Astramentous (3.5e Equipment)

Astramentous

Exotic Two-Handed Melee Critical: 19-20/x4 Range Increment: — Type: slashing Hardness: unbreakable
Size	Cost	Damage	Weight1	hp
Fine	—	*	*	—
Diminutive	—	*	*	—
Tiny	—	*	*	—
Small	—	*	—	—
Medium	—	2d12	24
Large	—	4d8	36	—
Huge	—	4d12	54	—
Gargantuan	—	*	*	—
Colossal	—	*	*	—
The SRD only gives a means to determine costs and weights of weapons for Large and Small versions based on the Medium weapons. Any other supplied values are the author's best determination.

Astramentous is a large, old, scarred sword that is difficult to handle due to the width of the blade. With weight three times that of a Greatsword and an extra foot to length and a half foot to width, the blade must be swung with high precision or else it will be slowed due to air resistance. This sword is a legendary, named blade and should be treated as priceless and unobtainable except through an epic-level quest.

Special

Usage Requirement: The great weight and unusual proportions of this blade make it impossible for a normal person to use it. A strength of 20, dexterity of 18, and constitution of 18 are necessary to use the blade, or else suffer a - 8 to hit and to damage. Additionally, the user must take the Feat Exotic Weapon Proficiency and select Astramentous itself - the feat would only effect the use of Astramentous.

Living Blade: This weapon grows or shrinks based on the user; a medium character with strength of 20 will use the medium size, with a strength of 24 the large, and a strength of 28 the huge, with no negative effects from using it as an over-sized weapon. This effect only activates if the other usage requirements are also met.

Crushing Impact: The sword deals an extra 1d8 damage on impact per size category, to a max of 3d8.

Abnormal Weapon: Astramentous doesn't fit the normal form for a sword - it can be used two or one handed. However, to use it one handed, you must have a strength 4 higher than the requirement, increasing to 8 higher for large and 12 higher for huge size usage due to Living Blade. If one attempts to use the sword one-handed without meeting the extra strength requirement, they have a 25% chance of mishandling the sword and breaking their arm.

Versatile Destruction: Once per day, the character can select an energy type(Acid/Cold/Electricity/Fire/Sonic) for Astramentous and it will deal 2d12 of that energy for one hour, 2/day.

Copy of a Legend This Astramentous is merely a copy. If this effect is in place, ignore Versatile Destruction and change the appearance of the blade to "an enormous, finely made black blade with the luster of gold." Do not supply the history of the blade if it is a copy.

Seal of a Dead God This is affixed to the real Astramentous only. The seal limits the power of the sword, lest it grant its owner the power to destroy the gods. The seal can be removed by any Greater Deity, but will re-assert itself if the deity who nullified it does not do so again every three days. When the seal is nullified, the blade has a 70% of killing with any touch attack with no save. This % chance is reduced by the divine rank, if any, of the target.

History

The history is delivered as a fable - it does not have multiple parts since essentially nothing is known about the sword. A DC 36 knowledge: religion, Knowledge: fables or similar subject is needed to identify it(or a DC 30 Bardic Knowledge check). Gold and Red Dragons receive +20 to this check.

Astramentous was forged beyond the beginning of time, made of the very fabric of nothingness itself. The blade was originally a large, ornate dagger used by one of the primordial gods, which was later cast into the mortal plane when said god perished. To mortals, it is an unusually long and broad sword with incredibly powerful magical abilities(though these pale in comparison to the original powers of the blade). Gold and Red dragons recognize it as a weapon that must be closely observed at the least. It is not unusual for a golden dragon or red dragon to retrieve the sword from its previous owner and hide it, possibly within their own lair or the lair of a more dangerous beast. It is for this reason that most of the known wielders of the true sword have received it from a dragon, and why the sword immediately vanished after their death. Many times there have been attempts to destroy the blade, but all have been utterly useless; within the age of races even as old as dragons, the sword has never bean so much as scratched, even when the goddess Tiamat bent all of her power to destroy it. This leads those who do hold it to wonder just what kind of force could have put the thousands of small cuts and pits in the blade.

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