Sabledrake Magazine

May, 2002

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Mystic Weapons Of Renown

Copyright © 2002 By Derek Bessette

Note: These weapons all have histories based in the World of Greyhawk fantasy setting for AD&D 1st or 2nd Edition. Of course, a resourceful Dungeon Master will find a way to fit anything into a campaign! Also, italic type is information generally known, and can be given to players. The rest is for the DM's eyes only -- the players must search it out.

No weapon is employed more than the sword.  It is a weapon of consummate skill, and capable of being a work of art, when made by a gifted swordsmith or weapon-maker.  A magical sword is among the most highly prized of treasures for a warrior.  Therefore, what could be more priceless than one of the famous swords of the lands? Through careful gleaning of ancient diaries and scrolls, and the trading of information with my fellow sages, I have gathered much information on several of the swords that have attained legendary status.

 Aldebranche, Elder Sage, Mage's Guild Of Greyhawk

The Weapons

Erestir  --  "Soul-Seeker"

Erestir was originally brought to Oerik by a warlord from another plane much like our own.  The enscriptions along the blade of this strange gold-mithril alloyed broadsword are unreadable except through magical means, and even then, the words do not make any sense.  The grip of the weapon is some dull brown metal that is never slippery, and the hilts are shaped like reaching hands (or perhaps claws or paws).  The pommel is a star sapphire of nearly two inches in diameter, irremovable from the weapon.  The gem seems to pulse, glowing whenever it communicates with its user, for it is highly intelligent.  How it was forged, when, and where it is now are unknown.  What is known is its prime power.  Whenever the wielder hits an opponent, he may will the sword to attempt to absorb the opponent into the sword itself!  From the various eyewitness reports I've studied, the sword does not kill or devour these persons, but sends them to some strange plane or dimension. Considering I've only read of two individuals returning from the 'sword dimension', I must assume that the plane is detrimental to the health of anyone there.

Erestir has an intelligence and ego of 17, and is neutrally aligned.  It is +3 to hit, and causes 2-8+3 damage.  It can create light as any magic sword, speaks elvish and three other languages (not native to the campaign area -- think some up, or leave them unintelligible), has telepathy (its preferred means of contact with its wielder), reads languages, including the ability to teach any of its four languages to its wielder, and can teleport without error once a day, up to 750 pounds, with a 1 segment activation time.

Erestir's prime power is the ability to displace.  Upon its blade, running down from the hilts, is the phrase "To Go Beyond".  If an opponent is hit, and then fails a saving throw vs death magic at -4, the wielder may opt to displace the victim, sending him into a plane known by its inhabitants as the "Sword Dimension".  It is a dark place, lit in perpetual twilight, although there is no sun or moons in the starless, overcast sky.  The terrain consists of low rolling hills, covered in heath on the high and moors in the low areas.  The plane is small, a square of land roughly eighty miles on a side, but anyone traveling to the edge of one side crosses to the other.  A single city is within the demi-plane, resting at the intersection of the plane's four corners, called Ushgall by those who live there.  It is a place of subdued anarchy.  There is no leader of the walled city, nor any city guard.  Any attacking the city must contend with its inhabitants, who join together to defend it, for the inhabitants are those who have been trapped by Erestir.

Those who come to the plane (only by being struck by the sword) tend to pass through moods of confusion, anger, then finally acceptance, and settle either in the city (and its many taverns), or in the countryside, which is dangerous for those not allied to one of the roving bands of trapped persons.  Time seems not to pass in the plane, and no aging occurs.  Food and water are not necessary, though some is grown and sold to the city, along with ale and wine; one of the few joys in the place is imbibing.  The taverns are the most important places in the demi-plane, for this is where those who still have hope gather, discussing the possible magics behind the plane, hypothesize on how to escape it, and trade tales of how they ended up on the wrong end of Erestir. (I hope to relay this dimension in a later article)

Nilfok  --  "The Slayer"

Few swords evoke such terror as Nilfok, the Slayer.  The forging of it was done centuries ago by the combined forces of Nerull the Reaper, god of death; Kaliss Iph'et, the infamous grandmaster of assassins; and Doro Hilnfal, the cavalier-queen of the erstwhile land of Lorus.  They created a weapon so ghastly that Nerull was said to have smiled at its wicked birth.  Regardless, it has come to our world, and brought much sorrow.

Nilfok is a dull-grey colored kris, the length of a standard longsword, with very spartan features.  Its artistic value is negligible, for it was made for death and suffering.  Few who have held it have owned it for longer than a month, if even a day.  It seems unconcerned with whom it slays, even its wielder.  Many warriors, from infamous to unknown, have used it, only to end up dead by it.  Its whereabouts were once easily tracked by following the trail of destruction it left.  Seventeen years ago it disappeared, and it is likely somewhere in the dungeons of the sprawling Underdark.

