The Sword Realms are not a single recursion, but rather the name for several connected recursions shaped by wizardry, hidden elvish enclaves, ambitious human kingdoms, rapacious dragons, barbarian outlanders, marauding orc tribes, trolls and mountain giants, half-forgotten deities, and amazing treasures of gold and magic. Natives without the spark risk an existence of fear and drudgery, whether as a serf, a slave, a prisoner, or a victim of a monstrous creature or cruel warlord. But those with open eyes—including recursors— see the opportunities the Sword Realms offer to the brave and daring. These conspicuous few practice the kata of the blade, spell, coin, or prayer. They are destined for great things in the Sword Realms because practice and iron will give them the means to rise above their circumstance and enter a world of adventure.
The inputs of a thousand fantasy novels, movies, and tabletop roleplaying games comingled to seed the Sword Realms in the Strange. If a concept, creature, object, or character exists in fiction somewhere on Earth, a reflection of it likely exists somewhere in the Sword Realms. As a class of similar recursions rather than one specific recursion, the Sword Realms are somewhat more difficult to navigate. Borders are in flux—two places in the Sword Realms might be located in two different recursions (though that distinction is not always clear to natives), and sometimes known locations are inaccessible until the proper phase of the moon comes around or some other external ingredient is provided.
The Sword Realms were created through fictional leakage. one Mountains, looking down across the sprawling Free City of Dyranmar.
Instead of appearing as a human, a recursor could choose to translate into the Sword Realms as a dwarf, an elf, or a halfling. Dwarves are stocky with beards, elves have pointed ears and androgynous features, and halflings are child sized with hairy, bare feet. They also gain the following advantages: dwarves gain +1 to their Might Pool, elves gain +1 to their Speed Pool, and for halflings, the difficulty of tasks related to stealth and pleasant social interaction is decreased by one step.
The foci that player characters can choose in the Sword Realms—as well as any foci that are dragged into the recursion—are modified by the recursion’s context, as appropriate. For example, if someone chooses Works Miracles, the power to heal another creature is channeled from one of the deities that are revered, feared, or cursed in the Sword Realms.
As is true for any recursion, the foci indicated as being available in the Sword Realms are just the base options. Many more foci are possible, especially those that replicate abilities of classic adventuring roles. The GM can use appropriate foci from the corebook, from In Translation, or from other sources.
A native is likely to be blind or indifferent to the concept that Sword Realms locations might be in separate recursions. That’s especially true when it comes to the wide forest known as the Gloomwood and the elvish enclave of Ilucara hidden within it. When it’s obvious that one place is not directly connected to another, a native of the Sword Realms might view a distant recursion as lying on another plane of existence. From a native’s perspective, all such alternate recursions are usually called “realms,” anyway. So the realm of the human Empire of the Gold Throne is separate from the Free City of Dyranmar, both of which are separate from the sea that divides them, and so on.
Recursors notice something odd about the Sword Realms: translating into any particular part of the realms from an unaffiliated recursion or from Earth is a difficulty 6 translation task. However, translating from one of the Sword Realms recursions to a connected recursion is usually only a difficulty 3 translation task (and often, moving from one to the next is as simple as walking across the edges of the connected recursions, an event that may go unnoticed by all but the most sensitive). Translating out of a Sword Realms recursion from any recursion inside is also harder, and recursors find the difficulty of the translation task increases by two steps.
A host of gods is revered and worshipped in the Sword Realms, culled from the many fictions that seeded the linked recursions. Natives might be heard to call on any number of deities, as determined by the GM. If the GM has a favorite fantasy setting, she might use the gods from that world as the pantheon of the Sword Realms.
This means that if a recursor traveled far enough through the connected realms, she might find her way into the presence of Zeus, Odin, or one of the many gods made familiar by various games or novels (or religions). However, it’s not wise to press the boundaries of a recursion, because doing so could cause such a god, who previously existed only in a state of possibility, to precipitate into existence. And no one, whether they are a native of the Strange, an Estate operative, or an agent of the Karum, wants to risk a crazy bastard like Zeus—or any number of other gods—gaining the spark.
The following are only a sampling of the many locations within the Sword Realms. More realms seem to pop up all the time, while others fade away.
A traveling adventurer is unlikely to come across another city as large, as old, as magnificent—and at the same time as decrepit, as corrupt, and as dangerous—as Dyranmar. Built on the confluence of two mighty rivers where they empty into the wide Sea of Storms, Dyranmar has enjoyed unequaled trading opportunities for hundreds of years, despite being fenced on one side by the towering Thunderstone Mountains.
Trade is king in Dyranmar; at least, that’s a popular saying. Another saying is that “All things come to Dyranmar,” which fits many situations, including the fact that many factions vie for power in the Free City. The short list of major organizations provided here is only a subset; many more exist.
Just short of nobility, merchants are nonetheless given leeway that commoners resent. Those who reach the highest ranks within their particular guilds are called “lord merchants.” The guilds elect three of their number every three years to sit as rotating members of the body called the Lords of Dyranmar.
