1. Swords of the Valuhur
Reknowned for their valour and horsemanship, the Valuhur were also competent enchanters and workers of iron and steel. The reknowned swords of the Valuhur were commonly used by the Marks, the Valuhur equivalent to the gentry and lesser nobility. The swords themselves were one-handed swords with minimal development of the quillions, with horse motifs being common. A person possessing a Valuhur sword can fight from horseback with the weapon without penalty, while an accomplished rider and warrior will find the weapon to be exceptional.

2. Teven’s Blackhaft Swords
The blademaster Teven made many swords, but the finest the half-elf made were given not to kings and knights, but to a company of forestals and rangers who battled against oppressive nobles and incursions into the forested lands. Each Blackhaft sword is a one-handed sword with a modest blade, but an ornate crossguard and matching tooled leather scabbard. The swords were so named for the wooden handles made of uncommon Black Yew.

3. Avais Feminine Sword
Made in the matriarchial city of Avais, this sword is a good deal lighter than a common longsword, has no crossguard and both the blade and haft of the weapons are both curved and taper to points. In the hands of a woman, these swords are potent weapons that almost dance of their own accord. In the hands of a man, the weapons seem frail and incapable of causing harm.

4. The Blessed Blades of Laenael
Many heroes and would-be-kings traveled to the idyllic hinterlands to find the hidden lake of Laenael, a powerful and eldritch water-goddess. Those who found her grotto and survived her challenges (pure of heart, strong of arm, and resolute in courage) would recieve her blessings on their swords. Swords thus blessed were mighty weapons, being able to penetrate armor with ease, flowing between links in chain, or plates in mail. A blessed blade of Laenael can take almost any shape or size as not just humans and knights sought out the goddess’s blessing.

(Reduce effective value of armor by 50%)

5. Noble Longsword
Nobles of old were expected to lead by force and example, and few weapons worked more in this vein than the Noble Longsword. As a longsword of high quality it is already an excellent weapon, but the real power of the blade is it’s ability to give it’s wielder a greater aura of leadership and the ability to better inspire his own troops and followers. These swords were also intended to be tools, and not decorations, so few have ornamentation and most have knicked and scarred blades.

(Minor to moderate increase to noble or leader’s charisma for purposes of leadership or morale checks)

6. Calaratar’s Greatswords
The bladesmith and blademaster Calaratar believed that with a large enough sword, no shield or armor could provide enough protection. To this end, he created increasingly larger swords, the best being the Greatswords he forged. These swords measure some 48 to 60 inches in length and require greater than average strength to bear into battle. Armed with such a greatsword a warrior can call upon the power of the weapon to perform powerful cleaving attacks, such as splitting a galloping horse in half, shattering a wooden shield, or splitting an orc like a piece of firewood.

7. Glolphmulf’s Brass Swords
The gnomish charlatan wasnt the only tinker and bladesmith to make this type of magical sword, just one of the most successful. A Brass Sword is very obviously a Magic Weapon and as such commands a very hefty price. Unfortunately the Brass Sword’s enchantment serves it poorly in battle as it’s only ability is producing light equivalent to a good torch. Brass swords remain a common magic weapon, and as it is a magic weapon, the swords as a whole are able to inflict damage on foes normally immune to non-magical weapons, such as ghosts.

8. Thrannling Wicked Swords
The Thrannlings were an anomaly that no scholar has yet been able to explain as halflings are known for their jovial nature, love of food and good living. The Thrannlings were instead halflings known for their seething animosity, cutthroat tactics, and their Wicked Swords. A wicked sword is functionally a Short Sword (longsword in a halfling’s hands) with a bone handle and an animal’s fang or claw set as the pommel. A Wicked Sword causes very jagged and blood-gushing wounds and the pommel-fang can also be used as a piercing weapon.

9. Undran’s War-Cleavers
Undran spent many years working with less than optimal materials and had to compensate making blades thicker and heavier so that they were sturdy enough to survive combat. Some years later, he was introduced to steel and he combined the two indeals creating war-cleavers. These swords tend to be short, just a bit larger than short-swords, but inflict damage just like larger longswords. These sorts of blades consistantly deal heavy amounts of damage and suffer for constantly being used and abused in combat.

(A War-cleaver can make two damage checks, and pick the better of the two checks for damage inflicted by the weapon.)

10. Medelmos’ Silvered Swords
Medelmos was not a bladesmith, but he was a great swordmaster who inspired an entire school of swordplay and is considered a great influence on the art of the sword. The half-elf spent many years creating the perfect sword, a thing of symmetry and balance and great beauty. Armed with this knowledge he commissioned bladesmiths to make him swords until he found the perfect one. These blades were of the best craftsmanship, and were an exotic alloy of silver, iron, and a handful of other metals and ingredients most secret. Bearing one of these swords generally marks a character as a master of the blade.

(Minor to moderate increase to wielder’s dexterity and initiative checks, as well as being intimidating)

11. Demon Swords of Emightorm
Crafted by the hands of Emightorm, the bastard offspring of a metal loving demon and a female cultist, a demon sword is a nasty weapon. These swords were created to maim and kill with savage ease, human and demon flesh equally. These tainted blades are favored by warlords and demon hunters for their ability to inflict staggering damage, though most end up either slain by their foes, or just as evil as the foes they sought to conquer. Once a Demon Sword is taken up, it remains with a warrior until his death.

