Items · Melee Weapons · Non-Magical
The Deathbringer
A mythic sword thats only power is legend.
Full Item Description
The Deathbringer is a longsword, about five feet long, the pommel, hilt, and crosspiece using up about a foot of that. The blade is full tang with a blood groove along the length of the finely sharpened blade. The crosspiece is designed with a basket hand guard, and inscribed with various heroic images. A dragon slayer, knight in shining armor, saving the damsel in distress,etc.The hilt is a piece of cherry wood, with a slot cut into it for the tang, and wrapped in worn leather.The pommel is set with a small chunk of rose quartz, roughly round, and about half an inch in diameter. Overall, the Deathbringer is a finely polished,well balanced blade of ingenuous craftsmanship.
History
The Deathbringer, like all great swords, was forged long ago. As the story goes, a blacksmith by the name of Charles Freet entered a contest to create a fine weapon. The contest was sponsored by a band of adventurers, in the hopes that they would be able to get something really good. The rules of the contest were simple, whoever could craft a fair weapon in the least amount of time, won. For the three days given, Charles worked furiously at his small forge. But, on the day that the contest was to take place, he was there. In his arms, Charles carried a long bundle wrapped in a purple cloth. Reverently, Charles placed the blade before the judges.
When he unwrapped the Deathbringer, everyone gasped at its splendor. Charles quickly won first prize, and the gold that went with it. the sword, as per contest guidelines, was handed over to the adventurers.
For years the Deathbringer traveled around the world, in the hands of one hero or another. As it went, its fame constantly grew, and a strong sense of power was said to emanate from the sword. Throughout several years, the rumors of the sword's power began to become convoluted, and even more widespread. It has gotten to the point that, today, anyone that has heard the tales will most likely cower at the sight of the Deathbringer.
Magic/Cursed Properties
Absolutely none. Numerous and varying powers have been attributed to the blade, but none of them are actually true. As stated above, most intelligent creatures, that have heard the story, will cower in fear before the wielder of the Deathbringer. Also, owning such a famous sword is seen to be a sign of great power and standing, giving certain benefits within most social circles. Although not magical, the Deathbringer is very well balanced, and facilitates easy use.
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Also in
Codex hubs that gather this piece with similar work.
- Interesting Weapons- Non-Magic Michael Jotne Slayer
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Links to this article 1
- Interesting Weapons- Non-Magic Michael Jotne Slayer linked by MoonHunter
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Hmmm, yet its a perfectly functional sword. Good item. It's the ol' "its power comes from perception" routine. I've always liked those types of weapons. Its basic, but good.
Add some spaces between headers and text.
Ok, I'll say it again. Great to see you posting, Colonel! :)
Thank goodness it is nonmagical and has absolutely no powers. :) The story built up predictably but the final nail hit with it being just normal made the submission worth every word.
I like this submission.
Apart from the nearly unbelieveable timeline for a sword (3 days?) this is a good simple submission. Nicely done!
The short amount of time is to, somewhat overly, portray Charles' abilities.
Well, it was a requirement of the contest. I am surprised he would have any competition from anything other then the equivalent of machetes..
Now if the contest duration was the first to provide an acceptable blade... then 3 days would do as you intend.
Updated: Adjusted a few things.
Very nice bait-and-switch. I'd love to put it in the hands of a villain and watch my heroes cower from his blow, hahaha.
By definition, isn't every weapon a "deathbringer"?
(Good idea.)
The somewhat cliche'd name was given as sort of a joke on my part. It fits perfectly with the supposed sword, but the reality is just not the same.
A finely crafted blade with expert metal work. I would assume that the Smith made other weapons of fine make. Thus , would could have another fine smith NPC as defined in Swords. Why does it always have to be swords? such as LLorryn of The Singing Steel or Nial Ironspirit.
I like weapons of repute with minimal to no magic. In Runebearer ( www.runebearer.com / http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~tpope/bostonia/frameset.html and a shout out to Chris Magoun who is a member here), weapons gain in power as their stories/ legends grow and wielders learn more of the item's history.
However spellish magic is not required. It is all about the reputation here. And that can be the greatest magic of all. Added to Interesting Weapons- Non-Magic While it is not a "class of weapons" as normally is the case for that submission, it is clearly appropriate.
This weapon, even if you don't use it directly, serves as a great example for your own world. It shows the power of reputation.
Silly Moon, forgot to vote after that huge response.
Very Nice-4/5
This is the kind of submission we enjoy, Drackler. I look forward to more like this one.