Lord Merchant Aeltun Withe numbers among the most influential in Dyranmar, thanks to the thriving trade in cloth, lumber, and items stocking shops in the Market Ward that he controls—and also thanks to his rumored contract with the Slavers’ Guild. When those in Withe’s employ displease him, they tend to disappear and, according to stories, show up on the block in the Slavers’ Ward.
Aeltun Withe: level 5, tasks related to trade, deception, and pleasant interaction as level 6
The Lords of Dyranmar set the rules for commerce and civil interaction in the Free City. Some of the Lords are corrupt, some do both good and ill, and a few attempt to keep the city actually free. They meet three days out of seven in the Lords Agora, an open auditorium on the edge of the Castle Ward, and discuss issues of the day.
The Lords of Dyranmar have putative control over the Lawkeepers (the city watch) and the War College (the military), but both organizations have a tendency to act first and seek forgiveness afterward.
Lord Myrdan is the current Speaker of the Agora. He is independently wealthy, has a manor in the Castle Ward, and is an accomplished wizard in his own right, though he is not part of the Wizards’ Guild. He’s one of the strongest proponents for the commoners of the Free City and has done much to expose corruption. Myrdan’s secret hobby is exploring—he has the power to translate into other recursions unrelated to the Sword Realms, and even to Earth. Myrdan hasn’t yet realized that it’s his realm that is a reflection of the prime world, but he is beginning to have his suspicions.
Lord Myrdan (recursor): level 7; long-range spell attack inflicts damage on all targets within immediate range of each other; carries Myrdan’s staff artifact
Criminals in Dyranmar are sentenced to hard labor, usually as slaves to the winning bidders in the daily auctions. By decree of the Lords of Dyranmar, slaves are bound to service only for the given term of their sentence, which is magically marked on their skin by a Lawkeeper tattoo. When the term is up, the tattoo dissipates. To damage a slave or hold one beyond the length of his term is a crime all its own, and if proved, the slave owner can be convicted and sentenced to a term of slavery himself.
The Slavers’ Ward is comparatively small, but it sees a lot of daily traffic, given that it also houses the Lawkeepers and their various operations. It’s illegal in Dyranmar to traffic in slaves that haven’t been sentenced and processed by the Lawkeepers. However, beyond the city gates, anecdotes suggest that the Slavers’ Guild has another, far more brutal operation in place. Umar Bulzidbab, the face of the organization in the Free City, does little to quash these rumors. The dwarf slavemaster feels that fear of his organization is the most powerful tool in his arsenal. Certainly most people, even many lords, are afraid to cross him.
Umar Bulzidbab: level 5, lore related to dwarves and slaves as level 6; health 25; Armor 2
More of a research university than a vital part of the Free City, the Wizards’ Guild consists of members who usually remain interest in the city or to adventure beyond Dyranmar’s confines.
More of a research university than a vital part of the Free City, the Wizards' Guild consists of members who usually remain holed up in their guildhall, a massive stone structure with many towers and dungeons that makes up the entirety of the Wizards' Ward. Practicing magic seems to be a drug to most wizards, whether it entails studying the spells of others or researching their own spells. The more magic they do, the more they want to do, and the less happy they are when not doing it, which leads many wizards right out of social and adventuring life. Only a few regularly (or permanently) leave the guildhall to take an interest in the city or to adventure beyond Dyranmar's confines.
High Wizard Imilas Lindorion isn't bookish and introverted like most wizards, making her a great choice to serve as head of the guild. As an elf, she is already descended from magical beings. Magic came easy for her and didn't prove addictive, as it does for so many humans. Imilas hails from Ilucara, and while she remains in the Free City, a tenuous tie exists between the two realms. Imilas also serves as the guild representative in the Lords Agora, though she usually sends a second in her stead. She's done this more frequently of late, as she's become worried about an orc infestation growing in the Thunderstone Mountains.
Imilas Lindorion: level 7; casts spells for offense, defense, and utility as required; artifact staff delivers a lightning attack with a range of 3,000 feet (1 km) that inflicts 7 points of damage (ignores Armor)
A guild of thieves is quite active in the Free City, but never openly. In truth, little is known about them other than the evidence of their thefts, and the rumor that when the guild principals meet, they wear golden masks to hide their true identities from one another. It's likely that some of them are prominent members of other organizations, including the Slavers' Guild and the Merchants' Guild, and a few may even number among the Lords.
Castia Lyone is a young woman whose family traces its lineage back to the days when royalty ruled Dyranmar. She lives in the Castle Ward in a sprawling manor owned by her grandparents. She is also a principal of the Golden Masks. She specializes in stealing information rather than goods, and she usually provides it to Lord Myrdan (though he doesn’t know her true identity).
Castia Lyone: level 5, tasks related to stealth and thievery as level 7
This brutal range of peaks is mostly snowcapped, except for the tallest, which is a thundering, smoke-spewing volcano called the One. Only a few passes provide entry into other realms of
the connected recursions, and all of them are dangerous, threatening travelers with blizzards in the high passes, lava flows near the One, or a variety of giants, ogres, orcs, and other menaces.
An ogre colony infests an ancient watchtower along one of the major passes. It contains about thirty ogres and double that number of orcs and human slaves. The ogres operate like bandits and are capriciously sinister. Sometimes they demand a toll from travelers, and other times they may capture an entire party to use as food and replacement slaves.