(Inflicts 50% greater damage, but is cursed, the sword cannot be removed from the bearer by less than magical means. If it is removed without magic, the bearer will hunt down the sword, knowing where it is and needing it.)

12. Arms of Night’s Reach
These swords are all ancient made and radiate an almost palpable malevolence, for they were forged and hammered by the cold hands of the undead. These longswords are of excellent make and are almost always adorned with some sort of death motif, black leather wrappings, and silver adornments. Just as a Brass sword creates light, an Arm of Night’s Reach devours it. In the presence of such a drawn blade, candles are snuffed, torches gutter, and magical light is made exhausted and wan. While bieng plunged into darkness is problematic for many races, the undead often have no problem with even absolute darkness.

13. Mosirod’s Rod-Swords
A Rod-Sword is a short sword with exceptional detailing and ornamentation, it is a ceremonial weapon, not intended for the rigours of combat. With mirror sheens, jewel inlays, and other artistic embellishments, it was rather simple to work runes and glyphs of power into the ornamentation. The Rod-Sword is generally enchanted with a single moderate strength spell or several minor ones, such as a Ducal sword that has the power to Command, or a more civilized gentleman’s sword might Cause Fear to ward off hoodlums and Detect Magic to warn of impending sorceries. The name comes from the fact that the sword emulates many basic functions of Magical Rods, as well as the name of one of the most prolific sword and rod makers, Mosirod.

14. Bishop Veskim Sword
Many believe that the sword does not belong in the hands of the clergy, but one Bishop Veskim felt very much differently. He carried a sword through his many years of service and the sword he commissioned for himself became a model for future sword-toting clerics. A Bishop Veskim sword, also known as a Veskim, or just a Bishop’s Sword can be used as a Holy Symbol when presented against a foe, repelling undead and turning ghosts. The sword can also be invoked to provide situational bonuses to banishing extraplanar entities such as ghosts, demons, and such.

15. Raredan Dragon Templar Sword
In the vein of the Brass Sword, the Dragon Templar sword is a more malicious sword with minor enchantment. The crossguard is always ornate, bedecked with dragon motifs, and usually a large red semi-precious jewel in the pommel. When drawn, the sword creates ghost sounds that if used properly can add a situational bonus to intimidation attempts. The majority of these swords are crafted in the city of Rareda by less than honorable craftsmen who like selling the expensive swords to gullible Adventurers-upon-Return.

16. Omsay Scimitar
Omsay scimitars are exceptional weapons that originate from craftsmen deep in the Omsay desert, who work forges tucked away into rock piles, drawing on the heat of sun and earth to forge their iron. The dangers of the Omsay desert arent nomadic raiders and barbarians, but hostile demons of the air and angry elementals of sand, stone, and hulking caricatures of bone. Against these supernatural foes, the scimitar deals full damage, against mundane foes, it only offers minimal improvement over a normal scimitar.

(When used against materialized spirits such elementals or demons, the sword inflicts maximum damage and ignores resistance to anything except magic. Against mundane foes, sword is basically a +1 model.)

17. Wolvanger’s Hand-and-a-Half Swords
Also known as bastard swords, these swords are fairly plain in terms of enchantment, being more accurate and inflicting more damage than common swords. What sets them apart is that they were crafted by the bladesmith Wolvanger after his exile from the northern Kingdoms. He crafted these swords and entrusted them to outlaws, criminals, and rebels who faced off against the king who exiled him. Eventually, carrying a sword with a wolf-motif, Wolvanger’s signature, became a crime in the kingdom and though he did not live to see it, the King himself would eventually be assassinated with one of his swords.

18. The Nameless Swords
It is not known where these blades, short swords with minimal crossgaurds, came from. Invariably they are found embedded point down in the earth, be it soil or stone. It seems that fate and destiny play a role in the Nameless Swords as they are always found by peasant heroes, nameless folk who rise up to protect their homes and their families. These folk tend to be devoted to more martial gods, so many suspect that these swords are semi-divine in nature. Further credence is lended by the fact that once the foe is defeated, Nameless swords tend to become brittle and shatter.

19. Samumechian Demonslayer
Two-handed swords of great size resembling sword-sized leaf spear blades, the Demonslayer swords were created to be intimidating by virtue of their size and non-traditional appearance. These swords were manufacted for the elite guards and warrior-clergy of the Samumech city-state, in which demon-summoning was disturbingly common. As few demonic entities tend to use swords or melee weapons, Demonslayers lack a crossguard or pommel, and the weapon is ill suited to sword on sword combat. The enchantment of the blade reduces the weight to less than half what it normally would be. The blade, offering no combat bonuses, is considered magical for harming creature that can only be harmed by magic or magic weapons.

20. Cuin and Schauris Swords
The Cuin and Schauris swords always come as a matched set, as their very name means Left and Right. Possessing a matched set of swords grants the wielder the ability to use both swords as if they were ambidextrous. The swords themselves are a curious side, longer and thinner than short swords, but not as long or wide as traditional long swords. If a set is seperated, neither sword’d enchantment will function correctly, and the sword is cumbersome to use as the enchantment, stretched thin, tries to coordinate with the other lost sword. If one is destroyed, the other becomes non-magical.

21. Aete-Cruciform Sword
The Aete-Cruciform sword is superficially a normal looking longsword of good quality with a gold-plated crossguard, inlaid wood handle, and bright silver finish. These swords were made for the merchant princes of the Aete Empire and traveled the world with explorers and merchantmen. The sword has a moderate level of combat enhancement, but the main enchantment is that the blade is immune to corrosion, acid, rust or almost any other enviromental agent. Thus the blades retain their edge and mirror sheen no matter how poorly they are treated, short of being reforged or shattered.

