Weapon (Greatsword), artifact (Requires attunement by a Spellcaster the sword deems worthy)
(Wiki Note: Yes, this is a level of power almost unheard of in 5e items, even for artifacts. Blame the DIA supplement, which raised the bar for what artifacts are capable of substantially.) This greatsword is the last in a long line of blades given to a family of good-hearted humans as part of a pact with dragonkind long ago. Each blade must be earned before it will ever physically manifest before a wielder, and each wielder will only ever earn a single spellblade in their lifetime, though this creates no limitations on who can wield the blade once it has manifested. However, the weapon chooses who can attune to it and who can't. It desires a wielder who has courage and kindness, and who has the interests of mankind and dragonkind at heart. Not every member of the Spellblade family (Renamed after this pact) has earned one of the blades, and in spite of the assigned purpose of each, there is no guarantee for any of them to be earned, including this one.
Each spellblade was made for its wielder, and has powers relevant to the situation in which the blade will manifest for the first time. In the case of The Spellblade of Fire, this makes it the most powerful weapon ever designed, since it was destined to manifest for the first time to the last mage of the Spellblade family that would ever exist. This blade was destined to manifest before him during the last fight he would ever have with the source of a powerful god-like curse called the Plagueheart. Therefore, it had to have the power to destroy any curse, no matter how resilient. This requirement brings much of the blade's power.
Random Properties. The
The Spellblade of Fire has the following random properties:
- 1 minor beneficial property
;Attunement: The sword allows you to attune to it immediately, without having to take a short rest. The first time you attune to the sword, you are transformed into a draconic, empowered version of yourself, blessed with primordial strength and the knowledge of dragonkind in your mind. Neither magic nor divine intervention can reverse this transformation. Your alignment becomes chaotic good, and you gain the following traits.
- Ancient Language
- You can speak, read, and write Primordial.
- Elemental Resistance
- You have resistance to acid, cold, fire, lightning, and poison damage.
- Dragon Rage
- Your Strength score becomes 20, unless it was already 20 or higher. Additionally, you gain proficiency with the greatsword if you do not already have it.
- Immutable Soul
- You are immune to curses and insanity. Any curse you have is permanently ended. If you have a curse you'd prefer to keep, you can choose to keep the curse, but regain your original alignment and personality if that was changed (Before your alignment is changed to Chaotic Good). If you keep any such curse, the curse cannot be ended in any way other than this sword's Primordial Truth feature, including by Wish or Divine Intervention.
- Grandmind
- You can concentrate on two spells at once. If you must make a concentration check, you can choose whether or not to make two separate concentration checks per each spell or a single check for both. You must declare this decision before you roll.
- New Personality
- You gain new personality traits, determined by rolling once on each of the following tables. These traits override any conflicting personality trait, ideal, bond, or flaw.
The Spellblade of Fire's Traits
- Primordial Truth
- When you attack with the sword or cast a spell using it as the spellcasting focus, you can choose not to deal damage to your target if you hit. Instead, you instantly end all curses affecting your target, even those that can only be ended by the Wish spell or divine intervention, and those that can't be ended by any other means. When this occurs, the sword slices through any possessions the target is under, dealing full damage to the possessing creature as if they were hit by the sword's attack. The damage dealt this way ends the possession, expelling the creature from the target's body if it survives the hit. Any fire damage dealt to a possessing creature this way cannot be reduced or avoided in any way, including resistance and immunity to fire damage.
- Spellblade
- The sword can be used as a spellcasting focus while held, regardless of whether you use arcane, divine, or natural magic. You can perform the somatic components of spellcasting while wielding the sword. Additionally, if you attack with the sword, you can also cast a spell as part of the same action. The spell must have a casting time of 1 action or 1 bonus action and must target only the creature(s) you attacked with the sword. Finally, you can demanifest the sword at will, without using an action to do so. This causes the sword to vanish, and effectively cease existing. You remain attuned to it when you do this, and can summon the sword again as a bonus action. The sword can't be targeted for spells or effects while demanifested in this way, and all spells or effects currently affecting the sword cease affecting it until it is summoned (Assuming the spell or effect's duration hasn't ended in the meantime). The speed with which you can demanifest the sword allows you to prevent it from being used for an attack if you demanifest it before the outcome of the roll is determined.
- Fireheart
- The sword has a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls, and deals an extra 10 (3d6) fire to any creature it hits. Additionally, while you are uninjured and aren't suffering an effect that lowers your hit point maximum, you can attack any creature or object within 60 feet of the sword as if you were hitting them with a melee attack with it by slashing the sword through the air and flinging a curved fire at them. This counts as using the sword for an attack as part of the attack action.
