1 Million Swords

[Reynard]

One Million Swords

Every magical sword should be unique, with its own story. That being the case, I present "One Million Swords", a random sword generator for those +1's to +5's you roll up in treasure hoards. No accounting has been made for edition.

A. Name I (roll 1d10)

1: 1d6: 1-3=Dawn, 4-6=Dusk
2: 1d6: 1-3=Day, 4-6=Night
3: 1d6: 1-3=Light, 4-6=Dark
4: 1d6: 1-2=Bone, 3-4=Skull, 5-6=Blood
5: 1d6: 1-2=Heart, 3-4=Life, 5-6=Soul
6: Roll on table C (use singular form)
7: [Personal Name]
8: [Nation Name]
9: [Deity Name]
10: Open Dictionary or Thesaurus to random page.

B. Name II (roll 1d8)

1: ['s] Blade/Sword
2: Cutter/Cleaver
3: Slayer/Reaver
4: Star/Sun/Moon
5: Shield/Arm/Hand
6: Drinker/Eater/Devourer
7: ['s] Bane
8: Tooth/Claw/Sting

C. Who/what forged the sword? (roll 1d6+magical bonus)

2: Humans
3: Dwarves
4: Elves
5: Goblinoids
6: Orcs
7: Ogres/Trolls/Giants
8: Dragons
9: Demons/Dark Gods
10: Angels/Good Gods
11: Forged by Deed (spontaneous enchantment0

D. Who was the first wielder/owner of the sword? (roll 1d6+magical bonus)

2: Slave
3: Commoner/Serf
4: Freeman
5: Noble
6: Champion (of race/nation)
7: Champion (of ideal/deity/religion)
8: King/Queen
9: Divine Pawn/Hero (Perseus, Beowulf, etc..)
10: Demi-god
11: Deity

E. What circumstances is the sword famous for being used in? (roll 1d6)

1: War against (roll on table C).
2: Defense/service of forger's/owner's nation/race/religion
3: Against forger's/owner's nation/race/religion.
4: Personal gain/agenda.
5: During major historical event.
6: In the name of love/honor/loyalty/etc...

F. Under what circumstances did the original owner lose the weapon? (roll 1d6)

1: Passed it on (heir/student)
2: Sword lost (accidental)
3: Died in battle
4: Sword stolen
5: Stripped of weapon by (roll on table D 1d6+5)
6: Sword "chose" new owner

G: Under what circumstances did/does the sword reappear? (roll 1d6)

1: "Naturally" (when found, etc...)
2: By calendar (roll 1d6: 1-2=annual, 3-4=decades, 5-6=century)
3: By generation (roll 1d6: 1-2=each generation, 3-4=every d12 genrations, 5-6=every d100 generations)
4: During times of great (roll 1d6: 1-3=fortune/abundance, 4-6= great strife/hardship)
5: By the will of a deity/power.
6: Of its own accord.

F: Who wa the most recent owner of the sword? (roll 1d6)

1: Original Owner.
2: Roll on table D.
3: (typical) Adventurer.
4: Choose character at random & roll 1d6: 1-2: Ancestor, 3-4: Loved One, 5-6: Personal Enemy.
5: Famous Figure.
6: Infamous Figure.

g: Who seeks the sword now? (roll ontable F).

I don't know if that adds up to a million possible combinations, but it's a start.

If you do roll up a random sword with this set of tables, let me know what you come up with, and flesh it out a little. As always, DM's are free to re-roll or simply choose. And, of course, feel free to expand the charts and let me know what you change or add.

 

[aurance]

Pretty cool. Thank you.

 

[Morrus]

Skull-sun forged by Elves, wielded by a commoner, in a war against skulls. Died in battle. Most recent owner was the original owner. Sought by a serf.

 

[mattdm]

I don't know if that adds up to a million possible combinations, but it's a start.

It's many millions, not even considering the dictionary/thesaurus possibility.

This'd be excellent in the ENWorld wiki — mind if I copy it there?

 

[El Mahdi]

Copied and saved. Nice stuff.

 

[Reynard]

Skull-sun forged by Elves, wielded by a commoner, in a war against skulls. Died in battle. Most recent owner was the original owner. Sought by a serf.

Although I love the idea of a war on skulls, that was a flub in the re-orging process. I fixed it in the first post.

 

[Reynard]

This'd be excellent in the ENWorld wiki — mind if I copy it there?

Go to town.

 

[Henry]

Neat idea, Reynard! Thank you!

