RPG-a-Day #4: Weapon -- The Sword of Judgement

For the fourth installment of the 2021 RPG-a-Day month-long event, the theme is "Weapon" so here's a magic sword that's thematically related to some previous posts here at the blog, such as The Awakened: Blessings in Disguise. As with most of the posts in this series, this post is pure 1st draft material, so any feedback you care to offer is appreciated and may be used to guide future revisions.

THE SWORD OF JUDGEMENT 

The Sword of Judgement is one of several artifacts of unknown origin that have appeared and disappeared throughout human history. It is a broadsword with a blade that's just short of 4 feet in length, with a hilt that appears like flared wings, and a hilt that is made so the weapon can be wielded one- or two-handed.

   The Sword of Judgement is rumored to have been wielded by one of the Seven Archangels and to have fallen to Earth when that mighty being perished during the titanic battle between the Heavenly Host and those who joined Satan's rebellion against God. The fact that the blade is etched with script that has defied all translation and the mighty powers of the sword seem to support this notion.

   When drawn, the symbols etched on the blade light up with a reddish glow. At the end of the second round of combat, the blade seems to catch fire and transmute into a solid fiery beam. The process reverses itself when the last foe has surrendered or been slain

Benefits of the Sword of Judgement

This is a +4 weapon that deals base damage of 1d8+4 and gives the wielder a +4 bonus to attack rolls. Targets struck with an attack roll of a Natural 20 burst into flames that burn for 4 rounds. The target suffers 1d8 points of fire damage each round until the duration expires. The fire can only be extinguished by submerging the target in holy water for a full round.

   If the target is struck with another attack roll of a Natural 20, they burning duration is extended by an additional 4 rounds. If the target goes below -10 hit points while burning, his or her body crumbles into ash and cannot be resurrected by any means except through the direct intervention of a god or an extremely carefully worded wish spell. A burning target must roll a successful Fortitude save each around (DC12) to suffer only half damage.

   If wielded against an evil god, a devil, a demon, or a cleric who serves and evil god, the sword's attack and damage bonus increase to +8.

  The wielder of the Sword of Judgement gains a +4 bonus to Diplomacy skill checks and a +4 bonus to Intimidate skill checks.

Drawbacks of the Sword of Judgement

The wielder must never strike the first blow with the sword, unless they are moving to defend an innocent being who is under attack. Instead, the wielder of the Sword of Judgement must allow them to surrender or to attack him or her first; the wielder of the Sword of Judgement is permitted to parry the incoming attack or disarm the attacker. If an opening blow is parried, or an attacker disarmed, the wielder of the Sword must again allow the attacker to surrender. Only once blood has been drawn can the wielder attack without penalty.

   If the wielder of the Sword of Judgement strikes the first blow in combat, he or she must roll a Fortitude save (DC14) or suffer 1d4+4 points of fire damage. For the duration of the combat, the Sword only grants a +2 bonus to attack rolls and no bonus to damage.

   If the wielder of the Sword accepts the first blow and/or didn't attack a surrendering foe, the wielder of the Sword of Judgement rolls initiative and and engages in combat as normal, gaining all the benefits listed above.

(All text in this post is released under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2021 Steve Miller. All rights reserved.)