- Charges
- The sword can hold 100 charges, and has a random amount of them when found (DM Note: You can use percentile dice to determine how many charges the sword has, use another method to determine how many it has, or choose how many charges it has yourself). For every 5 charges the sword has, your maximum hit points increase by 1 while you wield the sword. You can use your action and 1 or more charges to cast the following spells: burning hands (1 charge), scorching ray (3 charges), fireball (5 charges), melf's minute meteors (5 charges), fireball (5 charges), wall of fire (7 charges), flame strike (9 charges), investiture of flame (11 charges, doesn't require concentration), delayed blast fireball (13 charges), incendiary cloud (15 charges), illusory dragon (Fire breath only, 15 charges), or meteor swarm (17 charges). The sword uses a spell save DC of 22 and a +14 bonus to spell attack rolls, or your spell save DC and spell attack bonus, whichever is higher. When casting any of these spells, they can be affected by the sword's Primordial Truth feature, extending to all the targets of the spell. The sword regains all unexpended charges when exposed to any source of fire or lava not originating from the blade.
- Planet Buster
- Structures and objects take quadruple damage from this sword's attacks, as well as any spells cast while using the sword as a spellcasting focus. This does not combine with spells or effects that deal double damage to structures or objects.
- Sentience
- The Spellblade of Fire is a sentient, chaotic good item with an Intelligence of 20, a Wisdom of 18, and a Charisma of 10. It has hearing and Truesight out to a range of 120 feet. The sword communicates by using telepathy with the creature carrying or wielding it. The sword is capable of manifesting or demanifesting if it believes that the wielder would prefer it, such as if the wielder is Charmed.
Destroying the The Spellblade of Fire. Only the sword's destined wielder, Shawn Spellblade, can destroy this sword. He can only do so by choosing to end The Adventuring Curse he has on himself using the blade. If he does, an Avatar of Death (See the Deck of Many Things Skull Card in the DMG) appears before him, which acts as a physical manifestation of his curse. This version of the stat block has twice Shawn's maximum hit points instead of half, can cast any spell Shawn Spellblade can using his spell attack bonus and spell save DC, doesn't summon additional avatars if anyone interferes in the fight, and only has the goal of preventing Shawn from ending his curse, not killing him. The avatar also knows the dominate person, geas, and dominate monster spells. The avatar disappears if Shawn stops trying to end his curse, but reappears at full health if he continues the pursuit at any point afterwards. Finally, if reduced to 0 hit points, the avatar is instead reduced to 1 hit point unless the damage came from The Spellblade of Fire. If the avatar is defeated, Shawn's curse is broken and the blade becomes no more difficult to destroy than a normal greatsword. It also becomes no more difficult to destroy than a normal greatsword if Shawn's soul is destroyed, but this feat seems impossible due to the undefeatable nature of The Adventuring Curse.
d8 |
Personality Trait
|
1 |
I'd rather overestimate my opponents than underestimate them.
|
2 |
I compete fiercely, but have fun regardless of if I win or lose.
|
3 |
I like spooking people for laughs. All comedy is derived from fear after all!
|
4 |
I love relaxing with nothing to worry about.
|
5 |
I find it strangely difficult to back down from a fight.
|
6 |
I can't be organized to save my life. I'll find it when I need it right?
|
7 |
Knowledge is power, but people take its pursuit way too seriously.
|
8 |
The Far Realm is an afternoon jaunt for me. I'll never stop exploring!
|
d6 |
Ideal
|
1 |
Hope. The future is what you make of it! (Good)
|
2 |
Knowledge. I want to learn everything I can, even the secrets! Especially the secrets! (Chaotic)
|
3 |
Candor. People underestimate the power of being blunt. (Good)
|
4 |
Friendship. No matter how powerful you are, you'll never be more powerful than you and all your friends! (Good)
|
5 |
Freedom. No one deserves to be stuck somewhere. Freedom is more important than the risks! (Chaotic)
|
6 |
Courage. There's always a way! I won't accept anything less than absolute victory! (Good)
|
d4 |
Bond
|
1 |
The Spellblade of Fire was destined to fall into my hands. I won't fail to wield it for freedom's sake.
|
2 |
I won't forget who I was or where I came from. I'm still me, right?
|
3 |
This blade was made to cleave through any curse. I must find those that would wield such dark magics and rid the land of them.
|
4 |
Everyone might want this blade, but they can't have it. One day I will find its rightful wielder and give it back to him.
|
d8 |
Flaw
|
1 |
If someone does something bad, it's because I failed to stop them (Self-Blame).
|
2 |
When someone wrongs me, I will never forgive them no matter what.
|
3 |
I'm always hungry, even when I'm not actually hungry at all.
|
4 |
All right guys, time for the most important fight of our entire- is that a butterfly?
|
5 |
I'm never satisfied with the plan, always assuming the worst possible outcome for any situation.
|
6 |
I take my hijinks one step too far, consistently.
|
7 |
I'd trade someone else's freedom for mine in a heartbeat.
|
8 |
I only got this far by chance. I didn't earn my victories, and I constantly dread someone will notice (Imposter Syndrome).
|
Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Equipment → Artifacts