Black Blades of Wendar (the making)
by John HareHere is a possibility of the history
of the Black Blades. Comments are welcome. Note there is no price
listed for these weapons, roughly take a magical weapon of
equivalent value and triple the cost sounds about right. The Order
of the Black Blade owns several of the lesser blades and a few of
the wealthier commanders own greater blades.
Black Blades
The maker of the Black Blades is Galinith BlackOak, an elf lvl 15
(wizard). Born in the year 293 AC in a small northern settlement in
Wendar. He was apprenticed as a wood carver and did quite well. He
served a couple of stints in the rotating guard forces of his
settlement. Around 500 AC he had established his own household and
was becoming quite well known for his work. However in 563 AC the
invasion by Nebunar arrived and devastated his home, killing his
wife and their child. In grief and rage he set out on a mission to
remove the threat of invasion by killing the invaders. He managed
to kill quite a few of the invaders who settled in Denagoth, but
after 50 years his luck ran out. He was badly wounded and barely
made it back. The leg didn't heal properly but the desire for
revenge was still there. He returned to his carving and made arrow
shafts on the side. Slowly he found himself immersed into his
carving and his pain eased. He had however carved several hundred
unused arrow shafts, primarily because of the lack of metals for
arrowheads. Considering this, he began experimenting with different
woods and designs to see if a decent arrowhead could be made from
wood. Along the way of his wood testing he used some wood protected
by a group of druids. They had a few woods with him about cutting
down rare trees and only using a part of it. In the discussion the
druids showed him their solution for using wood, the spell
oaksteel. Astonished by this revelation he began his own research,
after agreeing to limit his use of the protected trees to
supervised collection of dead branches. Eventually finding success
he carved complete arrows and applied the spell to the entire
arrow. Hunters and the guard both bought these.
It was shortly after this (circa 600 AC) that Galinith took on a
couple of apprentices and turned his attention to carving swords.
It took him several years to perfect his craft as carving swords
needed different skills. He found that he preferred to carve from
black oak and was soon referred to by that name by the shorter
lived humans. He eventually planted himself an orchard of black oak
so that he wouldn't have to wander far to find wood.
He eventually decided to stain his black oak swords with a stain
of his own concoction. Primarily as a quick reference to blades
that he had made. A discovery happened when a black sword was
accidentally dropped into a fire. It burnt slightly but no where
near what an unstained blade did. It was then that Galinith
tampered with the properties of the stain. Apparently satisfied he
returned to carving a couple of black swords but wouldn't tell
anyone what he used in his stain. Currently his two apprentices are
learning to carve swords, but are stained green to show that these
blades aren't up to Galinith's expectations. There are several
other blade carvers in Wendar, who have established their own
blades and particular stains. However it is known that these other
blades don't have the resistance to fire that the Black Blades are
famous for.
Galinith can make a black blade in one month, and normally takes
the next month off to work on other projects. Occasionally if the
coin is right and he likes the supplicant (normally an elf) he'll
agree to create a Greater Blade, which takes about 6 months of
work.
The Lesser Black Blades
These weapons are at least +1 in value and sometimes +2. They also
have the ability to cast Silence (2nd level elf spell from Gaz 5)
on the user 3/day. Note these weapons do not glow, and do not
radiate magic. They also resist fire at +2. It is believed the
combination of superb craftsmanship and the stain bring out these
properties. They are also treated with the Oaksteel spell (as
presented earlier by Bruce Heard). These weapons however cannot be
further enchanted or treated with weapon enhancing spells such as
striking.
The Greater Black Blades
These weapons range in +3 to +5 depending on the coin offered and
how well Galinith likes them (if he doesn't he won't make them a
blade). They are created specifically for a given individual for an
exact fit. The subject must be present during the carving and must
sleep with the prospective blade. Galinith is forging a bond
between the subject and the blade. They resist fire at +5. They
also act as cloak and boots of elvenkind when held by the hilt by
the bonded subject. The bond allows the subject to feel distance
and direction of his blade if separated. The bonded person will
prefer using it over all others.
The hilt of these weapons also incorporates an animal/monster head
of some kind, which denotes a special ability that the sword
contains and may be used once per day. All effects are at 15th
level of ability.
Examples
Eagle: fly spell
Dragon: fear (as per wand)
Lion: haste
Horse: longstride (elf spell, Gaz 5)
Dog: charm monster (i.e. loyalty)
Fish: water breathing
Wolf: confusion
Snake: protection from poison
Spider: web
Note: A person other than the one whom is bonded to it treats it as
a lesser blade. Also these weapons still require to be
sharpened.
Warning: Buyer beware should a Greater Black Blade be destroyed the
bonded individual loses 3-5 points from each attribute (depending
on the plus of the weapon). These attributes are recovered at the
rate of 1 per month after the destruction of the blade.