Ogre, Thunderstone: level 6; immune to lightning and electrical attacks; alternate attacks are charged with lightning and inflict 3 additional points of damage
Orc, Thunderstone: level 3, Speed defense as level 4 from shield; if two or more orcs attack the same target in melee, treat their attacks as level 5
This volcano is so tall that travelers find it hard to breathe near the summit. Far worse are unexpected lava flows, billows of invisible bad air, and occasional phoenix attacks. But treasure seekers, especially dwarves, brave the heights, looking for rare minerals belched forth by previous expulsions. The most valuable prize is a special variety of obsidian glass known as soul obsidian. Weapons made of soul obsidian are stronger than normal metal weapons, take enchantments better, and usually burn targets for 1 additional point of damage.
Phoenixes are common sights circling the caldera around the peak, and they usually leave visitors alone. However, if a visitor’s soul is sufficiently weighed down by some past crime, one or more phoenixes are drawn to her and attack.
Phoenix, volcano-born: level 4; flies a long distance each round; bite inflicts 4 points of fire damage and blinds victim with ash for one round
The dwarf prospector Kharkad Gundush is found on the slope more often than not, with a personal bodyguard of several ogres to keep him safe from phoenixes and physical threats, and a magic foldable keep to protect him from environmental hazards. Kharkad is usually good for a story and a meal inside his keep.
Kharkad Gundush: level 5; health 21; Armor 3; has a foldable keep artifact
This forest is foreboding and shadowed, even when the sun is high. The Gloomwood was once part of the larger forest that contains the elvish realm of Ilucara, but a bloodborne corruption burrowed up out of a hellish realm under the earth, filling a portion of the wood with gloom, evil, and, most terrifyingly, vampires. The sinister vampire lord known as Eshadus the Bloodgod leads an undead group of other vampires called the Circle of Glory.
Beneath Eshadus and the Circle, a growing host of lesser vampires and other undead menace nearby realms.
A small human and elf settlement called Wybury lies along the eastern edge of the Gloomwood. It hasn’t succumbed to the Circle of Glory or the Bloodgod, but its walls and townsfolk have come under attack, more all the time. Travelers who wish to cut through the Gloomwood to reach Ilucara are best advised to start at Wybury and hire a local guide. The most famous guide is the half-elf Alwel, whose bow is rumored to have taken down more than one Circle of Glory vampire.
Alwel the half-elf: level 5, bow attacks and navigation tasks as level 7; carries a bow of vampire slaying artifact
In addition to Ilucara, the Gloomwood shelters an ancient grouping of stones of indeterminate origin at the center of a clearing. The weathered stones are roughly 1 foot (30 cm) thick, 4 feet (1 m) across, and 9 feet (3 m) tall, with the inward surfaces covered with arcane magic runes.
The stones protrude from the ground in a pattern that is rarely the same from day to day, as they occasionally move under their own power. Each stone also has unique properties, as determined by the runes covering it. One stone reveals secrets of fire, another ice; one deals with spells of binding, another of necromancy, another of wind (which constantly sends winds blowing through the clearing, giving the stones their name); and so on. The runes are difficult to puzzle out, and doing so is usually a task of several months for someone who has an aptitude with spells. But after spending this time, someone who uses an ability related to the stone studied finds the task easier. Usually, this confers a +1 bonus to an associated effect, as determined by the GM. For instance, a wizard who successfully studies the stone of fire finds that all her fire spells inflict 1 additional point of damage.
Wizards and clerics who have studied the Windswept Stones over the years believe that each new formation opens a potential road to a new realm. With study (or directions), visitors might be able to wait for a particular formation to find a specific realm, or they might decide to strike out blindly and see where they end up. However, the latter method risks a one-way trip to Abysm.
One circle formation opens a path to Ilucara, which is the recommended route for traveling to the elf city. This secret road is one of the reasons most first-time visitors to Ilucara require a guide. On the other hand, Ilucaran elf warriors often guard the Windswept Stones, and they may turn away any group they don’t like.
A castle formed from undead, animated trees in the Gloomwood makes up the Hidden Lodge, where the vampire lord Eshadus the Bloodgod resides, along with the Circle of Glory and many lesser vampires and other undead. Entrances to the Hidden Lodge simply do not exist by day. They are found only at night or by a path charted through the Windswept Stones. Beneath the lodge, the greater part of the Bloodgod’s forces resides in connecting tunnels that sprawl for miles under the trees. When the Hidden Lodge first made itself known, sorties out of Ilucara attacked it with some success. But the last sortie ended in disaster for the elves, resulting in their death, and in the turning of their greatest captain, Ithrenwen, into a vampiric member of the Circle of Glory. It’s possible that Ithrenwen secretly retains some loyalty to her former affiliation, but her existence is now shackled to Eshadus.
In any case, today Ilucara wants nothing to do with the Hidden Lodge, and less and less to do with any other location in the Sword Realms.
