D&D 5E Realigning a magic item

[Caliban]

Serious answer: Make it a side quest where she has to astrally travel into the pocket dimension contained within the sword and contend with the spirit of Hazirawn itself. If she is able to master the blade it's alignment will shift towards hers. (For further inspiration, see episode 19 and 302 of the Bleach anime, where Ichigo does something similar with his sword.)

 

[robus]

Don't leave it up to chance.

Create 2 challenging side quests. Each side quest your PC completes (and delivers the needed component/ritual/riddle answer/whatever to the Arcane Brotherhood) shifts Hazirawn's alignment one step from NE > N > NG.

If it's a blade forged in Netheril, then maybe Hazirawn was made as part of the dreams of Netherese rulership over superstitious non-mages who "fear and do not understand magic"? So perhaps part of the quest to change the sword's evil nature requires revealing false pretenses under it which created. Maybe Hazirawn thinks it was forged to defend mighty mages (rightful rulers) from persecution/uprising by the misguided, when it was really made to subjugate non-mages? That would fit for an aristocratic/magocratic interpretation of Neutral Evil and could make for some fun roleplay.

There also might be an NPC who suffers and enduring wound from Hazirawn's wounding feature. Easing this NPC's suffering or securing their forgiveness of Hazirawn / its former owner might be another quest.

And then you can bring in Bahamut and/or a golden dragon as the final step. The PC might need to bear Hazirawn into the flames of a gold dragon's breath. This could be an Indiana Jones-esque act of faith – the flames look like they'll kill but they do not harm a true believer.

Hmm - well I could imagine that the Arcane Brotherhood might suggest that delivering the killing blow to a great evil (Tiamat) could "reverse the polarity" of the sword - or at least open the sword up to realigning with it's attuned owner.

I like that idea (and it ties in with the quest we're currently on).

 

[robus]

Serious answer: Make it a side quest where she has to astrally travel into the pocket dimension contained within the sword and contend with the spirit of Hazirawn itself. If she is able to master the blade it's alignment will shift towards hers. (For further inspiration, see episode 19 and 302 of the Bleach anime, where Ichigo does something similar with his sword.)

That's a very cool idea.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Changing the alignment of an intelligent magical item should happen the same way as getting a humanoid to change alignment; by convincing them that their existing alignment is wrong and that there's a better path.

Or by making a tiny helmet for it to wear.

 

[robus]

Here's my plan.

To "neutralize" Hazirawn, it's current owner must enter the pocket dimension and duel with the death knight (heavily modified) in order to release the evil grip on the sword. The owner enters a portal into the sword and does combat, suffering psychic damage for any hits sustained.

To "goodify" Hazirawn it must be used to deliver the killing blow to a great evil (Tiamat) thus opening a new "portal" for the aligned owner to meld the sword to their alignment.

Edit: for clarity

 

[Lanliss]

I would have it get angry. It resists the attempts to forcefully change it out of spite, and probably ensures that the first person to touch it goes into a blind murder-rage. re-aligning a sentient item is just like changing a persons alignment. Sit down, talk with it, maybe start with some give and take (You can taste all the blood you want in this next fight, they are evil people, but until then don't try to eat my friends.), followed by carrot/stick (You were pretty rowdy last fight, you get time-out for a week or two), and of course a mutual respect. but never, ever, would I allow a positive alignment change to be forced onto an item.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

I would have it get angry. It resists the attempts to forcefully change it out of spite, and probably ensures that the first person to touch it goes into a blind murder-rage.

So any attempts to mind-control it will prompt it into mind-controlling someone else in retaliation? Wouldn't this be a case of the ends justifying the means?

I mean, if someone is about to commit a murder, then it's justified to kill them if that's your only option; it's pretty much the basis for all of heroic fantasy. How is this not the same thing? Or is it easily excusable to take a life, but never okay to mind-control? Why is mind-control worse than murder, in this scenario?

 

[Lanliss]

So any attempts to mind-control it will prompt it into mind-controlling someone else in retaliation? Wouldn't this be a case of the ends justifying the means?

I mean, if someone is about to commit a murder, then it's justified to kill them if that's your only option; it's pretty much the basis for all of heroic fantasy. How is this not the same thing? Or is it easily excusable to take a life, but never okay to mind-control? Why is mind-control worse than murder, in this scenario?

I am talking from an RP perspective. Do you know of many Evil sentient creatures that happily accept being forced into a good mind-set? An Evil Sword will be angry at someone shifting it's alignment, and (from my personal perspective) that anger would act as a great focus for not becoming nice. If you want to talk morals, yes, I think that in some rare cases it would be morally ok to mind-control something into being nicer, but that thing is not likely to accept it very well. Considering this is an ancient, powerful sentience I would say its spite and anger will be stronger than a group of wizards using anything short of Wish. The only alignment change likely to occur, in my game anyway, would be for it to get even worse. It would invent a whole new level of Evil alignment, called Chaotic Spite.

 

[MarkB]

You have to get it up on the lift and take accurate measurements. If it's out of alignment, you can usually fix it by re-wrapping and tightening the hilt and crossguard, but if the blade itself is out of true you need more drastic measures. Heavy rollers, a lathe, reheating and tempering...whatever it takes.

And watch out for those dodgy magical workshops who say they'll do it on the cheap. You go in for the free realignment, and come out having dropped 2000 gp on a new set of bindings and a warding enchantment.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

I am talking from an RP perspective. Do you know of many Evil sentient creatures that happily accept being forced into a good mind-set?

Isn't there a character in Planescape: Torment who has that backstory? As far as I'm aware, if you can successfully shift the alignment of an Evil sentient creature to Good, then they're usually happier for the change and reluctant to return. Exceptions, where someone actually enjoys being evil and wants to revert, are usually played for laughs.