

If you like the idea, let me know what you think.

SwordTember 9: The Floral Sword

 Flowers. Used to say many a thing, and what you say with flowers can speak volumes. Rather than have a simple sword with flowers engraved onto the blade, why not use the flowers to make a cutting statement? For instance, there's a thread on Reddit (shared from Tumblr) about a man walking into a flower shop and slaps forty bucks into the counter, demanding a bouquet that screams "F*** YOU!" in flower.

The store owner builds a bouquet using geraniums for stupidity, foxglove for insincerity, meadowsweet (uselessness), yellow carnations to declare "You disappointed me," and orange lilies for hatred. A bouquet like this is quite beautiful, but filled with immense volumes of loathing. 

By that thinking, why not build a bouquet that says the same thing, using a sword hilt sticking out of the bouquet? This could declare you should run yourself through once the bouquet's purpose has been comprehended. 

Of course, what would stop you from using the flower-etched blade at that point? If anything, you can grab the hilt, draw it from its sheath, and run your enemy through. Leave the blade behind if you're into poetic justice. 

SwordTember 8: The Veined Sword

 There are many directions you can take with this one. Clearly the easy way to do it, thanks to modern metallurgy (or even ancient metallurgy, it's still crucible steel) is to make a Damascus blade. A combination of high-carbon steels, maybe some low-carbon steels, one acid etch later, boom. Veined steel. 

Too easy, and a cop-out for this blog. Let's get necromantic on this one to sweeten the deal, however. This time, I'm taking inspiration from science fiction thanks to the video game franchise Dead Space. Minor spoiler to follow. I'll keep actual story elements out, but if you're getting bent out of shape over mechanics for a franchise that started in 2008, then you need more help than apologies from a weblog writer.

The main enemy in this game is the twisted monster known as the necromorph, named such by the method by which the monster is formed. The necromorph is formed by taking a dead person and recombining their biological structure to be something decidedly more dangerous than what they were during its life. It doesn't matter what your stance is or how you identify (I identify as a heat seeking missile) the motive force will kill you and rip your DNA apart for its purposes. Further, there are creatures that move around to find new corpses to infect, while the baseline form creates more corpses. Pretty gruesome. Guess what the baseline form is called.

I'll save you the time to look it up off site, but the baseline form is called a slasher. (Follow links at your own risk.) To sum up, the slasher's bones quickly recombine to form three foot bone blades sticking out from the monster's palm. As the slasher has little use for much else but the slashing weapon, the fingers limply dangle from what's left of its hand. 

Yes, they are undead. No, a bullet to the brainpan doesn't put them down. The franchise flips the zombie hunt thing on its head and subverts your expectations. Decapitation only makes them slash wildly. Dismemberment, however? That is what it takes to put necromorph down. If the monster no longer has a way to kill you, why continue to exist?

This is what got me to thinking, why not have a necromancer do this exact thing? Weave a spell on a corpse, punch your hand into the nearest hollow cavity, and draw out a sword. For the less-than-adventurous, this will immediately unsettle and cause the bile to rise. Moments like this can give said spellcaster the time he needs to run you through and make more bodies for her "research."

Let's make this into a spell with an associated weapon, shall we?

Spell, Tremaine's Bone Blade, 3rd Level spell. School of necromancy. Components are Verbal, Somatic gestures, and Material  Required material: One recently deceased and undefiled humanoid, within six hours of death, which is defiled upon casting. Casting time: 2 actions. First action to cast the spell, second action to draw the weapon. Duration is as long as the caster wills the blade to exist, no concentration check required. 

The death of the necromancer does not destroy the blade, but renders it effectively useless for any but him. Like the druid's shillelagh spell, the bone blade cannot be passed on to another creature, and the original spell ends if this is cast again. The blade does 1d8 of damage using the spellcaster's ability as opposed to Strength modifiers for damage. On drawing the blade, observers in a 30 foot radius need to make a Constitution save against the spellcaster's save modifier or be sickened for one minute. Pass or fail, adventurers cannot be affected by this again over the next 24 hours. It is quite jarring to watch a man thrust his hand into a corpse's chest and then draws something out. Using a higher level spell slot incurs no further benefit.

And if you think only men are capable of such disgusting and evil acts, you've been quite sheltered and I pray you never know otherwise. Tremaine is a woman's name, and was one nasty customer in the lore of my game world.

SwordTember 7: The Mirror Sword

 Before anyone mentions it, I'm well aware that September is done and dusted. I said it before on this blog, life comes at you pretty fast. That said, I have an easy one for you this time.

No, this isn't a magical item. It's not even a piece of polished metal. It's a purely mundane thing that only requires some glass, oil, and powdered silver. I present to you the mirror sword.

Thanks to modern technology, we have the ability to create flawless-looking mirrors. As the mirror is one-sided, a second mirror to set in the hilt back-to-back with the first would be needed, as well. A mirror on one side, you're also able to check your own makeup in the other, and the razor-sharp edge of glass good for one or two solid cuts.

Doing this using the technology typically seen in Dungeons and Dragons is much harder. Glassmaking wasn't the same level of refinement back during the Middle Ages like it is today. Still, magic is a thing, so making this mirror-finish can still be possible.

The numbers as I see it, however, don't look good. We can make a shortsword out of glass, as a longsword or rapier would be too heavy to support itself without giving out. Plus, the blade will break very easily if it suffers a blunt shock. I'm thinking 1d8 for damage with a very keen edge, granting critical strikes on natural 18, 19, and 20. The keen effect also allows for triple damage, but such a blow will also sunder the weapon. Any target struck such will be bleeding 1d3 at the start of their turn, and while magical healing will stop the bleeding, the glass still needs to be mechanically removed. Failure to do so will result in the victim of a glass "spiking" resume bleeding with physical exertion again. (Physical exertion is any attack, Dashing, or needing to roll any skill checks that involve physical activity.)

Impressive? Well, the flip side of that coin is also an extended fumble range. A natural 1, 2, or 3 on attack will break the blade, no damage to anything. The blade can also be more easily sundered compared to other weapons, and a Disarming Attack, if successful, will destroy the weapon outright. Still, in the hands of a very dangerous Rogue (I'm looking at you, Assassin), this weapon can easily spell death for any target, suspecting or not.