The Sword of Haylen!

[Craig Dalrymple]

Greetings,

With all the great discussion going on about BR and its "low magic" status,
I thought I'd toss a wildcard into the pot and see where it goes.

I am setting myself up to run a game based in Hjolvar (in the Rujurik "Wild
Lands") and have been considering placing the following artifact somewhere
deep within the most remote regions of the land; mostly to see what would
happen if such an item ever turned up.

The Sword of Haylen.

It's safe to assume that Haylen wielded some form of a sword at Deismaar,
and I treat him as a paladin in my histories, so it's also my deduction that
this would have been a holy sword with defender qualities. I shy away from
calling it a true Holy Defender, as I custom make all my BR items and only
then deposit them into the game.

I've taken a fondness for the idea that when the gods went BOOM! Haylen had
his sword blown from his hands by the force of the explosion. So strong was
this force, that it was thrown into the farthest reaches of Cerilia and has
lain lost for the years since. If someone were to discover this weapon for
what it was, there would be an IMMENSE reaction in Anuire (and in other
places).

So the question I pose is this: What type of magical (holy or otherwise)
qualities do you guys feel the sword might posses?? It's a sword, built for
perhaps the greatest paladin of Andurias (IMC at least), and has been bathed
in the essences of the gods (so it IS possible that Azrai's line did some
bad things to it).

I view this as an artifact of huge power in Cerilian terms. It would
probably be one of the strongest enchanted swords in all the lands. I don't
intend to go munchkin crazy on it, nor do I really think I want my players
to find it anytime soon, if ever. I'm just developing it as a sidebar
plotline for my own satisfaction. If it ever comes into play I'll tell you
all what happens.

Please note that I am also ruling that the pact of the Gods prevents Haylen
from just pulling it off the land and into the heavens. Plus, if you think
about it, he might not want to. Perhaps he desperately wants some paladin to
actually acquire it and rebuild the Empire in his name. There are a lot of
"immigrants" from other lands in my Hjolvar, as it's a cowboy frontier (no
guns of course, but a very "free and loose" region where a man can truly
make his fate); any one of them could be a paladin of Haylen looking for
glory...

Craig
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[Herald Williams]

Craig,

You could try something like this: The sword causes 3d6 damage to any
evil creature that touches it. When wielded by any non-evil creature
other than a paladin of Haelyn, it acts as a +1 sword which can also
detect evil, say 3 times/day. In the hands of one of Haelyn's paladins,
it is a +3 (or higher?) weapon which can detect evil at will and causes
the wielder to function *in combat* as if two levels higher than he is
(doesn't affect hit points, saves, turning undead, healing abilities,
etc.).

As for being affected by Azrai's essence, you could have the sword, when
in the possession of a paladin of Haelyn, draw evil things to it (to
seek it out and destroy both the sword and the owner).

Just some quick thoughts off the top of my head.

Herald

Craig Dalrymple wrote:
>
> Greetings,
>
> With all the great discussion going on about BR and its "low magic" status,
> I thought I'd toss a wildcard into the pot and see where it goes.
>
> I am setting myself up to run a game based in Hjolvar (in the Rujurik "Wild
> Lands") and have been considering placing the following artifact somewhere
> deep within the most remote regions of the land; mostly to see what would
> happen if such an item ever turned up.
>
> The Sword of Haylen.
>
> It's safe to assume that Haylen wielded some form of a sword at Deismaar,
> and I treat him as a paladin in my histories, so it's also my deduction that
> this would have been a holy sword with defender qualities. I shy away from
> calling it a true Holy Defender, as I custom make all my BR items and only
> then deposit them into the game.
>
> I've taken a fondness for the idea that when the gods went BOOM! Haylen had
> his sword blown from his hands by the force of the explosion. So strong was
> this force, that it was thrown into the farthest reaches of Cerilia and has
> lain lost for the years since. If someone were to discover this weapon for
> what it was, there would be an IMMENSE reaction in Anuire (and in other
> places).
>
> So the question I pose is this: What type of magical (holy or otherwise)
> qualities do you guys feel the sword might posses?? It's a sword, built for
> perhaps the greatest paladin of Andurias (IMC at least), and has been bathed
> in the essences of the gods (so it IS possible that Azrai's line did some
> bad things to it).
>
> I view this as an artifact of huge power in Cerilian terms. It would
> probably be one of the strongest enchanted swords in all the lands. I don't
> intend to go munchkin crazy on it, nor do I really think I want my players
> to find it anytime soon, if ever. I'm just developing it as a sidebar
> plotline for my own satisfaction. If it ever comes into play I'll tell you
> all what happens.
>
> Please note that I am also ruling that the pact of the Gods prevents Haylen
> from just pulling it off the land and into the heavens. Plus, if you think
> about it, he might not want to. Perhaps he desperately wants some paladin to
> actually acquire it and rebuild the Empire in his name. There are a lot of
> "immigrants" from other lands in my Hjolvar, as it's a cowboy frontier (no
> guns of course, but a very "free and loose" region where a man can truly
> make his fate); any one of them could be a paladin of Haylen looking for
> glory...
>
> Craig
>
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