Matrota
2017-01-17, 11:34 PM
In a 3.5e campaign that I DM, the players are approaching a point where they are about to uncover one of the "Seven Great Blades," a set of mythical weapons whose origins and previous owners have been lost to time. At the current time, I have only decided on three names, and only have vague ideas for what these weapons should do. To all creative minds out there, might I get some insight?
The man who originally forged these blades is a member of a group of seven individuals, all who have been deeply betrayed and have cast aside their deities. The man who forged these weapons made them to match and compliment the owners.
These blades are known through myth and could likely be considered artifacts, though due to the nature of the group, there are no divine connections. I plan to make them semi-sentient, with "empathy" so the wielder feels urges and sometimes emotions from the item that encourage or discourage certain courses of action. The blades do not need to be swords, they could be anything so long as there is some form of blade involved. The original owners of the blades are as follows:
Shal'Regus, Lord of the Forgotten - Eodar, the Sword of Truth
Shal'Regus was once a human man who wished for nothing more than absolute knowledge. He was a prodigy, and in his pursuit of knowledge, he gained information that the gods were keeping secret. His deity Boccob cursed him to forget what he had learned, forced to turn on his own follower. Eodar is the sword he forged for himself so he would never again suffer the indignation of having precious knowledge stolen away from him.
Shal'Maenum, Lord of Deception - Morius, the Serpent Fang
Shal'Maenum was an Aasimar inquisitor in his past life who worked tirelessly to expose liars and frauds. After uncovering an intricate plot against the king of his realm, Shal'Maenum worked to thwart the effort and ended up being framed and sentenced to death. Nothing he said was acknowledged, for his enemies practically had the entire kingdom in their hands. Shal'Maenum called out to his deity for deliverance, and his deity remained silent. After being risen by Shal'Regus to join the brotherhood, Shal'Maenum vowed that true power lies not in truth, but in absolute dominion through bribery and deception, as he in all his righteousness was made a fool of by villains. Shal'Maenum has done a complete 180 and now works to weave his own plots for the thrill of it. Morius is likely going to be a poisonous dagger, though I'm open to suggestions.
Shal'Auran, Lord of the Arcane - Rakkan, the Lightning Blade
Shal'Auran is a mindflayer who was gifted with the power of sorcery, and was enthralled by the magical powers he held. As he sought to learn more of the arcane arts, he was ridiculed and cast out from his society, forbidden from joining with the elder brain in death. Shal'Auran now seeks to maximize his magical aptitude, and has joined the brotherhood to learn forbidden magic from Shal'Regus, who rules over forgotten knowledge. My current idea for Rakkan is to be a lightning aligned weapon that enhances magical spellcasting, though I don't know what physical form it would take.
Those are the only three I have named. The last four I still need a name for, as well as abilities and physical form.
Shal'Khorizarr, Lord of the Host
Shal'Khorizarr was a griffon who lead a proud life as alongside a party of adventurers until one of the allies they made along the way took interest in him. After deceiving and murdering Shal'Khorizarr's allies, he sold the griffon to bidders for a high price. Shal'Khorizarr, who was once a cherished companion, was nothing more than a prized beast to show off. Breaking free and tearing his captors to shreds, the griffon vowed to overrun civilization with his fellow beasts who had been mistreated. Now a vengeful force of nature, Shal'Khorizarr summons his beastial allies to his side in battle to overwhelm his foes. As a summoner and a beast, I am considering making the "blade" a necklace of claws and teeth that allows Shal'Khorizar's to control more summoned creatures than usual (Which is typically 2x HD)
Shal'Pagaris, Lord of the Unholy
Shal'Pagaris was once an elf favored soul, and took great pleasure in the power he wielded granted to him by his deity. After joining a group of intrepid adventurers, his allies began to stray somewhat from the moral path. Shal'Pagaris ruthlessly murdered them. After murdering them, Shal'Pagaris became curious and decided to dissect his allies to see if he could find the root of their corruption. Disgusted by this act, Shal'Pagaris' god left him and stripped him of his rank as a favored soul. Furious that his god believed him to be immoral, Shal'Pagaris decided that he would cleanse the gods of their sins as well, becoming a Ur-Priest.
Shal'Garuk, Lord of Combat
Shal'Garuk is a minotaur who once followed Kord, thrilled by the concept of combat. Fighting honorably day after day, he was seemingly undefeatable. That is, until he ran into a group of powerful spellcasters. Unable to defend against their chains of spells that constantly diminished his strength, Shal'Garuk was infuriated by their dishonor. After dying filled with unbridled rage, Shal'Garuk was raised by Shal'Regus, who offered to make him a fierce warrior that would ruthlessly punish those who fought like cowards. Shal'Garuk's weapon will obviously be some sort of magebane weapon, and likely a big two-handed weapon he can decimate with using his incredibly high strength score.
And last but not least, Shal'Mortalis, Lord of The Six.
While Shal'Regus is the reason that these individuals came together in the first place, he is incredibly hands-off and rarely interacts with the other six, sometimes seen as a mere acquaintance. Shal'Mortalis is the leader of this organization, a gnome bard who has prestiged into sublime chord, a master of manipulating both music and the battlefield, weaving together beautiful songs that would make gods weep to hear it. While he is skilled in combat, his true strength lies in making his allies unstoppable.