Eshadus, vampire lord: level 9; health 40; Armor 2; bite or weapon inflicts 10 points of damage; traditional methods for killing vampires are only temporary setbacks for Eshadus
Ithrenwen, vampire: level 6; health 24; bite or weapon inflicts 7 points of damage; harmed only by fire, running water, holy water, sunlight, or an expertly applied wooden stake
Many humans in the Sword Realms believe that Ilucara is only a myth because of how secluded it has become. This elf city lies in an isolated valley that’s nearly impossible to find, as its ties to the Gloomwood and the rest of the Sword Realms grow more tenuous every year. The only sure way to reach Ilucara is via one of the transitory roads created by the Windswept Stones. (The same is true for a quickened individual. A recursor who translates away from the Sword Realms while in Ilucara and later attempts to translate back faces a difficulty 10 task, and failed attempts deposit recursors on the edge of the Gloomwood.)
The city is built into the natural walls of a steep valley. It is a wonderland of shaped stone bridges, stairs, catwalks, galleries, magical trees, terraced vineyards, and buildings of amazing beauty. A company of elf warriors guards the only approach.
| STAR LORD CELADAN’S FAVORITE
SPELLS Alluring Starlight: Long-range mind control attack converts the target into a friend and willing ally for one hour. Pyre of Cleansing: Long-range flame attack inflicts 7 points of damage on the target and on creatures and objects within immediate range of it. Skin of the Ancient: Gain +3 to Armor for one hour. |
Star Lords rule Ilucara, eleven in all. The Star Lords are elves of immense age, wisdom, and magic. Thanks to their guidance and leadership, no enemy force has ever found its way into the elf retreat. In recent years, that guidance has led to a new initiative, spearheaded by a Star Lord named Celadan who became quickened. Celadan wishes to sever Ilucara’s ties with the Sword Realms, making it a recursion all its own. More audaciously, he wants to convert the city into a traveling recursion, like Ruk once was, and send it sailing through the Strange, looking for a refuge around some distant star in the universe of normal matter. To achieve this, Celadan seeks a reality seed in the Chaosphere, thinking to fashion it into a navigation engine that will enable Ilucara’s transformation. His goal is so bold that he hasn’t revealed its full scope to anyone, fearing that most others won’t share his dream.
Star Lord Celadan: level 7; uses spells for offense and defense; carries two random cyphers
Ilucaran elf warrior: level 4; health 18; Armor 1; long-range bow attack deals 5 points of damage that ignore cover and shields
Between the Free City of Dyranmar and the Empire of the Gold Throne, a tempestuous, storm-wracked sea stretches. Only a handful of harbors break the cliffs stretching north and south away from the city, and the pirates of the Sea of Storms threaten all ships that seek to trade between Dyranmar and the Empire.
Only hinted at by most sea charts, the Isle of Fear is the last place shipwrecked refugees wish to find themselves. Waves crash ceaselessly upon a coast dotted with colossal boulders like the scattered teeth of a dead god. Beyond the rocks is a jungle wall of thick trunks, palms, pods, creepers, and hanging vines that limit visibility, save for the intermittent flash of bright feathers above the canopy. The air is hot and as thick as a bath.
All manner of beasts and monsters live on the island, as well as a few primitive human tribes. Some of the pirates that threaten trade on the Sea of Storms also use hidden bases on the Isle of Fear, so pirate maps sometimes lure treasure seekers to the island. Ancient ruins dot the center of the island, which the pirates and tribes alike believe to be corrupted with something unspeakably foul.
The Empress, leader of the Empire of the Gold Throne, is human. But due to the divine intervention of her deity, she is over a thousand years old, and thus she matches the age and power of the Star Lords of Ilucara or perhaps the strength of the Bloodgod in the Hidden Lodge.
The Empire lies across the Sea of Storms from the Free City of Dyranmar. This is fortunate for the residents of the city, because everyone in the Empire is a slave, literally, though some are more elevated than others. Regardless of their circumstance, all serve the Empress’s desires. There is no freedom under the gold throne, and most natives’ lives are miserable and short.
The Empire is defended by legions of soldiers wearing iron armor that shines like polished gold. Being a legionnaire means that one’s life is slightly less miserable than average, but it’s also measurably shorter. The Empress regularly sends legionnaires to distant reaches of the Sword Realms to fight for areas not under her control. Those posted within the confines of the Empire don’t get off any easier because they are constantly tested in deadly war games.
Legionnaires who are promoted to the rank of captain or higher might carry a special divine charm that reincarnates them once. Some of them come back with no ill effects, but others are wracked with pain that grows worse over time. A few become sociopathic killers, their identities slowly subsumed by a ravaging madness.
Gold Empire legionnaire: level 3; Armor 1; melee spear and ranged javelin attacks inflict 4 points of damage
Gold Empire legionnaire captain: level 4; health 15; Armor 1; melee spear and ranged javelin attacks inflict 4 points of damage; carries gold throne reliquary artifact
The hellish realm of Abysm is straight out of a fantasy hellscape. It includes regions where victims burn endlessly in lava, a plain of ice where victims are frozen in place like grotesque terrain, and a forest of dead trees where victims strangle forever at the ends of gibbets while crows pick at their eyes and other exposed bits. Victims are usually the souls of dead creatures from other parts of the Sword Realms, but some are living creatures who found their way (or were stolen away) into Abysm. Adding to the nightmare are all manner of demons, including the insidious sword demons and chain demons.