22. Heraldic Sword
The Heraldic Sword is fairly commonly among the landed gentry, baronets, and knights who ride in the field rather than administrate holdings. It is a standard cruciform sword, but is single edged for greater durability and has a stout point for piercing attacks. A heraldic sword is named for the fact that the crossguard has a decorative badge that is a representation of the wielder’s personal heraldic device. These swords have variable level of combative enchantment and range from masterwork if mundane weapons to truly magnificent magical blades. Being marked with a device, it is hard to fence a stolen Heraldic sword, and the majority are made with the intention of being passed from father to son as family heirlooms.

23. Immortal Steel of Sioughwar
Large and baroque swords complete with toothed blades and heavy decorative crossguards, the Immortal Steel swords were crafted with first an eye to form, and an afterthought to function. The craftsman Sioughwar was not a swordmaker and as such his swords ended up being too heavy to be used, and were made of softer and easier to work sweet iron rather that steel. After making several he sought out an enchanter to grant the blades both enhanced durability and to become lighter in the hand.

24. Totian Chromatic Swords
The enchantress Totia longed to serve her king, and he found her a task, providing magical enchantments for the swords of his able-bodied vassals. After this, she spent time with each of the vassals to have their weapons enchanced. Those she favored, she turned the steel of their swords a brilliant white-blue and the weapons had strong combative enhancements. Those who she had no quarrel with but did not impress her gained blades of shimmering green with minor to moderate enhancement. Those who made the mistake of offending her gained blades the color of sunlight shining through crystallized blood. Those unfortunate vassals would go on to discover that their fearsome looking ‘blood swords’ were in fact hindered magically, inflicting less damage than a regular sword.

25. Lorh’s Ensouled Swords
Few expect necromancers to create magical swords, so when the lieutenants of Lorh of the Shattered Crypt appeared with masterwork magical swords it was a cause of great consternation. Each of these longswords is made of quality iron with a bronze wire wrapped handle. Held within the sword is the soul of a once living warrior, bonded with the weapon as some of the warriors bones were burned to forge the blade. These necromantic war swords are quenched and the magic sealed with the still hot blade is thrust through the still beating heart of the warrior who so willingly (or not so willingly) spared an arm and a leg to create it.

26. Cackzkeli Lunatic Sword
A traditional Cackzkeli lunatic sword is a hand-and-a-half or full two-handed sword. The thing that sets the Lunatic sword apart from other greatswords is that the crossguard is much larger and rather than a simple or decorative bar, a lunatic sword has a pair of dagger sized single edged blades. Frequently called upon for close combat fighting, the Cackzkeli developed the Lunatic sword for using a large and heavy blade but also having the ability to attack to the sides in confined quarters. Lunatic swords generally grant their wielder a defensive bonus as simply getting too close can cause an enemy to bleed, profusely.

27. Estaugha’s Veiled Sword
The daughter of a weaponsmith, Estaugha, joined a local cult venerating blaphemous gods and heresies. She brought with her the skill of the forge and created for the cult a large number of short swords with minimal crossguards. These swords were then blessed by the priests of the cult and were granted magical powers, mostly of the combative kind. The value of the Veiled sword was that a cultist, wearing their traditional robes, could strap on the sword and carry it concealed. These swords were quickly outlawed by the local authorities and their manufacture and usage condemned by the standing Faith.

28. Grim Swords of Kuoughyer
A typical Grim sword is the same size as a normal hand-and-a-half sword, but is a bit lighter. Grim swords have little more than a vestigial crossguard, making it lighter, but more dangerous to use in a sword on sword battle. The people of the walled city of Kuoughyer used these swords, granted minor to moderate combat enhancements, to fight a nomadic people who fought with only spears and bows. Against a lightly armored man on horseback, the Grim Swords gained their name as bringers of grim tidings.

29. Huntsman’s Sword
These swords are typical longswords that have a shaped piece of antler for a handle rather than wood or steel. Most frequently found among rangers and druids, most are scavenged, the blades of swords being broken free of the handle and pommel, and then being replaced with a piece of antler instead. In the hands of a defender of the forest or a person at one with nature, the sword functions as if it has a minor to moderate combative enchantment. In other hands, the handle seems loose and uncomfortable.

30. Lucre-Steel Sword
This single-edged cruciform sword is a mainstay among mercenary captains and elite soldiers of fortune. Each is engraved and embellished, and otherwise ornamented, but the most obvious decoration is that the crossguard has a large gold piece attached to it. Under the leather wrapped handle, smaller denominations of coins are bonded to the metal. This is done to remind that the warrior in question fights not for kin or country, but for gold and nothing else. While the sword does have a minor to moderate combative enchantment, it’s real magic is in that it deadens the swordbearer’s empathy. Thus he doesnt feel pity for his enemies, nor for people who’s land he occupies by force, for coin.

Full Item Description
The Anodyne sword is an odd blade that is too long to be a short sword, but not quite large enough to be a longsword or a broadsword. It has a gold crossguard shaped like the heads of two serpents, their bodies twining together above the haft of the sword. It can be used in the off hand with relative ease, and lends itself well to two bladed fighting styles.

