Natural 7

Ten Magic Blades

Here is a collection of magical swords, daggers, and other bladed weapons written with the Shadowdark RPG in mind. I originally created many of these items for use with D&D 5e, but I find when you convert something to Shadowdark it becomes a bit more adaptable to other games.

Most of these weapons have high bonuses tacked on. If you like the idea of one of them, but don't want to have a +2 or +3 weapon come out yet, feel free to reduce the bonus to whatever is OK for your game. Only one of the weapons has a spell attached to it higher than Tier 2.

You can roll on this list to pick a random blade (d10):

  1. Calsum Reki
  2. The Last Laugh
  3. The Hydra
  4. Life/Death
  5. The Black Rendition
  6. The Bloodspine
  7. Empyrean Gladius
  8. Calean
  9. Harmony
  10. Calisto

Calsum Reki, the Sealing Blade

A dark blade forged from an alloy of gold and silver with a sapphire embedded in the hilt. Within the gemstone, thousands of shifting figures can be seen milling about a pale city. Some are screaming.

Bonus. +3 greatsword.

Benefit. Once per day, when you kill a living creature with a soul, you can seal their soul in the sapphire. At any time, you can release a soul from the sapphire. When you do, you can ask the soul a question that it must answer truthfully to the best of its ability.

Curse. For every two souls you've sealed in the sapphire, the sword occupies an additional inventory slot.

The Last Laugh

Triangle-shaped and hollow, the blade looks more like a spearhead than a sword or dagger. The green inscriptions along the edge of the blade never fade, no matter how much it is sharpened.

Bonus. +2 dagger.

Benefit. You gain the Backstab ability if don't already have it (see Shadowdark RPG Quickstart p. 22), and it deals +1 dice of damage.

Curse. Out of the corner of your eye, you always see someone laughing at you.

Sentience. Chaotic. Telepathy with wielder. Encouraging, jovial, and merciless.

The Hydra

Three-intertwining blades lock together to form a writhing sword. When swung, the blades rattle against each other with a roaring sound.

Bonus. For every 10 creatures slain with this sword, a new blade slithers out of the hilt to join the rest, providing a +1 bonus up to a maximum of +3.

Benefit. Once per day, you can extend the reach of the weapon from Close to Near as the sword blades lash out like the heads of a hydra.

Curse. You take double damage from fire.

Sentience. Chaotic. Telepathy with wielder. Many hissing voices, constantly bickering, hungry.

Life/Death

Two daggers, one straight-edged and silver, the other jagged and iron. Both have closed eyes engraved on their hilts.

Bonus. +2 daggers.

Benefit. You can make a DC 11 Wisdom check to cast Cure Wounds with the silver dagger. When you score a critical hit with the iron dagger, triple your damage dice for the attack instead of doubling them.

Curse. Each day, roll a d6. If the result is even, your Alignment becomes Lawful for the day. If the result is odd, your Alignment becomes Chaotic for the day.

The Black Rendition

A needle of shadow, four-feet from end to end, reflecting light with a distorted, yellow pallor. Some say the weapon was created to copy some greater, more powerful relic of the gods.

Bonus. +3 spear.

Benefit. You can make a DC 14 Intelligence check to cast Fold Space with the spear.

Fold Space. Tier 4, Duration: Instant, Range: Far. One creature you can see within the spell's range is teleported into Close of you.

Curse. When you succeed your check to cast Fold Space, you take damage equal to your level.

The Bloodspine

A massive bone axe with a saw-tooth edge and black veins etched into its surface. You can feel a heartbeat from within the black metal haft.

Bonus. +2 greataxe.

Benefit. For every creature slain with the Bloodspine, it gains 1 charge. You can spend 10 charges to attack all creatures within Close.

Curse. If you ever have more than 10 charges, you must always try to attack the closest creature to you on your turn.

Sentience. Chaotic. Telepathy with wielder. Demonic, greedy.

Empyrean Gladius

Celestial runes run along the white rhomboidal blade from tip to hilt.

Bonus. +3 shortsword.

Benefit. Your first attack against a creature has Advantage and deals +1 dice of damage.

Calean, Assassin of Evil

A golden estoc with a filigree hilt depicting a scorpion chasing a cat around the tree of life.

Bonus. +3 bastard sword.

Benefit. You can make a DC 12 Wisdom check to cast Smite immediately after hitting a creature with the sword.

Curse. When you use the sword to slay a creature, you are assigned a sacred quest that you must complete within one month.

Sentience. Lawful. Vocally communicates from the scorpion filigree in Common. Righteous, passionate, lovestruck.

Harmony, Forged of Three Fates

This longsword sports a damascus pattern of three different metals from the Feywild: one turqoise, one black, and one blue.

Bonus. +1 longsword.

Benefit. You can make a DC 11 Wisdom check to cast Cure Wounds with the sword, or a DC 12 Wisdom check to cast Blind/Deafen, or a DC 11 Intelligence check to cast Charm Person.

Calisto, Sabre of the Silver Duelist

Forged by a master smith and an angel, holy magic runs through the Celestial and Gnomish runes on this dueling rapier.

Bonus. +2 longsword.

Benefit. When you challenge a creature to a duel and they accept, you gain a Luck Token.

Sentience. Neutral. Telepathy with wielder. Whispers, loves dueling.

Final Thoughts

I like converting my old creations to looser, less context-dependent versions of themselves that I could drag-and-drop into other games or single-session adventures. These posts are always fun for me to make, and I hope they help inspire your own creations!

See you next week!

Things on my radar: