The Sword Berserk

[Anabstercorian]

In 3.5, a standard long sword, sized for a human, has a hardness of 10 and 5 hit points. An adamantine long sword of the same size has a hardness of 20 and 6 hit points, but adamantine by default has 40 hit points per inch of thickness. A magical weapon has the following unique bonuses:

From the SRD:

Hardness and Hit Points: An attacker cannot damage a magic weapon that has an enhancement bonus unless his own weapon has at least as high an enhancement bonus as the weapon or shield struck. Each +1 of enhancement bonus adds 2 to a weapon’s or shield’s hardness and +10 to its hit points

So if we've got a +3 Adamantine sword that's 6 inches thick. That's Hardness 26 and 270 hit points.

That's probably WORSE than just 1000 hit points... But I like it. Now I'll just have to work out how many construct hit dice it needs to have 270 hp as a Large creature...

About 40 hit dice! Wow! I think that works out to a base attack bonus of +30. However, after 20 HD we hit Epic Progression, so we get +25 instead. Which could be equivalent to a 20th level fighter with a +5 weapon?

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

The 3.5 rule would make the Sword Berserk more frightful than I envisioned it, then.

The Sword's blade is 6 inches thick, in the middle. At the edges, it is razor sharp and thin. So some sort of average (3 inches?) is needed.
The pommel is standard sized for a large orc's hand, although longer than normal for a long sword. The guard generally consists of four spokes extending out and then forward, ending in spheres often with onyx stones of their own.

I had intended that an ordinary defender with ordinary weapons (swords, maces, arrows) could hit and damage the Sword. I gave it so many hit points to offset the obvious: the defenders would rain destruction down on the Sword to stop it.
But now, you are saying that only weapons of + 3 or greater could damage a Sword Berserk, because it is itself a + 3 weapon?

I guess the Sword should be counted as 3 inches thick, and as adamantite for purposes of hardness. The Sword is not made of adamantite, but rather of iron, but treat it as adamantite anyways. And of course the orcs made the thing thick, putting great effort into enchanting all that metal, so the Sword would be strong and difficult to destroy (so the hit point stipulations per inch of adamantite work out within the spirit of what I intended for the weapon)

So in 3.5 the Sword would have a Hardness of 26, would have 150 hit points, and it would be immune to attacks with weapons of under + 3 enchantment. It would continue to make saves as a 20th level fighter.
Still, far more frightful and dangerous than my original 2E conception of the Sword.
Let's just say, if the majority of my characters knew the orcs were on the way with one of these Swords, they'd be calling for the local Elven High Mage to make an appearance, and fast.

 

[trilobite]

The Sword's blade is 6 inches thick, in the middle. At the edges, it is razor sharp and thin. So some sort of average (3 inches?) is needed.

6 inches thick? How heavy is this sucker? A normal longsword would be lets say 1/4-1/2 inch thick at most.

edit.
Ok I found the weight....30-50 pounds. Humm more like a 6" thick iron bar. To Monty Hall'ish for my tastes though.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Well, from a casual observer's point of view, the Sword Berserk looks like it was made by some tinker gnome from Krynn who had a grand scheme of building a superweapon combo sword/spear/club.

The typical Sword Berserk weighs 30 pounds (but some weigh up to 50 pounds.)
The typical Sword Berserk is shaped like a long sword made for a fairly large human (they come in variants up to very large two-handed types)

Like a typical long sword, the Sword Berserk has a blade that is thinnest at the blade's edges, and thicker in the midst of the blade.
However, in the case of a Sword Berserk, the weapon goes from razor thin at the edges, to a ghastly 6 inches thick down the very middle of the blade. This thickness extends almost to the point, but the point itself is needle sharp.

The typical reaction of the observer to finding such a weapon, who does not know it's true nature, is one of curiosity, disbelief, and disgust.
There are some who have simply passed Swords Berserk by in their adventures, considering them crazy orc inventions that obviously failed, and not worthy of bagging as treasure.
There are more who took the weapon as a curiosity item, put it in their vaults at home, and these horrific weapons remain there still, waiting to be used once more.
At least one Sword Berserk was taken immediately to the nearest elves for examination. It is recorded the elven mage present fainted on the spot, after he magically deduced the Sword's true nature. (The shocked elves put the Sword aside to tend to the mage. The thief among the adventurers seized the moment to steal the Sword and hightail it out of the area. The infuriated elves are still after him, and the Sword, today.)

Remember this: when a Sword Berserk is in it's fury mode, it can move at up to 100 miles per hour. Combine that with a strength of 23 and it's weight of 30 pounds, and you have something very formidable just from that.
Imagine just being hit by a large, hard metal object at 100 miles per hour, that weighs 30 to 50 pounds. Then imagine it decides to play golf (you're the golf ball) with it's 23 strength just as it slams into you, using it's momentum to aid it's swing. (A combined speed of up to 190 miles per hour at the club end!)
And that's before you add in it's lethal, + 3 edge and point, the pommel which it will use like a mace, and it's crafty, ruthless thinking and unstoppable killing fury.

Aye: many, many mighty and noble elves - men and women - have dared the wrath of the orcs and their Swords Berserk, and paid the ultimate price for it.