History
Anodyne blades were first manufactured in the city of Dreifach for use in vivisectionist schools. Some of these painless knives found their way into thieve’s hands and quickly were removed from production. Yet this action came entirely too late as one of the artificer smiths who made the blades had already been compromised by disreputable elements. The artificer made several of the off-hand style Anodyne swords before his forge was shut down by the authorities of the city.

Of the blades he made, most found their way into the arsenals of well to do thieves, devious nobles, and professional duelists. It was in this arena that the Anodyne Sword made a fearsome reputation for itself, as well as wrapping itself in an aura of preternatural fear.

Tales of the Sword
The first blows struck with the blades were dealt by Gnoccio of Lusankya, a well to do dandy, murderer, and assassin. He encountered Duke Bollosimond near the Fountain of Wyrms and the Duke though the man to have given him a playful jab to the midsection before he moved on the market. Gnoccio was such a boisterous, and often touching of others type of person. The Duke staggered, and was shocked to find his silk doublet soaked with blood, and a 14 inch gash starting just above his groin and stopping just short of his ribs. The duke died, but not before he was able to name his assailant. Gnoccio was hanged a week later, though the sword was looted from his possessions before it could be seized by authorities.

The second and probably more circulated tale involved a braggart duelist from Tekne who incited others to anger just to duel with them. He used a quick technique that would nick and bleed a foe until their guard was down enough he could strike a killing blow, or they surrendered. so sure was he of his own style, he though his foe incompetent until he himself stumbled. The duelist had been cut and bleed like a cheurigon’s patient. The unnamed folk hero/duelist killed the braggart with a decapitating strike and vanished from sight.

Prince Yane of Feldspar held one of these blades as a personal prize, having survived an assassination attempt by the selfsame blade. He had since fallen in love with a foreign Dancing Girl whose stage name was Black Oleander. She painted her face white and her hair black and was a seductive dancer and singer of haunting songs. When she was executed by his father to remove the distraction to his son getting a suitable noble wife, Prince Yane used the blade to commit a ritualized suicide, leaving a note tearful for his lost love, and condemning his father to a cold and bitter hell.

The final tale involves a merciful assassin who went by the simple moniker of the Knife. The Knife was in the daytime a jester and street performer who juggled and pantomimed for coins, being a mute. At night he would down ale and listen in bars, using his skills of dexterity, balance, and silence to move unnoticed into the homes of people. He would then dispatch those he had contract to kill with a quick thrust into the heart, leaving the to simply die whilst still dreaming.

Magic/Cursed Properties
Any wound caused by the Anodyne Sword causes no pain, enemies hit by the blade feel nothing more than the hand of the wielder. This much resembles the pain numbing ability of some berzerkers, and like that ability, PCs should not be told how many HP of damage is inflicted upon them by this type of weapon.

These are ancient bladed dueling weapons from a society long lost. These blades come in a variety of sizes and shapes, with the most common being daggers (the most common of all), rapiers, bastard, and longswords. They are all distinguished by three features: the black and reddish sheen to the blades, the black hearts of their guards, and the red stones in the pomels. There are thousands of the weapons known to exist today. 

The unique dueling code of this ancient era is manifested in these blades. It is a code of weapon’s length (never attack with a weapon longer than that of your opponent), never retreat (to do so would lose all honor), and that your opponent’s life is yours to judge upon victory.  These weapons provide magical weapon’s skill and speed, and powerful healing and healing suppression abilities.  

These weapons hold a reputation for “honor”.  Those that wield them will be seen as “honorable” - even though their honor code is very different from the BlackHeart’s- and held to a higher standard.  Many a noble or religious warrior has searched for a such a blade, to show that they are right minded and honorable. Only those who believe in their honor will utilize these weapons on a regular basis. (Note: The weapons do not enforce any code (except the one they re-enforce with magic). It is just popular misperception of the weapon. 

One or two Master Swordsman wielded BlackHearts simply because of their equilizing gifts and their ability to heal opponents.  The many legendary stories of The ElvenGrandMaster HewhoLivesandBreathesSharpSteel-whichdrawsEnemyBlood-andProtectsInnocents have done much to enhance the reputation of BlackHearts. 


Magical Properties:

There are four properties:

1) When fighting another person, the BlackHeart will automatically hit a target (apply damage normally), if the target’s weapon is larger (or more effective) than the BlackHeart. So the wielder of a BlackHeart Broadsword, would score automatic hits against targets using long swords, great swords, poleaxes, halbards, battle axes, etc. Against weapons of the same size or smaller, attacks must be made normally. Defensive action can be attempted, but they are serious penalties. 

2) BlackHearts will not allow you to disengage and retreat until the oppenent/ target allows you. If you attempt to, the weapon shocks the owner with damage equal to twice its weapon strike. Now backing up or moving and still fighting is allowed, even though it might be at a run.

3) BlackHearts have a third property. Damage done by a BlackHeart can only be magically healed IF the wielder allows. This includes death and dismemberment, so various spells to solve these issues will be blocked by magical resistance. This block continues until the owner release it OR the BlackHeart meets another weapon in combat.

4) BlackHearts’s last property is that it can also give back damage. The target can be given back half the damage done (or one critical/ killing strike healed). Thus a forgiving BlackHeart wielder can magically heal half the damage they have done to the target, or repair a lost limb, or even bring someone they killed back to life (though this must be done nearly immediately). This healing must be given before the next time the BlackHeart meets another weapon in combat.

Blood Seekers are a type of mystical weapons. They strike with unerring accuracy, as they target the flowing blood in a living target. 

Their appearance is distinctive, the steel has a damascus pattern with a dried blood tone. There is a slight mystic glow to the blade. The process of enchantment converts a mere broadsword to a weapon of superior balance and edge - master class. 

Once drawn, the wielder can choose to unleash the Blood Seeker’s ability at any time.  With the act of intent for a single strike, the Blood Seeker will direct the wielder’s form (like most magic weapons) striking at all the blooded creatures immediately around it. This effect is not selective, so hostages and friends in that area will be attacked as well. This makes the weapons suited for single heroics, rather than teamwork. 

It should be noted The weapon is useless against foes without blood (most undead, golems, etc). In fact, even if the wielder makes a successful attack, it will do little damage.

The History of Blood Seekers is old.  It is a basic weapon enchantment, discovered by almost every civilization.   Blood Seekers have been made over the ages. Many ancient ones survive to this day.  A few bardic tales have given these weapons an undeserved reputation for Evil and power. They are not the vampiric blades of legends, stealing souls. They do not destroy armies. Because of these tales, many places have outlawed these weapons or at least look upon all their wielders with suspicion. 


Magical Properties:

When striking with the Blood Seeker, one action allows you to make attack rolls against every blooded being within 3 meters of the wielder. The attack and damage rolls are resolved as per a master crafted broadsword wielded by a master.  The attacks can be parried or dodged, but at an average penalty. 

The weapon does not distinguish between friend, foe, or innocent.  It its heart pumps blood, the BloodSeeker will strike at them.  Only the wielder is not attacked by said weapon. 

The enchantment makes the weapons less useful against foes without blood (most undead, golems, etc). It will deal one element of damage if you manage a successful attack against one.

Full Item Description
This sword is unique, made only for the Merchant Prince of (insert city) and his loyal band of mercenaries. The Cruaunte is a hand and a half sword, capable of being used with one or two hands, and from horseback or on foot. Thus, the merchant can save both time and money equipping his men with a universally usefull weapon.

The sword is single edged, for greater strength, and less maintainence time. The sword comes to a blunt point, and is only marginally useful for making thrusting attacks. Its strength comes from the fact that the blade is serrated, or notched in the fashion of a steak knife, or chainsaw blade. While it only incurs moderately more damage (+1 dmg) it leaves nasty wounds that are slower to heal as the flesh is more thoroughly savaged, and it is quite intimidating.

History
The swords are of a uniform average quality, with the officers of the unit recieving blades of higher quality. The Prince himself wields a Cruaunte with gold quillions inset with small garnets and bound with kid leather.

Note if you have not read Battle Sashes, do so.

"Interesting" Battle Sashes is the "code word" for sashes that have something odd, like magic, associated with them. Since magic is often frowned upon, yet still desirable, nobody want to say it is magic outright. 

Most of these pieces are spontaneous magic, born of blood and spirit. Their magic follows the pattern of the important event, reinforced by tales, belief, and the occasional battle (To quote the Troupadores, "...quenched in blood, the magic formed and hardened like magesteel".) Along those lines, some are simply haunted by the spirits of previous owners. (Bound spirits giving advice or skill or just bemoaning their fate awaiting to be freed are not just the thing of hearth tales.) Yet there are those that are purposeful. These are carefully enchanted by Household Magicers for their family members. These are easier to spot, as they have starstones woven into them or as bead accents.

The powers of most Battle Sashes are minor when compared to greater items enchanted by Wizards and Gods. They will have one, maybe two low level powers.

Known Powers
These are not going to be strange or unusual in most cases. They are fairly straight forward, with most being simple skill charms (minor positive modifiers). Exotics and strange powers are possible, but harder to justify.

> Spirit Blade/ Strike to Astreal - The weapon will touch things of the spirit OR strike to creatures bonded by magic. This is quite common actually, as spirit makes the sash magical.

> Attunment of Honor: This will double or triple the honor modifier generated (this includes the negative). This is perhaps the second most common ability after strike to the astreal.

> Honor activation: The magical effects will only come into effect if the character is properly following the honor code.  Sashes with such limitations, will normally have two to four powers.

> Skill Gift: The spirit in the sash grants technique to the wearer. Listening to the Story Tellers, this is the most common power. Reality is different. In the stories, it gifts every technique a master learns (junior/ basic and advanced/ senior manuvers), granted to the novice to do "great things". In reality, it might grant one or two advanced techniques.

> Road to Mastery: The spirit in the sash assists the wearer in learning or improving their techniques. This is a bonus to any teaching/ learning rolls (+2 or so) or exp bonus (+5-10%).

> Favored Action - Bonus to Strike - +1 or 5%

> Favored Action - Bonus to Defend +1 or 5% to either block or dodge as appropriate.

> Favored Action - Bonus to Manuver +2 to a specific manuver’s DRs. The favored or famed manuver of the previous owner normally. Sometimes, this will allow people to be taught the restricted manuver.

> Favored Action - Bonus to Skill +2 or so to skills provided by the school. Some schools teach leaping, tumbling, swinging, and acrobatics of various types. Dance is also a supporting skill at times, so this would add to those rolls to provide the supporting skill modifers.

> Negation of the Unwary/ Quick to Ready: The character can draw the weapon and attack on the same action.

> Biting Blade: The blade recieves a +1 to +2 Damage Modifier, showing a harder strike. This bonus could be traded away to penetrate hardened armors (negating their bonuses).

> Turning Blade: The wearer recieves a small bonus to their protection, but only if their weapon is out, at the ready, and they are able to defend.  This is the equivalent of wearing cloth/ soft leather armor.

> Deflecting the Feathered Death: The character can now block missile weapons (arrows/ bolts) and other ranged weapons with a normal blocking die roll.

> Deflecting the Wizard’s Weapon. The character can now make a blocking roll against incoming spells, be this missles, attacks, or just regular spells.

> Eye of Strategem: Wearing the sash allows for strategy rolls to predict what their opponent will do next, giving them a chance to either counter or take advantage.

> Danger Awareness: The character can now make perception rolls to become aware of threats they would normally miss.

> Luck of the Duel: The character gains the ability to reroll one die roll over the course of the duel/ battle.

> Wink of the Knowing: The character gains bonuses for certain actions that are usually non combat while wearing the sash, but only when they are engaging in certain activities.  So if the sash is empowered by a romantic, you would gain bonuses in dealing with women, scaling the walls to reach them, and avoiding angry husbands. If the sash was owned by a chess player, it will grant bonuses when playing the game and perhaps bonuses to logic and rhetoric. It is all based on the spirit empowering.

> Calling of the Like: The character only recieves the bonuses if they have the same advantage/ gift or disadvantage/ flaw or roleplaying trait as the empowering spirit.  So if the empowering spirit was a drunkard, only someone who drinks heavily will have the bonuses. If the empowering spirit was a pious man, only the pious will recieve its gifts.  Items that have this ability normally have two to four other powers. 

>Spirit Bound: The spirit of the previous owner not only empowers the sash, its personality follows it. Some are strong enough to communicate directly with the person (It would be like having an invisible friend you are always talking). However, most can only communicate is "interesting" situations or when the wearer is in a twilight state.  This can be a source of advice or even pointers on your technique.  It is also a roleplay source that can be overused, so GM’s need to be careful.

> Insert magical ability: Enchanted sashes will have any available magic effect to the enchanter they want to put in.  This varies from setting/ game to setting/game.

For many servants, there comes a time when the master’s life or interests must be protected against those who would cause him harm, in one fashion or another. In many of these occasions, a sturdy blade is indispensible in the tending. Unfortunately, it is quite poor in taste and fashion for one’s non-military servants to be visibly armed. For those occasions, the priests and followers of the Serving Lord have developed and produced a relatively simple enchantment, one that can be attached to almost any sword of reasonable size.

Though these blades vary widly in quality and make, they share one visible trait: All have a square of cloth, about 8 inches to a side, embroidered with a complex pattern of silver threads, attached to the pommel or the end of the hilt by a silver cord. All of these squares are identical, the cloth carrying this enchantment seperate from the weapon, and any enchantment it may bear.

Magical Properties:

The powers of the hankerchief themselves are quite simple. When folded, they function much similarly to bags of holding, allowing the user to slip the blade inside of the folds of the cloth, hiding it quite elegantly in a front pocket or sleeve. Because the blade must fit through the folds, it is difficult to impossible to store very large weapons inside, and although the occasional spear or claymore type weapon is stowed, short swords and rapiers are generally the order of the day.

Secondly, the hankerchief is easily capable of handling minor messes created by the blade it is attached to. While it won’t make a corpse or a pile of insides go away, it will pull the blood up from the master’s carpet and furniture quite easily, as well as from the servant’s suit.

Exceptionally enchanted weapons, especially those that are intelligent, may get quite upset about getting stuffed in someone’s snotrag. So too, can the enchantment of the cloth and the blade interact in unexpected ways. Then again, they might not.

Many years ago, as war raged in the south, a king came to the current Master of the Clan Ironspirit, known to him as the greatest of all blacksmiths. “Create for me, O Master of Soul and Steel, Create for me a thing which will bring ruination to the ability of the Southlanders to make war upon me.” Master Bren, the then-Master of the clan, looked upon the king, then, as he responded, “Such a thing I will give you, though it may not be as you wish. Return to me in one week hence, upon the birth of the moon, and I will give you your thing.”

The King went then, dismissed by the Master, and Master Bren sat himself down to think. Three things he kept at hand as he meditated: His own blade of Judgement, a new sword, and a sword old and worn and useless. In a day, he was ready to proceed, and in the next rising of the sun, his thing was done.

When the King returned, gave he it to the King, with the instructions, “Your own smiths can make this again, and again, and again. Each man shall have one, and facing him, every sword must fail, even Judgement.” Though he did not understand, the King ordered it so, for the words of the Master rang true and convictioned in his ears, and delighted was he when the Southren swords shattered against the shields of his men…

A ‘type’ of shield rather than an artifact, Notcher is a simple, rather thin, curved wooden shield, with a steel rim around the edge, and a series of comb-like, raised metal strips across the body of the shield, both vertical and horizontal - Any blade that meets this shield edge on is rapidly notched and worn into uselessness, as the thin, fragile edge batters against the hard, sharp corners of the shield.

In battle, a series of 2-3 successful parries with a Notcher will degrade the worksmanship of a weapon one level -> Masterwork -> Normal -> Poor -> Broken. This shield is heavier than an average buckler, and may require special training.

A Sarvas Sword is a classic, slightly magical longsword (longsword +1 in D&D terms).  It has no special properties aside from being exceedingly well-made and very sharp.  What makes it notable is that there are several dozen of them in existance, and they are all nearly identical.

