Thorsten
02-12-2012, 12:54 PM
Since I just found my old birthright books at the back of a cupboard in my family's basement, I've taken the opportunity to read up on them. When going through the Sword of Roele-stand alone adventure, I stumbled upon a few differences between how Michael Roele's sword is described and functions, compared to what the Wiki says. Since the wiki-page is old-ish by now, I can't reply there, so I thought I'd bring it up here instead.
The wiki-article mentions that the sword is "straight and forged in the dwarven style, but decorated with Anuirean motifs." - the description provided in the Sword of Roele-stand alone adventure however, describes it as "made in the heavier, slightly more barbaric style of 500 years ago".
Although this doesn't really provide any information about the style, it seems to me to indicate that the blade was forged for man, in the style of man 500 years ago. This is a rather minor thing, however, and can easily be put down to individual flavor.
The other thing I pondered though, was how the wiki-entry seems to indicate that the sword only works for scion of Andurias, where the description from the Sword of Roele states that it functions in the hand of a "blooded character" (allowing a wider spectrum of regents/PC's to claim a connection with Roele through the weapon's functionality in their hands).
I've added the complete description of the sword as penned in the Sword of Roele-adventure below:
"The sword carried by Michael Roele is a heavy, well-used blade, forged by the dwarves of Baruk-Azhik as a gift for the Anuirean Emperor upon his ascension to the throne. It is made in the heavier, slightly more barbaric style of 500 years ago.
Though the hilt is decorated with braided gold and silver leading to a carved golden pommel, it is clearly a blade meant for battle. Two small red garnets are set where the hilt meets the crosspiece in the form of a bearded dwarven face, to serve as the blade's "eyes": these stones glow when wielded in battle by a scion of the Roele bloodline.
Any bard who makes a successful lore roll knows the story of the blade of Michael Roele. The sword was broken in two by the Gorgon during Roele's final combat with the awnshegh, but hte blade is still faintly magical. Both the Lord High Chamberlain, Aedan Dosiere, and Gylvain Aurealis, an elven courtier and warrior, were witness to Michael Roele's death, and their stories both say the blade was broken by the Gorgon's powerful swordplay.
The Sword of Roele is a +2 weapon, with the special power of detecting evil once per day. It functions only for blooded characters."
The wiki-article mentions that the sword is "straight and forged in the dwarven style, but decorated with Anuirean motifs." - the description provided in the Sword of Roele-stand alone adventure however, describes it as "made in the heavier, slightly more barbaric style of 500 years ago".
Although this doesn't really provide any information about the style, it seems to me to indicate that the blade was forged for man, in the style of man 500 years ago. This is a rather minor thing, however, and can easily be put down to individual flavor.
The other thing I pondered though, was how the wiki-entry seems to indicate that the sword only works for scion of Andurias, where the description from the Sword of Roele states that it functions in the hand of a "blooded character" (allowing a wider spectrum of regents/PC's to claim a connection with Roele through the weapon's functionality in their hands).
I've added the complete description of the sword as penned in the Sword of Roele-adventure below:
"The sword carried by Michael Roele is a heavy, well-used blade, forged by the dwarves of Baruk-Azhik as a gift for the Anuirean Emperor upon his ascension to the throne. It is made in the heavier, slightly more barbaric style of 500 years ago.
Though the hilt is decorated with braided gold and silver leading to a carved golden pommel, it is clearly a blade meant for battle. Two small red garnets are set where the hilt meets the crosspiece in the form of a bearded dwarven face, to serve as the blade's "eyes": these stones glow when wielded in battle by a scion of the Roele bloodline.
Any bard who makes a successful lore roll knows the story of the blade of Michael Roele. The sword was broken in two by the Gorgon during Roele's final combat with the awnshegh, but hte blade is still faintly magical. Both the Lord High Chamberlain, Aedan Dosiere, and Gylvain Aurealis, an elven courtier and warrior, were witness to Michael Roele's death, and their stories both say the blade was broken by the Gorgon's powerful swordplay.
The Sword of Roele is a +2 weapon, with the special power of detecting evil once per day. It functions only for blooded characters."