Any Sourcebooks On Mythical Weapons?

[RangerWickett]

Are there any existing books which provide information on, and rules for, mythological arms and armour (eg. Excalibur, Kusanagi, Mjolnir)? Either fantasy or modern - since these supposedly real world objects could of course be applicable to either.

Just wondering, because if such a product doesn't exist I was thinking of trying to throw something together.

Cleomedes, do you have an expected publisher, or are you planning to self publish? I ask because E.N. Publishing will be releasing a book called Mythic Earth that sort of fits the same theme as your product idea. Mythic Earth is meant primarily to let you make the magic in your game -- be it d20 Modern or D&D -- be more mythical, more mysterious, more flavorful.

Now I personally would think that any sort of book about such legendary items should never present just one version of each. That's simply selling their myths short. The great thing about myths is that they are reenvisioned to be whatever the teller needs them to be.

Excalibur could, in a low magic, more realistic fantasy myth, be merely a +1 longsword. The only +1 longsword in Europe. It's sheath was the truly fantastic item, capable of keeping wounds from bleeding. The only truly fantastic aspect of Excalibur was that it could only be taken by the true king of England (or the Britons, or whatever particular butchery of history you're using for your myth ).

In a higher-fantasy setting, it could be a +5 holy avenger, with the added benefit of giving the wielder +10 to Diplomacy checks.

In my campaign, a postmodernist action adventure spanning seven cultures across the world, Excalibur is a blade that conjures a beam of pure sunlight, which King Arthur used to destroy the vampires that had threatened England. Unfortunately, at the Battle of Camlann, Mordred managed to bite Arthur, but thankfully he was delivered to the dark healing catacombs under the isle of Avalon before the sun rose. The hope is that one day a cure for the vampirism will be found, and Arthur will be able to return as the rightful ruler of England.

So yeah, if you're interested in finding a publisher, I'd be interested in helping out.

 

[Cleomedes]

So yeah, if you're interested in finding a publisher, I'd be interested in helping out.

Thank you, I would very much appreciate that.

I haven't got a publisher lined up, and was just planning on writing it and then seeing where I could submit it to. So, any help would be gratefully received.

 

[Alzrius]

Cleomedes, just curious, what mythic weapons from Asia are you taking into account? I was just doing some research on Japan for a project, and did some work on famous swords of that country, such as blades by Masamune and Muramasa, as well as Kusanagi, the imperial sword.

 

[Cleomedes]

Cleomedes, just curious, what mythic weapons from Asia are you taking into account? I was just doing some research on Japan for a project, and did some work on famous swords of that country, such as blades by Masamune and Muramasa, as well as Kusanagi, the imperial sword.

In the aforementioned manuscript I covered the artefacts listed below, of which only Kusanagi is Japanese, and a few others (Blue Blade, Sharur, Sun Wukong's staff, the Sudarsana Chakra) are from Asia. I was considering writing an entry about Muramasa's blades, since the supernatural tales surrounding them make them suitably mythical. However, I couldn't find a decent source about the properties of his swords - mostly because of my unfamiliarity with Japanese historical literature, no doubt, which made tracking one down a little problematic.

I was somewhat anal, and tried to only include monsters and artefacts for which I would cite some decent sources, and offer these to the reader at the end of each entry. For example, at the end of the entry on Achilles' armour I provide references to bits of Homer and Quintus of Smyrna, and at the end of the entry on Sun Wukong's staff I cite passages in Journey to the West. I wanted the work to have a pseudo-scholarly feel, since I was presenting the monsters and weapons as if they were real. However, for the purposes of an RPG sourcebook I guess that wouldn't be necessary.

Did you find a lot of good material in your research on Japanese swords?



Achilles’ Armour

Aegis

Aeneas’ Arms & Armour

Blue Blade

Durendal

Excalibur

Fragarach

Gae Bulga

Gram

Hades’ Helmet

Heracles’ Cloak

Kusanagi

Mjolnir

Paracelsus’ Sword

Sharur

Spear of Destiny

Sudarsana Chakra

Sun Wukong’s Staff

Surt’s Sword

Turnus’ Helmet & Sword

 

[Zander]

I haven't got a publisher lined up, and was just planning on writing it and then seeing where I could submit it to. So, any help would be gratefully received.

No, not E.N. Publishing! It will wind up as a PDF that I won't be able to get. Try to get it printed. Please, please, please.

 

[JoeGKushner]

If you can lay hands on them, Role-Aids produced two supplements for 1e (or 2e) called Fantastic Treasures I and II. They were both full of little else but game mechanics for weapons of myth and legend. I own them both, and they're not bad.

Try this link:
http://home.flash.net/~brenfrow/ra/ra.htm

They also covered monsters in a seperate line for the mythological areas. Good stuff overall.

 

[JoeGKushner]

There was a book out from Sword & Sorcery last year IIRC, called Relics & Rituals: Excaliber that described a 'Round Table' setting, with stats for Excaliber, Holy Grail, etc. It was pretty good I think, but I have not read it in a while nor used it in-game.

And don't forget Legends of Excalibur, I believe from RPGObjects. They're also doing Dark Ages now I believe.

 

[RangerWickett]

No, not E.N. Publishing! It will wind up as a PDF that I won't be able to get. Try to get it printed. Please, please, please.

You can buy print-on-demand copies of E.N. Publishing books. Or is it that you can't buy things online? I mean, not that he would necessarily need to publish with us, but if he did, there are ways to get copies.

I'm wondering if there are any mythic Aborigine weapons. Any mighty hunters with famous boomerangs? Aside from, y'know, Link?

 

[Zander]

You can buy print-on-demand copies of E.N. Publishing books.

Interesting. Does that mean you can order hard copies or does that mean that you download the files and print them out yourself?

 

[Cleomedes]

I'm wondering if there are any mythic Aborigine weapons. Any mighty hunters with famous boomerangs? Aside from, y'know, Link?

Good question. I've never studied the Aborigines, so I'm not sure what kind of mythology they have. I didn't come across any Aboriginal artefacts when I did my general research, but then again I didn't search specifically for their legends.

I'll have a look, and see what I can find.