Background:
During an ancient Elf-War, the mighty wizard Sarvas was commissioned to make a weapon for the armies of King Sarathas of Silverwood.  He made a few mighty weapons for the King, but making them was time consuming and exceedingly draining.  He experimented for several months to find a more efficient way to create magical weapons for the elite but small Elven armies.

What he developed was a magical Forge, which bears his name, capable of producing many identical magical swords in a relatively short period of time.  Those swords the Forge made were distributed to the armies of the Elves.  The Forge of Sarvas was totally unique (and some claim the work of the gods) and lost to time long ago, but not before it created hundreds of these swords.  Over the eons these swords passed on to other owners, either becoming dispersed into treasures, the hands of warriors, or lost forever.

Each sword is, as stated above, identical.  They are finely crafted, well-balanced and exceedingly strong.  They have one bloodline down the center, a utilitarian steel hilt, and old Elven runes identifying their creator, Sarvas, inscribed on either side of the blade.  The only things that differs from sword to sword is the wrappings of the hilts (the original leather doesn’t remain) and whatever nicks and dings the sword recieved in its life.

Purpose and Uses:
This is an unoriginal item.  It is a longsword +1 with a simple backhistory.  Why use it?  Why value it?  Most fantasy worlds are besmottered with minor magical items of unknown origin and seemingly made only to be cast away into treasure hordes.  Who is this mighty wizard creating a proliferation of (relatively) bad magical weapons and distributing them to the world?  Why would they not be improved by their owners?  Why would there be so many of them?  This weapon begins to answer some of those questions, as well as give any campaign setting you introduce them to an interesting flavor (oh, he has a Sarvas Sword too!).

Possible Hooks:
—Somewhere the Forge of Sarvas has been found and is being put to use creating a new wave of swords for an evil army bent on uhh… evil.  The PC’s must rush to the rescue
—An eccentric collector is trying to assemble a collection of them, and is willing to buy the PC’s magical weapons from them, as well as pay them handsomely to retrieve more of these swords.
—The PC’s return from an adventure with one of the swords, only to run into someone with an identical one, who would understandably like to know their whereabouts. 
—A wizard is searching for the secrets to the Forge of Sarvas, in an attempt to recreate the item.  He could be rounding up the swords by force to study them and try to reverse engineer them.

Basically anything involving their numerousness—someone could think they have the only one, or know there are many and try to gather them.

LLorryn of Rydlin crafted charms and magic items over his lifetime. All are known for his trademark, the ringing sound caused by the magic flowing through them. While bards have granted him immortal fame through his thirteen Singing blades, among warriors and weaponsmiths, he is best known for his "singing knives". He crafted dozens upon dozens of these fine blades. Most are still in use today.

Full Item Description
Each Singing Knife is a long knife of Rydlin Steel. The blades are 9" long (22cms), 1.2" (3cms) wide tapering notably in the last half inch to a wicked point. Both edges are sharp and the blade has a central groove as a blood channel.

Each knife has a blue damascene sheen to them, as do all items of Rydlin Steel. (They are as hard and strong as any modern Rydlin steel.) Their magic can be "seen" if one holds them in sunlight. The blue and damascene patterns is vibrant and brilliant in the light. The crossguards and tiny pommels are made of brushed bronzed steel. Once polished, these pieces gleam like gold. The guards are ovals

Their hilts are special and quite comfortable to use. They are made of the regional black oak, with brushed down steel wire twine inset in the wood in a slow spiral.  The enchantment of the blades has preserved this wood over the centuries. The handles are made in the traditional Rydlin pattern: smoothed yet grooved with finger ripples for firm grip with the traditional wide "thumb divot" for comfortable use. Making such a grip is difficult, but well worth it. Knives so equipped require special familiarity to use, can not be thrown without sever penalty, and grant bonuses to resisting disarms/ take aways/ dropping.

Note: It is said that LLorryn was the first to make guards and hilts of this style. Many scholars dispute that. However, everyone does credit him for making it popular.

The knives will "sing" when moved quickly or after striking something. The Singing Knives will "hum" for a time… much like a tuning fork struck and waved. 

Note: Lets face it, PCs wills start making lightsaber noises, hum, or actually get tuning forks which they will swing around. Encourage it. It makes the weapons more interesting.

These knives are made of Rydlin Steel, so they get those bonuses as well.

History
These are the most prevalent works of LLorryn of The Singing Steel 2975. He was a master smith who was known during his lifetime as the maker of charms and weapons. His thirteen Singing Swords (see The Singing Blades) brought him fame because of Bardic fondness for them and their flashy wielders. The dozens upon dozens of known Singing Knives bring him undying praise of those who have used him.
Magic/Cursed Properties
The main magic of the Singing Knives, common to all the master smith’s blades, in enhanced speed of strike. They strike like lightning.

This adds to the initiative of the wielder, pluses to quick draw rolls, and grants either pluses to hits or penalties for the dodge/ block rolls. In knives, this will also increase their damage by one step/ one point (1d4+1 or some such)

The wielders have reported increases in their reflexes, agility, and dexterity, while carrying the blades. 

Each one never needs to be sharpened. This alone makes these blades highly prized.

Full Item Description
This sword is beautifully deadly with it’s keen curved blade that can slice through a stone with a slight twitch of the hand. It has a cross-guard and hilt that is made of the same substance as the blade, light and quick. Made for warriors, pirates, and the such.

History
This type of sword is only made when a smith unlocks his or her hidden potential and is able to make the lightly silverish metal cryteel from steel, quartz, and diamond. Only a few of these have been recordedly made, there is no record how many have been made.

