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By Ashavan Doyon
By Kyle Hunter

A goblin commander lurks in the shadows of the dungeon, a ruthless warrior ready to destroy the PCs. There’s only one problem. When the characters take his +1 longsword from his cold, dead hands, the bard (whose player wrote ten pages of character history) will want to use bardic knowledge to figure out what the sword does.

Sometimes a +1 longsword is just a +1 longsword. Players understand that. On the other hand, a truly evil hero deserves a truly epic weapon. It’s worthwhile to come up with a story behind the treasure, especially if your players enjoy learning about the history of your campaign world. A player may not appreciate the generic +1 short sword, but may feel well rewarded by Blackknife, the legendary blade of the famous halfling assassin Eskir the Short. Items with history are a good way to reward players, and can also lead to further adventures. Perhaps Blackknife’s counterpart Adder Fang is out there, waiting to be found.

Six legendary weapons are included here, each with a brief history. Sprinkle them within treasure hoards or give them to powerful NPCs. Following each weapon is a list of possible game equivalent weapons, ranging from relatively mundane to extremely powerful. Following each description are some suggested Knowledge check DCs that allow the PCs to learn this information.

The Broken Blade

This sword, sundered in battle ages past, resurfaces every few decades. The Broken Blade is utterly useless as a weapon in battle, but the purpose of its enchantments is said to go far beyond simple combat. Among other abilities, the Broken Blade is said to allow its wielder to disguise his appearance and magically ward off blows. Furthermore, each of the four ruby gemstones on the sword’s hilt is rumored to have additional properties. Every so often, usually following the demise of a wielder who never shared the secret of the weapon’s power, the sword is discarded once more, to be found decades later rotting in a dungeon or in the waste heap of an otyugh. Bardic knowledge DC 25.

Suggested game equivalent: The sword itself, while useless as a weapon, gives the wearer the benefit of a luckstone. Treat each of the four ruby gemstones as the equivalent of a minor ring of spell storing.

Dewdrop

The sword of the elven adventurer Illarian, Dewdrop features prominently in elven lore. Learned elven sages say that Illarian married a great wizard who enchanted Dewdrop with spells so powerful that few could safely wield it. Even they cannot say what the enchantments upon Dewdrop may have been. The elven nations have searched for centuries for the weapon, but there is no reliable description of it. Dewdrop remains a symbol of the might, power, and elegance of the elves, and the elven nobility often claims ownership of this mythical weapon as their birthright. Some say that Dewdrop carries markings that the wise might use to identify it, should it be found. Bardic knowledge DC 25.

Suggested game equivalents: +3 scimitar, +1 merciful short sword, +2 defending bastard sword.

Larenworth’s Edge

Larenworth led the armies of an ancient empire now lost in antiquity. Although a worthy and competent soldier, Larenworth made some poor choices. Early in his career he allied himself with a young king who later became one of the most hated tyrants of the age. Larenworth’s blade, the mystic Edge, became a symbol of terror throughout the world. He ended his life in the service of the tyrant, and his famed sword disappeared upon his death.

A blade of pitch black etched with golden runes, Edge was rumored to cut through solid stone with ease. Knowledge (history) DC 15, bardic knowledge DC 20.

Suggested game equivalents: +1 longsword, +2 keen longsword, +4 mighty cleaving vorpal longsword.

Magedeath

Even within learned communities, most sages doubt that this blade ever existed. Some say Magedeath is not a weapon at all, but an illness that attacks those with arcane spellcasting abilities. With such an ephemeral body of knowledge surrounding it, the only certain thing about Magedeath is that nothing is certain. Reliable sources claim that this weapon has been used to devastating effect against the mage king of Alandar, itself a city-state that none are sure actually existed. The reports supporting Magedeath’s existence say that it protects its wielder from even the most deadly magical attacks. Bardic knowledge DC 25.

Suggested game equivalents: +2 longsword, +1 speed longsword, masterwork longsword (functions as though the bearer wears spell resistance armor when wielded).

Rolandir’s Revenge

The archmage Rolandir served the armies of his king loyally for over 30 years, rising from an obscure wizard serving alongside the troops to one of the most trusted advisers to the king. In time, others serving the king came to hate Rolandir, and their whispered voices in the ears of power had him exiled. Rolandir responded secretly, with gifts of power. Masking his identity, he provided each of those responsible for his exile with a potent magic weapon whose arcane might bore with it a terrifying curse.

The curse of the blades was simple and elegant. Any place the wielder considered “home” became anathema to them. Cursed with a multitude of ailments while they lingered, they were forced to abandon their homes. Wherever they went, the curse pursued them, for any place they settled down only renewed its power. The advisers, unable to free themselves from Rolandir’s Revenge, were driven into abysmal wandering existences. Rolandir and the advisers are long since dust, but Rolandir’s Revenge continues to inflict itself upon all who find the accursed blades. Knowledge (history) DC 20, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) DC 15, bardic knowledge DC 20.

Suggested game equivalents: +3 icy burst longsword, cursed (requirement: bearer suffers 1d4 Con damage a day when within 10 miles of “home”), +1 vorpal longsword, cursed (sword functions normally, but possessor is afflicted as though disobeying an unfulfilled geas requirement if within 50 miles of “home”).

Silverfire

Also known as the Blade of Light and Fire, Silverfire has been handed down from one champion of light to another, until it was lost 50 years ago. The mage Elibrith created the silver longsword to aid his brother Brion in a feud against a wererat incursion. Brion died in his life-long fight, but the war was carried on by a succession of heroes who had lost family members to the curse of lycanthropy. Over the centuries the sword came to symbolize the fight against evil, and few, even among the wise, remember its original purpose. Silverfire is an easily recognized blade of silver that glows with blue eldritch flame. Rumor suggests that evil humanoid races may now hold the sword. Knowledge (history) DC 15, bardic knowledge DC 20.

Suggested game equivalents: Masterwork silver longsword, +2 silver shapeshanger bane longsword.