So those are the owners of the blades along with some basic ideas! I'd love some advice on creating these weapons and what their properties should be.
(Edit: Fixed some formatting issues and added more clarity)
The man who originally forged these blades is a member of a group of seven individuals, all who have been deeply betrayed and have cast aside their deities. The man who forged these weapons made them to match and compliment the owners.
These blades are known through myth and could likely be considered artifacts, though due to the nature of the group, there are no divine connections. I plan to make them semi-sentient, with "empathy" so the wielder feels urges and sometimes emotions from the item that encourage or discourage certain courses of action. The blades do not need to be swords, they could be anything so long as there is some form of blade involved. The original owners of the blades are as follows:
Shal'Regus, Lord of the Forgotten - Eodar, the Sword of Truth
Shal'Regus was once a human man who wished for nothing more than absolute knowledge. He was a prodigy, and in his pursuit of knowledge, he gained information that the gods were keeping secret. His deity Boccob cursed him to forget what he had learned, forced to turn on his own follower. Eodar is the sword he forged for himself so he would never again suffer the indignation of having precious knowledge stolen away from him.
Shal'Maenum, Lord of Deception - Morius, the Serpent Fang
Shal'Maenum was an Aasimar inquisitor in his past life who worked tirelessly to expose liars and frauds. After uncovering an intricate plot against the king of his realm, Shal'Maenum worked to thwart the effort and ended up being framed and sentenced to death. Nothing he said was acknowledged, for his enemies practically had the entire kingdom in their hands. Shal'Maenum called out to his deity for deliverance, and his deity remained silent. After being risen by Shal'Regus to join the brotherhood, Shal'Maenum vowed that true power lies not in truth, but in absolute dominion through bribery and deception, as he in all his righteousness was made a fool of by villains. Shal'Maenum has done a complete 180 and now works to weave his own plots for the thrill of it. Morius is likely going to be a poisonous dagger, though I'm open to suggestions.
Shal'Auran, Lord of the Arcane - Rakkan, the Lightning Blade
Shal'Auran is a mindflayer who was gifted with the power of sorcery, and was enthralled by the magical powers he held. As he sought to learn more of the arcane arts, he was ridiculed and cast out from his society, forbidden from joining with the elder brain in death. Shal'Auran now seeks to maximize his magical aptitude, and has joined the brotherhood to learn forbidden magic from Shal'Regus, who rules over forgotten knowledge. My current idea for Rakkan is to be a lightning aligned weapon that enhances magical spellcasting, though I don't know what physical form it would take.
Those are the only three I have named. The last four I still need a name for, as well as abilities and physical form.
Shal'Khorizarr, Lord of the Host
Shal'Khorizarr was a griffon who lead a proud life as alongside a party of adventurers until one of the allies they made along the way took interest in him. After deceiving and murdering Shal'Khorizarr's allies, he sold the griffon to bidders for a high price. Shal'Khorizarr, who was once a cherished companion, was nothing more than a prized beast to show off. Breaking free and tearing his captors to shreds, the griffon vowed to overrun civilization with his fellow beasts who had been mistreated. Now a vengeful force of nature, Shal'Khorizarr summons his beastial allies to his side in battle to overwhelm his foes. As a summoner and a beast, I am considering making the "blade" a necklace of claws and teeth that allows Shal'Khorizar's to control more summoned creatures than usual (Which is typically 2x HD)
Shal'Pagaris, Lord of the Unholy
Shal'Pagaris was once an elf favored soul, and took great pleasure in the power he wielded granted to him by his deity. After joining a group of intrepid adventurers, his allies began to stray somewhat from the moral path. Shal'Pagaris ruthlessly murdered them. After murdering them, Shal'Pagaris became curious and decided to dissect his allies to see if he could find the root of their corruption. Disgusted by this act, Shal'Pagaris' god left him and stripped him of his rank as a favored soul. Furious that his god believed him to be immoral, Shal'Pagaris decided that he would cleanse the gods of their sins as well, becoming a Ur-Priest.
Shal'Garuk, Lord of Combat
Shal'Garuk is a minotaur who once followed Kord, thrilled by the concept of combat. Fighting honorably day after day, he was seemingly undefeatable. That is, until he ran into a group of powerful spellcasters. Unable to defend against their chains of spells that constantly diminished his strength, Shal'Garuk was infuriated by their dishonor. After dying filled with unbridled rage, Shal'Garuk was raised by Shal'Regus, who offered to make him a fierce warrior that would ruthlessly punish those who fought like cowards. Shal'Garuk's weapon will obviously be some sort of magebane weapon, and likely a big two-handed weapon he can decimate with using his incredibly high strength score.
And last but not least, Shal'Mortalis, Lord of The Six.
While Shal'Regus is the reason that these individuals came together in the first place, he is incredibly hands-off and rarely interacts with the other six, sometimes seen as a mere acquaintance. Shal'Mortalis is the leader of this organization, a gnome bard who has prestiged into sublime chord, a master of manipulating both music and the battlefield, weaving together beautiful songs that would make gods weep to hear it. While he is skilled in combat, his true strength lies in making his allies unstoppable.
So those are the owners of the blades along with some basic ideas! I'd love some advice on creating these weapons and what their properties should be.
(Edit: Fixed some formatting issues and added more clarity)