Magic/Cursed Properties
This imbues its owner with a seal on their right hand that makes them quicker and stronger. The downside is that they cant cast magic unless the sword is in it’s sheath. If they try to cast magic with it in their hand then they feel a shock throughout their whole body and their right arm feels like its burning and freezing at the same time.

Full Item Description
A Wassunja is an enchanted wooden club bound with two bands of either bronze of iron. It is a racial based weapon and remains heavy in the hands of a human, and doubles in weight if lifted by an elf. In the hands of a blooded orcish warrior, the club is fast and agile, a weapon good for cracking shields, breaking bones, and staving in skulls.

History
The origines of the Wassunja war clubs are a closely guarded secret of the orcish shamans, who are loath to speak with non-orcs, let alone share clan secrets. Unlike tradition methods of human and elven enchantment, a Wassunja is a fetish, a magical item that derives it’s power not from complex spells and sorcery but from an elemental bound into the item. Specifically, in the case of the war club a caste of earth elemental spirits collectively known as the Wassunja.

Having a long tradition of strong shamans and good standing with the primitive yet potent elemental courts of fire and stone, it was not hard for the Shaman to convince the warrior caste of the stone courts to inhabit war clubs to fight along side of the orcish warriors. While the spirits agreed to this, a club would have to be properly respected, and if the club was broken, or used in a cowardly manner it would break and the elemental within would flee the weapon.

Magic/Cursed Properties
A Wassunja war club carries with it the force of the earth, with strieks doing considerably more damage than would be expected of a wooden club without spikes, flanges, or other adornments. A Wassunja automatically deals 50% of its base damage before damage is rolled for. Assuming a war club dealt 1D6+1 damage (Example only) a Wassunja war club would deal 1D6+4 damage. This damage is also upgraded to lethal damage if clubs only inflict bashing or subdual damage.

Once a day, a Wassunja can be invoked to make a Break check. A break check is a called shot against a pie of a foe’s equipment, such as a held weapon, a shield, or the helmet of his armor. If the attack succedes, the object targeted must roll a check to resist the club’s break attack. Destroyed gear must be discarded as it is no longer useful in battle. This power can be used on inanimate objects such as doors with a fairly high chance of success.

Roleplaying Notes
1. Orcs deserve to have basic magic weapons of their own, and magic swords+1 really dont match the orcish style.

2. Clubs are an underused weapon and deserve a bit more attention in light of the various magic swords.

3. Orcs like to hit stuff hard and break things.

A walking stick, of oaken wood, the handle iron-bound. Looks very unassuming. There is nothing special about it. Slightly curved as these sticks usually are.

The true appearence is that of a sword, a common broad sword. This appearence is but seldom seen, for it at all times maintains its facade. While the sword has no great powers it can be still very dangerous. One may look as a simple pilgrim and still be armed. There are obvious evil uses. In most cases, the wearer is considered unarmed, and so can access many places where a weapon is not accepted, so this makes it an interesting weapon for assassins.

Those that can see through illusions can see the sword through its guise, if somewhat unclear.

Fighting with the sword may look silly to the audience, and may mislead your opponent into using wrong tactics. A sword can stab and cut, things a wooden stick should be not useful for (even a very hard one, as this seems). Ask you local DM for possible bonuses. These are not listed for strongly depending on a given situation, and being void once your enemy knows it is a sword.

History: Rarely mentioned, as it is not a legendary weapon. Still, an occasional assassination with a weapon like this is known of, and smarter guards of important people may not be fooled…

Seldom created, the process is relatively easy compared to other enchanted weapons. There exist probably more of this kind.

Magical Properties:

Basically the only power it has is that of illusion: it masks its true look into a boring average walking stick. This illusion has multiple layers, so a simple _Dispel Magic_  will not help. More castings or more power will uncover the swords true look. In a few days, the illusion will “regrow”, looking the usual way again. Truly powerful effects could destroy its magic, making it an ordinary sword.

While the sword has no special bonuses, it is magical, and may thus harm certain creatures as other magical weapons. It may have also special effects on illusory creatures and illusions.

The sword does not protect the wearer, nor anyone else, if its blade is touched. If you do not use the handle, you may cut yourself just as with any other sword.

It would appear, for a human, as an oversized glove with three (sometimes four) stylized claw like protrusions and some odd wrist strap. The claws extend out beyond the hand just slightly.  Wearing the glove makes doing much of anything with their hands difficult as the claws overhand and their are quite heavy.

Humans who specialize in unarmed combat have utilized these items in the past, but they are not created for humans.  They are created for one of the Clawed Races to use. 

If the being has claws, the Wvyrn’s claw will adapt to their size and shape. The metallic claw overlays the back of the the beings natural claws, enhancing them in terms of size, length, hardness, and some would say beauty (if one likes the Draconic/ reptilian motif). 

There is not just one Wvryn’s claw, there are many of them.  It was the "weapon" of choice of a paradraconic society from times past.  Every now and again, one of the magical clawed races begin to make new ones. 

Magical Properties:

There are non magical claws, but most are made by magic, thus having additional enchantments.  The Claws grants a nominal increase in one’s ability to hit. It will also allow the creature to strike things that are spirit based (ectomorphic) and magical. 

The claws increases the damage done by an unarmed/ claw attack to that of a Great Sword or Twice its base damage.

The Claws grants a great deal of defense, just for the claw area. This allows for attacks against targets of such hardness it would normally be impossible.