Sword demon: level 5; Armor 2; sword attack inflicts 7 points of damage, and poison deals 3 points of Speed damage per round for three rounds
Abysm has a lord called Janus, who takes on physical form when a second face grows on the body of one of the victims, demons, or statues in the realm, allowing Janus to hijack it for a brief time. Janus is a fallen god of beginnings and endings, and Abysm is where the lord chooses endings for some and new beginnings for a lucky few by setting them free.
Janus: level 9; bodiless but manifests as a second face on another creature in Abysm
A tribe of orcs that paint their bodies with glowing blue dye has emerged as a sudden threat in the Thunderstone Mountains. It’s not known what the color signifies or why they have become so active and dangerous. Their leader is supposedly a magic sentient axe that “sweats” the dye the orcs paint themselves with.
The spellcasters of the Wizards’ Guild in Dyranmar have discovered a particularly foul book of spells in the stacks of their library. Supposedly haunted by the ghosts of its authors, the book has gained far too much agency. To destroy it, someone must douse the book, page by page, in the blood of one or more vampires.
An elf of Ilucara was snatched by demons and dragged into Abysm. The Star Lords have offered a substantial reward in the form of treasure and magic items for anyone brave enough to travel into the hellish realm and extract the prisoner. A complicating factor is that the elf crossed Janus, the lord of Abysm, so freeing the prisoner will probably require some sort of amelioration as well.
Level: 1d6+2
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Double-bladed axe
Effect: This axe functions as a normal weapon of its type. Furthermore, it inflicts 2 additional points of damage due to its magically sharp blade. This quality means that if the wielder rolls a 20, instead of choosing to inflict extra damage or a normal major effect, he can instead attempt to chop off one of the target's limbs or even its head. To do so, he must reroll the d20 and get a 17 or higher.
In addition, the user can see in the dark, teleport to a known location under the earth in the same recursion, and call upon the wisdom of the Dwarvish Fathers to answer a question. (The Dwarvish Fathers are wise when it comes to knowledge regarding the Sword Realms, but less so if questions stray to recursions beyond.) However, each day the wielder retains the axe, his semblance becomes more and more like that of a short, broad, bearded man, if he is not one already.
Depletion: 1 in 1d6 (Check each time a limb is chopped off, the user teleports, or a question is posed to the Dwarvish Fathers; if depleted, the axe’s magical abilities can be recharged if a living human or elf perishes on its blade.)
Level: 1d6+1
Form: A medium longbow carved with magic runes that glow golden like the sun
Effect: Arrows fired from this longbow deal 1 additional point of damage. In addition, vampires (which usually can be harmed only by special weapons) take normal damage from the arrows.
Depletion: —
Level: 1d6+2
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Cloak of fine greyish-green cloth
Effect: When the cloak is activated by drawing the hood over the wearer's head, the difficulty of all stealth tasks she attempts is decreased by two steps. The effect lasts until the hood is lowered again. If the wearer cannot see in the dark already, the active cloak grants her that ability.
Depletion: 1 in 1d00
Level: 1d6+3
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Bracelet set with dice icon
Effect: For tasks that are usually random, the user exerts some level of control. When he picks a card, rolls a die, or otherwise takes an action that skill usually plays no part in, he makes a difficulty 4 Intellect roll. If successful, he achieves the desired result if it is a result that could have occurred randomly.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20
Level: 1d6+2
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: White crown set with jewels and with silver and pearl wings on either side
Effect: The wearer of the crown has an asset on all interaction tasks. In addition, she can ask one general question each day and receive an answer from a divine source, though the answer received may not always be complete, or even in words.
Depletion: —
Level: 1d6+4
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Sword inscribed with runes in the alphabet of demons
Effect: This sword functions as a normal weapon of its type. In reality, it is a powerful demon transformed into the shape of a sword. The demon cannot speak directly to the wielder, but it can make its desires known by emitting bass rumbles and dirgelike melodies, and by pulling in the direction of its desire. The sword has had many names (and perhaps forms) and, according to the context of the recursion hosting it, is older than the current universe. The sword’s features include the following:
Depletion: 1 in 1d10 (check each time a killed creature’s life force is absorbed; if depleted, the sword’s magical abilities can be recharged if it kills an “innocent” creature)
Level: 1d6+3
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Large dagger
Effect: This large knife can be used as a normal light knife or a medium short sword (user’s choice). Either way, it deals 1 additional point of damage (for a total of 3 or 5 points of damage, respectively). In addition, the elvish knife can cut through any material of its level or lower with ease, owing to its exceptional sharpness. Finally, the blade sheds a blue light as bright as a candle to warn when goblins, orcs, trolls, or similar creatures are within 300 feet (91 m).