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Bone-Arm, forged by Humans, first wielded by the Champion of Bane Ingar-Kant in War of the Thousand Skulls, before being stolen from his tomb. The thief was executed by Banite Paladin Thesus Arkani, and Thesus now leads a mercenary company in the name of Bane against the people of the Auslands.

I like it!

 

[Lord Xtheth]

The first thing that came to mind was "Diablo"


Followed closely by "Dag, I'm hungry"

 

[Warehouse23]

This reminds me of the background rules for Traveller. *Rolls* Curses, my sword died before it ever got a chance to be wielded.

That being said, neat table. This would lend itself beautifully to being a widget for a lap-top enabled GM (especially if someone plugged in a largish random string of words for the "dictionary").

 

[Schmoe]

Awesome! I'm sure I'll be using this

 

[der_kluge]

Awesome.

*swipe*

 

[Joshua Randall]

I'm totally making an adventure about the War on Skulls.

= = =

raw output:[sblock]Blood-Bane, forged by goblinoids, first wielded by a commoner/serf, during Defense/service of forger's/owner's nation/race/religion, owner Died in battle, re-appears Of its own accord, most recently wielded by Infamous Figure, sought by Infamous Figure[/sblock]

spiffed up:[sblock]Bloodbane, a +1 wounding shortsword

It was forged by the hobgoblin smith Grokhar for the use of his chieftain, but the chief died at the hands of The Company of the Red Kestrel (an adventuring party) before he could use it. A loyal hobgoblin tribe-member picked up the weapon to avenge his leader, but he too was cut down in the battle.

Bloodbane then passed out of history for a time; there is no record of the Kestrels every using or selling the weapon. It surfaced again in the hands of the gnoll priestess Yug-Anark, who uses it in a mostly ceremonial capacity (her spells being more powerful). Rumors exist that Kharat, a descendant of Grokhar, seeks to recover the blade -- to see it returned to hobgoblin hands. This may explain the recent skirmishes between those two humanoid races, skirmishes that could erupt into outright warfare.[/sblock]

 

[fissionessence]

Do you mind if I use this for a magic axe instead?

Thousands of years ago, the battleaxe Heartdrinker was forged by the great dragon Jygostraszos as a gift to the serpent avatar Rinthikekt in their mutual war against the death god Zanal-Yazar. Rinthikekt, having little need of such a weapon herself, granted use of it to the champion of her armies, who wielded it bravely in the war against the death god's undead, demons and shadar-kai.

After a particular failure, the champion was stripped Heartdrinker by Rinthikekt as punishment. The man worked for years to regain his honor, and was able to do so in one of the final victorious battles against the death god's forces. He was not, however, forgiven completely or granted again the use of the weapon, and he spent the rest of his life in shame.

After several hundred years, Rinthikekt again began building her forces, and took the weapon from storage as a gift to her new favorite commander. The internal strife of the serpent's underlings, however, has caused many deaths and many changing-of-hands of the storied battleaxe. Even now, one subordinate of Rinthikekt seeks to 'relieve' another agent of Heardrinker in hopes of improving his own standing with the self-proclaimed goddess of secrets, trickery and lies.

~

 

[Luce]

Very Good.

Here is a page with same theme:
Seventh Sanctum - Sword Generator

 

[Ed_Laprade]

This reminds me of something that was in one of the gaming mags many a year ago. Might have been Dragon, but I think it was Different Worlds. It had colors, what it was made of, and other details, but not who forged it, etc.. (Unfortunately I had to sell off my collection. ) Nicely done.

 

[benjamin]

Personalised magic items... good...

Hi,

Great stuff you've written... consider it MINE...
It's funny I expected an automated excel sheet or something... but it's actually much better doing it by hand, because it forces you to take a moment and actually create something that makes a certain amount of sense!

At the end of "Red hand of doom" (current fav module) it recomends you give personalised magic items as rewards to the characters...

...I did a whole ceremony and all, with speaches and cheering, and chanting and wot not... the players loved it... after so much gruling battle...

I described each item to the party as a part of the speaches, and let them test them out (have a bit of a swing etc) to discover the properties... then I handed them a sheet of paper detailing the specifics... Each item was specifically taylored to the particular character strength's, and to the player's roleplay style

It was a good thing...

Below I've pasted the stuff I handed them...