Nilfok is a neutral evil sword with an intelligence of 18 and an ego of 31, with +5 to hit and doing 2-7+5 damage.  Its special purpose is to Slay; anything and everything in a nihilistic fervor.  It can read languages, maps, and magic writings, speaks all evil alignment tongues plus common, red dragon, daemon, and minotaur.  Any strike of more than 4 over the necessary 'to hit' roll will critically hit the opponent, severing a limb, artery, or head.  Opponents over level 4 will gain a saving throw vs. death magic against this effect.  Every opponent hit must also save vs. poison, for Nilfok constantly exudes a hot, alcohol-like venom that causes weakness (-2 to strength, constitution, and dexterity for each hit; lasts until cured).

Nilfok's most vile power is to create undead once a week, as a cleric at the level of the wielder.  An unfortunate side effect (and one Nilfok may 'forget' to tell its owner) is that for every hit dice of undead created, the wielder loses 3 hit points permanently.  If the wielder is slain in this way, they become a wight.

Nilfok will attempt to control a person the moment they lay hands on its clammy, blood-red grips.  In pursuit of its special purpose, it will use a controlled wielder according to their power.  A low-level (1-3) being will be forced to immediately begin killing anything in the vicinity, much like a sudden berserker rage.  A medium (4-7) level being can expect to be coerced into searching out a more powerful owner, while murdering surreptitiously in the surrounding territory.  A strong being, if controlled, will be directed towards raiding large population centers, or large gathering places, such as temples, colosseums, parade grounds, etc., regardless of alignment or distance.  If the being is the leader of military forces (a captain, lord, king, etc.) these will be put into action to cause the most mayhem and death.  Note that the sword does not control these followers, only the wielder.  Henchmen may notice something strange with their master or mistress...

For every day the Slayer goes without slaying, it loses +1 to both hit probability and damage.  If it reaches 0 in these bonuses, it will immediately seek to kill its owner, usually by drenching the owner in its poison while being held or when least expected.  Nilfok can levitate and move at 1" per round when 'unowned', so as to facilitate finding a new owner as soon as possible.

Known to very few is the dark secret behind the creation of this diabolical sword.  Nerull captured the souls of Kaliss and Doro and dweomered them into the sword, along with another, darker, brooding spirit of evil.  If Nilfok is ever destroyed, the three will break loose, to confront any in the area, then fight amongst themselves or flee.

The only way to destroy Nilfok is to take it to the supreme temple of Nerull, deep within a mountain range, and shatter the blade against the bloodstone altar with a hammer of thunderbolts.The hammer will also be destroyed, of course.  That is, if the characters can even reach the temple through the miles of deadly dungeons, and then battle its way to the Sanctum Most Foul, surviving hordes of fanatical clerics and unnatural guards.  And then, Nerull himself may notice...

Kashlax  --  "The Cleaver", "Fletchet Of The Gods"

No sword has such a fervid following as Kashlax, due in most part to its homeland.  Of all the great and renowned magic swords, Kashlax has the most well-known history.  It was forged by the gods of the northern barbarians for their use, and they made it expressly known to their worshippers (through shaman) that it would be bestowed upon their greatest warrior.  The first owner, Thardin Foe-Render, successfully repulsed a horde of hobgoblins with the sword, saving his homeland, the kingdom of the Ice Barbarians.  Since that time, Kashlax has passed from chieftain to chieftain, hero to hero, king to king.  However, during the tremendous battle between the combined barbarian tribes and the adventurers Zelligar and Rogahn, the blade was lost.  It has not appeared since, for some twenty years.

Note:  Although the Cleaver is magical, barbarians are not adverse to using it; quite the contrary!  As a weapon sent from their gods, it is every warrior's desire to obtain it.  If a non-barbarian uses its special power, there is a 25% chance that the barbarian pantheon will notice.  If so, they will send a planetar to attack the non-barbarian if opposed to their views, take the sword if of neutral disposition, or proclaim the character a champion if of similar views.  This entails a quest for some benefit of barbarian culture, and if the character survives, he or she will be treated as a great hero by barbarians from then on.  Of course, the champion must relinquish the sword eventually to a worthy barbarian.

Kashlax is a large two-handed sword made of purest mithril, with snow sabretooth tusks forming the hilts.  The sword is +5 to hit and causes 3-18+5 damage.  It is quite heavy despite its enchantments, requiring an 18/01 strength or greater to wield it.  Kashlax is not itself aware or intelligent, but it conveys +1 intelligence and wisdom to any barbarian who owns it (subject to racial, but not class limitations), in addition to +2 charisma and +1 comeliness.