Depletion: —
Level: 1d6+3
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: One-and-a-half-handed sword
Effect: This sword has a long pommel and can be used as a medium sword or a heavy sword if wielded in two hands (user’s choice). Either way, it deals 1 additional point of damage (for a total of 5 or 7 points of damage, respectively). In addition, the elvish long sword can cut through any material of its level or lower with ease, owing to its exceptional sharpness. Finally, the blade sheds a blue light as bright as a candle to warn when goblins, orcs, trolls, or similar creatures are within 300 feet (91 m).
Depletion: —
Level: 1d6+3
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Short sword
Effect: This sword can be used as a normal medium sword that deals 2 additional points of damage (for a total of 6 points). In addition, the elvish short sword can cut hrough any material of its level or lower with ease, owing to its exceptional sharpness. Finally, the blade sheds a blue light as bright as a candle to warn when goblins, orcs, trolls, or similar creatures are within 300 feet (91 m).
Depletion: —
Level: 1d6+3
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Sword inscribed with red runes down one side of the blade, white runes on the other
GM Intrusion: The weapon becomes lodged in the target and is wrenched from the wielder's hand. Odin level 8, attacks with Gungnir as level 10; magic and martial abilities perfect for the task at hand Fate's assassin once wielded Faterazor but has since gone missing. Now the blade floats around the Sword Realms, a prize to anyone brave enough to find it.
Effect: This sword functions as a normal weapon of its type, and the difficulty of attacks made with the weapon is decreased by one step. If the wielder becomes separated from the blade, Faterazor returns to her if she can find a dagger, sword, or other bladed weapon to grip as a temporary stand-in. The first time the wielder attacks another creature with the stand-in blade, Faterazor manifests, replacing the stand-in.
In addition, Faterazor can store spells and cyphers along its blade as runes. Spells and cyphers that grant aid are stored as white runes on one side of the blade, and spells and cyphers that inflict harm on foes are stored as red runes down the other side. If a PC wields Faterazor, her cypher limit increases by one as long as she stores her cyphers as runes on the sword.
Storing a cypher on Faterazor requires an action, whereupon the cypher is converted to a rune. Using a stored rune-cypher merely requires that the user have her hands on Faterazor. The cypher provides its normal effect, though the user can choose to convert a red rune-cypher's energy into a number of points of damage dealt on a successful hit equal to the cypher so converted. A white rune-cypher can likewise be converted to additional points equal to the cypher level restored to the wielder's Pools on a recovery roll.
Storing a spell requires a spellcaster to cast the spell into the blade. Only three spells can be so stored. Triggering a spell is the same as for using a cypher, and a stored spell can likewise be converted into extra damage or extra healing. If it's unclear, the GM determines whether a character's special abilities qualify as spells.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (Check each day of use. If depleted, Faterazor must by "fed" a number of cyphers whose total level exceeds that of the artifact. These cyphers are destroyed; they do not appear as runes on the blade.)
Level: 1d6+1
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Thick sheet of stiff parchment inked with intricate fold guides
Effect: If one minute is spent folding this sheet of parchment, a tiny keep takes shape. Upon completion, it expands and transforms, becoming a broad stone keep some 50 feet (15 m) high and 35 feet (11 m) in diameter. The keep takes the form of a tower with battlements. The interior is furnished and stocked with enough supplies to feed and outfit a small group of travelers for up to seven days. The keep persists for up to seven days, or until the keystone above the fireplace in the Great Hall is pressed, at which point the keep begins to unfold, returning to its sheet form over the course of one minute. Creatures and foreign objects inside the keep that do not exit before the end of that minute could be ejected or stored in stasis until the next time the keep is folded, depending on the particular foldable keep.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20
Level: 1d6+1
Form: Ornament in the shape of a gold throne fastened to clothing with a hinged pin and catch
Effect: If the wearer of a gold throne reliquary is killed, he returns to full health in the following round. However, he could suffer from spiritual malaise as a result, due to the hidden reason he returned to life: he has been possessed by a random soul plucked from Abysm. The GM determines how this affects the wearer. It could be nothing, or it could be wracking pain that grows worse over time, a ravaging madness that begins to turn the wearer into a monster, a second personality that works against the character, or something else.
Reversing the spiritual malaise is possible, but it requires powerful magic or dispensation from the Empress of the Gold Throne herself.
Depletion: 1 in 1d10
Level: 1d6
Form: A 2-inch (5 cm) jade statuette of a dragon
Effect: When the statuette is activated, a living level 5 creature—apparently a dragon— grows and obeys the user’s commands, persisting for up to eight hours. The dragon can bear up to three human-sized creatures on its back, attack with a bite, or (once every other round) breathe fire at short range on up to three targets within immediate range of each other. Once used, the jade dragon cannot be activated again for one day.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20
| If the same individual gains both the lich eye and the lich hand as prosthetics, reports indicate that an additional suite of malefic powers becomes available. However, apparently so does a secondary personality that attempts to trick the wearer into giving up control of his body. |
Level: 1d6+3
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Eyeball-sized white orb with a burning point of fire at the center
Effect: Serves as a fully functional prosthetic—and noticeably malefic—eye. In addition, the eye grants the owner the ability to see in the dark for up to ten hours at a time, the ability to see through illusions and see invisible creatures for up to one minute at a time, and the ability to command the actions of a creature within immediate range who meets the eye's gaze for a period of one minute.