Shard of Pelor
The silver handle of this beautiful weapon is engraved with incredibly intricate fretwork. Swirling patterns of fiery sunlight form a sure grip and at the axe head a glimmering golden motif of Pelor. But the most unusual thing about this weapon is the blade itself. Seemingly carved from a single piece clouded yellowish crystal, it looks brittle indeed, but it is not.
As you heft the blade, you notice how extraordinarily well balanced it is, as if the blade itself is anticipating your movements. As you swing the blade the suddenly flares into light with ominous holy power.
This weapon feels like it has arrived home into the hands of a worthy holy warrior.

+ 1 Holy Battle Axe
The holy power of this weapon makes it good-aligned and thus bypasses the corresponding damage reduction.
It deals an extra 2d6 points of damage against all of evil alignment.
It bestows one negative level on any evil creature attempting to wield it. The negative level remains as long as the weapon is in hand and disappears when the weapon is no longer wielded. This negative level never results in actual level loss, but it cannot be overcome in any way (including restoration spells) while the weapon is wielded.
When wielded by a Paladin of Pelor and used to smite Evil the blade flares with an enormous sunlight burst of light. The target of the smite and any creature looking at the Paladin must make a reflex save (DC 20) to cover their eyes or become blinded for one round.
A blinded character cannot see. He takes a -2 penalty to Armour Class, loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), moves at half speed, and takes a -4 penalty on Search checks and on most Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Spot checks) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance) to the blinded character.

Axe of Raptor Fleetness
The handle of this strangely primitive looking weapon is seemingly simply the polished branch of some gnarled dark wooded tree. The haphazard curves of this handle make the weapon look difficult to wield, but when you heft the weapon it seems the nooks and crannies of the handle seem perfectly placed for your hands. When you swing the weapon through the air, it seems to accelerate as it swings, cutting through the air as if nothing would stop it. Before you even realise the weapon is back at you shoulder ready to swing again.
But that is not the strangest thing about this weapon; the blade is truly peculiar. Each side of the axe is formed by multiple curved talons of some mighty giant eagle. The talons have been worked down to a magically razor sharp edge, and aligned to create just enough serration to make the weapon look truly lethal.

+1 Axe of Speed.
When making a full attack action, the wielder of a this weapon may make one extra attack with it. The attack uses the wielder’s full base attack bonus, plus any modifiers appropriate to the situation.
(This benefit is not cumulative with similar effects, such as a haste spell.)

Tritticor Oath Bow
This bone white gracefully curved composite longbow, is decorated with beautifully intricate patterns picked out in brilliant gold. Weaving in and out of the sweeping lines elven figures seem to momentarily appear, but then as you look more closely they fade from perception.
This +2 composite longbow (+2 Str bonus) whispers “Swift defeat to my enemies” in Elven when nocked and pulled.
Once per day, if the firer swears aloud to slay her target (a free action), the bow’s whisper becomes the low shout “Swift death to those who have wronged me.” Against such a sworn enemy, the bow has a +5 enhancement bonus, and arrows launched from it deal an additional 2d6 points of damage (and x4 on a critical hit instead of the normal x3). However, the bow is treated as only a masterwork weapon against all foes other than the sworn enemy, and the wielder takes a –1 penalty on attack rolls with any weapon other than the oathbow. These bonuses and penalties last for seven days or until the sworn enemy is slain or destroyed by the wielder of the oathbow, whichever comes first.
The oathbow may only have one sworn enemy at a time. Once the wielder swears to slay a target, she cannot make a new oath until she has slain that target or seven days have passed. Even if the wielder slays the sworn enemy on the same day that she makes the oath, she cannot activate the oathbow’s special power again until 24 hours have passed from the time she made the oath.


Lady Kaal’s Fire Armour
This deeply red stained armour smells of hot flames, but feels strangely cool to the touch. On the outside the leather has been worked into fabulously stylish dark red curves. Perfect for stealth and silent and pliable this is truly the gorgeous armour you have always wanted. Upon looking at the inside you discover something strange. All the surfaces that touch the wearer are rendered with light blue icelike dye. This armour has been handed through the Kaal family for several generations, and though it seems incredibly well maintained, you can tell that it has seen much action, not the least of which has been repeated fire ballings.

+ 2 Fire resistance armour
This suit of armour absorbs the first 10 points of fire damage per attack that the wearer would normally take (similar to the resist energy spell).

Cool huh?!

Ben


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[mattdm]

I put this in at One Million Swords - ENWiki

It needs some formatting cleanup.

 

[Reynard]

I put this in at One Million Swords - ENWiki

It needs some formatting cleanup.

If I could for the life of me figure out how to do that, I'd be glad to!?!