Kashlax not only causes severe damage, but also acts as a sword of sharpness.  Furthermore, any barbarian who strikes with a perfect 20 will cleave the victim (size M or S) -- split him/her/it in two from head to toe!  Other than causing instant death, this phenomenon will increase the morale of any followers/troops by 5%.  If the morale of any barbarian group exceeds 100%, the group will go into a fanatical berserk attack, adding 2 to its attack and fighting to the death.  Thus, the tide of a battle could be turned by this huge weapon.

Any non-barbarian entering combat with Kashlax must save vs. spells at -4 or go into a berserk attack (-2 A.C.) against any enemies, ceasing only upon exhaustion, death, or all enemies having fled.

Fairelor  --  “The Starsword”, “The Celestial Blade”

Undoubtedly the most visually striking sword known, Fairelor is quite a mysterious blade.  It was likely created by one of the more artistic deities.  Little is known of its properties, powers, or purpose.  The blade appears to made of a piece of the night sky, stars, nebulas, and all, and when the blade is moved, the heavens within it swing about as if changing perspective, showing a different portion of the night sky.  Note that this is not a reflection; the stars within the sword are not the constellations of our world!  One of the few powers attributable to the sword is its projection of multicolored rays of light that vary in effect.

Fairelor does much travelling itself, as it can levitate and fly of its own accord, and it has a great intellect for an animate object.  It is known to pass between worlds and planes, studying cultures and geographies.  All in all, Fairelor seems less like a weapon, and more like a great, ancient sage.

This most unusual of swords is only +1 to hit and 3-9 damage, but it acts as a +6 weapon for purposes of striking magical or otherworldly monsters.  The entire sword, blade, crosspiece, handle, pommel, and all, is one smooth substance that feels vaguely cool to the touch.  It indeed appears to be a slice of the night sky, jet-black and star-filled.  When swung, it makes a sound as of wind upon lonely hilltops.  It has a 19 intelligence, an ego of 28, and an alignment of neutral good (or neutral if you prefer).  Fairelor does not speak, but communicates with any intelligent being by telepathy.  It can detect the general alignment of a group or place within a 60’ radius, and detect magic (weak to great) in a 30’ radius.  The sword gives its wielder total sustenance -- no need for food, water, or air -- as long as the sword is held.  This includes harsh environments like the elemental planes, but not magical cold, fire, or the like.  It can’t save a character from a fireball or an ice storm!  Fairelor also reads languages, learning new ones in two weeks of study (stick it in range of some books, in other words, but it already knows thousands of languages), and it can read magic and maps.  A scabbard is unnecessary with Fairelor, because it will adhere to any wielder’s back or hip.  If it has any confidence in its wielder, it will give that person the option of reforming its shape into that of a spear, battleaxe, horseman’s flail, or staff, thereby allowing any class to use it.  It will still do the same base amount of damage, though.  Fairelor can also Plane Travel, as often as once an hour, but this only includes itself and its wielder.  Fairelor can only travel to a plane either it or the character has been to before.

The primary offensive ability of Fairelor is the Cosmic Ray This power is nearly identical to the spell prismatic spray, but it is much wider in scope. The ray can be used once a day, and it affects an area of 20 square feet before the sword.  Twelve separate colors within the ray each have a different effect  Roll 1d6 to see how many rays strike an individual within the target area (or roll for all victims), then roll 1d12 to see which colors.  Victims save versus magic at -4 (that is, -20%).

Fairelor will only allow use of this power in a life-threatening circumstance, and never for display or entertainment.  Moreover, if Fairelor’s ego is sufficient to override the character wielding it, it will choose the time to use its Cosmic Ray.

Fairelor was created by Celestian (or any other sky/cosmos deity you prefer), less as a weapon, and more as a collector of information.  Celestian knew that the best discoverers are adventurers.  Fairelor’s purpose is collection of knowledge; it will seek to influence its wielder to explore new worlds, seek out new civilizations, to go boldly where no one has gone before, etc.  It does not stay with any one person for long, and it will seek out a new wielder by the merits of courage, curiosity, drive, etc.  Consider the longest the sword will stay with any character to be a few months.  The sword travels at 240 feet a round when flying, with a maneuverability class of ‘A’.  It will not attack when flying, and cannot be ordered to do so -- if it is in spear shape, it can be thrown, though.

Fairelor reports back to Celestian once a century.  The sword has a homing instinct and can find Celestian wherever he is.  If the sword is used in a particularly efficient and useful way (that is, gaining much new information), Celestian may (40% chance) seek out the character and reward him, her, or it with a Mantle Of Celestian (as per Unearthed Arcana). Seeing as the sword must first report back to Celestian, it may be up to 100 years before the character gets the reward!