The lich eye will translate into other recursions with its owner as if a cypher, taking on the visual context of the new location, though it does not count against a PC's cypher limit.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (Upon depletion, the eye takes control of the host for one day, during which time he has no memory of the horrible deeds he undertakes at the eye's bidding. At the end of the period, the eye disappears.)
Level: 1d6+3
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Withered hand
Effect: Serves as a fully functional prosthetic—if not especially aesthetic—hand. In addition, the hand provides its owner with an icy touch attack that inflicts damage equal to the artifact level, a long-range magical blast that inflicts 4 points of damage (ignores Armor), and a +2 boost to Might Edge that lasts for one hour.
The lich hand will translate into other recursions with its owner as if a cypher, taking on the visual context of the new location, though it does not count against a PC's cypher limit.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (upon depletion, the hand detaches and attempts to strangle its former owner)
Level: 1d6+2
Form: A wand
Effect: When you spend points from a Pool to trigger a special focus or type ability, you can attempt to draw some or all of the points from the held wand instead. The wand contains a number of points equal to the artifact level. Using the wand is a routine Intellect-based task, but each time you use it again before your next ten-hour recovery roll, the difficulty increases by one step.
Depletion: 1–3 in 1d20
Level: 1d6+2
Form: Staff of black iron set with an eye-shaped crystal headpiece
Effect: The wielder can use the staff to gain one of the following effects, one per activation.
Influence: The wielder makes a mental attack on a creature within immediate range by providing a suggestion. An affected target follows any suggestion that doesn’t cause direct harm to the target or its allies.
Lightning: The wielder discharges a stroke of lightning that attacks all targets along a straight line within long range, inflicting damage equal to the artifact level.
Shield: For one hour, the wielder gains the protective effect of a normal shield, but this effect is invisible and doesn’t require her to hold an actual shield.
Depletion: 1 in 1d100
Level: 1d6+2
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Crystal vial filled with glowing fluid
Effect: The vial constantly emits light as dim as a candle. However, it can be commanded to emit bright light that fills an area a short distance across. Undead creatures, evil spirits, orcs, goblins, and similar foul beasts are blinded for one round when first exposed to the bright light, and afterward their tasks, attacks, and defenses are modified by two steps to their detriment while they remain in the light.
Depletion: —
Level: 1d6
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Gold band inscribed with feather wreath
Effect: The wearer of the ring can fall any distance safely, landing easily and upright.
Depletion: 1 in 1d00
Level: 1d6
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Gold band inscribed with characters that are revealed only if ring is heated
Effect: The wearer of the ring becomes invisible for one minute, until he spends points from a Pool for any reason, or until he attacks another creature.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20
Level: 1d6+3
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Silvery, mirror-bright ring
Effect: The difficulty of all defense rolls to resist ranged magical attacks, especially spells, is decreased by one step. In addition, if the user rolls a 17 or higher on the defense roll, the magical attack is turned back upon its source.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20
Level: 1d6+4
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Heavy gold band
Effect: Several lesser magical rings are scattered about the Sword Realms, each providing a minor ability or power to its wearer. Many are leashed to the Ring of Ruling, which grants its wearer the ability to dominate and control those wearing a lesser ring, no matter how far apart they are. Treat domination attempts as an Intellect attack that, if successful, puts the lesser ring wearer in the thrall of the Ring of Ruling wearer for twenty-four hours. In addition, the Ring of Ruling enhances the power of its wearer by decreasing the difficulty of any task, attack, or defense by three steps (including domination attempts of lesser ring wearers). Attacks made while wearing the Ring of Ruling inflict 15 additional points of damage. The Ring of Ruling turns its user invisible while it is worn. A wearer who wishes to remain visible can do so for up to one hour at a time if he makes a difficulty 5 Intellect roll for each new period. The Ring of Ruling also extends the natural life span of its owner by hundreds of years or longer. The abilities of the ring come with a price. The first time the Ring of Ruling is touched, and each time thereafter that the wearer rolls for depletion, he must make a difficulty 6 Intellect-based roll or become obsessed with the ring. After three failed obsession rolls, the wearer becomes paranoid about the Ring of Ruling and begins to think that even friends and allies want to steal it.
Depletion: 1 in 1d10 (Check per use of an enhanced task, per minute of invisibility, or per day of commanding someone wearing a lesser ring. Upon depletion, the Ring of Ruling manages to get itself lost so that someone else will find it—perhaps someone with a heart more suited to wielding it.)
Level: 1d6+4
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Plain gold band
Effect: The user makes a wish, and it is granted, within limits. The level of the effect granted is no greater than the level of the artifact, as determined by the GM, who can modify the actual effect of the wish accordingly. (The larger the wish, the more likely the GM will limit its effect.)
Depletion: 1-3 in 1d6
Level: 1d6+4
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Tome of ineffable evil
Effect: When the user incants from the spellbook, various effects can be produced. Several suggested effects follow, though other effects might also be possible. However, each time a user incants from the book and fails the required Intellect-based roll, she gains a mark of evil, which is difficult if not impossible to remove. If a reader gains three marks of evil, her life is snuffed out and her soul is drawn into the spellbook, becoming one more soul trapped in torment within.