 

[Anabstercorian]

Written up in 3.5 parlance (i.e., minimum flavor text and rules clean as possible)...

Sword Berserk Minor Artifact
A sword berserk is a large +3 adamantine greatsword crafted by mad orcish priests and spellcasters. It's not actually made of adamantine, but of magically enchanted iron. It holds the spirit of an orcish hero (or villain, as it may be.) When thrown, it animates as though wielded by an invisible warrior and attacks as follows:

Hit Points: 250
Initiative: +5
Speed: Fly 30 ft. (perfect), fly 900 (clumsy)
Armor Class: 14 (+5 Dex, -1 Size) touch 14, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +20/+26
Attack: Cut +30 melee (3d6+15/19-20) and Pommel +28 melee (1d10+3)
Full Attack: Cut +30/+25/+20/+15 melee (3d6+15/19-20) and Pommel +28/+23/+18 melee (1d10+3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Deadly Charge, I'll Getcha
Special Qualities: Hardness 23, Magic Sight
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +11, Will +8
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 21, Con -, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 6
Skills: -
Feats: Weapon Focus (Itself), Greater Weapon Focus (Itself), Greater Weapon Specialization (Itself), Weapon Specialization (Itself), Power Attack, Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Sunder, Improved Bull Rush

Deadly Charge: Due to it's great speed, a Sword Berserk deals an additional 4d12 points of damage on a charge attack.

I'll Getcha A Sword Berserk can use discern location as a supernatural ability at will to detect anyone who it was planning to kill and got away from it.

Magic Sight: A Sword Berserk can perceive the location of all living (and undead) creatures within 120 feet. Especially elves. Damn those elves!

Only an orc with 10 ranks in Craft (Weaponsmith) or similar skills and the feats Craft Construct and Craft Magic Arms and Armor can repair a damaged Sword Berserk, which takes one day, 250 experience points, and 5000 gp worth of ensorceled iron per 10 hit points.

As mentioned earlier, it's one thing to START this thing's fury. Stopping it is a whole other bag. o.o


It's worth noting that on a power attack, this thing deals 65 damage per hit, on average. Easily enough to cut through all aforementioned things that it cuts through...

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Beautiful, Anabstercorian! Way to go!

Remember, the Sword's fury lasts for 6 to 36 minutes, or 3 times the thrower's level (in 3rd Edition, use Character Level), whichever is longer. It must continue to attack and kill something, for the full duration of the fury. It will attack the foes of the thrower/wielder first, but once they are dead, the Sword must continue to kill, and ... well, a harsh fate is thus decreed.

If you average 6 to 36, that's 21. Or 21 minutes: 210 melee rounds in 3rd Edition. A 7th level Character in 3rd Edition would similarly generate a fury lasting for 21 minutes, or 210 melee rounds. This is the average minimum time for the fury of a Sword Berserk. It can last much longer than that: a 20th level character invoking the fury would cause the Sword to fury for 60 minutes, or 600 melee rounds.
So if a party of adventurers hurls a Sword Berserk and invokes it's fury, they had better hope that there are a lot of enemies out there, or have a teleport ready for the lot of them. If the Sword finishes the enemy and then comes for them, they certainly won't outrun it, and the Sword is quite adept at cutting through obstacles to reach characters trying to hide from it's wrath.
As I said in my initial description, quite a number of TPKs (Total Party Kills) have occurred when foolish adventurers dared the power of the orcish Sword Berserk.

Incidentally, as I said certain spells (the 2nd Edition Rope Trick, if held completely closed, for example) will thwart the wrath of a Sword Berserk. In cases such as this, the Sword will flash away and attempt to trick the party into leaving their refuge.
If, after a few minutes, the Sword cannot trick (or talk - see below) the party out, it will flash away at top speed towards the nearest and largest group of sentient beings, and when it reaches them, the bloodbath will start anew.

The Sword Berserk does not normally speak, but in this special case it will, informing the adventurers in hiding that if they refuse to come out and accept their fate, MANY other innocents will take their place. This should be especially pleasant hearing for paladins, cavaliers, bladesingers, noble defenders, good clerics, and other such types, and the Sword will play the ethics card to the hilt. The Sword will be quite merciless in it's taunting in general, knowing full well it can back up each and every threat with action.

Once it's fury is over, the Sword is quite harmless once more, and it reverts to being non-communicative.

Whether Swords Berserk hold grudges or not is not known, but since they were made by orcs, tis best to assume they do.

- - -

On a special note: Orcs are not native to Krynn, and no Swords Berserk have ever been reported there. So, among other things we wouldn't want to happen, no kender has ever picked up a Sword Berserk and tried to use it, and no tinker gnome committee has yet examined and tried to modify and/or improve a Sword Berserk. Conversely, the Conclave knows nothing of these weapons, and most certainly would not be on the watch for one should a Sword Berserk come to Krynn.

And one nitpick to Anabstercorian: The Sword is not clumsy when it is moving at full speed. It isn't perfect, but it isn't clumsy either. (whatever orders of flight control exist in 3.5, you might want to bump the Sword up a notch or two for it's full speed.)