Depletion: 1 in 1d100 (check per day of use)
Level: 1d6+1
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Long, pale, vellum-like scarf
Effect: The long veil is sentient and animate, and when loosed from its role as a scarf, it can attack an enemy within immediate range with a strangling squeeze as a creature equal to its artifact level, or move a short distance each round like a sidewinding snake. In addition, the veil can communicate with its owner by producing text that appears written along its length, though it is an artifact of few words. While consulting the veil and the expertise it possesses, the owner has an asset on all knowledge-related rolls. Finally, the veil sometimes sees hours or days into the future and may warn its owner with cryptic clues about approaching dangers.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (Check per clue about the future revealed. If depleted, the veil leaves the owner of its own volition to "continue its search," whatever that means.)
Level: 1d6+1
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Maple wand
Effect: A target within long range is held motionless and unable to take actions for one minute. In addition, the bearer of the wand has an asset on defense rolls to resist similar effects that would bind, freeze, or otherwise directly hold him in place.
Depletion: 1 in 1d10
Level: 1d6+1
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Rosewood wand
Effect: The wand emits up to three glimmering blue points of light that speed toward one, two, or three targets within long range. Unless the target is protected by some kind of Armor from a magical source, the attacks unerringly hit, each inflicting 1 point of damage that ignores Armor.
Depletion: 1 in 1d100
Level: 1d6+1
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Butternut wand
Effect: This wand produces a variable effect that is entirely random, making its efficacy questionable but occasionally entertaining. The user specifies a target within long range to attack, and the result is determined by a roll on the following table, or by the GM.
| d100 | Effect |
|---|---|
| 01–07 | Target sprayed with acid that inflicts 3 points of damage (ignores Armor) for three rounds |
| 08–09 | Target exchanges places with wand user 10–16 Target limned in red light for one hour |
| 17–18 | Random cypher carried by wand user affects target |
| 19–25 | Icy blizzard inflicts 5 points of damage on target and all within immediate range of target |
| 26–27 | Wand user reduced to 1 foot (30 cm) in height for one hour |
| 28–34 | Electrical discharge connects wand and target (and all between), inflicting 5 points of damage |
| 35–36 | Enraged gorilla (level 4) appears in immediate range of wand user |
| 37–43 | Wand user telepathically hears target’s thoughts for three rounds |
| 44–45 | Target and creatures within immediate range of it are blinded for one minute |
| 46–47 | Wand user laughs uncontrollably each round until making a difficulty 3 Intellect defense roll |
| 48–54 | Target affected as if by a wand of spider’s webbing artifact |
| 55–56 | Wand user suffers extreme vertigo each round until making a difficulty 3 Might defense roll |
| 57–63 | Target affected as if by wand of blasting artifact |
| 64–65 | Thirty gold coins emerge from wand at high velocity, inflicting 7 points of damage on target |
| 66–67 | Target is teleported, appearing next to wand user |
| 68–74 | Fireblast inflicts 5 points of damage on target and all within immediate range of it |
| 75–76 | Target becomes invisible for one minute or until after its next attack |
| 77–83 | Target is teleported 100 feet (30 m) in the air, then falls normally |
| 84–85 | Wand user forgets name and should choose a new one |
| 86–92 | Target falls asleep for one minute or until woken |
| 93–94 | Roll again; wand user afflicted by indicated result regardless of targeting instruction |
| 95–99 | Roll again; target afflicted by double the indicated result regardless of targeting instruction |
| 00 | Target up to level 5 killed; a higher-level target takes 10 points of damage (ignores Armor) |
Depletion: 1 in 1d20
Level: 1d6+1
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: White oak wand
Effect: This wand produces a long-range stream of grey spider's webbing that entangles a target and holds it stuck to nearby surfaces. Entangled victims can't move or take actions that require movement. Targets whose level is higher than the wand's level can usually break free within one or two rounds. The entangling web is highly flammable, and if ignited it burns away over the course of one round, but the intense heat inflicts damage equal to the artifact level on whatever was caught within it.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20
Level: 1d6+1
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Wand carved with magic runes that glow golden like the sun
Effect: The wand emits a ray of burning sunlight that inflicts 4 points of damage on a target within long range. In addition, vampires and other creatures vulnerable to sunlight take 8 points of damage, are stunned for one round, and lose their next turn.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20
Level: 1d6+3
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Golden ring whose band is twisted like a Mšbius strip
Effect: The wearer operates as if she were 1 tier higher than normal for up to one hour. This grants access to special abilities of the next higher tier for her type and focus, +1 to her Intellect Edge, 4 additional points to a Pool, training in one skill, and the ability to apply one additional level of Effort.
Depletion: 1 in 1d6 (if depleted, the artifact doesn't function again until the user spends 4 XP to gain a benefit along the way toward achieving the next higher tier)
Level: 1d6+2
Origin: Sword Realms (fictional)
Law: Magic
Form: Staff of black iron set with an eye-shaped crystal headpiece
Effect: The wielder can use the staff to gain one of the following effects, once per activation.
Depletion: 1 in 1d100